SPELLCRAFT: Reincarnation Of A Magic Scholar

"W-what?! The Elves are no more?"

My eyes widened with both shock and anger as I looked at Neron. I knew this wasn't my world and my raging emotions were useless, but I couldn't help it at this point.

Not after hearing what he just told me.

"Over five hundred years ago, before Lewis Griffith died, we suspect that he released some sort of Magical virus on the Demon Race. It slowly drove them mad and they became a savage Race. This eventually devolved into something else, and they ultimately sought out violence and destruction."

"B-but why?"

"We initially thought it was just one of his evil antics—a way to spread destruction and chaos even in his absence. However, how could we have known of his future plans?"

The Demon Race went after their closest neighbours—the Elf Kingdom. Due to their sheer numbers and brutal nature, the Elves didn't stand a chance.

All of them—without exception—were wiped out.

'So, the Demon War never happened. Instead, Jared instigated them to kill all the Elves and carry out a massacre? What a monster…'

I had also committed Mass Genocide before, but that had been for many unavoidable reasons. Why would this world's version of myself go to such lengths?

It was no wonder these people hated him.

"When this happened, the Fairy Kingdom feared they would be next, so they partnered up with the other Nations, and together, the world eradicated the Demon Race."

"How did you solve the Miasma Problem?"

"Miasma?" Neron cocked his head in confusion when I asked the question.

"Uh… the energy Demons emit."

"They emit the same kind we do… Mana."

Ah, then it all made sense. The Elves only lost because they were outnumbered and outmatched. As for the Demons, they lost because of the very same reason.

They must have also been exhausted after fighting the Elves, so the alliance used that in their favour.

"The world thought Demons were too dangerous, at that point, so the Alliance decided to exterminate them as well."

It was no surprise—considering the damage the Demons had wrought. Plus, their berserk states made them unreasonable, no doubt.

"As a result, two of the world powers vanished from the face of the Earth, without a trace. Karlia is the only survivor." Neron added.

No wonder she despised me so much. From her perspective, I was responsible for the death of her people.

"She's a mutant, so the virus didn't have any effect on her. She had no other choice but to watch as her people slowly descended into darkness. In the end, she couldn't save any of them."

Neron went on to tell me how Lewis, after reincarnating as Jared, was able to easily take over the world thanks to the lower number of nations that stood in his way.

The Demons and Elves had some of the highest combat power thanks to their dexterity and affinitiy with Mana.

Yet… they were killed off before they even had a chance to resist him.

'This world's version of me is just as smart—no, he's probably smarter than I am. He could be getting help from this Merlin guy, but still…'

Hearing about Karlia's story made me curious about the others, so I asked Neron to tell me—if he wanted to, of course.

"Stefan Netherlore was Jared's classmate back when he attended Ainzlark Academy. In his words, his cousin, Maria Helmsworth, had a huge crush on Jared at the time. Unfortunately, she was killed by Jared when he took over Ainzlark Academy during the Monster Invasion on the school."

In more detail, this world's Jared used some monsters to attack Ainzlark Academy, making it easy for him to gain complete control over the Magic Institute.

Stefan saw how his cousin, and very close friend, was killed in the Invasion, and when he realized that it was intentionally caused by Jared, he couldn't forgive him.

"Stefan is very talented, you see. He's a genius that outclasses any human I know. He resisted Jared's ascent with all his might, but even he couldn't stop that bastard from taking over the school. He would have died trying too…"

I was shocked to hear all of this. Stefan, Ainzlark… everything was so different.

"Reed Sterling was the Headmaster back then and he was the one who led the students to try to resist Jared's uprising. Unfortunately, even he was no match for the boy. In the end, his efforts were in vain and a trap was set for the resisters."

Jared slaughtered every single person who went up against him that day.

"Reed had contacted me earlier that day, so I went to the scene to help. I saw the carnage firsthand. Unfortunately, when I arrived, Reed and Stefan were the only ones who were still alive."

Neron saved them, and they were only able to escape with his help.

"Reed still blames himself for the deaths of all those students and Stefan cries on some nights due to the loss of his cousin."

It seemed all of them had lost one thing or the other thanks to this evil version of myself.

"Vaizer's situation is similar to Beruel's case. They were both ousted from their Kingdom as a result of Jared's quest for power. It's worse for Vaizer because his wives and children were all slaughtered before his eyes by the new Beast King."

"D-don't tell me It's… Gerard?!"

"Yes. It seems you know him from your world. Gerard became Jared's loyal subordinate after being offered a cure for the Beastfolk's short lifespan, as well as increased power."

'A-ah… that…' I kept my lips shut this time, pretending I knew nothing about it.

"I was able to save Vaizer since I had been monitoring the Beast Kingdom when the incident occurred. I already suspected Jared would attack the place next. Unfortunately, I was only able to save Vaizer."

After the Beastfolk Conquest, Jared enslaved the Dwarves as well. In essence, the Deranged Slave had practically conquered the world.

"Well, almost. There remains one powerful nation that remains standing despite all of Jared's efforts to take it down." Neron interrupted my thought, raising a finger.

"The Midas Empire."