TL/N: Fajin is a martial arts technique wherein the user unleashes a strong pulse or shock wave of ki into their target.
It happened just as I stepped into Evan’s room.
In the center of the ceiling, a pitch-black puddle formed. Its darkness spread down the walls like brush strokes as black droplets traced their way downward.
The once spacious room was quickly consumed by total darkness.
Though Evan had just welcomed me inside, he was nowhere to be found.
Faint, mocking laughter echoed from somewhere far away.
Hahahahaha.
I blinked, my eyes straining against the sudden blackout.
“Why draw the curtains on such a beautiful day? What are you, a child of darkness?” I muttered, irritated.
As I was speaking nonsense, I was also taking the chance to calmly look around.Even painting the walls black couldn’t possibly make it this dark... which meant Evan must have used some ability.
The space I was standing in felt quite vast.
In fact, it felt so vast that I didn’t feel like I was confined to a small room—my senses stretched outward in every direction without hindrance.
I walked soundlessly through the darkness.
After taking about twenty steps, a writhing mass of darkness from my right lunged toward me.
Ssshaaak!
I easily sidestepped it, raised my fist, and punched it back.
The darkness splattered like ink, but I didn’t feel any real impact from the blow. It was as if I had just struck muddy water.
Then, from beyond the darkness, came a voice: “It would be wise for you to answer my questions honestly from now on.”
It sounded like Evan. It also sounded like we were in a cave; it was difficult to pinpoint where his voice was coming from.
“And if I don't?”
“You will be trapped here forever.”
“How scary. Go on, ask away.”
“How did you know I’m a vice-cult leader?”
“I had a hunch.”
“...”
“It just so happens that my intuition is rather sharp.”
His laughter echoed once more, and I decided to use the power of the divine beast.
However, serpent’s eye did not rid the darkness around me.
Oh.
With that came a realization: It wasn’t just dark.
The walls all around me were literally painted black.
My initial impression that it resembled brush strokes hadn’t been wrong at all.
Having good night vision was pointless when I used the flow of ki to see.
I immediately concentrated fire ki into my eyes and activated fire eyes.
Fwoosh.
This was the first time I’d ever used these two skills simultaneously, but it came more naturally than I’d expected.
As anticipated, swirling black currents became visible all around me, twisted into chaotic, evil threads.
It was a complex formation—so intricate that most people couldn’t even attempt to untangle it, in fact. But...
For someone like me, who had trained under my second senior sister’s rigorous discipline, it wasn’t all that difficult.
I quickly located the core of its defense and instantly devised a way to break it.
Clenching my fist, I gathered my true ki.
Crunch.
The volume of internal energy surging within me was still far too small to be called an ocean, but it was sizable enough to resemble a lake.
I should be able to use them now.
The White Sun Form’s latter-half-of-the-first-parttechniques.
Calling them the ‘latter-half-of-the-first-part techniques’ sounded shitty, but whatever...
Since my regression, I hadn’t used anything beyond the sixth technique.
The latter techniques of the White Sun Form, from the seventh to the last, not only demanded immense internal energy but also placed a heavy strain on my body. For that reason, I’d not even considered using them before this.
But now I was ready.
My body was solidly conditioned, and my internal energy, while not limitless, was sufficient.
Probably the only technique I couldn’t use right now was the the tenth and final technique.
A technique that I could call my signature move.
Fire ki surged from my inner core, enveloping my entire body.
Ssssss.
In this moment, I sensed Evan, lurking beyond the darkness and watching me intently.
The greatest disadvantage of the latter techniques was that they took a bit of time to prepare. Because of that, in a head-to-head confrontation where every second counted, they were more challenging to execute than I’d like.
Papapat!
Many hands came at me from within the darkness, but they were automatically repelled by the overwhelming energy waves radiating from my body.
I had come up with a strategy to mitigate the shortcomings of such great techniques. While I was concentrating my power, I released fire ki from my entire body to form a flaming barrier.
The reason I hadn’t done this before was, of course, that it required an immense amount of internal energy.
Now.
The moment the concentration of my inner energy reached its peak, I took a large step forward, almost in slow motion.
Though it wasn’t intentional, it felt as if I stepped over a threshold as the very space around me shook and trembled.
