My Students Regret It After I Retired

47 – The Revealed Masterminds, the Revenge Begins

Drick, who had been so keen to negotiate just moments ago, had now completely changed his tune. Leos had realized that threats wouldn’t work on him. However, there was still a question that Drick had to ask first, regardless.

“If… if I tell you everything, you’ll at least spare my life…?”

Leos silently pressed the blade against Drick’s neck. Just a graze, enough to draw blood, and Drick clutched at his neck, stumbling back, desperately pleading.

“I’m sorry. I’ll… I’ll just talk.”

It was better to cling to life, even for a little longer, than to die immediately. With that decision, Drick started to tell Leos everything he knew, one detail at a time.

“Leos… no… I mean, Lord Leos, you must know. After the Red Gate vortex opened, the raider guilds started popping up at an alarming rate. In less than a month, lower, mid, and upper-tier raider guilds were established, and some were even paying tribute to the upper guilds. The system took hold with a twisted, abnormal speed.”

“I know.”

“It’s all because of the Celestial Assembly’s involvement.”

“What are you saying?”

“After the Red Gate vortex appeared, someone gathered raiders from outside and brought them inside the vortex.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because… because I’m one of them. I wasn’t within the Red Gate’s range when it first appeared. I was just some nobody, living day-to-day, swindling people out of their money. Regardless of my swordsmanship, the Empire’s watch was tight back then, so it was hard to operate openly like we do now. But soon after the Red Gate appeared, a man who introduced himself as Artan came to me.”

“Artan…”

Leos strained his memory. Artan, a figure belonging to the Celestial Assembly, the one who directly tested the Eternal Life beings. Based on a few years ago, he was nearly equal to Leos in strength.

*No, considering the past, he might have been better than me.*

A few years is a significant amount of time. It’s unknown how strong he is now, but in the past, Artan was definitely superior to Leos. Leos processed the information while continuing to listen to Drik.

“This man, who called himself Artan, offered me a deal. He asked if I would like to conduct some tests inside the Red Gate vortex.”

“Tests?”

“Yes. He wanted two types of tests. One was control through a group. He wanted to see how much efficiency could be gained by creating a systematic raider group, squeezing the citizens, and if it was sustainable. That’s why he divided us raiders into lower, mid, and upper tiers. He forced us to steal money from the innocent, create tribute systems, and kill those who didn’t pay or tried to run away. I mean, those who didn’t properly pay the things with monetary value such as food or money.”

“So, what’s the conclusion?”

“Artan. A few days ago, he came to me and said, ‘[The efficiency is worse than I thought. We had to kill more to instill fear, causing significant losses.]'”

“Then, why are they continuing this?”

“There was more. ‘[The efficiency is not there, but since the stage is set, we should have some fun. Continue as planned,]’ he said, and kept us going.”

“…”

Leos was silent for a moment before signaling with his hand, as if telling him to continue.

“What I just said was Artan’s first test. And the second test is the elixir of eternal life.”

Drik pulled out a syringe filled with a green liquid from his pocket, holding it up for Leos to see as he spoke.

“Artan, who introduced himself as a member of the Heavenly Assembly… according to him, this elixir of eternal life was originally made to stop aging the moment it’s injected and grant everlasting life. But now it’s unstable, and most people who get it either die or turn into undead…”

“…”

“Artan requested information from us. How many hours after injection do people die, or what percentage turn into undead. Furthermore, he wanted to know the experimental results determined by various factors such as combat power and gender, time and dosage of injection, age and total mana. So… basically, he viewed everyone inside the Red Gate vortex as lab rats.”

Leos stuffed the information into his head. Then he voiced a question.

“Based only on what you’ve said so far, it doesn’t seem like Belin and the Dark Shadow Unit have anything to do with the Heavenly Assembly, so what are you trying to tell me?”

“No…!”

Drik spoke urgently.

“The Dark Shadow Unit seems to move on the Emperor’s orders, but in reality, they’re moving according to the Heavenly Assembly’s will. There are several members of the Heavenly Assembly among the high-ranking officials planted within the empire, and they have been manipulating the political climate of the empire by killing those who don’t agree with their opinions.”

“So the current Emperor is a puppet of the Heavenly Assembly?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. The Dark Shadow Unit using Belin to imprison you was on the orders of those above. But isn’t it strange? Back then, you were the famous head of the Gate Management Bureau. You had a lot of support from the people and a high profile. Not anymore, but…”

“What’s your point?”

“There was no need to cast you out back then. If you think about it rationally, it’s absurd to get rid of the entire Gate Management Bureau just because monsters hadn’t appeared for a few years, right? It happened by the Emperor’s order, but while the Emperor used the justification that the Gate Management Bureau was useless, the reality is that the Emperor was afraid. Afraid of your growing influence.”

