On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 394

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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First Day of Infiltration, The Organization Was Destroyed Episode 394
Forming a Duo (2)
“Let’s keep going. I think they went this way.”
There was one thing the two of them didn’t know.
The person being tracked at this moment was moving with considerable caution!
Naturally, by ordinary standards, they would have thought it impossible to be followed.
But there was one mistake: the two chasing them happened to be students who had received lessons from a former master assassin.
“There are getting to be more people around.”
The problem was that as they drew closer to the Festa District, people were beginning to appear here and there.
Teacher Ziel had said as much.
To escape tracking, you should flee toward crowds, not sparse places, making pursuit more difficult.
The target seemed to be following the textbook approach to evasion.
But it was too early to give up.
“Celia, this way.”
“What’s over there?”
“Someone went down that alley.”
It was an alley branching off behind another building.
“Quiet your footsteps. Approach as carefully as you can.”
From here on, it was a building where crowds gathered.
If that magical device we saw earlier was something dangerous….
‘We have to stop it.’
If it were to release poison smoke or bring down a building, we absolutely had to prevent it.
“Let’s go.”
They slipped into the alley, and as they approached with utmost caution, they finally could see it.
The perpetrator installing the magical device.
‘They’re wearing Academy worker’s clothes?’
Edelwein Academy issued vests to workers within the Academy to distinguish authorization.
This person was wearing a vest too.
But it was work that didn’t suit a laborer at all.
With great care, they installed the same kind of magical device as before, then took out something that looked like powder and spread it over it.
‘What is that?’
In less than a minute, the suspicious figure left the spot.
Without a word, the two pursued again.
And moments later.
Whip.
A dagger came flying from behind, without warning.
Clang!
Deflecting it was pure luck.
Instinct.
Reflex.
Chance.
Combined with the enemy’s relatively slow dagger thrust.
All of it converged to create this moment!
Delev raised the practice sword he’d just drawn, pointing it at the attacker.
“On the dagger…….”
Something was smeared on the dagger.
Certainly not an ordinary blade.
‘Poison? What is this? Were they trying to kill me?’
The trajectory of the flying dagger had aimed directly at Delev’s throat.
There was no one in this Academy who would attack a student so openly.
A narrow alley.
The standoff between the three didn’t last long.
Crash!
While Delev parried the attack again, Celia moved to flank.
‘Delev is holding them off.’
The enemy’s skill level wasn’t that high!
Of course, Delev and Celia were strong.
But that was only true within the Academy—outside, Expert-grade powerhouses were everywhere.
The fact that a fight could even be sustained despite that….
‘Either they’re holding back, or they’re just that weak.’
Though they were practice swords, both of them drew out everything they had.
Clang, ring!
Their opponent was undeniably strong.
Stronger than both of them.
But not so strong that they couldn’t fight, and certainly not so strong that they couldn’t block a coordinated attack with relative ease.
Screech…….
Sword and dagger met, sparking a clash of strength.
In that instant, the opponent drew a short sword—slightly longer than the dagger—with their other hand and swung it toward Delev’s waist.
That very moment.
Clang!
Celia’s swift blade flew between them, deflecting the short sword’s trajectory.
‘We… we’re alive.’
If that strike had connected, it wouldn’t have been strange if Delev’s waist had been split clean in two!
At this point, even their opponent seemed taken aback.
They still didn’t open their mouth, but their expression was slowly contorting.
‘We can do this. We can suppress them and hand them over to the Security Guard.’
Delev and Celia’s gazes locked as if by agreement.
Though reluctant to admit it, their breathing seemed perfectly synchronized.
Clang!
The fight resumed.
Delev unleashed a Heavy Sword Technique, striking downward in one fluid motion, while Celia thrust her blade toward their opponent’s evasion path.
Thud!
The blunt, edgeless tip struck the shoulder directly. Had it been a real sword, the shoulder would have been pierced through or torn away entirely.
“Ugh!”
And finally, a cry escaped them.
But that was the moment.
Celia staggered.
