Chapter 65
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Calm on the Lava Sea
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A man stood calmly atop the sea of lava, as if the boiling molten rock were nothing more than mud.
If one were to describe his appearance, he was a professor clad in a white uniform, with golden blond hair.
To put it plainly, it was me.
“Haa…”
I’d just parried the earth dragon’s attack and sliced through the horde of magic beasts when the beast tamer completed his grand magic.
I recalled the earlier battle, but since that wasn’t the point, I quickly dismissed the thought.
My lungs burned as if scorched, each breath heavy and labored.
On the flip side, even in this situation, the discomfort was only mild.
I brushed off the lava sparks that had splattered onto my clothes as bubbles burst around me.
The gloves, which should have melted into sludge the moment they touched the lava, casually flicked away the embers without a scratch.
I gazed at the falling sparks without a hint of emotion.
‘Well… it’s holding up, at least.’
With the area turned into a sea of lava from the sheer heat, one might wonder what could withstand it, but Aiden’s standards were a bit different from others’.
Aiden was superhuman.
He couldn’t be judged by the common sense of ordinary people.
‘To think wrapping myself in mana makes it bearable…’
I’d assumed Aiden’s body was just a little more resistant to cold and heat, but surprisingly, it turned out he could even bathe in lava without issue.
‘Though I was a bit shocked.’
Geometric shapes, lines, and circuits.
Runes newly refined for the modern era.
Among them, the most primal and pure force representing fire.
When it was shaped into grand magic and unleashed, I couldn’t help but be momentarily startled.
I casually swung my hand and took a step forward.
I needed to show the enemies—who surely thought that last strike had killed me—that I was still very much alive.
If I vanished somewhere, things would just get messy.
The beast tamer’s eyes widened in shock as I emerged through the smoke.
Even from that distance, his gaze was clearly visible. Probably wondering how?
I understood. I’d been a little startled by the grand magic myself.
‘But being startled doesn’t mean it’s dangerous.’
Being startled was one thing; danger was another.
For me, being startled was so familiar it was practically routine.
‘Though it’s a slightly different feeling—mostly when Isel suddenly shoves her face in mine and chills me to the bone.’
She seemed to think she was pulling off some cute surprise from behind, like “Who’s this?”, but to me, it was pure horror.
No matter how used to the insect teacher I was, mentally preparing for chitin was one thing; having it pop out suddenly was another.
That’s the kind of thing that always startles me.
It just doesn’t show on my face.
‘Does that mean the beast tamer’s grand magic has the same power as Isel?’
I tilted my head at the odd equation.
…There’s logic to it!?
Why is there?
I glanced indifferently at the beast tamer.
He still seemed unable to believe my nonchalant demeanor.
It wasn’t that I’d let my guard down or made a mistake.
The beast tamer was a cunning mage, attention was drawn because the earth dragon was about to unleash a fortress-level blast on the Magic Department building, and the barrage from the heretical mages who’d come with him was annoying—that much was true.
But…
‘It’s a numbers game.’
Even as a one-man army, that didn’t mean I grew extra hands.
Elin would later be called the Spirit Legion because she truly commanded tens of thousands of spirits, but that didn’t apply to me.
No matter how strong I was, I couldn’t suddenly sprout four arms.
That meant I needed time to focus on attacking, but…
‘It doesn’t look easy.’
Magic beasts were still crawling up from the tunnels I’d carved into the ground, though their numbers had dwindled.
They were fewer, but still too many to ignore or push back.
“Troublesome. Truly troublesome.”
There was also the fact that Aiden’s efficiency dropped when he was defending instead of killing.
Aiden was a sharp spear that pierced anything, not a shield.
It wasn’t strange for things to turn out like this when trying to use a spear as a shield.
With all these distractions while slashing at the magic beasts, the beast tamer had time to prepare his grand magic.
‘That’s the problem.’
Magic aimed at me posed no real threat.
But if it targeted another building, that was different.
What if he realized grand magic was useless against me and chanted it toward the students?
I’d have to interfere even knowing it was a trap, getting caught in the barrage from those heretical mages I’d normally brush off.
It might even cause greater losses than a direct attack on me.
I was too nonchalant about it, but that was still considerable high-powered magic.
‘Baptism of Fire, huh.’
One of the grand magics the protagonist learns in the late game.
If it swept through the buildings, they’d vanish from the map entirely.
That’s why I’d wanted to sever one of his arms earlier.
I clicked my tongue and shifted my gaze.
‘The real nuisance is something else.’
Rewind a bit.
Just before the beast tamer unleashed his grand magic.
When I’d tried to lop off one of his arms, a demon blocked my sword.
Before being shoved back by the earth dragon, I caught sight of the demon.
Petite build, curly hair, and long horns stretching back.
Someone I already knew.
Her once faintly white hair had turned completely black, and even her small horns had grown long enough to reach her back.
Her overall height felt taller too.
Or perhaps she’d been suppressing it until now.
More than any description, one word summed up her changed appearance: ominous.
‘Above all.’
