The Sword Demon Tears People Apart

The Principal’s office in the Magic Department building.
Zeron smiled slightly at the large lump swollen on the Principal’s head and sat down on a chair.
The Principal only twitched his eyebrows for a moment, without any other reaction.
Rather, he calmly tidied his clothes and began to speak.
“As I said before, rifts are like bridges to the destroyed world.”
They can be one-way or two-way.
One-way rifts from the destroyed world to the continent.
One-way rifts from the continent to the destroyed world.
And two-way rifts that allow travel back and forth.
“So far, two types have been discovered. One-way rifts from the destroyed world to the continent, and two-way rifts that allow travel in both directions. However, there’s a peculiarity with the two-way rifts.”
That peculiarity is that no two-way rifts directly connecting to the destroyed world have been discovered yet.
All the two-way rifts discovered so far connect to fragments that have broken off from the destroyed world.
It’s speculated that due to the nature of two-way rifts opening on both sides, the already nearly collapsed destroyed world might break apart due to the waves or pressure.
And if this assumption is correct, rifts from the continent to the destroyed world would be nothing short of a death trap.
If a rift opens in the destroyed world and that space breaks off, due to the one-way nature of the rift, anyone who enters would never be able to come out again.
The space inside the rift is limited, and it’s impossible to cross over to the destroyed world from there.
Whether they starve to death trapped there, take their own life, or get torn apart by Voids…
They wouldn’t meet a good end.
“So research on the destroyed world heavily relies on two-way rifts, otherwise known as dungeons. Well, I don’t think this is of interest to you.”
“Yeah, I’m not interested in the research side.”
“Even I don’t have much information to begin with. I remember telling you about this much last time too.”
The Principal continued.
“If I were to explain something more… the green orbs that come out when you kill Voids. Those called precious stones, if crushed, have beneficial effects on the body, so they’re in high demand among the powerful.”
He means the life orbs.
So that’s what they’re called, precious stones.
“Never mind that, tell me more about these dungeons. Is it impossible to predict when and where they’ll appear?”
He said it was bad luck this time, but no one knows if it will end with just once, or happen two or three times.
What if the kid gets swept into a dungeon when Zeron isn’t around?
It could potentially lead to a disaster.
“It’s impossible for now. However, if one reaches a certain level, they can sense its presence a few seconds before it appears.”
“Tch, that’s useless.”
“…Additionally, no one knows what’s inside a dungeon. There might be nothing, or there might be rare treasures.”
“You mean there might not even be any Voids?”
“Theoretically. But we believe the destroyed world is full of Voids. The chances of that are almost zero.”
With those words, the Principal closed his mouth and stared at Zeron.
Is this the end?
There was less information than he had thought.
Of course, he might be hiding something, but it didn’t feel that way.
“Well, alright. Anyway, that means there’s no way to cross over to this destroyed world or whatever?”
“That’s unknown. It’s just that it hasn’t been discovered yet. Theoretically, it’s possible.”
“Damn it.”
Zeron clicked his tongue and stood up.
The Principal’s gaze followed him.
“I’m leaving then.”
Zeron waved his hand and left the Principal’s office.
Pingcheng followed him, trotting behind.
She poked Zeron’s back repeatedly and asked with a broad smile.
“Zeronzeron! But aren’t you going to tell me to keep it a secret? That Master thing.”
“That includes you too.”
“Okay! Hehe.”
Pingcheng nodded lightly and walked away, humming a tune.
Zeron quietly watched her retreating figure.
She’d tell others that I’m a Master?
It didn’t particularly matter.
He didn’t want to reveal it because it would be troublesome, not because there was any big reason.
If the King or nobles heard that information and bothered him?
He’d just rip out their necks and be done with it.
To begin with, they also know to some extent about the power of Masters, so they wouldn’t do anything rash.
Of course, they might do things that aren’t rash.
“Haah….”
Zeron lit a cigarette as he headed towards the dormitory.
Then he took out an orb from his pocket.
A blue orb emitting fresh mana.
He could block the leaking mana so he was carrying it around, but he couldn’t just keep carrying it forever.
He had to use it somehow.
Before entering his room, Zeron instructed Luna.
“Don’t let anyone into the room until I say so.”
“Yes, understood.”
After getting confirmation, he entered the room and sat down on the floor.
Staring at the orb, it certainly looked similar to the life orbs, no, precious stones.
If it’s similar to precious stones, should he break it?
Zeron applied force to his hand.
What if it’s not?
There’s nothing he can do about it.
It would be good if he could replenish his lacking mana, but even if it failed, it didn’t particularly matter.
Soon, crack- the orb cracked, and
Whaaak-!
Dense mana leaked out from the cracks.
Up to this point, it’s the same as precious stones.
Then…, as expected.
Suuu-
The mana seeps into Zeron’s body.
Zeron closed his eyes and concentrated.
Eyes, nose, mouth.
From all the body’s openings to the entire skin.
The mana gently seeps in and flows into all the meridians of the body.
Zeron tried to guide the mana to his dantian, but there was no need.
The mana naturally dissolved into Zeron’s mana and became one.
It’s surprising.
Almost disappointingly so.
Usually, consuming elixirs shouldn’t feel like this.
Letting go of stray thoughts, he checked his body condition.
Even upon close inspection, there was nothing particularly wrong.
Rather, as mana flowed into the meridians, impurities and toxins were expelled.
For Zeron, who had a lot of impurities in his body due to a poor growth environment, it was an unexpected blessing.
“Wow…, elixirs really are good.”
Zeron smiled slightly and raised his mana.
Whaaak-! Rough mana rose up and burned away all the expelled impurities and toxins.
Though it was a bit excessive, and the bottle of alcohol lying nearby also evaporated.
“Hmm…. I’ll have to test it tomorrow….”
In this state, he’d obviously blow away the entire training ground.
After his body adapts to the mana.
So, roughly by tomorrow, when he’s a bit more accustomed, he’ll test it then.
Zeron grumbled as he got up.
Still, the heaviness in his dantian area made him feel quite good.
The time…, not even 10 minutes had passed yet?
Even that was mostly spent checking his body, so it was certainly surprising.
‘This makes time feel floaty.’
He reluctantly put on his outer clothes.
He was thinking of going outside the Academy to get some fresh air.

