Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1192

“I really hope that wizard stops moving,” one knight said.

“Me too,” said another.

Five knights had already fallen down, completely tired. They were trying to catch a wizard who just wouldn’t stop moving. Even when they took turns chasing him!

“If we lose him now,” one gasped, “we can’t chase him like this again.”

They were only still chasing him because they were lucky.

The Grimoire Night Knights, asked by Ihan, decided to use a simple plan: use many knights. They moved quickly through every city and town in the West. They checked all the places where travelers might sleep. They weren’t like Ihan, who might shout and cause trouble. Instead, they quietly found travelers who had even a little bit of magic. They wrote down who these travelers were and what they looked like.

Then, they checked who these travelers were. They used their network to see if their names and stories were real. If a traveler’s story seemed unclear or false, the knights followed them. People said the Grimoire Night Knights could run without stopping from one side of the West Coast to the scary Swamps of Nightmare. They were known for doing simple things with great strength and never giving up.

If they caught you, you couldn’t escape.

Even though they were skilled, finding the Einrogard professor was mostly luck. A big fight suddenly started in the tavern where the professor was sleeping. This fight made the professor use a little magic, even though he had hidden it well. This small bit of magic was seen. From that moment, the Grimoire Night Knights chased the professor as fast as they could, without stopping. When one knight got too tired to run, another took his place.

‘I wish I could just put a tracker on him! But he’s too clever…’

“Sir Bark, the Einrogard wizards are here,” a knight announced.

“Finally!” Amrek said, his face lighting up with relief. He really needed these wizards to help. They were reliable, and they had come just at the right moment. Even though his own knights had wizards, Amrek was still nervous about fighting a professor from Einrogard.

“Let them in! Quickly!”

Ihan, Professor Kirmin, Ivinta, and two Death Knights rushed upstairs. The knights there felt the power of the Death Knights. They looked at them with respect and fear.

“Are you…?” one knight started to ask.

-*Yes, you are right, little ones,* one Death Knight replied in a deep voice.

“I-It’s an honor to meet you,” the knight stammered. “Is the person next to you also a knight?”

-*Ah,* the Death Knight said, pointing at Ivinta. *She is a slave.*

Ivinta’s face tightened. She was already angry about being taken away so quickly. Did they have to make her feel even worse?

“Excuse me?” she said, her voice sharp.

-*Usually,* the Death Knight continued, *a tracking group needs a slave to do the unpleasant tasks…*

“That’s enough,” Ihan interrupted. “Please, step outside for a moment. I need to speak with you.”

Ihan quickly led the Death Knights out of the room. He didn’t want them to hear the plan to find Professor Voladi. They worked for Headmaster Skull, and Ihan wasn’t sure if he could trust them. The knights in the room looked disappointed as the Death Knights left.

-*Don’t you trust us?* one Death Knight asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

-*You don’t need to be as careful as our Master,* said the other.

After the Death Knights and the Grimoire Night Knights had left the room, Professor Kirmin used magic to protect their conversation. Ihan turned to Amrek to thank him. *Even though you are friends with my younger sibling,* Ihan thought, *doing this much is really kind…*

“Thank you…” But before Ihan could finish, Amrek grabbed him in a tight hug.

“Are you Wodanaz? Thank you so much!”

Ihan was surprised by the strong hug from the dwarf.

“Sorry?” Ihan asked, confused.

“Because of you, Bartrec didn’t fail! Thank you!” Amrek said again, his voice full of emotion. Ihan and Professor Kirmin looked at each other, and then they understood. Amrek thought Ihan was someone else, someone who helped Bartrec. Ihan felt his face get hot with embarrassment. He quickly said, “Bartrec would have done fine on his own…”

“Don’t say that,” Amrek said, stepping back but still smiling widely. “No one in the Bark family would believe that, and neither would you. Even Professor Kirmin here probably knows it’s true.”

*Oops,* Professor Kirmin thought. He realized he should have denied it faster to make it sound more believable.

“Okay, okay,” Professor Kirmin said, gently pulling away from Amrek. “Let’s talk about why we are really here. This Begrek… or Voladi… he moves quickly, doesn’t he?” He took a report from Amrek and gave one to Ihan. Amrek looked out the window again, his expression serious.

“Professor,” Amrek asked, “what should we do? Should we send him a message?”

Professor Kirmin frowned slightly.

“You’ve been following him for more than a day?”

“Yes,” Amrek replied, “but we keep changing the knights who are following him, so they don’t get too tired.”

“He knows,” Professor Kirmin said firmly. “Wodanaz, Professor Begrek is using the Knights for some reason. We need to act now.”

Ihan was surprised by how sure Professor Kirmin sounded. Amrek was even more shocked.

“He noticed?” Amrek said, his voice disbelieving.

“That’s impossible…”

“Just trust us for now,” Professor Kirmin said. “Help us. Do you have a list of important people in this city? People who are hard to reach easily, and who live nearby?”

Even though Amrek was confused, he was a knight used to dealing with strange wizards. Wizards, especially those from Einrogard, often did things that didn’t make sense.

“About the list,” Amrek said, “the Knights have made one, but…”

“Give it to me,” Professor Kirmin interrupted. “Who on this list has the darkest shadow of death around them?”

Professor Kirmin quickly cut his hand and let drops of blood fall onto the list. The blood moved on the paper, twisting and turning like it was alive. It then all came together over one name.

