I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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I scanned through several collected images.

Images of the Demon Church members gathered in each basement, praying fervently.

They were clearly preparing for a summoning or descent ritual.

To summon the demon residing in ‘Myeolji,’ a multitude of Demon Church members’ desires and energy were essential.

“There are many of them.”

The more Demon Church members there are, the higher the rank of demon that can be summoned.

If 2,000 members devote their life force to their wishes, it results in a Grade 3 demon; 4,000 members result in a Grade 2 demon; and 8,000 members yield a Grade 1 demon. That’s how it works.

Currently, after sending out electromagnetic waves across the kingdom to track the number of worshippers, it turns out to be about 30,000.

Almost half of the city population within the royal territory has become Demon Church members and is participating in the descent ritual.

“It’s a Grand Duke-level summoning.”

Thus, I was certain it was at the Grand Duke level.

If the number of worshippers could wish for something of that scale, it could only be a Grand Duke-level demon.

“Then Gyro is…”

Not the core.

He was just a distraction; the real focus was the Grand Duke demon the worshippers wanted to summon.

“Where is it?”

So, I began searching for the ‘sacrifice.’

With only 30,000 members, summoning the Grand Duke itself was impossible; it would likely be a ritual to call forth its spirit.

And to contain the Grand Duke’s spirit, a suitable vessel was needed.

In other words, a sacrifice was required.

“It’s here.”

After reviewing hundreds of images, I was able to locate the sacrifice.

The Great Hall of the Entica Cathedral.

There, they were performing the ritual, laying the 3rd prince of Entica upon the altar.

As expected, the number of worshippers gathered there approached 5,000.

Unlike the smaller scattered groups of 300 or 400, a large crowd was converged, conducting the ritual.

“I just need to hit the cathedral.”

There was no need to attack the other scattered outposts.

Those groups of 300 or 400 members were merely sending energy necessary for the summoning; the real core was the congregation of over 5,000 worshippers at the Entica Cathedral.

– Whoosh!

Thus, I headed towards the cathedral.

However, attacking openly would surely cause the 5,000 worshippers to transform into demons and swarm me, so as soon as I landed on the roof, I went into stealth mode.

If I just eliminate the sacrifice and escape, that would be a clean getaway, so I attempted to sneak in.

“Katu- Kehaka! Patuzahat─ Saota-!………”

As I entered the cathedral, thousands of worshippers were chanting madly.

In their repulsive demon tongue, they hoped for the descent of the Grand Duke.

“That won’t happen.”

Now that I’ve come here, the wishes they’re invoking will not materialize.

I immediately made my way to the altar where the sacrifice was located, carefully stepping closer until I finally arrived right in front of it.

Now, I just needed to remove the sacrifice and escape…

“……..Wait a minute.”

At that moment, a thought struck me.

An idea to cleverly utilize this very situation.

If I killed the sacrifice and fled, it was certain that all the Demon Church members here, including those throughout the city, would rush off to start a war.

“I… hadn’t thought of that. They are the true main force.”

Around 30,000 members of the Demon Church.

If all of them were to fail the summoning ritual and jump into war, the damage would be catastrophic.

As Gyro had brainwashed them to become demon worshippers for a long time, some would certainly have fully transformed into demonic beings.

Of course, dealing with the worshippers was a hundred times better than risking summoning the Grand Duke spirit.

If the Grand Duke spirit truly descended, even with Elena around, we wouldn’t be able to handle the victory.

“Yes, that plan sounds good.”

So, I reconsidered my approach based on all these aspects.

Instead of directly killing the sacrifice and fleeing, I decided to exploit the situation itself.

To do that, I needed to first modify the suit.

***

Coming out into the back yard of the cathedral, I ensured no one was around and opened my inventory.

Then, I pulled out the ‘Demon Disguise Suit’ I had created earlier.

It was the demon model suit I’d made to impersonate Gyro.

“I need to make some adjustments.”

However, wearing it as is would make me look too much like Gyro’s demon form.

I needed to tweak the skin color, horns, facial features, and other details.

What I intended to do was to deceive the worshippers inside the cathedral.

-Szzzz…

So I painted all the grey skin red.

With my ‘Handcraft’ skill maxed out, I could easily change the skin color and texture with precision.

Afterwards, I altered the horn shape, adjusted the facial details, and added a large wound to my chest.

By adding distinct features, it would create a unique persona while clearly distinguishing me from Gyro’s demon form.

“This should be… good enough?”

After quickly assembling the aesthetics in 20 minutes, the suit looked impressively convincing.

However, it needed more detail for deceiving worshippers than when I tricked the trainees.

The suit itself had to emit a powerful magical aura to convincingly act as a demon.

“That’s one way to do it.”

So I pulled out the Crucible.

Then, I funneled the hellish energy charged within the Crucible into my suit.

As a result, an enormous magical aura began to emanate around the suit.

Since the bishop who had previously aimed to devour my territory had gathered a significant amount of hell energy to become a cardinal, the density and strength of this magical presence were on another level.

“Disgusting, but… I must endure.”

Still, I held back the rising nausea as I donned the suit.