Meeehhh.
The demon grinned at me.
As if to say she knew it, that she hadn’t betrayed my expectations.
A beastkin floating in the air, bleating like a sheep.
“Bielle.”
At that, Bielle let out a joyful bleat and flashed a bright smile.
“Yeees, Professor Aiden. Correct. It’s me.”
Bielle was a demon.
There had been plenty of clues.
Like when the botany professor appeared, and Prezel tried to cover up how a perfectly fine person had fallen to become a hersir.
Or that the entity capable of corrupting people into hersirs wasn’t human.
Someone’s presence kept being mentioned.
The original story was the same.
The only ones who could corrupt people into hersirs were demons with the authority of corruption.
“You don’t seem particularly surprised that I’m a demon, Professor? You knew already, didn’t you?”
Ignoring Bielle’s giggle, I retrieved my rapier.
I’d known Bielle was a demon for a while.
Since Prezel was a heretical mage, someone needed to monitor her.
No matter how widespread heretical mages were, they wouldn’t want a double agent selling their info.
‘Though it’s a slight surprise that it’s a demon instead of another heretical mage…’
It wasn’t something even Director me wouldn’t know.
The issue was why the usually silent Bielle had suddenly stepped in. That was the puzzle.
‘…You were supposed to appear later.’
After Prezel became a hersir, she pretended the academy scenario was over… then temporarily summoned the demon realm to the academy at the end.
That was the event Bielle was prepped for, so why was she moving now?
Noticing my narrowed eyes, Bielle laughed merrily, as if her judgment was confirmed.
“Professor, Professor. The tall, handsome Professor Aiden.”
With every word, she licked her lips with a long tongue, savoring the taste.
Bielle’s eyes gazing at me grew increasingly seductive and dangerous.
“Never mind the reason—want to play with me?”
“I’d decline if possible.”
“Haha, refusing a lady’s escort request will get you hated, you know?”
So let’s dance a thrilling, dangerously tango together.
Bielle lunged with long claws extended from both hands.
I let out an inevitable sigh and aimed my rapier at her.
‘If Prezel became a hersir…’
I wondered if Elin was okay in the Magic Department building right now.
* * *
Inside the Magic Department building, preparations for the grand magic were in full swing.
Under the direction of the kindly smiling grand professor, the heavenly punishment was prepared with machine-like precision, stirring even the initially worried onlookers with a sliver of hope that it might turn the tide.
Once this grand magic fired, that earth dragon would surely burn to death.
The culprits behind this crisis would be reduced to clean ashes.
Then the Magic Department could claim credit for ending the assault.
After dealing with the ringleaders, they’d lift the barrier, clean the campus, and earn honor for rescuing the students.
That awakened the pride of the students who’d been cowering until now.
The professors weren’t much different, though they kept it more dignified.
The assistant announced to the professors that the ritual was complete.
“Grand magic, Heavenly Punishment, is ready for activation.”
The grand professor nodded.
He then activated his communication orb to record his statement for the record.
“In the name of the Magic Department Head, I temporarily assume the authority of the missing acting president. Under that full authority, I designate the current situation as a Level 1 crisis and establish safety protocols per the crisis response manual.”
He scanned the professors gripping their wands tightly, then continued.
“Repel and exterminate unauthorized intruders. Do all professors consent to using the necessary grand magic?”
“We consent.”
“We consen…”
“Cons…”
The grand professor closed his eyes and raised his staff.
“By unanimous consent, we activate the grand magic.”
He turned off the communication orb and opened the formula for the grand magic first.
Slowly, lines and shapes traced in the air—circles and inverted triangles overlapping one by one—as the magic circle gradually neared completion.
The students, who’d been of little help, watched in awe.
The assistants busily scanned for lessons even in this chaos.
The professors chanted in unison, while the assistants handled injecting mana stones and mana.
The magic seemed poised to activate smoothly.
If not for the sudden blaze.
Flames crawled up the walls.
They scorched the ceiling and floor, scattering petal-like ashes, sweeping through the lecture hall like a rushing wind.
“U, uwaaaah!”
“Wha—h-hot, so hot!”
“Someone, someone put it out!”
Screams mixed with the groans of students reduced to ash.
An assistant desperately cast a defensive spell to block the blaze.
But beyond the barrier, the stench of burning flesh hit them.
Students outside the defensive magic—assistants too…
Were charred black.
The silence amplified the startled cries.
Before the panicking students could fully break down, the click-clack of high heels echoed in their ears.
Flames.
A woman engulfed in fire.
But it wasn’t complete.
Her pupils were hazy, arms limp.
Her gait was unsteady, far from sane.
The woman, half-consumed by flames, scanned them.
“B-Bie, lle. Why…”
Even through unfocused eyes, she wouldn’t see properly.
Students looked at her with fearful eyes, mulling over the name Bielle she’d uttered.
Then someone recalled it was the assistant from the lab, and they looked again.
“No way, Professor… Prezel?”
The only professor absent from the meeting.
She approached in her horrific state.