<218 - Maximum Karma>
“Clean.”
“Are you sure? The bomb moss could lie dormant for up to three days after ingestion and explode in your intestines.”
The healer checked once more with a magic scan to see if there were any internal bleeding or tumors, and whether the moss in the body would cause serious issues.
“I don’t know if I should call this clean, but bomb moss can’t harm this child’s stomach.”
“Is there a problem?”
“Well, if it is a problem. Your organs have been exposed to Dark Mana for a long time, leading to the formation of a dark mana adaptation organ typical of demons. You could easily eat poison from the Demon Realm.”
“…Is that so?”
“Since the Destroyer is a former hero, I believe you already know the details.”
“I do. No need for extra explanation. I’ll explain it directly to the child.”
After finishing the examination, Oknodie sat there contentedly, sucking on a candy taken out from his pocket.
Before using the teleportation magic circle in the clinic, they conducted checks to see if he had been poisoned and if there were any health-impairing factors after transmission, and they received some bad news.
The Destroyer couldn’t shake off a heavy expression as if he had just heard about a friend’s death.
“Oknodie.”
“Yes?”
“This is serious. Listen carefully.”
Oknodie’s eyes widened in alarm.
“Am I going to have a stomachache? Does that mean I can’t eat for a while?”
“That’s not the case.”
“Phew. That’s a relief. Isn’t it sad? It would have been nice to collect some rice while I’m sick.”
“Stop saying stupid things. Something far worse than a mere stomachache has happened to your body.”
The Destroyer professor snapped at Oknodie, who was completely unaware of the situation’s seriousness, then immediately regretted his harshness.
It was the child who would suffer the most, and he wasn’t acting adult-like enough.
“I’m sorry. I won’t get angry; just listen seriously.”
“Am I actually sick…?”
“I was planning to talk about the Demon Realm in the second semester. Although this accidentally turned into a supplementary lecture, it’s closely related to you, so pay attention.”
Ugh.
Oknodie, hearing a lecture that wasn’t on the schedule right before using the teleportation magic circle, looked utterly dumbfounded, as if he were told the world was about to end.
“The substances of the Demon Realm are tainted by Dark Mana so that the demonic beings, or demons, can thrive. Naturally, this includes what could also be considered ingredients.”
“Ugh. I don’t like that place. There are too many gross ingredients.”
“…Is the abnormal Dark Mana within you a result of consuming substances infused with Dark Mana in large amounts since childhood?”
“…!?”
“Isn’t that so?”
“Y-yes. The Foundation bought a lot for me.”
Damn those Foundation bastards.
I should have taken care of them myself, not leave it to Oknodie.
Suppressing his anger, the Destroyer continued the discussion.
“Anyway, consuming plants from the Demon Realm leaves a small amount of Dark Mana in the consumer’s body. While some Dark Mana is expelled through excretion, the more Dark Mana present in the consumed food, the longer the digestion period, and consequently, the longer you are exposed to Dark Mana.”
“Oh, so that’s how it works.”
“Works? That’s a strange way to put it. It’s not a setting; it’s a principle.”
“Ah, yes.”
“A body exposed to Dark Mana for a long time mutates to protect itself from rampancy. It accepts Dark Mana safely and reduces the burden on the body. We call this the Dark Mana Adaptation Organ.”
“If I eat that, will my mana increase?”
“Don’t eat it. You already have it in your stomach. Eating Dark Mana isn’t good for your health.”
Oknodie still had no inkling of the situation’s seriousness.
“Then isn’t that a good thing? If I adapted to Dark Mana, my body wouldn’t get hurt, right?”
“What is the nature of Dark Mana?”
“Enhancement, rampancy, destruction!”
“Exactly. Unlike ordinary mana, a body that has adapted to the unstable nature will not be able to adapt to the normal state of being.”
“?”
“And that normal state includes ‘Healing Magic’ to restore the body’s condition.”
“!”
Dark Mana is a harmful substance.
A being exposed to it cannot return to the life they led before exposure.
“Not only will you not receive healing magic, but if you do, you will feel pain.”
“Ah, so it’s about the deviation rate, right? I knew about that, but it’s okay! I’ve mastered the technique [Numbness] that temporarily cuts off my senses!”
Cutting off one’s senses?
That isn’t something one can easily do just by wishing for it.
Even if you understand the theory, to cut off senses, you must either pierce or bind muscles and blood to temporarily paralyze the nerves.
You can’t achieve it with just a couple of tries.
Let alone with minor pain.
A person fights to avoid pain only when the pain is significant.
That said, feeling despair and giving up is not an option.
Do not resign yourself.
But it should be painful enough.
It must repeat until the torturous pain designed by an expert is mastered in [Pain Block].
So much so that even among assassins, there are those who have suffered shock deaths or given up on training due to the extreme difficulty levels.
To think Oknodie mastered such a skill at eleven years old.
How old did he start training?
How long was he exposed to pain?
It’s scary to even think about the details.
‘I’ve made a resolution.’
From now on, I’ll smash every branch of the Foundation that I find.
