Arc 2 : Epilouge

[Raul PoV]

The Grunbelt Academy Tournament had come to an end, with Princess Alisha becoming the first outsider ever to win it. In the finals, she'd defeated Brian with astonishing ease, without him managing to put up any real resistance at all.

So his plot armor hadn't kicked in this time, huh?

Right now, I was heading to the main hall to attend the opening of the graduation ceremony for the third-year students.

Arriving there, plenty of students had already gathered.

I took a seat in one of the empty chairs. At the edge of my vision, I noticed a blond man sitting with his head down, wearing a gloomy expression.

Beside him, Ariel seemed to be comforting him with words of encouragement, trying to cheer him back up.

It seemed Brian still couldn't accept his defeat against Princess Alisha in the finals a few days ago. He'd always believed he could overcome any obstacle standing between him and his dream.

Following the game's original scenario, Brian should have been the one to win this tournament. But in this new reality, Princess Alisha's sudden arrival at the academy had shifted the story's course entirely.

I figured this would actually serve him well in the long run, helping him gain some self-awareness. Had Princess Alisha never shown up, I'd already planned on giving Brian a similar reality check myself, eventually.

Before long, Headmaster William entered the hall and walked toward the podium. The students fell silent, waiting to hear what the old man had to say.

"My dear students, we've gathered here today to celebrate the graduation of this academy's third-year class!" the Headmaster announced, opening his address.

"They've endured stages that demanded everything from them — physically, mentally, and in time spent — to reach this point," the Headmaster said, smiling toward the section reserved for third-year students.

"But don't rest easy just yet, because far greater challenges await you ahead! The true struggle begins once you become knights out there, protecting the peace; once you become mages, striving to improve the lives of the people; and once you become healers, fighting to save the lives of others."

Hearing the Headmaster's words, the third-year students puffed out their chests with pride, having successfully made it through everything.

"But I have full confidence you'll overcome whatever challenges await you next. Because you are special individuals who've successfully graduated from the most renowned academy in this entire world!" the Headmaster said, sounding proud. "On behalf of this academy, I offer my sincerest congratulations to all of you graduating today!"

The Headmaster then began applauding, followed by every instructor and student present in the main hall.

"Now, we'll call each student forward, one by one, to award their graduation badge," the Headmaster said, stepping down from the podium. "We'll call students in order, starting from the top rank!"

If I remembered correctly, the highest-ranked third-year student only held third place overall. That's because second place belonged to Elena, and first place belonged to Valeria.

"With a total score of 1003, ranking third overall in this academy, Emilia de Cataluna!"

The moment her name was called, the short-haired brunette rose and walked toward the stage set up at the front. Her expression didn't look particularly pleased, despite being the top graduate of the third-year class.

The Headmaster then pinned a badge onto her uniform, followed by a graduation certificate showing her rank.

This certificate was what students used to apply to whichever Knight Order or Tower of Magic they wished to join afterward.

"Next, Luis de Catanbria!"

The graduation ceremony lasted about six hours. Afterward, students typically threw a party to celebrate. But right now, my focus rested on one person alone.

Vlad mel Dracus...

[Vlad PoV]

That evening, once the graduation ceremony had concluded, I made my way to the room of the student I'd manipulated earlier.

My mood had been utterly foul lately, ever since that bastard defeated me in the tournament.

How could someone so weak possibly figure out my Profound Codex ability? Everyone at this academy had witnessed my defeat, my ability laid bare.

I wouldn't let this stand. It was time to carry out a massacre at this academy.

Arriving outside the student's room, I knocked. Before long, the student I'd manipulated earlier appeared.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"What brings you here this late at night?" the student asked.

"Remember my promise to you, about how to gain power instantly?" I answered him.

Hearing my words, he smiled slyly. "Of course. Is it finally time for you to grant me that power?"

"Of course. Wait for me in Eldwood Forest," I instructed him. "I'll go retrieve it first, then meet you there."

"Understood, I'll head there right away."

Hahaha! Instant power? Don't make me laugh! A loser like you could never become as strong as me just by eating some fruit.

Truly, a fool is so easy to deceive.

Once he ate that fruit, it was true he'd gain power. But his body would mutate into a bloodthirsty monster, stripped entirely of his own reason.

[Raul PoV]

That night, I was currently trailing Vlad as he headed toward Eldwood Forest. For some reason, seeing him act so calm, without stirring up any trouble at all, made me suspicious.

I'd also put on The Masquerade's mask to conceal my true identity. Though honestly, I had another reason entirely for wearing it tonight.

After following Vlad into the forest for a while, I saw him approach a student who looked familiar.

Wasn't that the student who'd once intended to kill the classmates bullying him? Which meant Vlad was about to deliver on the promise he'd made him back then.

Before long, Vlad pulled out a fruit with a distinctly unique pattern on its skin.

My suspicion was confirmed — he possessed a Devil Fruit.

