Where had it all gone wrong?
The plan to infiltrate the academy as a professor for the organization had been successful.
Over the past eight years, I had diligently built trust, fully integrating myself into this place.
Finally, the day of the decisive battle arrived.
It was the perfect opportunity to destroy the academy, the symbol of the empire, and assassinate both the royal family and the saint.
But everything fell apart.
The demons I had gathered over a lifetime, and the grand plan I had been preparing for eight years, all went up in smoke.
A chilling cold engulfed the world.
Spears of ice rained down from the sky, mercilessly piercing through the enemy.
The frozen demons couldn’t even scream before their lives were snuffed out.
Standing alone at the center of the bitter cold was a newly appointed professor whom I, Karon, hadn’t even paid attention to.
‘Ah…’
It was only then that Karon realized his mistake.
He had misjudged who he should have been wary of.
It wasn’t the empire’s ancestral dragon, nor the great war hero.
It was that seemingly ordinary new professor who was the most dangerous of all.
***
“Illusion magic, you say?”
Looking back, ever since I first met Riyan through Professor Scott’s introduction, his demeanor had been off.
He had been silently observing me, as if lost in thought.
He was the only one who ever looked at me with such a curious gaze, despite the fact that no one else had ever suspected me.
“Professor Riyan suggested it. We’ll conduct a mock assault using illusion demons for the entrance ceremony.”
On the very day I planned to carry out the real attack, out of nowhere, he proposed such an idea.
I had already stationed all the demons, so I had no choice but to press forward with the plan.
That was undoubtedly a kind of warning.
‘You are already in the palm of my hand. I’ve seen through your entire plan, so don’t try anything foolish.’
But Karon foolishly failed to realize it.
***
“How many more times do I have to nearly die…?”
I had eavesdropped on the staff dormitory and overheard Riyan’s drunken laments, full of self-pity. Completely deceived, I fell for his act.
Even when there was no one around, he continued his charade of weakness.
His thoroughness was enough to make even Karon’s head spin.
‘To act so helpless with that level of power…’
Even if two mages use the same spell, the structure of the magic can differ vastly depending on the caster.
Thousands of runes and geometric patterns…
To analyze such a complex structure instantly? And then modify it on the spot, making it your own?
There’s no way that’s possible in reality.
And yet, that professor did it without breaking a sweat.
He turns the impossible into reality.
What else could you call such a person if not a genius?
‘The scope and power of the spell far exceeded what I had initially designed. Did he really revise the entire structure to be more efficient in that brief moment?’
The magnitude of the blizzard he summoned, the intensity of the spears of ice raining down from the sky—everything surpassed my limits by far.
Half of that fierce assault was focused directly on me.
The defensive artifacts I had prepared for the ancestral dragon were nearly all exhausted.
“Please help me, Professor Scott! It seems the new professor is the spy leading this attack!”
In a final desperate act, I cried out.
But what I received in return were nothing but murderous glares and violence.
How dare you accuse such an upright young man? You must be the spy.
Even if you aren’t, just die already—Scott’s enraged expression was beyond shocking.
The man I had spent eight years carefully approaching was swayed in just a few days by this newcomer.
No matter what I do, I can’t keep up.
That man is always several steps ahead of me.
As his grip tightened around me, cold sweat trickled down my back.
‘This is no time to worry about prophecies.’
The greatest threat to the organization wasn’t some unknown girl.
It was the man standing before me.
As long as that monster of a man remained, the empire would never fall.
***
It was time to make a decision.
With the Iron-Blood Duke also involved, I had no more than thirty seconds left.
I immediately dashed toward Riyan, who was still casting the spell.
No matter how much of a genius he is, there’s no way he can move while casting such a large-scale spell.
Overdrive. I force my magic to circulate recklessly.
It doesn’t matter if my body can’t handle it.
After all, I never intended to survive this.
“Professor Riyan!”
Scott rushed to shield him, but even the Iron-Blood Duke was drained of his magic.
