The gentle rays of the rising sun slowly seeped into the room, chasing away the darkness and dispelling the bluish glow of my screen, warning me that it was time to go have breakfast—after effort comes comfort.

  Stretching my arms, I could tell that the night had been anything but restful, caught between studying the information on Rubis and learning the Jegal art. Even so, I managed to make progress on both fronts and even uncovered some interesting information.

  Turning to announce what I had found to my roommate, I realized he was no longer in the room. That's when it dawned on me that he had gone out to get some fresh air last night—and never came back. Where had he gone?

  Getting up to fill my stomach, I left the room and took the left wing of the second floor toward the refectory. The building, though less modern than what one could find in the city, still carried a charming artistic beauty. I even caught myself admiring the place—despite knowing nothing about such things—and that's when I noticed a training ground outside. Unsurprisingly, I saw Shin training there, wielding a staff as his weapon.

  He seemed to be training his new martial art; it looked like he was trying to complete it as much as possible before tomorrow's mission… I don't have to worry on my end: I theoretically master the Jegal art at 70%, and Shin is still far behind me. Hahaha, I win… Damn it, looks like he rubbed off on me.

  Silencing my imagination, I wondered where the refectory was. When I reached the lower floor where it was located, I realized that Javis and Haru were already eating there, in an atmosphere of remarkable warmth, practically radiating enviable joy. But the moment our eyes met, an unease settled in.

  Seeing the table filled with various rare specialties from the city, my heart skipped a beat. In the end, following Shin hadn't been such a bad choice.

  After filling my plate and sitting down, I could still feel Haru's gaze weighing on me, while Javis greeted me warmly—much to his mother's shock.

  Well, I could understand her surprise. After all, I hadn't done my job halfway. From the very day we learned of Rubis's existence, I began investigating everyone, suspecting the presence of a mole, even though I didn't know it was Céline. In any case, I learned about Haru's past and the existence of her son, and I suspected her of being the spy. However, after the incident where Shin fought a monster, I ruled out that possibility and considered her an ally. Who would have thought? She was the mole on my team!

  Good thing we had a plan B. I almost regret having suggested to Cynthia and Shin that we ask Donavan for help to rescue Javis—especially because after finishing planting the bombs, I spent three hours traveling alone with Donavan to save him.

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  Lost in my thoughts, I felt Haru's piercing gaze, threatening me with death if anything were to happen to her son. Or rather, the only thing restraining her and forcing her to obey us for now. In short, she has no one to blame but herself for this farce. In fact, I'm eagerly awaiting the moment she learns the truth. How will you react, Haru? Despair? Joy? Or hatred so intense that you'll jump at Shin's throat? I can't wait.

  Sweat running down my forehead, my throat dry, my muscles burning as if filled with hot coals, I continued chaining movements together, the staff in my hands as I reacquainted myself with its use. Since middle school, when we learned the art of wielding weapons, I forced myself to learn everything, even though the goal of the class was to master a single weapon. My aim was versatility—but now that I no longer use the perpetual cycle, I must specialize.

  Finishing a sequence with the staff, a wide grin spread across my face. Of all the weapons I had used, it was with the staff that I had the greatest talent.

  Collapsing onto the ground from exhaustion, I realized just how difficult creating a martial art truly was. Even after spending the entire night on it, I had only completed it by 5%. I still hadn't managed to create any combat techniques, but at least I had understood the new properties of my ether.

  My martial art is based on my unhealthy, insatiable desire to kill. It helps me subdue ether and circulate it through my heart and bloodstream, strengthening my body during combat. And that's not all: my killing intent corrupts the ether I use, giving it special properties—the first being that my corrupted ether consumes my opponent's stamina. It infiltrates their body like a virus and gradually exhausts them.

  Using my staff to get back up, I stretched a bit, then firmly grasped my weapon as it ignited with a deep crimson-purple flame—my corrupted ether.

  The second property of my corrupted ether was that it could consume me.

  Focusing on the tree standing at the edge of the training ground, I took my stance and thrust at the plant. A hole was pierced straight through the center of its trunk, causing the tree to collapse under its own weight with a massive crash.

  It can temporarily increase my strength in exchange for consuming my stamina.

  Breathless after yet another exertion, I sighed. My corrupted ether was extremely useful, even if it was very restrictive. First, my killing intent had to be unwavering if I wanted to benefit from my usual physical reinforcement (*2.5) as well as controlled ether consumption (/2.5). Second, to apply the corruption effect to someone, I had to consume even more ether. And finally, third, to enhance my strikes like I had just done, it was my stamina that I had to sacrifice.

  "That's a lot to keep in mind—heavy ether and stamina consumption, even if the benefits are nothing to scoff at,"I laughed, taking advantage of the final property of my new ether.

  If I don't use it with killing intent, but rather with its opposite—a benevolent vision…

  Closing my eyes, I focused on the image of Cynthia: her smile, her kindness, her intelligence. When I opened my eyes again, the flames had turned pink.

  And finally, the most important part: with this pure ether, I can instead accelerate my recovery.

  As it wrapped itself around my body, I felt my vitality return. That said, I had almost completely depleted my ether.

  "I've become quite greedy, huh?"I laughed, finally settling on the name of my new martial art: the Art of the King of the Underworld, whose two ether forms are Hades, the corrupted ether, and Persephone, the pure ether.