I Broke Off My Engagement and Got a Job at the Academy

70 – 70. Betrayer

In front of me, she turned her head and looked at me.

“…How?”

I exclaimed, making a sound.

“It’s simple. I prepared for the mid-term evaluation to the extent that it couldn’t be any more thorough, and there’s not only students as targets.”

I tapped the staff on the ground. In response, she twisted her lips and contorted her face.

“Did you think a simple feint would work, or was even that too much for you to grasp?”

I spoke with a cold expression.

“Speak. Exactly how did you come to know about the guy here responsible for security?”

From Noble mtl dot com

Academy security officer. Why a priest sent by the faculty infiltrated the unknown basement and attempted to erase any clues about those who were planning to attack the academy, I don’t know.

But one thing is certain; I can never let her go without consequences.

As my wand pointed at her, the security officer raised her hand calmly.

“…Hah.”

“I’ll ask. Did you break the magic on the bracelet? Or do you have another accomplice?”

In response, she smiled at me.

“Why should I tell you?”

I grimaced and replied, “Otherwise, you’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the former security officer burst into laughter.

“Die? Me? Sure, go ahead, if you can. But in return… a few students might die instead.”

“…What?”

I stared at her in disbelief. With a childlike expression, she continued.

“Think about it. I’m the security officer. I can touch the students’ bodies as much as I want.”

“…”

“I quit being a priest and became a dark sorceress. My core shattered, and my holy power dispersed. But in return, I gained the ability to wield dark magic.”

I grabbed her collar.

However, she still smiled, her face showing no fear.

“Is this okay with you? Are the lives of the students not precious to you?”

I still didn’t release my grip on her collar. The former security officer spoke with a maniacal tone.

“Oh, by the way, I can’t use holy power anymore, so I can’t heal.”

“What did you say?”

But the students who had received healing from the security officer…

“I didn’t really heal them. I used potions to superficially heal their wounds and corroded the insides to make it look like they were ‘healed.'”

“What are you muttering about?”

“If I give a signal, they’ll explode from the inside. Quite a spectacle, I must say.”

I swung my fist at the security officer. She took the hit and laughed.

“Well, what will you do? I’ve been lenient so far, but if you touch me further, it’ll be the end. Just like Jezel Ircalli or Vanessa Delfiers. Anyone who messes with me ends up with their organs scattered.”

Though I wore an angry expression, my smile was as dark as my words.

“Try it.”

“W-What?”

“I said, try it, you bastard.”

I could see Yangho’s teacher’s eyes wavering. I clenched the cane tightly.

“Try it? Why, scared it might backfire on you? Did you think I’d do everything as you wish, huh? Ridiculous. How could I trust you?”

“…”

“There’s no negotiating with terrorists. You have two choices. Either spill all the information willingly or drink the confession potion and spill.”

Then she gathered her strength.

“You think I wouldn’t do it if you told me to!? Where, haven’t you seen how students are dying straight on!”

And then, nothing happened.

“…Huh?”

Whether sensing something odd or not, Yangho’s teacher blinked.

“Why, why is this? Why, why is it like this? There’s no way. Clearly… my, my dark magic, where did my dark magic go?”

I swung my fist once again.

“You should’ve known where this place is, shouldn’t you?”

“H-How…”

“The magic I cast. Devourer. A spell that absorbs all kinds of energy… it’s here.”

Upon hearing that, Yangho’s teacher tried to step back, but I still had her by the collar.

“Send a hundred signals; they won’t reach anywhere.”

“N-No…”

“I should make sure you can’t do anything.”

As I cast the spell, she became helpless, writhing in a situation where she couldn’t move an inch.

“Well, from now on, even if you want to die, you won’t be able to. Just asking in advance… is dark magic also implanted in your head?”

“Haha… well, who knows.”

“Implanted, meaning it is.”

With cold eyes, I forcibly opened Yangho’s teacher’s mouth and made her swallow the sleeping pill.

“Ugh…hehe, hehehe.”

“Hmm? You’re not losing consciousness?”

