The Infinite Bk. 03 Ch. 10

Noah crafted a cover story, ensuring the details were forever burned into Galvin's memory. If he had simply killed the prince and returned from the slums alone, no one would ever believe he was innocent. He needed Galvin to be found alive, throwing out a false lead. Besides, he wouldn't have gone through all that effort to torment this punk just to put him out of his misery. He soon heard soldiers approaching, likely dispatched to search for Galvin or simply investigating all of the horrific screams. Noah left him where he was and turned invisible, then made his walk back to the academy.

Upon returning, he first went to get a new uniform and wash off Galvin's blood. Witnesses would confirm he left the grounds with the prince in pursuit, but he could still deny inflicting those injuries. Next, he went to see the commandant. He figured it best to get it out of the way.

"Where is the prince?"

"I was wondering what you'd bring up first when I got here. I led him into the empty slums and then gave him the slip. He's probably still out there, looking for me."

"That means I can move on to the second question. Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Of course."

"If even half the things about last night I've heard are true, you have tarnished the reputation and dignity of this academy and this country. Forget just the Herald family; the people you've angered with this are as many as they are powerful. At the moment, I'm still adhering to our agreement for your continued stay at this academy, but the authority I wield, the tiny bit of protection you have, if not soon taken, will be rendered pointless by your fast-approaching execution. However this blows over, it is no longer possible for me to survive unscathed. You have successfully ruined my career. I might not even last to the end of the year."

"So, the duchess takes second place on your priorities list. I'm guessing your third question will be about the fight and the damage to the mess hall. Do you still want to ask it, or have I ruined the reveal?

The commandant slammed his fist onto the table. "Have you heard nothing I've told you?!"

"I heard everything. What I have yet to hear is a problem that can't be dismissed or swept under the carpet with proper incentive. You talk about my list of enemies, but I don't think you're aware of my list of allies; countless businessmen, nobles, and knights who hated the duchess. And even if they fall flat, do you really think I'd go against the Herald family without making preparations? I survived their first attempt on my life, and I'll survive the last.

If you receive orders to expel me, then do so, just on paper. I still have things to take care of here, so I'll be sticking around, and I'll leave you a nice payout in case you do lose your job. If anyone from the palace comes to arrest me, feel free to tell them where I am. Any shackles they put on me won't stay for very long. I just stopped by to make sure you understood this."

"Damn you, Noah. You're not even a cadet anymore; you're just an affliction. You're a disease destroying this academy."

"Well the year is almost finished, so I won't be around much longer."

Noah left the commandant's office and made his way to the library. His enrollment at the academy was soon to expire, and he had to take advantage of the library while he still had access. However, he had already speed-read through just about every useful book available, and at this point, he had little hope of finding any diamonds in the rough. It was only because of this certainty that he would risk jeopardizing his stay by exacting his revenge.

There, he found Alexis and Sophia, both shocked to see him. "Where have you been?!" Alexis exclaimed.

"I led Galvin for a merry chase through the slums and then ditched him."

"So what's going to happen to you?" Sophia asked.

"I'll be fine. The kingdom may blow smoke, but I haven't broken any actual laws, and I'm not afraid of the Herald family."

"Back at the mess hall, you said Galvin burned down the Knight's Sheath. Is that true?"

"It is. He started the fire while I was inside to try and kill me. Suffice to say, I took the act a bit personally. Last night was my retaliation."

"Henryk was struck with paralysis, and no one knows where Mark is. Your doing?" Alexis asked.

Noah thought back to his last interaction with Mark.

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Before burning down, the Knight's Sheath had been the premier brothel in Colbrand, but it had competition. Numerous operations were spread throughout the city, but if the Knight's Sheath was the city's best, then Noah had just arrived at its worst. The building was at the edge of the slums, a drab box with iron bars on its few windows and a desperate need for either renovation or demolition. It didn't have a name like the other quaint establishments, formal or otherwise, for it operated on the lowest rung of society.