Thus, a perfect demon figure enveloped in immense magical energy was complete.

At this point, even that demon mother wouldn’t recognize me.

“Shall we go?”

With my disguise complete, I confidently walked towards the entrance of the cathedral.

As I approached, the Demon Church guard stationed at the entrance gasped in surprise and shouted.

“Th- The New Humanity!”

New Humanity.

The Demon Church members refer to perfect humanoid demons as New Humanity.

Because ordinary worshippers, when transformed, possess beastly features on parts of their bodies.

“And that’s an imperfect appearance.”

Thus, there exists ‘perfect demon transformation’ and ‘imperfect demon transformation’.

Perfect demon transformation is when a humanoid has huge dragon wings on its back, like the suit I was wearing, with grand and beautiful horns emerging from their forehead; whereas imperfect demon transformation refers to any form that deviates from this.

For example, faces that resemble fish, fingers with only three digits, completely furry legs, or lower bodies like centaurs— the more it diverges from the ideal appearance, the lower the rank of the worshipper.

“Aah… Aaaah… It’s an honor to meet the New Humanity…”

Because of this, I was considered an astonishing beauty among the Demon Church members.

I embodied the ultimate form they sought, their very ideal.

The reason Gyro was revered like a god here stems largely from his perfect humanoid demon form.

“Guide me to where the Archbishop is.”

“Y- Yes…! Please, come inside! O New Humanity!”

In any case, I was guided by the guards into the cathedral.

As I walked, thousands of worshippers eyed me with wide, astonished eyes.

Some female worshippers even forgot their chants, bursting into cries of admiration.

“…Y- You are!”

Having reached the altar area, I was welcomed by the archbishop leading the descent ritual.

With an ecstatic expression, he said,

“Y- New Humanity… It is an honor to meet you. However, I was under the impression that in the Entica Kingdom, the only New Humanity was Gyro… How did you come to be here?”

While he welcomed me, the archbishop was puzzled at my presence.

Well, that was understandable.

Currently, the magical aura I was exuding was at the cardinal level, just like Gyro.

“Why would I come here?”

So I leveraged the authority of a cardinal to pose a counter-question.

In fact, I had no particular excuse ready.

After a brief moment of thought, his eyes widened as he spoke.

“Could it be! Are you ‘that one’?! The one who was predetermined to be the existing descent vessel!”

…That one? The existing descent vessel?

I didn’t quite understand what he was saying, but I nodded nonetheless.

For now, it was a priority to gain the archbishop’s trust to execute my plan.

“However…! It’s clear that you were thought to be… dead…”

…Dead? Recently deceased demon worshippers?

Who could that be?

“………I was lucky. The great Lord of Hell saved me.”

Though I couldn’t recall anyone specific, I said this while clenching my fist.

Instead, I summoned a sphere of concentrated magic above the fist, prompting the bishop to exclaim with a look of ecstasy.

“Ah… The great master has led you here. It is an honor to meet you, Max Zigmund.”

“……….?”

…Max?

The unexpected name at such a timing left me stunned.

However, I had previously suspected a connection existed between Gyro and Max while tracing their paths.

Who would have thought that conjecture would be proven correct like this?

“Well, this works out well.”

In any case, if he mistook me for Max, that could be beneficial.

As I had heard, the Grand Duke originally designated to descend was supposed to be Max.

“Yes. I have come here to fulfill a holy duty. The only vessel capable of fully containing that spirit is none other than me, who has achieved New Humanity.”

Thus, I proposed to the archbishop that we switch the descent vessel while pretending to be Max.

I stated that such an imperfect vessel could not house the Grand Duke and declared I would be the one to lie upon the altar.

“Y- Yes…! Of course! That is undoubtedly necessary…!”

The bishop responded with great joy and kindly guided me to the altar.

He quickly shifted the 3rd prince, who was lying there, aside, and with both hands, he respectfully indicated the altar.

It was a gesture indicating for me to lie down.

“…Archbishop. There’s one thing you should know.”

But before that, I pulled out the Crucible.

I presented it to him, wearing a resolute expression.

“The hell energy must be channeled not into my body, but through this sword. This sword is the holy sword used by the great Lord of Hell, Baal.”

“A- A holy sword…!”

Once again, he gazed upon the Crucible with ecstatic eyes.

Outwardly, the Crucible resembled a perfect hellish sword, making it an easy ruse to deceive him.

In reality, it was indeed a sword capable of wielding and channeling hell energy.

“This holy sword is the unparalleled artifact. Even a New Humanity’s physical vessel is made of human components and thus can break, but this holy sword is unbreakable.”

Thus, I practically sold him on the idea.

Without a doubt, he nodded along without a hint of suspicion, and soon adjusted the ritual’s incantation to allow hell energy to be contained within my Crucible.

Soon enough, as I lay upon the altar with the Crucible held to my chest, the bishop shouted.

“I will commence the ritual! The great Grand Duke will descend into the holy sword!”

As soon as the bishop’s proclamation finished, tears of joy streamed down the faces of the demon worshippers as they began chanting the incantation.

I smiled contentedly while lying on the altar.

Thanks to this, I would be able to fully charge the Crucible to its maximum.