She’d clearly landed the attack.
‘No.’
A dagger she hadn’t seen him throw grazed across her left upper arm.
Her strength began draining away.
“Celia!”
Delev rushed forward urgently, but Celia shouted sharply.
“Don’t worry about me—keep defending!”
Clang!
It was the right call.
Through that small gap, their opponent pushed through.
Delev barely blocked it, and Celia rejoined through her trembling legs, but the balance was collapsing.
‘Is he trying to kill us?’
If they fell here, this situation would spiral into a maze with no exit.
So Celia gritted her teeth.
“Ugh!”
Delev too had taken a shallow wound.
Just as before, his strength began slowly draining away.
‘I have to do something.’
There were only the two of them here.
No Teacher Ziel, no Gilbert, no Kelvin.
No friends to help.
Their only hope was that someone would hear the sound of their fight and come.
But the situation didn’t favor betting on that.
In the end, Delev resorted to a desperate measure.
‘Please, just once—let it work!’
He angled his sword diagonally toward the ground and held it firmly in place—
Clang!
Then he brought his foot down hard, snapping the sword in two.
“……!”
For a moment, Celia thought Delev had lost his mind.
But when she saw the clean break, understanding dawned.
‘He made an edge!’
The fact that a practice sword couldn’t deliver any meaningful damage no matter where it struck!
With a broken sword, balance was impossible and swordsmanship itself was awkward—but now wasn’t the time to dwell on such things.
The opponent, sensing the intent, corrected his stance.
‘Just one chance.’
His strength was already beginning to drain.
Which meant opportunities were running thin.
Celia realized what she had to do.
‘Pin him down.’
Before strength failed her completely—
Whish!
She engaged with Swift Swordsmanship, holding him in place with every ounce she had!
Then Delev would surely—
Whoosh!
Strike through the opening.
Just like now!
Thud!
The jagged, half-broken blade plunged diagonally into the enemy’s flank.
“Ugh!”
A cry tore from his throat.
But in that same instant, a scream escaped Celia as well.
“Ah……”
The counterattacking short sword had raked across her leg as he twisted away.
“You insane bastard……!”
Delev, lost to rage, wrenched the blade free. And as he raised it again—
Thwack!
“Kgh.”
Delev’s body crumpled.
He couldn’t stop the kick that came at him in that moment.
Though a hole now gaped in his torso, the enemy was still fighting back.
The instant Delev fell, he spun and fled.
His body, already struck once, refused to obey.
‘If I make the Masquerade Ball succeed……I need to get that scholarship……’
Debt flickered at the edge of his mind!
And then Celia, limping in the same way, collapsed into his field of vision.
‘I have to stop Celia’s bleeding……’
But in that moment.
Thud!
The fleeing enemy, too, stumbled and fell.
Delev’s lips curved upward where he lay.
‘It worked.’
The same poison. The exact same poison.
The dagger he’d thrown at Celia!
In that split second when she was holding the enemy in place, before he’d attacked with the broken sword, he’d picked it up.
There was residual poison still clinging to the blade.
He’d used that moment when the enemy was pierced by the broken sword to slash her leg.
This was exactly what his teacher had meant by Quick Thinking.
The only problem was……
‘……Do I really have to stay like this?’
He had no idea when the paralysis would wear off.
And of all places, this was a deserted alley.
If anyone had heard the fight, they would have come by now……
“Paralysis poison.”
Someone arrived.
“Injected right up to the lethal threshold. One more cut and you’d have been dead.”
Even paralyzed, a chill ran through him, his body trembling.
“Ter……cher……”
So this was what it felt like when your mouth wouldn’t obey.
His tongue barely moved at all.
“Wait here a moment.”
Ziel uncapped an ampoule from his belt and poured its contents into both their mouths.
After a moment.
The paralysis began to wear off from his mouth first, then sensation gradually returned to his hands and feet, his legs and arms in turn.
As Delev and Celia managed to rise and move, they saw exactly who they’d expected—Ziel.
“Teacher, how did you…… Oh, you must have heard.”