“Lord Langbern, from Alquie City in the West. A vampire. It must be him. Wodanaz, let’s go meet your teacher!”

Professor Kirmin quickly wrapped a cloth around his bleeding hand using magic. He gestured for them to follow. Amrek, still trying to understand what was happening, kept asking questions. Ihan didn’t need to say anything.

“Is Lord Langbern in danger?” Amrek asked, worried.

“He is probably someone who used to be part of the Sanguis Order,” Professor Kirmin explained. “Professor Begrek is now killing anyone who is still connected to those evil god worshippers.”

“Lord Langbern?!” Amrek said, his voice full of shock. He couldn’t believe it.

Amrek thought about Lord Langbern. He was known as a good man, and very rich. He wasn’t very friendly and stayed home most of the time. But when he did go out, all the important people in the city wanted to be his friend. People said he was a noble without any scandals, which was rare.

-*Sir Bark!* a knight shouted from downstairs. *The mercenaries from the Cut Moon Inn are suddenly leaving!*

Amrek rushed to the window and looked out. Just as the knight said, the mercenaries were running away from the inn, as if a strong wind had pushed them. *Why?* Amrek wondered. They had already paid for their rooms.

“Don’t be fooled by the mercenaries,” Professor Kirmin said quickly. “It’s a distraction. We need to go straight to Lord Langbern’s mansion!”

Professor Kirmin hurried out of the room and flew down the stairs. Amrek was taken aback by the sudden change in Professor Kirmin, the cold, dangerous feeling around him.

“Are you two… enemies?” Amrek asked Ihan, his voice worried. “Should I be careful?”

Ihan hesitated for a moment, then said, “…Actually, they are friends. It’s complicated.”

It wasn’t hard to make the mercenaries run. Just telling them the Knights were after them was enough to scare them. Most of them were hiding something.

Especially from the Grimoire Night Knights.

“It’s really the Knights! I knew something was wrong!”

“I need to leave the West. Is this place cursed? Last time, there was a crazy purge…!”

The mercenaries ran, knowing they had to escape together. If one was caught, the others could get away.

The market sellers moved their stands as the mercenaries ran wildly. They didn’t stop.

“To the east! There’s a bad gate in the wall! We can hide in the crowd outside!”

The mercenaries agreed. The east gate was easy to get through, and there were many people outside by the river.

They could steal a horse or boat if needed…

A noble’s house appeared. The mercenaries tried to go around it, but someone shouted.

“Break the door and run! The Knights are coming!”

“Smash it!”

The mercenaries broke the gate and ran through the garden. The guards ran out.

“Move! We don’t want to rob you! Let us pass!”

“You crazy mercenaries! Attack!”

The mercenaries fought the guards to escape.

A shadow went into the house through a window.

“Mercenaries causing trouble?” Lord Langbern asked, sounding annoyed.

“Yes,” his butler replied. “But you don’t need to worry.”

The old vampire clicked his tongue, showing he was unhappy. The butler quickly apologized again.

“I will train the guards better.”

“You should,” Langbern said sharply. “To make such a mess for so little money. Is it even possible to be so useless?” He waited for an answer, but there was silence. Langbern turned his head, ready to scold his butler for being so rude. But it wasn’t his butler standing behind him. It was a vampire wizard he knew well.

Professor Voladi stood there, his face cold.

“Langbern,” Voladi said, his voice like ice. “You are a believer of the Sanguis Order. Is that right?”

Langbern froze.

“…!!!”

Fear shot through him like ice. It felt like all the blood in his body was turning to water. He suddenly regretted being so careless. He had told all the guards to go downstairs just because some unimportant mercenaries were making noise in the yard.

“W-Wait!” Langbern stammered, his voice shaking. “Let’s talk! I’m not part of the Sanguis Order anymore!” He was telling the truth. Long ago, he had been involved with them, like other vampire nobles in the West. They had made sacrifices and enjoyed the power they got. But after the big fight against them, he had cut all ties.

“The wealth?” Voladi asked, his voice flat.

“W-What?” Langbern was so scared he could barely think. But he understood what Voladi meant. All his riches came from the Sanguis Order.

“I-I’ll give it all away!” Langbern pleaded. “I’ll donate everything to charity! Is that enough?”

“The reputation?” Voladi asked again, his voice still cold.

“…I-I’ll confess everything,” Langbern whispered. “I’ll tell everyone why I was involved.” He hated to admit it, it was humiliating. But what was more important than staying alive? Wealth and reputation meant nothing if he was dead. He had to give up everything he got from Sanguis to survive.

“Is that enough? Huh?” Langbern begged, looking at Voladi’s face.

Professor Voladi just shook his head slightly. Then, he slowly raised his hand and pointed at Langbern. It meant there was still one more thing.

“What? What else…” Langbern was confused and terrified. Then, he understood. Sanguis had given him not just wealth and fame. They had also given him youth and life.

“B-But I can’t give that back!” Langbern cried out. “It’s my blood! Are you going to drain all the blood from my body?!”

Voladi nodded, just once, without any hesitation. Suddenly, anger exploded in Langbern’s eyes.

“You son of a bitch vampire!” he roared. “If it was the old days, a low-born vampire like you wouldn’t even dare to look at me…!” He couldn’t finish the sentence. Langbern looked down and saw his own body, his head gone, blood喷涌 out. His world went black.

*‘I should have killed them all back then,’* was his last thought.