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145th Episode. The Two are XX Cure (2)

Suddenly on the screen that popped up on the platform, the true nature of the Royal Guard was revealed.

They were clerics directly serving the Saint Nebia and had built much reverence and trust as outstanding first-year students.

During joint training for first-year students, they achieved victories and draws against excellent second-year students, gaining significant momentum.

Love letters resembling romantic confessions had even flown to them from upperclassmen, and they seemed to be promising prospects with bright futures.

– So you’ve been deceiving us all along?

– So the skills and grades we’ve seen until now were fake as well?

This revelation plunged the students into profound shock.

The admired Royal Guard was merely humans modified by mana manipulation.

Moreover, the splendid and devout facade hid a nature that could not be called clerical.

From the start, they were clerics in name only. They were not officially affiliated with the sect.

Everything they had shown up to this point was a fabrication, and the reality was that they were nothing but lunatics who engaged in all sorts of vile acts.

– They flaunted their might without achieving anything through their own efforts.

– Acting like angels on the surface. How disgusting.

Voices from the Royal Guard, revealing their true nature, flowed from the screen.

Hearing those sounds, the entire student body could not contain their feelings of betrayal.

– Besides, those guys were behind the Cookie Incident too?

– The Cookie Incident?

– Remember those kids who got sick after eating Princess Mirona’s cookies during the festival?

– So it turns out they were the ones who put something strange in the cookies!

Alongside this, the nefarious actions the Royal Guard carried out to win elections were also exposed.

Now, disgust directed towards them soared to the sky.

However, the Royal Guard themselves seemed unfazed. They merely observed the screen with a nonchalant demeanor.

“Who could have possibly filmed that?”

“It seems it was mostly recorded from Instructor’s personal lab.”

“It looks like someone monitored them with a spirit or a high-level spirit. Such an act wouldn’t be possible without a high-level spirit.”

I desperately wanted to find the one who filmed it and make them pay. As I contemplated this, Lyman twitched his eyebrows and slowly opened his mouth.

“Isn’t it strange…?”

“Yeah?”

“Radon Crawler is not mentioned at all.”

Now that I thought about it, that was odd.

Information about themselves, Instructor Jason, and Saint Nebia was revealed, yet nothing surfaced about that friend who is the successor to Elder Enviel.

He too must have joined the plan, so why was he completely excluded?

It would only be normal for him to have been caught on camera at least once given the numerous instances they had interacted.

“Could it be that Radon Crawler filmed it himself?”

Lavender’s eyes widened as she spoke.

According to the combat department records I borrowed from Jason, Radon was also a spirit contractor.

And a high-level one at that.

Given his tremendous strength and intelligence, it wasn’t impossible for him to have such capabilities.

“If handled skillfully, he could make any spirit do his bidding.”

“So what? Are you saying the elder’s successor has betrayed us?”

“Well… I don’t know that either.”

Even though I said that, Slave still felt uneasy.

It seemed plausible for Radon, who possessed a high-level spirit, but he was undeniably the successor to Elder Enviel.

A boy who inherited the will of the man who saved his life.

There was no way he would betray Doomsday without any warning.

‘Now that I think about it, this guy also said something similar before.’

Slave glanced at Markray, who was standing awkwardly beside him.

The Crawler family had no connection to Elder Enviel, or so they said…

At the time, I had brushed it off as nonsense and hit him, but now it felt oddly credible.

“For now, you guys go ahead. I have something to discuss with this guy.”

“Got it.”

At the command of the leader, Slave, the other three began to move.

They started attacking the students who were insulting them without mercy.

Given their strength from mana manipulation, which rivaled that of a professor, how could any student defeat them?

As long as they surrendered and became their captives, they would at least keep their lives.

“Hey, Markray.”

“….”

Slave remained alone and spoke to him.

He was silent, probably to avoid being a nuisance.

Honestly, I had no idea what Markray was useful for.

“Can’t you hear me? Just answer, you fool.”

“…Huh?”

Markray opened his mouth as if waking from sleep. I felt like punching that tired-looking face right away.

He was the only one who lost to the Royal Guard during the joint training. I wouldn’t even feel sorry if I laid him down and stomped on him.

“You said before that Radon Crawler isn’t the elder’s successor, right?”

“….”

“Can you say it again?”

“…Huh?”

