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217th Chapter: The Art of Incitement (1)

Given the situation, some faculty members and the guards were hastily evacuating the citizens.

The only safe place to protect them was within the Academy.

The magic stones operating in Dantia Pavilion generated barriers to shield the students from intruders.

Normally, it’s used to confuse intruders’ perceptions, but with broader applications, it can also serve as a wall to block attacks.

As they maintained that state, they began ushering the citizens inside.

Crrr…

The roar of an unidentified monster echoed throughout the village.

Those well-versed in such creatures felt a chill upon hearing that sound.

Only a dragon could make such a noise.

It seemed high-ranking officials outside were facing those creatures.

– The Empire’s finest martial organization, the Swordsmanship Society.

– The Chain Silver Family’s Knights.

– The magic unit from the Empire’s top magic academy, the White Magic Tower.

– The mercenary group of the Delaware Upper House.

– A subjugation team led by Principal Kaiten.

– The paladin order of the Holy Cross Sect.

– The Royal Knights.

Each listed group consisted of heavyweights matching national power.

If they joined forces, even an invasion by dragons and outside forces could be easily withstood.

Hence, even with such danger looming, there weren’t many citizens trembling in fear.

However, they were unaware.

The fact that the supreme commander of the Royal Knights, the Emperor, had gone missing somewhere.

*

“This is really strange. Things have gone awry beyond belief.”

Hiding somewhere, the Emperor was walking through a dark corridor.

A figure as precious as he had not a single guard with him while traversing his own territory.

He had snuck away during the chaos.

He bore no royal obligation to lead the citizens.

“The plan must have been perfect.”

So far, he had been using the image of the Sage Monarch to stage a peace show while approaching various races.

He had even increased his numbers by meddling with the forces opposing the Great Sage outside the borders, thoroughly preparing for everything.

Execution of the plan was Day 5 of Aligieri. Right now.

He had also taken the liberty of tarnishing the Academy’s reputation with the help of Elder Enviel on the side.

“The Nine-Tailed Fox Incident and the Mosria Incident weren’t enough.”

He aimed to completely topple Aligieri and monopolize the archives left by Dantia along with the remains of the Thousand-Year Fox.

Under normal circumstances, achieving that would require openly wielding weapons, but the Academy had unexpectedly flourished.

“What on earth happened in 300 years?”

For the Emperor to demolish a landmark of the Empire like Aligieri was absurd.

Immediately, a rebellion would arise, and it would be obvious that he would be the first to fall.

Annoying as it was, he had no choice but to spend a long time meticulously planning.

Just like the people’s trial he orchestrated to bring down Dantia 300 years ago.

‘But how can I topple Aligieri’s towering reputation that reaches the sky?’

That was the crux.

Even launching internal plots would take ages to bring it down.

Yet, he discovered a sharp move.

Upon checking history, records showed that Dantia had teamed up with the Evil God.

Moreover, he realized that the forces that were once harmed by her 300 years ago still held sway.

‘Although my name isn’t in that history…’

Anyway, years had passed since he had possessed the Emperor’s body.

During that time, he had succeeded in persuading those forces and had even prepared a possible Plan B.

But something crucial was still missing.

A justification to incite a witch hunt against Aligieri.

It was too insufficient to rely on the fact that she had allied with the Evil God in history.

After all, even the simplest fools knew of that fact.

An element to exacerbate that point was needed.

‘But it doesn’t seem that the heavens have completely forsaken me.’

He once had the body of the Demon King.

Thus, he could discern who the current host of the Demon King was.

That being was always a subject of fear.

This was true when he himself had been Demon King and even afterwards, the Empire had faced great crises from subsequent Demon Kings.

And the Demon King awakened during the Demon Beast War was beyond imagination.

‘Just hearing the word “Demon King” made everyone convulse.’

Without the efforts of the Emperor Kamain, the body he possessed, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the Empire would have already fallen.

Thus, the Emperor had no choice but to pay close attention to the circumstances surrounding the Demon King.

To eradicate the roots of that Demon King, it was feasible to wipe out at least one magic academy.

‘Mary Ryudshiel. Coincidentally, that little brat entered Aligieri as a first-year student.’

However, there were also weaknesses here.

It would be absurd to include the entire group just because the Demon King wore a school uniform.

No matter how much the citizens feared the Demon King, they surely wouldn’t be completely foolish.

It’s extremely rare for someone to think all members of an organization must be purged just because one criminal emerged from it.

‘Although there are exceptions. The captain, Luthis.’

Ultimately, unless concrete evidence was obtained, it would be impossible to push through and flatten them.

Even gathering people like Luthis would not provide enough firepower.

So how would he fabricate evidence?

‘Heh heh. I’ve already prepared it.’

Elder Enviel had a loyal disciple named Heidern.

Heidern, upon becoming the vice-principal of this Academy, had been responsible for overseeing Mary Ryudshiel.

He was even the man who knew that Mary Ryudshiel was the host of the Demon King through a shared connection with the White Magic Tower.

Upon his appointment as vice-principal, he thoroughly researched Mary’s Demon King’s powers.

Though his primary focus would be on study to control, he would have also pursued research into causing a rampage under Enviel’s orders.

The reasoning was that understanding the principles of a rampage was essential to finding the key to controlling it.

Yes. That research data was the very evidence.

‘Without a doubt, there should be a secret chamber somewhere in this corridor where that wicked research was conducted.’

The Emperor was wandering through the underground passage to find it.

Under normal circumstances, he would have led soldiers for a seizure, but no justifiable reason had been established.

At that moment, the failure to assassinate the head of the Yellow Tower was a significant cause.

