I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 630: The Last Drop of Blood (4)

Rudger had left.

When the Owen members heard the news, they each showed various reactions.

"Sigh. This is driving me crazy. I knew this would happen, but still."

Hans pressed his finger firmly between his eyebrows as if he had a headache.

"Is it really okay to let the owner go alone? We should help him."

Violetta was quite anxious about the fact that Rudger had left alone.

No one in this place was unaware of where Rudger was headed.

It was a death trap.

It was also a stage where the powerful figures of the continent would gather to declare a single goal.

Would Rudger have gone there to resolve things peacefully through dialogue?

Even if that was his intention, there was no way the other party would accept it.

It would surely turn into a fight.

"It's his own choice. We don't have the right to argue about it."

Pantos, who usually just silently observed the situation, stepped forward to defend Rudger.

Alex also agreed with that statement.

"Even if we say we'll follow him, would our leader like that? It's better to just see him off and wish him a safe return."

"What if the owner gets hurt?"

Pantos responded to Violetta's concern.

He gave a snort that he didn't usually show.

"Even if everyone here combined their powers to attack, do you think that man would even budge?"

"What do you mean...?"

"You don't know. Perhaps many people don't know. The power of that man that we've seen is just a tiny fraction of what he possesses. Like an iceberg deep beneath the sea."

Pantos remembered when he first encountered Rudger while targeting his prey.

And when he fought him and saw a part of the power he displayed.

He could sense that no one had surpassed this man in the past, nor would anyone on this continent surpass him in the future.

As a beast-folk bound by bloodline, born with heroic talent close to a mutant, Pantos could intuitively feel it.

His beast instinct and warrior intuition unanimously said the same thing.

Rudger was not on his way to die.

"We just need to diligently prepare for the plans ahead. So that we can execute them immediately when he returns."

Hans clapped his hands at Pantos' words.

"Anyway, there's no point in talking here since it won't change the current situation. We just need to trust our big brother and do our assigned jobs."

So they had no choice but to believe.

Everyone at Owens tentatively reached that conclusion.

Night had fallen as Grandel stood alone at the center of the crater, a land where no living organism grows due to the aftermath of the battle between the Holy Maiden and the Great Demon.

But Grandel knows that life cannot grow on this land not because of the Great Demon Surna, but because of the 'divine power' that has sunk so deeply.

She wasn't curious about what happened at this battlefield that day.

The battle between the demon and the holy maiden known to the public was just history modified by the Bretus Holy Nation.

The truth would be something else.

"What does that matter anyway?"

Perhaps because it's the end, she's become sentimental for no reason.

Grandel looked around.

She could see people moving busily outside the crater.

Those with considerable power and fame even when considering the entire continent would pour attacks on her the moment the time came.

'It's a meaningless action.'

She cannot be killed by the attacks of such people.

Nevertheless, the attack planned at midnight was a kind of demonstration.

A show to announce that the holy nation's extermination team had finally hunted the true vampire that had threatened the Bretus Holy Nation for a long time.

Grandel would have preferred to cleanly accept death by holy artifacts, but the cunning Patricio was determined to squeeze every last bit out of this whole process.

'He said it's just for show and will end quickly, but.'

Grandel could tell that Patricio seemed to have some other purpose besides killing her.

He was hiding his true intentions behind a kind and gentle smile, but Grandel's insight, gained from living for ages, easily saw through such a mask.

But Grandel didn't bother to point out Patricio’s hidden intentions.

She was going to die soon anyway. Whatever plans he had were of no concern to her.

'I just need to get the death I've been longing for.'

Death was an unfamiliar word to her.

Grandel wanted to call it rest, or comfort.

Something she thought she would never obtain.

And now it was finally within reach, shimmering before her eyes.

But why?

'Even though what I've wanted so much is right in front of me, why is it my disciple's face that comes to mind at the end?'

She knows it was an unintended farewell.

Making promises at will, breaking promises at will.

Rudger would probably feel more bewilderment than gratitude.

She felt sorry for not telling him everything, but it didn't matter.

It's all over now. She decided to let go of all attachments.

She was an immortal monster.

He was a finite human.

He might feel disappointed in her right now, but he would eventually forget this fact and move on with his life.

Grandel thought that was enough.

It was a selfish judgment that didn't consider the other person's feelings, but what did it matter?

She was always self-centered, before and now.

"Now it begins."

Midnight had finally arrived.

Grandel looked up at the sky.

The pitch-black night sky was filled with stars like scattered powder, and the moonlight looked unusually clear and desolate today.

There were lights shooting across the night sky.

Holy spells, magic, modern firearms.

Their number exceeded thousands, and their target was the center of the crater.

It was her.

"Yes. Since this is also the last time, shall I join in on the way out?"

A bloody aura began to form around Grandel.

A red aura so vivid that it was clearly visible even under the bluish moonlight.

"It has begun."

Clinton Rothschild, sitting alone in a tent under a ridge far from the crater, detected the energy felt from outside and muttered softly.

