Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Normally, a murderous presence like that would have made my heart flinch.
But I wasn’t scared.
Because this was exactly the situation I’d intended to create.
I sent Hans back to the lodging first on purpose, then came walking through this secluded place. That way, Balik would come looking for me and make a scene.
Now it was time to add fuel to the fire.
“You want me to defend you? Fine. I’ll do it.”
“…You mean it?”
“If you first kneel in front of everyone, shout, ‘I’m a doggy,’ and apologize for all the things you’ve done up to now.”
“!!”
I lifted the corners of my mouth.
With the Black Flame Dragon’s help, I managed to draw a smile so obnoxious even I couldn’t stand it.
“Ah, comparing you to a doggy would be an insult to doggies. At least a doggy knows to watch your reaction after doing something wrong, but the way you’re acting now is worse than even a doggy.”
“!!”
Balik’s face flushed as if it were about to burst.
“Ban, you really must want to die.”
Shrrrrk.
Mana welled up from Balik’s hand.
“I tried to talk things out nicely, but I see that won’t work. You’re the one who brought this situation on yourself, so don’t blame me.”
It was an offensive manipulation spell.
For the record, Balik was a Fourth Star Rank mage.
His achievement was woefully lacking for a professor, since he’d been appointed through nepotism, but he was no opponent for me when I hadn’t even properly reached First Star Rank.
A crisis at the very brink of death.
And yet—
I put on an even more triumphant expression.
“Now.”
Click! Click! Click!!
The sound of cameras taking pictures!
“!!”
The reporters who’d been hiding under the underpass after I’d hired them in advance sprang out.
“Professor Balik! Is it true that you just tried to kill Young Master Ban?!”
“Your attempt to murder him has been caught in the act. How do you feel about that?!”
Balik’s face turned pale.
“N-no, I…”
“Is it true that you tried to kill Young Master Ban to silence him?!”
“You’re going to prison for attempted murder. How do you feel about that?!”
It’s over.
Balik would never be able to make a comeback after this.
But then, all of a sudden, he did something I hadn’t expected.
“Heh heh. Since it’s come to this, I have no choice. I’ll kill every last one of you.”
…What?
For a moment, I wondered if I’d heard him right.
Flash!
Blood sprayed into the air.
It came from the shoulder of the reporter who’d been needling him, asking how he felt.
“Aaagh!!”
“Professor Balik’s gone mad!! Run!!”
The reporters frantically tried to flee, but—shhk!—their legs were slashed out from under them, and they fell.
“I’ll take my time killing you lot first. Ban, prepare yourself.”
I swallowed hard.
Is this guy really insane? He wasn’t originally the kind of character who’d go this far.
Something was wrong.
His eyes were wild.
For a moment, I stared at him in disbelief.
Why is there Demonic Energy in Balik’s eyes?
A demonic aura was flickering there!
Come to think of it, the energy he just used on the reporters wasn’t ordinary magic, either. It was Demonic Energy.
There was only one explanation.
Balik is a Demon-Contracted Human?
That was what they called people who had received power through a contract with a demon.
No way! Balik was only an early extra villain. There was never any dangerous setting like this!
It made no sense.
But I had no time to think about why.
Damn it. What do I do? There’s no way I can beat him.
But then—
<Your Gambler’s Judgment manifests as you face a Demon-Contracted Human in a fight to the death!>
-Win rate: 63.28%
…That’s higher than I expected.
It was more than half, by a long shot.
But I soon shook my head.
This time is different. If I lose, I die.
Until now, I’d never been in danger of losing my life, even when I lost.
I have to find some way to raise my odds of winning. I only just became a diamond spoon—I absolutely can’t die!
I racked my brain desperately.
Maybe it was because I was so desperate.
A method suddenly came to mind.
What if I try this?
I swallowed hard.
It was dangerous.
But there was nothing left to lose in a situation where things couldn’t get any worse.
I decided to gamble.
“You fool. You’ve let that wretched Demonic Energy take hold of your mind. It’s not too late—come to your senses. If you sincerely repent, I’ll forgive you.”
