Am Wish… was a puppet created by one of the ancestors of the Night family, a corruption mage of the eighth circle whose power was terrifyingly immense. Despite the cruelty etched across his face, his love for his family had never been in doubt. His daughter, Am Night, was precious to him beyond words, and he cherished her deeply.
But one night, his wife was assassinated by killers from another kingdom because she possessed regeneration magic. That magic had allowed the ancestor to grow endlessly stronger, for no matter how much damage his corruption magic caused to his own body, his wife would always heal him. When she died, the ancestor unleashed his domain and destroyed the entire mansion with his magic, melting every inch of it.
Yet in the midst of his fury, he remembered the small face he had always loved.
He halted his magic and desperately searched for his daughter—only to discover that he was too late. All that remained were fragments of her body, melted together with the ruined mansion.
The mage screamed in agony and despair after losing his family within a single hour.
For years, he spoke to no one.
Then one day, he emerged carrying a puppet whose skin felt identical to that of a human and whose face perfectly resembled the beautiful girl he had lost. Yet despite all the effort he poured into creating it, the emptiness within his heart never disappeared.
Eventually, he died…
And the puppet remained alone within his home.
...
Asin Night slowly regained consciousness while examining his surroundings. Beside him stood a stone guardian—one of Davey Kito's puppets—and he could sense the power of a seventh-level existence within it.
Looking around, he found old man Davey together with the boy he had been assigned to observe, Shion Lan.
Davey noticed him awaken and said,
"It seems our guest is finally awake."
Shion nodded before approaching Asin.
"Star Instructor Asin Night… I believe you heard everything we discussed, correct?"
Asin replied calmly,
"You truly are bold, Shion. Kidnapping an academy instructor like this… and the son of the Night family's second patriarch at that. It seems noble status has gone to your head—you think no one can touch you."
Inside Shion's mind, Shi Yun Lan's voice echoed,
"Do not relax around him. He has the ability to escape this restraint and kill both you and the old man if you let your guard down."
Shion closed his eyes briefly before saying,
"Old sir, release him."
Both of them were startled.
Davey frowned.
"What do you mean by that?!"
Shion answered calmly,
"He is still an instructor. He shouldn't be treated this way. Besides, the title of Star Instructor means family ties won't affect his judgment. He won't kill me regardless. And since you're both at the same level, there's no need for a pointless battle."
Though Davey wanted to object, Asin effortlessly broke free of the restraints himself and stood up.
"You needn't trouble yourself, Lord Kito. I am perfectly capable of freeing myself."
He then looked toward Shion, who had prepared a chair for him.
"What exactly are you doing, boy?"
Shion answered,
"Despite hearing everything we discussed, there are still gaps in this situation. If you truly knew about the forbidden magic and these incidents, you wouldn't have remained silent while we discussed them."
He gestured toward the chair.
"Please, Instructor. Sit."
Asin felt something deeply unsettling about Shion Lan.
He remembered the director ordering him to protect the boy, yet no matter how he examined the situation, Shion never seemed truly vulnerable.
Simply because he was intelligent.
"So," Asin asked, "what exactly are you doing?"
"Solving the case like we were instructed to."
Asin narrowed his eyes.
"Doesn't capturing the kidnapper count as part of the mission?"
Shion shook his head.
"If the task were merely capturing the kidnapper, the mission would have stated that explicitly. But the mission says to solve the case."
Asin recalled the years he had spent supervising academy examinations. The wording of missions had always been extremely precise.
"I see… then what have you uncovered so far?"
Shion looked at him suspiciously.
The instructor replied firmly,
"The Night family is involved in this matter. I need to know everything that's happened."
But Shion remained unconvinced.
"I'm already wasting enough effort trying to keep the Night family from collapsing because of Violet Night. I have no reason to trust the son of the person I consider the most suspicious. Forgive me for that."
Though anger stirred within Asin, he kept it hidden.
"Then let's exchange information. How about that? I'll speak first."
Davey looked toward Shion, who raised a hand.
"One moment, please."
He walked over to Davey, and the two spoke privately. Their words never reached Asin's ears, though he did not particularly care.
Eventually, Shion returned and nodded.
"Very well. I'll accept your generous offer. Please begin, Instructor."
Asin then recounted the story of the corruption mage and his tragedy. Even Davey was horrified by what he heard, feeling nauseated, while Shion himself had never expected Am Wish to actually be a puppet.
"You said..... I slept with a puppet?!!"
Asin nodded silently as he showed sympathy for Davey who was about to lose his mind.
Shion glanced sympathetically toward Davey, who looked on the verge of madness.
Yet there were matters troubling Shion even more now.
"But if she's merely a puppet," he said, "then she shouldn't possess emotions, thoughts, or magic without a master. And according to your story, her master should've been your ancestor, whose attribute was corruption magic alone. So how can she manipulate emotions, alter appearances, and do all of this?"
Asin thought for a moment.
"When you think about it… it's possible. Don't forget that her mother possessed regeneration magic. Combined with corruption magic, she could destroy portions of skin and muscle to alter her appearance."
"As for controlling human emotions… I have heard of something similar."
This time, Asin prepared to reveal a major secret—something he would never normally expose.
But his family was in danger, and he had no choice but to rely on a student like Shion, because he himself was forbidden from interfering, whether as an instructor or as a member of the Night family.
