Heir of the Darkgod in the Holy Academy

Chapter 6: A New Friend & The Assassination Plot

"You are hands down the luckiest guy on this entire continent, Leon!"

Felix threw his arm around Leon's shoulders the moment they stepped out of the academy's main hall. The curly-haired youth with thick glasses clapped Leon's chest, laughing heartily.

"That arrogant Gavin blew up his own crystal trying to humiliate you! This is literally the greatest miracle of the week!"

Leon feigned a weak cough, acting as though the shockwave from the crystal explosion had left him breathless.

"I was just... lucky, Felix," Leon replied softly, keeping his face painted with lingering shock.

"Lucky? You walked away from a crystal explosion without a single scratch!" Felix exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Felix was the only student in their class who didn't hesitate to talk to Leon, despite Leon's reputation as the weakest mage. Cheerful and absurdly well-informed, Felix was practically a walking encyclopedia for academy gossip.

"But guess what, Leon? There's a rumor circulating that's ten times crazier than Gavin's crystal blowing up this morning," Felix whispered, leaning in close.

Behind his thick lenses, Felix's eyes practically sparkled with excitement.

"What rumor?" Leon asked, putting on a curious expression.

"About the Shadow Hero!" Wonder shone bright on Felix's face. "Last night, a mysterious figure in a skull mask slaughtered Lord Valen's secret forces in an alley near the orphanage!"

Leon raised an eyebrow, keeping his expression innocent and completely blank.

"Slaughtered? Doesn't that make him a dangerous criminal?" Leon mused hesitantly.

"Criminal? Are you kidding me?" Felix immediately protested. "He's a living legend! That masked figure wiped out Valen's gang of bullies in seconds without being touched!"

Felix pumped his fist in the air dramatically.

"Everyone on the black market is calling him Sovereign Erebus—the Ruler of Darkness!"

"I've even started a little fan club in the dorms to admire his greatness!"

Leon stifled a chuckle behind his naive facade. If Felix knew that the sovereign of darkness he worshipped was standing right beside him carrying a tattered bag, he'd faint on the spot.

"You probably shouldn't trust street rumors too much, Felix," Leon advised gently, quickening his pace. "A dark aura sounds pretty terrifying to weak mages like us."

As they walked down the main corridor, Elena approached from the opposite direction. The silver-haired prodigy paused briefly, her gaze sweeping over Leon's slouched posture.

Elena's icy blue eyes held a sharp, probing intensity. Her light magic had reacted to a lingering, alien energy fluctuation during Gavin's crystal explosion that morning.

Though Leon's crystal had only displayed a dim 1st-Circle glow, Elena's logic refused to accept that a magic anomaly of that magnitude was mere coincidence. Leon bowed his head humbly as he passed her, acting intimidated by the duke's daughter.

Elena didn't stop him, but her sharp gaze followed his footsteps until he disappeared around the corner.

Outside the academy grounds, a covered carriage sat parked beneath the shade of quiet, leafy trees. Inside the carriage, which reeked of pungent medicinal oils, Valen leaned back, his breathing ragged.

His right arm rested stiffly in a thick cast, while his left knee was tightly bandaged. His face was a broken mess of physical agony and soul-gnawing terror.

Standing before Valen was a burly man with a jagged cutlass scar across his cheek.

Grim—leader of the C-rank mercenary group, the Blood Vultures—tossed a leather pouch filled with pure gold coins in his hand.

"This is a weird request, Young Master Valen," Grim rasped with an annoying, gruff laugh. "You're paying hundreds of gold coins just to kill the weakest scholarship mage who hasn't even passed the 1st-Circle?"

"Shut your mouth and listen to me closely!" Valen snapped fiercely, though his eyes darted wildly out the carriage window in panic.

The memory of the skull-masked figure choking his throat last night haunted Valen's mind like an inescapable nightmare. Driven into a corner, Valen believed one thing above all else.

Leon had to have some secret connection or special protection from this Erebus. If Leon died suddenly on the streets, the masked monster would no longer have a reason to terrorize him.

"Take three of your best men," Valen ordered, his eyes bloodshot with vengeance. "Target him when he leaves the academy this afternoon."

"Make sure his head is severed before he can even scream or call for help!"

Grim grinned wickedly, tying the gold pouch to his belt.

"That useless 1st-Circle mage won't live to see tomorrow's sunrise, Young Master."

The late afternoon sun sank toward the western horizon, casting a golden-orange hue over the city's rooftops. Leon stepped out of the academy gates carrying a wooden box filled with basic food supplies for the orphanage.

He walked leisurely down the bustling stone sidewalk. But as he crossed a major intersection, the void core in his left chest vibrated softly.

The Void Core transmitted an invisible signal through the shadow waves on the ground. Leon sensed four distinct killing intents stalking him from fifty meters back.

Four men clad in heavy leather armor with serrated swords crept swiftly across the rooftops of nearby houses. Leon narrowed his eyes, relying on his razor-sharp combat instincts.

Mercenaries.

Leon's face showed not a sliver of panic. Instead, a chilly warmth rippled through his chest.

He needed the raw soul energy of strong warriors to train the ancient Grimoire's Void Necromancy. Valen's two guards last night had been far too weak, but these four C-rank mercenaries were the perfect fuel.

Instead of heading toward the crowded, safe main avenue, Leon intentionally altered his path. He veered into a narrow, dark, dead-end alley behind a deserted warehouse district.

The alley was flanked by five-meter-high stone walls with no other way out. Leon stopped at the dead end. He turned slowly, setting the wooden box of food down on the ground with extreme care so it wouldn't be damaged.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Four black-clad figures dropped down from the roof, landing right at the mouth of the alley. They blocked the only exit, their swords drawn and glinting beneath the dimming evening light.

Grim stepped out front, tapping his worn sword blade against his palm with a ruthless smirk.

"Foolish kid. You walked straight into your own grave!"