Chapter 187: Growing Misunderstandings

“Wh-what did you say?”

Breaking the long silence, the one who had an outburst first was, as expected, Karina Zain.

“Where do you think you are, how dare you!”

The kids all assumed a combat stance.

Only one person, Yuria, was just staring at me.

Just then, Professor Ilai appropriately intervened and mediated.

“Calm down, everyone.”

“What? Professor! It’s the Skull Mask! He’s a villain!”

“We know that too.”

Section Chief Baron turned to me and said.

“Could you step aside for a moment? I think I need to explain to the kids.”

As Section Chief Baron requested, I moved away.

In that state, I raised my senses.

The whispering voices of Section Chief Baron and Professor Ilai, as they persuaded the kids, pierced my ears.

“He is here to help us. Shall we call it a temporary alliance?”

“An alliance? No. You’re saying you’re forming an alliance with a villain? Are you in your right mind?”

“Do you mean to say that you, Section Chief and Professor, trust the Skull Mask?”

The kids’ reactions were quite intense.

“No. We don’t trust him.”

“But for now, we have no choice. If not for that person, we can’t do anything about that barrier.”

The two conveyed the explanations I had given them on the way up to the kids.

The demon’s barrier.

It was not created by magical power, but a unique domain authority that only special beings could use.

A demon’s technique, called [Evil Earth].

So its properties are different from general protective barriers and seals.

Damage and destruction are only possible by a being of a class equal to or higher than the demon who cast it.

It ignores all other life forms and powers.

That means that to break that barrier, demons, who are beings split from the demon god, or angels, who are the representatives of the Lord, must come.

A ruler of a dimension like a spirit or a dragon.

As if to prove those words, no matter how much the knights swung their swords just before.

And even now, a company of the magic corps, who had appeared out of nowhere, was pouring magic into the barrier, but the barrier was not even budging.

“I can’t believe it. Then does that mean even my father can’t do anything about that barrier?”

Karina asks with a look of disbelief as she watches the scene.

“Yes.”

Professor Ilai nodded her head firmly.

It was a hard-to-believe answer.

The one who had mastered fire-attribute magic, which boasts the strongest destructive power among attribute magic, to the human limit and received the title of Grand Mage was Duke Zain.

But even if Duke Zain came, he couldn’t break that barrier?

Are demons really that strong?

“……No way. I can’t believe it.”

“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

Just then, Ivan, who was next to her, asked.

“Then what about Professor Ilai’s divine power? I know that demons and divine power are polar opposites. Doesn’t divine power work?”

Professor Ilai shook her head with a bitter smile.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t be of much help either. To break that barrier with divine power, at least His Holiness the Pope of the Holy Kingdom or the Archpontiff must come in person……”

The distance for the Pope in the Holy Kingdom to come here was too far.

Also, the Grand Cathedral’s Archpontiff Vantert was currently on a pilgrimage.

Both were realistically impossible to achieve.

“Then does that person have a way?”

Yuria’s question, which had suddenly cut in.

At that, I could feel everyone’s eyes turn to me at once.

“……So he says.”

“Huu.”

“Oh my.”

Reactions filled with a deep sense of futility and powerlessness erupted.

The subsequent actions were, well, obvious.

No matter what opinions were thrown around and what methods were persuaded, in the end, the only lifeline was to ‘for now’ trust me, the Skull Mask.

Watching that process from beginning to end, I felt quite a bit of fatigue.

‘They’re making a fuss even when I’m trying to help. To not be able to trust people like this.’

Well, since I’m a villain, I guess I understand.

But from my perspective, I was doing a good deed with a good heart, so to be suspected like this, honestly, my mood was not very good.

As I was enduring the slowly creeping irritation, Section Chief Baron approached, as if the persuasion had ended.

“Skull Mask.”

“Call me Jack. If you don’t want to see the knights swarming in and making a mess.”

“Hmm. Understood.”

“Alright, is the explanation over?”

“It is.”

Still, it didn’t take as long as I thought.

