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It happened in an instant.

The concentrated energy of the Crucible pierced through Max’s neck.

But in that brief moment, Max was met with an irreversible fate.

All that he had suffered to build up crumbled in an instant.

“…Huh?”

At first, he couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

He was definitely in the middle of transformation into a demon, and yet, suddenly his vision was flipping around, and he found himself sprawled on the floor.

Max hurriedly tried to get up.

But all that happened was his expression crumpling, feeling no sensation of strength coursing through him.

Eventually, enraged, he began to scream.

“Shit! Wh-what the hell! Why can’t I feel anything!!!”

Unaware that his head was gone, Max was letting out a scream that was not quite a scream.

At that moment, he heard footsteps approaching him.

It was the characteristic mechanical sound that occurred when Edgar’s suit moved.

Feeling terrified, Max started to scream like mad.

“E-Edgar Fix!!! Wh-what have you done! What have you done, you bastard!!!”

【Wow, what a racket.】

Edgar, however, lifted Max by his hair with an indifferent attitude.

The gaze that had been glued to the ground was raised to Edgar’s height, making the situation in the hidden room clear.

“…Huh?”

Then Max could clearly see it.

His own body sprawled across the floor.

Despair began to taint Max’s face.

【It’s a hassle to end demonization. Especially above the Archbishop level, it’s quite bothersome because that’s a complete demon’s body.】

Edgar said, looking at Max’s fallen body.

Even though it was down, it was still in the process of demonization, growing bigger.

【Look. Even with its head cut off, it’s still wriggling so healthily. If it completes demonization, it’ll probably start thrashing about until it runs out of energy. It lost the mental capacity to control its power.】

Edgar said as he looked at Max, who he was holding in his hands.

Then, he flicked his forehead and added:

– *Flick!*

“Ugh!”

【You said you would show your true power earlier, right? Yeah, let’s enjoy the show together. The spectacle of your body rampaging.】

With that, Edgar walked towards the wall.

He then placed Max’s face against the wall’s center and shot a web shooter to pin his face there.

Edgar smiled cheerfully.

【What a great motivation. I’ve reserved the best seat for this.】

“Y-you bastard…! If I just get my body back, you will—!”

– *Flick!*

“Ugh!”

【Then enjoy the show until the moment you die. I’ll be watching from upstairs.】

With that, Edgar went upstairs.

Then he pulled a chair from his inventory, set it up, and sat in a place with a good view.

Of course, he also had leftover popcorn in his hand.

– *Suuuh…*

And just in time.

Max’s body, having completed demonization, rose up.

It began to crush every living thing around it.

The demon body, driven solely by a desire for destruction, started rampaging.

– *Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!*

The first thing the headless Max’s body smashed was the followers sprawled around.

They had been engaged in cannibalism alongside Max, craving a demon’s body, and now they were being ground into mush.

Organs were squished, blood splattered everywhere, and bones were shattered.

– *Clap clap clap clap clap clap*

At that moment, applause could be heard.

Ed, munching on popcorn, was clapping mockingly at Max’s face pinned to the wall.

“Wow~ that’s amazing, huh? To think you were hiding such power until now. You must’ve worked seriously hard to reach that level, right? I acknowledge it.”

Ed said as he threw another piece of popcorn in his mouth.

The furious Max let out another loud shout.

“You bastard! Get down here you piece of shit! Right this second you—!”

– *Boom!*

But at that moment, responding to Max’s shouting, his own body started approaching him.

The body, which had been crushing the dead followers, began to move towards Max.

Terrified, Max quickly shut his mouth and silently stared at his body.

“…”

As the noise subsided, Max’s body paused mid-step.

Then his body returned to where the corpses were scattered and began to crush the corpses again.

Watching this scene, Ed chuckled and said to Max.

“Wow~ Max. You’ve really done well to gain the power of a demon, haven’t you? Thanks to that, even after losing your head, you can enjoy such a rare sight.”

“Y-you bastard…”

“Then take care. This is your last gift.”

Saying that, Ed threw a small device towards where Max was.

Soon, from the dropped device, a song started to play.

[Come closer. Come to me, babe~ Come to me. My lady~♬]

– *Boom!*

And Max’s body, which was crushing the dead followers, began to respond.

It started moving toward the sound of the music.

