Demon King’s Academy

✦ Chapter 7 ✦

「Translator – Creator」

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚  ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

“Kill each other.”

A cold, hollow voice echoed across the training grounds.

“……..!”

The Class-A students’ eyes widened as if they’d heard words that should never have been spoken.

“Huhk.”

Even the Terran students watching through the windows drew in sharp breaths at the unfolding scene.

It was then the students were reminded once again.

‘The Demon King.’

He had become their headmaster, their homeroom faculty.

He had promised he would never kill the students himself.

And yet.

“He’s making us kill each other!”

If the students were the ones doing the killing, then technically, the Demon King would still be keeping his word.

— What on earth do you think you’re doing?!

Rayze immediately reached out to Louis through messenger magic, her voice sharp and urgent.

— This is clearly a breach of contract!

It didn’t matter if he wasn’t directly killing the students. Forcing them to kill each other was not something that could be justified with semantics.

*Clench—*

If necessary, Rayze was prepared to stake everything on stopping Louis.

“So noisy.”

He lazily picked at his one ear as he glanced at the students gathered on the training grounds.

“Fight as if you mean to kill.”

“………?”

“Forget about this being practice. Think of it as a battlefield.”

As he extended his hand, a dark energy poured forth, seeping into the students’ bodies.

The unsettling sensation made them shudder, but only briefly.

Louis’ explanation continued.

“It’s a spell of immortality.”

“…Pardon?”

“Not true immortality—just a spell that prevents death for a limited time. So.”

He stepped back as he spoke.

“So don’t hold back. Fight like you mean to kill. Don’t worry about anything else, you idiots.”

Before anyone realized it, he had taken up the stance of a referee, as if the training grounds had been transformed into an arena.

*Rustle—, Rustle—*

The students began cautiously turning their heads, assessing the situation.

After all, sparring matches were common at the Hero Academy.

Learning swordsmanship, mastering martial arts, testing their skills, and growing stronger—it was all part of the process.

However,

‘Fight as if we mean to kill?’

Such thoughts had never crossed their minds before.

*Gulp—*

Even so, not one among them had the courage to argue with the infamous Demon King or to muster the audacity to ask if he was serious.

“Ah.”

Just then, Louis extended his hand as if remembering something.

*Whoosh—*

Moisture from the air began to converge above him, swirling together.

Before long, droplets coalesced, soon swelling into a pool that could fill a basket, rippling with latent power.

‘Spirit magic?’

The students glanced at each other in confusion, but he paid no mind to their reactions.

*Swish—*

As his hand swept downward—

*Splash—!*

The massive sphere of water crashed down, drenching two unconscious figures lying on the ground.

The ones caught in the downpour were—

“Huhk!”

“Puah!”

Roberto and Erna, who had been unconscious.

“You two, fight as well.”

He had awakened the previously rampaging pair, giving them their chance.

“F-Fight?”

Roberto, who had just regained his senses, looked around in a daze. His initial confusion quickly morphed into something darker as his eyes started to burn with a crimson hue.

“Yes. Fight like you mean to kill—you won’t die even if you’re killed. So go ahead and kill each other.”

Roberto, and then—

*Swish—*

Erna turned to face each other simultaneously.

The tension between them was palpable, stemming from unresolved grudges that had existed since their first meeting.

*Whoosh—!*

“Die!”

“Drop dead!”

With a resounding crash, their fists collided violently, sending shockwaves through the training ground.

☩

A cloud of dust rose, blanketing the training grounds in a hazy shroud.

As the dust gradually settled, the results of the chaotic battle began to reveal themselves.

*Flash—!*

The settling earth-dust vanished in an instant at Louis’s gesture.

“Three remain.”

In the chaos that began with Roberto and Erna, only three still stood.

As for the rest…

“Tch. I said fight as if you meant to kill.”

The others lay sprawled across the training ground, battered and defeated; though marked with wounds, none were grave. The injuries were so superficial that the immortality spell had been unnecessary.

