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222nd Episode. Protagonist Correction (2)

The leaders of various organizations had gathered to defend Aligieri.

Dukes from the Empire, knights and swordsmen from the martial groups, and wizards from the esteemed magical factions who had reached the pinnacle of magic.

Of course, not every individual force had been mobilized.

Each leader was merely invited to the Aligieri Festival, so there was no need to bring large armies.

However, considering that each of them was a collective strength comparable to national power, even a small force would be formidable when united.

Thus, they formed a collective that the allied forces of different races could not easily breach.

“The reconnaissance is complete. Brace yourself for the shock.”

“Is it bad news?”

“No.”

In the highlands, Gerard was monitoring the front lines when the Master of White Magic Tower, Taili, appeared before him.

He wore a white magical uniform reminiscent of swan feathers and wielded a holy staff only Grand Sorcerers could use.

With looks that belied the image of a father with a teenage daughter, he possessed otherworldly beauty.

He had a purity fitting of his white attire, but few knew of his fiery spirit.

Unless you were a former comrade like Gerard, he kept this side hidden.

“What were the results?”

“Nothing much. Just a case of indigestion.”

“What did you say?”

“I mean, they all suffered from an upset stomach.”

The main force of the enemy, composed entirely of Beastman troops, had retreated.

Feeling ominous, the remaining enemy forces temporarily fell back as well.

The Swordsmanship Society tried to seize this opportunity to sweep them away, but Taili stopped them.

What if it turned out to be a trap? Who would take responsibility for that?

No matter how united they claimed to be for Aligieri, it wasn’t just pure justice driving them forward.

Some involved were far from virtuous; they merely aimed to secure public favor by showing good conduct.

However, they were not so incompetent as to fail to discern hierarchy.

Thus, they remained quiet at a few words exchanged between Master White Magic Taili Ryu Desiel and Gerard Chain Silver.

“Our tower’s member used stealth magic to scout their camp. Hahaha! It seems they ate something wrong just before the battle.”

Gerard chuckled as Taili said this, as the situation was undeniably ridiculous.

Though the Beastmen boasted sheer numbers, sometimes individual strength can be low, but they served as the enemy’s main force nonetheless.

Did the opposing side not realize the importance of managing each soldier?

“I’ve fought against such monsters for many years, but this is the first time I’ve seen them retreat for such a reason.”

“Then this would be the first time winning for such a trivial reason.”

They bitterly smiled and began commanding their troops.

No one understood how it had come to this, but now that they knew, this was an opportunity they couldn’t afford to miss.

Ziiiing!-

At that moment, a purplish beam shot up towards the sky from somewhere.

Starting from Aligieri Town, similar lights began to rise in various regions of the Empire.

[With this…]

They could hear the Demon King’s shocking proclamation reflected on their screens.

[I shall annihilate everything! This entire continent!]

This was the Demon King’s grandiose announcement of Plan B. But it was clear the threat was no empty boast.

Suddenly, the sky was dyed red, as if the sun had risen in the middle of the night.

A massive sphere heated by friction dropped from the sky, burning through the atmosphere.

Having fought on the front lines for many years, they could instinctively sense with their skin what kind of power that light held.

“If that falls…!”

Everything on the continent would literally be wiped away.

Both allies and enemies, any commander would instinctively realize this.

A bizarre sphere, with a face like a monster, descended surrounded by hellish flames.

No one could stop it, not even if everyone here combined their strength.

Filled with a premonition of death, Gerard’s mind raced with memories.

‘Jenny… Ray…’

Perhaps the struggle was to die with less pain. The faces of his most cherished people flashed in his mind.

He also recalled the expedition team he had fought alongside thirty years ago.

Was Taili, who stood beside him now, having the same thoughts?

And among them, only one person’s face stood out in his mind.

‘Brother…’

Although he had respected him greatly, at that moment, he felt he could not face him.

After learning the details of the incident that had led to Rayla’s death, it felt as if chains bound his heart, weighing it down endlessly.

The great mistake his brother had made that day. Should he forgive and accept it, or should he distance himself for life?

Could he even resolve that before his death?

Gerard closed his eyes, inwardly lamenting.

“What is that!”

Suddenly, Taili exclaimed beside him. Reacting, Gerard carelessly looked up at the sky.

The sight of a colossal fiery sphere calling for destruction still loomed, but something was flying toward it.

“It looks like a demon….”

Gerard gaped at what he saw.

Unaware of anything yet, Taili responded, seemingly asking what that was, but if he understood, he too would surely be astonished.

‘Brother…?’

He had only seen it once, but he was sure that what loomed was his brother’s transformed figure.

He didn’t know the exact identity, but he could tell that the form of the demon was undoubtedly his brother’s true appearance.

Those other than Gerard were all amazed and asking what that was.

But to be surprised was still too early.

A force so powerful that no one in this world could reach flowed from his brother.

“Am I… seeing a god?”

Baros, the head of the Swordsmanship Society, could not take his eyes off that being.

The powerful mana that could lead the world to annihilation was directed toward the falling sphere of destruction.

Boom!-

The demon enveloped in mana flew up and collided with the massive sphere.

The shock from their collision, akin to a suicide bomb, sent a wave of magical energy rippling through the sky.

The tremendous wave even tore the clouds visible beyond the horizon.

And the earth felt the effects, strong gusts accompanied by vibrations swept through.

