I Became the Academy’s War Hero-Chapter 21 : Do You Really Have to See Blood Like That? (6)

Chapter 21: Do You Really Have to See Blood Like That? (6)
What the—
How could he possibly see me here?
‘Mana detection? Invisibility detection? Clairvoyance? Or did he use an artifact?’
Countless thoughts stormed through Jack’s head, but he had no choice but to shake them off.
The woman who ran off had obviously gone to call for backup. Targeting her first to prevent that could’ve been a good move—
—but there was no way that Eugene Carter would just stand by and let it happen.
It would be smarter to kill him and leave the scene before any reinforcements arrived.
Once the conclusion was made, there was no reason to hesitate.
Jack gritted his teeth and dropped from the rooftop in one swift motion.
‘He won’t even realize he’s dead…!’
Just before landing, he kicked the air to reduce the impact and instantly closed in from behind.
His right hand aimed for the heart, his left for the back of the head.
His stealth would be broken the moment he attacked, but that would only last for a split second.
Unless his target was already guarding those vital points, there was no way to block it.
Whoosh!
Jack swung his weapon confidently, sure of victory—
—but contrary to his expectations, the blade didn’t even graze the opponent’s clothes, let alone his skin.
Instead, Eugene’s left foot struck him squarely in the abdomen.
“Guh?!”
The unexpected counterattack almost made Jack drop his sword.
He slid back several meters in an instant, glaring up at his opponent.
His subordinate, who had also lunged in for an attack, had been effortlessly flung aside and had retreated to Jack’s side, looking equally shaken.
“…How.”
Both assassins failed to hide their shock as confusion piled upon confusion.
Eugene Carter folded his arms and mocked them.
“You’d better run while I’m still feeling generous.”
“……”
The two quickly regained their poker faces, though the unease didn’t completely fade from their eyes.
“…Captain, should we retreat?”
At his subordinate’s cautious question, Jack firmly shook his head.
“If we go back empty-handed, we’re as good as dead. We have to at least bring back an arm.”
That way, we’ll have an excuse, he thought, narrowing his eyes at his opponent.
‘I don’t know how he managed to react to a surprise attack like that…’
But either way, there was no option but to press forward.
The moment they lost Bernhardt’s protection, the fate of wanted men like them was already sealed.
No matter what they did, death was inevitable.
‘Was the about his mana control being restricted by a curse a lie?’
Jack signaled to his subordinate with a flick of his hand.
A silent order—to attack from his blind spot once Jack created an opening.
His subordinate gave a slight nod.
Jack focused the mana circulating through his body into his arms and legs, biting down hard.
The two charged like lightning, and a faint smile curved on Eugene Carter’s lips.
“That’s more like it.”
The midnight battle didn’t even last five minutes.
“……”
“Urgh…!”
Jack glanced at his subordinate beside him and swallowed a groan.
Even though he had seen it all with his own eyes, he couldn’t comprehend what had happened.
His subordinate’s left ankle had been completely severed.
The bleeding was so severe that even trying to stop it was pointless.
The terrified man desperately crawled away from Eugene, trying to get as far as possible.
With every thrash, fresh blood smeared across the ground in uneven trails.
Eugene Carter let out a small, incredulous laugh at the sight.
“You really must’ve underestimated me.”
“…I didn’t, not exactly.”
Jack Brown steadied his breath and forced a faint smile.
He’d known it was reckless, but he had no other choice—and that decision had been a fatal mistake.
He hadn’t expected the gap between them to be this vast.
‘If this had been Eugene Carter in his prime… I would’ve lost my head in the first exchange.’
Still, he had believed that if he risked his life, he could at least take the man down with him.
After all, Eugene wasn’t in perfect condition, and Jack had heard that someone had already weakened him beforehand.
So, Jack had unleashed his family’s secret techniques in all directions, pressing Eugene with everything he had.
It must have had some effect—during the fight, Eugene Carter had exposed three clear openings.
The perfect opportunities created by his captain—his subordinate hadn’t missed a single one.
Yet the result had been disastrous.
Even when they struck at what seemed like the perfect timing, Eugene had parried every attack flawlessly.
The last counter had even sliced his subordinate’s ankle clean off.
Even the attacks from dead angles—positions where physical counterattacks were impossible—had been met as if Eugene could see them coming.
‘I can’t make sense of it… but that’s reality.’
At first, they had been careless. Then, they had grown desperate. And finally, they had fought with their lives on the line—
—but the outcome hadn’t changed.
Jack glanced sideways at his injured subordinate, biting his lip hard.
‘…I shouldn’t have answered the call of some servant.’
From Bosnus to Kalte, to Hallard—the Brown family had once been known throughout history as one of the great houses of assassins.
But that was a thing of the past. By Jack’s generation, the family had completely collapsed, and he’d been forced to abandon their old base.
His escape had led him to the Ribenia Empire.
There, on the brink of his own end, his team had been miraculously taken in by Bernhardt.