Noah, his head wrapped in bandages, approached the door, heavy on its hinges and solid construction, but now rotting. He gave a hard knock, and a slot opened up. "Who are you?" a man asked.

"A businessman, here to speak with your boss. I was given directions by someone from the Knight's Sheath.

The door opened, the fat guard looking at Noah and grinning. "You're a long way from the Knight's Sheath, but you got a pretty mouth."

Noah tossed the man a bronze coin. "I have something your boss will be interested in. Take me to him."

"Yes sir," the man said with renewed spirit.

He let Noah inside, and the first thing that hit him was the smell, putrid enough to bring tears to his eyes. If a sunbaked public outhouse had sex with semen-drenched roadkill and gave birth inside a goblin tunnel, the resulting stillborn abomination would be hung up like an air freshener to make the house bearable. Noah followed the man deeper into the building while sparing glances into the various rooms.

The customers were the seediest in the city and could have anything they wanted as long as they had money; slaves of every sex, age, and race, animals, and even corpses. The slaves here were bought dirt-cheap and kept perpetually chained, sleeping on straw mattresses that were either damp or crusted with filth. Semen, urine, feces, and just about every other bodily fluid formed a greasy patina on the floor and was smeared on the walls in many places. Somewhere in the building, a person was screaming. They were young.

Noah was brought into a dingy office where a man was sitting behind a desk with a glass and a bottle of liquor. He had a nice coat, but it needed a wash, same with the room. It was probably the cleanest in the building, but the smell had lost little of its pungency. Noah instinctively knew that multiple people had died in this room.

"Boss, this guy says he wants to talk to you."

"Oh? And what can I do for you this evening, sir?"

There was a chair in front of the desk, but Noah decided to stand. "I have a business opportunity for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small sack of Elutrin, tossing it onto the man's desk.

"What's this?"

"Medicine, for a certain sick individual."

"I don't understand."

"After I leave, another young man is going to come in here, asking for a job. That right there is what you will pay him with. It'll make him work harder than any of your slaves. Use him however you see fit; just try to avoid working him to death. When you run out, go to the Knight's Sheath. I've arranged for you to be able to buy more from the bartender, but only enough for you to give to your new model employee. If he dies, let them know."

"I still don't understand what's going on. Why are you doing this?"

"He has a debt to pay, and I figure this is the most fitting way for him to pay it back."

After hashing out the details, Noah left the brothel and met Mark outside. He had lost weight, now appearing gaunt and sickly, as well as prematurely aged. Like all heavy drugs, Elutrin ate away at the lifespan of its users, and a severe addict like Mark was burning the candle at both ends.

"It's done. Since you can no longer pay me, I've passed the buck."

"Look, I'll get you the money! I may have been disowned, but I still have assets!"

"You don't have to buy from me anymore. The boss inside is who I buy from, and he's willing to sell directly to you in exchange for working for him. Do whatever he says, and you'll get as much as you want."

"What kind of place did you say this was?"

"You'll find out soon enough. This is the only option you have, understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure," he said with a nod, his whole body shaking. He hadn't had a hit all day, and he was aching all over.

"Good, now go in and get to work."

Mark nodded once more and entered the brothel. After that, no one from his old life ever saw him again.

----------

"I have no clue what happened to Henryk and Mark," said Noah to Alexis, "but I won't shed a tear for them. Perhaps the gods have a sense of humor."

After his study session ended, Noah went to his next class, only to be pulled out halfway and sent to the commandant's office. When he arrived, he found Ford waiting for him and an old dwarf that Noah recognized. He was a gold-ranked knight sent to enact the king's will, often in the form of investigations. The last time Noah saw him, he was leaving the Knight's Sheath and accompanied by ordinary troops, but this time, a squad of knights was stationed in the hall, and two of them were silver-rank. It seemed someone at the palace was smart enough not to use the kid gloves if things went south.

"Cadet Noah," the dwarf said.

"Sir Marcus Berholm, correct? On top of being the royal adjudicator, you're a gold-ranked knight, correct? It's a great honor."

"That's right, lad. If you know me, you know what I do."