“Ah….”

Gerard stared fixedly at the spot of that luminous collision.

Feeling relieved as the massive sphere began to crack, his brother was experiencing the same.

Even the physical form punching the sphere began to crumble.

Though he bore a terrifying appearance and incredible power that humanity would fear, he was sacrificing himself to protect the continent.

Boom!!-

A massive explosion erupted in the sky.

The sphere that had sought to destroy the world burst due to the demon’s powerful mana.

The aftermath swept through the ground, incomparable to what had gone before.

A massive gale swept down from the mountains and hills, reaching here.

“Ugh!”

However, thanks to Taili’s quick reaction and the wide-area defensive magic he deployed, all troops remained safe.

And the sphere that had cast everyone into despair was… defeated in a head-on collision and disappeared without a trace.

Yet, the one who achieved that was not unscathed.

The demon lost half of his body as a price for stopping that colossal force.

“Brother…!”

The arm and leg on his right side had vanished, and half of his head had been grotesquely scorched.

Every instinct screamed to run and save him.

Seeing him sacrifice himself, Gerard now had certainty.

His brother was certainly not a “demon.”

But Gerard could not move to save him.

Being the commander on the front line was a significant factor, but he could see his brother falling somewhere below.

With a thumb raised toward this side, he was falling.

-I’m fine, so do your duty.

Feeling that unspoken message in his heart, Gerard gazed ahead.

Since he had sacrificed himself, Gerard could no longer remain still.

“All troops… advance!”

The battalion, momentarily frozen by the tremendous events in the sky, came alive at Gerard’s command.

“Disasters shall not arise any longer. It is time we accomplish what we must!”

The knights, regained their senses by his rough voice, began to march according to his orders.

Accordingly, the units from other factions quickly followed suit.

They could not allow the opportunity that his brother had protected to be wasted.

*

“Am I… dreaming right now?”

Makia muttered, gazing at the sky.

The light shot upward by the magical device had pierced the ceiling and ground, allowing her to clearly see the situation above.

Thanks to that, she could watch everything from beginning to end.

She felt incredible joy watching the painful descent of the Evil God’s head, but that quickly turned to despair.

A demon-like existence had soared high and destroyed the Evil God’s head in one blow.

“What the hell is that…!”

Who was it that interrupted?

And what identity did they possess to obliterate the powerful head of the Evil God with such ease?

Her head throbbed.

She knew nothing at all.

A mix of complicated thoughts and despair gripped her mind, feeling like a towel was being wrung within her brain.

Her long-sought Plan A had failed, prompting the execution of Plan B.

It was a plan so risky it could endanger herself, one that could only be used in dire emergencies.

But even that plan had crumbled.

“This isn’t real….”

With a dazed expression, Makia knelt down, overwhelmed.

Nearby, she spotted the corpse of Meloin, lying with its head missing.

She had intended to use her as a discardable pawn in a moment of crisis, but she turned out to be an utterly ineffective woman, unable to even fulfill that role.

“Hahaha… nothing can be gained from whining like this.”

Time cannot be rewound.

But as Makia looked at the dead Meloin, she thought.

In reality, not all opportunities had disappeared.

Once a Demon King, she had shattered taboos and gained immense privileges.

That privilege was reincarnation. In other words, even if she died in this life, she could possess another body and start anew.

However, the host must strictly share her same blood.

Who could possibly be considered her descendant now?

Meloin was dead; perhaps Karis was the only one left.

‘Karis must be alive. Staying alive and leaving descendants!’

With that tremendous resolution formed, she picked up the dagger lying on the ground.

Hoping with all her heart that Karis was alive, she aimed the blade at her own throat.

Her highly regenerative body had the flaw that she would die if her neck was severed.

‘I died due to that in my previous life.’

When she’d died then, it had taken 300 years, but how long would it take now?

But she was determined to resurrect and achieve what she could not in this life.

With that strong determination, she swung the blade toward her neck.

“…Huh?”

Her hands wouldn’t move.

Both hands remained clutching the dagger, frozen in place.

A mysterious thread bound her wrists tightly.

What is this? she wondered, when a voice rang out.

“Are you trying to escape right now?”

The one who suddenly appeared was none other than Elder Enviel.

Binding her wrists with a line that resembled fishing wire, Enviel grinned playfully and said.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know that you’re trying to die and reincarnate?”

“You, you bastard!!”

Makia howled like a beast upon seeing Enviel’s face.

She wanted to kill him for thwarting all her plans and final trump card, yet she was secretly afraid of him.

Given the current situation, she could not win, and it seemed he knew everything.

It felt as if every plan had been anticipated from the start.

If he had intervened to prevent her suicide, clearly it was to block her from reincarnating, sending chills down her spine.

“Cowardly as ever, running away with such agility. Still, you were at the peak of wretchedness 300 years ago, huh?”

“What…?”

Unsure of what he was saying, she needed to escape.

She must get away from Enviel and then commit suicide to reincarnate.

But Enviel quickly closed the distance, grabbing Makia by the head and casting hypnotic magic.

Hypnotism from Elder Enviel, the continent’s greatest magical elder, could not easily be stopped by any defensive magic.

Thus, Makia was suppressed without dying, and Enviel carried her, unconscious, out of the hall.

“It’s about time we returned things to normal.”

He thought this wrapped up Chapter 5.

Surviving as the Academy Scammer.

 

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