Roberto, who had ignited the initial spark of battle, now lay among those fallen.

Those still standing were…

“Erna Thiessen.”

The girl with azure hair.

“You’re… Tomejo Radin.”

The boy with dark brown hair.

And…

“Chris.”

The red-haired boy.

These three emerged victorious from the chaos.

“Hmph.”

Erna straightened her posture as if this were natural, pinching one nostril to stem a nosebleed.

“Ugh…”

Tomejo trembled behind a small rock elemental.

And the last one…

“………?”

Chris seemed unable to comprehend why he still stood.

“Why am I…?”

Chris hunched inward, intimidated.

Only then did Erna and Tomejo turn their gaze to Chris.

He shrank even further under their scrutiny.

‘What just happened?’

He had merely stood there.

That was all, yet everything had ended.

“Ho.”

A small sound of appreciation escaped Louis.

“The test is over.”

Regardless of Chris’ reaction, Louis declared the test’s end.

“The winners are Erna, Tomejo, and Chris.”

The three victors.

The survivors looked to Louis.

And an indelible sense of defeat marked their faces.

Only now did they fully grasp what had transpired—that they, as students of the Hero Academy, had mercilessly beaten their fellow classmates under the orders of the Demon King.

All this was merely the Demon King’s entertainment.

A cruel pastime to alleviate his boredom, where the weak fought among themselves for his entertainment.

“Was it all just for this…?”

As Erna began to flare up again in red-hot anger—

“There should be a fitting reward.”

Louis’ words stopped Erna in her tracks.

“The next test is in one month. Until then…”

As Louis extended and clenched his hand, all the fallen students rose and regained consciousness.

“The winners shall have the right to do anything they wish to the losers.”

“……..!”

The right to do anything.

“Except killing. Everything else is fine.”

Louis’ declaration.

It was the declaration of Terran Academy’s headmaster…

…the declaration of a Demon King, and…

“If anyone has objections, feel free to come and see me.”

…the proclamation of an absolute being.

Louis turned and vanished as though he’d completed all he needed to do.

The students, left behind, could do nothing but stand in stunned silence for a long time.

☩

Even after Louis’ class, Class-A continued with other lessons.

Most were introductory sessions, akin to orientations outlining what would be covered in future classes.

“A-ahem, ahem”

“Regarding the study of history…”

The reality of Terran Academy’s faculty was quite different from the ominous rumors that surrounded the school.

The words of the teachers on the first day were usually along these lines—

“Play all you want—isn’t that why you came to Terran in the first place?”

“What do you expect me to teach? Why should I bother?”

“I’ll be focusing on my research; do as you please.”

Neglect.

Such profound neglect that it raised the question of why the teachers even existed in the first place.

But now, things had changed.

“Do you understand how significant history is on this continent?”

The teachers were suddenly conducting orientations with a semblance of sincerity and effort.

This was, of course, due to Principal Louis.

In the past, no misconduct led to dismissal, and even grave offenses merely ended in termination.

Embezzlement, assault, imprisonment—such things could be quietly resolved.

However,

— Don’t touch the students.

Louis had declared.

— But teachers? That’s different.

He’d stated he would kill and replace teachers at will.

Already, twenty-five teachers had met their end.

And now, two skeletons filled those vacant positions.

According to rumors…

*Rustle—, Rustle—*

— The skeletons sweeping the front gates of the academy? They were said to be the former teachers.

It was whispered that any teacher who died would continue to serve Terran Academy, even in death.

Thus, unlike before, the teachers now strived to give their best.

For the students of Class–A, however, focusing on lessons proved to be impossible.

“What are you looking at?”

The recent ‘test,’ essentially a violent free-for-all, had left lingering tensions between them.

Especially…

“…Sorry.”

Chris felt like he was suffocating.

Though he’d done nothing, he became a victor with granted rights.