I nodded my head in satisfaction and stood in front of the kids.

As expected, the way they looked at me was not good.

‘Of course.’

I didn’t expect to be persuaded right away.

I asked Karina, who seemed to have the most complaints about the current situation.

“You don’t trust me?”

“Hmph. Do you even have to ask?”

I let out a small laugh.

“Alright. Since it seems there are still people with complaints, I’ll add one last thing.”

“……”

“I, who am here, am a villain, but in reality, I am a human just like you. And the bastards called demons are the ancient enemies of our human race. My reason for helping you should be sufficiently explained by this. Shall we call it a truce to face a common enemy? I am a thief, but a thief who wants to live in the human world, not in hell.”

The suspicious gazes that had been on me softened a little, as if they were convinced.

“The reason I bothered to say this even when we have no time is because from now on, we must cooperate with each other and move as one. What we need here is trust, and a head.”

I tapped my head.

“A brilliant head that can control the body.”

“Does that mean you’ll be the head?”

“That’s right. Or? Is there anyone else here who wants to be the head besides me?”

There is no answer.

Complete silence.

Come to think of it, it was a natural reaction.

What was needed now was not strength like martial power, but an eye to grasp the situation, a head to make a plan, and judgment.

And the person who knew the current situation best, and who also had the most information, was me.

In addition to that, the person who had breached the Academy’s security the most, and who had also infiltrated the school, was also me.

They were just pretending not to know because they didn’t want to admit it due to their pride, but they were silent because they knew that.

Even Karina, who had the most ill feelings toward me, couldn’t express any more complaints and kept her mouth shut.

“If there are no objections, I am the leader of this party as of this moment.”

“……”

“Good. Now we move. Follow me.”

I took them and circled along the barrier wall.

And.

“Ah. Why are you so late? I almost lost my eyeballs waiting!”

I met Dayle, who was squatting in the bushes, waiting for me.

“Are those them? The people the boss talked about.”

Dayle gave a friendly greeting to the Academy personnel who had followed me.

“Hello. I’m the one in charge of weapon repair at Shadow. Feel free to call me One-Eye.”

Afterward, he looks at me and asks.

“So what is it that I have to do, boss?”

“Break this barrier.”

“Hmm? What did you do with the barrier-breaking dagger I made for you? Don’t tell me you lost it?”

“That won’t work.”

“Huh? Why?”

I frowned in annoyance at Dayle’s attitude of constantly asking back.

“You. Didn’t you even check in advance while you were waiting?”

“I didn’t. Actually, I just got here too. Hehe.”

“……”

“Aah. W-wait! I can do it now! It’s embarrassing with people watching.”

As I raised my hand to smack the back of his head, Dayle, who had hurriedly stepped back, grumbled and stared at the barrier.

A blue light flashed for a moment in his left eye, which was not covered by the eye patch.

And soon, the guy who had seen through the barrier wall with the power of the Evil Eye tilted his head a moment later.

“What. This barrier wasn’t made with a magic formula? This is…… Huk? Demonic aura!?”

“……”

“Why is the damn power of the demon world here?”

“Because there’s a demon inside.”

“I see.”

Dayle, who nodded, looked at me again.

“Then I don’t have a way either.”

“No. You do.”

“How?”

Because you are the Evil Eye.

* * *

Evil Eye.

A biological weapon of the Naimus Royal Empire, created by putting the power of a demon into the eyes to deal with only the magicians of the Frey Royal Empire.

What is important here is the identity of the demon that can be said to be the source of that power and its class.

There are six types of demons under the command of the great demon of hatred, Angmar.

1st is Daredevil.

The symbol is fear, and here, 1st is the order in which they were created, not a rank that signifies strength.

2nd is Oblin.

The symbol is pain.

3rd is Lilith of lust, 4th is Balak of destruction, 5th is Nergal of plague.

6th is Behemoth of Gluttony.

However, there was originally one more demon.

7th, Lucif of pride.

That one, who was so arrogant, began to question why he was not a great demon at some point.

