I Became the Teacher of the Imperial Family’s Bastard

044. The Name of the Morning Star (5)

The mutation that Verheim was delving into was fundamentally a study focused on the ‘state change’ of something.

It was not an action that ‘drives one mad (狂化)’, but an action that ‘mutates’ something.

The stark difference was evident in the terror that Yuren experienced in his past life.

Every priest within the Papal Palace had mutated into something other than human, yet they maintained their sanity and howled.

That part was crucial.

The part to focus on now was none other than the proposition that ‘sanity is maintained even after mutation.’

**Kagagak―!**

Though it seemed to be rampaging madly, the mutated Verheim was still fighting skillfully.

He wielded more ferocious holy magic with divine power mixed with the abilities of the outer realm, and adhered to the unique ‘battle style of the holy knight’ that disregarded life and death.

It imposed the same pressure on Yuren and Kallios when facing a holy knight… no, considering the increase in abilities due to the mutation, it was even more.

It is often said that a holy knight is a war machine.

There was a significant reason for that.

“They regenerate disgustingly well!”

Kallios shouted in an irritated voice.

As the words suggested, Verheim regenerated instantly even if his body was cut.

He charged forward without caring even if his insides were ruptured.

It wasn’t because he was mad.

It wasn’t because he had mutated.

It was because that’s how a Holy Knight fought.

Someone once derogatorily compared them to cockroaches.

As long as they had divine power, even if their entire body was crushed, they would resurrect. That was the nature of a high-ranking Holy Knight.

Thus, in the aspect of battle, the most important role was Yuren’s.

Chaeaeaeang―!

Yuren’s eyes were now reading the extraordinary abilities entangled with Verheim.

It wasn’t just reading.

“Thirty-two!”

Choeoeok―!

Understanding the resolution, and then attacking.

Yuren’s sacred tree resonated with him, diligently separating Verheim’s two incompatible natures.

Counting numbers aloud was an act of estimating the remaining resolution and conveying the necessary number of attacks to Kallios.

This had several effects.

It gave Yuren concentration, Kallios stamina management, and instilled anxiety in Verheim.

Verheim felt more burdened as the numbers decreased.

It wasn’t just the countdown itself.

The actual load on his body was increasing every moment.

Using long-range holy spells while maintaining distance was for that reason.

[Die!]

Seventh Divine Spear, Eighth Divine Trust, Eleventh Acceleration.

His three most favored spells were combined.

The spear of red lightning rushed towards Yuren at the speed of light.

Of course,

“Desperation!”

Choeoeoeong―!

Yuren held a superior advantage over all extraordinary acts.

The spell had no effect.

[Rebecca…!]

Berheim growled and prepared another spell.

Number 19, the flame spear wrapped around his body.

[Give me Rebecca―!]

It was then.

Kallios blocked Berheim.

“She’s not here. I twisted her neck and threw her to the wild dogs.”

KWAANG―!

The sword collided with the flame-clad body.

The momentum on both sides was evenly matched.

Neither side could push or be pushed.

A perfect balance.

One might have judged it as a lack of superiority in strength.

Perhaps, if one did not know the man named Kallios well, they would have thought so.

“Got you.”

Kallios smirked crookedly.

Berheim felt a chill.

He tried to pull away but couldn’t.

It was then that he realized.

It wasn’t that the balance was right, but that Kallios’s mana was binding him in a standoff.

“Well done.”

Yuren’s whisper came from behind, the sensation of feet touching the ground.

And then,

“Twenty-one.”

A number.

SPLASH!!!

The sacred tree cut away the corruption that had entangled Berheim’s back.

The corruption that fell from his body was swiftly erased by the sacred tree wielded by Yuren.

[Ugh…!]

Overwhelming inferiority.

That alone was burdensome, but what tormented Verheim more was Callios’s words.

[Rebecca…!]

“I’ll send you to her side, so shut up and watch.”

He did not stop provoking Verheim’s spirit.

Even though he wanted to dismiss it as mere provocation, he couldn’t, because Callios’s attitude was too firm.

Moreover, for Verheim, even the ‘if world’ without Rebecca was too painful to bear.

“Seven!”

Zzeooong―!

The more he thought about it, the more his heart crumbled.

The fear of being left alone in a world without Rebecca began to consume his sanity.

“Three!”

Kwaang―!

He was denying it himself, but the more he did, the closer the answer came.

‘Rebecca is dead.’

It was the moment that word was engraved in his mind.

“Ha…!”

[aaah!!!]

Kwaakwang!

The divine power rampaged.

In response, the supernatural power of awe began to swell greatly.

Yuren was pushed back by the shockwave.

His eyes widened as if they would tear apart.

Verheim’s emotions lost their way and rampaged.

