The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

64. Interlude (2) – The Scar of the Spider

A week since achieving the feat(?) of ranking 253rd out of 253 candidates in the Swordsmanship Department.

Around the time when the heated discussions about the midterm evaluation results were gradually dying down.

I was summoned by Professor Elisha and headed to her office.

“You’ve come.”

As I entered the office, Professor Elisha, dressed in her usual neat black suit, greeted me with her legs crossed.

“What is it?”

“The investigation results are out.”

“…Investigation results?”

With a cigarette in one hand, she looked down at the thick stack of documents with an indifferent expression and continued.

“The crocodile and wolf beasts that appeared in the examination hall were, as expected, familiars of the Beast Archbishop Jackal.”

“…Jackal.”

The Archbishop’s involvement.

It was the worst-case scenario among the possibilities we had anticipated.

‘Whether the future has changed, or if I just overlooked it in my previous life, I don’t know.’

One thing was certain.

Once again, an Archbishop-level demon was plotting something within the school.

“Have you found out what his goal is?”

At my question, Professor Elisha took a deep drag on her cigarette and shook her head slightly.

“To be precise, I don’t know either. But… I saw a strange beast.”

“A strange beast?”

Was there another beast besides the crocodile and wolf beasts?

“This one.”

Professor Elisha exhaled smoke and opened a drawer.

What came out of the drawer was a grotesque creature resembling a leech.

In the center of the sucker, meant for sucking blood, was a tiny eyeball, smaller than a fingernail, blinking.

“This is…”

“It’s the beast that was attached to Cadet Yuren’s body.”

“It was attached to Yuren’s body?”

That can’t be.

I had set up a barrier around Yuren to ward off beasts myself.

Of course, the barrier was useless against beasts with many eyes, but the leech-like beast had only one eye.

There was no way to break through the barrier and approach Yuren….

“Ah.”

A low sigh escaped through his lips.

‘Come to think of it, the crocodile beast broke the barrier midway.’

So, during the battle with the crocodile beast, that leech beast must have attached itself to Yuren’s body after breaking the barrier.

“…….”

“Hoho. It seems Cadet Dale has noticed as well.”

Professor Elisha narrowed her eyes and continued.

“Although there is no concrete evidence, I believe that the crocodile beast’s sudden appearance and rampage was to allow this ‘leech beast’ to approach Cadet Yuren.”

The purpose of the crocodile beast was to break the barrier I created.

‘Come to think of it, it broke the barrier right after sending me flying.’

At the time, I thought it broke the barrier to approach Yuren, but thinking about it, the crocodile beast was a beast that was not affected by the ‘barrier that repels beasts’ at all.

‘There was no reason to break the barrier in the first place.’

Yet, the crocodile beast broke the barrier surrounding Yuren’s body.

As if breaking the barrier was its purpose from the beginning.

‘Wait. So, in my previous life, the crocodile beast didn’t appear because there was no barrier?’

It felt like the scattered puzzle pieces were coming together.

I continued my thoughts with narrowed eyes.

‘The wolf beast that Jackal released was also there in my previous life.’

In my previous life, didn’t I experience death for the first time when that wolf beast bit my neck?

‘In other words, Jackal had released his familiar inside the test site even in my previous life.’

So, why did Jackal release the wolf beast inside the test site?

‘He was trying to find Yuren.’

The beast, transformed from a wolf, had an excellent sense of smell and was fast.

Moreover, thanks to its pack nature, it could act in an organized manner, making it an optimal beast for ‘searching.’

‘In my previous life, after finding Yuren, he must have attached that leech beast at an opportune moment.’

But this time, a variable appeared.

A variable named ‘Dale Han’ suddenly appeared from somewhere and created a barrier that repels beasts around Yuren.

‘So, he released the crocodile beast, which was not originally planned to appear.’

To break the barrier I created and allow the leech beast to approach Yuren’s body.

“Ha.”

A low, hollow laugh escaped as the full story of the incident came to light.

‘What on earth is that leech monster that it’s so desperate to cling to Yuren?’

