I Became The Academy’s Narrow-Eyes - Chapter 52: The Followers

I’m dying.

Sinia’s instincts issued a stark warning.

If things continued like this, she was certain to die.

And yet, it begged her to move.

‘Please!!!’

But even in her desperate plea, Sinia’s senses and mana did not respond.

She instinctively knew it was the same assassination technique used on the empty bag.

It interfered with the opponent’s mana and senses, deceiving and negating them.

However, it was fundamentally different this time.

The empty bag had used a myriad of means to negate Sinia’s senses and mana.

It had negated her with mana interference and backed up that interference with movements rooted in assassination techniques.

However, the creature in front of her did nothing of the sort.

‘Just a trick?’

Was the empty bag’s assassination technique a trick?

No, it was a highly developed and sophisticated skill with a systematic structure.

On the level of depth alone, it was comparable to Sinia’s own swordsmanship.

However, compared to the creature before her, it could only be called a trick.

Right now, using its overwhelming mana, the creature completely negated all of Sinia’s senses and mana.

In other words, it was an absolute force.

The creature simply used its overwhelming power to pin Sinia down, just like a bug.

There was no possibility of counteracting or overcoming like it was with the empty bag.

She merely had to submit to the impending fate.

‘Absolutely…!’

What kind of monster had such a preposterous ability?

Sinia was a formidable person who had reached the Seventh Stage.

She was among the chosen who had ascended to the realm of the heroes, which granted her the right to call herself a champion.

But even considering that she might not be immune to the mysterious power of assassination, how much strength was needed to establish such a one-sided situation?

What came to mind were the transcendent beings.

The rulers who had surpassed human boundaries, who had a part of the world under their rule.

The heads of the major families and the owners of the Mana towers symbolized them.

‘It’s impossible…’

Could it be that the creature in front of her was on the same level as those rulers?

‘That is…’

The thought was far too dangerous.

If such a powerful creature existed in the dark world, what kind of effect would it have if it possessed malevolent intentions?

This creature, this assassin – what was its purpose?

‘Harashin…?’

With her thought reaching this point, a sudden doubt crept in.

The creature was an assassin, that much was certain.

However, was it really Harashin?

It was a foolish question.

All assassins were inevitably Harashin.

The Harashin never allowed the leakage of direct assassination techniques.

‘But…’

Given that, why?

Why did this creature kill the empty bag, who was Harashin itself?

‘Why…’

And why isn’t it killing her yet?

The creature was still observing Sinia quietly.

It was the time that could have killed Sinia dozens of times over in this frozen world.

Sinia observed the dark aura seeping from the gaps in its eerie mask and felt fear coming from the unknown.

This avatar of negation couldn’t be comprehended from either its identity or its purpose.

What on earth was this creature thinking?

“Thou.”

Then, the creature opened its mouth.

Sinia’s faint heartbeat began to intensify once again.

“A right foot that strays beyond measure. Harashin’s left eye has not set upon you.”

At the moment when those words seeped from the gap of the creature’s mask, Sinia had almost lost her sanity to fear.

What immediately came to her mind was similar to when the monster had spoken to the empty bag as it plunged it into its death.

‘No.’

But upon reflection, it was peculiarly different.

When the monster granted death to the empty bag, it distinctly said:

“O lost left foot that wanders aimlessly. Harashin’s left eye has set upon you.”

In a sense, the phrase had a meaning completely opposite to what it had said to Sinia now.

Words with a meaning opposite to a death sentence were directed at her.

Could it be?

A new emotion flowered in Sinia.

It was hope.

The hope that the monster might not take her life.

‘Please…’

Sinia gently speculated and fervently prayed.

Thud.

Thud.

And then, at that moment.

“What?!”

The mana interference that restrained Sinia disappeared.

But Sinia was still unable to move.

Even if it was not using the assassination technique, the monster’s presence was still strong enough to squeeze her.

Then the monster extended its hand and said.

“Sinia of the Iron Wall.”

“…!”

You know my name!?

How?

Sinia was a well known figure in the entire continent beyond the city of Arienne.

Recognising her face and name would not be difficult.

But at this moment, Sinia felt that the monster was ‘seeing through’ her with some kind of power.

“Speak what you desire from Harashin’s Right Arm.”

“…Huh?”

“Empty bag, Adoni of the Long Nails, was originally the only pebble placed in your path. The battle with him was your own journey. However, I, the Right Arm representing Harashin’s will, have stripped you of your journey. You may, if you have anything you desire, speak to Harashin’s Right Arm.”

The monster muttered something indecipherable.

Sinia, close to losing her sanity to fear, barely clung on and deciphered this riddling remark.