Resentment, self-reproach, anger, regret, and thus, emptiness.

His self drifted away in the emotions that surged towards emptiness.

Tears of blood flowed from the beast’s eyes.

-It’s a promise!

He cried out in memory.

Despairing at the memory of a moment that could never be kept again.

[Ah…!]

That became the trigger.

Crack―!

His body began to flicker in a reddish hue.

The reindeer’s bones, which he wore like armor, and the wolf’s body within him twisted.

They merged into one, then split into something else.

A dark purple aura began to emanate from his body.

* * *

I swallowed a gasp.

I already know that phenomenon.

‘Self-destruction…!’

That’s the precursor.

That eerie flow of power, and the arrangement, is definitely what was left at the place where Historia self-destructed.

A chill ran down my spine.

A sense of crisis sounded the alarm.

‘Miscalculation…!’

The judgment that the saint wouldn’t implant a mutation in himself.

The judgment that he would aim for victory through combat.

The survival instinct felt in his desperate struggle blinded me.

The focus at the moment of the goal erased the possibility of ‘what if’ from my mind.

A suicide attempt.

The worst situation.

‘Escape?’

Leaving Verheim to die and escaping.

In that case, the prince and I can live.

But what about Historia?

That hesitation bound my feet.

Meanwhile, the saint’s rampage accelerated.

There was no room to grasp the pattern.

Thus,

[Rebecca…!]

It was the moment when he called out that name, looking as if he might burst at any second.

“Number one.”

A low voice echoed.

Breath stopped.

Heads turned.

There was something caught at the end of the gaze.

“Seal.”

From that secluded corner, Historia wielded holy magic as if she were about to die.

For a moment, my eyes met Historia’s.

She smiled weakly.

A foreboding feeling surged.

It was before I could even reveal its identity.

Whoosh―!

Golden radiance swept through the space.

* * *

Historia drifted through her dreams.

Blurred vision, fading breath made her mind increasingly hazy.

Before she knew it, she had traveled back to a distant past.

-Historia.

-Saintess!

-Hehe, now you are the Saintess, aren’t you?

It was when she had just been chosen as the Saintess.

The face of the previous Saintess was still so vivid, her wrinkled face and warm smile still remained inside.

Those times were unfamiliar but joyful.

What Historia particularly liked were the stories of her mentor, who was also an educator.

Where the divinity of hope originated from.

Or how the previous Saintesses lived, and such stories.

Joy came before duty.

Therefore, Historia rarely became serious, and the event that changed her was none other than this.

“Today, we will learn about duty.”

“Duty?”

“Yes, a duty that we hope the day to perform never comes.”

I remember her worried face.

With a mix of regret and bitterness, she taught me the ‘arcane arts.’

“The first saintess always worried about the arrogance or whims of fate. She was truly free-spirited and, in some ways, childlike. Not an absolute good, but a neutral player. Isn’t that what fate is?”

The goddess of fate.

The content behind it was too frightening for young Historia.

The examples given by the previous saintess were even more so.

“She can throw tens of thousands of lives into the flames. She can also pull them out from the depths of the sea.”

“That’s amazing!”

“She can do it for fun.”

Killing and saving tens of thousands for fun.

Where else is there such a capricious god?

What if the goddess of fate played a bad prank?

At the moment when such thoughts made my legs tremble, the previous saintess spoke.

“That’s why we must exist.”

It was a story about why the arcane arts of hope exist.

“Hope must shine when fate is cruel.”

It was for a day like today, when fate is so cruel.

Boom!

Historia opened her eyes.

Her vision was still blurry.

But, it wasn’t that she couldn’t see anything.

Verheim was about to collapse.

The ferocity of that energy was about to engulf Yuren and Kallios.

Everything was heading towards misfortune.

It was heading towards a conclusion that Historia did not want.

She hoped no one would die.

Yurendo, Kallios, even Verheim.

‘Ver…’

Pity arose.

Historia felt truly sorry for him, crumbling in such a way.

It wasn’t just because he was being used.

She knew him better than anyone else.

Because they had spent more time together than anyone else.

-There are many mysterious things in the outer world!

He was a child who longed for adventure.

A child too young to bear the weight of that position.

How could fate be so cruel to that child?

How could it not take care of its closest servant?

There was such regret, and for that reason, Historia stood up.

“Cough…!”

If fate was cruel today, she had to be the hope.

That was the reason she was here.

She exhaled a breath mixed with a metallic sound and looked ahead.

She squinted, trying to focus her vision.

And then, she forced a smile.

There was no strength left.

No more life force to burn.

But there was one thing she could still use.

Dwoong—

The seal she had placed inside her body to prevent the spread of contamination.

That divine power, she could use it.

‘It’s okay.’

