[ Special Task: Righting the Wrong ]
[ You have accidentally caused an undead outbreak that was used by Dartex and the demonic creatures for their great plan. Now, you, as the main perpetrator and the academy master of Heavenly Magic Academy, are required to undo the damages and prevent any further mishaps from occurring. ]
[ Requirement: This special task has multiple subtasks. Please refer to each subtask on how to complete them. ]
[ Rewards: None. ]
[ On Failure of at most one subtask: Revocation of title as academy master. The host will be purged from reality and sent to the death realm. ]
Eluard felt his spine cold out after knowing what would happen if he fails one subtask in this one.
'I have greatly fucked up this time.', he cursed himself. It looks like showing off that time with Emi was unnecessary.
An uncalled action that led to serious problems in the present.
[ Subtask 1: Dark and Desolate North ]
[ Erik Siegfried, alongside his henchmen and one slave, Akane, were afflicted by the undead corruption and has returned to the Norva Assili. It is imperative to deal with them first due to the erupting civil war caused by the rivalry between the Royal Family and the Siegfried Household. ]
[ Failure: Death of the Northern Barbaric High King Garron, the current ruler of Norva Assili, Olivia's father. ]
[ Subtask 2: Dusk of the Creed, Dawn of the Morning Star ]
[ The holy army that was supposed to march to the frontlines in the Morning Star Empire was intercepted by Dartex and his undead minions, afflicting them out of the surveillance of everyone, and have now returned to the capital city. ]
[ Prevent the corrupted members from infecting additional victims. The old and any new undead beings will be marked on your map. ]
[ Failure: Infected victims reach 75% of Aludia's total population. ]
[ Subtask 3: Muddy Waters ]
[ A group of undead beings boarded a merchant ship headed to the Oriental Oceanic Empire. They are planning to erode the waters with the infectious undead essence and spread it to the inhabitants of the empire and the underwater empire of species known as Dubiga. Due to unknown reasons, the system is unable to determine their location. However, they are still prone under the analysis of your Eye of Fidelity. ]
[ Failure: War erupts between the Oriental Oceanic Empire and the Dubiga. ]
[ Additional Note: The system was able to track these undead beings with the use of Dartex's memories and traced them using his mana. ]
[ Additional Note: Due to the presence of demonic power from each undead being, their overall strength is increased significantly. ]
[ Additional Note: Be wary of the interference from the Otherworld. The demonic creatures will not let their enemies deal with them easily. ]
The three subtasks put great pressure on Eluard.
'Damn, and I have to keep Olivia's father alive. This is an awkward situation.', he thought.
Persuading the people that the undead outbreak remains a threat was out of the option.
Dartex was already handled with. In the public's mind, the problem was gone along the fallen genius himself.
Also, Aludia doesn't have the materials to educate them that there were three stages of an undead being with the last one prevalent on the new targets. They wouldn't even bother to know of that information either.
A mind retracted undead being was completely similar to its previous host. Unless the undead essence was purged from them, the people wouldn't be able to notice a thing.
On the other hand, requesting these afflicted people to be purged would be ridiculous as well. That was akin to labeling a man as an insane person in front of others which was humiliating.
It wouldn't sit well for them and Eluard.
Asking for Elder Flock's assistance wasn't viable either. He didn't know how and where to find him.
Eluard concluded that it was better to visit Dartex first and talk to him about the things that has happened.
…
The solitary confinement cells were located on a small dimension directly connected to the Heavenly Magic Academy.
There was only one way to access the area, through the invitation of the academy master who was Eluard himself before being teleported here. Without his permission, no one could enter nor leave.
The cells were built with strange yet very powerful metal known as volsteal.
The said material could only be harvested on the cores of specific heavenly bodies, but that was a discussion to be further explained later on.
The prisoners' and visitors' strength were suppressed to the lowest power level except for the academy master. Any other 'special attributes' were disabled as well, rendering anyone but the academy master crippled inside this dimension.
Eluard strutted in the hallway, glancing at the rowdy undead beings who were reaching their hands to him to try and go at him.
He could feel the misery behind their voices, making his heart lurch in anger and curse at himself for bringing this suffering to them.
'Did I… really do this to them?'
Eluard didn't know whether it was because of his mask, or his apathetic self, but the remorse was not as heavy in his heart as he expected.
[ Do you wish to remove the corrupted mana signature from the undead beings? ], the system prompted.
"Yes.", Eluard softly replied then sighed in defeat.
The undead beings who were busy shouting at Eluard suddenly felt pain in their bodies. Golden light embraced them gracefully from nowhere, purging out the dark mana and demonic essence stuck inside them.
Despite the brightness the golden light emitted, the mask seemed to have covered Eluard's eyes.
They howled as their eyes turned white, rendering them unconscious after the golden light purified them.
"System, can you teleport them back to their original places after they have regained their consciousness?", Eluard requested.
[ Affirmative. ]
Hearing the system's reply relieved a burden on Eluard's shoulders.
'I have come here thinking I could be a hero I dreamt of before. Those types that one could see in the movies.'
A guilty smile surfaced on his face. He unknowingly ended up as someone who incurred doom to Aludia's inhabitants.
Eluard sighed and continued on the path ahead. He circled the corner and was taken below.
This time, there weren't that many people except for Dartex's frail figure sitting on the 3rd cell from Eluard's right. His complexion was restored, though wounds were still apparent on his body.
The tattered clothes were thrown to the sides, showing his full face whose bald head coupled with the wicked and blacked eyes of his emitted an aura of a criminal.
"Ah, you have finally come, my dear academy master."
Follow current nov𝒆ls on freew(𝒆)bnov𝒆l.(c)om