Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 320: The Apostle in the Texts (2)

A new First Order.

At those words, Ludger naturally turned to look at Zero Order.

His gaze clearly asked: Is that true?

Zero Order gave a silent nod.

“The Order Synod did say they’d be recruiting a new First Order...”

But he hadn’t imagined that the candidate would be one of the beings known in legends as demons.

And judging by how Helia was speaking to him, she clearly knew about Ludger’s false identity.

Most likely, Zero Order had told her.

“What a strange day. To think I’d end up encountering not one, but three demons in such a short span of time.”

Demons—beings spoken of only in ancient texts and legends.

Naturally, people in the modern age considered demons to be nothing more than fantasy.

Even though those very beings still lurked in the shadows of the world.

“And now, those demons are beginning to show themselves.”

Zero Order. Basara. And now Helia.

Beings the world called demons—those who referred to themselves by their true name: Apostles.

And surely, those three were not the only ones.

Which raised a troubling question.

Basara had said he bore a mission.

That as an Apostle serving his god, there was a divine mandate he was bound to carry out.

If the other two were also Apostles, then the same was likely true for them.

Perhaps sensing Ludger’s piercing gaze, Helia gave a soft smile.

Bathed in moonlight, the sight of her smiling like that carried an almost illusory, dreamlike quality.

“You’re an interesting human. Even with us standing right in front of you, you’re not scared—you’re testing us. You really are the one who brought down Basara. Maybe you do have what it takes.”

As she murmured, Helia’s form vanished like a mirage.

And reappeared directly behind Ludger.

With a gloved black hand, she gently ran her fingers over his shoulder.

“Plus, you’ve got a very pleasing face. In all my long years, I’ve seen very few this handsome.”

Ludger’s eyes flicked to her.

That movement just now—

Her body had flickered like a heat-haze mirage.

Just like how Basara’s specialty had been mental attacks, this, too, must be a form of Apostle’s authority—something Helia possessed.

“An illusion.”

“...Heh?”

Helia lifted her hand from Ludger’s shoulder at his sudden comment.

Her round, golden eyes widened in surprise.

As if to say: You figured that out just by seeing it once?

“Amazing. Most people—even after they realize—still fall for it easily.”

With that muttered remark, Helia’s position reverted to the window once again.

She’d never moved in the first place. She had simply used an illusion to make it seem like she appeared behind him.

“It’s not just any illusion, either. You can touch it. You can feel it. It’s my specialty. I’m a little offended you saw through it so easily. Hey, do you like card games?”

As she spoke, she summoned a deck of cards in her hand.

It, too, was an illusion—but one that could be physically grasped.

In other words, Helia’s illusions weren’t just visual; they might as well have been real.

Apparently, having her ability seen through so quickly had bruised her pride, and now she wanted to challenge him in some way.

But stepping in before it could go any further was Zero Order.

“Helia. That’s enough. I’m in the middle of a conversation.”

“Hmm? Are you giving me orders right now? You do realize I don’t have to listen to you, don’t you? We’re equals, after all.”

“Helia.”

Zero Order’s voice dropped, cold and sharp.

It was just a change in tone—yet the entire atmosphere of the room grew heavier.

Even Ludger, sitting opposite, felt the hairs on his arms bristle.

And yet, the woman being stared at simply grinned as if she didn’t feel a thing.

For a brief moment, the two demons glared at each other.

And in the end, it was Helia who raised the white flag first.

She let out a long sigh and shrugged.

“Fine, fine. Don’t look at me like that. I was just bored, you know? That’s all.”

“......”

“Geez. You’re just proving the rumors true—always ready to kill your fellow Apostles the moment things don’t go your way.”

“Helia.”

“Oh right! Silly me. I probably wasn’t supposed to say that, huh?”

She winked and stuck out her tongue.

Zero Order shook his head, as if even lecturing her was exhausting at this point.

“Betrayer?”

Ludger repeated the word silently to himself.

“Don’t get too worked up. I’m already using my power just to keep this illusion barrier around the room. If we cause a scene in here, someone might notice.”

At the words illusion barrier, Ludger glanced out the window.

There didn’t seem to be anything unusual outside.

