NOVEL NEXT Chapter 167
Claris Academy, Northern Magic Tower.
The guardian at the entrance of the Magic Tower salutes Belial, who is disguised as the Dean.
“Dean, you have arrived!”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
“No, not at all!”
According to Paimon’s plan, Belial intended to seal all the dimensional gates of Claris’ Magic Tower.
‘If it’s for the awaited slaughter… I have no choice.’
It was a somewhat bothersome yet straightforward task.
On the surface, there was no one who would doubt his identity as the dean, and having lived in the demon realm far longer than Markosias, Bunea, and Andras, using the sealing-type dark magic was as easy as pie.
Wooosh…
A blue oval whirlwind welcomed Belial.
Then, a sorceress in a cone-shaped hat approached and began to explain.
“Dean, the Northern Magic Tower is always maintained and serviced by the best dimensional sorcerers. We are on a mission for Claris…”
“Sorry, could you step away for a moment?”
“Ah… Yes, Dean.”
With a gentle middle-aged voice, the dimensional administrator gracefully descended the stairs.
If she hadn’t listened on the first try, she would have been killed.
That would have made things a bit more troublesome.
“Hmmm…”
Left alone, Belial pondered the events to come…
He thought about the Demon King, who had foreseen all this.
“Belial, I plan to rest for four years, measured in human time.”
“I understand, my Demon King.”
“All preparations are sufficient to entrust me, right?”
“Just give the orders, great one.”
Belial thought the new Demon King was quite capable.
An entity with power comparable to a god, he quickly stabilized the afterlife.
To the demons, where hierarchy is determined solely by strength, he was the most Demon King-like presence.
But that wasn’t all.
He was also the one who infiltrated the human realm, causing confusion and leading Kroon to a tragic end, purely on his orders.
“So you’re someone who predicts the future? Heh.”
Of course, there was no magic for peeking into detailed futures… it was just that he could describe things in a way that made it seem all-powerful.
Thus, Belial, following his orders… deceived many and pushed them towards death.
From a small village that might have a future saintly child to the great cities… staining countless with blood, he reached the imperial palace.
Thanks to his schemes, the current emperor had become a coward.
The fat man would only worry about his own safety, even if Claris Academy, the cradle of the empire, became a demon territory.
“Disgusting.”
However, if there was one thing Belial learned coming into the human world among these foolish creatures…
It was how to ride the wave.
Ba’al and Lucifer, who had earned great trust from the previous Demon King…
Their positions were also very high even in Pandemonium.
Yet, while the Demon King sealed himself to regain power, Belial believed if he fulfilled his role, there would surely be an opportunity for himself.
The current Demon King was a new form of king, capable of lending power to others.
‘Shall we get started?’
This was a long-awaited operation.
If he wanted to conducted his work in all seven towers of the academy, it would be best to start as soon as possible.
Crackle…
In an instant, the vitality drained from Belial’s hands as his nails began to elongate.
Whoosh! Whoooosh!!
At the same time, swirling dark magic began to gather.
Chick!
And when he reached out toward the dimensional gate…
Shwaaaah!!!!
A mysterious red light engulfed him.
…
Kaboom!!!
A cylindrical tower with a blue spire exploded.
What the hell!
AHHHHHHHH!!!!
H-How can the Dean be here!
It was chaos itself.
The peaceful upper floors of the Magic Tower had suddenly revealed their inner structure and were blown away, a sight that was hard to believe even with two eyes.
Rumble…
And in the thick dust and debris, there was Belial.
“Cough! Cough!”
He began to spit out blackness with strange sounds.
It wasn’t just due to the unexpected explosion.
What had brought him to this state was a single strike from beyond the dimension.
“Gag! Gack! My soul!!!”
A clear circular mark was pierced into his forehead.
If he were human, he would have surely died instantly.
“Return…!”
Just sensing a threat should have activated the absolute defense he thought he possessed, yet the pain he was experiencing now felt like a real nightmare.
Before he could comprehend what had happened, only the instinct to activate the fountain of souls or return to Pandemonium consumed his entire body.
But,
Puff-puff!
“Gah?!”
The attack against him wasn’t over yet.
Zzzzzt!!
“From de Crescent…?”
Violet’s sealing spell had bound Belial’s true form.
“GAAAAAAAH!!!!!”
And then,
!
In the thick dust…
“E-Eek!!”
A green man, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time…
Approached him, emitting a murderous intent.
“W-Who are you?! I am the Dean of Claris…!”
Although Belial couldn’t see his own form due to the piercing of his eyes, he had long returned to his demonic appearance.
“Dean, you say!!!”
“Execution.”
Fwoosh!
Every blade of fate fitted perfectly…
It was an instant assassination.
*
Ding!
[Aggro +99]
[Aggro: 99]
Ding ding!
[Critical Hit!]
[Vulnerability Hit!]
[Additional Damage proportional to Agility]
[Sniping Trait Activated! Additional Damage proportional to Agility]
[Black Dragon’s Thread Effect Activated! Additional Damage proportional to Dark Attribute]
[Additional Damage Based on Distance: 824km]
[Trait Activation! Transformation into Tarchangel, Demon, Human, Additional Damage from Slaughter]
[Damage Multiplier: 25420%]
[Achievement Cleared]
[72 Demons: 68th – You have defeated Belial]
[Number of Great Demons Remaining: 53]
[You may obtain rewards!]