It was the sort of thing that would make anyone listening ask if I’d lost my mind—and it only provoked Balik further.
As expected, Balik grew even angrier.
“Shut up, you bastard!! I’ll tear that irritating mouth of yours to shreds first!!”
And at that very moment—
A message appeared.
<Win rate in a fight to the death against an enraged Demon-Contracted Human>
Just as I expected—the win rate went up!
I clenched my fist inwardly.
He’s an inexperienced Demon-Contracted Human. The angrier he gets, the harder it becomes for him to control the Demonic Energy!
I decided to rile him up as much as I could.
As I danced backward in an elegant tap-dance.
I’d felt this for a long time, but teasing people and the Black Flame Dragon really did go together perfectly.
“I don’t know why you’re getting angry. Kneeling before me and bowing your head is the only chance you have left.”
“You bastard!!”
“Is your pride stopping you? You’re a worm who’s already given up being human. What does pride matter to you now?”
“Graaaaah! I’ll kill you!!”
The more he lost control, the more my odds of winning shot up.
-Win rate: 82.535%
-Win rate: 90.428%
But now, I was at my limit.
He had come within arm’s reach.
“Die!!!”
Fwoooosh!!
His Demonic Energy surged upward, ready to burst.
The pressure was so overwhelming that just facing it made my arms and legs feel as though they might tremble uncontrollably.
‘…There are way too many openings.’
I blinked.
There were so many gaps that I was almost confused about where to aim.
‘It’s because he’s forcing himself to draw up more Demonic Energy than he can handle.’
If he had calmly refined his Demonic Energy and attacked, it would have been difficult to respond.
But the fact that he had so many openings didn’t mean I had the advantage outright.
‘I don’t have enough Mana to target the gaps in that Demonic Energy.’
I had to succeed in one shot.
Flash!
Holy Bless.
A First Star Rank Holy-Demonic spell unfolded from my hand.
“Hah! Fool! You think you can stand against Demonic Energy with some pathetic Blessing Magic?!”
It was the moment he sneered.
Suddenly, his eyes flew open so wide they looked ready to split.
He had only just realized what I was trying to do.
“I don’t know who you’re calling a fool.”
Shhh.
My Blessing slipped into his Demonic Energy.
Into its most vulnerable gap.
Like pouring solvent into a weakened link.
The result was devastating.
“GRAAAAAAAH!!!!”
He let out a horrifying scream.
‘Did it work? No. It’s not enough yet.’
I had dealt him a powerful blow, but he hadn’t been rendered unable to fight.
Sure enough, he unleashed an even more violent aura.
“You bastard!!! I’ll really kill you this time!!!”
Fwoooosh!!
His Demonic Energy blazed fiercely, like a raging fire.
The reporters who had been lying on the ground cried out in alarm.
“Watch out!!”
“P-Please be careful, Young Master Ban!!”
But—
‘It worked exactly as planned!’
I cheered inwardly.
<Chance of winning a fight to the death against an enraged Demon-Contracted Human>
-100%
A guaranteed victory.
“I, Ban Ecclesia, command you.”
A voice full of confidence flowed from my lips of its own accord.
“Kneel before my great majesty.”
“…What?”
His pupils wavered.
He seemed to sense that something had gone wrong.
But it was too late.
The invisible sword, the Shadow Sword, manifested.
Shhk!
“GRAAAAAH!!!”
The Mana Core of the man who had left himself defenseless by forcing more power out of his body than he could handle was cut through.
It was over.
‘Ugh. I almost died there. Who would’ve thought he was a Demon-Contracted Human? What a mess.’
I was just rubbing my chest in relief when—
Click! Click! Click!!
The sound of shutters rang out.
The reporters who had been lying on the ground had summoned their professional spirit.
“This is a scoop! Young Master Ban has caught a Demon-Contracted Human!!”
“Young Master Ban, you caught a Demon-Contracted Human—how do you feel?!”
And it wasn’t just them.
“What on earth is going on?”
“Isn’t that Young Master Ban Trash? Why is Professor Balik like that?”
“Demonic Energy? Could Professor Balik really have been a Demon-Contracted Human?”
Passersby who had heard the commotion came rushing over!
