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172. Demon King vs Apostle of Justice (1)

I had no choice but to think I was dead.

When one thinks of the words “endlessly sprawling cliff,” the first thing that comes to mind is a precipice, and a cliff signifies death; everyone would think that way.

If there were at least a river flowing instead of just the ground below, there would be some chance of survival.

However, below lay not the ground nor a river, but just the “death” that lurked in the darkness itself.

Squish, squish—

It was my first time experiencing the sensation of falling down a cliff. It felt like my memories, long forgotten, were flashing through my mind as I surrendered to gravity.

There had been many crises in my life, but this was a first. I could truly grasp that I was on the brink of death.

Thud, thud—

In that moment, I found myself having absurd thoughts.

What if there was a hidden cave within the cliff, harboring some amazing opportunity for me?

Would my Master be there, or perhaps some elixir, or a secret manual…

Why was I having such random thoughts?

Could it be that those novels I read in the past still linger in my mind?

Squish, squish—

“I must be crazy. What nonsense….”

I was possessed by a creative work, yet thinking about hidden opportunities at the cliff below felt rather pointless.

To be honest, I was filled with resentment.

Thud, thud—

“By the way… it really stings like hell.”

The truth was, I was not dead yet.

Just before I plummeted off the cliff, black feathers appeared to cushion my fall.

In that moment, I took out the “Tears of the Eternal” and sprinkled it over the stab wound in my chest and the one in my thigh, feeling a sharp sting.

Fortunately, the bleeding stopped, but further recovery seemed like it would take time.

Thanks to Aisha, who had materialized partially, I could still survive, but instead, horrifying things were visible below.

“What the hell is that grotesque thing?”

“To put it simply, you could call it death itself.”

What I was seeing was the edge of the cliff.

However, instead of a ground, there were rotting hands writhing.

Those things seemed as if they had been torn from a zombie, rising from below the cliff and grotesquely awkwardly pointing and flailing their wrists.

“It seems they really like you. They’re openly inviting you over.”

“Tell them to stop the damn mess.”

“I can’t communicate with those things.”

Driven by resentment, they were trying to drag the living into the netherworld.

It felt like I was witnessing the spirits of a horror fantasy film, or perhaps the grim hand of hell.

Somehow, it felt like those hands were getting closer and closer.

I wanted to push Aisha upward immediately, but I couldn’t move any further.

“Just great.”

Even the fishing line connected to Luthis’s wrist had somehow snapped.

If he had the power of Rozaria in his hands, he could have easily cut Leviathan’s fishing line.

What a mess. Given that the user of that holy sword was manipulating spirits with his will, he definitely needed to be eliminated.

But I was too weak to climb up, and I had no choice but to wait to be pulled down.

Even though the bleeding had stopped, my thigh made climbing the cliff a struggle.

“Are you really going to give up?”

At that moment, someone whispered in my mind. It shared the same energy as Muto, but the voice was different.

It was the voice of a young girl, the spirit I had contracted with—Aisha.

“Aisha? You were quiet compared to Muto, and now you choose to speak?”

“In a situation like this, shouldn’t I at least say something?”

She was right, and I lost my words. It would indeed feel quite disappointing to remain silent in a life-threatening situation.

“Radon Crawler, you are far too weak right now. If you were a more accomplished spirit magician, you could have used my wings to escape this cliff.”

“…”

“This below is the boundary between life and death. If you’re caught by those hands even once, your consciousness will vanish into the valley of death.”

I felt a chilling aura of death looming among those grotesque hands.

I sensed the desperate attachment of the Spirit King, who had lost his daughter and become a reckless fool.

That intense grudge summoned the door to that post-mortem world.

“This is actually an opportunity. If you go there, you could enhance your spirit power.”

————=

<Advanced Class Quest: Spirit Magician>

[Clear Conditions]

– Achieve a spirit power gauge of 80 or higher (Achieved!)

– Contract with two or more spirits (Achieved!)