“So… you are saying now that… you, as a substitute, killed – Harashin, who I originally intended to confront, so you’ll kill anyone I desire as the cost of it?”

The monster neither denied nor affirmed, merely silently waited for Sinia’s words.

Gulp.

Unconsciously, Sinia swallowed her saliva.

Her first feeling was curiosity.

What would happen if she asked that monster here to kill one of the world leaders?

Would the monster shake its head and declare it impossible?

Or would it nod its head without uttering a word?

‘…!’

In Sinia’s mind, the only image remaining was that of the monster nodding its head.

Indeed, for Sinia, the proposition the monster made was tremendous.

It was the hand of death.

If she accepted that hand, she could easily fulfill her current desire.

“…”

But Sinia shook her head, a sign of refusal.

“I refuse.”

The reason Sinia gave up on that tremendous proposition was not hard to explain.

“I don’t intend to join hands with your kind.”

“You mean…”

“You, Harashin. Isn’t that so?”

“We are Harashin. But not the Harashin you know.”

Sinia had faintly realized it, too.

The stranger was Harashin, but could it be different from the Harashin she knew?

But that was not very important.

What was important was that it was an assassin.

That it was a being living in the same world as Harashin.

Sinia had neither the confidence to understand nor accept the monster.

“Can you tell me one thing?”

“Is that your request?”

“Let’s assume so.”

“I, Harashin’s Right Arm, will remove the pebble of doubt placed on the path you walk. Speak your doubt.”

“What is your purpose…?”

An intense black light flowed from the unusual gap above the monster’s mask.

Soon, echoes from the abyss seeped out from the gap below.

Ragadiearias.

From where you can’t see.

Egonoearias.

From where you can’t seek.

“Our true Harashin is originally a recluse and a bystander. At the same time, an executor and a guardian. Our ultimate goal was to dedicate ourselves to ensuring the great Tuerse Empire walks the righteous path.”

“The Tuerse Empire…?”

“The forgotten empire from the far east- unrecorded in your history.”

“If it’s a forgotten empire-”

“Tuerse has collapsed. Because we, Harashin, have forgotten our duty and degraded. Therefore, we, the true Harashin, no longer have a reason to exist. We shouldn’t exist.”

“But-”

Right.

Both the monster and Sinia’s gaze simultaneously went to the empty bag.

“There is a phantom wandering the continent. A part of us, Harashin, who has forgotten our duty and degraded.”

The monster approached the empty bag.

Thump.

He lightly knocked over the creature kneeling on its knees with his fingertips.

“The phantom Harashin has returned. Therefore, we, the true Harashin, have returned.”

The black light in the monster’s eyes blazed fiercely.

“We will correct the mistakes of Harashin.”

“…”

Gulp.

From that fiercely blazing black light, Sinia deciphered the animosity that Harashin-

Whom he referred to as the phantom Harashin, held against them.

Sinia filled with anticipation, asked.

“Is the phantom Harashin… the Harashin we know?”

The monster selected his words among the silence.

Soon, he spat out.

“Ragadiearias. Egonoearias.”

Sinia immediately took over the familiar words.

“From where you can’t see. From where you can’t seek.”

It seemed that Sinia understood what the monster meant by those words.

The true Harashin neither reveals themselves nor seeks anything.

[Harashin = a mysterious faction / organization]

Therefore, the Harashin known to the world who seek something by revealing themselves is the phantom Harashin.

Therefore, that monster – is an enemy of the true Harashin.

“But… huh?”

Suddenly, when Sinia regained her senses, the monster had disappeared.

…

For a while, sincere questions and answers were exchanged.

However, Sinia still could not tell whether that monster – was the true Harashin who were their ally or enemy.

She did not even know whether to trust him or not.

But, one thing was clear.

The true Harashin.

They were the enemies of the Harashin they knew – the phantom Harashin.

Following the eight different ideologies, the Harashin who were divided into eight factions acted independently.

There were several cases where they cooperated.

However, there were very few cases where they were hostile to each other.

So for Sinia, it was a persuading hypothesis.

The enemy that the unknowably powerful presence is tracking.

They were also her enemies.

“Haha…I shouldn’t be like this…”

But it felt reassuring.

Sinia, who discovered that she could feel the existence of the monster – the presence of a formidable assassin, awkwardly laughed.

Soon, she mumbled as if chewing over her words.

“Ragadiearias… Egonoearias…”

***

Two days had passed since the subjugation of Edony.

Finally, I faced Redar as The Right Arm.

As The Right Arm, I was currently boasting the peak of the ninth stage.

Redar didn’t even flinch looking at me.

Because the leader served by my main character Ceylon, who boasts the eighth stage, he seemed to strongly consider the possibility that I might not be beyond that stage.

“…!”

Rather, he was startled looking at my appearance, not my stage.