"I assume you're here regarding the events from either last night or this morning."

"Were His Highness not found before I came here, it would be the former. He had been beaten and tortured half to death. The commandant has been filling me in on the details leading up to his disappearance."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, I had nothing to do with him getting roughed up. The prince went on a bloody rampage, so I just led him into the slums and then ditched him. I assumed he'd spend all day running around down there, looking for me. He was fine, last I saw him."

"Given your past interactions with his family, I'm hard-pressed to believe you wished him no harm."

"I had already done everything I needed to last night, and anything more would have just been gratuitous. My idea was to just let him keep digging himself into a deeper and deeper hole. He probably used up all his mana and got attacked by someone living in the slums."

"Well, until His Highness's attackers are identified and captured, you will be sitting in a dungeon. That's not even counting what will happen to you regarding last night."

"I didn't break any laws last night. It's a scandal, sure, maybe something the church would object to, but nothing illegal. As for the prince, you said you found him alive, right? Just ask him who or what did it."

"We did."

"And did he tell you I attacked him?"

Sir Berholm hesitated. "No, he said he was maimed by several beggars, crazed and bloodthirsty."

"You knew that, and you still accuse me? I'll bet he screamed his name at them, tried to order them around, called them a bunch of filthy commoners, and they didn't take too kindly to it. I'll admit, the prince and I don't get along, and I'm no saint, but I have my ways of doing things. I believe in a light touch."

"Fair enough. We'll hold off on hauling you away until everything is confirmed, but I still have questions for you."

Berholm interrogated Noah for a while, but this wasn't Noah's first rodeo. He knew how to hide guilt and fake sincerity perfectly. He was eventually released, and wandering the halls, he crossed paths with Prince Seraph, appearing to be in a foul mood.

"You son of a bitch! I've been looking everywhere for you! Tell me what you did to my brother!"

"I ditched him in the slums, and he made the mistake of antagonizing the local vagrants. It doesn't sound like he'll be making a return to the academy any time soon."

Seraph stormed over, getting ready to swing his hammer. "I'm gonna cave your skull in!"

"You're not going to wait until I go to my room and then burn the dorms down?"

His words halted Seraph's attack. "I wasn't even involved in that. I had no interest in helping him get revenge when he lost his woman through his own weakness."

"But still, you knew about it, didn't you? You knew what he planned to do, and you did nothing to prevent it."

"Like I said, I didn't care either way."

"Then you're just as guilty as they are, and truth be told, you and I are in complete agreement that this feud needs to be settled. However, a regular duel won't cut it, and there is no way we can fight the way we want to here on the academy grounds. Someone will get in the way, and life will become very unpleasant for the both of us. So let's say we put this on hold until Knight's Day, immediately after the knighting ceremony. Everyone will either be too tired from stopping the Red Revelries, or too busy providing security for the festival. We'll meet in the slums, in front of the destroyed fountain on the western side, and have ourselves a good old-fashioned battle to the death. No help, no rules, no bullshit; just you dying in an alley."

"That sounds fucking perfect to me. I'm going to grind you into the dirt, just like I promised you all those months ago. By the time I'm finished, there won't be enough of you left behind to even feed the maggots."

"Whatever you say, tough guy. Whatever you say."

----------

After dinner, Noah returned to his bedroom to find that the door was unlocked. With his hand on his sword, he opened the door and stepped inside, seeing Valia sitting at the dining table in his room. She looked far from happy.

"I figured this is the last place you'd want anyone finding you," Noah said as he closed the door behind him.

"Getting in and out without being noticed is easy for me. I bet it's easy for you as well."

Noah turned to a device on the wall, small and round, like a thermostat. It was made of wood with two lines of runes inscribed on the sides of the two components. It was a single runic formula, broken until he turned the top piece, and the two halves of the formula came together. Upon activation, a shimmer of mana moved through every surface of the room.

"You like it? It's a magic tool I invented. It prevents sound from entering or leaving a room."

"I'm sure it helps when you have female company."

