Chapter 78
It did feel strange somehow.
The undead that emerged from the ground.
The undead wyvern that crashed into the building with a spectacular entrance.
Both were unexpected and surprising due to their flashy and chaotic appearances.
But that was it.
The wyvern made a grand “crash, bang” entrance but was just noisy.
Undead were swarming from outside the building, but Erica alone could buy enough time to handle them.
In short, it lacked substance.
Above all, no other individuals besides the undead appeared.
Not even Vice Principal Randgar Bayel, nor anyone suspected to be in league with him, showed up.
I had prepared myself for the worst-case scenario, even being ready to battle Randgar, but…
“Here it is.”
I muttered unconsciously while looking at the demolished building.
The building housing the Principal’s office, vice Principal’s office, and the vault was almost half-destroyed.
The interior was so exposed that you could see right through it, with damages scattered everywhere, bearing marks of a fierce battle.
No wonder the space distorted when I tried to teleport directly to the roof.
That phenomenon happens when you try to teleport to a non-existent space.
If I hadn’t been on high alert due to the ongoing combat, I might have gotten trapped in the void.
‘How could such an intense fight happen here, and yet no one heard a thing?’
The area, including the half-destroyed building, was utterly devastated.
Deeply gouged-out earth, parts of the Training Forest completely gone as if something had crushed it…
It seemed there was a barrier in place to conceal something, just as Erica said.
Otherwise, there was no way I wouldn’t have sensed a battle of this magnitude.
Even considering I was in the party hall.
Step, step.
I deliberately made my footsteps audible as I walked into the battlefield.
Since I couldn’t sense anyone around, it was as if daring anyone to come out and face me.
‘Did something larger than Greenie come out?’
That thought naturally came to mind as I surveyed the scene.
The signs of destruction looked as if a massive beast had rampaged through.
As I moved deeper, I stayed alert while searching for the vault entrance.
If my memory served me correctly, there should be a massive iron door leading underground further ahead.
Exactly like that one.
“Huh?”
I had assumed Randgar was rampaging here to break into the vault, but I was wrong.
Surprisingly, the vault door showed no signs of having been tampered with.
The protective magic and barriers, which would activate if someone tried to break in, were untouched.
‘The vault hasn’t been breached?’
When I arrived at the utterly devastated scene, I immediately had a hunch.
The undead were sent to cause chaos in the party hall, where most academy personnel had gathered, while their true goal was to rob the vault.
It was a reasonably effective decoy operation.
Even I, after reading the quest “Bloodied,” had assumed they would target the students.
So it didn’t occur to me that they might pull off a diversion like this.
Seeing the aftermath here, I naturally thought they had already looted the vault.
‘If stealing from the vault wasn’t their goal, then what was?’
I couldn’t predict it at all.
‘Then who fought whom here?’
If there were no signs of forcing open the vault, the traces of battle were puzzling.
I had assumed the fight was between intruders trying to break the vault’s barrier and the guardian golems.
My steps involuntarily quickened.
After confirming the vault was intact, I headed further inside.
The deeper I went, the more questions piled up, until I spotted something in the distance.
“Hmm?”
“Hmm?”
It wasn’t something. It was someone.
As soon as I noticed him, he seemed to notice me too.
Someone in a white robe I had never seen before.
The outfit’s style was unfamiliar, but I was certain of who it was.
Vice Principal Randgar Bayel.
In front of Randgar lay a man sprawled on the ground.
His clothes were torn, and he was lying there in a pitiful state.
“Who’s that?”
While quickly assessing the situation, Randgar casually addressed me.
Likely because I was wearing a uniform and mask, Randgar didn’t recognize me.
Woong—
I adjusted my stance and channeled mana into the Black Shadow Blade.
As black mana began to ripple along the blade, Randgar moved swiftly.
The moment Randgar reached out toward me, I swung my sword.
Teleporting behind him simultaneously.
Crackle—
“Tch.”
‘Close.’
The initial surprise attack narrowly failed.
Randgar clearly hadn’t anticipated me suddenly appearing behind him and swinging my blade, but protective magic was already in place around him.
Strong enough to block my Black Shadow Blade.
Crack— Clang—
Though the barrier broke, it still held for a moment.
“That outfit and mask… could it be?”
Voom—
I didn’t give Randgar the time to murmur to himself and immediately swung my sword again.
In the split second of my attack, I confirmed who the fallen man was.
‘…The Principal?’
The person lying before Randgar was none other than Vinuar Christia, the academy Principal.
