The Shadow Organization Members Raised Through Pay-To-Win Are Too Strong

Celestia was quite different from what I had imagined.

In the game, she appeared cold and cruel, but meeting her in person, she seemed talkative and affectionate.

‘Could she actually be nice underneath it all?’

Perhaps the game was just a setting, and reality was different.

Of course, it didn’t take long for that assumption to crumble.

“Ah…”

I only realized it after witnessing the death of the mage.

Celestia was a succubus.

To her, humans were merely a source of entertainment.

‘I guess some things never change.’

Just because the game became reality didn’t mean personalities would change too.

The only kindness she showed was directed at me alone; beneath that lay her inherent cruelty.

[A Black Raven member has hunted a dark mage.]

Naturally, a status window appeared when they died.

I decided to hold off on absorbing his abilities for now.

‘I suppose it’s fortunate that Celestia misunderstood.’

She mistakenly believed that I had sealed her powers to monopolize her for myself.

I was incredibly lucky that such a being didn’t become hostile and instead came to her own convenient misunderstanding.

As I silently stared at the corpse, Celestia spoke up.

“What do you think? Isn’t it beautiful?”

She smiled while gazing at the corpse.

She definitely lived up to her monster nature.

The unknown dark mage had died under Celestia’s enchantment.

More precisely, he was mind-controlled into stabbing his own heart.

The last emotion that crossed his eyes before death was probably confusion.

Celestia had deliberately lifted her enchantment at the last moment.

It was the succubus’s twisted pleasure to make her controlled victims face death with full awareness.

‘She really is exactly like her game setting, down to the smallest detail.’

Her cruelty could be glimpsed in such minute details.

The only fortunate thing was that she didn’t kill the knights who came with me.

“How is it, Master? Do you like my gift?”

She asked in a cheerful voice.

Despite having killed someone, she maintained an innocent expression like a child who had squashed a bug.

‘Well, I suppose that’s natural.’

You can’t judge monsters by human standards.

After all, even in the game, Celestia had her specific uses.

She was perfect for handling uncomfortable tasks due to her lack of guilt.

‘I wonder if there are any tasks I could assign her?’

Having Celestia by my side would certainly be reassuring.

First, I needed to understand the current situation.

“Hmm, I’ll gladly accept that mage’s corpse.”

I spoke in a neutral tone, hiding my emotions as much as possible.

Then, I decided to ask about something that had been bothering me.

It was about the existence of another dark mage.

There wasn’t just one mage.

Hadn’t I absorbed Shadwick’s abilities before coming here?

Given the circumstances, Celestia was clearly involved.

“But there was another mage too, wasn’t there? Where’s his corpse?”

At my words, her eyes fixed on me. Her gaze carried a strange heat.

“My, my, Master. Even if I try to hide things, it’s no use, is it? We must truly be connected. Hehe.”

She stuck out her tongue and laughed while readily admitting it.

“As you say, Master, there is another corpse. I plan to turn that one into a lich to serve as my subordinate. What do you think? Isn’t it a wonderful plan?”

“Turn the dark mage into a lich?”

I found her words puzzling.

Celestia was already practically a complete being.

She had sufficient power with the dark hounds at her disposal, so there seemed no need to increase her subordinates.

“Ah, could you be jealous? Don’t worry, this Celestia’s body exists only for Master! Hehe.”

As I was lost in thought, Celestia looked up at me with playful eyes.

She looked like a cat trying to get her owner’s attention, though honestly, it didn’t suit her atmosphere at all.

“Though your jealousy is cute, don’t worry. Making a lich is all for your sake, Master.”

“Oh? What do you mean by that?”

I kept thinking that our conversations were slightly misaligned somehow.

Why would making a lich be for my sake?

‘Come to think of it, I don’t even know why she came here.’

I had completely forgotten.

Celestia’s appearance here was abnormal to begin with.

The fact that she, who should have been in a dungeon, was operating so openly meant she had some purpose.

‘Now that I think about it, this place…’

This mountain is located on the southern border of the Hartwell territory.

‘Following the mountain range south from here leads to the Holy Kingdom.’

It was essentially a pathway to the Holy Kingdom, the Silverlight Kingdom, the Verdant Kingdom, and the Libert Free City.

Moreover, this was around where Inquisitor Lorenzo was attacked while returning to the Holy Kingdom.

“…”

Surely Celestia hadn’t attacked the Inquisitor?

