I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 697: The Chaotic Holy War (3)

-Kugugugugung!

The Galahad Fortress shook incessantly from the aftershocks of the great battle.

It wasn't just because of the fight between Casey and Marias.

Besides the two of them, there were Seridan, Bellaruna, Arpa, and Betty fighting against the Crusaders.

And elsewhere, Rotheron was also fighting against them.

Since superhuman beings were rampaging on all sides, even the large and sturdy Galahad Fortress couldn't help but suffer from the chaos.

"Will it be alright?"

It was then that Surna asked Rudger.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about Casey Selmore. No matter what, sending her to fight Marias Selmore seems like a reckless action."

"That's why I prepared insurance just in case."

"Right. The fire spirit that was newly born when Quasimodo disappeared."

Rudger had secretly attached the fire spirit Pasca to Casey.

It was an action taken because if he openly offered help, Casey's pride would likely not allow it.

"The power possessed by a Colour Mage cannot be stopped by such a spirit. I'm not dismissing spirits, but the opponent is too strong."

"Right. But at least it will help her endure."

"You said you'd give her enlightenment, but she might die fighting before she can properly digest that enlightenment. In fact, that probability is actually higher."

"I'm aware of that part too."

"Then why? Why did you do it knowing that?"

"Because Casey said she would."

"......"

Surna fell silent for a moment at that answer.

As Rudger said, Casey Selmore had chosen this fight herself.

There was no coercion, no threats, no persuasion in that choice.

She might lose. If things went wrong, or rather, nine times out of ten, she would die.

Yet she went.

To live, and furthermore, to save her family.

It was ironic.

To save someone and to live herself, she was walking toward death.

After pondering, Surna opened his mouth.

"As expected, I still cannot understand you humans."

Even to this confession-like statement, Rudger answered calmly.

"That would be natural. You're not human."

Surna is an apostle.

He has no given lifespan and was born strong from birth with innate authority.

Although Surna was born particularly weak among apostles, even in that state, he was superior to humans.

Naturally, there had to be a difference in perspective.

Even humans show many differences.

Smart people and stupid people, rich people and poor people, altruistic people and selfish people.

They don't understand each other, oppose each other, and conflict with each other.

If even the same humans are like this, it was natural that Surna, who isn't human, couldn't understand them.

"Still, I think I know one thing for certain."

"What's that?"

"You humans always have duality. That contradictory aspect is a weakness, but at the same time, it's also a virtue."

Just like now.

Like Casey, who willingly chose to walk the path of death to save and protect precious people.

Like the Owens, who fight in a situation where they might die under the stigma of being part of the Demon Lord's army by staying with Rudger.

"I don't know if that's right or wrong from an absolute perspective. My thinking is the same. You have to live first before you can do anything."

However, Surna continued.

"But I think it's beautiful. Perhaps that's why I evaluate you humans more highly than other apostles do."

Surna, despite being an apostle, founded an organization called the Black Dawn Society.

There were no good intentions in that purpose.

The Black Dawn Society brought overall chaos to this continent but it was actually what Surna wanted.

The important point is that Surna, an apostle, used humans for his own purpose.

Apostles are superior to humans, so they don't feel any utility from humans.

Do humans expect anything from ants?

Apostles follow the same principle.

But Surna was different.

Although Surna didn't understand humans, he still treated them as beings with personality.

He valued human potential highly, something other apostles couldn't see.

"That god fellow passes judgment on humans, but humans don't submit to it and try to move forward."

Surna thought of Rudger and others fighting on this island.

They were all individuals with unique personalities.

Even when someone tried to oppress them, they didn't submit and fought to the end.

Someone might say that's barbaric and selfish but Surna thought this was exactly the attitude necessary for life.

May there be peace and rest at the end of the path they wish to take.

"How unexpected. I didn't know you harbored such sentimental thoughts."

At Rudger's observation, Surna gave a bitter smile.

"You're right. Perhaps because the situation has come this far, I seem to have become quite sentimental too."

"Like a human."

"Like a human?"

Surna found it quite amusing that Rudger would call him human.

Everyone pointed fingers at him and cursed him, or looked at him with eyes full of fear.

The same was true for fellow apostles.

They only treated Surna as an apostle, a being with personality, but didn't see Surna as himself.

'The first one to treat me like a human was her.'

Arkenis.

Given her position as the Saint of Lumensis, she should have been obligated to kill Surna.

But Arkenis didn't kill Surna.

Even though she could have, she instead saved and sent away Surna, who was trying to kill her, several times.

'When I first faced her, what did she say when she saw me?'

At that time, Surna had lost his god and was filled with poison, raging with nothing but vengeance.

So he acted more ruthlessly and earned the title of Great Demon, a rank higher than other demons.

What Arkenis said the first moment she faced such a being was so unexpected.

Surna still remembered it.

• You have eyes filled with sorrow.

That's what she said as soon as she saw him.

Eyes filled with sorrow.

It was unbelievably sentimental and unsuitable for a saint to say about a great demon.

Surna sneered at Arkenis' words and tried to kill her but he was defeated.

Arkenis was a saint, but she was also an apostle of Lumensis.

Her innate power was strong, but most problematic was her Judgment Eye that could see the future.

No matter what he tried to do, those beautiful eyes that seemed to contain the sky would see through it all.

Playing poker while the opponent could see all his cards - there was no way he could win.

Defeated, Surna sensed his own death.

Having lost not to just any apostle but to the church's saint, he judged that he wouldn't be able to die peacefully.

But surprisingly, Arkenis didn't kill him.

-Go.

-What?

-I'll make good excuses to others that I let you escape.

Surna gaped at Arkenis, who smiled brightly while looking at him.