"It's for magic experiments. I don't want people knocking on my door every time there is an explosion. It might shock you to know that I'm not the hedonist you think me to be."

"You could have fooled me. In fact, you did. As your teacher and as a woman, I was willing to overlook your affair with the Rosege girl because you said it was what she wanted, but for you to humiliate the duchess like that, all because your favorite brothel burned down is atrocious. I've been in Colbrand for a long time, and I know Ziradith. I don't like her, but for you to be the kind of person who would do that to someone..."

"You honestly think I went through all that effort over a brothel? If I just want to drink and fuck, I don't even have to leave my room, not to mention the only people of any importance got out unharmed."

"But then why?"

"You know of Madam Cyrilo, right? She's a magic researcher like Valon. You've probably even met her through him. She has an aging curse that she's been trying to dispel for years. Her office was a treasure trove of research into curse-breaking, research I could have used! The academy hasn't given me the answers I need, so she was my next best hope! Imagine searching for your brother for thousands of years, THOUSANDS, without any credible leads, until finally, you find a genuine hope, only for it to be incinerated by some psychotic little pissant, mad at you over his own fuckup!"

Noah wasn't sure how long it had been since he last yelled like this. It was honestly a conversation he'd never had before. What he had said to Galvin earlier about the hatred he felt in his bones was not an exaggeration. Valia just huffed in dispute and looked away.

"You seem unconvinced. You don't believe me, do you? Did you ever believe me? When we were at Covington's, you just pretended you believed me while thinking I was some young punk, either out of my mind or just trying to get you into bed."

"I believed you then, but no longer. Now I look at you, and I see a deranged punk who lies right to my face, but it doesn't matter. Isn't that what you always say? Whether or not I believed you then is a moot point. Besides, you told me then that you would fake every tear, smile, and relationship. So why should I have believed you then or believe you now?"

Noah got up and walked over to his desk, then pulled a stack of notebooks out of one of the drawers. He dropped them loudly in front of Valia. "I trust you can read runecrafting? Open any one of them to any page and take a look."

Valia humored him and opened up one of the books to a page displaying a theoretical magic circle. Immediately, her brow furrowed as she read the runes. She flipped through the pages, studying the long chain of similar circles and spells, then checked the other books.

"All these spells are to kill yourself?"

"No, killing myself is what brought me to this world in the first place. I need a spell to erase my existence. No flesh, no soul, I completely cease to exist in any form. Every night, I sit at my desk and run through the numbers, trying to figure out a way to break my curse. My magic won't let me perform the spell itself, but once the runic formula is perfected, someone else can perform it on me. Every time I try a new spell, I do so with the full intent of dying in that very seat, hoping that there is no afterlife or next world, and I'm going to try again tonight.

As soon as you leave, I'm going to get back to work, check my math for the thousandth time, and give it another go. If before the year ends, I should disappear in the middle of the night, and you find one of these books open on my desk, you'll know that I finally succeeded. You'll be the only one to know too because I won't leave a note. I can't even remember how long it's been since I actually bothered writing my suicide note.

Now, because of Galvin, that might never happen. Even if I die in this world, whether I get stabbed, hanged, or lit on fire, I'll just be reborn in another one. It might be a thousand years before I get another chance to break free of this cycle. Do you understand what I'm saying? Existence is suffering, and if I have to live and suffer because of Galvin, it's only fitting he should as well."

Noah sat back down and watched as Valia continued to look through the books. She was fast, but her sharp eyes didn't miss any details. The calligraphy and lines of the circles were painstakingly perfect, the runic equations were well-thought-out, and he had used numerous different materials and inks for his attempts. No effort had been spared in his quest.

"Your determination may be genuine, but your actions are still appalling. What did you think my reaction would be when you planned all this?"

"At Covington's, we made a deal, a deal that you swore on. I'd help you find your brother, and you'd help me break my curse. You're not the kind of person to go back on your word or give up on your family, and you're not petty enough to make hollow threats about quitting on me."

"So you thought you could do whatever you want, even if it made me angry, because you were sure I didn't have it in me to turn my back on you."