“I heard. But I came prepared for it.”
“Sir?”
“I read a novel yesterday.”
“A novel……?”
“Yes. It told the story of some organization member seeking revenge for his fallen organization.”
“……?”
Delev’s eyes grew vacant—he couldn’t make sense of it.
“I heard rumors that the remnants of the Red Raven were gathering again to rebuild their organization.”
“Th-they were?”
“So I thought they might seek revenge. That’s why I came out to search, and this magical device was found.”
What he showed them was identical to the magical device Delev and Celia had discovered.
“It really was a magical device.”
“Yes. When activated simultaneously, it disables the protective barriers in the surrounding area. It’s highly likely the Red Raven remnants slipped in through that gap.”
It wasn’t nearly as terrifying as one might imagine, but the magical device could have produced devastating consequences.
“And I detected the scent of you two students near this device. Then I heard sounds of combat.”
It was a process he couldn’t fully comprehend, but his counterpart was Ziel, after all.
“Th-thank you for saving us.”
“No. You won because of your own strength.”
“We won?”
“Yes. You two won.”
When Ziel stepped aside, the collapsed man came into view.
“Oh!”
He remembered now—the man falling at the very end.
The paralysis poison had worked after all.
“And he wouldn’t have died even if left alone.”
“Sir?”
“It’s a non-lethal paralysis poison.”
It had to be a consequence of the Red Raven’s collapse.
“The Red Raven doesn’t manufacture its own poison. Given their organizational structure, each branch’s research laboratory produces the poison, which is distributed to Crow operatives for each mission.”
“How did you know that, Teacher……?”
“I’d rather not say.”
“…….”
In any case, they’d survived.
Yet it was still hard to believe.
‘We actually won.’
Perhaps it was the reward of their consistent training.
“This man’s skill surpasses both of yours. Yet you won. Well done.”
“It was thanks to you, Teacher.”
“That’s true.”
Celia, whose paralysis had worn off late, limped over and collapsed heavily to the ground.
“Phew, we made it. Teacher, how did you even get here?”
“He saw the novel and came.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Teacher, are you serious?”
“Yes. I saw the novel and came, thinking the Red Raven might seek revenge.”
“…… So they were targeting you?”
“That’s right. Since I eliminated the Red Raven.”
Ziel staunched the wounds of both Delev and Celia.
Fortunately, neither of their injuries was particularly deep.
Once the bleeding from Celia’s leg stopped, she found herself suddenly remembering Delev’s rage from moments before.
For some reason, meeting his eyes felt difficult now.
“Your breathing was quite well-coordinated.”
“It wasn’t!”
“They weren’t in sync at all!”
Yet both denials came reflexively, passionate and emphatic.
Ziel tilted his head slightly.
“If you won without coordinated breathing, then with it, you could defeat an even stronger opponent.”
“…….”
The match had gone remarkably well.
Better than either of them would have expected.
The battle they’d just fought was, in truth, the finest real combat experience either had yet undergone.
Had they both been wielding real swords, the outcome might have been decided even faster.
When Delev’s gaze met Celia’s, he flinched and quickly looked away.
Then he rushed to change the subject.
“So, what happens to that one?”
“He’ll be useful for locating the remnants still at large.”
“Ah, I see.”
Then came news neither had anticipated.
“And you two will be recommended as Special Scholarship Students.”
“Wait—a scholarship?”
Delev’s eyes widened.
Which meant…
“We’d get the scholarship stipend, right?!”
“Yes.”
Delev let out a cheer.
‘Maybe another Crow will join up after all…’
A scholarship was worth more than anything else.
But there was one thing they didn’t know.
‘They defeated an opponent at the Expert-level Beginner stage.’
The Crow had been far stronger than either of them realized.
‘Had I sent them to compete in the Exchange Tournament against Telvir… they would have won handily.’
Delev and Celia.
Their coordination had proven far better than anticipated.
Which was why Ziel reached this conclusion.
“It really is the power of love.”
“Pardon?”
“What?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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