If suspicions regarding his death pointed toward Aligieri, the Emperor could carry out a seizure under the pretext of calming things down.

‘But the damned head of the Chain Silver family…!’

In the end, no one died, and due to the intervention of two saints, even political maneuvering failed.

Even if he were to commit suicide here and now, it would be interpreted as having fallen victim to an interspecies attack.

At this point, blaming Aligieri for the invasion was impossible.

‘Those cursed Beastmen! I told them to wait!’

At this point, he had no choice but to make movements himself.

It was likely that allies outside were attacking the village in a bid to provoke Mary Ryudshiel.

Whether it would serve as a provocation or not was uncertain, but at the very least, it could attract attention.

Thanks to that, he could infiltrate like this.

“It should be around here. I’m almost there.”

Light began to gradually appear in the dim corridor.

Upon reaching beyond it, however, there was only a white chamber, bare as a blank sheet of paper.

Yet, this was definitely the place.

It was designed to avoid detection by the principal and other faculty members.

Since it was a space secretly created by Enviel, uncovering its true nature wouldn’t be easy.

“Hmm!”

Emperor Kamain slammed the staff he was holding onto the floor.

The magic containing the unsealing incantation spread across the ground, causing the space to glow green.

It was as if a flurry of glowing green moths were dancing about, revealing a massive door hidden in the wall.

“Bingo!”

The Emperor grinned as he opened the door.

Surely inside would be proof that the people of Aligieri incited the rampage of the Demon King.

He felt a mix of anticipation and dread as a sinister aura was bound to pervade the space.

“Huh?”

Not a hint of the expected aura was felt.

As if witnessing something far too different from what he anticipated, the Emperor lost his focus.

Indeed, it was different beyond belief.

There wasn’t even a trace of a disturbing experiment with ominous symbols, nor was the place anything but blank.

“Did I come to the wrong place?”

The interior of the chamber was clean, contrary to his expectations.

The only marks were scratches on the walls.

He wondered if something was amiss, but the Emperor corrected his thinking.

Despite the absence of magic circles or symbols, the place was indeed full of bookshelves.

‘But wait, isn’t this strange?’

When conducting rituals related to the Demon King, it’s essential to draw a large Demon Pattern on the ground.

He knew that from experience, having attempted it long ago to break rules and obtain great power.

If that were so, the symbols should still be present now.

Of course, the presence of bookshelves meant he wasn’t without evidence.

It was just regrettable that there wasn’t a means to deliver a decisive blow.

“Then, at least these materials… Huh?”

As he touched the bookshelf, it crumbled to dust.

The next bookshelf and the one beside it followed suit, all disintegrating in the same manner.

Witnessing all the potential evidence vanish, the Emperor’s body froze.

“What’s happening…?”

“What’s happening? It’s all just a waste of effort.”

At that moment, a girl’s voice emerged from the doorway.

Turning with a creak, he saw a green-haired saint standing there.

The Saint of Melodies, Nebia Chromag. Why was she here?

Additionally, she once dipped her toes into Doomsday.

It was said she betrayed while hitting the back of Commander Jason’s head…

“So that means…”

He began to piece together why there were no pieces of evidence in this space.

As the Emperor became frantic, Nebia raised one hand.

Various books adorned with different symbols levitated above her hand.

It was a small magic device for storing objects in a specific space, and it rested in her palm.

“Are you looking for this? Your Majesty, no…”

Nebia began to store the objects floating above her hand back into the magical device.

“Master Demon King.”

She flashed a fox-like smile.

The Emperor’s eyes widened, spiraling into despair.

“W-How did you…”

Then, releasing mana from his entire body, he shot a fierce glare at Nebia.

“How do you know about that!”

He fired a magic missile as a threat.

Nebia created a sound barrier to block one of the missiles and then fled backward.

As she took refuge in the white chamber, the Emperor quickly chased her.

However, Nebia soon stopped running and stood her ground.

“You dare…!”

The utterance of the word “Demon King” might have been a test, but she was the girl with the sharpest ears in the Empire.

It was widely rumored she could read people’s innermost thoughts by merely hearing their voices.

Perhaps it was quite likely she recognized his identity based on that ability.

If that was the case, she absolutely couldn’t be allowed to live, so he tried to unleash elemental magic at once.

“That would be troublesome for you, wouldn’t it?”

At that moment, Nebia smiled again, lifting more evidence above her hand.

Seeing this, the Emperor canceled his elemental magic.

“If I die, you won’t be able to read these ever again. Are you sure that’s okay?”

With a wicked smile, Nebia looked at the trembling Emperor.

After which, she stored the documents back into her magical device and cast a side glance towards a corner.

“….”

After confirming the gaze toward that direction, she turned back to the Emperor.

Then, opening her mouth wide, she released a soundwave at the Emperor.

– Aaaaaaaaaah!

Merely the sound of a vocal exercise reverberated through the space.

The Emperor, struck by it, naturally covered his ears in agony, but this was no ordinary sound wave.

“This is a Demon Sound filled with my Divine Power. It’s particularly effective against the Demon race hiding its true form.”

“W-What?”

Blended within the sound wave, the Emperor’s skin began to morph.

As the hidden wicked aura fled from the Divine Power, the Emperor’s true identity was revealed.

Horns sprouted from his head, and his face twisted closer to that of a monster.

The mask of the Sage Monarch, Emperor Kamain, fell away.

He was none other than the Demon King himself.

“Finally, you’ve cast away the mask of the Emperor. Demon King.”

Seeing that, Nebia mixed sincere amazement with a hint of drama in her voice.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.

 

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