I quickly opened the door and went inside. The wizard was enveloped in a strange black purple aura, and Derek was trying to block it with his own magic.

“Derek, what’s going on?”

“It’s a self-destructive spell!”

Derek urgently replied to Theodore’s question. Cold sweat dripped down Derek’s forehead.

“This guy… he’s thinking of taking his own life with a self-destructive spell!”

Philist, who quickly grasped the situation, rushed to assist Derek. As Philist’s magic intensified, the black purple aura surrounding the wizard gradually faded.

It took some time, but Derek and Philist successfully subdued the wizard. I cautiously approached them and asked,

“Surely he had restraint on him… How could he still cast magic?”

“There was another dark spirit.”

At Derek’s answer, I stiffened. A chilling sensation spread from my forehead, as if icy water had been poured over me.

“It’s a very small dark spirit. I managed to suppress it for now.”

Derek pointed in the direction with his hand. There, there was a small dark spirit entwined with a silver magic in the form of a chain. It looked like a small dark spirit resembling black fog.

“It’s not powerful enough to cause rifts in the vicinity, but it created a spatial distortion, destroying the restraint. That’s why this wizard was released.”

Indeed… I understood what had happened. I took out the sealing stone and slowly approached the small dark spirit. I could feel Theodore’s tense gaze watching me.

As the distance between the dark spirit and me narrowed, the misty black form was gradually sucked into the sealing stone.

It felt as if, at that moment, I heard the scream of countless nameless souls. Putting the sealing stone back into my pocket, I turned to look at the others. Among them, Derek had the most astonished face.

After hesitating for a moment, he brought up a sudden question.

“Does the Duchess know forbidden magic?”

“…It’s not like that.”

After briefly explaining the sealing stone and Sonnia’s abilities to Derek, I approached the wizard who was kneeling on the floor. In the meantime, Philist had put a new restraint on his neck and limbs.

I looked closely at the wizard. The face hidden under the hood was plain with no distinct features. However, the skin was extremely pale, and the eyes seemed vacant. Almost like that of a dead person.

Could it be that this person… is actually a living corpse?

Suddenly struck by this question, I unconsciously reached out to touch the wizard’s neck. However, Theodore grabbed my wrist to stop me. His bewildered voice came from above.

“What are you trying to do? This person is dangerous. Step back.”

Staring blankly, I attempted to reach out again, but Theodore held me back. In a perplexed tone, I sighed a little.

“I was trying to check his pulse. Since he’s restrained, it shouldn’t be too risky.”

“I’ll check. So step back.”

Saying so, Theodore cautiously approached the wizard and reached out. The moment his hand touched the wizard’s pale neck, Theodore’s expression stiffened.

“…Do you feel anything?”

He slowly withdrew his hand from the wizard’s neck and shook his head. As he turned to look at me and the others, his face was filled with shock.

“…I don’t feel anything.”

“No… pulse?”

“That’s correct.”

…This can’t be . Someone muttered. A heavy silence settled in. Not feeling a pulse meant… this person was truly a corpse.

“…Truly bizarre.”

Philist’s murmuring voice cut through the silence. Among us, he maintained a relatively composed expression.

“It’s undoubtedly a dead person, yet moving and using magic… This is as frightening as that dark spirit. Reviving a corpse with magic has been forbidden for centuries.”

Magic that revives the dead… commonly known as ‘Dead Resurrection.’ I had heard about it before. Those revived with this magic were said to be ‘neither dead nor alive’. In simple terms, they became ambiguous on the boundaries of life and death.

Of course, such beings were considered to disrupt the balance of nature. As Philist explained, it had been prohibited centuries ago. Therefore, knowledge about Dead Resurrection could only be accessed through the royal secret archives. In other words, only a handful of individuals, those with the king’s permission…

“….Ah.”

A moment of realization slipped out. Right, if it’s Duke Everett… the King must have granted permission. His influence extended even into the King.

“It seems the Duke got involved in unforgivable crimes after all.”

Philist seemed to share the same thoughts. Muttering to himself, he clicked his tongue. I stood still, silently staring at the wizard. How did this person….end up like this?

Creating the dark spirit, attempting suicide… Were all these his own will?

‘…For now…’

I cautiously approached him and stood in front of him. Theodore came right beside me, almost protectively. Though it bothered me a bit, thinking about the injuries on his arm caused by trying to protect me made my heart soften. He got hurt while protecting me… to some extent it was my responsibility. Despite it being an unavoidable accident.

“What’s your name?”

I asked the wizard. He couldn’t be referred to as ‘the wizard’ indefinitely and there’s not just one or two wizards.

“…”

At first glance, in the vacant eyes looking at me, a faint flicker seemed to cross. Seeing that, I was half convinced. This person still had some sense of self.

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