Devil Fruits were the byproduct of a failed experiment conducted by the demon race, using their own DNA. They'd once sought to rapidly expand their forces to fight against humanity in this world.

But they couldn't produce powerful demons directly. Which was exactly why they'd turned to this experiment, hoping to create a powerful army instantly.

They began extracting their DNA into fruits, then forced humans to consume them.

The result: those humans gained power resembling that of demons, but their minds shattered into madness, unable to withstand the incompatible demon DNA now coursing through their bodies.

If this was true, then Vlad's plan was undoubtedly to destroy the entire academy, killing everyone within it, without ever needing to stain his own hands.

I needed to stop him before it was too late.

Walking slowly toward them, Vlad and the student both turned toward me.

"Who are you!? What do you want he—"

Vlad's voice caught in his throat, startled the instant I emerged from his own shadow using Shadow Link.

"Radical Blow!"

I began pummeling his face and stomach with a relentless barrage of strikes until Vlad lost consciousness. Caught completely off guard like this, Vlad was easily brought down by me.

I then took the Devil Fruit from Vlad's hand and approached the student.

"Pl-please don't kill me! I'm begging you, spare me!" the student shouted hysterically, gripped with fear.

—Bam!

I struck his face hard, knocking him unconscious.

A Devil Fruit, huh...?

It seemed I needed to pay the Kingdom of Draconia a visit sometime soon, to investigate this matter. I doubted Vlad had obtained something like this entirely on his own.

Someone must have given it to him, and I was certain he belonged to one of the heretical groups the Temple of Goddess Diana's authorities were hunting.

The Devil Cult...

A group of demon worshippers, forever awaiting their masters' return to this world.

I needed to destroy them, sooner or later. If left unchecked, they'd eventually cause far greater problems down the road.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that group. Someone else awaited me tonight.

I was certain they'd come find me tonight, if I wore this mask long enough.

Once I'd cleaned up the mess here, I headed out beyond the academy grounds to meet one of them.

.

.

.

Right now, I stood atop the clock tower at the center of the capital. A light drizzle had begun falling since I'd left the academy grounds.

—Teng...! Teng...! Teng...!

The bell tolled, signaling it was now midnight. I'd been waiting three hours now for one of them to show up, yet there was no sign of them approaching at all.

It seemed they still hadn't detected me, even after wearing this mask for such a long stretch of time.

I rose to my feet, ready to leave this place. But suddenly, someone landed directly in front of me, seemingly out of nowhere.

A man in a black cloak, holding a puppet in his hand, with red hair, wearing the same mask as me. There was no mistaking it — he was one of The Masquerade's members.

"Who are you?" I asked him, pretending not to know.

"Don't play dumb," he answered coldly. "I've been watching you for a while now. You've clearly been waiting for one of us to come find you, which means you already know exactly who we are."

Just as expected from one of the most dangerous antagonist groups in the game — none of them were fools.

"You're the heir to The Fool's mask. Our group wants you to take over the position of the previous Fool, who died dueling a Holy Knight," the man before me said. "What's your answer?"

If I refused his offer, he'd undoubtedly kill me on the spot. With my current strength, I was clearly no match for this man. Each member of theirs carried power nearly on par with a Grand Espada, one of the Empire's seven strongest knights.

Still, this was a decision I'd already planned for in advance. By joining this group, I'd gain an additional Profound Codex, one capable of making me considerably stronger.

The only real risk of joining this group was that the Temple of Goddess Diana's authorities would come hunting for me. But that was a fairly cheap price, considering the benefits I stood to gain.

As long as I could protect my true identity, this wouldn't pose a problem at all.

That was exactly why I'd always held back from using my Nature Mana in public as Raul de Garcia. If anyone realized Raul shared the same magic as one of The Masquerade's members, my true identity would be exposed instantly.

Which was why I'd always been so careful using it.

"Alright, I'll join your group."

Hearing my answer, the man tossed something toward me.

I caught it and saw a ring inscribed with several runes.

"That's an artifact capable of linking every member's soul together," the man said. "The ring will glow whenever the Keeper summons us. If we answer the call, our souls will automatically be summoned to a Soul Room, prepared specifically for our meetings."

That was exactly right — this was precisely why The Masquerade proved so difficult to track down and capture within the game. They were extraordinarily skilled at concealing their identities and covering their tracks, making them nearly impossible to trace.

"You can call me Puppeteer," the man said, looking me directly in the eyes. "We use aliases so our true identities remain difficult to uncover. Not even our fellow members know each other's real names."

The Masquerade had a total of seven members, each possessing extraordinarily unique abilities. Their aliases were all inspired by circus performers.

"From now on, you'll be my partner," Puppeteer said, turning his back to me. "How should we address you within this group?"

Hmm... an alias for myself, huh? Honestly, I've never been particularly gifted at coming up with names. Still, I think this one would suit me perfectly.

"You can call me, Joker."