I absolutely can’t understand the current situation.
Isn’t that guy supposed to be the genius professor of the academy?
Just how capable is he that everyone here adores him to the point of obsession? He wouldn’t even take any real damage from an average attack, so I simply pushed him lightly without much thought.
The next thing I know, he collapses helplessly to the ground.
The professor’s face turns pale, almost corpse-like.
Blood trickles down from the corner of his mouth.
‘What… what? I didn’t even hit him that hard!’
This is none other than the renowned Royal Academy.
It didn’t make any sense that someone who couldn’t even maintain constant magical reinforcement would be working as a professor here.
So why did it turn out this way? For a moment, I wondered if I’d somehow been hit by an illusion spell, but there wasn’t any time to pinch my own cheek.
A chilling gaze is felt from behind.
When I turn around, I see the figure of the Primordial Dragon.
With a soft thud, a packaged cookie falls from her hand.
Tears stream down her cheeks.
Even someone as clueless as her knew that this was not a good sign.
The Deputy Director’s mind races.
Her brain, quickened by a survival instinct, soon suggests a way to get out of this situation.
‘Of course! This has to be an act!’
Something felt off about the texture of the blood the man was spilling.
Besides, if even a fraction of the rumors about Riyan were true, he was skilled enough to face demons.
There was no way a light tap would cause such severe injury.
And yet, of all times, the Primordial Dragon showed up just as the man started coughing up blood.
All these clues point to only one truth.
‘He concocted this scheme of self-harm in such a short time.’
He must have sensed the Primordial Dragon’s approach and began preparing for this.
I couldn’t help but marvel at his thorough planning.
So this is why he didn’t accept my offer of a peaceful settlement.
He intended to escalate the situation by using the academy’s principal, targeting not only me but also the Golden Duke.
‘But if that’s how he wants to play it, then I have my own methods.’
There was a simple way to break through his wicked scheme.
If I told the Primordial Dragon that this was all Riyan’s play and that he was manipulating her, everything would be resolved.
Once I’d made up my mind, there was no room for hesitation.
She kicked the fallen Riyan with all her strength.
Even though he’s pretending to be unconscious now, this would make him flinch, exposing his act of fainting.
But, as expected, Riyan didn’t budge, looking as if he were genuinely unconscious, and now it seemed she had directly provoked the Primordial Dragon, making the atmosphere even more menacing.
***
“Damn it!”
Dizziness washes over her.
She absolutely can’t make sense of the situation now.
Did he really suffer severe injuries from the beginning, or did he faint after being struck by her full-force blow during his act, or could even that reaction be part of his elaborate performance?
It was impossible to predict anything, but in the end, it didn’t really matter which of those was true.
A massive, vertically-slit dragon eye stares down at her.
The enraged Primordial Dragon looms over her.
“Know that you have sealed your fate with your own hands.”
Her legs tremble under the overwhelming pressure.
Just by taking in its formidable presence, she realizes that the dragon before her is an existence she cannot hope to defeat.
A creature that utterly surpasses the limits of comprehension.
She, a mere ant, would be crushed at any moment if it wished.
To think that, because it wore the form of a human, she had briefly deluded herself into thinking they were somehow equals—such foolishness had limits.
Persuasion would not work.
She had already crossed the dragon’s line, and everything was already over from that moment.
The Primordial Dragon gently caresses the fallen Riyan.
Healing him, it whispers into his ear, promising to return every bit of pain he endured to her.
“I will burn everything you love. I will erase all traces that you ever existed in this world.”
The voice, laden with immeasurable fury, makes her shake.
The dragon declared with unmistakable hostility directed toward her.
“And yet, even when your spirit is broken and shattered, and you seek to end everything, peace will never come to you. That will be the only fate permitted to you.”
A threat that she wouldn’t be granted even the mercy of death.
At the same time, the crushing pressure that had been pinning her down disappears.
Of course, she knows well enough that this isn’t a stroke of luck.
She realizes it’s a plan to keep her clinging to hope until the last moment, only to make her experience deeper despair.
She understands that his intention is to break her spirit entirely and torture her further.
‘But that doesn’t mean I’ll just sit here and die!’
