Damn Academy - Chapter 225

Chapter 225
T h i s wa s co pi ed f r o m k i ng m tl .or g

Four Swords (6)

Calios opened his eyes first and got up from his seat.

He wandered around with his hands behind his back.

Then, he picked up a stone the size of a fist from among the weeds and tossed it in his hand.

He continued explaining to Damian, who was meditating with his eyes closed.

“Reaching the level where you can see others is what we call opening the third eye. What’s important for you is to open your eyes. There’s no need to see deeply or far.”

Damian couldn’t hold back and asked a question.

“What exactly will I see in others?”

“You’ll first sense the most intense emotion that a life form can emit.”

“What is that?”

Calios threw the stone he was holding at Damian.

The stone brushed past Damian’s ear and shattered against a rock. Only after hearing the crash did Damian open his eyes and look back.

“Killing intent.”

“…If it were happiness or familial love, the world would be a bit more beautiful.”

“I agree. Humans have always had to kill other life forms and prey on them to survive. It’s been this way since the world began. You won’t die from not feeling familial love, but you’ll certainly die if you can’t sense killing intent. Sensing and emitting killing intent is the most primal and fundamental sense.”

“…”

T h i s w a s c o p i ed fr o m k in g m t l . o r g
“Unfortunately, the cycle of killing and preying on other life forms entangles all living beings.”

“There should be at least one that lives well on its own. Like plants that live harmoniously.”

“Do you think plants are any different? You don’t see their struggle. Do you think they secrete deadly poison for the benefit of alchemists? It’s to kill those that eat them. Even now, underground, there’s a war for nutrients and magic, with plants expanding their territory and killing other seeds. If plants had mouths, the world would be filled with screams.”

“…I thought meditation was favored by pacifists. Apparently, it doesn’t matter.”

“Mother Nature always eradicates pacifists first. Always.”

“The more I hear, the deeper my worries grow.”

“I’ll keep distracting you. Focus again.”

“…”

Damian closed his eyes again and regulated his breathing.

Calios picked up another stone and, with killing intent, threw it at Damian.

T h i s w a s co pi ed f rom k i n g m t l .o r g
Then, strange plant tendrils shot out from beneath Damian and knocked the stone away.

“…?”

The wooden sword Damian had thrown away had crawled back and protected him by sensing the killing intent.

This wasn’t something Calios had intended.

“Hmm.”

Calios looked at the wooden sword, lost in thought.

Damian felt the tendrils wrapping around him and opened his eyes, surprised to see the wooden sword had returned.

“This is…”

“Focus again.”

Calios approached and picked up the wooden sword. He placed it about ten steps away from Damian. Then, he drew his Magic Sword, Lunatic, and gently placed it on top of the wooden sword.

Calios closely observed the reaction of the wooden sword.

The wooden sword tried to absorb the energy of the Magic Sword but recoiled as if burned, its tendrils retreating. The tendrils then touched the ground, struggling to move. The wooden sword was in pain, overwhelmed by the power it couldn’t handle.

In an effort to survive, it quickly began to root itself into the ground.

To Calios, this was a rather intriguing sight.

“Did you perhaps sleep with the wooden sword?”

It was certainly more active and vital than when he had last seen it.

“…How did you know?”

“Keep doing it.”

It was strange. Calios prided himself on having experienced most swords that existed in the world, but Damian’s sword was something he had never encountered.

It was not only loyal to its owner but also blindly devoted, which Calios found peculiar.

Magic Swords typically sought strong hosts and opportunistically switched owners.

It was rare for a sword to maintain such loyalty, even with a perfected host like Calios right in front of it.

Calios murmured to himself.

“This is getting more interesting…”

***

Delphion cleared his throat and checked the documents he had assembled one last time before knocking on the door.

Knock, knock.

Th i s w a s c op i e d f r om k in gmt l. o r g
“Come in.”

Delphion entered and saluted Calios in the imperial manner.

Calios looked the same whether in the empire or in Rigved.

He always had herbal tea and ancient texts in front of him. He never broke this habit in the ten years Delphion had served him.

“These are the documents from the empire. There are slightly over fifty requests for guidance and meetings.”

“Ah, I see.”

Calios responded appropriately, considering Delphion’s efforts, but showed no genuine interest. Calios had exceptional cognitive abilities, but if something didn’t interest him, he wouldn’t remember it even if told ten times.

“The Royal Academy has requested your return to the imperial court.”

“Ah, I understand.”

“They’re abuzz about the new students being the children of Dalixia.”

The children of Dalixia referred to a golden generation when talents were concentrated in one year.

“…”

“Shouldn’t you take a look at them?”

Calios never missed such events. He would gather the top students or those with unusual talents and personally instruct the selected ones.

The knights trained by him were now active across the country.

Calios wetted his finger and turned the page of his book, signaling his lack of interest.

“Calios?”

“Ah, hmm, what is it?”

“Shouldn’t you find a successor?”

“I’ve already trained successors. My disciples are active nationwide. I’m done with nurturing people; maybe I should start actual farming. We could sell wine with our names on it and become rich quickly.”

“You’re already a wealthy man.”

“Do you know that a winery is more welcome at parties than a swordsmanship family? The only ones who welcome us are ladies with sons.”

Delphion raised his voice out of frustration.

“Are you going to let Lunatic become a disaster?”

The Lunatic, one of the four great Magic Swords, was like a demon bound in chains. If the restraint of Calios were to be lifted, Lunatic would bring hell upon the world again.

The reason Calios was so obsessed with finding a successor was because of this.

While he had ambitions to be remembered as an educator and leader, his primary goal was to train someone to control Lunatic.

Calios leisurely sipped his tea.

