Every drop of blood spilled, every life claimed—each must be paid for in kind. And when many lives are taken by one man's hand, it is only natural to believe that, just as he ended others, those left behind are destined to end him. In the end, he must answer for each life—not by a god's decree, but by the judgment of his own conscience.
Maybe he could make hell into something beautiful after all—but only after returning to his previous life… and maybe dying all over again.
"As the bookkeeper, I'd like to make a few inquiries. I take my duty very seriously. Whatever the task may be, if it's assigned to me, I make sure it's done—and done well."
Jack stood before the elders and King Hannes in the courtroom, his head slightly raised, voice firm, and expression unreadable.
"My current position as the Keeper is rather dull and lacks any sense of seriousness." He paused briefly. "I'd like the library to be rebuilt—with my own apartment inside it. That way, I can live there, carry out my duties, and avoid having to return to my mother."
The elders exchanged glances among themselves, while King Hannes remained silent.
"I'd also like a few guards assigned to the library, a training room, and—despite having a kitchen in the apartment—I'll need three meals delivered each day.
Most importantly, I want an apprentice. I get to choose who it is. And finally… my personal free time."
The elders' reactions were as expected—it was as if Jack's words were an abomination to the kingdom.
King Hannes cleared his throat and seized the moment.
"Ever since the book was entrusted to us by the gods and the Night family was appointed its keeper, every keeper has avoided too much exposure to it.
The only one who ever made similar suggestions was betrayed by his own apprentice—though he was skilled enough to defeat him."
He paused for his words to settle in. "Your claims are valid, considering our current situation, it is the best and safest option for us."
He locked eyes with Jack, who remained motionless—his grey eyes piercing straight into his.
"However, as I've said before, you're not strong enough to protect the book."
"Reach number eight or below, and your request will be granted."
In that moment, Jack could have said much more—but he chose silence, watching as King Hannes slammed his fist onto the counter, followed by all six elders doing the same.
He waited for them to take their leave before heading out. But just before the staircase leading to the library, Aeris was waiting.
"That didn't go as planned," she said, gesturing toward the hallway beside the stairs. "I can feel my mana. It's not strong, but it's there. So… what's next?"
Jack cut her off as he followed her lead. Her eyes widened, sparkling with excitement.
"That's impressive… finally." Her grin deepened. "Keep up this level of devotion, and you could really pull it off in four months."
Jack glanced at her cheerful face—she looked as if she were the one who'd achieved the feat. He wasn't fooled. He knew perfectly well she'd be getting extra payment for it.
They walked through the lavish hallway, where every corner felt like a museum. After taking two left turns, they arrived at the training room.
Jack's eyes darted around, his body shifting restlessly from side to side as if he believed something was watching him.
Walking beside him, Aeris's expression darkened.
"What happened to you? You've changed a lot since that day… and worse, you haven't visited your mother even once."
Jack's eyes continued to dart around, paying no mind to Aeris's words. She sighed and walked to the room's entrance. On the left side was a switch—she flipped it.
In an instant, the white interior walls shifted, panels flipping open to reveal racks of armor, weapons, relics, and potions lining every surface. A massive board unfolded to cover an entire wall.
Jack gave the room a second, confused glance before walking toward the wall to his right from the entrance. The board was covered in diagrams, maps, and ancient texts. At its center was the most vital element—four stars arranged in order: white, blue, yellow, and gold—each representing a mana crest.
Jack smirked. The board reminded him of studying with his mother, Jane—those days filled with lessons on the human body and psychology.
"Since you can see your mana core, we're going to put it to the test," Aeris said. She reached for a jar of ash behind Jack and began drawing a magic circle on the floor. Then, from the same shelf, she retrieved a magical seal.
"Each of the crests needs mana to function. And to function properly, you need to feel your mana flowing through every part of your body—only then will the magic move naturally."
Jack finally turned to her.
"However," she continued, "as a Blue Crest, your use of mana is quite different from the others." She pointed to her own White Crest, marked with a 8.
"As a White Crest, I could use healing magic the moment I was able to see my mana and tap into its flow. I was eleven by then."
Jack stepped closer, studying the magic circle more carefully. The triangles and ancient inscriptions etched within it only deepened his sense that he was in hell—back in his world, such symbols were used by occultists to summon demonic spirits.
"Blue Crests usually summon their familiars between the ages of ten and thirteen. It gives them more time to bond, grow their mana together, and eventually contract them."
"I'm not too late to summon, am I?"
Aeris shook her head. "Not at all. In fact, many scholars recommend that Blue Crests wait until they're fifteen or older to summon.
That way, their familiar is fully grown by the time they contract. So, most people actually follow that approach."
Jack gave her a lazy look. "Then what are we waiting for?"
Aeris took a deep breath.
"About that… the Blue Crest is also the most unpredictable of all the crests. If you fail to summon five times, you lose the ability to summon entirely. It can happen to anyone—no matter how large their mana pool is."
Jack's expression darkened. He slapped his forehead in frustration, the urge to rip his own face off crawling beneath his skin.
"I've already tried three times."
Aeris gave a firm nod. "Exactly."
Aside from being annoyed by Raiden's reckless decisions, Jack was surprisingly calm about the summoning. In fact, he'd faced situations with far slimmer chances of success—ones that depended entirely on his own actions. But this… this was different. It was something beyond his control, resting solely on what many would call luck.
"I don't believe in luck—or anything superstitious," he said with a shrug. "But I am in hell, after all. Not much left to expect at this point."
Aeris's expression darkened as she turned to Jack.
"Hell? What do you mean by 'hell'?"
But Jack didn't answer. In an instant, he extended his hand, gestured for the magical seal, bit his finger, and smeared his blood across it—then tossed it straight into the magic circle.
Aeris continued to stare at Jack, her eyes clouded with confusion. The differences between Jack and Raiden made everything harder to grasp. Raiden feared pain—that was why he'd always seemed like a coward to them.
But Jack? He'd bitten his own finger without so much as a flinch.
Whoever he was now… he clearly wasn't the Raiden she once knew.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.
Jack, who had been staring intently at the seal, waiting for a reaction, turned to her with a distracted "Mmm?" He hadn't heard a word—his mind was too locked onto the seal.
He pointed at the seal.
"Is it supposed to take this long?"
Aeris snapped out of her daze, though her eyes still lingered on Jack with caution.
"Yes, that's normal. Once the seal begins to burn, it means it's searching for a familiar. If one answers the call, the magic circle will ignite with it—and through that, the familiar will appear."
Jack simply turned back to the magic circle, nodding to himself over and over.
Aeris took a few slow, measured steps backward.
"I'll be back in a minute," she said quietly, then slipped out of the training room.
Jack knew exactly what was going on—Aeris believed he wasn't Raiden.
But he didn't care. She wasn't wrong.
Jack sat down on the floor, his eyes fixed on the seal as he waited for it to burn. He stayed there, silently watching—patient, focused—until Aeris finally returned.
"That's unusual. It should've burned by now."
Suddenly, two knights around Jack's age stepped into the room.
Aeris gave him a cold, disgusted look. "You need to come with us… whatever you are."
Jack didn't even glance at them. "Didn't think you'd report me this early… Can't it wait until the seal finishes burning?"
Aeris gritted her teeth, irritated that Jack still wouldn't even look at her.
"Arrest him," she ordered.
The guards moved in, closing the distance as they reached for Jack to drag him away.
Jack's eyes lit up.
"Wait… it's burning."
The seal began to smolder, blue flames curling to life at its edges. All eyes snapped toward it, even as the guards kept a firm grip on Jack's arms.