There’s no way he could withstand the explosion.
Agonizing pain surged through my body as it grotesquely swelled.
Yet, all that appeared on my face was a relieved smile.
‘To eliminate a threat of this magnitude, the cost of a single life is nothing. It’s a bargain.’
A deafening roar echoed as a massive explosion greedily swallowed everything.
There should not have been a trace left behind.
Everyone present in this place should have been erased by the overwhelming power.
That was the outcome that should have come…
“Disappear.”
Something was going terribly wrong.
His head felt dizzy.
His stomach churned violently.
His vision darkened at will.
As the world grew dimmer and dimmer, the last thing Karon’s eyes saw was a gigantic, silver dragon.
Karon, laughing while clutching Riyan’s arm, saw that enormous figure rapidly compress and vanish.
Dragon Speech, a distortion of the laws of the world.
With just a word, the headmaster of the Imperial Academy subdued the enemy and gracefully landed before two professors.
The massive dragon, whose majesty seemed enough to swallow the moon, had now reverted to the familiar form of a young girl.
“The ancestral dragon has come to save us!”
The empire’s undisputed strongest.
Now that such a being had arrived, the students were certain they had nothing left to worry about and cheered in excitement.
But the one they cheered for did not share in their joy.
“Seven people injured. After confidently claiming I’d ensure the students’ safety, what a disgrace this is. I have no face to show you.”
The betrayal of a professor who had devoted eight years to the academy.
No one would have ever imagined that someone so diligent and hard-working was planning a terror attack behind the scenes.
But this was no act of fate.
A bit more caution could have surely prevented this horrific event.
“Especially you, Riyan. It seems I’ve wronged you more than anyone else once again. My shallow perspective is embarrassing.”
After all, this time too, that newly appointed professor had already seen through everything on his own.
“When I think about it, it was strange from the start. An attack by illusion demons? That could traumatize the more sensitive children. There’s no way you would have suggested something like that.”
Foolishly, I got excited over how fun it sounded and hastily planned the mock attack without thinking it through.
“Now that I think about it, that must have been your way of signaling me. You were warning me, without saying it outright, that the illusion magic professor was suspicious and likely planning an attack.”
A veiled warning, to avoid being overheard.
Yet I foolishly failed to realize it.
With this, I can’t deny being an unfit headmaster.
Riyan had gone out of his way to rely on me.
And once again, I had failed to meet his expectations.
“That’s not it. It was merely a coincidence that the situation turned out this way. Please, raise your head.”
But Riyan spoke gently to Sion, who had grown despondent.
Moved by his kind words, emotion welled up inside me.
The reason why he would utter such an obvious lie with such a desperate expression—it was clearly out of kindness, to protect my pride.
And the ancestral dragon of the empire was far from naive, too aware to not recognize that gesture of compassion.
“…I’m truly fortunate. To have someone as talented as you on my side is truly reassuring.”
Sion struggled to hold back tears, placing a hand on the new professor’s shoulder.
In her heart, she wanted nothing more than to throw aside formalities and embrace him.
But there was still work to be done.
Even if the other party had forgiven her, she wasn’t shameless enough to avoid taking responsibility for her own mistakes.
“Tell me what you wish for. Whatever your desire, I will grant it in the name of the ancestral dragon.”
If you want immense wealth, I will open the dragon’s treasure vault for you.
With that, you could easily obtain riches that even surpass the empire’s gold reserves.
If you desire honor, I can make you royalty.
I could wield the authority of the ancestral dragon recklessly and make that happen with ease.
A promise made in the name of a dragon is absolute.
Whatever wish Riyan speaks will surely be fulfilled.
“I want to quit being a professor.”
Of course, even a wish like that would not be an exception.
It was actually a request Sion had been hoping for.
With a bright smile, the ancestral dragon lightly patted Riyan’s back.
“Our minds are in sync! I’ll roast that old man and appoint you as the new headmaster, so wait just a bit longer!”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.