– It must take place at the boundary between life and death during promotion

– Never lose your sanity.

————=

Yes, in fact, I had never forgotten.

From the moment I came to this domain, the surrounding people frequently mentioned that this was not the living world, but rather a boundary with the netherworld.

That’s why the advanced class quest spontaneously came to mind, but I was puzzled by the fact that not all clear conditions had been fulfilled.

The two conditions that were not “achieved.” They say this domain is the boundary, but where exactly is that?

Now, I was starting to figure that out.

“Certainly, it’s either live or die.”

“Good luck.”

The feathers that had been supporting me disappeared.

Again, gravity took control of my body, leading me towards the hands of hell.

As if one of those hands had decided to take the chance, I felt a change occur.

My consciousness suddenly swayed, and the strength of my body faded, as if I was experiencing a nightmare.

————=

[Clear Conditions]

– Achieve a spirit power gauge of 80 or higher (Achieved!)

– Contract with two or more spirits (Achieved!)

– It must take place at the boundary between life and death during promotion (Achieved!)

– Never lose your sanity. (In Progress…)

————=

As my sanity had yet to vanish, there was a change in the visible window.

Just by getting caught by those hands, I had achieved one condition, and the last remaining condition was now in progress.

I had been curious as to why I was losing my sanity, and I quickly learned the reason.

[The erosion of dead thoughts will continue for the next 30 minutes.]

[If you can endure until then, your promotion will be complete.]

And as my vision began to blur, countless hands started to engulf me, pulling me towards hell.

30 minutes.

And that’s when the countdown began.

To counter that thought trying to erase my persona as a “person.”

“…!”

Something from within my pocket unleashed a primal instinct that surged explosively.

*

“The captain is alive!”

“Let’s take care of the criminals with this momentum!”

The morale of the soldiers surged explosively as they saw Luthis crawling up from the cliff.

Even though they were participating in the act of killing a young student, they didn’t hesitate at all.

Rather, they were soldiers who agreed with Luthis’s ideology, so their lines remained unshaken.

“It’s good to see you’re safe, Captain.”

“Yeah, I almost got swallowed by those hands below.”

If the fishing line snared by the hands, it was cut by Rozaria’s blade. Then, I planted the sword in the cliff and climbed up to this point.

He had been temporarily knocked down, causing the spirits to halt for a while. During that time, they had sustained a significant reduction in numbers due to the enemy’s counterattack.

“Buy me just 5 minutes until I can focus on Rozaria again.”

“Yes!”

Luthis equipped the weapons he had dropped moments ago and sat down to focus.

As he did, the chaos around him became visible, especially the scene of senior students fighting to protect the younger students caught his eye.

It was a moment that could evoke a sense of camaraderie even among the villains. However, Luthis was not a being capable of such natural thought.

“How dare they overshadow the young students and seize glory for themselves! How can they be so cruel! I can’t trust the society of villains!”

His thoughts were entirely self-focused.

But there would be no changing that.

Only the single thought he had concluded was the truth, free of any blame.

Even if that thought included sacrificing others.

“But why aren’t the snipers firing?”

The sniper who had pierced the thigh of the brown-haired student should have been positioned above Triton’s head.

In a situation like this, why wasn’t a single shot being fired? Furthermore, one student seemed to be missing.

Meanwhile, on top of Triton’s head, there were knights lying down, holding crossbows.

They smiled while aiming for Trisha’s head, but could not fire.

Wham!—

“Screaaam!!!”

Suddenly, a fist flew out of nowhere, causing the sniper to tumble down beneath Triton’s head.

That fist belonged to none other than Baimon, who seemed like he was going to vanish at any moment. He had delivered a blow with his steel arm made from alchemy.

“Don’t hide just because you’re in the background.”

Baimon had figured out the sniper’s route and moved towards their position.

With Heidern’s assistance, he was able to teleport up to Triton’s head and identified the sniper positioned there.

“But how do I get down from here?”