He didn't ask why she was sparing him, nor did he say thank you for sparing him.

-You'll regret it.

Rather than shame at having begged for his life, Surna coldly judged that he should take advantage of the opportunity given to him.

Toward such a Surna, Arkenis showed the leisure of waving her hand with a gentle smile as she sent him away.

Surna ground his teeth inwardly, thinking that leisure would kill her someday, and worked hard to become stronger.

Surna's authority was learning something.

That was also a power that allowed him to adapt to situations and respond accordingly.

The fight where Surna couldn't be killed made him stronger.

Having become much stronger, Surna sought out Arkenis and attacked her but was defeated again.

'It was truly absurd.'

Arkenis was strong.

She had such overwhelming power that Surna, who had been confident that he was stronger than before, was defeated without being able to properly fight.

There was no carelessness.

Knowing Arkenis' authority, Surna had thrown everything he had at her.

Yet being defeated meant that he was simply weaker than Arkenis.

-Kill me.

Surna told Arkenis.

Although he had survived once perhaps due to her whim, he thought there wouldn't be a second time.

But Arkenis said this to such a Surna:

-Why are you asking me to kill you?

-I'm a demon, and you're a saint. And I was defeated in the fight against you. So isn't it natural?

-Rather than such murderous words, how about thinking something a bit more wholesome and productive?

-What?

-For instance, the two of us getting along like friends. How about it?

Surna mocked such an Arkenis.

-So the so-called saint has flowers for brains. Have you lost your mind?

-Hmm. Perhaps you could see it that way. Sometimes I think that too. Ah, I'm not normal.

-You readily admit it.

-Seeing the future isn't always a good thing.

Arkenis' eyes, as she spoke, were somehow steeped in melancholy.

At that time Surna didn't know what she was seeing and what she was feeling.

-Always just fighting is too bleak, isn't it? Since we can communicate like this, if we talk, maybe we can find a way to get along well without fighting each other?

-Stop talking nonsense and kill me. If you don't kill me here, you'll be in more danger.

If Surna survived this time, he would use this fight as experience to become even stronger.

That was his authority.

Arkenis knew this too. She also knew that the current him was much stronger than when they first fought.

Even so, Arkenis shook her head and denied Surna's words.

-Go. I'll say I let you escape this time too.

-......You'll regret it.

Surna left, thinking that Arkenis was not just ordinarily mentally disturbed.

Thus, Surna challenged Arkenis several times and was defeated by her.

-That was close this time. I was almost in danger too.

As the number of fights increased, the duration of battles with Arkenis grew longer.

Defeat. Defeat. And defeat again.

Each time, Surna burned with determination and became stronger.

But within those fights, Surna changed.

Since Surna could learn and realize anything, the fights with Arkenis helped him understand better what kind of person she was.

-Lost again.

The previous poison had diminished, and now Surna spoke in a deflated voice, to which Arkenis laughed playfully.

-That was close. Maybe I'll lose next time we fight?

-Stop the empty words. No matter how strong I become, you can see the future. There's no way I could win against someone like you.

-But you never know. Maybe Surna could win against me, who sees the future.

-Seeing the future means fate is already fixed there, doesn't it? Then no matter how much I struggle, I can't escape the fixed fate of being defeated by you.

-Hmm, that might be true. The future I see has always come true. Even when I deliberately tried to avoid it, it wasn't easy. I tried it once, but it led to even worse results, so I gave up.

Arkenis' voice as she spoke was filled with indescribable deep bitterness.

Of course, that expression changed back to that of an innocent girl who didn't know the ways of the world, but Surna couldn't forget the expression Arkenis had shown for that moment.

-So seeing a predetermined future isn't entirely a good thing.

-Ahaha. You understand quickly. As expected, the Apostle of Learning is different.

-You're probably the only one in this world who calls me that. All I learned from fighting you was that I can't change a predetermined future.

-That might be true. But you never know, right? Whether you can change the given future.

-Didn't you say it's impossible?

-If I tried to do it, yes. But there's never been a case where someone else tried to change it. I think it would be different.

-Have you seen the future where that future is changed?

-No. Not at all. The future is always fixed. Nothing changes.

If Arkenis said that, it would be correct.

The future cannot be changed. That was a kind of shackle imposed by fate.

Surna knew this too.

Knowing this, he still casually said:

-Then let's change it.

Even after saying it himself, he couldn't understand why he had said this.

But the water was already spilled.

Surna continued with the same momentum.

-I'll keep getting stronger with my authority and completely shatter the future you draw.

-Even if it's a future that won't change?

-Is there a great demon who gives up after taking a saint's words at face value?

In a way, it was also a rude remark.

It was an act of doubting the saint's ability to see the future while simultaneously disparaging her authority.

But strangely, Arkenis seemed to have wanted to hear those words, as she spoke with a much more relaxed expression:

-Then let's make a bet.

-What kind of bet?

-I think a predetermined future cannot be changed. This world will always flow in a fixed form. That's my claim.

-Then I have to bet on the side that can change that future.

Surna accepted the bet.

-This time I'll definitely win against you.

-......That would be nice. If there are still opportunities for that in the future.

-What?

-It's nothing. You'll be going now today too, right?

-Yes. Make sure to cover for me well with your subordinates. Especially that Setadel guy. He shows too much loyalty to you, which is concerning.

-Setadel is a good person. But since that goodwill doesn't always work out well, I'll talk to him about it.

-Then I'm going.

That was probably the last chance the two could have a comfortable conversation.

If he had known that, Surna wouldn't have left so easily then.

After that, the holy war broke out and when Lumensis interfered in the lower world, everything went wrong.

In the end, Surna never managed to win against Arkenis.