Chapter 2: The audacity of a darkling at the academy? Part 2

“Surely my disguise was perfect. Even the ancestral dragon’s discerning eyes couldn’t see through my true form!”

The demon before me shouts at me.

A voice filled with both wariness of an unknown presence and humiliation at having his disguise seen through in an instant.

“Tell me, how did you break my power?”

He asks, exuding a menacing aura.

Although his expression clearly shows his confusion…

But I was the one who wanted to ask questions.

A demon?

Why is something like that appearing now? Shouldn’t it normally show up around the middle of the story at the earliest?

Could it have been caught by pure chance? Was it just randomly picked, and it happened to be the one trying to infiltrate the academy?

How did things get this tangled? The overwhelming confusion is making me feel like I’m going to lose it.

“You’re not going to reveal your hand, huh? In that case, I’ll just have to find out myself.”

But the situation didn’t wait for me.

The demon’s figure vanishes, as if erased from the world.

Soon, I hear a voice from behind me.

“In the name of Amon, the Seventh Seat, I promise you this: your soul will burn in hell for all eternity.”

There’s no time to hesitate.

I didn’t refuse the empire’s gift, using the glowing subspace magic formula in my left hand.

Using something originally meant for inventory as shock absorption—normally, that shouldn’t be possible.

But there’s a reason I was hired as a professor.

Analyzing and modifying magic formulas is my specialty.

If it’s just slightly twisting a well-crafted magic formula, that’s definitely possible.

The sensation reaches my back.

I can feel the demon’s fist hitting me, but the impact is light.

The subspace magic, overused as it was, breaks down, but fortunately, it seems to have succeeded in blocking this attack.

The demon clicks his tongue, stepping back when he sees this.

“A space-based magic formula… so you were hiding your power.”

The demon, giving me absurdly high praise, looks at me like I’m some kind of monster.

Earlier, he was boasting about burning my soul, but now, in an uncharacteristically undemonic way, he’s even sweating.

While the demon is warily watching me, not making any sudden moves, perhaps everyone else has come to their senses.

The elf professor next to me raises her staff and shouts loudly.

“One of the 72 Great Evils has shown themselves! We must not let him escape from here!”

Everyone is now in combat stance.

At this point, I had nothing more to worry about.

All of the academy’s professors are monsters in their own right.

Unless some lunatic starts babbling nonsense about picking cotton, like before, there’s no chance that multiple professors wouldn’t be able to handle a single demon.

I’ll just play it safe and go along with the flow.

That was the conclusion I came to in my mind…

***

I looked at the door to the interview room.

And I thought of the children beyond that door.

I don’t know who this Amon character is, but in typical academy stories, demons usually sneak in for one purpose.

Terrorism.

Their goal must be to cause as much damage as possible.

The demon takes a step back.

I see him glancing cautiously towards the door.

If he just escapes peacefully from here, I couldn’t ask for more.

But can a terrorist really be content with just running away?

There are children along his escape route.

Will he spare them and keep his manners intact?

‘Of course not.’

There will definitely be victims.

And no matter how you look at it, that’s my responsibility.

In the original storyline, the protagonist probably would’ve found and defeated this terrorist. But I’m the one who discovered his true identity.

People who weren’t supposed to die will lose their lives because of my actions.

How is that any different from killing them myself?

***

My feet start moving on their own. That troublesome habit of acting first and thinking later makes another appearance.

I quickly block the doorway and say,

“I can’t let you pass.”

It’s a gamble worth taking.

The odds are heavily in my favor.

After all, I’m not foolish enough to risk my life in a fight where I have no chance of winning.

‘That guy is definitely wary of me.’

A space-based magic user, someone whose attacks don’t land at all.

The demon clearly sees me that way, and I doubt he’ll easily try to attack me again.

While I’m blocking his escape, the professors will either subdue him, or one of them will realize the danger of him taking a student hostage and take action.

Either way, we’ll win.

‘As long as that bastard doesn’t suddenly change his mind and charge at me, there’s no way I’ll lose. So, if I can just stall for about 10 seconds…’

Suddenly, a warning alarm blares.

A student, peeking inside the interview room, has pressed the emergency alarm button at the worst possible moment.

[Dammit, if it’s come to this, that crazy lizard woman is going to…]

The demon frowns with a troubled expression.