The hunt for the vampire, the eternal enemy of the Bretus Holy Nation and an immortal being, had begun.

Clinton attended the extermination team's gathering, but he did not directly participate in the fight.

To him, things like vampires or enemies of the holy nation were not matters of concern at all.

He was only interested in the fact that the opponent was a level 8 [Grandel] class magician, only known through legends.

'They say the rank takes its name from her, but who would have thought she would still be alive?'

Clinton recalled his first meeting with Grandel.

-You're quite impressive for a human.

A cute doll-like girl saying this to him, an old man.

No one could say such words to him, who had reached level 7 [Imperia] class as a human.

But considering the magical skills between them, Clinton had to admit it.

In fact, he even felt proud to be called "impressive" by a level 8 magician.

The only thing Clinton didn't know was that she was a vampire and desired death.

History would call her an enemy of the holy nation and a terrible vampire.

But Clinton highly respected Grandel as a magician, and thought her death would bring about a regression of magic on this continent.

However, even the title of level 7 was insufficient to stop this situation, and Clinton ultimately had no choice but to watch from afar.

'It's truly regrettable.'

Explosion sounds came from beyond the ridge.

Despite being quite far away, the flashes of light were visible through the tent.

If one got closer to the crater, their eyes and ears might be blinded by the explosions and flashes.

Countless energies were focused on a single point, creating destruction.

And at the center, a massive power never felt before was curled up like a cocoon.

It resisted by occasionally emitting something like red lightning, but it was useless in the face of attacks pouring down like a shower.

But Clinton knows that if she exerted her true power, she could sweep away everyone gathered there in an instant.

It was only because Grandel had expressed her intention to participate in this ridiculous play that she didn't.

'Yes. It's truly a ridiculous circus.'

Clinton stroked his beard and stood up from his seat.

The ideal state that all magicians aspire to.

Even if the being who possessed it wasn't human but a vampire, Clinton respected Grandel as a magician.

But it was bitter that such a Grandel, incompatible with the reputation of level 8, was meeting such an end.

It seemed that the magic he loved so much ultimately amounted to nothing more than this.

But what was even more regrettable was that he couldn't do anything about it.

Clinton was once called the strongest magician among humans and was also known as the youngest sage.

His influence in the magic community was enormous, and its ripple effect could even reach national levels.

But as he grew older, what Clinton realized was that he, who had reached level 7, was nothing.

Until he reached level 6, he thought he was the best.

It had been too long since he realized that was just being a frog in a well.

When he became aware of the distortion of this world and realized that he could never change it, Clinton thought there was no answer but to conform to the given reality because that was right.

It was the same now, when the strongest magician in history was meeting her end.

"Knowing too much is also a painful thing."

Clinton came out of the tent, patting his waist.

In a situation where he could neither stop nor intervene, all he could do was pray in his heart that everything would end well.

With that thought, Clinton was about to leave the tent and return to the empire.

Being in this place would only make his mood worse.

As he was about to move, Clinton's eyebrows trembled at some energy felt from far away.

"What is that?"

Cardinal Patricio stood on the mountaintop overlooking the crater and looked down at the scene.

In the valley of death, which could be called a stage, lights flashed and explosions continued without end.

Even from a distance, it hurt the eyes and stung the ears.

The inside of the crater was literally like a furnace that would instantly melt and boil any piece of metal put into it.

In such an environment, even a fairly strong person on the continent would completely disintegrate without leaving a single cell.

But there was a being alive even in such an environment.

More precisely, a being that 'could not die'.

"Cardinal."

A high-ranking priest approached Patricio, who was assisting him.

"All preparations for using God's Stake are complete."

"Thank you for your hard work. However, I plan to use it a little later. It's not time yet."

"Why are you going this far? Isn't it right to eliminate our church's main enemy right away?"

"Haha. It seems Senior Priest Melvin is curious. You're right. God's Stake is a special holy artifact brought to eliminate our church's main enemy. I understand your desire to use it right away. But Priest Melvin, this is not just about eliminating the main enemy."

"If not that, then is there something else?"

"Yes. That is actually just bait to lure in the real target."

Senior Priest Melvin was startled by Patricio’s confession-like statement.

Wasn't the bait Patricio mentioned the true vampire that the church had been trying desperately to kill for a long time?

It was hard to believe that such a monster, capable of destroying a country in terms of pure power, was being used merely as bait.

"What exactly is that real target?"

"It would spoil the fun if I told you now. But you'll know soon."

Patricio smiled gently as always, but Melvin thought his smile was somewhat chilling.

"What if they don't come?"

"Of course, it doesn't matter if they don't come. That way we can still eliminate the church's main enemy, so it's not a bad thing."

At that moment, a paladin approached from afar and whispered something to Patricio.

After hearing the message, the curve of Patricio’s lips grew longer and darker.

"Get ready."

"Yes, what?"

"It's time to use God's Stake."