The Overpowered Cult Leader at the Academy Chapter 92

Chapter 92.

The Sacred Mountain Range (2)>

“Are you nervous.”

“……Yes.”

Worden had been skeptical about following Bereninche. But learning from a figure like Bereninche was an incredible opportunity.

I had thought it was a sha, but when Bereninche whispered sothing into Worden’s ear, he imdiately said he would follow her. So I let him go.

“Is it really true?”

“What is.”

“That, the Duhein Family.”

Winter asked with a sowhat calm expression. I readily nodded.

Not only was Bereninche not the type to lie, but if it was Nerva, the head of the Duhein Family, he was soone who could easily do even more than that.

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“No.”

Winter, who had been uneasy at first, gradually cald down as she watched remain composed the entire ti.

“Are we going straight to the holy land?”

“Yeah.”

While waiting for the ship, we chatted idly. The sll of the sea, which I hadn’t experienced in a long ti, lifted my mood.

Perhaps because she had been consistently training her stamina, Winter carried a backpack as big as her body without difficulty.

“Did you take seasickness dicine?”

“I did.”

“Good. Just in case, go to sleep right away.”

Winter made an awkward expression. It looked like she was worried about being a burden. I shrugged.

“I’m going to sleep too.”

“Ah. I see.”

“After we arrive, we’ll take a train north. It’ll take about three days.”

At my words, Winter looked surprised. Considering the speed of a train, that was quite a distance.

“Is it that far?”

“It’s pretty far. Good thing there’s a train—otherwise we’d have to ride a carriage for a whole month.”

“Ugh.”

Winter showed her dislike. I also had no desire to ride in an uncomfortable carriage for a month.

I felt grateful that this wasn’t a completely dieval world. Riding the sea breeze, the sailors’ songs could be heard.

“Get ready.”

I led Winter onto the massive ship that had arrived. After unpacking in our assigned room, we ca out to the deck.

The salty sea breeze filled the air, and it made my heart feel light.

“You like it that much.”

I had been leaning against the railing, staring out at the sea. At the familiar yet unfamiliar voice from behind, I turned my head.

In my view stood a woman with purple ponytail hair.

“What, you’re on this ship too?”

“As you can see.”

After confirming Soloven’s face, I turned back to the sea. She slowly approached and took out a cigarette.

“Smoking next to a non-smoker, huh.”

I made a remark to Soloven, who lit the cigarette at her fingertip and began smoking. She looked at with a surprised expression.

“I thought you used to smoke too. Did you quit now?”

“……Sothing like that.”

I cleared my throat. That bastard Davide used to smoke too?

“You’re going on a pilgrimage, right?”

“Yeah. You heading back ho?”

Taking a flavorful drag, Soloven simply nodded in response.

I wondered if there had been any story-related event tied to this, but nothing ca to mind.

“A pilgrimage, huh. Now you finally look like a Cult Leader.”

“Heh. Seriously.”

At Soloven’s words, I let out a small laugh. Her face was expressionless, but there was clear mischief in it.

Co to think of it, I was supposed to learn shield techniques from Soloven too. I had forgotten because I’d been so busy moving around.

“I need to learn shield techniques too.”

“Right. We did have such a promise.”

Soloven looked at with sharp eyes. It was clearly a reproachful gaze. I made a sowhat aggrieved expression.

“I’ve been busy.”

“If you had the will to learn, what couldn’t you do.”

“I’m human trash.”

“……If only you couldn’t talk.”

Soloven clicked her tongue and shook her head. I burst into laughter at her reaction.

She flicked her finger and sent the fully smoked cigarette butt flying. It was instantly consud by flas and scattered into the air.

“After finishing your pilgrimage, co to my territory. You can rest and learn shield techniques.”

“Well. That works too.”

Leaving those words behind, Soloven headed back into the cabin. I watched her retreating figure before turning my gaze back to the sea.

It would still be a while before we arrived. I wanted to take in the sea a little longer. Ti passed aimlessly.

