White light shot straight up into the sky, vast and majestic, rippling like waves, illuminating the heavens.
Under this violent surge of power, the academy was completely destroyed, every last slab of quartz shattered into dust.
People within the royal capital all seemed to feel something in their hearts. Instinctively, they lifted their heads toward the distant direction of the academy.
That astonishing pillar of light pierced the clouds like sunlight breaking through heaven itself.
The shock of it, like a nuclear blast, left the mages who witnessed it utterly dumbfounded.
Even though Viktor had sealed the academy in advance with magic crystals, the energy that leaked out still instantly bombarded the entire place.
Fortunately, the range had been contained. Otherwise, everyone in the academy would have perished.
If the barrier had broken and the blast had spread, even half the royal capital might have been destroyed.
Still, there were some who had been too close to the magic and were seriously injured in the explosion.
When the light finally faded, what was left on the ground was a terrifyingly deep crater.
It was several dozen meters deep, vast in scope.
The surrounding buildings no longer resembled anything of their former selves. The entire academy had vanished from the royal capital.
The demon, was gone as well.
The mages, dragging their exhausted bodies, trembled as they looked at the scene before them.
"W–What the hell…"
"Where's the school!?"
"The school's been blown to bits!?"
They were completely stunned. But the emptiness in their bodies, that drained, hollow weakness, reminded them again and again, what they saw was real.
In the end, Viktor had drained every mage around him of their magic power to unleash a spell so strong it could threaten the entire capital.
A human-shaped weapon of war… In their hearts, Viktor's name gained yet another title.
Viktor stood at the center of the crater, holding in his arms the unconscious Henny.
She wore a hood, no one could see her face.
Many people noticed Viktor standing there, and everyone was bewildered.
'Viktor, why is he holding another woman!?'
All eyes were on him. No one noticed that, in the pit, a hideous toad was jumping little by little.
Its body was covered in oily ink, crawling painfully across the ground, until it reached a charred corpse.
That was Devon.
Under such terrifying magic, Devon had actually survived.
In its last moments, Yerm had swallowed Devon into its mouth.
All the damage had been taken by the demon instead.
Because Yerm knew, if it wanted to continue existing, then Devon could not die.
The toad climbed onto Devon's body, melting into a slick of black ink that wrapped itself tightly around him.
Devon stood up from the ground like a drowned corpse revived.
The bones all over his body creaked as they snapped back into place.
His eyes glowed scarlet, locking onto the students before him. Drool mixed with blood dripped from his mouth, foul and rank.
He tilted his head, growling like a beast that had lost its sanity.
"Isn't that Professor Devon!? He's alive!"
"Yeah! It's Professor Devon!"
"No, something's wrong! He looks weird!"
One of them, noticing Devon's deranged expression, voiced his confusion aloud.
Soon, everyone realized something was off.
"Devon really does have a problem!"
"His appearance, he's possessed by the demon!?"
As the title of "Professor" was stripped from their lips, Devon naturally became the villain, the one possessed and used by the demon.
The truth of the whole conspiracy was beginning to surface.
Devon, was that filthy demon.
The mages slowly lifted their arms, preparing to pour what little magic they had left onto Devon.
But to everyone's surprise, Devon only glared back viciously, twisted his head, and spat out a curse, "I'll remember all of you."
Then, from beneath his feet, black ink rippled outward, swallowing him into the darkness, he vanished.
The mages shuddered at his words. Being remembered by a demon, it felt like a long iron spear had pierced straight through their hearts.
All of them turned their eyes toward Viktor. After all, it was Viktor who had defeated the demon. If anyone was to finish the job, it had to be him.
But right now, no one dared to command him.
Duke Levi stepped carefully over the rubble and approached Viktor. He glanced down at the unconscious Henny in Viktor's arms.
"This is…"
"My assistant," Viktor said. "Devon stole her knowledge to create the earlier barrier formation."
The duke's eyes showed a flash of surprise.
He hadn't been inside the formation, but of course he'd heard about it.
Half of all the Tier Three mages in the capital had come to help, yet none could understand the intricacy of that array, let alone break it.
It was Viktor who led a few mages from the inside to unravel it.
"Your assistant," said Duke Levi softly, "is an extraordinary genius."
Viktor turned his head away, ignoring the duke's compliments.
After this battle with the demon, Duke Levi's hostility toward Viktor had lessened greatly.
Whatever else could be said, once again, Viktor had protected the capital.
During the volcanic eruption, no one knew what he had done. Most of the mages had doubted him back then.