“That’s good. But the side effects are not all of this. The clerics of the Church have trained to detect Dark Mana, distinguishing between ordinary people and those who have dedicated themselves to the Masters. If you get caught in that detection, you could suddenly be mistaken for a Demon and treated as a betrayer of humanity.”
“Is it the [Evil Power Detection] ability?”
“Correct. If you have an official Hero License or a record of mercenary activities in the Demon Realm, you might avoid being dragged off by the Inquisition. But just being investigated is a waste of time, and there’s no need to mention how much your reputation plummets during that time. The tail of suspicion will continue to follow you.”
Could he actually be a Demon?
What if he fell to demonic corruption?
What if the betrayer was trying to deceive us?
What if he falsified his identity?
Wouldn’t it be better to just kill him?
This is what the general public would think.
That’s the future for anyone whose Dark Mana is detected.
“Society is suspicious of those with Dark Mana. Those of low social standing could lose their lives. So you too, just like the comrades of past Hero Parties, must learn techniques to hide your Dark Mana Adaptation Organ.”
“I have a question!”
“…Don’t worry. I’ve walked that same path. I won’t conclude you’re an evil being and treat you differently.”
“That’s not it! Is the reason why there’s always a priest or a saint in the Hero Party’s lineup because of that Dark Mana, needing someone to verify if they’re socially safe?”
Quite a realistic observation.
I’ve always felt this kid has a good sense.
“That’s right. There are also political reasons. The only god [Sofemia of the Sun] who selects heroes is acknowledged for their authority through their immense power, but the heroes chosen by the twelve benevolent deities and the twelve evil gods are essentially called the gods’ preparatory apostles, and they are in a different position than the heroes.”
“What a second-rate imitation!”
“…The Foundation has taught you well. To not be labeled as such second-rate imitation, the 24 deities also take on roles of detecting or purifying the Dark Mana of the Hero Party, ensuring they don’t fall to evil corruption and certify that they’re not harmful.”
By guaranteeing the safety of heroic companions, they can elevate their authority to equal or even greater status than the Hero Party.
While the archers or swordsmen can act brashly towards heroes, they must bow and treat their companions who can brand the hero party as heretics who couldn’t overcome Dark Mana with the utmost respect.
“But there was no priest in your Hero Party, right?”
“That’s true. Ni’alatotep exposed the wicked schemes of other churches, undermining the authority of gods and churches. In a situation where he claimed to be the only god while receiving enmity from other deities, he gathered even more hatred than previous heroes.”
The Destroyer walked alongside those from the Hero Party but could not travel with the priests of authoritative Churches that acknowledged their social standing and stability.
Naturally, he experienced every ill effect and concern he mentioned firsthand.
“So remember well what I’ll teach you from now on.”
If you don’t want to experience the countless unfair treatments a hero endured while going around the Demon Realm, facing the Demon King, who has been endowed with a Dark Mana Adaptation Organ.
Even though he was trying to impart his secret techniques to his disciple seriously, Oknodie’s face displayed a lack of tension.
“Ah, I’m okay with that! I pre-studied!”
“…What? Pre-studied?”
“There was a time when the saintess Yufi, who hangs around with the hero, cast an evil power detection spell on me, but she couldn’t find anything!”
How did he learn that?
If [Pain Block] is a first-level technique that someone exposed to Dark Mana should learn, then [Dark Block] is a much more difficult second-level technique!
It’s a skill that requires you to keep calm while trying to hide your Dark Mana in your body and endure the reactions as the holy power trying to detect it tortures your darkened body.
Naturally, there would be extreme pain involved in learning it to a usable degree in a real-world setting.
The higher the priest’s scanning skill, the longer the detection time, and the more difficult it is to hold your breath and suppress your energy, increasing your torture significantly.
Moreover, Oknodie’s Dark Mana levels are so abnormally high, it would be strange if he didn’t go berserk or turn into an evil demon.
If hiding a cup of water is hard, hiding a bucket is even harder; hiding the vast ocean is simply impossible.
Oknodie managed to make the impossible possible.
He must have put in a lot of effort.
‘I was too merciful.’
Just smashing branches of the Foundation isn’t enough.
They must be found and destroyed.
The Destroyer’s hatred for the Foundation hit its maximum level.
‘I received a negotiation request from the Sebiche Ducal House.’
He made a resolution.
‘No more negotiations.’
Destroy the Foundation.
For that start point, he would destroy the Foundation’s collaborators, the Sebiche family.
Identified as the largest branch of the Wahyhiemhai Foundation in the Kingdom of Florence, he would eradicate them.
And wipe out all the wealth and power amassed by the Sebiche family.
“Then that’s a relief. You won’t have any concerns. Now let’s return to the Academy.”
“But!”
“Do you still have questions?”
“Could you not kill the Pierrot Masked Group?”
“I never said anything about killing them.”
“But you’re still going to kill them!”
Just when he thought everything was done.
This perceptive kid kept throwing him into turmoil.
“Why? Why are you trying to keep the Foundation’s sub-organizations alive?”
“Because I need them?”
“Do you know they’re the ones creating kids like you?!”
Oknodie tilted his head like a confused bird.
“What kind of kid am I?”