The leech squirming inside the glass jar was examined, but apart from its grotesque appearance, nothing else could be discerned.

Perhaps Professor Elisha knew something, so I looked at her.

“I don’t know what abilities this leech monster possesses.”

“Not even with the blessing of insight?”

“If my blessing could uncover all the secrets of the world, there would be no need to investigate incidents so covertly.”

Professor Elisha let out a deep sigh with a bitter smile.

“Anyway, this is all I’ve found out.”

Although it was discovered that Jackal had released the leech monster to attach it to Yuren, the more important question of ‘why target Yuren in the end?’ remained unanswered.

“There were no clues to track Jackal in the end.”

“I suppose not.”

With a somewhat bitter expression, Professor Elisha stroked the scar running across her left eye.

“Is that scar related to Jackal by any chance?”

“…Why do you think that?”

“Because you always touch the scar whenever you talk about Jackal.”

“Ha, you linked me to Jackal just because of that?”

Professor Elisha swallowed a hollow laugh with an incredulous expression.

In truth, the reason I sensed there was a story between her and Jackal was due to memories from a past life, but I didn’t bother to explain.

“……”

Professor Elisha, who had been silent with her lips tightly shut, finally spoke in a low voice.

“…When I was young, I was born in a remote village in the imperial territory.”

Professor Elisha lit a new cigarette and took a drag.

“It was a small village without even a name.”

Hoo.

The whitish smoke dispersed into the air.

“One day, the peaceful village was utterly destroyed by a single demon.”

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“……”

There was no need to ask who that ‘demon’ was.

“I heard it was because they wanted to test the power of the newly summoned beast.”

The burning cigarette.

The ember flickers like a blood-red memory.

“It didn’t take even 10 minutes for the village of about 100 people to be massacred.”

In just 10 minutes.

Her life was trampled mercilessly.

So brutally that it was beyond repair.

“How lucky I was to survive.”

She touched the scar near her left eye with a self-mocking smile.

“…Though it left such a hideous scar.”

“……”

“Heh. Don’t make such a serious face. It’s a common story.”

Professor Elisha shrugged nonchalantly as if it were nothing.

Suddenly, memories of a past life flashed through her mind.

The story of ‘Elisha Baldwin, the Spider of the Scarred Eye,’ who killed the Beast Archbishop Jackal and died a heroic death.

Beyond the story she had casually heard.

The desperate life of a woman was painted in her mind.

“A common story…”

It’s not wrong.

People whose lives were trampled by demons are everywhere on the continent.

There is no great twist, no heart-pounding narrative, no tear-jerking, poignant ending.

It’s an unremarkable tragedy.

It’s an unremarkable catastrophe.

It’s a common tragedy that could happen anywhere in the world.

“But.”

Just because it’s common doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

Just because it’s predictable doesn’t mean it doesn’t leave scars.

“Sigh.”

Professor Elisha, with an indifferent expression, smoked her cigarette.

Why, I wonder.

Without realizing it, I reached out towards Professor Elisha.

“What are you….”

“Stay still.”

Ignoring the bewildered expression on Professor Elisha’s face, I gently caressed the scar that crossed her left eye.

“…Cadet Dale. Do you know what you’re doing right now?”

Touching the professor’s body without permission.

It was a rude act that could warrant immediate disciplinary action.

I smirked as I looked at Professor Elisha, who was glaring at me fiercely.

“You’re pretty.”

“…What?”

“You said earlier that it was a hideous scar. But looking at it now, it seems to suit your appearance rather well.”

“…….”

“How should I put it… a wild charm? Something like that. If it weren’t for this scar, your impression might have been a bit bland.”

“You….”

Professor Elisha, who was about to say something, bit her lip instead.

“Ahem!”

With a hurried cough, Professor Elisha turned her head sharply.

Her earlobes, visible through her short black hair, were as red as apples.

“Anyway… these days, cadets have no respect for professors. The term ‘end of the world’ has never been more fitting. In my time, touching a professor’s body was unthinkable. How dare you touch a professor’s body as you please? And what? Pretty? The scar suits me? Is that something a cadet should say to a professor? Honestly, if you ask if I was happy, I was a little bit pleased, but still, this is absolutely unacceptable….”