“Ughh.”

“Back to your senses?”

Winter, who was particularly weak at sea, was still groaning even after boarding the train.

Yet despite that, seeing her carry the backpack she insisted on holding and follow while clutching her collar showed impressive determination.

“I guess I’m suited for land.”

“Oh really.”

Winter recovered quickly, enough to even make idle jokes. By the ti we boarded the train, the sun was just setting.

We roughly settled dinner by eating the sandwiches we had prepared in advance.

“Whoa. What is this sweet sll? Senior, I’m sorry, but I’m really tired.”

After neatly finishing one sandwich, Winter apologized and went to sleep.

Just as she said, there was a faintly sweet sll coming from the sandwich. I didn’t taste anything sweet, though. I recalled the dried garlic I had hidden in my backpack.

“Hm.”

After obtaining the Adaptive Body, my stamina had improved trendously, so I simply stared out the window endlessly.

My body had beco so healthy that even the fatigue from using skills barely registered unless it was extre. Rather than forcing sleep that wouldn’t co, I decided to think about sothing productive.

‘How should I approach Astrology.’

It felt like sothing I needed to learn, but I couldn’t find a direction. Among the people that currently existed, there were almost none who would know Astrology.

And even if there were, there was no chance soone like could et them right now.

“Maybe I’ll try a gacha after a while.”

So I thought of a thod. Since it was a discipline that had flourished in ancient tis, I could learn it from soone from that era.

For that, I had bought a large amount of materials from the red-brown twins. I already knew all the combinations, so it was just a matter of waiting for later.

-This train will turn off the lights in 5 minutes.

The train continued running smoothly without any sign of stopping. Before I knew it, an announcent ca five minutes before nine.

They said the lights would only be dimd enough not to interfere with movent. The night sky was gradually becoming clearer.

“……”

As I gazed at the stars, I sensed a faint presence from the end of the train.

There were few passengers to begin with, and after the lights went out, most had fallen into deep sleep, leaving the carriage silent.

‘Canis?’

I had felt this kind of presence before. It was the sa sensation I felt when Canis suddenly appeared behind whenever I called her na.

I slowly rose from my seat. When I turned around, only a dim light barely illuminating the walkway was visible. From the door shrouded in darkness, a distinct presence could be felt.

-How intriguing.

From beyond it ca a deep voice, so heavy it could be mistaken for echoing through a cave. Naturally, it was a voice I had never heard before.

“Poison?”

“Oh?”

I struck my chest twice. In an instant, sparks wrapped around my entire body, producing a sharp sound and flash of light. Yet no one woke up.

Only then did I realize the identity of the sweet sll Winter and I had noticed. The figure in the darkness let out a sound of surprise.

“It’s been a while, Young Master.”

What appeared, as if paint spreading, was a man wearing navy leather armor. On his right shoulder was a symbol representing the Duhein Family.

The intruder spoke in a rather familiar tone, as if he knew well. I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.

“It’s rely a sleeping scent. Please do not be concerned.”

He bowed politely, assuring the safety of the passengers.

The arrangent of the Duhein that Bereninche had warned about. The shark mask covering his face was sothing even I knew well.

“So, the Purge Unit. You’re here to kill .”

The hunting knights, the pride of the Duhein. Among them, only the strongest ford the Purge Unit.

An elite force created solely to destroy the enemies of the Duhein revealed itself before . The masked man chuckled softly at my words.

“Of course not. Weren’t you once the eldest son of the Duhein Family? How could I dare lay a hand on such a precious body?”

His words were a fitting mix of mockery and truth. I gripped my club and assessed his strength.

The Purge Unit appeared in the ga as well. Based on that, he seed weaker than Vice-Commander Sheila, but not to the point that I couldn’t win.

“Did you co to retrieve a failure? Or dispose of it?”

“……”

The shark mask did not answer my question. He simply stood there, half his body revealed under the dim light, without moving.

“You seem to know more than expected.”

“Sothing like that.”