However, he hadn’t thought about what to do next.

“5 minutes have passed.”

The moment Luthis stood up again, the spirits began to mobilize.

Given that they were soldiers, they could hold their ground to some extent, but trouble would arise if higher-class spirits joined the fray.

Even Triton moving with that enormous bulk caused tremors, rendering them helpless.

“Criminals! Face judgment!”

Luthis, raising his sword, led the spirits.

As the power difference opened up overwhelmingly again, Tariel could barely conceal her despair.

Regardless of everything else, even by uniting forces with Heidern, there was no guarantee of victory against that colossal spirit.

The shadow of that gigantic hand loomed over Tariel’s head as it began to descend.

“Stop!! Aren’t we important to you?!”

As Triton’s hand momentarily paused, a gust of wind swept through.

In response to the intimidating presence befitting its size, Heidern stepped forward with his entire body.

Unexpectedly, Triton’s crushing blow came to a halt.

In fact, it wasn’t unexpected at all… the order of the knightly order was to “capture” the prisoners alive.

“Especially if I die, there will be trouble!”

“Hmm… Then here’s what we’ll do!”

Triton’s green pupils flickered as vines began to grow around them.

The living vines twisted like serpents, coiling around Heidern’s body and dragging him away.

Other monsters were also similarly ensnared in vines and safely transported out of the scene.

“Ah… They’re too tight!”

“Triton is directly under Shaikar. No matter how much of a sorcerer you are, you won’t be able to break free from those bindings.”

Even in an unprotected state, Heidern unleashed various magic circles.

Even though he could execute intense spells without using his hands, it was futile to break the vines imbued with Triton’s power.

Boooom—

As the enormous palm shot again, Tariel grasped her spear.

She gritted her teeth against the pain from the arrow that struck her shoulder, trying to confront it, but her vision was engulfed in darkness.

To catch that, the Four Saints of the Past would have had to assemble.

But what could a man who was already aging and inferior do?

Even if she shouted for her friends, they wouldn’t appear. They had ceased to exist in this world the moment they were killed by the Demon King.

At that time, feeling cowardly for having survived alone, Tariel felt guilt.

Having barely survived with her friends’ help, she couldn’t do anything here.

Creeeak—

As I felt the weight of powerlessness, the shadow of a hand loomed over me.

In the darkness where light was blocked, I closed my eyes, thinking I might be crushed like this.

But…

Ka-boom!—

Suddenly, the hand exploded.

From the palm, which had been as large as a village, an explosion occurred, scattering fragments everywhere.

Light returned once more.

But who could have done that?

“That’s enough now. You all fought well.”

Regardless of allies or enemies, everyone stopped fighting at this unexpected turn of events.

The spirits did the same, and even Luthis, who always bore a heroic expression, looked bewildered.

“Everyone, back away.”

Suddenly, I felt light as if my body was floating.

Not just Tariel, but all mercenaries, academy students, and even Baimon on top of Triton were all levitating.

They all flew to a safe place where the prisoners were bound. Was there really a magician capable of moving so many people with telekinesis?

“I’ll take care of everything from here.”

An young magician appeared.

Though her stature resembled that of a little child, she was just one year younger than the mature Trisha.

Mary Ryudshiel. Her pink hair evoked the scent of a peach blossom, but beneath it sprouted something else.

Horns.

And wings sprouted from her back.

The sharp horns and devil-like wings symbolized the leader of the demon race.

That fact was something individuals like Tariel or Heidern realized immediately.

Especially for Tariel, it was a visage he had seen 30 years ago.

Identical to the demon that had mercilessly taken the lives of his comrades.

As the image of his past nightmare flooded back, the girl looked towards this side.

“…!”

The moment our eyes met, the world suddenly went dark.

So did everyone else except Tariel.

However, the look of the girl, with tears brimming in her eyes and an uncomfortable expression, was something I couldn’t forget even as my consciousness faded.

Survival as the Academy Scammer.

 

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