Chapter 306
Unexpected Acceleration and Chaos
“Sir, teacher…? What on earth does that mean…?”
The Professor is flustered.
A sight I’ve never seen in the original work.
I’m just as baffled.
Why is that the point of anger?
“… The kid is my most beloved and cherished disciple, inheriting the kindness and responsibility of a sword master. So naturally, my actions towards him are sincere, not false. Jude, no, Professor. The kid is not someone a traitor like you can casually speak of.”
Seira says this with a cold, hardened expression.
A chilling vibe radiates from her voice.
“Are you serious? You, the Five Crowns, the White Empress and the highest-ranking hero in the world! Are you saying that your actions towards a kid who can’t even reach your toes were sincere and not fake?!”
The Professor points at me, trembling all over.
At his words, Seira’s face turns red.
She bites her lip.
Seira’s crimson eyes flicker my way.
Seeing Seira react, the Professor smacks his forehead.
A despairing voice escapes his lips.
“… Were you really sincere? Teacher? This Professor can’t believe it. Those who think of you, those who care for you, those who dream of your true happiness are only….”
“Shut up!”
Seira interrupts the Professor while still blushing.
Her cold gaze now fixed on him.
“… Where do you get off talking about happiness? League Master… Do you still believe that nonsense about a world where magic and otherworldly beings don’t exist, and everyone will be happy? Didn’t I clearly tell you back then? That’s a misguided path.”
Seira closes her eyes and then opens them again.
A blush spreads across her face.
“And I am, at this moment… truly happy. Just a little…”
“Are you perhaps talking about that brat?”
Tap.
The Professor points at me.
Why is everyone making a fuss about me?
“Teacher, I can’t believe it. There’s nearly a half-century age gap between you and that boy. Yet you abandoned me, who truly cared for you, and the dream of a happy New World, choosing that boy! You ‘love’ him! This doesn’t make sense. This is absurd…”
The Professor tears at his pomade-styled hair with both hands.
In an instant, what was once neatly styled becomes a messy tangle.
“I can’t believe it. How could the teacher… How could he… have genuine feelings for that little brat?! No way. It can’t be true. No, it’s a lie. This is… Huh, hehehe, hahaHAHAHA!”
The Professor laughs as if he’s lost his mind.
Thud.
His laughter fades.
His cold, soulless eyes turn toward me.
“…It’s all your fault.”
The Professor grips a sword in his hand.
His signature weapon, the sword-class spirit tool, Gram, reveals itself.
“You’re the one who led me astray, tempting and corrupting me—it’s all your doing! Kim Deok-Sung!!”
Woooooo!
With the Professor’s sorrowful voice, Gram’s blade resonates, absorbing his dark gray mana.
Why is he suddenly having a meltdown again?
I can’t believe this.
What did I even do wrong?
“Alright then, teacher! This ends the persuasion! Since the negotiations have collapsed, all that’s left is the conversation of strength!”
The Professor spreads his arms wide.
Tremendous dark gray mana gathers around Gram in his hand.
Woooooo!
The blade of Gram trembles.
Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle!
Mana sparks erupt all over his body.
Gooooo,
With the sound of wind, a storm of mana sweeps in.
“Teacher, I will slice apart that disgusting Kim Deok-Sung who blocked your view and deceived you, break the Old School Building, and before you and everyone else, declare the end of this false world with my Master!!”
Zing!
Kraaaaaash!
Lightning strikes down from the dark clouds that gather in the sky.
“Shut up! Jude, no, Professor!! I can no longer stand by and watch you spout nonsense with your gaping mouth! Today is the day I erase you, the blemish and disaster created by my own hand, from this world in the name of the White Empress!! For humanity and the world! And for my beloved student!”
Seira, glaring at the Professor, screams.
Flutter.
Her white gown flutters.
Half of the black storm clouds turn pure white.
Black and white.
The rooftop of the Old School Building is perfectly split down the middle, like a black-and-white comic.
Gooooo.
The two EX rank powerhouses stand off, swirling mana threatening to explode at any moment.
The intensely dense mana envelops their bodies.
[Jude, I can’t believe he’s become this strong… ]
The Black Prince murmurs seriously.
I can feel his mana piercing through the mana barrier and armor covering his whole body.
My skin prickles.
The strength feels incomparably greater than that Berserk I faced on the school trip.
“Pointless chatter! There’s no need for further dialogue! Even if you refuse, I will save you! Because it’s the duty of a disciple! Teacher! Right now!”
The Professor plunges Gram into the rooftop.
[Abyss for Savior]
Kwa-woosh-woosh!
With a booming sound that echoes around, the Professor’s decree is engraved onto the world.
An abyss longing for a savior.
This image he conjured, which also appeared in volume 11 of the original work, unfolds upon the rooftop.
The abyss.
True to its name, dark ink bursts from the Gram embedded in the rooftop, quickly turning the entire world black.
The true darkness quickly saturates the entire world in black.
An darkness unfolds before me where not even a step ahead can be seen.
In this darkness where my gift to manipulate all shadows does not work, a faint star twinkles in the sky, nearly buried in shadows.
The moment their manifestation unfolds.
“Grrk······.”
The consumption of magic power spikes drastically.
It feels as if the whole world bears hostility.
An overwhelming pressure crushes my body.
As if submerged in the deep sea, even moving my body feels exhausting.
The depths of despair arise in my mind, craving salvation.
It’s the Professor’s manifestation.
