Published at 5th of December 2025 11:06 pm

Chapter 242

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

"It's a curse."

The forensic scientist from Bavaria said, unfolding the corpse's palm. A small cross mark, the same as the one that had appeared on mine, was drawn in the center of the player's palm.

The smell of formaldehyde and the faint scent of blood stung my nose. The doctor of public security, the Minister of Magic, a few of the minister's subordinate magic scientists, and I had warped to the Bavarian morgue to hear the autopsy results. It was 25 minutes after the suicide incident.

I stared at it expressionlessly, then glanced at my own hand. Sea-blue magic power shimmered beneath the cross mark in the center. Even after coming to Bavaria, the trace of the curse remained.

'The curse remains even after leaving the Pentalon grounds.'

That was good information, worth remembering.

Meanwhile, the forensic scientist moved the tip of a short rod from the center of the corpse's palm to its heart.

"This wound, which looks like a stigma, is merely on the surface. If you follow the flow of magic power, you can see that the curse magic has completely settled in the core."

"Finding a way to dispel it is the priority. Is there no way?"

The Minister of Magic asked with a dark expression.

"None so far. Just before you arrived, Minister, I quickly consulted eight of the empire's curse experts... but I was told that this curse has never been reported in academia. I, too, have seen many who have died under curses during my long career in autopsies, but this is the first time I've seen a curse that resembles white magic. Moreover, there is something like a barrier around it to prevent the magic from being destroyed. We currently don't even know what that surrounding magic is."

"Hmph...."

"Proof will be necessary. I will try casting a basic dispel magic."

The forensic scientist took the corpse's hand with a gloved hand and gestured to us. It was a sign to grab the forearm.

As we lightly pressed down on the corpse's arm, the forensic scientist chanted a short spell and sent his magic power flowing.

His magic power passed through the corpse's arm without hindrance. However, in the process, the magic power was not interfered with at all. It simply flowed smoothly.

The forensic scientist said in a worried voice.

"Even though it's a corpse, the curse placed here is still alive. And no matter how mismatched the type of curse, it is normal for the magic powers to clash and a part of the curse to be scraped off. And yet, you must have felt my magic power being pushed forward as if it were oiled."

"."

"...It means there is an untouchable protection magic cast on it that we do not know of. We don't know how such a magic exists. All we can know is that Pleroma's technology has developed far, far beyond what we expected."

I stood silently and looked down at the corpse's arm.

Magic that doesn't break even when attacked from the outside. Doesn't that sound familiar?

"."

The Minister of Magic's face darkened even more. The faces of his subordinates were also twisted as if they were standing before the gates of hell.

Soon, the minister let out a deep sigh and wiped his forehead with his hand. The cross mark, the same as mine, was not visible on the thin white glove he wore. The forensic scientist's palms were also clean, even though he was wearing thin rubber gloves.

Why? They said they hadn't listened to the Imperial newspaper broadcast at the time. Both were in the middle of giving on-site instructions regarding the suicide victim, so they didn't have the capacity to listen to the newspaper.

Here, another piece of information emerged. Those who did not hearor could not understandthat voice were not cursed.

'Hmm... should I make people cover their ears after turning back time?'

Of course, that was unrealistic.

I couldn't know what variables would arise after turning back time, and I didn't know when the curse would strike, so I couldn't have them cover their ears the whole time. If that were the case, it would be better to just tell them to cancel the event as soon as I turned back time. It was an option I hadn't even considered.

There were inevitable problems with the option of canceling the event. First, I would be locked up in a mental hospital.

Second, even if I was lucky and my words got through, a terrorist with the ability to set up a stage of this scale could create such problems at any large event, not just the Pentalon. They might even cast a spell on the entire capital.

Because we didn't have much time, we moved to our next destination, the investigation room, without even properly saying goodbye to the forensic scientist.

Unlike the morgue, the investigation room was dark, relying on a single light. A strangely damp and unpleasant smell hit me.

A person, tied to a chair at the end of the table, was unconscious. His head was slumped to the floor, and saliva dripped as he was losing consciousness with his mouth open. He would occasionally twitch his shoulders convulsively and moan like a dying person.

"...Ugh... ughh...."

"."

It was clear that his brain had been completely overturned with Divine Power during the interrogation process. After seeing a corpse, I was now looking at a person who was becoming a corpse.

He appeared to be in his 30s, so he was probably around 50, a New Human. According to the information verbally relayed to me by the doctor of public security, he was the sound director of the Imperial newspaper. And he was the culprit behind this [Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.] broadcast accident, the owner of that voice.

