Chilling air flows through the scene.
The assailants find themselves unable to move easily.
"......"
It was because of an old man who had suddenly appeared in their path.
Just monts ago, they had tightened their encirclent, securing what seed to be a victory against the snake. But their fleeting montum had been overturned in an instant.
A massive killing intent seizes control of the area.
Rumble...!
Mana trembles as if gripped by terror.
A crushing pressure bears down on their shoulders.
It feels as though they have beco re ants on the verge of being crushed underfoot.
The old man does nothing in particular. He simply stands there, leisurely. Yet, his overwhelming presence alone strangles the very breath out of the assailants.
Cold sweat drips down their faces.
In contrast—
"It seems you're all rather tense."
A relaxed smile spreads across the old man's face.
His sheer presence alone is enough to erase even the lingering aura of the dragon in the vicinity.
To re insects, his unfathomable stature is nothing but an endless abyss.
"......"
The assailants freeze in place.
The old man, exuding an air of quiet significance, speaks.
"Death is always unfamiliar to those who face it."
His pupils glisten with murderous intent.
Beyond the murky, almost tainted light of his gaze, a death unlike anything they have ever experienced surges forth.
His single declaration amplifies their terror into sothing beyond comprehension.
"Your end will be a pitiful one... but I shall personally push you toward it."
In short—
A death sentence.
"Shaful as it is."
The old man stretches out his hand.
A creeping glow seeps forth, aiming directly at the writhing insects before him.
The assailants—unable even to entertain the thought of running away—remain frozen.
Perhaps they have already resigned themselves.
Overwhelming power.
One by one, among them, those who recognize the old man begin to react.
Their pale faces tremble as they mutter under their breath.
"No way... The Sovereign?"
"I didn’t expect anyone to recognize ."
The Sovereign responds nonchalantly.
One of the terrified cultists turns toward the old snake and screams.
"The Fallen Star...! W-Why are you aiding the academy?"
"I simply accepted a request, that's all."
The old man's lips curl into a faint smirk.
"And Fallen Star, you say... It has been a long ti since I was last called that."
"For the past three years, you’ve been tracking us down, yet you continue to obstruct His will...!"
"That’s enough rudeness."
Boom—!
A wave of killing intent crashes down, pressing heavily upon the surroundings.
The cultist imdiately shuts his mouth.
The terror of prey before a predator. A despair so profound that their legs buckle beneath them.
The old man’s gaze, as he looks down upon them, is as frigid as ever.
"To think you would dare raise your voice against a ruler."
At his fingertips, death swirls.
A power belonging to a star—or perhaps a king.
A blinding light obliterates the blackness lurking beneath the earth.
Toward the insignificant insects, the Sovereign lowers his hand.
In that light, there is no rcy, no hatred, not even sorrow—only a brilliant and unfeeling execution of judgnt.
His lips part as he proclaims:
"The sentence I pass upon you is..."
A fate of absolute tornt.
"Total annihilation."
The light erupts.
And in the next mont—
The assailants' vision is swallowed by pure white.
A rapturous radiance that marks the end of their existence.
***
The cleanup is swift.
Before the Imperial Guard, who arrived shortly after, could even lift a finger, the old man had already wiped out the battlefield with just a few gestures.
It seems he got a bit carried away after personally taking action for the first ti in a while.
The only things left behind were the remnants of radiant starlight and the ashes of the charred bodies.
I murmur to myself.
'He's still alive and kicking, huh.'
The old man's strength remains unchanged.
The last ti I saw him, I thought perhaps age had caught up to him—but his performance today wiped away even that doubt.
Even after losing his right arm, he hasn’t declined. If anything, he seems even sharper than before.
A tyrant, through and through.
But I’m not surprised.
Even though ti has created a gap between us, he was once soone who could fight on equal footing when I gave it my all.
Anyone below a certain level would find it impossible to even stand before him.
'Anyway.'
Everything is settling down without issue.
This was all part of the plan.
The cultists had put significant effort into their operation. So it was obvious that if their forward units encountered trouble, they would send reinforcents.
That’s why I had contacted the Sovereign beforehand—to ensure we had backup in case of an ergency.
Thankfully, he arrived in ti.
I throw out a casual remark.
"You cut it pretty close. I was starting to wonder if you'd betray us."
"A dull joke. As if I would ever conspire with re cultists."
"You never know. Even businessn have started working with those bastards, so there's no rule saying a king wouldn't."
"You've beco needlessly paranoid since I last saw you."
"I've got things to protect now."
"Down in the underworld, they call that weakness."
"Most people just call it peace."
"Hmm. If you say so."
A conversation laced with mutual jabs.
The old man smirks faintly before shaking his head, as if losing interest.
"You're playing coy, even though you already know."
"What do you an?"
"From the very beginning, my fate was bound to be at odds with them. I'd rather die than join hands with those bastards."
"Is that... a duty carried over from the days when you were still a star?"
"It's less of a duty and more of a vendetta. There's still a debt I haven't repaid."
"I see."
