Chapter 54

Huh? I'm surprised. Hellfire, is it really that hard to extinguish?

Chapter 54

From each other's eyes, I clearly read one message—we are not from the same world!

In short, I was completely confused by what Angela and Lusien said. In the end, the truth was that people not only weren't afraid of dark mages, but actually welcomed them?

... Perhaps, when I think of dark mages, the first thing that comes to mind is my second teacher and his small group. That's why I think dark mages are an extremely dangerous species. And, recalling it, this isn't just my opinion—in a congressional session a few years ago, someone did propose that dark mages wear electronic collars to prevent them from doing evil.

I voiced this question, and Mel replied with a gloomy face, "Ignore those people. They're deliberately causing trouble. Aside from the extreme Dawn Alliance, even among ordinary people, there's still a small group who believe that technology is more in line with the needs of modern development. So, while they won't resort to violence, they'll still do everything they can to try and stigmatize magic. Throughout history, dark mages have been such a perfect example of this!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Dark Mage, indeed, very dark!

"But, Xipei, teach me Hellfire when we get back!" Mel said. "Last time we..."

Hmm... last time we were learning, we ended up in bed together...

Just thinking about it makes my back feel a little weak... I nodded. "Okay."

Mel was a little embarrassed. He said, "Actually, I've never dared to tell you the truth. I'm not a dark mage. I... I don't know any Black Magic. I've always been afraid to say it because I was afraid you would look down on me for being just a neutral mage."

... Hearing this, I couldn't help but cover my face. So, I'm worried about being disliked as a dark mage, while Mel is worried about being disliked as a neutral mage?

Good heavens, this problem of ours is getting worse and worse. It's not just about praising each other, it's also about worrying about each other unnecessarily!

However, as a neutral lawyer, Mel has achieved extraordinary things! The properties of magic have no impact on academic performance; in my eyes, all magic is just magic.

"My teacher always taught me that only an absolutely powerful mind can wield absolutely powerful magic. While spellcasting skills can indeed be improved through diligent practice, if one's character is insufficient to support their knowledge, they will ultimately be misled by the power of darkness and do things that are detrimental to scholarship or even the world," Mel said earnestly. "Therefore, my goal is to master Black Magic by the time I'm thirty. You've been studying Black Magic since you were so young, yet you've still managed to stay true to yourself. I should learn from you."

... Mel, do you really, really think so? And you're not just trying to comfort me?

Lusien continued, "And you seem unaware of what a remarkable thing you did back then! The black mage you killed wasn't just any ordinary terrorist; he came from a long-established cult of evil!"

Hearing this, I couldn't help but gasp. A cult of evil gods? So, my teacher is an unconventional dark mage? It turns out that only exceptional dark mages live like rats, constantly on the run!

As for cults, there are many. For example, I think the Dawn Alliance is a cult. But if it's a sect that worships an evil god, the most famous one should be...

"The Xivar Abyss Council, a cult that worships the Goddess of Annihilation, has tried time and again to destroy the order of the mortal world for thousands of years," Luolan said disdainfully. Mentioning the name, the elf's ears practically stuck to his hair, like a cat sniffing an orange peel, his eyes narrowed and teeth bared.

Hmm... this kind of cult that relentlessly pursues destruction is the perfect villain setup!

However, that's not the right way to put it. They don't want to destroy the world; they want to destroy the existing order—such as the political system and the economic environment. They feel that these are not fair enough, so people's lives are not good enough... If you ask me, it's like someone who doesn't know how to be content and doesn't work hard, yet blames others all day long. It's like someone who gets a stomachache from eating cold food and then blames the farmer for using bad water to water the vegetables. They haven't even found the core problem!

... So this cult has been thriving, yet it has always... well, always been habitually failing in its evil deeds. To the point that when the public hears on the news that a plot to Annihilation Cult in some place, they don't even bother to look up. Their news coverage probably doesn't even compare to the time when the Federation Corps Marshal's wig was blown away by the wind.

"The dark mage you killed was the leader of one of the two factions within the Abyss Council. He had been wanted by various countries for many years. He and another faction within the cult disagreed on the ancient doctrine of 'whether to adhere to tradition and allow only women as leaders,' so the two sides began to fight each other for leadership of the cult."

Huh?

Wait, if it was infighting, then... those... those mages my teacher made me kill—I used to think dark mages all loved to fight each other to compete for spells, ancient texts, or other resources, but the truth is—those poor mages whose mage towers I looted were all cultists fighting with my teacher?

That's a lot!

I can't even remember how many I've killed... I could write a long list! Some of them were like my teacher, living in some underground fortress deep in the mountains, some had a mage tower in the desert or on an island, and some were in a worse situation, a group of mages crammed into an apartment suite... Oh, and I even killed one who lived in a budget hotel.

... In short, during those years I was the most obedient killing tool under my teacher's command. I eliminated dissidents for him one by one and brought back their notes and spellbooks from the tower to my teacher. Hmm, when I went out to kill, my teacher would feed me poison beforehand to prevent me from escaping or betraying him. Until one time when I was killing an old mage, I pulled out a book called "The Complete Compendium of Legendary Poisons" from his bed.

"The dark mage had the upper hand, eliminating the core members of the opposing faction one by one. Just as he was about to unify the sect and begin a new round of destruction, he was suddenly killed himself, so..." Lusien shrugged.

Luolan continued, "So, the Annihilation Cult has already been rated as 'the most sympathetic villains in history' online, and many people also think they are the most dedicated 'comedic villains'... You see, this time it's even worse, isn't it? They didn't even finish their preparations for doing evil before they were wiped out."

After I finished speaking, almost everyone stood at attention and applauded, leaving me... completely at a loss for words.

I...

Okay, but that really was an accident! When I broke through those black mage towers and killed the tower masters next to my desk, I never imagined that I was killing cultists!

Hmm, now that I think about it, no wonder they killed so easily and made me so happy!

"So now you know how great the achievements of 'Flame of Fury' are!" Lusien said exaggeratedly. I felt like he was really singing a heroic epic with dramatic ups and downs, making me feel awkward from head to toe.

Being surrounded by a group of people, who were telling me how amazing the things I did when I was young were... This experience was really embarrassing, shameful, and made me feel very guilty—I don't think I'm as amazing as they say. Really, I'm just an ordinary mage.

"Young man, you should spend more time online," Luolan patted my shoulder.

I was speechless for a moment, but after Luolan finished speaking, he pointed to his feet with a hint of schadenfreude. "Hey, the Speaker is awake!"

Reynold, pale-faced, struggled to sit up. He looked up and saw me... or rather, I think he was looking at the teacher standing behind me...

Oh... I'm sorry, my teacher's neck is still limp, hanging down his back... Um, I didn't bring any special glue to hold the bones back together, so I'll have to leave it like this for now... Ah, so Reynold is afraid of twisted corpses?

Well, that makes sense. A pampered politician might indeed be afraid of corpses with rather grotesque appearances.