Just as I was getting tense, she spoke up.

“I heard that Master intends to dominate the continent.”

“…?”

For a moment, I wondered if I had heard correctly.

When had I ever said I would dominate the continent?

It would have been less shocking if she had admitted to killing the Inquisitor.

“…Who told you that?”

“Oh, was this supposed to be a secret too? Ariel told me.”

“Ariel?”

After pondering if such a character existed, I remembered.

Ariel, the High Elf character I obtained last.

The problem was that I had never spoken with Ariel.

Naturally, I had never given any strange orders about devouring the continent.

“Yes, Ariel mentioned it. She said you ordered her to destroy the Empire.”

She continued speaking, seemingly unconcerned.

*  *  *

While listening to Celestia’s story, I learned several pieces of information.

First was the fact that the High Elf Ariel was the vice leader of Black Raven.

‘It seems a vice leader position was created while I was away.’

Even though Ariel was the last new character I obtained, even after being strengthened,

The fact that she became vice leader must mean she’s quite capable.

The problem was that this capability was headed in the wrong direction.

‘I never imagined my order to investigate the mine would lead to this…’

My order to investigate the mine had somehow transformed into a plan to destroy the Empire and dominate the continent of Eluncia.

There was one useful discovery, though.

I could now guess how my orders were being carried out.

‘So when I give orders to Black Raven, they go through Ariel.’

I even learned that Ariel was the one who had broken Celestia’s seal.

“…”

I’m not sure where things went wrong.

How should I clear up this misunderstanding?

“I’ll be by your side to help you, Master! First, we’ll establish a dungeon here…”

Celestia launched into her grand plans.

Though “grand” might be generous, she wanted to make a nest in these mountains to help me.

‘Wait, we came to subjugate a dungeon, but now an even scarier dungeon might appear?’

A dungeon with a 7-star monster, no less.

Talk about making a bad situation worse.

‘This is ridiculous.’

Of course, if used properly, it could work out well.

As mentioned before, there’s no better ally than Celestia.

While one gesture from her could destroy the Hartwell territory, this also meant she could defend against enemies.

‘Just having her settle in this southern region would mean we wouldn’t have to worry about minor problems.’

For example, we wouldn’t need to worry about other nobles targeting the Hartwell territory or monster invasions.

“This will be my residence, so we can’t have worthless creatures interfering, right?”

She said this while snapping her fingers.

The dark hounds scattered into the mountains and soon returned carrying monsters.

The first monsters they brought were goblins.

“We know nothing! Nothing at all!”

“Spare us! Kehehk!”

The goblins wore confused expressions, not understanding what was happening.

Upon spotting Celestia, they fell to their knees in shock.

“Kek! Please spare our lives! We’ll give you the dungeon!”

The goblins suddenly spoke more formally.

Celestia must be that terrifying to them.

Soon after, other hounds appeared with more monsters.

“Click, click, click.”

There were skeletons, which the hounds licked like dog treats.

The hounds’ strength was evident as they easily carried orcs larger than themselves.

“Screech!”

All were monsters captured from the vicinity.

‘Were there this many dungeons?’

The number of monsters gave me an idea of how many dungeons existed in the area.

All the captured monsters fell to their knees upon seeing Celestia.

“Click! Click click!”

“Tch! We’ll serve under the great one!”

“Kehek! Me too, serve! Serve!”

Though some words were hard to understand, they all meant the same thing.

They would submit to Celestia.

“Hmm, not a single useful one among them?”

But Celestia was a cruel succubus.

When she cast her enchantment, the monsters began banging their heads against trees.

They didn’t stop even as red blood flowed from their heads, and the skeletons continued until their bones cracked.

This continued until death.

Celestia clasped her hands together and looked at me with joy.

‘Ah.’

I give up. Let whatever happens happen.

Speaking against it might just create new misunderstandings.

“Fine, do as you please.”

At least she’s controllable, so it should be fine.

Besides, thanks to Celestia, the monsters were subjugated.

‘Auto-hunting works well.’

The subjugation was completed without me doing anything.

*  *  *

A faint groan echoed in the darkness.

Cael’s eyelids trembled before slowly opening.

He barely focused his blurry vision and looked around.

“Mmm… What happened?”

He had collapsed after feeling extreme fatigue suddenly.

He remembered spotting a mage right before falling.

“…Young Master!”

Remembering that Young Master Ethan had come here too, he forced himself up.

