Chapter 66
What is a dark mage?
By the dictionary definition, a dark mage is a mage who uses dark magic,
and dark magic usually consumes life force as its resource instead of mana.
“Hmm….”
“You still refuse to open your mouth. Even with a magical restriction placed on you, things have gone this far. You should be confessing on your own and begging me to kill you by now.”
And then there was the Black Star Cult, the foremost of the dark mage organizations.
Their method of recruitment was to voluntarily take in orphans and offer them as sacrifices for dark magic.
These neat-and-tidy fellows even erased the memories of those who quit halfway through, making them practically gentle by the standards of dark mage organizations.
“Blegh, gack, please, stop, I’ll talk, so─!”
“Persistent little bastard. Since it’s come to this, I’ll put you through the spin cycle!”
“No─!!!”
That was why the clergy felt not even the slightest hesitation about beating the hell out of dark mages.
Why show mercy to people who had abandoned being human in the first place?
- Bzzzzzzzz~!
“Guegegegegegegek!!!”
Thus, the dark mage, firmly secured inside the washing machine’s drum, began spinning round and round as the metal support around his neck ground into his neck.
With an Akion-made motor installed, this washing machine was an ultra-high-performance model.
In terms of specifications, it was practically identical to the modern washing machines from Akion’s previous life.
- Bzzzzzzzzz!!!
- Rattle-rattle-rattle!!
“Gwoooooooooouooooooooo?!!”
The spin function could rotate it at approximately 1,200 rpm, after all.
Though for the dark mage fixed at the center of the drum, it was the worst possible situation!
Of course, if his limbs had not been secured, every joint would have dislocated at around 300 rpm,
and during the spin cycle, which passed 600 rpm and exceeded 1,000 rpm, every bodily fluid, including blood, would struggle to escape through the skin.
- Bzzzzzzz….
“Uweeeeeee….”
An ordinary human would have died before reaching this point,
but fortunately—or unfortunately—our dark mages had sturdy bodies as the price of grinding humans up and drinking them down.
“Are you ready to talk now?”
“K-kill, me, please, kill, me….”
Even with every joint dislocated starting from the knuckles of his fingers, and his vision blurred from the rush of blood and bodily fluids,
- Gurgle….
“Tsk. You regenerate even when soaked in holy water.”
“Kill, me… I’ll, tell, you everything….”
“Hmm? What did you just say? You went through all that and still refuse to talk?!”
They would even regenerate halfway.
Thanks to that, they could not die until their heads were cut off.
“Unbelievable!! I had no idea your loyalty to the Black Star Cult was this strong…!!”
“N-no, it’s, not, that… I’ll, talk, so kill me…!!”
“It can’t be helped. We’ll run through one more course!”
“Just, kill─ Gweeeeeeeek!!!”
As an aside, the number-one cause of death among the clergy is dark mage attacks.
So among dark mages,
they say that if it looks like they are about to be captured by the clergy, they are advised to take their own lives instead.
“Oreeeeeeeeek!!!”
Trapped in the washing machine, the dark mage was regretting not biting his tongue as his mind slowly fell apart.
*
The clergy had actually given this cruelly righteous method of use quite a lot of consideration.
“We have carefully, and then even more carefully, examined Saint Akion’s concerns.”
Wasn’t Akion reluctant to see his magical artifacts used to take lives?
In that regard, washing dark mages was perfectly in line with his development intentions.
Q. Is a dark mage a person?
A. No. They are subhuman trash and rags.
Q. Then is it right to put those subhuman ragged pieces of trash into a washing machine and wash them?
A. Yes. They are beings who are not human and must be disciplined with a rod of correction.
Q. But if the dark mage dies, the washing machine will get dirty….
A. It’s fine. These guys are sturdy, so they won’t die.
Q.E.D.
Perfect calculation complete.
“After repeated consideration… we realized that guiding their evil hearts was also our duty.”
Accordingly, the clergy cheerfully shoved the dark mages into the washing machine.