I imbued my fists with the essence of fajin and bunched up all the muscles from my arms to my legs. I slowly pulled my arms back, and then...
White Sun Form, Seventh Technique.
Twin Flames.
I struck the dark, empty air.
KWA-BOOOM!
The twin impacts of my fists created a thunderous sound.
The two blows created shockwaves that rippled through the atmosphere, and the point where the waves met wavered and bent, unable to withstand the raw power.
From the space within, the dark wall strained and strained until, finally...
CRAAAACK!
The black wall splintered like a pane of glass...
Revealing Evan on the other side, sitting on his bed with a dumbfounded look on his face.
He stammered, “Wh-what the Hell.”
* * * * *
* * * * *
I surged forward, quickly closing the distance to the panicked Evan.
Evan's eyes widened as he snapped back to his senses and drew his sword.
“...”
The moment I saw that, I deliberately—slightly—slowed my attack.
Clang!
My fist, infused with ki, was practically invulnerable to blades, unless the wielder was a master swordsman.
And a room this small was not a good environment to wield a sword in.
It didn’t take me long to seize him by the collar.
Evan grabbed my wrist in a desperate attempt to pry me off, but it was a futile struggle, like the last thrashings of an animal already caught in a snare.
I slammed Evan down onto the bed.
Craaaack...
The bed, unable to absorb the full impact, buckled and sank beneath him.
Evan coughed harshly as his breaths came out ragged.
Taking advantage of the moment, I snatched both his sword and my Sword of Seven Sins, and drove them into the mattress in an X-shape right above his throat...
Stab!
Just a hair’s width from his neck. One wrong move and his throat would be cut.
But...
“...Pft!”
Evan suddenly began to laugh. He looked amused despite the pain that had to be radiating from his back.
Did he still have some trick up his sleeve?
I tilted my head and looked down at him. Oddly, I noticed that he wasn’t even trying to struggle against me.
“...How kind of you to throw me on the bed.”
“We don’t want to have to worry about noise complaints, right?
“What? Oh.”
It took Evan a moment to realize that his room was on the second floor, but when he did, he again began to laugh, It seemed he found that very amusing.
Eventually, he turned to me, his eyes harboring a wicked glint. “Ah. That was fun,” he said. “You can kill me now.”
“...”
“You were a lot more fun than I thought. It might not be such a bad way to go, dying by your hand.”
I’d expected more resistance, but he was surprisingly calm, almost nonchalant. All it would take was a slight press on the hilt, but...
Instead, I asked, “When did you awaken as a vice-cult leader?”
“So you even know about the awakening?”
“Answer the question if you don’t want to get hurt.”
“Oh, does that mean you’ll spare me if I do a good job answering your questions?”
“Depends. If I like your answers, I might hold off on chopping off your head.”
“Well then, I’d better give it my all, huh?” he said with a smirk. “I awakened just last night.”
“...You mean you died last night?”
“That’s right. It was quite an unexpected death.”
“Who? How?” I asked, not actually expecting an answer.
But with an unexpected cheeky grin, Evan responded, “A cultist. I let my guard down and went straight to the afterlife.”
“A cultist?”
“Well, to be precise, I died to a trap set by a cultist. A word of advice: Don’t bother checking out the research wing. It’s already a lost cause.”
Watching Evan cackle to himself, I pulled one of the swords free from its sheath.
He let out a small sigh as the pressure lifted slightly.
“Next question. What happened to the original Evan?”
“The original Evan?”
“The one I used to know.”
“Ah.” Evan smirked slightly. “That Evan. He’s dead, of course.”
I neared Evan and gripped the remaining sword firmly in my hand.
If I brought it down, I would most definitely slit his defenseless throat.
“...”
But I did not.
“...Wh—?” Evan nervously fumbled with his neck, as if to make sure it was still attached. “Weren't you going to kill me?”
“If I were going to kill you, I would have done so immediately. Why else would you still be alive?”
“To extract information about the cult?”
“Well, that’s part of it.”
“Hmm... I can’t think of any other reason.”
“You used Raven earlier.”
Evan paused.
“Raven is a complicated sword technique. It’s not something you can just pick up by glancing over someone’s shoulder.”
Most people, when faced with a crisis, instinctively resorted to moves they were familiar with.