[Just a little more toward my side~ Don’t say a word~ Look at me. Look at me, babe~♬ I’m waiting just for you, My lady~♬]

“Shit… what the hell… this is ridiculous…”

– *Boom!*

As the upbeat song continued to play.

Max’s headless body stood right in front of Max.

Max’s expression began to fill with terror.

The small device that Ed had thrown was still playing the song.

[Tonight! Tonight I want you~♬]

– *Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!*

As soon as the song’s chorus ended, Max’s body began to punch Max’s face.

As soon as Ed confirmed this sight, he turned away.

***

“…So that’s what happened.”

Four hours later.

Elena, who arrived at the Zigmund territory to support Ed, nodded.

Having heard the whole explanation from Ed, she understood the tragedy of the hidden room.

“Surely that sword seems special. To simply slice through skin of that level.”

However, Elena showed more interest in Ed’s Crucible than the tragedy of the hidden room.

Understandably, as the neck that Ed had severed boasted an immense hardness.

It was nearly equivalent to that of a Minotaur King.

“It’s a weapon specialized for demons. If it were another monster, I wouldn’t have been able to cut it. The ‘hell energy’ contained in this sword is fatal only to demons.”

Ed said that and turned off the Crucible.

As the demonic energy faded, only the sword’s hilt remained.

Elena nodded in response.

“Yeah. It’s reassuring that you’ve prepared such a weapon. Impressive—.”

But Elena trailed off as she was about to praise him for being ‘impressive.’

Having learned that she and Ed had been comrades in a distant past, it felt strange to pat him on the head and praise him.

Ed smiled slyly and said.

“You can do it anyway. After all, I don’t remember anything, so this relationship is more comfortable for me.”

“…Is that alright?”

“Yes. In fact, this feels even more comfortable. You’ve always been my professor throughout those countless cycles.”

Elena nodded at Ed’s words.

Afterward, a brief awkward silence hung in the air.

During such times, it was always Elena who broke the silence first.

“But… I have a question.”

“…? What is it?”

“You said you’ve reincarnated dozens or hundreds of times. In all those cycles, were you and I only professor and student?”

“…”

Ed briefly recalled his previous memories.

In the early days of the game. No, in the early days of his reincarnation, Elena had been his lover.

A lover so passionate and affectionate that they would meet secretly all around the Academy.

“Well… that might be the case?”

However, Ed hid that fact.

Sharing the old relationship now would likely make things awkward.

Moreover, Elena was already a fully accomplished heroine, so she didn’t need his help.

Emotionally and otherwise, she was someone who could become a powerful ally even without his assistance.

“…I see.”

In response, Elena smiled bittersweetly and nodded.

She seemed to want to say something else, but she soon let it slide with a smile and shifted the topic.

“By the way, there’s new information. According to what you said, it seems the Demon Church has already infiltrated all over the Empire.”

Elena said as she took out a map and unfolded it.

It was a map highlighted with noble families suspected of being connected to the Demon Church within the Empire’s territory.

About 1/4 of the area was marked as potential Demon Church areas.

“As you said, I investigated the nobles who have recently begun to monitor you. Half of them are definitely linked to the Demon Church.”

Elena pointed to the nobles that she had filled in with a deep color.

They were the Balzac, Heirdan, and Count Kyla families.

“…Those bastards. They are the ones insisting that all my construction robots should be scrapped.”

And the Balzac, Heirdan, and Count Kyla families were the ones insisting that Ed’s territory development should be curtailed.

With the logic that commoners should not be allowed to use the ‘benefits of mana’ reserved for nobles alone.

“It won’t matter how much they shout. You’re already the real power in the Empire.”

However, their voices were not carrying much weight.

With technologies crucial to the Empire like air conditioning, mosquito nets, Dreadnoughts, etc., Ed owned everything.

Moreover, with the invention of tractors and mining machines, he had turned the Empire into the largest mining, agricultural, and fishery production area.

“Above all, the royal family is on your side.”

And Ed was providing 20% of all those economic benefits to the royal family.

Traveling through various nations with the Dreadnought, he executed the tactic of “Hey, I’m here, open the door, I’ve got some good stuff to show you,” paving the way in the market.

Given the immense economic benefits Ed brought, the royal family treasured him dearly.

He had practically the influence of a Grand Duke or beyond.

“Let’s just keep an eye on things for now. Until they make a mistake. Once we catch them red-handed, we can send them off politically.”

However, Ed did not indiscriminately eliminate the nobles involved with the Demon Church.