But as he focused harder, straining his senses, he noticed tiny inconsistencies.

“So that’s how they slipped in undetected.”

But was it really necessary to go so far—to erect a barrier just to sneak in here?

That question was answered by Helia’s next words.

“It’s weird, isn’t it? What’s that thing doing in the capital? Wasn’t it supposed to have disappeared after heading to destroy the Bretus Theocracy twenty years ago?”

She muttered in a grumble.

And Ludger immediately understood who that thing was.

“She’s talking about my teacher. So they know each other.”

And judging by her confusion over the twenty-year gap, it was clear—ever since Grander had picked Ludger up, they’d completely lost track of her.

Considering she dared call her a “monster,” Helia clearly didn’t know what kind of relationship Ludger had with Grander.

Neither did Zero Order, for that matter.

For now, it was best to keep quiet.

What bothered Ludger more was the fact that Helia had called Zero Order a betrayer.

“So even the Apostles have inner conflict. They’ve been at odds with each other.”

Looking back, even Basara hadn’t shown much kinship toward other Apostles.

In the end, Apostles were each their own beings.

Not that it came as much of a surprise.

After all, humans didn’t all get along just because they were human either.

“So, what’s your decision?”

The one to speak next was Zero Order.

Apparently deciding to ignore Helia altogether, he turned back to Ludger.

He was probably referring to whether Ludger would agree to join hands.

“I’ll withhold my answer.”

“‘For now,’ you mean. I wasn’t really expecting you to say yes—but I suppose I should be glad you didn’t outright refuse.”

“......”

“But in the end, I’m sure we’ll meet again. On the same path.”

Zero Order said it with certainty.

And Ludger didn’t bother refuting him.

Because, faintly, he felt the same.

“Zero Order. What is it you really want?”

“You’ve probably heard already—each Apostle has a mission.”

“Basara said his mission was to wipe out humanity. Are you saying you’re the same?”

Zero Order shrugged.

“Well, otherwise I wouldn’t be stirring up all these events, would I?”

“No.”

Ludger cut through his words with clarity.

“If you really wanted to wipe out humanity—or even just throw the world into chaos—you wouldn’t have let Basara die like that. No matter what anyone says, the two of you would’ve been aligned in purpose.”

Especially considering how effective Basara’s abilities were against humans.

Even Swordmasters and Lexuror-level mages had collapsed under his mental attacks.

The only reason Basara failed was Ludger himself.

His mind was unaffected, and even in Basara’s own domain—the mental world—he had defeated him.

In the past, Basara had only ever been sealed beneath the World Tree’s roots.

Yet after all those years, upon returning, he’d lost to a single person.

“You just sat there and let Basara die.”

“I couldn’t help it. He died before I had a chance to act.”

“That’s a poor excuse. You knew he was sealed beneath the capital, and yet you made no move to free him.”

If Zero Order had truly wanted chaos in the world, he would have released Basara’s seal right away.

The fact that he hadn’t was interpreted to mean that Zero Order had a different objective than Basara.

He had created the secret organization known as the Black Dawn Society and thrown the world into disorder, but even that seemed to be merely part of the process toward his hidden goal.

“Honestly, it’s more like you wanted Basara dead...”

“Enough. That’s far enough.”

Zero Order cut Ludger off mid-sentence.

“......”

“No point in continuing an unproductive conversation. We don’t have much time, so I’ll get straight to the point. You’re aware that the Theocracy of Bretus has started moving again, aren’t you?”

“I know. They recently reopened a gate that had been sealed for ages.”

“And after what happened in the capital this time, they’ll no doubt start interfering with the Exilion Empire again. Just like they’ve always done.”

“The Empire won’t take that lying down.”

“Of course not. Over the years, Bretus’s influence has diminished, while the Empire’s standing has only grown. But keep this in mind: Bretus’s true threat doesn’t lie in its national power.”

Ludger understood what Zero Order was implying.

“You mean the power of religion?”

“That’s part of it. But their true strength is far more terrifying than that. Why do you think such a facility lies buried beneath the capital?”

Zero Order abruptly shifted to talking about the underground facility.

“You know who built that massive cavern and those ancient ruins?”