The question soon became a complaint, and in the end, Lucif called himself a great demon and challenged Angmar.

‘And he was defeated and sealed in a soul stone.’

It could be said to be a fitting end for the arrogant demon, and the power extracted from that soul stone is the main material for making the Evil Eye, the anti-mage extermination unit.

Of course, this is a fact that even Dayle, the Evil Eye himself, does not know.

The only ones who know this information are the research institute officials who created the Evil Eyes, the Demon Council guys.

And me.

Anyway.

The class of Lucif, who had once challenged a great demon, could not be lower than Lilith’s, if not higher.

So the Evil Eye, Dayle, who was endowed with his power, would be able to easily tear the Evil Earth that Lilith had spread before their eyes.

And my prediction was exactly right, and with a simple punch from Dayle, the barrier cracked with a ‘jjeojeok-‘.

“Huh? It really works.”

“……”

“As expected, the boss is never wrong.”

And the mad flurry of punches that followed.

“……!”

The expressions of the Academy people watching from behind were truly a masterpiece.

* * *

The air inside the school, which we had infiltrated after breaking the Evil Earth, was covered in a hazy fog, like an atmosphere full of fine dust.

It was pollen.

A supernatural phenomenon created by Lilith’s power.

If you breathe it in, your mind gradually becomes hazy, and after a certain period of time, you are seized by a boiling lust and eventually lose your ego.

So as soon as the Skull Mask entered, he instructed Professor Ilai to give a blessing, and Ilai did as he said and gave a blessing to everyone in the group.

In that state, they moved.

A rather long silence continued.

There was tension, but a large part of it was that they still hadn’t recovered from the shock of a little while ago.

Watching the Skull Mask, who was walking in the lead, everyone was lost in heavy thoughts.

It was true.

The Skull Mask had a way to break the demon’s barrier.

Honestly, they had seen it with their own eyes, but it was still unbelievable.

‘To think it would break so futilely…….’

At first, they had thought that the way to break the barrier was a method using some special (at least unique grade) artifact or magic tool.

It wasn’t.

A one-eyed man (who had actually introduced himself as One-Eye) swung his fist, and the barrier broke.

Literally.

When he hit it with a ‘kwang’, it broke with a ‘peong’.

The barrier, which hadn’t even been scratched no matter how much the Central Knights swung their swords and the magicians of the magic corps slammed magic into it, had shattered into pieces from the punches of a man who looked unremarkable!

‘How is that possible?’

Their heads denied what they had seen with their own eyes.

Especially the shock that Karina felt was truly enormous.

‘A barrier that even my father said he couldn’t break, with just a few punches…….’

It seemed clear that he was a person with a special power.

‘Why did he leave such a capable person behind?’

The Skull Mask had left him outside.

It seemed he had given him another order, but Karina couldn’t help but feel it was a pity that he hadn’t brought such a capable person inside.

Because with that much, their power would increase greatly, and the job would surely become easier.

‘Anyway, to break a demon’s barrier. He’s clearly an amazing person. I have to report it to my family.’

What was amazing was the Skull Mask, who had such a capable person as his subordinate.

‘What is his true skill level?’

And.

How many diverse and amazing thieves are there in Shadow?

‘One-Eye must be the end of it, right?’

Yes, it must be.

It was the moment she thought so.

‘……Wait a minute.’

Belatedly, the first greeting that One-Eye had said to them flashed through her mind.

And that soon became a huge fear that engulfed the group.

‘Hello. I’m the one in charge of weapon repair at Shadow. Feel free to call me One-Eye.’

He had definitely introduced himself that way.

He had introduced himself as ‘just’ the one in charge of weapon repair at Shadow.

‘What on earth…….’

What on earth was Shadow?

The place where a thief in charge of just weapon repair could break a demon’s barrier with his fists, what on earth…….

And the person leading that group?

What is his level?

The group, who had finished their thoughts, lifted their heads and stared blankly at the Skull Mask’s back with complicated gazes.

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