A dense killing intent began to rise. It slowly crept up from beneath my feet, the most concentrated I had ever felt.

“The Family Head has ordered that your body be retrieved, or disposed of on the spot. That discretion has been entrusted to —”

The voice didn’t co from a single source but echoed from all directions. At the sa ti, the figure of the shark mask began to blur.

But the shark mask couldn’t finish his sentence. Before I knew it, I had already wrapped myself in lightning armor and swung my vicious club.

“My, you’ve beco quite rough since I last saw you.”

The shark mask avoided the attack with fluid movents. With impressive agility, he climbed onto the closed window and let out an unpleasant laugh.

“To welco so intensely—I hardly know what to do with myself.”

The shark mask pulled a sharp dagger from his chest. Strange symbols were engraved on the black blade.

A cursed item, perhaps. I frowned and took my stance. I had been holding back because of the other passengers, but judging by his presence, this was no ti to consider that.

“Here I co—huh?”

The shark mask, radiating killing intent like a finely honed blade, charged first.

As he smoothly closed in at an angle, I swung my club with full force. That was when sothing unexpected happened.

“Ghk! Agh!”

His nimble movents, fitting of an assassin, clearly showed he had perceived and tried to evade my attack. At the sa ti, he aid his dagger at my shoulder.

But suddenly, the shark mask clutched his chest and lost his balance. Naturally, my club smashed into his head.

“……What the hell is with that guy.”

The shark mask disappeared just like that. The killing intent and presence vanished entirely. I frowned deeply.

Out of nowhere, he grabbed his chest, got hit by an attack he should have dodged, and disappeared. Seeing how he vanished like smoke, it seed like so kind of illusion.

“Usually, illusions have about 50% of the original’s power.”

There were plenty of clone-like skills in the ga. Most of them only carried about half of the original’s stats.

“Does that include intelligence too?”

I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling. It even made wonder if the shark mask had just put on a show to mock .

“Well, it’ll only last until the holy land anyway.”

There was still a chance the real body might co after . Winter would be sowhat at risk, but that would be resolved once we entered the holy land.

The holy land wasn’t a place just anyone could enter.

“Seems like they’re keeping an eye on Bereninche.”

Normally, clones were sent into dangerous areas in place of the original.

The Purge Unit probably didn’t consider dangerous, so they were likely stationed elsewhere and sent this in their stead to handle things.

“Ugh… Senior.”

I leaned back into the comfortable seat and closed my eyes. Just as I was about to rest, Winter finally woke up.

“How do you feel.”

“Huh? I feel refreshed.”

Winter looked unusually lively. It was thanks to the deep, dense sleep she had gotten.

I let out a small chuckle and closed my eyes again. Since Winter was awake now, I planned to get so sleep.

“I’m going to take a nap.”

“Yes. Sleep well.”

I crossed my arms and slowly let my consciousness fade.

“……”

After confirming that Davide was asleep, Winter’s expression turned serious. The stars outside the window were beautiful, but her mind felt restless.

Winter also possessed a skill of Anaye. Perhaps because the sleeping scent used by the Duhein’s extermination unit was closer to a liquid, she had been able to resist it to so extent.

“Retrieve, dispose.”

Though she had once collapsed from the overwhelming drowsiness, she woke up quickly. It was because of that powerful presence.

Half-awake, Winter rembered most of the conversation between Davide and the extermination unit. Among it, certain words lingered in her mind.

“Duhein, test, retrieve, dispose.”

Even though she had grown up alone, Winter roughly understood what family and blood relations ant. This was nothing like that.

She sank into thought. The words she repeated once more brought sothing to mind.

“It’s like… treating him as an invention…”

The choice of words gave that impression. Of course, saying parents create their children wasn’t entirely wrong.

But people didn’t usually speak that way. Perhaps the head of the Duhein Family truly saw Davide—his own child—as nothing more than an object.

“Even if he’s a failure… still…”

Winter unconsciously pouted, her lips jutting out. She didn’t like it.