“… Who I am doesn’t matter. What’s more important is who you are…” The mysterious man cut through the silence.

Kahn wanted to speak, but his inner patience appealed to him and he listened attentively.

“… I’ve been observing you for some time, the path of carnage you’ve created. I have to say, it’s not a wise call.”

Kahn realized that now. He had drawn too much attention to himself and it was only a matter of time before strong humans came after him.

“One of this Kingdom’s strongest Mages is coming for you. Once he does, he’ll subjugate you with no difficulty. Needless to say, you don’t stand a chance.” The human in the shadows retorted.

“Keh, your arrogant words displease me, human! Do you think because you’ve been monitoring me, you know the extent of my powers?” Kahn growled.

Being looked down upon by humans annoyed him. He only had a slight bit of respect toward a few members of their race, but those were long dead by now. Unlike demons, humans had such short lifespans.

This was another reason why Kahn deemed his race as superior.

“Believe what you want, but this guy I’m referring to is even stronger than me, so…”

Kahn couldn’t help but gulp a little.

The human in front of him was strong! So strong that Kahn had the possibility of losing in his current state. If this person spoke so highly of another, it was a bit worrisome how powerful the other guy was.

“W-who is he…?” Kahn found himself asking.

He never thought he would have to speak to a fellow human, but… sometimes curiosity could be controlling.

“His name is Neron Kaelid. He’ll soon be dispatched to hunt you down… and when that happens, it’s only a matter of time before…”

The man didn’t say any more, but Kahn could already deduce what was implied.

Still, Kahn could not afford to back down now, not when he was so close to redeeming himself. If he succeeded in his plans, he could regain his previous position and even bring about the extermination of the human race. He couldn’t afford to lose now!But, something rang in the Shadow Demon’s mind…

“Why are you telling me all this?” The thoughts became words.

The man in the darkness seemed to smile, shrugging a tiny bit. Kahn thought perhaps he didn’t fully make his inquisition known and decided to go further.

“… You saw the carnage I caused, how I laid waste to your race. If I succeed in my plans, more of you will die! Why would you betray your race and tell me such important information?”

For a while, there was silence.

Kahn suspiciously eyed the being who stood a short distance from him. The Demon readied his claws, prepared for combat if it became necessary.

“Well, that’s because I’m not on the side of the humans.”

This bombshell caused the resolute Kahn to be fazed.

“W-what?!” Nearly escaped his darkened face.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not on the side of you Demons as well. Needless to say, my identity doesn’t matter to you. What’s important is the proposal I want to make!”

Kahn’s eyes ticked with slight interest, and his curiosity began growing. While there was a lot that was very fishy about the obviously human being that appeared before him, he still wanted to hear the proposal.

“Don’t worry… it’ll benefit you. I don’t know what exactly you’re looking for, but I know where you can get it.”

Kahn’s expressionless face seemed to ask, “Where?”

“Ainzlark Academy.”

Upon hearing this, the Shadow Demon recollected the name from some of those he interrogated. Some of them had children and relatives attending the institute. It was a top-notch place that cultivated fresh talent and had no small number of powerful humans.

But…

“Why would I want to go there?”

It was said that the lecturers there were strong, and the head of the school was one of the most powerful mages in existence. Sure, there seemed to be quite a number of knowledge and technology he could obtain there, but the risks were too great.

“I know you’re worried, but rest at ease…” The mysterious man spoke once again.

“The biggest threat in that Academy is the one after you, so he won’t be there for some time. And, as for the other powerful staff there, I can handle them. It’ll make the whole thing smooth sailing for you.”If that were to be the case, it would be perfect. In fact, it was too good to be true! For a human like him to casually, yet confidently speak in such a way… what kind of connection did he have with Ainzlark? Also…

“… Why would you go so far? What do you hope to gain from this?

This was something that burned within Kahn’s twisted heart. All humans were inherently selfish; someone he knew several years ago, a human, had told him this! He was a scholar who had studied both Demons and humans, having a great deal of magic knowledge at his disposal as well.

It was a shame the man was inept, no, that was probably a good thing. If such a human had the ability to use Magic, Kahn could only imagine how much of a menace he would have been back then.

‘That man…’ The Shadow Demon gritted his teeth as the particular image of someone flashed in his mind.

“Fine. I’ll tell you what I want…” The strange man suddenly broke Kahn away from his deep thought.

There was a brief moment of silence, and then the Shadow Demon saw the man in front of him slightly raise his hand while gathering mana. The black being sprang into a defensive stance, but it was unnecessary.

“Relax, will you? I just want to show you something. Or, rather… someone…”

Suddenly, a bright light appeared on the palm of the mysterious, shady man, and the image of a particular person appeared. It was like a hologram, the product of light magic, and it perfectly displayed the face of someone… showing the amount of skill the conjurer had.

Kahn narrowed his eyes and critically examined the image that popped up.

The boy didn’t appear to be too old, most likely twelve years… maybe thirteen. His bright golden eyes and blond hair stood out. He had a confident smile on his face, and a form of noble aura round him.

“Who’s this? Your child?” Kahn spoke with sarcasm, not sure why the man before him would show the image of someone totally unrelated to the matter at hand.

“No… quite the opposite actually. He’s something of an enemy, really…” The man replied in an unfazed manner.

Kahn was getting impatient now, but he waited to hear what his business was with the child.

“He’s a student of Ainzlark Academy, he’s in his first year…”

Something like a sadistic, completely evil grin formed on the face of the man who spoke. Even though Kahn was the personification of evil, this human seemed to be an agent of malevolence.

“… His name is Jared Leonard… and I want you to kill him for me.”

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[Welcome To The Third Arc Of SPELLCRAFT: Reincarnation Of A Magic Scholar]

[The Invasion/Conspiracy Arc Begins!]