If she used all her divine power, she would die, and there would be no chance of being corrupted.

Her body would simply perish along with the contamination.

‘It’s okay.’

If left alone, everyone would die.

He wasn’t so foolish as to not know that it was the right choice to save three lives with his own.

‘It’s okay.’

Everything was okay.

If there was any regret.

‘…I should tell them.’

That it would be alright.

To Berheim, who had regained his senses, that he wasn’t wrong.

That even you, who were used, must have suffered.

That now, everything was okay.

He wanted to say that.

He wanted to convey his thanks to Yuren.

He wanted to unravel a bit more of this curiosity about the side of himself he didn’t know.

He wanted to talk more with that man while eating that meat bun.

‘Ah, what a pity.’

Thinking this, Historia reached out with difficulty.

“…Number 1.”

Flash!

Historia’s entire body shone.

The remaining life, the divinity that sealed his energy, and all his wishes began to be contained in one spell.

It was no ordinary spell.

That radiance was the most fitting for the word ‘final flame.’

Pain arose.

But it was bearable.

In the midst of it, his eyes met Yuren’s.

His expression hardened like stone.

Historia conveyed his apologies with his eyes.

And with his lips, he mouthed the words.

‘Please.’

And so,

“Seal.”

Whooosh―!

The spell was cast.

Light enveloped Verheim.

* * *

As Verheim was engulfed in the radiance, he heard a voice within the warmth.

-Become the morning star that brightens the dark night. I am called the one who illuminates your path, I am hope!

The girl exclaimed energetically.

Who is it?

He tried to recall but couldn’t.

Only the conversation from that day remained in his memory.

-How is it? Am I good?

-Mm-hmm.

-Then you should clap!

-Okay…

The girl shouted something and then demanded applause.

He clapped clumsily, not knowing why.

Then the girl said,

-Ver, you should watch and learn!

-Why do I have to learn?

-Because that’s what a doppelganger does!

The girl had no logic.

She was just incredibly lively.

That, he thought, was quite nice to see.

-We have to work hard so people can laugh.

-Do we have to make them laugh…?

-Of course! Laughter brings fortune! The more people laugh, the more people believe in hope!

The girl was persistent but pure.

She was the most brilliantly shining person Verheim knew.

Her bashful smile was charming.

He admired the way she would lead him and run anywhere.

I was grateful for the stories that kept me company late into the dark nights.

The girl was the world of Verheim.

“I hope everyone smiles. Got it? Ver, you have to help! The saint is the avatar of the god!”

And so it seemed.

“…Yes, promise.”

“Good! We made a promise!”

There was a promise.

My heart ached.

This was a memory that Verheim had never forgotten for a moment.

And it was a memory that should never be forgotten.

In that memory, Verheim erased the false name he had given himself.

‘…No.’

It wasn’t Rebecca.

This warmth, this vitality, and this laughter.

It fluttered in dazzling pure white, not pastel tones.

It embedded the golden color of the sun into the snow, not the green of the trees.

It was absurd that I had forgotten it.

So Verheim opened his eyes.

Crack―!

Chains of radiance were binding his entire body.

Clear tears began to flow from Verheim’s eyes, covering the bloody tears.

His expression twisted.

In the distance, he saw Historia collapsing.

Because there was a true memory that he had destroyed himself.

[Ria…]

He called that name with a cracked voice.

The contamination had stabilized before he knew it.

Therefore, his mind was becoming clearer.

Verheim did not want to believe what he had done.

So his hand reached out on its own.

At that moment, something covered his field of vision.

“You b*stard.”

A menacing aura pressed down on his entire body.

The outstretched hand could not reach her.

Instead,

Crack!

It was crushed by the rod wielded by a man like a beast.

With excruciating pain, the beast’s hide began to peel off his body.

* * *

The strength drained from the hand holding the sacred tree.

The body, having excessively consumed mana, screamed.

Breath came in gasps.

In that state, he saw the saint collapse and lose consciousness.

The final seal had bought time to sever the last thread of corruption.

The mutated body had completely reverted to that of a human.

Thus, victory was achieved.

Yet, the heart was not at ease.

“Yuren? Are you alright…?”

Ignoring the prince’s words, I turned around immediately.

I headed towards the fallen Historia.

My head was hot.

My insides pounded.

The sight of her sleeping like a corpse disturbed my vision.

Could it be, that she would die like this again?

Was she planning to sacrifice herself and leave?

That thought wouldn’t stop, and so, at that moment when I reached out my hand.

“…Hey.”

A long breath escaped.

My face twisted into a frown.

“You’re really reckless. How could you.”

“Ha ha…”

Historia laughed weakly.

With a breath that was soon to die.

But, it was a fortunate thing.

‘Still alive.’

So, it could still be undone.