Did he just manage to listen properly? He was utterly useless.

I decided right then to use him as a meat shield once I had his answer.

“You have to lie…”

“What?”

Finally, he began to speak properly.

“I have to prove the lie…”

“What do you mean?”

But all he uttered were incomprehensible words.

So, it seems beating him was the only way to understand him.

“I have to prove the lie.”

“Listen to me. A while back, you…”

“I have to prove the lie quickly!!”

Crack!-

Suddenly, Markray started convulsing. He opened his mouth wide and bit Slave’s neck.

“AAAGH!!”

Markray’s mouth, transformed into that of a beast, turned red, and Slave screamed in agony.

No one knew that Markray’s mind had collapsed due to a curse.

*

“So, that’s what happened.”

We once again brushed off Aisha and hid inside the cave behind the waterfall.

There, Angela explained why she had come here.

Apparently, the Royal Guard attacked the students, and the older girls went to defend them, which lined up with the main story.

However, there was one exception.

“So, you mean that Markray guy bit Slave’s neck?”

Upon reflecting, I’d indeed forgotten about Markray.

He was also a variable I had brought up. I had thought he would align unfavorably with the Royal Guard, but instead, he had brought something fortunate.

‘What’s going on?’

But why, after all, did he carry out such a team kill?

“Why did that happen?”

“I don’t know. He suddenly lost his sanity and started biting his allies. I did hear him mumbling something about having to prove a lie…”

“Prove a lie?”

Something felt off. The phrase “lie” reminded me of the curse hanging over my family.

Moreover, Markray was biologically related to me.

Since our families were from the same root, I was also curious whether he had escaped the curse.

‘Could it be that damned curse has also ensnared him?’

Even if that were true, it would not explain Markray’s team killing behavior.

Perhaps there were hidden facts about the curse that I was unaware of.

There were so many things I wanted to inquire about, but there was no harm in saving them for later.

“What about Slave?”

“As soon as he got bitten, he ran away. It seems he’s been bitten in a pretty serious place, so it might be tough for him to fight.”

In the main story, Angela faced Slave alongside Crona and Kent.

However, since Slave was in that condition now, it seemed there was no need for a confrontation.

Thanks to that, we were able to reach this place.

“How did you know to come here?”

“I could hear the explosion sounds getting stronger earlier. When I sensed the direction of the noise, I caught the scent of Nebia.”

It seemed that saints were drawn to one another. Once you figured out the direction, it would be easy to find each other.

“But why is Radon Brother with Nebia?”

It was only natural to be curious.

Given the current situation, Angela and Nebia were enemies.

Thanks to the screen that Lyman had projected, Nebia, if not the Royal Guard, would surely have gained a bad image.

No matter how much she had resigned, she couldn’t be trusted careless.

So it would naturally seem odd for her to be around Nebia.

“I’ll explain that later. After we survive that crow.”

“By the way, what is that crow? The aura of the curse was no joke.”

“That one is a spirit aligned with them. It’s unbelievably powerful.”

I could explain a lot about that creature.

Its name was Aisha, an artificial spirit created in Doomsday.

Its targets were Nebia and me. Roughly that much?

Angela, though she didn’t fully understand, nodded as if it was better to hear than not at all.

“Got it. It’s still a bit complicated, but we just need to take it down, right?”

“Exactly. As a spirit, it shouldn’t be difficult for your sacred magic to take it down.”

It couldn’t be any more fortunate than this.

Aisha was a spirit strong enough to threaten even the department head-level powers.

In the main story, we barely managed to defeat it using sacred magic.

Currently, I couldn’t win with my own power, but I had not one but two saints right beside me.

With this fantastic combination that would never be seen in the main story, we had a fair chance of victory.

“Before that, can I ask one thing?”

As hope began to emerge, Nebia spoke with a weary voice.

“Why did you help me?”

The one she asked was Angela.

I was honestly surprised when she lent her power to the sonic barrier a moment ago.

“Weren’t we supposed to be enemies? You said someone like me could never sit on the president’s seat.”

When had she been saying such intimidating things, and now she appeared out of nowhere to help me. What did it mean?

Hadn’t we been enemies all along?

“You’re right; we are enemies. It was disgusting enough already, but now with the true nature of the Royal Guard under your command, it’s become even more revolting.”

