Chapter 11: I Ruined It

Raiga and Emi approached the academy’s main entrance.

The person guarding the gate was one of the academy’s instructors. He appeared to be around forty years old and wore a pointed purple hat, a robe of the same color, and, to complete the look, a long brown beard already streaked with gray. The moment he saw the pair approaching, he quickly drew his wand and confronted the blonde.

“You don’t work here anymore, Emi. You’d be better off looking for employment somewhere else. The academy has no interest in your research.”

“Please, Kato, let me speak with the headmaster. This has nothing to do with my research. It’s something entirely different. I saw a ghoul wandering around without a necromancer controlling it.” Emi refused to give up so easily. She looked her former colleague directly in the eyes and tried to convey just how serious she was about the matter.

Unfortunately, Kato paid no attention to her. Instead, he let out a quiet laugh that hurt more than a punch.

“A lone ghoul? What comes next, dragons?” The mage’s mockery was cruel. He continued laughing for five seconds before finally sighing. “Stop wasting my time, Emi. We don’t appreciate jokes around here.”

“It isn’t a joke!” the blonde exclaimed, fighting back the urge to cry.

She hated being dismissed like this.

Deep within her heart, a part of her envied mages who were capable of conducting practical experiments. Emi never would be. Her magical capacity was nonexistent, and she possessed no talent as a mage whatsoever.

In the eyes of the students, professors, and guardians of magical knowledge, Emi stood on the lowest rung of them all.

“Please leave and don’t come back. I’m having a quiet shift, and I don’t need you complicating things with your nonsense. If you’re so desperate for work, become a librarian at the municipal archives or take a receptionist position at the adventurers’ guild. You’ll have plenty of documents to read there. Just not here.” Kato was not joking. His courtesy had limits, and the mere fact that he had to speak with an unemployed researcher was beginning to anger him.

Mages were proud beings.

At their worst, they were arrogant enough to look down on warriors and anyone incapable of using magic.

Those blessed by the Goddess Hecate boasted about their bloodlines. Most families gifted with such talent belonged to the nobility. Those born into humble households were not denied an education, but far fewer secrets were shared with them.

“Please, you have to believe me. You can speak with Captain Jora if you want. He was investigating cultists, and his unit had received reports of strange sightings. He can also use magic to enhance his combat abilities, so you wouldn’t doubt the word of a fellow magic user, would you?” Emi tried to use their previous encounter to lend greater credibility to her claim.

Kato merely shook his head.

He looked increasingly irritated.

“Being able to use magic does not automatically make someone a mage. It’s true that Captain Jora uses it in battle, but he was trained by private tutors. He is neither a graduate of this academy nor the holder of a mage’s title, so his opinion is every bit as ignorant as yours. Stop bothering me and leave.”

“People could get hurt,” Emi said, her patience beginning to wear thin.

“Final warning. Leave, or I am authorized to remove you by force. The city guards do not interfere with the academy. We have complete autonomy over our internal affairs.” The mage guarding the entrance was not bluffing. He raised his wand and threatened poor Emi with it. The young woman stepped back, terrified by the open display of hostility.

“That’s enough, mage. Emi didn’t come here to cause trouble.” Raiga finally spoke.

He confronted Kato without hesitation. Unlike his companion, the wand did not frighten him in the slightest.

“Wait, you’re… The Heretic?!” At the mention of his title, the other mages guarding the academy’s entrance abandoned their posts. They drew their wands and staffs in open hostility, quickly surrounding the pair.

“Heretic or not, Emi came here because she was worried about innocent people, yet all you’ve done is belittle her efforts.” Raiga began to grow angry, and his voice carried more fury with every word.

The adventurer was accustomed to being insulted, despised, and hated in every city throughout the kingdom.

It was nothing new to him. His mind had been hardened by every toxic encounter he had endured since receiving his title.

But having someone he cared about insulted was an entirely new emotion for Raiga—one he had no idea how to control.

“Shut your mouth, Heretic. Your presence here is an insult to the Goddess Hecate, to magic, and to the Order we have sworn to protect. You are not welcome here. Get lost, and take that bitch traveling with you.”

“Excuse me?” Raiga took a step forward. “Say that again.”

“Raiga, let’s go. They aren’t going to let us inside. Please, let’s just go to the inn.” Emi grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away. Her friend did not move, however, and continued glaring at the mage who had insulted her.

“If Emi associates with you, then she clearly has no worth as a person. Only traitors, criminals, and hedonists willingly keep company with the Heretic. That is common knowledge, so why should I take anything she says seriously?” The mage spoke with complete sincerity. His contempt was obvious, neither forced nor born from ordinary prejudice.

It was genuine, unrestrained hatred.

Emi felt the others’ gazes turn against her as well. Her body trembled with fear, and she tightened her grip around Raiga’s arm once again.