Then they blocked the drain and poured in holy water without restraint,
- Click!
“Gueeeek….”
and even secured the dark mage inside the washing machine with specially made neck restraints to prevent escape.
Thus was born the new method of torture known as ‘washing.’
Akion had watched this entire process from beside the interrogation room, together with the Saint, and…
“No, I mean… whew.”
He was so confused that he did not know whether he should be angry or sad.
First came his initial anger at the fact that it was being used on people.
Then came his second bout of anger at the fact that they were using the washing machine for something other than washing clothes.
“So… what kind of effect does it have?”
But the fact that they were disciplining trash who had cast aside the Heavenly Lord and abandoned their humanity calmed him down one stack.
“Their dark magic has weakened.”
“Oh, my Heavenly Lord.”
The fact that the corruption of those corrupted by dark magic was being washed away calmed him down a second stack….
No, actually, it was his third anger stack.
Akion wanted to shout, ‘Heavenly Lord, is this really what your believers are supposed to be doing?’ several times over.
Of course, ever since developing the incandescent light bulb, Akion had operated on the mindset of, ‘Let’s analyze why this works.’
It was not as if he had never tried.
It was just that….
“By what principle does the dark magic dwelling in their bodies get washed away?”
He had definitely heard the words.
Words like something within divinity exerting some kind of force and producing some kind of effect, that sort of thing.
“We have determined that ○○ effects occur through the action of ○○ on ○○. We will need to conduct further research on the rest… but we believe spiral force was probably the foundation.”
“I see.”
But by the time those words reached his brain, they sounded as if they had been muted.
As if someone had hammered in the words, ‘You will never be able to understand magic for the rest of your life.’
“I can see the future where you’re whining to yourself that I stole your talent for magic, so I’m telling you in advance. I sacrificed that so you could keep your extraordinary brain intact, so don’t whine!”
This was when Akion was reminded of the Heavenly Lord’s oracle.
Right after awakening the memories of his previous life, he had privately regretted being unable to use magic.
“Well… if you’ve given it considerable thought and are putting it to good use, I suppose it isn’t my place to object.”
“I understand and respect your concerns, Saint. And am I not always indebted to you? It is only right that I tell you things like this.”
In any case, although they were using the washing machine for a slightly different purpose, they were using it with good intentions and for a good cause, so Akion saw no need to stop them.
“It’s this one’s turn!! He refused to talk until the very end!!”
“Ah, aah! No! No!! I’d rather talk and die! The one who ordered this was from the West─ Mmph! Mmph!!”
Of course, the clergy did gag the dark mages who wanted to meet an honorable death.
And they did put those gagged dark mages into the washing machine and spin them wildly, just like the previous one.
There did seem to be a hint of personal emotion in those actions, though….
“That one was among the people Sir Denzel captured. Apparently, he grew stronger by tearing people apart and eating them alive.”
“We should put him through the spin cycle.”
- Wooooooooong!!
“Gwoooooooooop!! Gwoooook!!!”
What could possibly be wrong with washing the worst trash in history?
Anyway, all’s well that ends well!
*
And so Akion finished his unintentional visit to the Papal See.
“Akion.”
There, he found the Tower Master standing squarely at the entrance to the Papal See.
More precisely, she had seen the imperial commission that had fallen in front of him after he went to buy drinks, then quietly waited outside for him.
“And Flare. You’ve finished what you came to do, right?”
Come to think of it, the Tower Master was a person of even higher standing than the imperial family,
yet she had steadfastly waited while also taking Flare into consideration.
Of course, Akion noticed the disappointment behind her smile.
This was a date she had looked forward to and even spent a wish ticket on, only for someone to interrupt it.
And Flare, the one who had caused all that trouble,
“Ahem. Then I’ll be going now….”
“Flare. Are you trying to enter without even saying hello?”
“Weeeell, you seeee….”