[The bound spirits of Belial will be freed!]
[Successfully defeated the Great Demon, Wind Archery: Wind Instant Kill will be enhanced!]
[Number of Great Demons killed with Wind Archery so far: 3]
[Unique Trait: Soul Collector Activated! You have collected Belial’s soul]
“…You all have no learning ability.”
Belial was dead.
He died and became my status screen.
Honestly, it was so unremarkable that it evoked no feelings…
He really was a worthless fellow.
Even as the Dean of Claris, no matter what happened, he stubbornly hid his identity.
That was his downfall.
To die in my hands without being able to do anything.
Whoooosh! Whoosh!
“Phew. You didn’t expect this level of firepower, did you?”
I stabilized the erosion level of the ash-gray mountain hound first.
The way I handled him was simple.
Dimensional gate.
It was the same method I used when I dealt with Bunea.
However, what was added was, of course, the concept of distance?
The assassination conditions this time were twofold.
1. Ensure he doesn’t feel any threat at all, preventing the absolute defense system from activating.
2. Create a distance that enables me to utilize the Puck to amplify damage.
Thus, I fully utilized the information from Yellody that he was trying to close the dimensional gate.
In [Reincarnated Hero], the distance for moving through dimensional gates is not coordinate-based but rather a concept of fast travel, so I asked Scarlet and Dustin to layer multiple dimensional gates onto the outer Magic Tower, creating a top-tier distance only I could use.
“And for the finish, it’s with Edwin.”
Of course, I had the power of anti-demon attributes too, but since I didn’t fully grasp his skill set, I entrusted the finishing blow to Edwin.
Adding Violet’s sealing spell to prevent post-spellcasting was a bonus.
If he survived even that, then I might as well admit the game was terribly designed.
“Well, as the one who uses bugs, I shouldn’t say anything.”
It was pure luck that Belial started his assault at the Northern Magic Tower.
He would have eventually visited every tower, but it helped that I could strike when he was most unguarded without any collateral damage.
Anyway…
Critical hit, vulnerability, distance proportional Puck, transformation into Demon, Tarchangel, Induction spell, dual casting…
And when Belial visited Sellafi Hall, I had previously copied…
Skill,
—————————————————
[Humanization (人間化)] [Lv. None] (Active) (General skill)
: Controls all powers to seal in human form for a certain period.
You can freely redistribute all stats, and no black magic is detected when using the skill.
A line is replaced with a line.
– Tarchangel, Lucifer.
Exp: (None)
Acquisition Difficulty: Extremely High
—————————————————
Humanization, just.
By cramming in such an absurd skill, I could take him down with a single hit.
…
Days passed since that day.
“Aria… heal me…”
“Is there an injury?!”
In the dormitory room of Sellafi Hall, as Aria examined my body, shouting, I rolled around in bed.
“No, it’s not that, I’m just tired…”
Swipe!
Aria forcibly pulled the blanket away, making me get up.
“Stop acting like a kid and get up.”
“Grrr.”
Me, Yeriel, Aria.
The three of us were doing surprisingly well.
And the assassination incident involving the Dean of Claris Academy…
Ended almost instantaneously, contrary to its shocking stature.
In the end, Belial was proven to be a clear demon as he reverted from humanization at the last moment, and the sequence of events concluded that a demon revealed his true form due to the unexpected explosion of the Magic Tower, ultimately dealt with in cooperation with Edwin and Violet.
Afterward, investigators looked for the cause of the tower’s explosion, but…
There was no way that arrow could come back to me.
No one in this world would think of attacks crossing dimensions, and I was the only one capable of such a thing.
However, one thing bothered me…
The Chancellor’s side based on the deceased’s will…
The will found in the Dean’s office.
—————————————————
.
.
.
– On the day I die at Claris, the demons will march forward.
Then the students of Claris will no longer be students.
We must become warriors and collaborate to fight against evil.
As the founder of Claris, I urge every student to “graduate” collectively as a top priority in humanity’s task to establish a joint front.
.
.
.
—————————————————
There was no way to discern whether this document was written by Belial or the real Dean, Dorman Tedeirov.
Is this war really beginning due to the assassination case?
Then why the insistence on graduation…?
Is it an emergency situation that must be addressed immediately?
Amidst various opinions swirling around,
I thought I had found my own peace.
Woosh…
“You’re really getting up well like this…”
As I washed my face properly, Aria ribbed me.
…and even that was cute.
“Huh? If I’m like this, then Aria has to wake me up herself.”
“…!”
Saying something a bit embarrassing immediately made her face blush.
“Th-There won’t be this kind of thing starting tomorrow…! Even if it’s vacation, it’s best to wake up early!”
“Right.”
“Understood… I’ll head downstairs first.”
“Okay.”
“P-Please come quickly.”
“Got it.”
Peace found after a long time, playful banter with someone I like, a tranquil daily life.
Clank.
Just as Aria left my room and I finished washing my face.
Jingle!
—————————————————
[Mission Object]
1 – Graduate from Claris Academy without being retained or expelled. (Achieved)
2 – Prevent Caeran ending. (Achieved)
—————————————————
Failure condition: The world line may collapse, and you may be trapped in the eternal flow of time.
—————————————————
…!
Finally, the state screen where I first faced myself.
The mission object was fully completed.
Ding…
[Mission Clear]
[The Demon King reveals himself at last…]