I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 631

Grandel crouched within the center of the crater.

Divine magic, regular magic, and modern firearms rained down from all around, but they couldn't even scratch the red barrier she had placed around herself, let alone penetrate it.

As if irritated by her lack of response, they intensified their assault, but to Grandel, it was just a meaningless waste of time.

However, she lacked the energy to comment on it.

Why was this happening?

The death she so desperately desired was approaching, yet instead of joy and satisfaction, she felt somewhat empty.

Grandel thought she knew why she felt this way.

It was all because of that incompetent disciple of hers.

Despite teaching him so diligently, she was sad about parting from the troublemaker who went around causing problems.

This time was no different. Far away, on that island called Isla Machina, wasn't he fighting another monstrous opponent?

It was fortunate that she could smell the blood Rudger had shed, pinpoint his location, and provide magical support. Without that, her disciple's life would have been in danger.

And this wasn't the only such instance.

Before that, there was the incident in Dreamland, and even earlier, he had used her blood while she was asleep.

If he had used her blood, which exerted power superior to any reagent, then her disciple must have encountered no ordinary adversary.

Grandel suddenly had a thought.

Wouldn't it be right to stay alive, if only for her disciple's sake?

'What am I thinking?'

Grandel shook her head.

How absurd to worry about the living while heading toward death.

That fellow would somehow manage well enough on his own.

Didn't he have companions he had gathered himself? Though they didn't quite meet Grandel's standards, they each possessed unique qualities that weren't bad.

She was about to depart this world anyway.

What was the point of harboring lingering attachments?

But just having such thoughts irritated her a little, so Grandel lightly fired a spell toward the outside of the red barrier.

-Boom!

With a thunderous sound that could split eardrums, magic that tore through the atmosphere and space unfolded.

For her, it was just ordinary blood magic, but for the subjugation force, it was an attack bordering on catastrophic.

"Here it comes! Defend!"

"Deploy the divine incantations!"

"Pour everything you've got!"

The subjugation force wasn't just taking it passively.

Always on guard for a sudden counterattack, they activated their prepared defensive formations, thinking this was their moment.

With the prayers of the Holy Nation's priests, a golden wall of light was created. The mages' defensive magic was layered on top.

Grandel's magic fell upon these defenses.

-Crash!

The multi-layered defensive formations shattered under Grandel's casually cast blow.

Holy knights wrapped in sacred energy stepped forward with shields, releasing divine power.

"O Lumensis! Grant us your protection!"

"Bless us with light!"

Divine power infused their shields, and pure white wings spread behind their backs.

This was the finest defensive technique, said to be available only to high-ranking paladins.

Multiple holy knights simultaneously raised their shields to receive the magic.

The blood magic, weakened after breaking through multiple barriers, couldn't penetrate the holy knights' shields.

But the holy knights who blocked it weren't in great condition either.

The knight who took the greatest impact was thrown far back, coughing blood, while another knight collapsed to the ground, his shield arm trembling.

Despite their bodies being doubly strengthened by divine power and wearing the holy order's sacred vestments, their arms were broken and their bodies completely drained.

That was the power of a casually cast spell.

Had she shown her true might, no sacred method, no matter how excellent, would have left even dust behind.

Unaware of this fact, the subjugation force trembled at Grandel's magic but felt exhilarated at having blocked the monster's attack.

At that moment, a signal shot up from far away.

Everyone's gaze was drawn to the pure white divine energy soaring high into the sky.

"It's the Cardinal's signal."

"Are they finally using the Stake of God?"

The faces of the holy knights and priests brightened at the news that what they had been waiting for had finally arrived.

The magicians, mercenaries, and hunters also lit up at the news of using the holy order's sacred artifact.

They had been growing tired, not knowing when the monster would fall.

Nevertheless, they had joined this fight because they believed in the power of the Lumensis Order.

More precisely, they believed in the power of the special sacred artifact they had prepared: the Stake of God.

The atmosphere changed dramatically at the news that this secret weapon would be used.

And far away, something began to appear beyond the mountain ridge, accompanied by a blaze of light.

"Oh. Is that the Stake of God?"

"It looks extraordinary at a glance."

The Stake of God resembled a cross.

However, true to its name as a stake, the lower part was sharpened, and it exuded an indescribably sacred feeling.

The holy knights carrying the stake set it in place.

Just as they wondered what they intended to do with it...

The white stake began to shine with an even more dazzling color.

-Whoosh!

A column of pure white light shot across the night sky, disappearing beyond the clouds as if being sucked in.

"The holy order's special sacred artifact has been activated."

The holy knights and priests watching near the crater trembled with emotion, like people witnessing a miracle.

The clouds in the night sky, having absorbed the cross, began to turn white.

The center of the clouds, stained white as if daylight had arrived in that area alone, gradually concentrated its light.

It's coming.

Everyone thought the same thing simultaneously.

"Is it coming?"

Grandel, looking up at the scene from inside the crater, thought the same.

"So this is my death."

No sooner had she murmured those words...

A column of pure white light broke through the clouds and pierced the center of the crater.

---!!!

A dazzling explosion occurred without sound.

The column of light fell precisely on the crown of Grandel's head, who was wrapped in the blood-colored barrier.

Grandel's blood barrier, which had blocked all attacks until now, was pierced so easily before the Stake of God that it seemed almost absurd.

This was quite surprising.

Grandel had not intentionally weakened her power.

If that truly was her death, it should easily penetrate the defensive magic she had prepared.

True to its status as a special sacred artifact the holy order had prepared for a long time, the Stake of God pierced Grandel's barrier and lodged precisely in her heart.

-Thunk!

"Ah."

Grandel smiled faintly at the pain she felt in her chest.