Especially when he faced me at close quarters with an abnormal mask on –

You could literally see the fear in his eyes.

From that point, his attitude dealing with The Right Arm changed drastically.

‘This mask is more unusual than I thought.’

I scolded the past me, who was thoroughly disappointed when I pulled this unusual mask out of the box.

This unusual mask belonged to the unusual guy who knew when and how to act.

“The empty bag…!?”

Redar knew about the empty bag, but he didn’t know that the guy was an assassin.

Why?

It’s simple.

Because he have never seen him directly with The Omniscient Eye.

It’s been 5 years since Redar graduated from the academy and left Arienne.

The story, where an unknown powerhouse named ’empty bag’ crawled into the mossy street and made his name known, was not even 3 years old.

I subtly hinted to Redar that the empty bag was the direct master of Harashin’s long-nailed Edony and that the Right Arm was the one who subjugated him.

And we had a deeper conversation about the real Harashin, which I had been roughly brushing off when I was Ceylon.

Then, the conversation flowed similar to the time with Sinia.

“Ragadiearias… Egonoearias…”

It seemed that my feat as The Right Arm of defeating Adoni, a direct master of Harashin, was properly acknowledged.

There were often cases where the Harashin, who were divided into eight factions, cooperated with each other, but cases where they were hostile were extremely rare.

Redar, who had been attentively listening to The Right Arm’s story all along, muttered that phrase meaningfully.

Redar spoke to me as if he had decided something.

“I will believe in the true Harashin.”

“Hmm…”

I nodded solemnly.

‘That’s right! This is it!’

Celebrating jubilantly in my mind.

At this moment.

The assassin group called the real Harashin, was unofficially recognized by Redar, the eldest son of the Lebringer family.

How much help would this be in the future when my main character- Ceylon falls into a difficult situation due to the assassination technique.

I couldn’t even imagine.

If this was considered as an artifact, it would probably be at least a legend- if not a myth.

The unexpected meeting with Redar brought tremendous income.

I almost found his terrifying Omniscient Eye adorable.

“Subjugating Harashin- the phantom Harashin is a task for the Eldran Continent. If only our hearts were in agreement, our Lebringer family would completely support it-”

I nodded my head to signify my understanding of Redar’s words.

If the Lebringer family were to entirely support me, they would officially recognize the real Harashin.

That was too much.

The responsibilities and duties that we would have to take on would increase immeasurably-

I had no intention of actively hunting the Harashin while bearing those responsibilities and obligations, even if it meant receiving support from the Lebringer family.

Because my first priority was to follow the quest.

Apologies for the mistake. Here’s the corrected translation:

Redar would use his influence to save my main character, Ceylon, in a difficult situation related to the assassination technique.

He would exert his influence once to save me.

As for the real Harashin, if the Lebringer House is in a difficult situation due to the phantom Harashin,

They would consider whether to support the Lebringer House depending on the situation.

In my opinion, the relationship between the real Harashin and the Lebringer House was just right.

“There is one thing, a personal question, could I ask about it?”

As we finished the conversation and tried to break up, Redar asked.

‘A personal question? What is it all of a sudden?’

As The Right Arm nodded strictly and solemnly, Redar immediately brought up the subject.

“Is Ceylon, the main master of the real Harashin, related to the mission of the real Harashin’s admission to the academy?”

Oh.

Nice question.

It was a part that had to be clearly pointed out someday.

I talked to him about the setting I had thought of beforehand.

Ceylon is strange.

He is the main master of the real Harashin, but he doesn’t feel much responsibility for that duty.

He entered the academy simply for the purpose of making a living.

This explanation adds credibility to my behavior of intensely following the quest at the academy, even though I am the main master of the real Harashin, without worrying about the phantom Harashin.

Having heard this setting, Redar laughed out loud.

“That’s like him.”

How am I like that?

What do you know about me?

‘What do you know about that iron-willed guy? Well?’

Anyways, it was when I was trying to break up this time.

“Oh, can I ask one more personal question at the end?”

Why is this guy so clingy?

Was he originally interested in others?

‘Probably not?’

By the way, is there anything left to be curious about from here?

I became curious about that and allowed him to ask a question.

Then he was shy.

He carefully asked, shy and unresponsively.

“…If I also receive a direct assassination technique teaching from you or Ceylon, can I become as strong as Ceylon?”

He said it lightly like a joke, but the emotion in his clear Omniscient Eye was sincere.

Are you interested in assassination techniques to become stronger?

You are the direct successor and eldest son of the Great House Lebringer, the pride and pride of all knights?

“Oh…”

Crazy guy.

As I looked at the clear eyes of Redar in front of me, I completely forgot about The Right Arm mode and blurted out in surprise.