Less than five minutes after he had switched the broadcast back to the field, he was arrested with no trace of any curse on his hands, but with the magic power throughout his body showing an abnormal flow, whether due to anxiety or something else.

Next to him, Narce stood holding a wand, and an Imperial Divine Power mage was recording the interrogation. The Minister of Magic spoke in a voice that still held a trace of anxiety.

"It seems to have gone well."

"You've arrived."

Narce, who was turning around expressionlessly as he spoke, saw me and his eyes widened.

He didn't seem to expect me to be here, and the surprise didn't leave his expression. To be honest, I was a little surprised too. I didn't know Narce could change a person like this with Divine Power. No matter what kind of person he was, no matter what kind of situation.

However, it wasn't something worth mentioning out loud, and just because the reality of him was different from what I had expected, I didn't need to tell him that. Though Narce probably read my thoughts quickly anyway.

This was not the time to be lost in such trivial thoughts. The clock pointed to 30 minutes after the suicide, that is, 12:42. I couldn't confirm it right away because the government had cut off all broadcast communications except for the Emergency Committee, but the outside of this place must have been in complete chaos.

"Is the investigation over? What did he say?"

"Yes, it's over. ut there are no memories to be read."

"None?"

The minister's brow furrowed.

Narce nodded and replied dryly.

"That's right. It seems the memories were intentionally erased."

"How is that possible? We arrested him right there in the Imperial newspaper's sound room...!"

"Minister, you also know how this incident happened. Just by listening to this man's words, we were all cursed. A magic formula that someone had calculated in advance was activated by his utterance. Erasing memories with Divine Power was probably also a pre-calculated magic formula activated later."

Narce avoided my eyes and answered the Minister of Magic. My hand naturally went to his. He was wearing black leather gloves, so I couldn't tell if he was cursed or not. Narce continued, his eyes on the floor.

"The real problem is how they were able to cast a spell with Divine Power. Either they coerced a Divine Power mage, or... there was a Divine Power mage among Pleroma."

"."

This, too, was good information.

But regardless of the quality of the information, the minister looked like he was about to collapse.

He fumbled inside his jacket with a trembling hand and pulled out a cigarette. The process of lighting it with an artifact lighter looked even more difficult.

I fully understood that it was difficult to maintain sanity in this situation. If millions died in this terror, he would naturally be held responsible and fired, and on top of that, he could be shot or thrown into an underground prison.

How did the emperor, who killed 353 mages in Alsace-Lorraine, still maintain his position?

The emperor avoided responsibility by executing all the officials responsible for that incident.

Was it really a stroke of luck that the Minister of Magic was not cursed? He would probably think it would be better to be cursed and die as a victim. Now, the honor and life that the Minister of Magic had built up over a lifetime were destined to be offered as a sacrifice to the public for the sake of the emperor's approval rating. Not many people could maintain their composure in the face of their social and physical death.

There was a person right next to him who could explode and die from a curse at any moment, but I understood.

"I thought it was all over. Memories... if the memories are erased.... Now.... Ahem."

The minister, who had been muttering in a trembling voice, covered his mouth with his hand, then shook his head and now wiped his forehead. I could see beads of cold sweat on his forehead.

"Your Excellency Askanian."

"Yes."

"Askanian. It feels like Vice Minister Adrian Askanian is right next to me, which gives me a little peace of mind."

"."

His voice was no louder than a crawling ant. It seemed he didn't even have the strength to speak loudly.

The only person involved in the terror, arrested by the government, and currently alive. That was the sound director. The interrogation of the sound director was the most accurate and easiest way to get information about the terror. In a word, he was the Minister of Magic's only hope, but it seemed he had lost his composure as his plan went awry.

The minister continued to suck on his cigarette with a trembling hand. He exhaled smoke and said.

"What do you think, Your Excellency?"

"What are you referring to?"

"Unlike other politicians, I have never ignored Your Excellency because of your age. Your older brother, Adrian Askanian, was a genius who entered the imperial court during his time at the Third Academy, and with such a genius in existence, I have never found it particularly new that someone like you, who is about to become an adult, has extraordinary abilities. Besides, you also share blood with that genius."

It seemed others ignored me because of my age.

Whatever it was, it was sudden. A cornered human has no capacity to care how his words sound to others, so instead of pointing out his words, I just looked ahead.

"."

"You, you can find the answer even when everything is blocked like now, can't you? I believe in Your Excellency's ability."

"You have too much expectation of me."

I replied without expression.

But I didn't say I couldn't find the answer. I had already found it, so I couldn't lie.

Though I couldn't tell the Minister of Magic of this world everything I knew.

"No, not at all."

At his completely arbitrary and firm words, I looked down at him silently. He slowly turned his head and looked at me with eyes that seemed willing to sell his soul to the devil to live.