Then wouldn’t she have been even more inclined not to help?

Angela continued.

Since when had we dropped the honorifics?

In the main story, when they were together, they spoke in this manner.

“So, I followed you. The sight of you wearing that rabbit mask was just too out of place.”

“What…?”

Nebia was astonished, her face turning red.

She had been having too much fun to notice someone was following her.

Whenever this man was near, it always seemed to happen.

“Who recommended that outfit to you?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Was it Radon Brother, by any chance?”

I immediately answered that it wasn’t.

It would be neither my style nor anyone else’s choice.

“Doing kicks in that tacky outfit in front of the Royal Guard was quite impressive.”

Nebia’s face hardened again.

Since Angela witnessed that, she must have seen what happened there.

When the blood parasite was discovered in Princess Mirona’s cookies, no one knew who the rabbit mask was that revealed the Royal Guard as the culprits.

Except for me and Angela, who trailed her.

“Seems you had already given up on the election back then.”

“….”

At that time, Slave’s schemes to politically corner Princess Mirona.

If Nebia had been the villain she was thought to be, she wouldn’t have kicked anyone.

Had that scheme succeeded, they would have brought down the princess and gained tremendous support.

Yet knowing all this, Nebia thwarted the Royal Guard.

Kicking away the ladder she herself climbed.

It was something Nebia would never do, and that left Angela startled.

If she hadn’t given up on the election, it wouldn’t make sense.

“I’m not going to ask why you did that suddenly. It’s obvious that asking now will just drag the conversation out.”

“….”

“But right now, I think you might be okay.”

From that moment, my feelings towards Nebia began to change.

Maybe I could believe there was a possibility she could live honestly as a saint like myself.

So Angela stood up and extended her hand.

“I’m not saying let’s make up yet. I just wanted to confirm your sincerity.”

Nebia couldn’t even tell what her own sincerity was.

The beast saint, whom she had envied so much, was now reaching out to her.

Being born from a superior lineage and being more recognized than herself, feelings of inferiority were inevitable.

“Ha, what a fox you are…”

I wanted to drag her down. Sometimes, feelings flared up, wanting to cage that fox within fences.

Even Angela had caught onto these feelings and thus was hostile.

Indeed, it was too early to resolve it through reconciliation.

Things were so tangled that I could have threatened her life.

Now, the chances of acceptance after stating remorse were zero.

But—

She couldn’t bring herself to strike that hand.

“I’ll ask just one thing. What do I look like now?”

Normally, she would have looked like trash in her eyes. It was a question asked because Angela had grasped Nebia’s true nature.

Nebia took that hand, stood up, and replied.

“I’m not expecting you to see me as a person, are you?”

“….”

“And I’m not a mere beast either. I’m still your rival.”

The ones who held hands gazed into each other’s eyes and smiled contentedly.

Though neither had ever acknowledged the other before, this was the first time they genuinely held hands with sincerity.

For the first time in history… two saints became one in heart.

Boom!-

At that moment, there was a loud noise, and the cave shook. It felt like the break time was over, and the cave was about to collapse.

Indeed, they could no longer hide from Aisha.

Yet, within the cave, they felt no fear.

Shahh—

The trust built between the two saints, who first collaborated, was bright enough to pierce the darkness.

They stepped out, cutting through the waterfall blocking the entrance.

No matter what danger awaited them outside, they felt no fear.

*

Aisha watched the waterfall while fluttering her feathers.

At last, the two saints emerged from the waterfall cave.

Radon Crawler still hadn’t come out, but since Saint Nebia was also a target, Aisha charged right in.

Shwoosh!—

She pierced Nebia’s abdomen with her sharp beak. The speed was incredible; she dashed straight through, half-slicing her in the process.

– What was that?

There was no blood on her beak. Moreover, Nebia’s corpse, which should have been halved, was nowhere to be found.

– What did I just see?

And in the cave, there was no one else.

Everything she had just witnessed vanished like an illusion.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, a magic circle suddenly appeared on the cave floor.

Realizing it was sacred magic, Aisha attempted to flutter her wings, but there was no escaping now.

– What is this!

The cave was ensnared with webs. Upon closer inspection, they were fine threads used by fishermen.

Aisha tried to shake the threads tangled in her wings but it was too late.

Brilliant light filled the cave.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.

 

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