Tears stream endlessly down her cheeks.
Why do these things keep happening to her?
Cursing her misfortune, the Deputy Director sprints away with all her might.
‘I need to ask someone for help.
‘But who exactly can I ask for help in this situation?’
‘No matter where I look, all I see are enemies.’
As soon as news spread that Riyan had collapsed, everyone at the academy flipped out, and the massive dragon is still chasing me relentlessly.
‘Why hasn’t there been any contact yet!’
‘The Golden Duke, my only hope.’
When I reported the situation to him, he assured me he’d do something to resolve the issue, but nothing has changed.
Since then, there has been no follow-up, and there’s no sign of improvement.
“I found her! The demon is hiding here!”
A voice calls out from somewhere.
I’ve used every self-defense tool and every means I had to run, but now I’m at my limit.
Even if, by some miracle, I escape the wrath of the angry students and professors, there’s no way to avoid the gaze of the Primordial Dragon.
It’s all a meaningless struggle.
All I’m doing is delaying the inevitable horrific end that has already been decided.
There’s no hope here.
There couldn’t possibly be any hope.
But then… footsteps.
In the distance, knights clad in armor approach.
I see the imperial insignia engraved upon them, and a glimmer of relief returns to my face.
***
“…What on earth is happening here?”
The question comes from a white-haired girl leading the knights.
The answer is obvious.
The Primordial Dragon is wreaking havoc right in front of them, spewing its breath everywhere.
Naturally, the imperial family would come here to see what’s going on.
With enemies surrounding me on all sides, these powerful allies seem to have arrived on their own.
‘I can’t miss this opportunity.’
‘This is the last lifeline I have.’
‘There’s no room for error here.’
Putting all my effort into my performance, I say, “…It’s Riyan! That new professor has revealed his true colors and deceived the Primordial Dragon to destroy the academy!”
The so-called new professor turned out to be a demonic servant.
His unusually high reputation and his horde of fanatics were all due to his pact with a demon.
This scenario should be convincing enough.
In fact, it made even less sense to believe he could captivate everyone here within a month without any demonic contract.
“Everyone has been brainwashed except for me. His objective must be to collapse this place and steal the remains of the Demon King buried underground.”
Information I’d learned under my authority as Deputy Director.
This is a matter serious enough to threaten national security.
The thing buried under the academy is an entity beyond common understanding, comparable to the Primordial Dragon itself, and could potentially revive at any time.
If there’s even a chance that this could fall into the hands of demons, it’s only natural for the imperial family to be alarmed.
“Please, lend me your strength! Together, we can stop Riyan, that traitor to humanity, and thwart his wicked scheme!”
With a determined expression, I extend my hand confidently toward the white-haired girl.
With a swift motion, she severs my right arm.
A blade of light appeared out of nowhere.
In an instant, the Fifth Imperial Princess had left me with only one arm, smiling menacingly.
“You sure have a long way of asking to die.”
In that moment, twenty more imperial knight divisions joined the procession meant to arrest and torture me.
Where did everything go wrong?
I was sure I hadn’t made any mistakes.
This kind of chance wouldn’t come again, so I seized the justification with a death grip, charging toward my goal.
I’d even been suspended, with only one more step to go.
I was closer to success than ever.
But why did it all turn out like this again?
As I pondered this, a realization dawned on me.
Things must have already been going wrong back when nothing had blown up.
If things went smoothly according to my plan, instead of feeling relieved, I should have been worried.
‘Maybe it wasn’t that I got lucky and avoided any disasters, but rather that misfortune was quietly accumulating to crash down on me later.’
“…What the hell is even going on here?”
A massive ancient dragon setting the world ablaze.
The academy’s internal faction led by the Golden Duke, pushing forward with my disciplinary measures.
Instead of stopping the chaos, the imperial army was actively participating in the riot.
And then, with a crazy laugh, a gang of mohawked students throws Molotov cocktails at the Board of Directors building.
This isn’t some post-apocalyptic tale.
Looking at the academy, which had descended into complete chaos overnight, I sighed heavily, feeling the ground give beneath me.
…It seems that, somehow, things have escalated quite a bit.