"You know what I'm talking about. I believe in what Your Excellency has shown us so far. So, it can be something trivial, but please tell me what you have deduced about this terror, right now, in as much detail as possible."

***

[Why won't you let us out?! Let us out!]

[What is this! You should be explaining what this is, and what? Aaargh!]

I heard the sound of something burning. They must be collecting and burning the Imperial newspapers to prevent a secondary accident.

From the artifact on the strategy room table, the cries of the New Humans and Old Humans trapped in the New Brandenburg National Park flowed out endlessly. The sound of people's wailing was layered in the background.

The government announced that 1.37 million of the 2.31 million people in this event venue were under a curse. Those wails must be from people like me, who have something on their hands.

As soon as the mark appeared on their palms, the government hastily let the people gathered in the New Brandenburg National Park out of the checkpoint. But there was no way the curse would disappear, and in the end, they were all returned to the New Brandenburg National Park and trapped.

Currently, the Imperial newspaper was just repeating the same message on its pages like a parrot, saying they were looking for a solution.

'Anyway.'

Now that I had secured the second piece of information, the first piece of information I had to obtain was also taking shape.

I had now found the answer to 'why the player had to commit suicide'.

Then, there was something else to consider.

The player who committed suicide and the Imperial newspaper's sound director.

What did they have in common?

The Emergency Committee was also focusing on that, and the question that had just been raised was also a question that the Emergency Committee had voiced.

I looked down at the data they had organized and said.

"They both spoke in a trembling voice. That is the common point."

"."

"It might sound like I'm joking. But you all know what my opinion is."

This time, I glanced at Leo, who was sitting in this room, and looked around at the less-than-half-remaining members of the Emergency Committee scattered throughout the site.

The Minister of Magic might be in a panic and unable to think properly, but the others would have gotten the gist.

"Both of them were under a curse from the culprit. We were able to confirm the trace of the curse on the player's bod. And the Imperial newspaper's sound director currently has clean hands with no trace, but you said that the flow of magic power around his core was not a natural flow."

"Yes, that's right."

A doctor from Bavaria, who had come at the request of the Ministry of Magic and was participating in the Emergency Committee, nodded.

"And the player, right before he died, said 'I can't do something like this' three times before committing suicide. So far, my thoughts are the same as what you all suspect."

"."

"Both the player and the sound director must have been threatened by the terrorist. 'If you recite Revelation 7:10, the curse will spread to those who hear your recitation. If you recite the verse and spread the magic to everyone, the curse on your body will be lifted, but if you don't, you will die alone...', something similar to that."

In other words, the player was clearly aware of the problem that would arise if he said a specific phrase.

He was saying, 'I can't do something that curses everyone here and allows me to survive alone.'

If he disobeyed, the effect of the curse would spread to him alone and he would die anyway, so he either intended to resist the terrorist and raise the country's vigilance by committing suicide in front of everyone, or the culprit gave him a time limit and said, 'If you don't say it within this time, the curse will spread to everyone as it is,' and he killed himself before that.

The dead tell no tales, so we can't know the exact circumstances.

"In other words, the player and the sound director were tools used as a sort of host and trigger."

A high-ranking official from the Ministry of Magic nodded at my words.

"...Yes. I understand. I assume no one has any objections. The problem is that the player's sacrifice has become meaningless. Why this mark is in the shape of a stigma... it's truly a headache."

"The most important thing is that we still haven't found a way to dispel it."

It seems that when people are pushed into a corner, they tend to resort to mental victories. As I pointed out the reality, everyone's eyes turned to me.

So far, the Emergency Committee had tried dozens of methods. Checking the range of the magic's effect across the border, and even pouring medicine into the core until the point of death.

But all of them failed.

"Right now, isn't finding a way to dispel it more important to you than the fact that the player and the sound director were threatened?"

It was true. Knowing exactly what kind of threats the player and the sound director received was useful information for me, who had the authority to undo everything and retry, but it wasn't important information for these people who were just helplessly waiting to die.

I took off my glove and showed my right hand.

"You know that if this curse actually activates, everyone will die at that moment."

"...I know. But why hasn't it exploded yet? In fact, it could have exploded everyone right away."

The Minister of Magic's brain must have really hardened. He continued to smoke his cigarette with a trembling hand and took a deep breath.

The reason why the terrorist was holding our lives and still doing nothing.

Why would that be?

It wasn't long until the retry was executed. I had obtained both pieces of information I had initially thought of gathering, but if I could obtain this last piece of information, the picture I wanted would be completed cleanly.

I looked at him and said quietly.

"They must want something from us, Minister."

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