He could do anything to the losers, but…

‘What could I possibly do?’

Everyone in Class-A except Chris belonged to the continent’s powerful nobility; their family influence could erase not just Chris, but his entire neighborhood within an hour.

— Well then, I’ll see you tomorrow.

The first day ended with the final lesson.

“Haah.”

As he headed back to his dormitory with a deep sigh—

“Hey. Do it again.”

A commotion was coming from the shadows beside the building.

“Do it like before.”

As he peeked over, he saw it was some of Class-A’s members.

And one of them, clearly intimidated and leaning against the wall, was none other than Tomejo — the boy who had been declared a victor earlier.

On the opposite side, pressing against Tomejo’s chest, was—

‘Rato, wasn’t it?’

A Class-A student named Rato.

Others were present too, though they appeared to be from different classes, likely Rato’s followers.

“Hey! Do what you did before!”

*Thud—*

Rato roughly shoved Tomejo against the wall.

“Ugh!”

Tomejo’s face contorted in pain.

‘I should help.’

The thought crossed his mind.

But…

‘How….’

What could he, someone without any strength or influence, possibly do to help Tomejo?

‘Maybe a teacher…’

Chris, who had started to move to call a teacher, froze in place.

His mind went blank.

‘Who could I even call?’

Every teacher at Terran seemed to have a screw loose somewhere.

He’d heard the rumors himself.

That Terran was essentially lawless territory.

That teachers and students existed in inviolable spheres, neither interfering with the other.

While a hundred students enrolled at Terran each year, less than half graduated—not from failing missions, but from conflicts between students themselves.

The only names that came to mind were…

‘Rayze.’

The Hero who’d become Terran’s vice principal.

‘Louis.’

And the Demon King himself.

“So, you’re going to keep acting like this, huh? Then…”

But while Chris hesitated, events were already escalating.

*Thud—!*

Rato’s fist finally connected with Tomejo’s face, sending him sprawling onto the ground, twitching in pain.

“Stomp him!”

Even that didn’t seem to quell Rato’s anger. As his group moved in to kick the fallen boy, Chris finally found his voice.

“St—”

He stepped forward, attempting to intervene, but—

“Shut the f* up!”**

The harsh curse made Chris falter, freezing him in place.

Then—

*Whoosh—!*

Searing heat erupted from within the shadows.

“Why do you keep refusing to give up control?”

The brown-haired boy.

That shy boy now—

“Just sitting there getting beaten like an idiot.”

—held Rato’s throat while summoning flames.

“Guhk!”

“Let go of him!”

“Shut up.”

Rato’s group lunged at Tomejo, but it was futile.

*Fwoosh—!*

A pillar of flame rose before them, blocking their path.

Tomejo stood amidst the flames, clutching Rato’s throat, a smile playing across his face.

“The Demon King did say it, didn’t he?”

His voice and demeanor had transformed completely, a complete reversal from moments before.

His brown hair now blazed crimson like Chris’s, dancing in the heated air.

“He said we could do anything except kill, didn’t he? You must have heard that too?”

“Guhk! Gak!”

Tomejo’s grip tightened further around Rato’s throat.

“Aaaagh!”

The suffocating heat mingled with Rato’s anguished screams, rising in a crescendo of chaos.

“He’s lost it…”

Chris found himself stumbling backward, unable to contain his shock.

*Thud—-*

He bumped into something and stopped.

“What’s got you so rattled?”

A familiar voice, cold and cutting, whispered into his ear.

Turning slightly, Chris saw her—Erna Thizen, her striking blue hair shimmering faintly in the dim light.

One of the three victors, just like him.

She gazed at Chris with cold eyes and spoke:

“Terran is no longer a Hero Academy.”

If Chris hadn’t realized it after everything that had happened today, he truly was a fool.

“This is the Demon King’s Academy.”

END σϝ CHAPTER

☩

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE’S :-

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