“Let’s go. Please, let’s just leave,” she begged fearfully.

“Don’t talk about Emi like that. She’s kind and friendly, and her thirst for knowledge isn’t selfish. She wants to help people! How can you call her a bad person?” Raiga could not understand it.

Insulting him was one thing.

But directing those hateful stares toward a girl as sweet as Emi was unthinkable to him. At the very least, he wanted an apology.

Then the worst possible thing happened.

Kato spat—not at Raiga, but at Emi, who was standing beside him.

The glob of saliva struck Emi squarely on the left cheek. It was a vulgar and devastating gesture. The young woman could not endure any more. Small tears rolled from her eyes and fell to the ground as a quiet whimper escaped her lips.

Everything spiraled out of control.

Raiga punched the mage so hard that he shattered Kato’s nose and knocked one of his eyes out of its socket. Kato collapsed unconscious, doomed to remain blind in one eye for the rest of his life. Emi dropped to the ground and covered her head with both arms, while the other mages immediately sprang into action.

“The Heretic is attacking us!” they shouted in alarm.

Elemental and light spells flew toward Raiga one after another. He drew his longsword and deflected each projectile as it came. He was furious. Rational thought abandoned him, and rage replaced his usually chivalrous nature. He moved like lightning, dodging fireballs, ice spikes, burning rocks, and countless other projectiles launched by the academy’s guardians.

“Wind Magic: Invisible Spear!” A young mage, barely eighteen years old, attempted to strike him from long range. He aimed directly at Raiga’s ankles, believing that an attack fired from fifteen meters away and from behind would be impossible for him to evade.

A grave mistake.

Raiga’s combat instincts, combined with his blind fury, allowed him to leap three meters into the air. He avoided the spell and gained a clear view of the entire gate. More and more mages continued arriving to reinforce the attack. Winning the battle would be impossible…

I don’t need to win. I only need to take as many mages down with me as possible. At this distance, I can kill them with my Dark Arts. I’m going to kill them. I’m going to kill them all!

Raiga focused his attention on the boy who had attacked him.

His killing intent erupted, and the overwhelming pressure immediately caused the young mage to vomit.

“Dark Arts: Black Lightning!” Raiga shot forward like a banshee, raising his longsword toward the young man’s neck and preparing to strike without mercy…

“No!”

Emi’s voice made him change the blade’s trajectory at the very last millisecond. Instead of aiming for the boy’s neck and decapitating him, Raiga struck his staff, destroying the source of his magic. He then drove the pommel of his sword into the mage’s abdomen, knocking him unconscious instantly. Raiga took one deep breath after another. His blind fury began to subside, but the spells flying toward him did not.

Lightning bolts, fireballs, ice spikes, rocks…

Without his armor, he could not afford to take every attack head-on and simply charge through them. Instead, he chose a more intelligent plan.

“Dark Arts: Cloud!” Smoke darker than night poured from his mouth, completely erasing all visibility in the surrounding area. The mages attempted to disperse it with powerful gusts of wind, but the cloud refused to move. It seemed like a living shroud, slowly drifting southward of its own accord.

Raiga used the opportunity to move through the darkness and lift Emi into his arms like a princess. She allowed him to carry her, and the two disappeared amid the confusion and shouted curses. They fled toward the poorer part of the city, where the endless alleys and narrow passages would make any pursuit extremely difficult. Seconds later, they heard the local guards raising the alarm.

“I-I’m sorry, Emi.” The veteran adventurer gently lowered her to the ground.

Raiga quickly examined the alley where they had taken shelter. Garbage lay scattered everywhere, and a wooden container nearby was filled with scraps from a butcher’s shop.

“R-Raiga, I…”

“I ruined it, Emi. Forgive me. I ruined your dream of becoming a scholar. I destroyed everything. If it weren’t for me, they never would have insulted you or thrown you out of the place you admired so much. Oh no… Emi, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Raiga dropped to his knees and began to sob bitterly.

His tears stained the blonde’s shoes. She did not know what to say, because her companion’s words were true.

After this incident, Emi would never be able to become a true scholar.

Only the academy of magic possessed the books and knowledge she needed to achieve her greatest ambition. What Raiga had said was completely true: he had destroyed her dream forever. It was a self-evident fact, a reality every bit as painful as life itself.

“R-Raiga…” Emi began to cry again.

The sight of her tears made Raiga rise to his feet. Without another word, he stepped back twice to put some distance between them.

“I’m sorry. You’ll be better off without me. I only bring ruin to everyone around me. Maybe they’re right. I’m the Heretic. I’m nothing but filth…” After saying those words, Raiga turned around and ran, disappearing into the darkness of the streets without looking back.

“Raiga! Wait!” But it was already too late. By the time Emi tried to stop him, her friend was nowhere in sight.

Everything had gone wrong in the capital of broken dreams.