The Stake of God lodged in her heart injected divine power into her body.

Something pure white writhed around Grandel's body.

Like a silkworm cocoon, it completely enveloped Grandel's body, forming a large sphere.

As the light subsided, what remained at the center of the crater was a large white sphere about 20 meters in diameter.

Those who witnessed it, resembling the egg of some enormous being, involuntarily trembled with awe.

"Did we succeed?"

The monster's mighty power could no longer be felt.

The Stake of God had not only activated properly but performed beyond expectations.

Priest Melvin, watching the scene from the mountaintop, asked Patricio.

"Cardinal! Have we finally defeated that monster? That immortal monster that was only known in legends?"

"Yes. It has activated properly. However, saying we 'defeated' it might be somewhat different."

At Patricio the Cardinal's cryptic words, Priest Melvin couldn't help but ask again.

"Different? What exactly does that mean?"

"The Stake of God. A special sacred artifact the holy order prepared during the period when its doors were locked. What do you think is its exact effect?"

"Well, to kill an immortal being..."

"To kill the undying. Doesn't that sound strange? Like an impenetrable shield and an all-penetrating spear."

"Are you saying it can't actually kill the immortal?"

"Priest Melvin. What does it mean to live?"

"Pardon? That's..."

Melvin pondered before answering what he thought.

"Living is literally seeing, hearing, feeling, breathing, thinking—all those processes."

"That's right. Sensing everything with the five senses, thinking, and at the same time functioning as a living being. Mind and body. All of that harmonizing is what 'living' is. But what if those two don't harmonize?"

"If they don't harmonize..."

"For instance, what if the body is perfectly fine, breathing with the heart beating, but has lost all five senses and cannot think? Could we call that living?"

Melvin gaped.

"That... doesn't seem right. That would be no different from a living corpse."

"Exactly."

"Don't tell me the effect of the Stake of God is..."

"Soul crushing. It's not simply the ordinary sealing that appears on the surface. The being trapped in that white cocoon has its soul dropped from the cycle of reincarnation, completely erased from the world."

"Good heavens..."

Melvin exhaled in shock as he realized what the Stake of God existed for.

A sacred artifact that kills the soul.

The loss of a soul meant that after death, that soul would go neither to the afterlife nor receive any salvation.

Dead people cannot return, but their souls or residual thoughts sometimes remain in the world as spiritual power.

This is because the supreme deity Lumensis created an endless cycle to guide the souls of the dead.

But the Stake of God was different.

It completely excluded the targeted soul from these 'rules'.

In other words, it permanently banished it from the framework of the world.

"Even if it breathes, even if the heart beats, even if blood flows, a body without a soul is ultimately just an empty shell."

Soul annihilation was the death Patricio had promised to give Grandel.

Of course, he didn't honestly tell Grandel this fact.

After all, what she truly wanted was peace.

She wanted to end this painful life, so even if it meant annihilating her soul itself, she probably wouldn't have refused.

Therefore, they made a deal, and Patricio wasn't worried about the subjugation of Grandel going awry.

"Cardinal, I have a question. If this matter ends so easily, and this is a bait, then what is the real target?"

Patricio smiled at Melvin's question.

"Priest Melvin. Who is our current Holy Emperor?"

"Well...it's Salesin van Bretus, who received the rightful succession from the previous Holy Emperor, Benedict van Bretus."

The current Holy Emperor, Salesin van Bretus.

Benedict's eldest son, who drove out all the other children of the Holy Emperor to ascend to the throne—a prominent figure.

"That's right. With Holy Emperor Salesin's formal ascension, our Holy Nation was finally able to open the doors we had firmly locked. Of course, there were some unwanted sacrifices in the process."

Unwanted sacrifices.

He was referring to Salesin van Bretus' expulsion of his siblings to ascend to the Holy Emperor's throne.

"Of course, under the guidance of benevolent Lumensis, proper positions were granted to some of the bloodline, so the succession was peaceful, with all siblings coming together harmoniously. Yes. Compared to human history, this can be considered nothing short of miraculous."

"But why suddenly bring this up..."

"But what if an unintended impurity were to slip in? What then?"

"..."

Melvin unconsciously gulped.

If Patricio had gone this far with his story, Melvin couldn't help but understand.

"You mean, there's still someone left? Of the previous Holy Emperor's bloodline?"

"Yes, and in the most terrible form."

Patricio's smiling eyes turned toward the white cocoon at the center of the crater.

"A precious talent of our nation, taken and raised by that monster as she pleased, thus straying endlessly from its original purpose."

"Are you saying that person's bloodline is coming here?"

Melvin's incredulous gaze turned toward the crater.

"To save that monster, the arch-enemy of our nation?"

"That's why I called it bait. A very alluring bait at that."

"Even if that's true, does it make sense?"

Who were the people gathered here now?

Renowned individuals from nations across the continent had assembled.

From the elite forces of the homeland to Colour Wizards.

And what of their numbers?

All these forces were maintaining a state of perfect readiness.

There were a few injured, but that was negligible considering the total.

Coming to such a place?

Wasn't that practically asking to be captured?

"Cardinal. If the opponent has any sense, they wouldn't even glance at a place like this."

"For an ordinary person, that would certainly be the case. But the opponent is of the Holy Emperor's bloodline. Viewing them through an ordinary lens is itself not permitted."

"Even so, with this much military force, how could..."

At that moment, Melvin felt something chilling down his spine.

What is this?

His trembling eyes turned toward the opposite side of the crater, beyond the mountain ridge below.

The barracks where people were staying.

From beyond that point, he felt an indescribable force surging like an ebb tide.

Patricio the Cardinal felt it too.

"This is..."

His face, always full of smiles, hardened for the first time.