Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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260. Aligieri Academy (2)

They, who should have been in Aligieri, suddenly appeared at Papias.

Seeing them descend from the sky amidst light, the soldiers and Harkel were taken aback, jaws agape.

“How did they…!”

The atmosphere, once filled with taunts, instantly turned icy.

Grisha, too, was showing remarkable shock at their arrival.

“Was it always like this when I turned a blind eye?”

Kaiden, who had flown in to save the endangered students, surveyed the situation and spoke.

He swung his staff and struck the ground.

With that, the magic circle that had sealed their movements was destroyed.

Teleported safely to their side, the students were teleported by the head of the magic department, Talena.

“Student Luska! Are you alright?”

Talena gasped upon seeing Luska’s injuries.

Clearly inflicted by a sharp blade, she hurriedly cast healing magic.

“Come here and help!”

“Yes!”

Talena, who prioritized elemental studies over medical knowledge, called for Professor Stella, who was standing behind her.

As Stella joined in with her sacred magic, Luska’s bleeding quickly stopped.

The scene shocked the combat department head, Cage, who could hardly contain his astonishment.

As someone who valued students’ growth and talent, it twisted his stomach to see this.

Of course, he was furious at those who had harmed his student.

But simultaneously, all the faculty members were blaming themselves.

“Every time we turned our backs, it seems this sort of thing occurred.”

“I wonder if I can really sit in the department head position like this.”

“Please say the word. We’re ready.”

Starting from the Nine-Tailed Fox Incident, they hadn’t been there for their students during crucial moments.

Carrying great power and having foresight, the lingering regret remained that they hadn’t protected them with their own hands.

“It’s bad! Student Mirona…!”

Teaching Assistant Adela, who was also summoned here, screamed.

She couldn’t hide her shock upon checking Mirona’s condition.

Stella, who had finished healing Luska, ran to her in astonishment.

“Poison from the Underworld…?”

“Professor, what do we do?”

It was said that Underworld poison comes only from the blood of evil gods, and no sacred magic or antidote from this world could possibly cure it.

Stella was witnessing it with her own eyes for the first time. Moreover, she was at a loss with no means to resolve it.

“We’ll give it a go!”

“Leave it to us!”

At that moment, Angela and Nebia stepped forward.

The ancient power of evil gods had never been revealed by any scholar.

Whether the powers of the saintess would work was uncertain.

But then, as the brilliant divine powers of the two saintesses graced Mirona’s body, the poison began to neutralize.

“Indeed, they are saintesses…”

Stella’s eyes widened in amazement.

The divine power that neutralized poison infused with ancient strength.

Considering that the concept of divine power existed since ancient times, even for a saintess, neutralizing Underworld poison wouldn’t be easy.

Yet, there was an unknown reason behind their success.

The power of the saintess originally came from Great Sage Dantia, who spread light to the world.

Once an evil god, Dantia transformed her dark power into light.

Thus, the power of that light was akin to an antibody against the poison from the evil gods.

The power of the evil god was, in effect, countered by the very evil god’s power.

“How did you get here!”

At that moment, Harkel shouted with a serious expression.

Up to that point, the advantageous situation had turned instantly with their appearance.

Such a thing was impossible.

Even using a warp gate, there were distance limitations, and the same applied to teleportation magic.

The secret was explained by Kaiden.

“You may not know this, but we have this.”

The saintesses, having neutralized the poison, stepped forward, revealing a ring.

The very ring that had been glowing a moment ago.

“This is a magical device that indicates the location and condition of the two saintesses. It was designed by Lady Dantia long ago and crafted by her disciples. Though it becomes a mere antique after one use…”

Though it becomes an antique, it also possesses the ability to summon people standing in specified locations to this place.

This was how they could create such a situation.

“Now, how will you pay the price for touching our students?”

Leading the way, Principal Kaiden called forth many faculty members who assembled like an army.

No matter how formidable Harkel and the forces behind him were, they couldn’t rival their strength.

Almost there.

They were able to succeed narrowly.

But Harkel felt his stomach twist again at having disturbed everything in an instant.

If only he could summon the God of Destruction, he would have driven Chain Silver away and risen to the rank of emperor.

Why were they not helping him and instead obstructing him?

He wanted to kill them all. Tear apart the bastards and drop them into the abyss.

– It’s all your responsibility.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his head.

The voice of the person he hated most in this world.

It’s all my fault?

The troubles he caused since childhood, the Demon Beast War—all my fault?

Shut up. I don’t care about that.

The people who suffered because of him were just those who couldn’t manage their own circumstances.

So it’s not my fault.

Everything happened because the ones who suffered were weak.

Those fools should just bark like dogs under me.

Those who deserve to be trampled will be trampled. That’s the natural order.

– It’s all your responsibility.

As the echo assaulted him again, his head spun.

Why? He was simply trying to rise, and in that process, they merely fell behind him.

Thus, they couldn’t be victims. When ranking during a match, were all those below him simply victims?

It’s frustrating. Really frustrating.

And yet, he could not forgive the Chain Silver lot who had constantly thwarted him.

But look at the current situation. There was simply no chance of victory.

Is this how it all ends?

“Harkel! Recovery is complete.”

“Really?”

The Zombie Evil God’s wounds were healing completely.

Though not perfect, they said he was about 70% recovered.

That would pose no trouble in acting as the vessel for the God of Destruction.

He’d only faced humiliation at the hands of those women moments ago, but now that he was 70% recovered, he wouldn’t suffer the same fate again.

With this tremendous bit of good news, Harkel’s spirits soared.

