Episode 1015

“A truly despicable and cunning fellow. Everyone, be careful!”

Even without Lee Han saying it, the expedition members were already on high alert.

They were deep in the underground waterways outside the capital, tracking a monster from another dimension.

Anyone who appeared here simply could not be an ordinary person.

“I’ll take the lead, support me.”

“Yes.”

The knight-turned explorer poured mana explosively into his sword. Undulating aura shimmered above the blade.

The rest of the team quickly drew crossbows, ready to provide covering fire the moment their colleague charged.

The evil-god-worshipping elf responded to this savage atmosphere in a way no one expected.

He knelt down with both arms raised.

“I surrender. I’ve met the monster—there’s no way I can win.”

“……”

“……”

The explorers were flustered, but didn’t let up, immediately paralyzing and subduing their opponent.

“Alsicle, interrogate him.”

“Alright, got it. Frost, keep trespassers away.”

Alsicle took custody of the paralyzed cultist and cast a mental protection spell.

An enemy with a twisted, maddened soul like an evil-god worshiper could spread their madness just by revealing their inner thoughts, even when otherwise completely subdued—unless you were the kind of maniac who tasted acid from another dimension to test toxicity, you needed protective magic.

“You’re an evil-god worshiper, right? Which god do you serve?”

“……”

They relaxed the muscles near the vocal cords enough for the elf to speak, but he said nothing.

Alsicle frowned.

There were usually two types of evil-god worshipers:
One would rant madly and try to spread their insanity.

The other would keep their mouth shut in absolute conviction, trapped in their own world.

This elf seemed to be the latter—a far tougher target for interrogation.

“Doesn’t look like he’ll answer?”

“No. Interrogating here seems pointless. We should take him back.”

“You want to retreat?”

“Given how sideways this has gone, retreat is probably wisest.”

The explorer shot Alsicle a dissatisfied look.

They’d invested so much time and resources to chase a monster from another dimension, and now they had to fall back over one intruder?

“!”

Looking at Alsicle, the team member was startled. Their friend’s eyes were brimming with unshed tears.

Tears of regret and injustice.

‘…I was a fool. Alsicle must be just as disappointed as me!’

While the explorer and Alsicle shared a moment of empathy, Lee Han was dumbfounded.

“Uh, is it really so bad you’d cry?”

“I’m not crying! It’s the dampness from other-dimensional erosion!”

Alsicle shouted in denial.

Not even glimpsing the monster’s tail truly stung, but there was nothing to be done.

‘Is she really crying over this?’

Lee Han suddenly felt a bit sorry, and wanted to help, so he tried speaking to the evil-god cultist.

“If you have any comrades with you, at least tell us that. We’ll take it into account. If you end up in Einrogard’s punishment room, I’ll make sure you get extra food…”

“Alright. My comrades are as follows. Magic criminal Kitarenanum. He’s contracted a powerful demon, which is why he’s chasing the monster. The separatist, Bashirmak. He—”

“??!?”

“????!!!”

The team were all shocked at the sudden mention of two most-wanted criminals.

“Kitarenanum is here!?”

“That Bashirmak, I thought he’d fled overseas…!”

“Wait. Why is he suddenly talking?”

Alsicle was first to voice her suspicion.

He’d just been clammed up as if he’d never speak again—why the sudden flood of names?

“My guess is…”

Lee Han said gravely, and Alsicle listened closely.

This boy had gotten the cultist to talk. He clearly had insight.

“…Perhaps it’s Einrogard’s punishment room’s infamous reputation that got him talking…”

“…Would an evil-god cultist care about that!!!”

Alsicle shouted in utter exasperation.

A regular criminal might fear the punishment room, but evil-god cultists? They were in a category of madness all their own.

“Why did you talk? Answer!”

“……”

When Alsicle demanded, the elf fell silent again. Then Lee Han asked,

“If you want extra food, answer properly.”

“Alright. The reason I spoke is so as not to provoke the monster.”

“???”

Lee Han was baffled.

The content of the answers, and even the reason for answering, was incomprehensible.

“Maybe it was because I was polite? Like, when you compliment Lady Alsicle’s ice magic, and she eats an extra sardine…”

“How, how did you know that…! No—never mind.”

Alsicle felt the urge to scold Wardanaz’s keen perception, but there were too many more urgent priorities.

“Let’s ask something else first. What monster do you mean?”

“You must mean the extra-dimensional monster. Why ask something so obvious…”

Lee Han started to scold Alsicle, but stopped.

The elf was pointing at him with their chin.

“……”

“…This sneaky bastard is trying to sow discord?!”

“P-please calm down, wizard.”

The expedition members rushed to hold Lee Han back.

‘Strange.’

Alsicle fell into thought.

Evil-god cultists weren’t usually crafty. Their minds, warped by madness, always gave themselves away somehow.