Professor Elisha mumbled in a voice that seemed to crawl into the ground, her head bowed deeply.

“Professor Elisha?”

“Eek!”

Professor Elisha, who had been mumbling something, suddenly jumped up from her seat.

With an expression full of life that was unthinkable for the usually stoic Professor Elisha, she opened her mouth.

“Anyway! The investigation into the Jackal will continue, so Cadet Dale, you must cooperate!”

After delivering such a one-sided notice of cooperation, Professor Elisha hurriedly ran out of the office as if fleeing.

“…….”

Left alone in her office, I extinguished the half-burnt cigarette she had left in the ashtray and leaned back in the chair.

“…The Jackal.”

A thought suddenly crossed my mind that perhaps the people I need to take care of in this life are not just my comrades from my previous life.

* * *

From a distance, it looked like a mountain made of fur was moving—a colossal beast.

An old man was perched atop the beast, which had no less than eighteen eyes.

“Huh. This is really pitiful….”

The old man let out a low sigh as he looked down at his palm, which was engraved with a complex pattern.

The pattern on his wrinkled palm was partially erased, as if the skin had been peeled off.

“Tsk tsk. It was a cherished one.”

The old man clicked his tongue in regret as he looked at the erased pattern.

But contrary to his words, the old man’s eyes, as he looked at the erased pattern, were as indifferent as if he were looking at a dead ant on the roadside.

Wooong!

The space near where the old man was sitting distorted, and a young man with white hair appeared.

The young man approached leisurely, as if there were invisible steps in the air, and bowed politely to Jackal.

“You were here.”

“Oh, you came?”

“Yes, it’s been a while, Jackal.”

The white-haired young man smiled brightly and adjusted his golden monocle.

“How did the task go?”

“Heh heh heh. Who do you think I am? Of course, I succeeded. Well… there was a bit of a nuisance, though.”

“A nuisance?”

“Crocker is dead.”

“Crocker?”

The white-haired young man recalled the memory at Jackal’s words.

“Ah, you mean the crocodile beast.”

“Yes.”

“Haha. Your naming sense is still the same.”

“Huh? What’s wrong with Crocker?”

The white-haired young man shrugged silently as he looked at Jackal, who genuinely seemed not to understand.

“By the way, you said an eight-eyed beast died in the candidate test… Did a professor intervene?”

“Heh heh. How could the candidates kill Crocker? It must have been the professor’s doing.”

“Then it’s likely Elisha Baldwin.”

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* * *

“Yeah, that cunning spider woman managed to step on my tail, didn’t she?”

“Well… as Lord Jackal said, you’ve got yourself a troublesome situation.”

“Indeed.”

Jackal clicked his tongue, wrinkling his forehead.

“That child is truly pitiful… witnessing her parents being torn apart and eaten alive at such a young age.”

“……”

The white-haired young man frowned in displeasure as he looked at Jackal, who clicked his tongue in sympathy.

“Let’s get back to the main point.”

“Ah, yes. Well… despite the troublesome situation, I found out what you asked for.”

Jackal let out an unpleasant laugh, like scraping metal, and pressed the tattoo on his forearm with his finger.

As the tattoo faded, blood oozed from his finger.

Licking the blood off his finger, he continued.

“As you suspected, Yuren Helios bears the stigma of the ‘Moon God,’ not the ‘Sun God.'”

“Hmm, I see.”

The white-haired young man smiled, adjusting his golden monocle.

Jackal looked back at the white-haired young man and asked.

“But what does this mean? It’s not like bearing the stigma of the ‘Moon God’ prevents one from wielding the Sun Sword.”

“Haha. Well, do you think that woman would think the same?”

The white-haired young man shrugged with a meaningful smile.

“Mephisto, what on earth are you planning?”

“You’ll see.”

The Archbishop of Corruption, Mephisto, looked at the distant Helios family mansion and smiled brightly.

“The moment the sun devours the moon.”