If he caused a ruckus, it was obvious those insects would crawl back into the shadows.

Thus, Ed was keeping the existence of the Demon Church a secret from the outside.

If the Empire were to crack down on the Demon Church officially, they would be more cautious, and that would deny him the justification to strike them.

“Do you have any other news?”

Deciding to observe them a bit longer, Ed asked Elena for more news.

Elena then made a contemplative expression for a moment before cautiously broaching the next subject.

“Um… This is a vague matter, but… do you know of ‘Craybell’?”

“…”

Craybell.

As soon as Ed heard the name, he stared blankly at Elena.

Craybell was not a revolutionary group dreaming of communist ideals in this world?

“Why Craybell?”

However, it seemed too early for them to show up.

Wasn’t this the time for them to be securing funds by running an ‘underground market’?

“There’s a sense of impending war in the eastern kingdom of ‘Franche.’ There are increasing numbers of commoners claiming that to regain the rights of oppressed humans, they must kill the king and nobles and establish a fair state. The organization backing them is ‘Craybell.’”

The Craybell Revolutionaries.

A revolutionary group advocating for universal equality, rather similar in spirit to the Donghak Peasant Movement.

However, the Craybell Revolutionaries were not a group that would tarnish themselves by aligning with the Demon Church.

Because as an organization with conviction, they value ideals more than personal desires.

“But their timing is way too early.”

But the ‘great revolution’ to overthrow the monarchy of the ‘Franche’ kingdom would not occur for another four years.

The idea of it happening now seemed far too premature.

It looked like the intervention of an outside force was at play.

“I’ll have to look into Craybell myself. They aren’t an organization that can be easily monitored just by assigning someone to keep watch.”

“…Right.”

So, Ed decided to investigate them personally.

He couldn’t afford to let them go as they could potentially become a powerful ally in the distant future.

***

“You need to establish the department, Professor.”

Three days later, in Ed’s professor’s office.

Ed was currently looking at the 17 club members lined up in front of him, rubbing his forehead.

It was the club members led by David and Anthony.

“…So you want me to establish a Magic Engineering department?”

“Yes.”

And the reason the club members had gathered was straightforward.

They were requesting Ed to become the head professor and establish the Magic Engineering department.

After all, that was the only way they could survive.

“Do you see the top of our heads? Look. It’s a testament to your work.”

First, they bowed at a 90-degree angle to stimulate Ed’s sense of guilt, showing off their shining bald heads.

“Ah!”

Ed, suddenly blinded, winced with a pained expression.

After firing off some balding beams, they straightened up and spoke to Ed.

“Thanks to you, we’ve lost our hair. Furthermore, our grades have plummeted to rock bottom. We received academic warnings! If we finish this year with these grades, we’ll be expelled for ruining the Academy’s honor!”

Ed nodded at their heartfelt pleas.

It was indeed the case that their grades had nosedived due to being forced to study intensely for just three hours of sleep.

“You’re the one who made this happen. You made us abandon our hair, personality, and grades, opening our eyes to the joys of mechanical engineering and magic engineering. We can’t survive with minds and bodies like this. Please let us work under you.”

Having studied mechanical engineering and physics, they had ultimately lost their minds.

Ed kept nodding and sighing.

It truly seemed as though no one else would take them in but him.

“Are you serious? Are you really saying you want to be formally mine?”

However, Ed asked one last time to verify their sincerity.

If he accepted them and took them under his wing, they would be locked up in a room day and night doing nothing but research.

“Anyway, if it’s not this path, we’re useless.”

However, the completely eccentric ones had decided to entrust their minds and bodies to Ed.

They had formally decided to become his slaves.

“Okay. I’ll accept you as students of the Magic Engineering department. Let’s make it through together until you become graduate students.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

“Right, get out.”

With a respectful bow, the club members exited the room.

Regardless, Ed focused on his work, glancing through documents.

At least he did so until their footsteps faded down the hallway.

“Hahaha…”

Then, as their voices grew distant, Ed began to laugh.

He was shaking with sinister laughter.

“Muhuhuh… Hehehe…”

While chuckling, his shoulders began to shake with low laughter.

At that moment, the footsteps of the club members could no longer be heard in the hallway.

Ed then released the breath he had been holding, breaking into uncontrollable laughter.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha—!”

A booming, resounding burst of laughter echoed through the office.

 

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