"The spell our ancestor became infamous for… though he only used it when summoned by the Shadow Forces for interrogations…"
His voice lowered.
"(Corruption of Nature)."
Shion stared in astonishment.
He had never heard of magic like this—not even in Shi Yun Lan's world.
Asin continued,
"This spell destroys a person internally. It can affect memories, corrupt nearly all of them except whatever the caster specifically wishes to preserve.
If someone wanted to extract information, they could destroy every memory except the one they desired. It could even break sealing magic meant to prevent secrets from being revealed.
And beyond that… it can tamper with instincts and one's innate nature itself. An adult may believe he is a child. A woman may believe she is a man."
The sheer horror of the technique stunned both Shion and Davey.
Even Shi Yun Lan showed genuine interest upon hearing about it.
Yet something still didn't make sense.
Shion voiced the thought aloud.
"But you said the spell is based on corrupting the mind and nature. That still doesn't explain why Lord Davey fell in love with her. If we're speaking about corruption of nature, then that doesn't align with the corruption attribute at all."
Davey himself looked surprised by the realization.
Then he muttered,
"Could it be… that puppet inherited her mother's power?"
Asin shook his head.
"Am Wish never possessed regeneration magic like her mother."
Shion's eyes narrowed.
"And she shouldn't possess corruption magic either… unless it's an inheritance."
Everyone froze at that conclusion.
Asin thought to himself:
'So that's why we never found anything related to that ancestor…'
But then Shion suddenly noticed something else.
"Instructor… have you ever personally seen Am Wish?"
Asin frowned.
"I've seen paintings of Am when she was young—"
Shion interrupted him politely.
"Sorry for interrupting, but I'm speaking about the puppet Am Wish… not the girl Am Night from that era."
Asin fell silent before slowly shaking his head.
"No… I've never seen the puppet itself."
Fear crept into Shion's expression as Shi Yun Lan's thoughts flowed into his mind.
"Did you bury the mage's family?"
Rather than answer immediately, Asin asked,
"Why all these questions? Have you realized something?"
Shion hesitated.
"The materials… what was the puppet made from?"
At that instant, countless rumors and fragmented discussions flashed through Asin's mind.
His expression turned ugly with shock.
Shion immediately realized his suspicion had been correct.
Silence swallowed the room.
Davey looked between them impatiently.
"Stop leaving me behind and tell me what you've discovered!"
Shion finally spoke.
"That puppet possesses regeneration power to constantly repair the decayed and corrupted parts damaged by the corruption attribute. By doing so, it amplifies the corrupted emotions it wants while destroying the rest."
Davey frowned.
"So the puppet inherited the mother's abilities—"
Shion shook his head slowly.
"No…"
His eyes turned icy cold.
"She is the mother herself. The puppet was created from her body."
"..."
Davey sat there silently, trying to comprehend what he had just heard.
Shock slowly distorted his features.
"Boy… I'm an old man. My heart cannot handle this. Are you saying that's truly the truth?"
Shion pitied him slightly before replying,
"You didn't fall in love with a puppet… but with the remains of a corpse."
"!!!!!"
The old man trembled violently before collapsing onto the floor.
The room remained silent, yet somehow the sound of beating hearts felt deafening.
After a long silence, Asin finally asked,
"Then why gather children?"
Shion looked toward him, unable to answer.
Asin continued,
"I'll return to the family and see whether there exists any forbidden spell that requires child sacrifices."
But Shion shook his head.
"Don't we already have Violet Night? We should ask her first before doing something reckless."
The Night family was already involved in these incidents. If the truth surfaced publicly, the consequences would be disastrous.
Secrecy had to be maintained as much as possible.
After helping Davey recover, they finalized their agreement and separated.
Shion eventually returned to the mansion to reunite with the girls.
"I'm back."
The worry on their faces was obvious.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Violet immediately stepped forward.
"What did you do?!"
"...?"
Shion genuinely didn't understand the question.
Seeing the confusion on his face, she continued,
"The man who confronted you—and the elder who ordered him—both disappeared! Sabo Kito and the kidnapper are gone!"
Shion looked disappointed.
"Do you seriously think I can handle both a fourth-level and fifth-level opponent by myself?"
"You were the one who went to meet him!"
"He wasn't even there."
The girls froze.
Princess Jina Joul asked sharply,
"Then who exactly did you meet? And why were you gone this long?"
Shion answered calmly,
"Davey Kito. The old man of this family."
Solan Neumann immediately frowned.
"That's impossible."
She summoned a small spirit and continued,
"He has been here from the very beginning. He never once left his room—especially after the scandals surrounding him."
Shion laughed lightly.
"Maybe it was one of his puppets."
Solan shook her head immediately.
"Impossible! He lost his powers long ago after using a powerful spell against an evil witch. Ever since then, he's supposedly been bedridden."
Before Shion could respond, Shi Yun Lan's voice struck his mind like thunder.
"I think I know what happened.
Listen carefully,
.....
....
..."
"This… this is impossible…"
Shion's face instantly paled.
...
Elsewhere, in another room—
An old man lay motionless upon his bed.
Before him stood someone identical to him in appearance.
Then suddenly, the figure's face twisted unnaturally—
Until it transformed into the face of a little girl.
"Thank you for lending me your face, dear."