My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

Karon couldn’t make sense of what was happening, but he focused on the vision before him.

The man in the illusion stared directly at him, as if he could see Karon beyond the barrier of time and space. Even as blood spilled from his lips, he struggled to speak.
“Will my son… ever understand my intentions?”
His trembling hand reached toward the necklace. His fingernails were torn backward, blood seeping from the wounds—probably from clawing at the ground. Desperation was evident in his eyes, almost to the point of despair.

“No matter what happens… I only ever wanted to protect you….”
Then, the man’s hand lost all strength and fell lifelessly to the ground.
In that moment, Karon realized what the man had been trying to do.

It was wish magic.
The vision ended with those final words, and the man’s figure disappeared. But the necklace continued to glow brilliantly.
After some time, the light condensed into a single point before vanishing back into the necklace, as if it still retained power.

Karon turned to see if anyone else had witnessed the vision, but Luca, standing nearby, blinked wide-eyed before shaking his head. It was clear—Karon had been the only one able to see it.
So what did it mean?
It was interesting that the necklace was more than just an ordinary keepsake, but Karon didn’t feel particularly moved by what he had seen.

Sure, he understood now that his father had loved him. But that love… didn’t quite feel real to him yet.
So, despite everything, the vision didn’t leave much of an impression.
However, as he turned his head, his gaze landed on the one person whose love he truly cared about.

"Karon, what did you see?"
Salvia was curious about what he had seen in the necklace!
That meant—this was a chance to get even more of Salvia’s attention.

‘…Thank you, Father!’
If he told Salvia about what he had seen, she would surely praise him!
Now that was something truly meaningful!
***

Since the sudden burst of light from the necklace needed an explanation, I quickly instructed Karon to say he had accidentally released his aura into it.
He obediently followed orders, explaining it away to the others before returning to me with more details about the necklace.
"My father’s wish was to protect me no matter what. I believe some kind of power is sealed within this necklace."

"Is that so…?"
I had heard about wish magic before.
There had been an incident at our base once, where wish magic caused an explosion that destroyed a section of the border walls.

From what I’d gathered back then, wish magic was a type of spell where black magic stored inside a contract-bound person could explode when triggered.
If that same kind of black magic was sealed in Karon’s necklace…
Could it help us escape this place?

If we found the black mage, and Karon’s necklace sensed he was in danger, it might activate in some way.
I wasn’t completely sure, but my gut instincts were usually right.
"Thanks for telling me, Karon."

But for some reason, Karon looked disappointed.
Realizing my mistake, I quickly corrected myself.
"You did an amazing job, Karon!"

Clap, clap, clap!
I even clapped for him.
Finally, Karon beamed with pride.

Sigh.
Maybe Aquila was right. Had I spoiled him too much? Other people’s recruits seemed much more… mature.
For now, we resumed our search, continuing up the rocky mountain with our top priority being to find the black mage.

"Ugh, XX…."
I was used to hiking, but this jagged mountain terrain was exhausting. My breathing grew heavier, and I felt a strange tightness in my chest.
"Cough, cough!"

It felt like I was struggling so hard that I might start coughing up blood.
…Wait. Why am I actually coughing up blood?!
"Hrk!"

It wasn’t uncommon for soldiers to spit up a little blood after brutal training. Sometimes, after an intense drill, soldiers even vomited.
But… I wasn’t pushing myself that hard right now.
And more importantly—this wasn’t just a bit of blood mixed with spit.

"Cough, cough!"
A violent cough wracked my body, and I instinctively covered my mouth with my hand.
Something warm and thick coated my palm.

When I pulled my hand away—
I saw bright red blood.
"What the… Hngh!"

Before I could even finish my sentence, another wave of nausea hit me. I turned to the side and spat it out.
More blood.
I had never shown my recruits this level of distress before, so naturally, they panicked.

"S-Sir! Are you okay?!"
"You’re coughing up blood?! That’s not normal!"
No. This wasn’t just blood in my spit.

This was internal bleeding.
Something was wrong with my body.
But why?

"Your life force will be drained, and you’ll wither away in a short amount of time."
That’s what Sanchez had said.
But none of the others seem affected.

Of all the soldiers here, I was the only one experiencing this level of physical deterioration.
I had no idea why it was hitting me so much harder than everyone else.
But since I could still move, I had to focus.