What Bernhardt demanded from them was simple—to act as his tools.
The moment they failed in that role, their worth would vanish completely.
So instead of resisting or running, Jack chose to regret his rash decision.
He was certain that, whatever he did, his fate wouldn’t change.
As if answering his resignation, Eugene Carter began walking toward them, step by step.
He elegantly adjusted his wand and rotated his wrist once.
Then—
Fwoosh!
A sudden flame erupted near his subordinate’s left ankle.
“AAAAAGH!!”
The stench of burning flesh filled the air.
The fire soon went out, but the man had already passed out from the pain.
‘The bleeding… stopped.’
Had another minute passed, he would’ve been as good as dead.
A small question began to sprout amid the inevitable outcome.
‘…No way.’
Was he planning to let us live?
But why?
“Hey, assassin.”
While Jack failed to hide the unrest on his face, Eugene’s voice reached his ears.
“I’ll let you go. Just leave.”
Words that he never could’ve imagined hearing.
My words must’ve been quite a shock, because the assassin couldn’t even close his mouth.
After several seconds of silence, he finally managed to haul his wounded companion to his feet before asking,
“…Are you out of your mind?”
“Yeah.”
“You know who sent us, right?”
“Bernhardt.”
At my calm reply, his eyes widened even further.
“…And you’re still letting us go?”
“Yeah.”
“……”
Well, of course he wouldn’t understand. Idiots who knew nothing never did.
They had no idea that I’d blocked all their attacks using the basic stances of Illusion Swordsmanship and enhancement magic.
The assassin took out an artifact from his pocket and infused it with a small amount of mana.
The tiny artifact, no bigger than a finger joint, instantly expanded into a large leather pouch.
He struggled to stuff his companion’s body inside and tie it shut, after which the pouch shrank back to its original size.
He tucked it away again and glared at me.
“…You’ll regret this, Eugene Carter.”
That was the last thing he said to me.
As I watched him dart toward the rooftops and disappear, I snorted softly.
“Ever since MAGA started, my whole life’s been a regret, you bastard.”
By then, the barrier surrounding the area had completely vanished.
‘Must’ve been a soundproof or spatial distortion barrier.’
Nighttime Karbenna was so silent that not even the sound of insects could be heard.
And then—
After the battle had ended, Rubia finally returned.
“Sir Eugene! Quickly, your sword—ah?”
“You’re here.”
“The enemies! Where are they?”
“They ran.”
“What do you mean, they ran…?”
Ignoring Rubia’s demand for an explanation, I quickened my pace toward the Mage Studies Hall.
“Let’s talk as we walk. It’s not something to discuss out here.”
As we moved, I sorted through the possibilities one by one, ruling out the unlikely ones.
As I’d suspected, Michel’s involvement in this incident was now extremely improbable.
If she had been the one to hire the assassins, they would’ve been ten times stronger than this.
‘Strong enough that I wouldn’t have been able to handle them in my current state.’
It also seemed unlikely that any of Bernhardt’s direct line was personally involved—this operation had been far too sloppy.
Adding Walter’s earlier advice, the information I already had, and the assassins’ reactions… the conclusion became simple.
‘Someone affiliated with Bernhardt—but not actually Bernhardt himself.’
An assassin hired by someone at that level.
And within Karbenna, there was only one person who fit all those conditions.
I brushed my lips with my thumb and let out a dry chuckle.
‘Pretty bold for just a servant.’
Of course, it was obvious he hadn’t planned this alone.
Given his age, his tenure as a servant was likely long enough for him to have easy contact with assassins.
But he didn’t seem like the type with the guts to order an assassination all by himself.
He must’ve had collaborators—and someone backing him from behind the scenes.
The fact that they targeted me directly meant they had quite a bit of interest in the triangle between the Imperial Family, the Special Forces, and Karbenna.
In truth, whether I lived or died probably didn’t matter to them.
What they wanted was simply to keep Michel Bernhardt in check.
A direct descendant who, more than anyone, resented the Imperial Family—yet whose position within Bernhardt was still unstable.
‘…In other words, there’s only one person that could be.’
The fourth daughter of the Bernhardt family, Chloe Bernhardt.
‘I didn’t think she’d stoop to something this petty…’
But if she really wanted to see blood, I had no reason to hold back.
I entered the familiar front gate of the Mage Studies Hall and climbed the left-hand staircase toward the Department of Herbology.
Rubia followed behind me, her face filled with a mess of emotions.
Third floor—Professor Office No. 4 of the Herbology Department.
A faint light leaked through the crack beneath the door.
Only then did I turn to face Rubia.
“Sorry I couldn’t explain earlier.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for, but… why the Herbology Department?”
“It’s a rather serious matter. I thought it’d be best if we weren’t the only ones discussing it.”
Saying that, I pushed the door open.
And inside—
“Whoa, what the—?!”
—was Walter Clark, fast asleep among a mess of bottles and glasses scattered across the floor.