Could it be that the Principal had been defeated by the vice Principal?
Crackle— Crack—
My sword hadn’t reached Randgar’s body.
How many layers of protective barriers had he set up? My Black Shadow Blade was busy shattering one after another.
“A thief making it this far… Tsk.”
“…Ha.”
I didn’t know who he was calling a thief.
Who was the one scheming from within the academy?
“To have come this far, it must mean your group did take the Hourglass.”
Randgar muttered confidently to himself.
Since his words weren’t worth responding to, I didn’t bother.
Instead, I said what I wanted to say.
“That person, you did that, didn’t you?”
“Oh? A woman?”
“I asked if you did it.”
“And if I did?”
“Then I’ll arrest you on the spot.”
Thanks to the mask’s effect, Randgar seemed to perceive my voice as that of a woman.
It’s quite convenient.
“Judging by your confidence, you must be the leader of that group of thieves.”
“The thieves are you guys.”
“Hahaha.”
Randgar laughed as if he found this genuinely amusing.
Seizing the opportunity, I thrust my sword, but once again, it was blocked by a barrier.
Just how many layers of protection did he set up?
“It’s useless. I’ve stacked over 100 layers of top-grade barriers.”
“…”
Over 100 layers?
This was far beyond my expectations.
“Today must be my lucky day. There’s so much I want to ask you.”
“Ask me?”
“Yes. Where is the hourglass your group stole?”
“I sold it ages ago. Got a nice payout too.”
“Then where did you sell it—”
Boom— Crack—
Before Randgar could finish speaking, I swung my sword again.
Unlike earlier light attacks, this time I added power, mana, and focus.
Crash—!
A loud shattering sound echoed.
Randgar’s expression noticeably twisted.
“So that’s about 30 layers broken?”
“You…!”
Woong—
Randgar retreated, gathering mana.
The mana he exuded felt unsettlingly vile, unfit for someone like a vice Principal of the Crescent Academy.
The black mana didn’t form a structured spell.
Instead, it extended into sharp, elongated shapes.
To put it bluntly, it resembled grotesque tentacles.
‘This isn’t magic—it’s just raw mana unleashed.’
“Disrespectful wretch. I’ll kill you.”
“If you do, you’ll never find the hourglass.”
“Hmph.”
Swoosh—
Randgar paid no attention to my words.
The pointed, elongated mana emerging from Randgar surged toward me at high speed.
And it wasn’t just one.
There were dozens of them.
Swoosh— Boom— Boom— Boom—
‘So this is why this area is a complete wasteland.’
Dodging the attacks, that thought naturally came to mind.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t protect myself with 100 layers of barriers like Randgar, so evasion was my only option.
Boom— Boom—
The mana tentacles were incredibly troublesome to deal with.
I tried deflecting them with the Black Shadow Blade infused with mana, but they moved like water.
Instead of being repelled, they split smoothly like liquid, only to reform and charge at me again.
It was an infuriating attack.
I could only dodge since defense was impossible.
“Today is the end for your gang of thieves.”
Randgar shouted at me, sneering wickedly.
Gang of thieves? Well, I suppose that’s not entirely wrong.
“I did snatch a few things.”
“Hah, finally showing your true colors.”
Boom—
The tentacles struck the ground one last time before falling quiet.
Vroom—
In the brief pause, I opened a space.
A crack visible only to me appeared in the air, slowly widening.
And from within, something massive emerged.
“What is that…?”
“It’s still not fully tamed.”
Grrrr—
“Why is that thing, which should be at the party hall—”
“Because I caught it.”
Swoosh—
The still-enraged Greenie, who had been in subspace, charged at Randgar the moment it emerged.
Greenie sped toward Randgar with speed rivaling the mana tentacles.
Randgar frowned in displeasure but didn’t appear the least bit anxious.
I, too, had no illusions that the undead wyvern would be effective against Randgar.
Releasing Greenie was merely a ploy to buy time.
‘Catching him red-handed is a must.’
As Randgar grimaced and extended his hand toward Greenie, I prepared myself.
It took only a moment for Greenie to plummet, enveloped in black mana.
With a creak, Greenie crashed helplessly into the ground.
But that moment was all I needed.
Vroom— Flash—
“Urk—!”
My gloved right hand, faintly glowing, clutched Randgar’s neck.
Randgar’s expression was one of utter shock.
It’s a pity my mask hid my smile.
This is the sort of moment where a mocking grin is necessary.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment