Became the final boss in the game

Episode 8

‘…What do I do now?’

Taking care of the doppelganger was one thing, but what came next was the real problem.

‘First, there’s the issue of the body.’

This was a private room on the fourth floor of the boys’ dormitory. Sneaking the corpse out and disposing of it unnoticed was nearly impossible.

‘Do I have to contact Reaper?’

I had been avoiding direct contact with Reaper and the higher-ups to keep my identity hidden as much as possible.

But there was no other choice now.

I took out the “communication artifact” Reaper had given me.

‘How do I even use this thing?’

It was just a plain copper ring.

How was I supposed to make contact with it?

Maybe infusing it with mana would activate it?

As soon as I tried channeling my mana into it—

Bzzz!

A faint flow of mana ran across the surface of the copper ring.

Then, a voice echoed in my mind.

—Master.

It was a harsh, grinding voice.

How could I describe it?

Like a monster trying to speak in human language.

—What. Do you need it?
I was taken aback. I had assumed Reaper would answer.

‘Who is this?’

But whoever it was, they called me “Master.”

That meant they were part of Black Night. And since they weren’t surprised by my direct contact, they were likely someone high-ranking.

A high-ranking Black Night member with a monstrous voice…

I quickly realized who it was.

“Endrich. I need a favor.”

Endrich—one of Black Night’s executives.
[A High Elder Lich.]
[The King of all Undead.]

It had to be him.

—Command me.

Just as expected.

“I need you to take care of a corpse.”

—A corpse?

“Yes.”

—What kind.

His speech was choppy.

That was another one of Endrich’s traits.

Endrich possessed the power of Word Manifestation, meaning his words could become reality.

To prevent this, he deliberately broke up his sentences.

“It’s the body of a doppelganger.”

—A doppelganger… is dead?

“Yes. I killed it.”

—I see. I will take care of it immediately.

That was… unexpected.

I thought he would at least ask why I killed it.

But instead, he simply agreed to dispose of it without hesitation.

Does it Need to be handled right away?

“As soon as possible would be best.”

Understood. Be warned. This may look. Unpleasant.

As soon as he finished speaking, the doppelganger’s body started to change, glowing with a dark light.

Its normal skin turned into black metallic material. Its height, originally around 170 cm, shot up to 3 meters.

As it grew taller, its entire body became bulkier.

‘A Death Knight?!’

The doppelganger had turned into a Death Knight.

‘Why…?’

Why did Endrich suddenly transform it?

—A punishment. For daring. To trouble. The Master. Eternal. Agony.

Krrrk, Krrrraaah!

The newly-formed Death Knight let out a distorted wail.

Then, flames engulfed its body.

For a moment, I worried the fire would spread, but it didn’t.

These weren’t ordinary flames. They were soul-consuming flames, which only affected living beings.

Fwoosh…

The flames quickly consumed the Death Knight.

Thud!

Within ten seconds, it collapsed.

—The doppelgnger’s. Soul. Will burn. Forever. In this world.

“…”

Call me. If you need. Anything else.

Before I could say anything, Endrich cut off the connection.

Now, I was left staring blankly at the copper ring and the much larger corpse of what was once the doppelganger.

‘…What the hell am I supposed to do with this?’

Instead of disappearing, the body had only grown bigger.

I prepared to contact Endrich again to demand he properly clean up this mess—

Knock knock!

That’s when I heard movement outside my door.

“I heard a loud noise. What’s going on in there?”

It was an instructor’s voice.

“Yeah! It sounded like a fight or something…!”

A male student was with them—probably the one who had called the instructor over.

“If you don’t answer, I’ll enter by force.”

The door could be broken down at any moment.

“I-It’s fine! No need to come in…!”

“Then open the door.”

What do I do?

How do I get out of this?

“Not opening the door means someone inside is forcing you to stay silent. I’m coming in!”

“No, that’s not—”

BANG!

The door burst open.

The instructor stepped inside.

“…Ah.”

At that moment, only one thought crossed my mind:

I’m screwed.

I had no idea how to talk my way out of this.

‘Endrich, you bastard…’

Right now, the only thing I could do was curse the one who put me in this situation.

“A… A Death Knight?!”

…This is the end.

I braced myself for expulsion.

But then—

The instructor said something I never expected.

“…Did you take down a Death Knight by yourself?”

…What?

After that, I was called in by the instructor to explain everything in detail.

“Listen carefully. Your older brother, Chaan Bellomata, who was suspected of corruption, was under the control of Necromancy.”

The doppelganger.

The one disguised as Chaan, the doppelganger, had vanished just before being expelled.

Where it disappeared, traces of Necromancy were found.

“We brought in the priests and cardinals of the church to analyze the energy, and we found that it belonged to Endrich, the master of the Land of Death.”

So, it was Endrich’s energy.

‘The doppelganger was under Endrich’s command…’

That explained how Endrich could turn the doppelganger into a Death Knight with just a snap of his fingers.

‘That also means the reason Reaper’s mana was mixed in the doppelganger’s body is because Endrich was involved.’

Now I understood everything.

That’s why the instructor didn’t ask, “Did you summon the Death Knight?” but instead asked,

“Did you defeat it?”