For one to attempt such a feeble bit of discord was unlike them.

Maybe he really did see Wardanaz as a monster…

“Are you from the Prahgal Order?”

Alsicle asked, just in case.

Considering what the Prahgal Order had suffered, it wouldn’t be strange for them to see Wardanaz as a monster.

“……”

Of course, there was no answer. Alsicle sighed deeply.

“Wardanaz. Ask him for me…”

“Are you from the Prahgal Order?”

“No. I serve the Great Prophet.”

“If it’s the Great Prophet then…”

“Ksasakharigol Order.”

The team grimaced in disgust.

Among cultists, some even considered it blasphemy to speak their god’s true name.

Great Prophet was the title the Ksasakharigol Order gave their god.

If Prahgal was the god of life (at least from his followers’ perspective), Ksasakharigol was the god of prophecy.

Those who worshipped this evil god would do anything for “perfect” foresight.

Not for its utility, but as a goal in itself.

If visions seemed about to go astray, they’d forcibly twist reality—that was these maniacs.

No wonder the team found them especially abhorrent. Cultists in general weren’t popular, but the Ksasakharigol were infamous for their principles.

The sort who’d set fire to a city, then insist, “These people were destined to die…”

“Regardless of your Great Prophet or not, why call me a monster?”

‘Was it because I tasted the acid to check for toxicity?’

One team member thought silently.

But the elf’s reasoning was unexpectedly different.

“You’re a monster who devours prophecy.”

“…He’s trying to sow discord again!”

“C-calm down! Wardanaz! Just ask him calmly!”

“…What do you mean, monster who devours prophecy?”

The cultist calmly explained.

When one tries to foresee the world, some targets are easy to predict, others hard.

And among them, some rare anomalies, when “detonated,” can twist all prophecies.

The cultists called them monsters who devour prophecy.

“If you recklessly provoke him, up to half a year’s worth of predictions could be ruined. I’ll answer any questions—just don’t go berserk.”

The reason for surrender was simple.

If he fought and provoked Lee Han into going on a rampage, all his prophecies would unravel.

The reason he ratted out his comrades was the same.

If they moved without information and provoked Lee Han, unleashing a rampage, all their foresight would fall apart!

“Isn’t this just an attempt to sow discord??”

Lee Han, greatly vexed, threatened to toss him into the acid pool, and Alsicle calmed him down.

“There’s some truth to it.”

“How’s that?! Are you siding with him, Alsicle?!”

“No, no, that’s not what I mean. It’s an actual concept! And you’ve got so many contracts.”

Some cornered rats bite cats, but nobody could predict what the Wardanaz magician would do when pressed.

Alsicle could already count several transdimensional beings contracted to him…

“There’s the Spirit King, and Lady Gonadaltes.”

“A skeleton? He’s not that strong.”

“…The headmaster. You lunatic.”

Alsicle shivered again at Wardanaz’s apocalyptic naming sense.

“Oh. But the headmaster isn’t a contracted entity…”

“A master-disciple bond is a contract, too. Anyway, my point is, he’s not talking total nonsense.”

Lee Han eyed the elf suspiciously.

He was partially convinced, but not completely.

“If you’re so worried about provoking me, why even come here?”

“You weren’t likely to show up here in the first place.”

“Hah! Hear him making excuses!”

“Wardanaz. Calm down and get some info…!”

“Understood.”

Lee Han gave up on harassment and focused on getting information.

A magic criminal, a separatist, even an apocalyptic mage.

With henchmen that brutal, it was an astonishing gathering.

“Is the monster really that valuable?”

“It’s a creature from the dimensional void. If it can be tamed, it’s worth more than any monster in the Empire.”

“!!!”

The whole party, Lee Han included, was stunned.

A wizard studying dimensional magic learns to distinguish safe from dangerous planes.

But beyond those are the voids, the open sea outside the charted realms. Places even exploration cannot touch.

If the monster came from such a void, it was in a league of its own.

“Shouldn’t we be trying to destroy it, not contain it?”

“The monster seems even stronger than we expected. We must report this immediately.”

“Defeated.”

The elf abruptly spoke. Lee Han, not surprised, shouted,

“Wait, you mean us? Alsicle! You see? This guy is trying to trick and mislead us with false prophecy, again.”

“Not you. The other intruders underground have been defeated.”

“……”

The team was aghast that the class of criminals mentioned earlier had already been defeated.

What???

“The monster, hurry and take it upstairs. Whatever you do, don’t provoke it.”

“Hah. Didn’t see your allies losing coming, huh?”

“That possibility was included in the foresight. As long as this monster doesn’t go berserk, it doesn’t matter.”

The elf talked about the void creature running wild in the sewers as a lesser disaster than Lee Han rampaging.

Lee Han nodded.

“I’ve gotten all I wanted. Mind if I shut him up again?”

“Hold on a bit. Please, Wardanaz.”