Up until a moment ago, he was keeping his distance while continuing the reconnaissance, but now he quickly assumes a ready stance.

The instant I see that, I immediately have a hunch.

‘I’ve always prided myself on having pretty good luck, both in my past and current life, but this time, it didn’t follow me.’

The demon, now impatient because of the alarm and the threat of reinforcements rushing in, decides to escape the area, even if it means taking a risk with me.

‘I should’ve never set foot in this cursed place.’

I reflect on that as I watch the demon rush toward me.

Perhaps driven by desperation, he’s burning all of his remaining demonic energy into this one strike.

I pull out a concealed dagger I had tucked into my sleeve as a last resort, but without any training in swordsmanship, there’s no way I can beat him.

Several professors are frantically trying to protect me by casting spells, but his speed is overwhelming.

There’s no way they can make it in time.

The demon’s hand reaches out, emitting a disgusting sensation, as though it’s caressing my soul.

Then, a terrible scream rings out.

Graaaaah!!!

But it’s not from me—it’s from the demon.

Opening my tightly shut eyes, I see the demon’s agonized face before me.

For some reason, he’s been impaled by my dagger.

“The core should’ve been hidden. How could even your eyes see through that…?”

The demon cries out in frustration.

As I twist the dagger, he lets out another horrific scream and starts burning up, quickly turning to ashes.

In no time, he’s reduced to a mere pile of dust.

I stand there, frozen, staring at the ashes before snapping out of it.

‘Did… I win?’

Whether it was something special about the dagger my grandfather gifted me, or the demon was simply weaker than expected, or maybe it was just dumb luck that I hit a vital spot—I’m not sure yet.

But one thing is certain: I survived this disaster.

As soon as I realize that, the tension finally begins to release.

‘I really almost died on my first day at work.’

Surviving this chaos was nothing short of a miracle.

Now I know without a doubt that I can’t stay at the academy any longer.

As soon as things calm down, I’ll need to execute my plan and leave.

I conclude this as I survey my surroundings.

As I glance around, I meet the gazes of many eyes directed at me.

The elf who insulted me earlier.

The old professor who criticized my attitude.

Every single professor present is staring at me with strange expressions.

And then, as if to top it all off, I hear a voice from behind.

“Hmm… Seems like I stumbled upon something quite interesting.”

Silver hair.

A face so beautiful it looks sculpted, with two horns protruding from the top.

“Care to join me for a cup of tea, by any chance?”

It’s the principal of the Imperial Academy.

The ancestral dragon of the empire is staring right at me, eyes sparkling with interest.

‘Looks like my grand plan to get fired is falling apart in real-time.’

***

Even after the new professor was dragged away for questioning, under the pretext of hearing his side of the story, the academy interviews continued as scheduled.

However, none of the remaining faculty members could focus on the interviews.

Not even the old professor, who had earlier criticized the new professor’s attitude, telling him not to be distracted during work, could focus now.

It wasn’t professional behavior, for sure, but who could blame him?

“Are you really considering letting something so horrid into the academy?”

The professor had recognized the intruder’s identity from the beginning.

He had accurately seen through the demonic nature that no one else had noticed.

He had even subtly warned that the intruder was a demon attempting to infiltrate the academy.

“I cannot let you pass.”

The professor stood alone, unyielding.

At first, it seemed like he was frozen in shock, but no, he showed no sign of hesitation or fear.

The man just stood there, silently.

He didn’t cast any spells, nor did he wield a staff, yet he completely overwhelmed the demon.

It was as if he refused to even acknowledge the demon by speaking to it.

Finally, he spoke up, his voice filled with anger, saying he would not let the demon pass, and that he would never allow harm to come to the students.

While everyone else was focused solely on capturing the demon and claiming the credit, only he looked out for the students.

While everyone else was trying to kill something, only he was trying to save someone.

…How could anyone forget such a person?

How could you ever erase that image from your mind?

***

Monsters of all kinds are entering the academy.

The saint from the Holy Church.

The second princess of the empire, hailed as a genius.

A commoner with magical insensitivity who still managed to enter as the top student.

Each of them is unique, but everyone here could agree on one thing:

Among all the remarkable talents that appeared this year, the most unusual was undoubtedly that new professor.