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〈For Press Reference Only – Classified〉

Regarding the Formation of the Expedition.

□ (Destination) The Land of Death

□ (Key Points) All four Divine Clans will participate. The expedition will be led by Pelleer Samael himself.

□ (Duration) Up to 6 months

□ (Expedition Name) Undecided

Distribution Date: Immediately upon approval by the Samael Clan.

Responsible Party: 13th Floor Master of the White Tower, Lyle Sirius (Signature)

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Through the hazy fog that clouded my vision, I saw a few men.

—Attention Everyone. I will now announce the expedition roster. All regular members of the Crazy Mage Squad, and among the trainee members, Gollin, Hanai, Mirko… Arjeta, Ruin. That is all.

‘What the hell? Why is my name on the list?’

— Captain, there must be a mistake. I’m only a second-circle mage.

— …Ruin. The head of the house specifically ordered your inclusion.

— What? Why would the head choose me?

— No questions allowed. Everyone, prepare to depart immediately. Ruin, you come with me.

A familiar face grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

‘No, I can’t go. Let go of me.’

Contrary to my will, I can’t resist.

‘Let go.’

“Let go, damn it!”

Suddenly, the fog that had been covering my mind disappeared all at once, and my eyes shot open.

“Ugh!”

Blood spurted from my mouth.

I took a deep breath, feeling the harsh air fill my lungs and the metallic taste of blood.

Soon, my blurry vision focused, and I slowly sensed my surroundings.

“…Ha, shit.”

It was a sign that I was being freed from madness. Whenever my crazed mind returned to normal, my hearing always came back first, followed by smell, then sight.

Everywhere I looked was hell. The gruesome corpses of my comrades were scattered all over, covered by the bodies of countless grotesque demons.

‘What am I doing here?’

After regaining consciousness, I should have started to recall my memories. Demons, humans… and battle.

“Right. The damn expedition!”

The ‘Final Expedition’ that claimed to end the demons in six months.

I was a member of that damn expedition. And those six months were all lies and bullshit.

I didn’t know who first uttered that crap, but I would have smashed their head in if I had known.

12 years? 13 years? I didn’t know. In any case, it had definitely been over 10 years.

That damn expedition to exterminate the demons had been dragging on for over 10 years.

The expedition, which started with over a thousand members, had now dwindled to five. Everyone died fighting those damn demons.

The only consolation was that we wiped out the demons before we all died.

We even discovered the reason they appeared here.

It was because of the dimensional rift over there.

The Archmage, Pelleer Samael.

Sword Saint, Magnus Balthar.

Dragon Knight, Iris Seren.

Guardian Saint, Galtan Arihama.

And me.

The Crazy Mage, Ruin.

Crazy Mage. That’s what people called me.

It was a bit tacky compared to the others, but what did it matter? I couldn’t have imagined being among them ten years ago.

Anyway, the five of us tried to seal that dimensional rift. And after that, we planned to cleanly and painlessly kill each other, reveling in the joy of our miserable victory.

There was no way to return anyway. If there had been, we would have gone back a long time ago.

Just as we were about to seal the rift, that bastard appeared.

Demon King Verkes.

He looked almost human but was insanely strong.

As soon as he appeared, he not only shattered Galtan’s shield but also dispelled Pelleer’s incantation and blew away his lower body.

That was all I could remember before I went berserk.

* * *

When I woke up, everyone was dead.

The Sword Saint’s divine sword was broken, and Galtan was cut in half along with his shield. Iris was nowhere to be seen, as if she had been completely obliterated.

How am I still alive?

And how did I regain my sanity?

I clearly remembered going into mana overload after seeing Pelleer get attacked. It was so overwhelming that it consumed all my reason. That’s how I was able to kill that Demon King bastard.

But how…

How did I come to my senses again?

The answer was right in front of me.

I finally noticed a human lying there.

Even in death, he was clutching an empty bottle tightly.

It seemed he had poured an elixir into my pierced heart.

“…Master.”

Pelleer Samael.

The head of House Samael, the family I belonged to, and the man who was called the greatest Archmage.

Even with his lower half obliterated, he crawled to me and poured the elixir into my heart. This foolish master took his last breath only after pouring the elixir into my heart.

“You were annoying to the very end.”

An elixir can’t heal a pierced heart. At most, it can bring back consciousness for a while.