Zeron opened the door, checking if he had his wallet.
As he came out into the corridor, Luna, who was guarding the door, opened her eyes wide.
“Are you coming out already?”

“Ah, it ended faster than I thought.”
“I thought you were going to consume an elixir.”
“That’s right?”
“Pardon? But how so quickly….”
After some casual chat with the puzzled Luna, he left the Academy.
The weather was moderately chilly.
He walked the streets with a cigarette in his mouth.
The capital was crowded during the day.
A lively street.
He wasn’t particularly fond of it.
When there are many people, it makes him unnecessarily nervous and feels bothersome.
If he had his way, he’d like to swing his sword once and clear the view.
He smiled slightly and shook his head.
No matter what, he still had no intention of doing such a thing.
Since he was out anyway, he stopped by a liquor store.
He picked up a few that caught his eye and paid, and sure enough, his wallet became noticeably lighter, as expected of expensive ones.
After leaving the store, he bought some cigarettes too, and then wandered around without a destination, wondering what to do next.
Now that he was out, there wasn’t much to do.
Going to a bar alone didn’t mean much, and it’s not like he had any friends either.
If that David bastard was around, he could at least drag him along.
Tsk, he clicked his tongue, thinking about just going back, when it happened.
A faint wind blew.
Zeron’s nose twitched for a moment.
A subtle smell of blood mixed in the wind.
Somehow feeling like he knew what was going on, he leisurely moved his feet.

As he got closer to his destination, there were fewer people.
Even in the capital, there are alleys, and where he was heading now was one of the particularly deep alleys.
Turn this corner and the scene…, should I say.
Like last time, an exhibition would be in full swing.
The smell of blood strongly stimulates his sense of smell.
Zeron took a step forward, listening to the sound of his heart pounding with anticipation.
“Oh….”
As expected, there was a work there.
Two severed arms forming a large heart, and inside that heart, a head with empty eye sockets smiling happily.
Since the murdered person wouldn’t have been happy, they must have manually shaped the expression.
What artistic meaning could be contained in that?
Coincidentally, the artist was also here.
“Aren’t you going to explain the work?”
“Wow…! A work? Zeromirong sees this as a work of art!”
“Wasn’t it?”
“No! It is! It’s my artwork! Though other people don’t seem to understand it at all!”
A hooded figure walked out from the shadows of the alley.
The height is petite.
Probably comes up to about my chest.
Nevertheless, the chest area of the hood was greatly swollen.
If grasped with one hand, the rest would surely spill out softly.
“Zerong, I remember what you said last time, you know?”
Answer? Ah, is she talking about that time?
The question about whether you could kill a hundred innocent people for the sake of someone precious, or for your own satisfaction…
It was a childish question.
“What did I say then?”
“‘It’s not even something to think hard about. Whether it’s a thousand or ten thousand, it’s none of my business,’ that’s what you said!”
The figure imitated Zeron’s voice and then laughed, “Pufufu.”
It was surprisingly similar, which was a bit interesting.

“Ah, that’s right.”
“Yes! And after seeing your behavior during the monster wave last time, I knew for sure!”
She took off her hood.
Pink hair like a prostitute’s, and eyes of the same color were revealed.
Those pink eyes were sparkling as if containing stars.
“As expected, Zeron is the same as me, right?”
Iris de Polwhyan smiled brightly.