Chapter 90: A true genius professor, an educator Part 2

There’s no time to be flustered.

The aura emanating from the enemy is overwhelming, fundamentally different from any I’ve faced before.

Judging the situation would take too long.

The moment I conclude, I cast a protective shield—defense through the engravings on my suit, as I had done before.

Its completion was flawless, without a single error.

‘Damn it.’

It wasn’t that the demon used some complex magic or even swung its weapon in an elaborate stance.

The mere touch of the demon dissolved the shield.

Even the second-ranked demon I fought before wasn’t this unreasonable.

The sheer amount of mana it possesses is overwhelming, distorting surrounding magic and disrupting other spells.

Combined with its grotesque, misshapen form, the answer became clear.

Those maniacs have made their decision.

They’ve consumed their own kind, merged into one, and come at me to achieve their twisted desires.

No wonder even my shield couldn’t stop them.

***

The demon looks at me.

It seems puzzled by how easily the barrier shattered, but it doesn’t bother asking questions.

Its desperation is evident in its every move.

Nothing else matters to it.

It only seeks to kill me and revive Gettya.

That determination burns in its eyes.

Without hesitation, it moves.

No magic. No gaps in its defenses.

It’s clear it won’t give me even the slightest opening.

The only option left to me is evasion.

I call upon the borrowed power of the small horse spirit, unfurling wings to enhance my mobility, dodging its attacks however I can.

I even use the auxiliary mana stones the progenitor dragon provided during its visit to my quarters.

Even so, it’s barely enough.

Though I narrowly evade direct hits, I’m still caught in the shockwaves.

And I have to be mindful of the collapsing building debris.

I wish it would stop.

I hoped that, by dodging long enough, it might give up the chase.

But it’s relentless.

It’s fixated on me and only me.

Its eyes are locked on me, as if I am the one threat that must be eliminated at all costs.

‘Damn it. This is insane.’

Given what I’ve done, I can understand why they’d see me as a threat.

But trying to convince them I’m insignificant won’t work.

“I’m not like those students who can survive being buried under rubble while I’d be shattered by even minor impacts,” I mutter bitterly.

I can’t run forever.

It’s obvious who has the advantage between a relentless pursuer and someone who can only dodge.

But my situation is a little different.

The mana sustaining my artificial spirit is running out.

The mana stones I received as compensation for agreeing to the memory erasure are nearly depleted.

At this rate, I won’t last ten minutes.

If I collapse while running, it’s over.

I have to act while I still have some strength.

So I stop.

I can’t use my unique spell with this amount of mana, but I can push efficiency to its limits and cast a decent spell.

I need speed for a surprise attack.

The formula completes and activates in an instant.

“Calling Meteor.”

A star falls from the heavens, a grand spell that once annihilated Marbas.

Its power is undeniable.

But I never expected this spell to defeat the demon.

I wasn’t trying to destroy it.

I just needed a momentary opening—enough time to escape its sight.

That much seemed achievable.

Or so I thought.

The demon reaches toward the sky.

It doesn’t care that a city-sized meteor is hurtling down.

Shadows surge from its extended hand.

A grotesque sound echoes as the shadows hungrily devour the meteor.

The falling star is consumed in an instant, vanishing into nothingness.

I grit my teeth.

It’s not despair I feel, even as I witness the overwhelming gap in power.

I’ve lived through worse in the slums.

It’s just that I’ve realized something.

I have no options left.

The emergency mana is nearly gone.

There’s nothing left to squeeze out.

As a final hope, I extend my hand toward the heavens.

Even if the celestial being expended most of its strength in the last incident, surely not all of its power has faded.

Holding onto that slim hope, I send a signal through the faint connection.

But for some reason, there’s no response.

‘Perhaps it wasn’t the right time yet.’

‘No, but if not now, then when would be the right time?’

‘Did the celestial being even have the intention or ability to help me in the first place?’

I couldn’t understand, but the current situation was clear.

‘It was a mistake to stay here.’

I should have run.

Resignation was the answer.

But that plan failed miserably, and the very outcome I feared had become my reality.

A bad ending already set in stone.

In the end, I regretted my foolishness and struggled until the very last moment.

I used the last of my mana to deploy a barrier.

Of course, it couldn’t withstand the demon’s attack.

The barrier was torn apart like paper, and my body should have shattered from the impact…

But the barrier held.

Not because of its durability.

Silver hair shimmering in the air.

Two horns protruding prominently.

The progenitor dragon of the empire shielded me with its own body instead of the barrier.

Sion had come to save me.

***

[…How troublesome.]

Her fury was unmistakable.

The demon clicked its tongue, as if sensing the wrath radiating from the progenitor dragon’s expression.

The power balance was undoubtedly in Sion’s favor.

In a straightforward fight, Sion would undoubtedly win.

But, of course, the demon wouldn’t fight fair.

The demon aimed its attacks—not at Sion—but at the students.

The students were of no concern to the demon, but to Sion, they were lives that had to be protected.

She had to take the attacks in their stead and ensure her counterattacks wouldn’t harm them.

That difference tipped the scales, overturning the advantage she initially held.

The silver-haired girl grew increasingly battered.

The demon maintained its strength while capitalizing on its advantage.

Blood trailed down her cheek, a rare sight for the progenitor dragon to be so cornered.

But even so, a progenitor dragon is still a progenitor dragon.

Returning to her true form, Sion unleashed a breath attack at full power.

A massive, unprecedented amount of energy accumulated over time burned the demon to ashes, leaving no trace behind.

A decisive victory.

Even though she was injured and completely drained, she had used her power to destroy the demon.

Cheers erupted from the students.

They rejoiced that the battle was finally over.

But I couldn’t feel joy.

Because I knew.

I remembered the ending from the original work I saw in the ruins.

The only piece of original knowledge I possessed.

The resurrection of the Demon King was inevitable.

He could revive whenever he wanted. He was merely waiting for the most opportune moment.

In the original story, Sion used all her strength to save the protagonist, who was supposed to have died.

She then fell into slumber from exhaustion.

It was during that moment of vulnerability that Gettya resurrected, leading to the world’s destruction.

The future had changed, but the situation now was the same.

Sion could no longer fight.

Her body was in tatters, her accumulated power nearly depleted.

There wasn’t an unmarred part of her.

I still remembered the demon’s eerie grin just before Sion’s flames engulfed it.

It had smiled, as if satisfied, as if it had accomplished everything it wanted, even as its body burned.

Everything pointed to one conclusion.

***

Murmurs filled the air.

Like everyone else, I looked up at the sky.

It was completely dyed red, a grotesque sight that stirred no emotions in me.

Because I could feel it.

Something far more horrifying was stirring beneath the academy.

It was a bad ending.

No matter how much I tried and struggled, I had failed.

I would be swept up in the original plot and die, just as I feared.

As I stood there, dazed by despair, someone tapped my shoulder.

A trembling hand, pushed to its limit.

Turning my head, I saw Sion in my view.

She looked into my eyes.

“Go. Go as far away as you can, and don’t come back.”

She smiled through the pain and said brightly, “I’m sorry, Riyan. As of today, you’re fired.”