Moreover, the more he regained his strength, the more power rose on this side. All of them, including Harkel, had been infused with the power of the evil god.

So, as the Zombie Evil God regained his strength, theirs would similarly rise.

It was time for a thorough retaliation.

“We’ll pay no price!! Kill them all!!”

With that tremendous roar, Harkel charged alongside his army.

The Zombie Evil God also agreed with that shout, charging in wielding a great sword.

Why did we torment the weak? Because there was something wrong with those weaklings. That’s all.

They were only teased because they seemed easy prey. If they didn’t want to be tormented, they shouldn’t have appeared weak in the first place.

Isn’t that right?

Thus, claiming responsibility on our part is absurd.

Anyone saying otherwise is not human, but a beast.

The perfect example of that is the Chain Silver lot.

Beasts are evil. Therefore, we seek to pass judgment on them.

“Are you going to continue to evade responsibility to the end? Is that it?”

The reanimated corpse of the evil god charged at Kaiden.

Yet, Kaiden smiled even as he gauged the evil god’s overwhelming mana.

Although injured, it was certainly powerful enough to match or exceed him.

It was strong enough to cause mutual destruction.

“A beast that can’t communicate.”

Suddenly, Kaiden Jodiatz pulled out a box.

It looked like something that might have been created long ago, creaking open as he did.

From it spilled a mysterious light, which began to beam upon the Zombie Evil God.

– Kraaaarrr!!

Suddenly, the evil god collapsed.

Although it was already a corpse, it lay still as if completely dead.

Harkel halted upon witnessing that sight.

He felt no mana coming from that evil god at all.

At the same time, the enhancement they had received was also vanishing.

Confirming that effect, Kaiden smiled and spoke.

“The performance is indeed reliable.”

“What is that…?”

“Great Sage Dantia fought against evil gods constantly. She developed various magical devices to counter them. One of those prevents them from setting foot in our realm, and others can nullify their power.”

Dantia, who crafted these devices, had stored them in her academy’s underground vault in anticipation of future events.

What emerged from there was the very box Kaiden was holding.

Though crudely made, it could easily nullify an evil god’s corpse.

Ultimately, the army that had lost all power sat dumbfounded, while Makia, who was possessed within the corpse, cried out in anguish.

“This is your last chance. Surrender quietly.”

“….”

“And you will be held accountable for what you have done.”

For distributing strange pamphlets that caused trouble for students.

And for stabbing a precious student in the gut with a knife.

Since no one ruled the empire yet, there was no issue in passing judgment directly in Aligieri.

“Accountability, huh…? You want to hold me accountable…?”

“What?”

“Come on, enough already!!”

With that, Harkel suddenly drew his sword and charged at full speed like a madman.

His legs were powered by mana, making him unbearably fast.

Even Kaiden couldn’t keep up, as it seemed he pushed his mana too far, reaching the point where his leg bones and muscles were near tearing.

But it didn’t matter.

After all, he was going to be captured.

Instead, he thought it would feel good to go down fighting.

What he aimed for was none other than Jenny Chain Silver.

“It’s dangerous!”

She had been spectating quietly and didn’t even notice Harkel approaching.

Ultimately, Harkel reached Jenny and thrust his sword with all his might.

The piercing location was precisely at her heart.

It was unfortunate he couldn’t hear Gerard’s wails, but this…

“Huh?”

The sword did not pierce.

Some reddish barrier had blocked the attack.

That barrier was formed by the blood scattered on the ground.

The blood had autonomously formed a shield to defend itself.

“Why…?”

What on earth is this?

Did Jenny Chain Silver possess the ability to manipulate blood in addition to ice?

Thoughts swirled in his mind, but that wasn’t what mattered.

Swoosh—

Jenny’s hands grasped swords.

One was a blue sword symbolizing the Silver Age. The other was a red sword made from frozen blood.

The mysterious power of blood fused with the Silver Age.

‘I’ve got to run away… ugh!’

He couldn’t escape. That last movement had rendered his legs useless.

“Don’t feel too wronged.”

Jenny said.

From the crimson blade and sapphire blade surged powerful auras, swirling like a cyclone.

“It’s simply something you brought upon yourself.”

[Chain Silver Style - Bloodstorm]

The sweeping slash ravaged the area.

The army that had been standing back was swept away like leaves in a typhoon.

In that single strike, the entire force was annihilated, and…

“Aaaaargh!!!”

Harkel’s arm was severed.

He crumpled to the ground, blood gushing from the freshly cut surface, while Jenny coldly gazed at him.

“Be grateful. I didn’t kill you.”

To kill him would be an act of mercy.

A friend once told him.

Death is rather salvation.

Each time he faced such torment, it recalled the happiness of the past.

That, he believed, was the real hell a human experiences.

*

“Principal??”

Baemon, controlling a giant golem to fend off the rampaging monsters, could see Principal Kaiden and the faculty members descending.

He didn’t know how they had warped here, but he was just glad to be alive.

With them around, it felt like this fight was as good as won.

“Brother-in-law! Good news! Look over there!”

Baemon tried to wake the slumbering Radon Crawler.

However, he seemed too deeply asleep to show any signs of waking.

Just when he was considering leaving him be because he was extremely tired.

“Uh?”

Suddenly, Baemon carefully touched Radon’s forearm.

Maybe he misunderstood and checked his pulse.

“Bro, brother-in-law?”

Then, Baemon began to check his entire physical state one by one.

Only after checking his chest did he fall into shock.

He wasn’t breathing.