Though he still couldn’t muster much strength, he endured with willpower.

If anything happened to the Young Master, Cael would have failed his knightly duties.

He wasn’t afraid of losing his honor – he simply wanted to fulfill his duties as a knight.

Fortunately, Cael’s worst fears hadn’t come true.

“Sir Cael, you’re awake.”

Ethan had approached without notice and supported Cael’s shoulder.

Realizing the Young Master he served was safe, Cael let out a relieved sigh.

Only then did he notice his surroundings.

The other knights were still unconscious but seemed unharmed.

“W-what happened, my lord? I suddenly lost consciousness…”

Cael was confused.

His memories were hazy as if his mind was covered in fog.

“It was the dark mage’s doing. He cast dark magic to confuse us. But thanks to your intervention, Sir Cael, everyone is safe. Thank you.”

Ethan delivered his response smoothly as if rehearsed while bowing in gratitude.

However, Cael still couldn’t grasp the situation.

‘What is this….’

As Ethan said, he could see the mage dead with his heart pierced.

The sword that pierced the heart was definitely his.

But Cael himself had no memory of swinging his sword at the mage.

“You were truly magnificent, Sir Cael.”

Ethan’s words suggested Cael had dealt with the mage, though he had no memory.

“The confusion must be from the lingering effects of the dark magic.”

Cael silently stared at the mage’s corpse.

“…”

Something felt off.

‘Though the Young Master says I dealt with the mage…’

While claiming the memory loss was purely due to the effects of the dark magic.

But Cael didn’t believe those words.

‘This isn’t my swordsmanship.’

He was an experienced knight.

He wasn’t so foolish as to not recognize his own abilities.

The sword thrust that killed the mage wasn’t Cael’s technique.

‘It was handled too cleanly.’

The opponent was clearly stabbed before they could even resist.

‘This was done by someone highly skilled.’

Though the sword in the mage’s heart was indeed Cael’s, someone else had wielded it.

‘Could it be…’

His gaze turned to Ethan.

The third son of the family, known for his magical talent.

There was no rule saying someone talented in magic couldn’t also be skilled with a sword.

‘Could the Young Master have handled all of this himself?’

Of course, the mage had actually taken his own life, but the unconscious Cael had no way of knowing this truth.

Cael’s misunderstanding about Ethan only deepened.

*  *  *

At the Imperial Academy, the heart of the Arcadia Empire.

The Empire’s most prestigious educational institution educated everyone, from imperial family members to nobles and talented commoners.

Academy Director Dietrich sat in his chair.

The bookshelves were filled with magic tomes, and magical tools decorated the room.

Someone knocked on the director’s office door.

“Enter.”

The door opened, and a young man stepped in.

It was Albert Hartwell, the eldest son of the Hartwell family.

The elderly gentleman in elaborate official robes rose from his desk and approached Albert.

“Yes, I heard the news. Truly unfortunate.”

Director Dietrich stroked his magnificent beard as he greeted him.

“I offer my condolences. Don’t worry about anything now – go home and take care of things.”

The director placed his hand on Albert’s shoulder with a sympathetic expression.

Though it was the middle of a busy semester, he wasn’t so cold-blooded as to ignore a student’s family bereavement.

“Thank you for your consideration, Director.”

Albert bowed his head and was about to leave the office when the director stopped him.

“Ah, be careful. I hear dangerous elements have been showing themselves lately.”

Albert bowed his head at the director’s concerned words before leaving.

After the student’s departure, Dietrich heaved a deep sigh.

He slowly returned behind his desk and sank heavily into his chair.

“Tsk tsk, what a shame…”

Clicking his tongue, he stared at Albert’s student record on the desk.

A record full of brilliant grades and professors’ praise.

He was among the most promising future mages.

“He’s a strong child, he’ll manage well.”

He wasn’t worried.

He knew well that sometimes, such trials could foster growth.

Rather, his attention was on other matters.

“Dark mages… This could become troublesome.”

He hadn’t felt good about hearing that dark mages had reappeared.

He was needlessly worried about potential harm to the students.

“This won’t do – I can’t stay anxious like this.”

Preparations were needed.

Director Dietrich opened his drawer and took out a small device.

It was a modified magical communication tool.

When he injected mana, a voice came through from the other end.

– Greetings, Fifth Elder.

“Tell Third Elder I’ll be visiting soon.”

Dietrich was not only the Imperial Academy’s director but also an elder of Black Raven.