Evan had done exactly that. In a moment of crisis, Evan had responded with Raven without a moment's hesitation.
That was where my question came from.
Evan smiled. “So, what? Because you see Evan Helvin in me, you’re saying you’ll let things play out while keeping an eye on me?”
“Don't be mistaken. Killing you would be easy. I can do it any time, any day, without breaking a sweat. But if I just get rid of you like this, it’ll feel too much like unfinished business, so I want to make sure.”
The truth was, that wasn’t the only reason I felt a sense of unease.
“Of course, you might have absorbed all of the old Evan’s memories, knowledge, experience, and skills when you awakened as a vice-cult leader... but that doesn’t explain the commotion last night.”
“Last night?”
“When you beat Talis to a pulp. You said it was because House Helvin had been insulted, right? If you were truly a vice-cult leader, it would be none of your business what happened to that family.”
“...”
“At this point, I’m curious too. What exactly is your current condition?”
Evan smirked. “Funny you ask. It seems you don’t know much about vice-cult leaders.
“...”
“Fine, I’ll give you an answer. First of all, there’s no such thing as ‘the original Evan.’ Technically, I am the Evan you knew.”
Though he still had that annoying grin plastered on his face, his tone now was serious. I remained silent, so he continued his explanation.
“So you thought that when someone awakens as a vice-cult leader, their original ego vanishes and is replaced by a different one, like they’ve been possessed by an evil spirit?”
“Is that not what happens?”
“No.”
“Still, you’re so different from the Evan I knew.”
His expression suddenly turned grave. “People change,” he said.
“...You’re right, but it’s still strange to see someone change so much in just two days.”
“Maybe from your perspective, but don’t you think ten years is enough time for a person to change?”
“Ten years?”
“When you awaken as a vice-cult leader, the memories of evil engraved in your lineage reawaken, but the quantity varies. It depends on the emotions you held just before you died.”
“...”
I recalled the high priest Juan’s words.
—And you’ve given him the most horrific death possible. Haha! Evan Helvin will be reborn as the greatest vice-cult leader to have ever existed!
Hmm...
So, the shittier the death, the more memories of evil reawakened?
That explained Evan’s current state.
How should I put it?
He looked... strangely bland, as if all his venom had drained away.
From the way he talked, his death must have been rather abrupt... It sounded like he hadn’t had the chance to fully savor the deep, dark emotions of his death.
If that was why fewer “memories of evil” had awakened in him, and therefore why he had a relatively untainted mind...
...Of course, it was still too early to make a judgment like that.
I couldn’t take everything he said at face value.
But...
It was hard to deny that ten years could change a person.
I was a living example.
Anyway, while my biggest question had been answered, another had arisen.
I looked at Evan and asked, “Why did you act like you wanted to die just now?”
“...”
“The fact that you got caught as a vice-cult leader is one thing. I’m very good at sniffing things out. But your response after being caught was pathetic: You admitted defeat immediately after you were subdued, and then you started yapping about how I should just kill you.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Every cultist I’ve ever encountered was far more tenacious than you. Even when they recognized the gap in our strength, they threw themselves at me with no regard for their own life, like rabid dogs.”
“...”
Evan smiled faintly and replied, “Because it’d be pointless.”
I glared at Evan. “What do you mean?”
He didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he rose from the bed and walked over to the window. “You ask why I acted like I have no more reason to live? It’s simple. Right now, I’m as good as dead.”
“What?”
“Honestly, so is everyone in the academy right now.” Evan chuckled, his shoulders shaking with amusement. “Want some advice? Get the hell out of the academy while you still can. If you’re lucky, you might just make it out.”
“What are you talking about?”
“What do you think? This place is already Hell.” Evan looked at me with a blank expression. “You mentioned wanting to ask something about the cult, right?” he said. “By the way you’re speaking, it seems like you’ve caught on to what’s happening here... but a little too late.”
Evan turned his gaze out the window.
The sun was just beginning to set, casting a warm, crimson glow across the world. Beneath that vibrant sky, the river flowed lazily.
The muffled, far-away laughter of academy students drifted pleasantly up to the room and danced around my ears.
Evan took in the scene like it was a work of art before he spoke.
“The demon lord has already been summoned.”