That ability merges his imagination with himself.
Once synchronized with this whole space, he will never die unless he either destroys the world or faces an equally strong manifestation.
The more serious fact is that the landscape before me, this entire world, is an enemy.
And that’s not all.
Of course, the darkness that fills this manifestation can also be manipulated freely for offense and defense.
An overwhelming presence tries to bring me to my knees.
Even in a state of unity, it’s tough to hold on.
[Partner! Hang in there!]
I must endure.
If I hold on just a bit longer, Seira will use her manifestation to assist me, just like in the original story.
[Teacher.]
Unlike before, the Professor’s voice echoes from all directions like a reverberation.
[I will definitely save you. Just watch! The results of my training until now!]
Just as the darkness shakes with the Professor’s words.
“······Do you think I’ll let you do as you please?”
Seira bites her lip.
Flap!
Her white parasol unfurls, cutting through the black darkness.
Patsutsutsutsutsutsu!
A white magical light envelops Seira’s entire body.
[The White World that Pronounces the End]
【World End White】
A spell announcing Seira’s manifestation is inscribed.
Flash!
A white flash of light shines down from the black sky.
Kwah-kwah-kwah!
The black world is sliced to pieces.
A white circle forms around Seira and me.
The immense weight and presence that just pressed down on me vanishes as if washed away.
It’s a scene I’ve seen in the original story.
But experiencing it in reality feels completely different from what I saw on the monitor.
A shiver runs through my entire body.
I can feel the genuine EX-rank power in my skin.
Seira’s long, luscious white hair flutters in all directions.
Her red eyes sparkle like rubies.
Seira bites her red lips.
“I won’t let you have your way!”
With her shout, a translucent female spirit appears behind her.
It’s Amaterasu, the spirit of Amaterasu Ōmikami.
“Amaterasu! Celestial Flash!”
[Understood, Master.]
Swish.
Seira’s umbrella opens.
Before long, a third of the black world is stained with a pure white sky from which flashes of light rain down.
“Celestial Flash!”
As Seira names her skill, a blinding white flash fills my vision.
Kwah-kwah-kwah!!
The white beams of light strike the black world.
With a thunderous boom, the magical shockwave rends the black darkness apart.
Overwhelming firepower.
The magical shockwave penetrates the magic barrier, reaching my skin.
[Truly impressive, Sister······. Even in a sealed state, this is the level of power you can unleash······.]
The Black Prince marvels in my mind.
It feels strange to hear the lines originally spoken by Kusunagi coming from the Black Prince.
Well, I suppose he’s much more likable and heavenly compared to that annoying spirit who treated a stranger like a gigolo.
Rather than the unlikable spirit that turns people gay, the Black Prince is definitely more charming and appealing.
Just as I was thinking that.
Slithering.
Darkness coalesced into the shape of a person and glimmered.
A squinty-eyed handsome man with dark gray hair wearing glasses.
It was the Professor.
As he adjusted his glasses, he started clapping.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.
The sound of applause echoed in the black world.
“Truly, my esteemed teacher! Even an old and sick lion remains a lion, doesn’t it? A skill that doesn’t rust! This Professor is truly in awe of your attack.”
Tap, tap.
The Professor dusted off his coat.
Usually, I should be ambushing him while he rambles like this.
He may look careless, but he has no openings.
I never thought I would experience first-hand that masters in martial arts novels can stand carelessly without any gaps.
Moreover, the area he occupies is outside the effective spatial projection of Seira.
His domain, the black world, was an abyss yearning for a savior.
Even if I tried ambushing him from behind right now, the chances of getting hit back were a solid 100%.
Is that why in the original story, Yuji just stood there and listened when the Professor was going on and on?
Not a chump Light Novel Protagonist’s manner?
And now, I have to listen to the villain’s nonsense again.
My head hurts again.
Since I fell into this crazy Light Novel world, there’s never been a moment without a headache.
Is this some kind of illness?
[Partner. Let’s wait for an opportunity.]
The Black Prince spoke in my head.
Just as the Professor finished his words, Seira pointed at him with her index finger.
Zap!
A flash of lightning struck the Professor’s body mercilessly from the bright sky.
Swish.
His body scattered into darkness and fell apart, only for a new darkness to coalesce beside him and reshape him.
“But it’s useless. My tiny, adorable teacher. That Professor has trained countless times under the sole intent of saving his mentor. Right now, I am clearly a step above you! You cannot defeat me with your current attack.”
Seira laughed at the Professor’s words.
“Yes, perhaps so. But if I use my trump card…”
We’ve come this far.
Now it’s time for the tables to turn.
If Seira activates her Prime mode to erase the Professor’s spatial projection, I just have to strike at the core of the Professor through Fusion and True Name Release.
If I do exactly what Yuji did in the original…
Just as that thought formed in my mind.
“Teacher. If that trump card is Prime mode, then there’s no need to use it. Because…”
Words unexpected from the Professor’s mouth came out.
What?
No need to use it?
Just as I was taken aback.
“I have this.”
The moment the Professor pulled out a strange grenade-like object from his pocket and pressed the button.
Fwoosh!
An ominous dark purple mist filled the world in an instant, quite different from the Professor’s dark gray.
Dark purple, you say?
The moment my eyes widened.
“Cough!”
Seira spat blood from her mouth.
The magic overflowing from her body diminished in an instant.
Seira collapsed.
It was the moment the Professor used a means that deviated from the original story.