But this time, they had seen it with their own eyes.
Now, every mage in the capital looked upon Viktor with awe. No one dared to doubt the power of a Tier Four mage again.
Viktor, was terrifyingly strong.
And yet, he was still so young.
Duke Levi sighed.
If not for Erica, perhaps his relationship with Viktor could have been handled better.
At that thought, the duke shook his head. He didn't want to dwell on it. His daughter was his bottom line.
So he said instead, "After this incident, Devon's crimes will be confirmed officially, even if he's His Majesty's nephew."
The implication was clear, Viktor didn't need to worry about punishment for harming a royal relative.
Even if the academy was destroyed, he was still a hero.
If that demon hadn't been stopped, the losses would've been far worse than just one academy.
"But," the duke added, "His Majesty won't move against the Lesser family."
Viktor wasn't surprised at all.
The Lesser family was the royal family's money machine, and the Emperor's own sister was their matriarch.
As long as they were willing to abandon Devon, the family would suffer no true consequence.
At worst, they'd be accused of "poor supervision."
Viktor knew well, this was the duke's warning to him.
No matter what, he was now enemies with the Lessers.
"Duke, I've made plenty of enemies already," Viktor said flatly.
One more or less made no difference.
Holding Henny close, he turned to leave.
Seeing Viktor about to go, Duke Levi raised his hand to stop him.
"Wait, Viktor."
"The demon didn't die, it escaped. Do you think…"
He hesitated, worried the demon might return someday. But Viktor only reassured him, "It won't die. It's part of this world."
The duke froze, as if he'd realized something, but said nothing.
"Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Viktor said softly.
"Disasters are also part of the world's elements. That's why they never truly die."
Duke Levi's expression darkened. "Disasters? I don't understand what you mean."
His reaction pleased Viktor. It was as if something had been confirmed.
Viktor smiled faintly at him, his voice echoing in the duke's ears, "I can only tell you this, that demon is nothing like the ordinary ones you've seen before."
"It is the embodiment of greed."
"So long as intelligent beings exist, so long as they still have greed, that thing will never die."
"Even if one is destroyed, another will be born soon after."
The duke felt chills all over his body.
"You should be thankful," Viktor said as he walked away, "that it's not dead, but crippled."
With that, he carried Henny and teleported away from the crater.
Duke Levi stood dazed, watching Viktor's figure disappear. Suddenly, he realized something, 'Where is the crow that used to sit on Viktor's shoulder?'
———
Beyond the forest, Devon was running frantically.
He had already fled the capital, moving farther and farther away.
He had to keep running, because he didn't want to "disappear."
Greed, indeed, could not disappear. But after Yerm's death, a new Yerm would simply arise to replace it.
However, its memories, power, everything, would no longer be the same.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
"That mage, who the hell is he!? How could he possibly know my name?!"
Possessing Devon's body, Yerm's speech and movements had all become like Devon's.
If it weren't for survival, it would never have possessed such a worthless host.
And yet now, it almost felt grateful, grateful it hadn't devoured this fat pig.
This fat pig also carried a deep, insatiable greed. That greed was now its nourishment, allowing it to barely move.
Suddenly, Devon froze.
A wave of bone-chilling cold crawled up from his feet to his head, locking him in place.
The forest was dead silent, only the rustle of leaves could be heard.
A single black feather drifted down before him. Devon looked up sharply.
A small black crow stood in front of him.
It had only one eye, positioned in the middle of its forehead.
Devon froze. For some reason, his entire body began to tremble. He was afraid.
He was the demon. He was the very source of fear itself. So why, why was he afraid of a crow? Of a tiny crow?
"Hello there," said the crow, its voice echoing directly beside his ear. "Where do you think you're going?"
Devon's body jolted violently.
"Wh–Who are you!?"
"Me?"
The crow suddenly smiled, a twisted, sinister grin.
Its sharp, cackling laughter filled the entire forest.
Darkness itself seemed to devour Devon whole.
He blinked.
And in that blink, the crow's talons became huge and razor-sharp. Its feathers gleamed darker and harder than steel.
Thick streams of black smoke poured from its body.
In the demon's eyes, it was now a vast shadow that covered the heavens, looking down upon him from above.
Its voice was no longer shrill, but deep, resonant, like the echo from the bottom of an abyss.
The sound shook the trees, stripping them bare of leaves, scattering birds in every direction.
Only that arrogant, thundering voice remained, echoing through the woods.
"I!"
"AM!"
"GOD!"
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