Having caused the whole mess herself, Flare seemed embarrassed to face the Tower Master and was trying to leave by any means possible.
“Hehe. You dragged Akion away without a word and did not even apologize once. Of course, I am not angry… but I do feel a little disappointed.”
“I would like to apologize to Ancestor for that. However… it is true that Akion’s confirmation was absolutely, truly necessary for what happened a moment ago.”
Should they simply part ways in a situation like this?
Even Akion could tell that the Tower Master and Flare’s relationship would become awkward afterward.
On top of that, the two of them were subtly sending glances toward Akion….
It seemed as though they wanted him to take one side or the other, which put Akion in an even more difficult position.
So Akion said,
“Ah, I’m hungry. Shall we go eat?”
“Hmm? All of a sudden?”
“The sun hasn’t even set yet… Isn’t it too early for dinner?”
and decided to mediate in his own way.
Though the truth was that he found it difficult to choose between them.
“I’m hungry.”
…….
…….
Even so, wasn’t this far too rude to do in front of the Tower Master, known as a pillar of the Empire, and the Seventh Princess?
But it would have been difficult for the Tower Master and Flare, who knew about the seventeen years Akion had spent being persecuted, to scold him for his catastrophic social skills here….
Then, suddenly, both of them noticed Akion’s hands fidgeting.
- Fidget-fidget….
- Clench….
He looked so anxious that the two of them might fight that he seemed just like…
“Pfft.”
“Hehe.”
“What? What is it? Why are you laughing?”
Wasn’t he like a little boy who did not know what to do because his two favorite older sisters were fighting?
Of course, he was an adult, but for some reason, that was the impression the two women received.
“It is nothing. Is it not so?”
“Yes, it’s nothing. Hehe….”
And so, the Tower Master and Flare, who had been subtly engaged in a battle of nerves, both naturally felt their moods lighten.
“Very well, let us see you host us—the pillar of this Empire and the Seventh Princess—with all your heart and soul.”
“Just so you know, I’m pretty picky about food.”
“Leave it to me! Hehe!”
What could they do when they liked a man like this?
They say the person who falls in love first is the one who loses. So they would have to lose.
The two of them reached an unspoken truce for the sake of the peace Akion desired.
*
And Akion entered a restaurant that suited their requests.
It was a place he had learned about through Montefio last time, and apparently one frequently visited by the wealthy and other powerful figures of the Empire.
- Thud!
“Akion Enercis!”
Since it also served to some extent as a salon, it had recently become quite popular among the younger aristocrats.
And there, Akion
“I challenge you to a duel!”
“Why?”
came face-to-face with a bold young nobleman challenging him.
“How did someone like you, an alchemist with no talent for magic who is merely extremely lucky, end up holding an engagement ceremony with Her Highness the Seventh Princess?!”
“I didn’t hold an engagement ceremony.”
Not only was the young man slandering him for having held an engagement ceremony he had never experienced, and with the Seventh Princess at that,
“You must have pressured the imperial family by flaunting some technology they needed…! The only way an incompetent like you could become Her Highness the Seventh Princess’s husband is through something like that! You cunning bastard!”
“I never did that.”
He was suddenly treating Akion like a villain who had shaken His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Khalid Empire to its core.
And although statements like that could constitute insulting the imperial family if taken the wrong way….
“I, Carlos Ventish, as one of the only four members of the Western Union Council and the third son of Marquis Ventish, will rescue Her Highness the Seventh Princess from your treacherous clutches!”
Carlos Ventish continued spouting boundless slander and misunderstanding.
He immediately challenged Akion to a duel.
But there was a problem.
“Tower Master, where is Ventish from?”
“…….”
Akion could not remember where Ventish was from.
Even though they were a marquis family well known throughout the Empire.
“……What did I just hear?”
“You don’t know Ventish?”
“You’re Enercis, and you don’t know Ventish?”
For a moment, the guests at the salon-restaurant began whispering, while the Tower Master rubbed between her brows as though she had developed a headache.