“...I know it was made by a former kingdom that existed before the Exilion Empire.”

“Right. And that kingdom was powerful enough that even Bretus didn’t dare provoke it.”

Ludger felt a strange sense of dissonance at those words.

Bretus didn’t dare provoke it?

But according to what First Princess Aileen had told him, the leadership of that kingdom had been completely replaced overnight...

“Historically, Bretus wielded tremendous power. If what mages use is called magic, then what they wield is called divine law.”

Divine law.

Also known as holy magic.

Divine law was once considered the miracle of a god. Nowadays, it’s categorized as a subclass of magic—holy magic.

But Ludger knew well that its fundamental nature was different from ordinary magic.

“They’ve created relics based on that divine law—and even beings crafted through those relics. Their true threat isn’t physical. It’s mental.”

“Fanaticism, bordering on brainwashing.”

“Before the Empire rose, the old kingdom didn’t want to be controlled by Bretus. So they conducted secret experiments. By [N O V E L I G H T] allying with the non-humans.”

Ludger thought of the dead World Tree that had lain underground.

So that’s why it had been there.

“They worked with elves?”

“Correct.”

The World Tree species was so particular that only elves could cultivate it.

That was why many mages hadn’t been surprised when they first discovered the roots of the World Tree underground.

But if the elves themselves had been involved, the World Tree’s presence made perfect sense.

“But that’s odd. I thought elves revered the World Tree as sacred. Why would they help propagate it?”

“Elves, like humans, weren’t always the way they are now.”

Apparently, the elves of the past had been far more progressive than their current conservative selves.

To think those elves had once lived like that.

Perhaps the reason modern elves clung so tightly to tradition was precisely because of what had happened back then.

“To the Theocracy of Bretus, the kingdom’s alliance with the elves must have been seen as heresy.”

“Exactly. But the kingdom tried to hide it at all costs. And they did—successfully. The problem was that Basara discovered it.”

Basara, the demon born to carry out his mission, attacked that kingdom.

In the end, the kingdom that had allied with the elves was forced to battle Basara, and they barely managed to seal him under the World Tree’s roots.

But in that process, the Theocracy of Bretus caught wind of what had happened.

In the end, the leaders of the kingdom were all replaced under Bretus’s authority.

Without so much as a proper act of resistance.

Ludger felt another wave of unease.

“There’s no guarantee the same thing won’t happen again. That’s why I’m warning you to be careful.”

“So you want me to act as your messenger. To pass that warning on to the Exilion Empire.”

“Don’t take it so personally. It’s not like you or the Empire are particularly fond of Bretus.”

Zero Order wasn’t wrong.

If Ludger had to choose between demons and the Theocracy of Bretus, he wouldn’t hesitate to name Bretus as the more detestable.

He hated demons, but he despised the theocracy even more—for committing atrocities in the name of their god.

Part of it was because he himself had come from that nation. He understood all too well the darkness that festered within it.

“It’s time.”

Zero Order picked up the mask resting on the table and placed it back on his face as he stood up.

Ludger didn’t stop him.

He wasn’t the kind of man who’d stay just because someone asked him to, and Ludger had no reason to stop him anyway.

As he turned to leave, Zero Order said one last thing to Ludger.

“The Order Synod will be convening again soon.”

“And you’re telling me this because...?”

“No reason. Just thought you should know.”

Then, in a swirl of black smoke, he flew out the window.

Helia gave Ludger a playful wave—“Bye-bye”—before vanishing like a mirage.

As the two demons disappeared, the illusionary barrier surrounding the hospital room melted away.

Ludger stood silently, staring out the wide-open window.

The flood of information they’d left behind was more than enough to cloud his mind.

But even so, what I must do hasn’t changed.

And that was when it happened.

A knock.

Knock knock.

“Who is it?”

Ludger asked, and a quiet, timid voice crawled in from beyond the door.

“It’s me. Flora Lumos.”

A voice more cautious than usual.

Ludger had briefly wondered what she was doing here at this hour—but then changed his mind.

She had been present at the scene. It wouldn’t be strange for her to be hospitalized in the same building.

Flora, hesitating outside the door, finally spoke up softly.

“...May I come in?”