“…”

“The reason the Emperor feared you was that the Heavenly Assembly, or in other words, the sycophants next to him, kept manipulating data and continually making him believe that you could gather forces and stage a coup. The incompetent Emperor ultimately decided that it was right to demote you and eliminate your influence.”

Leos’ expression was gradually contorting, but he tried his best to understand the situation.

“I don’t get it? I don’t know the full power of the Heavenly Assembly, but if there are several people with Artan’s strength, they could just take over the entire Imperial Palace, so why bother with such a complicated method?”

“Because it’s fun.”

As Leos gripped his sword, Drik waved his hands frantically and spoke.

“N-No…it wasn’t me who said it. I was just curious, so I asked, and Artan told me. [Because it’s more fun that way. If you just crush everything with power and force a result, wouldn’t that be too easy and boring? These ignorant fools who don’t understand the thrill of creating a result through various butterfly effects, they can’t comprehend my feelings. Witnessing those processes with my own eyes is something I can call heavenly.] That’s what he said.”

Leos completely shattered the image of the Heavenly Council he had held in his mind. Before, he’d thought they were just powerful b*stards, but now, they seemed like truly insane, trashy scum.

“I know the Heavenly Council pressured the Emperor to issue orders, and the Dark Shadow Unit plotted to drive me out following those orders. I also already knew Bellin was acting under the Dark Shadow Unit’s orders. Is there anything else you know?”

“…That’s everything I know.”

Leos felt a strange sensation and asked one more question.

“But how does a guy like you know all this information?”

As the leader of the Lieutenant Looters Guild, Derik’s power was, of course, overwhelming compared to an ordinary person. However, to call him an equal to the Heavenly Council would be absolutely wrong. He didn’t seem to be the type with the ability to dig up information either. It was more like he was directly told it.

All the information about not just the immortals, but also the Heavenly Council. Information that would cause huge repercussions if it ever got out. Why would someone deliberately tell him all this?

“Artan…that guy told me everything.”

“He said that all his actions had a reason. What’s the reason he told you about all this? Give me your best guess.”

“I…I don’t know either. But Artan-nim said, in case anyone ever learns about the Heavenly Council, tell them all the information he gave you. Furthermore, he told me to add a few words to that person…”

Derik began to tremble and couldn’t finish his sentence.

“What did he say? Tell me exactly, word for word.”

“…Th-That is…”

When Derik couldn’t speak, Leos immediately stabbed him in the shoulder with his sword. Derik screamed in pain and finally opened his mouth.

“Didn’t I tell you that all relationships will eventually end? You threw everything away for mere fleeting connections, but now look at what’s left by your side. In the end, I was right.”

Leos recalled his first encounter with Artan.

-Why do you stay here? If you joined the Heavenly Council, you could gain unimaginable wealth, fame, and power.

-Because my comrades are here. Even if you offered me ten million gold coins, I wouldn’t leave the Gate Management Headquarters.

-All relationships are bound to end someday. You are a foolish man for throwing everything away for mere fleeting connections.

-Even if it’s foolish, I was taught to live this way.

-Time will tell who is right. There will be a day when we meet again.

The feeling of the string of reason snapping. Could it be that all those struggles were to prove that b*stard’s one word was right? A maddening rage began to surge.

“Come out…”

“Yes…?”

Drick was bewildered by Leo’s sudden order to come out. But Leo spoke again, as if he weren’t addressing Drick.

“You said you feel pleasure when you see the butterfly effect and the results match up. A pervert like you would definitely be hiding nearby, watching my expression right now. Come out. Or are you afraid of me?”

“…”

After a few seconds of silence, Artan, who had been hiding, slowly revealed himself.

“Long time no see.”

Artan greeted them with a smile, and Leo just stared intently at the man. Drick, having spotted Artan, rushed towards him and spoke desperately.

“A…Artan-nim! I did everything you said. So kill this b*stard and save m…”

“First, let’s get rid of the unwanted guest whose role is over.”

– *Swish!*

Artan waved his hand, and without even seeing the sword being drawn, Drick’s body was split in half. Artan didn’t even look at the sight and spoke to Leo.

“Leo. It wasn’t time for me to appear before you yet. But since I’ve come out anyway, I’ll give you one piece of information. That b*tch Bellin has a younger sibling. And that sibling is…”

– *Clang!*

Leo immediately launched his chain sword towards Artan, who blocked it. Or, he thought he had blocked it.

“Huh…”

Artan wiped the blood streaming down his cheek with his hand, furious.

“Being spirited is fine, but I can’t stand arrogance, you know.”

Leos whispered, enraged, gripping his sword in reverse.

“The arrogant ones are you lot. I’m going to kill you all in the most painful way possible from now on. I’ll be watching to see if you can keep up that attitude even as you’re dying.”