"What are you all standing around for?! Keep searching!"
Now more than ever, we needed to find that black mage and show him what the Border Defense Army did best—violence and terror.
The recruits snapped out of their panic and picked up the pace. The other squads, noticing our determination, also began moving faster.

"Hah… Hah…."
"Sir, are you sure you’re okay?"
I trailed slightly behind the unit, clutching my chest. It hurt.

Luna was supporting me, concern evident on her face.
But even if I stopped and rested, it wouldn’t fix this.
Why am I the only one suffering like this?

Did I have some kind of unique vulnerability to black magic?
Is it because I’ve used black magic before?
I had used a memory-enhancing candy and a monster-tracking clock in the past.

Was it because I had been exposed to too much black magic compared to others?
But if that were the case, Sanchez—who had encountered far more black magic than me—should have been the first one to collapse.
And what about Karon?

And the countless other Arkons who had been captured and experimented on by black mages?
Surely, I wasn’t the only one among them experiencing this kind of reaction.
Something about me ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) was different.

And the only way to get answers was to find the black mage.
I pressed the recruits harder, urging them to move faster.
Then—

Whistle—
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Everyone immediately turned toward the sound.

That was the signal the Snowy Mountain Battalion used when they found something.
We all rushed toward the source.
The sound came from a hidden area behind a massive rock formation.

"Did you find them?!"
Several soldiers were already gathered, forming a tight circle.
As I arrived, the others made space so I could see.

"We found the bastard, XX!"
A black mage had been captured and pinned to the ground by the soldiers.
A grotesque blade was lying nearby—probably his weapon, which he had attempted to use before getting overpowered.

"Get the officers… Cough! Ugh, XX, this damn coughing won’t stop!"
I doubled over, hacking up more blood.
As I spat onto the ground, I felt someone’s gaze on me.

The black mage, still restrained, was staring directly at me.
And then—he grinned.
"You…."

His smirk widened.
"You’ve used black magic before, haven’t you?"
Immediately, all my recruits turned to stare at me.

"…If anyone has a problem with that, raise your damn hand."
"Of course not, sir! Haha!"
"Black magic? Why, that’s just part of daily routine, isn’t it? Hahaha!"

Recruits properly redirected, I turned back to the black mage, my eyes burning with fury.
"Enough of this. Tell me how to get the fuck out of here."
The black mage smirked as he gestured toward the blood covering my mouth and hands.

"I wonder… just how powerful of a black magic spell you must have used to end up in that state?"
His voice dripped with amusement.
"To be coughing up blood the moment you entered this space… That must’ve been some colossal black magic. I’d love to know just what it was."

…Colossal black magic?
The only black magic I had ever used was minor—things like the memory-enhancing candy or the monster-tracking clock.
Neither of those could possibly be classified as colossal black magic.

That meant… something else entirely was connected to me.
And I had an idea of what it could be.
Possession.

I still didn’t know how I had ended up in this world.
From what I had gathered, Salvia’s original life wasn’t particularly happy. She would have died a miserable death in the military anyway.
So, I had accepted this life without questioning too much.

But what if I had been summoned here?
What if I had been pulled into this world by someone else—for example, by the real Salvia?
And if black magic had been the medium for that summoning…

Then yes. That could definitely be called colossal black magic.
Of course, I had no idea who had done it or why.
…But that wasn’t important right now.

"Oi, how the hell do we get out of here?"
Since he clearly wasn’t going to tell us willingly, we began searching his clothing for anything useful.
Then—

A familiar voice came from behind.
"What’s going on?"
"Ah, Captain!"

The company commander had arrived, along with several platoon leaders. They must have heard that we had captured the black mage responsible for this subspace.
"We have identified the one who created this space, sir. However, he refuses to tell us how to escape."
"Stand aside. We’ll handle the interrogation."

The commander motioned for us to back off, and we had no choice but to comply.
"Use the drugs."
The black mage, now tightly bound with ropes, was completely surrounded by officers.

And from their words, it seemed they were going to use special interrogation substances—something akin to a truth serum.
I watched from a distance.
With drugs involved, this would go much faster.

Oh, right.
I had a hunch that Karon’s necklace could activate some kind of power.
I was about to inform the officers when—

I recalled the black mage’s words from earlier.
"That must’ve been some colossal black magic."
Of course, it was obvious what he was referring to.

But since he had already noticed, maybe I could get more information out of him.
Ever since I arrived in this world, I had occasionally wondered—
Why did I end up here?

And if this interrogation could finally answer that question…
It might be worth finding out.