For a while, we continue exchanging idle chatter.
As the cleanup seems to reach its conclusion, a neatly dressed young man approaches.
None other than Bulmyeong.
"The area has been cleared, just as you instructed."
"Good work."
"The faculty will likely notice this space soon. If we wish to avoid exposure, we should leave now."
"With a battle that intense, it's only natural that they'd sense sothing unusual."
"I'll have Bulwi stand by for now."
"I'll leave it to you."
With that, Bulmyeong takes his leave first.
The old man rises from his seat as if preparing to follow.
"It's about ti for to go as well."
"You've done well."
"Not at all. I only joined in because it looked fun."
"I'll contact you again if the need arises."
"Even if it doesn’t, you should try keeping in touch once in a while."
"You say terrifying things."
"Heh... As cold-hearted as ever."
The Sovereign turns his back without hesitation.
His steps are unhurried, gradually fading into the distance.
Soon, he disappears entirely, leaving behind only silence, scattered temple debris, and the lingering tension in the air.
As I take it all in, the realization finally settles.
It's over.
[EP 23. The Awakening Evil]
—Blood and malice surge, calling for destruction—
The original tragedy has been completely averted.
Zero casualties within the academy.
As the tension eases, I lean against a nearby pillar.
The accumulated fatigue begins to settle in, but I force myself to shake it off.
There’s still one final matter left to handle.
The traitor.
The one who provided intel for this attack.
The seed of ruin that the cultists had planted within the academy had yet to be uprooted.
***
Even the academy’s main gate, where the diversionary attack had occurred, had been swiftly handled thanks to the intervention of the professors.
With the disaster resolved, the academy itself remained unscathed.
To most students, the incident would be rembered as nothing more than a minor disturbance.
However—
"This is unacceptable!"
The faculty, on the other hand, was in complete uproar.
A week had passed since that day.
The headmaster, along with the professors and senior instructors, had convened an ergency eting.
Naturally, it was to discuss counterasures regarding the previous incident.
"It is highly likely that this attack was orchestrated by the cultists."
"Even though there were no casualties, this was a blatant provocation against the academy!"
"How did they manage to infiltrate our defenses?"
"Sothing doesn’t add up. There are too many inconsistencies."
"We must conduct a thorough investigation into this matter."
The attack at the front gate was not the real issue.
It was rely a crude diversion, and there was an understandable route of infiltration. The fact that it had been resolved in under five minutes ant that the actual threat was negligible.
The real problem lay in the underground tunnels and the temple that had been discovered.
The academy had nearly collapsed from within.
‘No wonder they’re so on edge.’
I had already reported the events that transpired underground, though I had heavily redacted certain details before passing them on to the faculty.
There were too many aspects that couldn't be revealed as they were.
Any ntion of the Sovereign or the Calamity had been omitted.
I only shared the existence of the hidden tunnels and the enemy forces that had infiltrated through them.
As for how I had managed to stop the attack, I brushed it off as sheer luck.
The atmosphere in the eting grew grim.
An unrecognized threat.
The realization that they had nearly let their guard down in such a critical mont sent chills down their spines.
The professors deliberated, their expressions turning colder.
"This is the second ti."
There had been a similar incident before.
During the midterm exams, when Rezia, Emilia, and I had been forcefully transported to [The Abandoned Laboratory].
At the ti, it was dismissed as an error caused by teleportation magic.
Selena, who had been overseeing the test, had been reprimanded, and the matter was eventually forgotten.
However, after this most recent attack, people were beginning to question things.
One coincidence could be dismissed.
But twice? That was undeniably suspicious.
The professors’ eyes grew sharp with suspicion.
"Soone must have orchestrated this."
"They must be intimately familiar with the academy's inner workings. It’s likely soone who had easy access to classified information regarding the exams."
"And we had no prior knowledge of the underground tunnels. That ans they were aware of academy secrets that even we didn’t know about."
"In other words, the culprit is either soone in a high-ranking position... or soone who was in one."
"Which ans..."
A frigid tension filled the air.
Even the headmaster, who had been leading the discussion, remained silent this ti.
For the briefest mont, his gaze flickered toward .
"......"
As expected of a prophet.
He must have already deduced that I knew the identity of the traitor.
Yet, despite exchanging glances, neither of us said a word.
The eting was adjourned.
Speculation ran rampant regarding the traitor, but with no concrete evidence, all they could do was caution one another, allowing distrust to fester.
With little choice, the faculty simply concluded the discussion with a warning to remain vigilant.
I, too, rose from my seat.
As I stepped out of the eting room—
"Yuda."
A familiar voice called out.
It was Professor Kadel, who had been sitting across from monts ago.
I turned toward him, silently questioning his intent.
"I have sothing serious to discuss with you."
"And what might that be?"
"Are you really going to feign ignorance? I thought we shared the sa goal."
"......"
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Without hesitation, the man extended a hand toward .
And I had no choice but to take it.
"It won't take long."
"Fine. Let's hear it."
That’s right.
We shared the sa goal, after all.
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