“And Chaan, as Endrich’s puppet, was targeting you. That’s why he was sent to guard the dorm, but…”

The instructor clenched his lips in frustration.

“I never thought you’d break through all those defenses and send a Death Knight after him.”

“That’s what happened, huh.”

I nodded, pretending to understand everything now.

“My brother was under Necromancy… So that’s why he hated me so much.”

I gave a bittersweet smile, one that was both sad and a bit relieved.

“I’m glad it wasn’t because he actually hated me…”

“Jian…”

The instructor looked at me with a look of sympathy, seemingly moved by my performance.

“Has this been communicated to your father and mother?”

“Yes. I had to tell them. Given the situation, I couldn’t keep it from them.”

“Is that so?”

I lowered my head slightly, as if thinking about how sad my parents would be.

“Also, I’m sorry to say, but an inquisitor and a cardinal are going to be sent to your family, the Bellomata family.”

“Inquisitor… What do you mean?”

“Yes, because it doesn’t make sense that only your older brother was under the control of Necromancy.”

“So, there’s likely another puppet in the family under Necromancy?”

I sighed dramatically.

“And it’s difficult to say this, but…”

The instructor seemed hesitant, his lips twitching as if unsure how to continue.

“You don’t have to say it. I already know. There’s a high chance my father and mother are also under Necromancy.”

And…

I gave a bitter smile and added,

“I’m also a candidate who might be subject to the Inquisition.”

“I don’t think that’s true about you, Jian…”

The instructor bowed his head slightly, as if feeling guilty about my words.

“It’s more likely that I’m the one who needs confirmation.”

At that moment, the door to the meeting room opened, and a woman stepped in.

A beautiful woman with striking platinum blonde hair.

She was a treasure of the church, and soon to be the next pope. Currently, a second-year student at Garam Academy, widely known as the “Saint.”

“I think so too.”

“Chloe?”

Chloe Yurenia.

One of the top three popular characters in the ‘Ghost’ series, along with ‘Aris.’

“I’m sorry for barging in without knocking. But given the situation, I needed to confirm things quickly.”

She walked up to me confidently.

“Chloe, has the confirmation of the Death Knight been completed?”

“Yes, it’s done. Just as the instructor suspected, Endrich’s mana was detected in the Death Knight.”

“If that’s the case, then Jian, who defeated the Death Knight, must be innocent, right?”

“No. We can’t conclude that just yet. It’s possible Jian is just playing a role to avoid suspicion.”

Chloe shook her head.

“To be honest, I think it’s more likely that this is a staged play. A freshman who just enrolled defeating a Death Knight alone? That sounds more believable than the other explanation.”

The Death Knight’s level is between 67-72.

There’s no way a first-year student could defeat such a monster.

Chloe’s eyes told me she believed this.

“What do you think, Jian Bellomata? Am I right?”

“Of course not.”

My firm response made Chloe narrow her eyes slightly.

She gave me a look as if to say, Why are you lying when you’re about to get caught?

“Well, we’ll know soon enough whether I’m right or not.”

Chloe reached out her hand.

“You said you have nothing to hide, so there’s no problem in checking, right? Go ahead.”

Chloe has the ability to detect negative energy from physical contact. This ability is absolute; no matter what, it can’t be hidden.

If I were Jay Laon, this would already be a checkmate.

But…

Yeah, I’ve got nothing to hide.

I grabbed Chloe’s hand without hesitation.

Her eyes widened slightly, seeming a bit flustered by my confidence.

“You’re quite bold. I wonder how long that boldness will last…”

It was at that moment that Chloe’s words faltered.

“This… This energy… What is this…?”

She stared at me, her eyes wide in shock, stammering.

What’s going on? Why is she acting like this? Could there still be remnants of Jay Laon’s power in me?

That seemed possible.

Jay Laon tried to take over my body, so it wouldn’t be strange if he left something behind.

If that’s the case…

As my unease grew, Chloe muttered something completely unexpected.

“The energy of one loved by all things…”

Loved by all things?

Could she be referring to Princess Aris’s unique trait?

It seemed like Chloe was sensing the remnants of a divine blessing.

Chloe’s ability can also react sensitively to divine energy, so it makes sense.

Aris’s trait, “Loved by all things,” is indeed a divine blessing, so even remnants would be detectable.

“This power… It’s not something a mere student should possess… Ah, wait, is that why Endrich targeted you? If that’s the case, it all makes sense…”

Chloe was lost in her own world, muttering to herself.

The instructor, seemingly wanting an explanation, spoke up.

“Chloe, what do you mean by a divine blessing?”

“Ah, um…”

Chloe snapped out of her thoughts, glanced around nervously, then looked at me.

She stared at the hand we were still holding, then turned her gaze back to me.

The suspicious look in her eyes was gone, replaced by a look of longing.

“Jian Bellomata…”

Her smile was forced, unnatural.

I had seen this expression somewhere before, but where?

“Seems like I misunderstood. There’s no trace of evil in you. You’re completely pure, innocent beyond doubt.”

“I’m glad your doubts are cleared up.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll vouch for you regarding any connection to Endrich, so don’t worry.”

Ah, I remembered now.

“By the way, what do you think about the God Zenas?”

This was the expression of someone preaching a cult.

“There’s a prayer meeting tomorrow morning. Would you like to join me?”