“Hmm, that won’t do. Will you take over?”

He spoke about matters that could threaten thousands of lives and overturn the empire’s power structure as casually as he would about household chores.
T h i s w as c o p i e d f ro m kin gm tl. o r g

Delphion sighed deeply.

“I don’t want my heart to explode and die.”

Delphion was also a student of Calios. He once dreamed of becoming a sword master and was favored by his professors.

But he had faced the limits of his talent and gave up the sword. Having seen the monstrous talents under Calios up close, he had no regrets.

He stayed by Calios’s side because he was loyal, discreet, and had more talent in administrative work than in swordsmanship.

One student had once coveted Lunatic. Despite warnings, the student secretly grasped Lunatic and died of a heart attack. The cause was a rejection reaction; the heart being devoured was considered a minor consequence.

The level of swordsmanship Delphion achieved at thirty was reached by that student at fifteen, but the student lost their life so senselessly.

“Ah, right, that happened.”
T h i s w a s c o p i e d fr o m k i ng m t l . o rg

Calios responded indifferently and continued turning the pages of his book. Delphion sighed and changed the subject.

“…Miss Shirinkis is coming to visit Rigved. She said she’s coming to observe before the exchange competition.”

“Hmm, really?”

Even the news of his granddaughter visiting didn’t pique his interest.

“Did you know Miss Shirinkis enrolled in the Imperial Academy?”

“Did she? Well, we must respect her choice.”

“Aren’t you going to guide your granddaughter?”

“She has ambition but lacks capacity. Since she was little, she’s been more interested in my wealth than in me.”

Calios’s evaluations of his own bloodline were always harsh.

It hadn’t always been this way. Initially, the idea of his bloodline inheriting his swordsmanship was ideal for both the empire and Calios. He had tried diligently but eventually gave up when it didn’t work out.

Calios’s two daughters had no interest or talent in swordsmanship, and only one of his four granddaughters showed interest. But even she didn’t inherit the talent of previous generations.
T h i s w a s c opi e d f r o m ki n g m t l . or g

“Are you sure you don’t want to meet her?”

“I’m sure.”

Delphion knew that when Calios lost interest in his surroundings, it meant he was deeply engrossed in something else.

“Is the Saint of Eternia… meeting your expectations?”

“Meeting expectations…”

Calios closed his book. He stared blankly at the ceiling as if lost in thought.

“…Calios?”

“…Many will retire because of that one.”

***

Despite several days of training, I didn’t feel any significant growth. I wasn’t sure if I had matured emotionally, and I definitely couldn’t feel anything like killing intent.

Priscilla still didn’t communicate with me. Could it be due to my poor spiritual sensitivity?

Calios emphasized that meditation training was not something to finish once mastered, but something to be done for a lifetime, like eating, washing, and brushing.

Time passed, and the day promised with Cecil was just two days away.

Since it was a formal occasion, I needed appropriate attire, so I decided to stay at Silveryn’s mansion to fetch my tailcoat.

“Damian…”

In my room, the maid Liria, who I hadn’t seen in a while, trailed off, subtly expressing her sadness.

Liria must have been quite lonely without many peers or someone she could talk to while I was away.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t visit more often, Liria.”

“As long as you’re happy at the academy, that’s enough for me…”

“…”

“I made a lot of extra potions while you were away, and there are many letters piled up. Though not as many as before…”

I felt even more guilty for not visiting.

“Thank you. You can burn the letters. The important ones come directly to me.”

Liria brought a basket and placed it on my desk.

“Well… I did try burning them as you said, but there was strange smoke, so I had to keep them.”

“…Strange smoke?”

“Black smoke hovered over the fire, extinguishing it. So I tried burning them directly, but the letters wouldn’t catch fire. They only got slightly singed.”

“…”

Judging by her words, these weren’t ordinary letters. Could they be enchanted?

I checked the basket. Inside were several black envelopes. They weren’t singed; they were originally black and all the same size, implying they were from the same sender.

This w a s co pie d from k i ng m tl . or g
“When did these start arriving?”

T his w a s co p ie d f r o m k i n g mt l .o r g
“They’ve been coming consistently since your entrance ceremony.”

I lightly touched one and felt the texture of the letters written in black ink. Were these runes?

Who could have sent them? If it was related to magic, it could be Silveryn or Lady Vivi. But both had direct means to contact me, so there was no reason to send letters like this.

It might be something important, so I decided to send Liria away first.

“Thank you. Can I change clothes for a moment?”

“Oh, yes…!”

Liria hurriedly left the room, and I changed from my current clothes into the tailcoat.

“…Hmm.”

I looked in the mirror and moved my body. Every part of my body felt tight.

The shoulders were constricting, the sleeves felt short, and the pants that once fell neatly to my feet now exposed my ankles.

T his w a s c o p ied f r om kin g m tl . o r g
I had tailored this with Silveryn, but it hadn’t been long, yet my body had grown quickly without waiting.

Luckily, the extra fabric in the lining meant it could be altered.

I quickly took off the tight coat and grabbed the basket of letters before throwing myself onto the bed.

I reached into the basket and picked out a random letter.

I felt strangely peculiar. Why put so much effort into someone who never replied?

The black envelope had the sender’s name written in black ink. I couldn’t tell the intent behind it. I read it with my eyes but eventually had to confirm it by feeling the dried ink with my fingers.

There was an unfamiliar name written there.

“Amarylis.”

A name I had never crossed paths with in my life. I had no idea how or where they knew me.

A dark red substance, not ink, stained my fingertips. When I brought it to my nose, it smelled metallic and unpleasant. It wasn’t accidentally spilled wine. It was the smell of blood.

End of Chapter