“Young Master. Their territory is right next to yours.”
“……Ah!”
Because their territory was right next door.
The brow-rubbing had been a small reprimand for forgetting something like that.
Thanks to Flare explaining it when she could no longer bear to watch, Akion remembered that they were his neighbors,
and Flare, realizing that too, smacked her forehead. She had also missed her chance to call him out for insulting the imperial family.
- Crack-crack….
As he watched this entire process, something in Carlos’s mind nearly snapped.
He wondered whether Ventish was a family not even worth remembering to the Enercis family.
“It seems the Enercis lot have completely bewitched His Majesty the Emperor. Once you reach the capital, find some way to drag down the Enercis family’s reputation!”
But he was the son of the dignified House Ventish.
His patience would not evaporate over a little scratch like this.
More importantly….
“Malicious rumors, gossip, anything at all!”
“Leave it to me, Father!”
Within his family, Carlos was a talentless wretch, even worse than the youngest child.
That did not mean he was dead last in the line of succession among all those children, though,
so unless his safety was guaranteed somehow… he might meet his end at the hands of his own siblings.
That was why, at the marquis’s command, he was spreading gossip and rumors like the ‘most useless’ child he was.
He was going to attend the academy anyway, and weren’t slander and backbiting the norm wherever nobles gathered?
“Ahem. Akion Enercis. Are you listening?”
But since it had not had much effect, he had come to the salon to drink when he found….
“Yes, sure. Go ahead, Neighbor’s Son.”
“Will you accept my challenge?”
Akion Enercis had suddenly appeared, so Carlos had taken the opportunity to challenge him.
From Carlos’s perspective, either outcome was fine.
If Akion accepted, Carlos could simply crush him, since Akion was even more talentless than he was.
If Akion refused, Carlos only had to spread the rumor all over the Empire that Akion was a coward who had run away from a duel.
“A duel? Can I appoint a representative?”
“No!!”
Perhaps Akion thought winning was all that mattered, honor be damned.
When Akion immediately tried to point at the Tower Master, Carlos hurriedly stopped him.
“Y-you have to step up yourself! If you keep putting forward representatives, your honor will be ruined!!”
Professor Anton Urincev of the Department of Magic, who had been castrated by a Dragon Punch.
He had taken an indefinite leave of absence after that day… and was apparently still recuperating at his family estate.
Carlos wanted to live as a man, so he provoked Akion into coming out personally,
“Was that what this was? I didn’t know. I was ostracized by my family for seventeen years.”
“That is, indeed, a most unfortunate thing….”
but he felt an instant sense of kinship at Akion’s answer.
The treatment an incompetent child received? Carlos knew that better than anyone.
He himself was in the pathetic position of having been assigned the task of damaging the Enercis family’s reputation….
“A-anyway! Will you accept the duel or not?!”
At least that guy could preserve his life with his vaunted magi-engineering.
Carlos, on the other hand, might have his throat slit by his own siblings.
“I know full well that your magical talent is lacking. So I’ll make you a proposal.”
And so Carlos offered an even better proposal to somehow get Akion to accept the duel.
“If you withstand five of my attacks—five—I’ll count it as my loss!”
“Five?”
It was a spectacular offer: Akion only had to withstand five attacks from Carlos!
As soon as he heard the offer, Akion looked back and forth between the academy uniform prototype he was wearing and the Tower Master.
With the hope that perhaps it could block them.
The Tower Master smiled sweetly and said,
“You should be able to manage it with the basic model I’m making now, not that one.”
“Since Young Master Carlos is showing me such consideration, it would be rude to refuse. I accept the duel.”
She pushed Akion forward,
and Akion immediately accepted.
‘Some nobles were unhappy about the new academy uniforms, so this is perfect!’
‘A publicity opportunity! A publicity opportunity!’
Not only would he humiliate Ventish,
but he would also have the chance to advertise how safe the academy uniform was in front of the countless nobles who would flock to the imperial capital.