Chapter 44: Aftermath
I heard, the sickening thud of Lord Sapphire’s head hitting the ground. Herald, the hero’s master, the living legend, stood before me, his blue-glowing eye fixed on me, the severed head of my ’adopted father’ barely an afterthought.
"But it doesn’t matter," Herald said, his voice as calm, utterly devoid of remorse. "You would work with me whether you like it or not, because what I would tell you, about the cult will utterly ruins your world."
My breath hitched. The mana saturation had lessened after Lord Sapphire’s death – Herald must had closed his Mythic Dragon’s Eye again . He knew. He knew I had "special abilities." He knew enough to be here, to make this horrifying, brutal play.
"How... how did you know?" I managed to say, my voice hoarse. My mind raced, trying to reconcile the novel’s lore with this immediate, terrifying reality. Herald in the novel sought out the hero’s system, to help aid him in his fight against the cult. But how specific was his knowledge?
"This," he said, tapping a finger lightly against his closed left eye. "One of its main abilities. It sees beyond the veil, discerns unique signatures." He paused, his gaze unblinking. "But I will refuse to explain further until we can have a proper discussion. Away from... this mess." He gestured vaguely to the carnage surrounding us, his voice utterly non-chalant, as if discussing a slight inconvenience rather than a brutal massacre.
He knew enough to see I was different. That was critical information. My secret, my core ability, was already partially exposed.
"From henceforth," Herald continued, his voice firm, leaving no room for argument, "you will be my disciple. I your master, and we will be leaving here immediately."
My mind immediately rejected the idea. Follow him? A man like Herald, who just brutally murdered a noble and effortlessly slaughtered an entire guard detachment?who drew the attention of the continent’s most dangerous people? That went completely against my desire to survive. My entire strategy was about being an unnoticed extra, staying out of the spotlight, altering the main plot points if needed. Following Herald would throw me directly into the core narrative conflict. He was an eye-catching target for dangerous people, which would undoubtedly put me at extreme harm. I needed to maintain my low profile.
"I can’t," I stated, my voice firmer than I expected. "I have... an exam. The Sword Knight entrance exam. It’s in less than a month. I’ve already committed to it. Lord Sapphire—" I almost corrected myself, thelate Lord Sapphire—"had arranged for my training. I can’t just abandon that. It would raise too many questions within the manor. Too much suspicion."
Herald’s faint, grim smile did not waver. "I know about your sudden interest in the Academy." He paused, his gaze softening almost imperceptibly, a flicker of something in his blue eye that bordered on understanding. "And yes, I will train you. You will pass that exam and you will enter the Academy as you desired."
It this wasn’t an escape route. It was a new, equally dangerous path. "Won’t me entering the Academy go against your plan to defeat the cult?" I pressed, forcing myself to sound merely curious, not desperate. "If you’re hunting the cult, why not... Stop me from entering the Academy, I thought you neede my ’special abilities’?"