The master knew that. He did it anyway. He was always like that.

— Crazy Mage Squad Commander, Ruin. You need to be there to see the end of this journey. Only you can do it. So you must survive.

“Fuck. What’s the point of it all now?”

It was all for nothing. Everyone was dead.

Who would ever know what happened here?

They’d probably call it a noble sacrifice and a great journey, then have a moment of silence once a year.

Would that be enough? Would the Head of the House be satisfied with that kind of remembrance?

Would all those who died here find solace in that fact?

Suddenly, I turned my head and saw the corpses of a few mages under my command. They all had peaceful expressions on their faces.

“Idiots. All of them, just like their master. What’s there to be happy about?”

The honor of House Samael.

The burden of House Samael.

It was the most unfortunate thing to bear.

[…Human.]

A voice like chains scraping reached my ears. Verkes was staring at me. Wasn’t that bastard dead yet?

His face was embedded with a sword and a broken spearhead, one of his legs was severed and burning, and most importantly, there was a watermelon-sized hole in his heart.

Yet, he kept talking.

[An unexpected variable. I must admit, I’m impressed. Where did you learn the magic of our kind? No, it’s similar, yet subtly different.]

He kept talking even with black blood streaming from his gaping chest wound. Dying just like a human.

[It’s astonishing that human magic can be this powerful.]

“Shut up. You’re about to die.”

[It doesn’t matter. Don’t think this is the end. No one can stop us.]

“What?”

[Strongest human. You’re regretting it. You can’t fool this King. It seems you’re not that righteous after all…]

“Shut up!”

With the last bit of my strength, I cast a spatial explosion at his face. With a loud bang, his head exploded like a watermelon.

Dragging my remaining leg, I started moving towards the rift. Knowing no one was watching, I crawled towards it.

“Damn Samael.”

I really didn’t want to end my life like this. I wanted to become stronger and live a prosperous life. But there was nothing more I could do.

“Looks like I’m cursed with bad luck to the very end.”

I wasn’t sure if I could seal it alone. But I had to try. I was going to die anyway, so I might as well do something before I went.

“Damn it.”

Suddenly, my life flashed before my eyes.

An orphan, a street thug roaming the back alleys, that was me.

Rolling around in the harsh underbelly of life, my heart was twisted, and I could hardly see straight.

How desperate was I to even plan to kidnap the young master of House Samael for a quick score?

Of course, the plan failed. I thought I would die, but the Head of the House saved me. He said I had a talent for magic and should become a mage.

Talent, my ass. Even after years of effort, I couldn’t break past the 2nd Circle.

Then one day, I was suddenly dragged into the expedition on the Head’s orders. The result was what it was now.

So, did I regret being dragged into this?

Of course, I regretted…

Hmm…

Shit.

Was it only when I was about to die that my true feelings came out?

Actually, it wasn’t all bad in this crazy expedition.

I awakened to magic through relentless training, fought alongside famous mages I wouldn’t have dared to look at before, and everyone cheered my name.

“Damn it. It would have been perfect if I could have lived and thrived.”

Ah, damn life.

Before I could hesitate any longer, I threw myself into the rift and released the rest of my mana.

* * *

The world spun. My body alternated between cold and hot.

My consciousness gradually faded.

Was this the end?

Wait for me in the afterlife, master. I’ll grab you by the collar and give you hell.

How much time passed?

Just as my consciousness was about to fade completely.

“…!”

My mind suddenly became clear, as if I had just woken up from a deep sleep.

‘Why am I not dead?’

In the darkness, a pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared.

They waved a hand in front of me, then extended a fist. I just watched, not understanding.

Smack—

A sharp pain flared on my forehead as stars exploded in my vision.

‘Ugh, is this the afterlife? Do you feel pain in the afterlife?’

“Get your shit together, kid.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. I thought you were dead, you little shit.”

Suddenly, I felt a surge of anger.

“I’m already dead. You look like you died before me, so if you try to boss me around here…”

I stopped mid-sentence, feeling something was off.

Talking left me breathless. Why did my voice sound different?

“Ruin Samael, this guy has completely lost it. He drank everything himself and passed out, and now he’s totally gone bonkers.”

This was weird. I was a member of House Samael, but I didn’t have a surname. I was an orphan.

But they were calling me Ruin Samael?

“This bastard, words won’t work on him.”

What the hell was going on?