She looked at me with bloodshot eyes.

“You… right. I admit it. I’m completely defeated.”

“So, what do you want me to do?”

“Even the students won’t be able to touch it, and the lower ranks won’t be able to handle it… There’s nothing I can do now.”

“I know it well. If you just obediently lose control and stand up, you’ll probably be transported to the sacred place. The inquisitors from the sect, being of the same lineage as you, will probably listen kindly to how you, of all people, became a dark sorcerer.”

The work of the inquisitors has remained the same for over a thousand years: dealing with enemies of the sect.

The cruelty was to such an extent that it was said that one inquisitor could torture more than a hundred torture experts.

The Yangho teacher, trembling, spoke with a sigh.

“It won’t be like that.”

“Huh, what can you do?”

“Your magic, I’m sure it absorbs energy from outside the body.”

So what do you want me to do? I scratched my face. And the body of Teacher Yangho writhed.

“It means it can’t absorb the energy inside the body. Now that it’s like this, I guess I have to do something about it. Huh, huhuhu.”

“This darn-“

I hastily erected a defense barrier. And Teacher Yangho’s body exploded.

Bang! I tried to defend myself, but I couldn’t stop it with just that. I know that.

It’s detonating the core inside his own heart, to the point of self-destruction. With just one defense barrier, I couldn’t fully withstand the damage.

I was engulfed in the explosion, hit the wall, and lost consciousness.

…

Jigel felt something strange in the air. And inside his body too.

“…Something that was in my body seems to have disappeared.”

It was the disappearance of the dark magic power that was inside him, but Jigel couldn’t know that much. Anyway, it felt refreshing inside his body.

But, the refreshing feeling was only inside the body. Outside, there was a somehow ominous and eerie air.

…The air he had already felt during the entrance exam.

“…Stay alert.”

Jigel said to his team members. And then the team members gave him looks as if they didn’t understand.

“Tracking magic.”

She quickly wanted to find the direction of another human. But, ultimately, there was no need to say that.

When she opened her eyes, they had already teleported in an instant.

“W-What!?”

Confused voices erupted from various places. As the commotion continued, Professor Codelia used amplification magic.

[Don’t worry.]

The commotion among the students came to a halt upon hearing that voice. Professor Cordelia spoke as if she had expected it.

[Originally, there was still time left, but it’s not much anyway. The exam will end prematurely.]

From Noble mtl dot com

“…!”

At those words, Jizel made a sharp sound. The situation where each student’s scores were increasing was favorable for him as time passed. If it continued, he would have an advantage. However, there was nothing he could do. Rather than protesting, Jizel tapped the shoulders of his teammates.

“…Good job, everyone.”

“Can we really end it like this?”

Jizel spoke with a bitter smile.

“…It’s unavoidable. Remember the entrance exam? I felt a ominous atmosphere then. It’s better than having problems arise. It’s a bit regrettable, though.”

Meanwhile, in the area where the midterm evaluation had just taken place, a battle was unfolding between golems and monsters.

“Why did monsters suddenly appear?”

Professor Cordelia grumbled. Another professor, stroking his beard, replied.

“Well, I’m not sure, but it seems like something is controlling them.”

After dealing with the monsters, Professor Cordelia looked around.

“…Where’s Eden?”

“If you’re talking about Eden, do you mean Professor Eden Kainus?”

Despite searching for Eden’s whereabouts, Professor Cordelia couldn’t find him anywhere.

She clenched her teeth and said, “No way.”

Professor Cordelia quickly teleported and headed to the academy’s underground.

There, in front of her, Eden Kainus lay unconscious.

Not just unconscious but in a perilous state as if his breath might cease at any moment.

“W-What happened! Ugh…!”

Cordelia immediately pulled out a potion from her spatial pocket and poured it on Eden Kainus. However, it wasn’t enough.

“I need divine power, sacred power.”

Cordelia looked around.

And there, traces of the female teacher’s clothes, who had been the health instructor, were visible along with the remnants of an explosion.