“Young Master Ban, please give us a word! How do you feel?!”
…How had things ended up like this?
With everyone staring at me, it felt as if I’d somehow become the MVP of a match.
‘Let’s just say one simple thing.’
“Do not make such a fuss. Before the greatness of Ban Ecclesia, a mere Demon-Contracted Human is nothing. I simply did what had to be done.”
…Of course, thanks to the adorable Black Flame Dragon, there was no way I could manage anything like humility.
“What is with that insane arrogance?! Is this Young Master Ban Trash after all?”
“But for some reason, he looks so cool!!”
“Wow, he’s handsome!!”
Click! Click!!
Amid all the commotion, the uproar gradually died down.
The next day.
Rubiness Academy was turned upside down.
-Young Master Ban Ecclesia Defeats a Demon-Contracted Human!
-The Demon-Contracted Human Was Professor Balik of the Rapalt Ducal House?!
-Young Master Ban: “Something Like This Is Nothing to Me!” We Look Forward to His Future!
Yesterday’s incident made headlines and filled the newspapers.
“Guh! I should have protected you right there, Young Master!! It’s such a regret!”
“…Even if you had been there, you’d have just danced backward.”
“How could you think such a thing of me! My heart holds nothing but loyalty to you, Young Master! Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!”
…He didn’t look trustworthy in the slightest.
‘Anyway, it all worked out, but there’s a problem.’
First.
‘Why did Balik become a Demon-Contracted Human?’
It was strange.
Balik had even lost his life after being arrested.
As if someone had silenced him.
‘And Yohen’s Demonization has already begun to emerge, too. The scenario’s progression is different from what I knew.’
I swallowed a groan at the one possibility that came to mind.
‘…Wait, could this not be Normal Mode?’
In Hero Academy, you could choose the difficulty.
‘Don’t tell me this is Hard Mode?’
Cold sweat trickled down my face.
In Hard Mode, even if the main pillars of the scenario were similar, the difficulty of the individual events increased drastically.
There might even be events I didn’t know about.
‘They say Hard Mode has a lot of Hidden Episodes the developers tucked away, too.’
But soon, I shook my head.
‘No. I don’t know for sure yet. Let’s not jump to conclusions for no reason. Even if it is Hard Mode, the protagonists will be the ones getting put through the wringer, so it has nothing to do with me.’
That was right.
All the chaos I’d been through so far had only been to get appointed as a professor.
From now on, all I had to do was quietly enjoy the cushy life of a professor.
Except there was a problem with that, too.
‘The Board of Directors was dissolved.’
It was because of the Balik incident.
They had appointed a Demon-Contracted Human as a professor, of all things.
‘They’ll probably just make a show of holding someone accountable, then set up a new Board of Directors under the influence of the Rapalt Ducal faction anyway.’
I frowned.
‘The decision on whether I pass my Temporary Professor appointment has been handed over to the Director.’
As I’d said before, the Director wasn’t just some greedy man.
He was the ultimate mastermind of the first-year arc.
‘Will he let me get appointed without a fight?’
Was my foreboding right on the mark?
The Director summoned me, and I heard something I hadn’t expected.
“You’re saying I have to take an additional test?”
“Ah, please don’t misunderstand! I trust you, Ban. But there are still students and professors who feel uneasy about you. We need a reason to persuade them.”
It wasn’t wrong.
A lot had happened recently, but most people still had the worst possible opinion of Ban.
‘The question is, what kind of additional test?’
I narrowed my eyes.
Something didn’t feel right.
It definitely didn’t seem like it would be an easy test.
As expected.
“Please help one failing graduate.”
“…What do you mean?”
“There’s a student who’s met the graduation requirements but hasn’t graduated because he refuses to take the graduation exam. If you can demonstrate your leadership as a professor and persuade him, the students will see you in a new light, too.”
When I saw the name of the student who’d failed to graduate, I swallowed a groan.
‘Why is he showing up here?’
—Linden.
In the future.
That was the name of the worst and strongest super-notorious villain, a black magician who would become one of the Ten Demons.
In other words, my additional test was to help the worst villain of all.