I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 704: The Demon King and the Saint (2)

Catherine bit her lips.

7th Circle [Imperia]

Currently, Clinton was the only person on the continent who could use magic of this scale.

But at this moment, Rudger had newly added his name to that list.

The darkness attribute magic that Rudger used properly affected Catherine, who was a saint.

The gap was so large that she, who could crush even ordinary 6th Circle magic with her bare hands, had difficulty properly resisting this.

Darkness like sticky, viscous mud that absorbed her power.

Even within that, Catherine did not fall and stood upright on both legs.

Even if the opponent had been a master-level knight or a 6th Circle mage, if they had been hit by this magic, they wouldn't have been able to get up from their position.

That's how strong Catherine was. More than that, Catherine showed a firm will that she could not fall here.

"Do you think I'll stop here?"

Catherine approached Rudger step by step, cutting through the black mud.

Rudger watched Catherine with an indifferent gaze.

With each step she took, the power of darkness binding her body weakened.

The endlessly surging divine power gradually instilled vitality into her body, accelerating Catherine's speed.

Yellow flames began to rise between the black tar-like darkness covering Catherine's body.

Evidence that she was gradually recovering her strength.

"This won't be the end, right? You're still the demon king after all. Come on, show me more of your skills."

Rudger immediately responded to Catherine's provocation.

"Very well."

Catherine's eyes widened as if she didn't expect him to answer like that.

What was even more surprising was that Rudger wasn't just saying it with words, but was immediately showing it through action.

Behind Rudger's back, another massive spell circle spread out widely.

It was a spell circle of the same level and scale as when he had used 7th Circle magic just before.

Brilliant magical power embroidered the air, and it encroached on the surroundings, surrounding Catherine as if to encircle her.

It was already the second time seeing the entire space filled with spell circles, that the sight was still beautiful enough to be mesmerizing.

But the result was not.

Catherine's eyes saw the near future.

It was the sight of herself already being affected by Rudger's magic.

Trapped in a dark space where nothing could be seen, just floating there quietly.

'I can't avoid this.'

The fact that she was hit even after seeing the future meant that this was the type of attack that couldn't be avoided or blocked.

Just looking at the high-density magical power swirling around was enough to make that inference.

Using 7th Circle magic alone would have consumed enormous magical power and mental strength, yet he was deploying it consecutively here.

In such astonishment, Rudger deployed yet another magic.

7th Circle water attribute magic [Clear Greed]

-Swoooosh.

The sound of waves could be heard from somewhere.

It was the sea. The moment she recognized that, Catherine fell into the sea with a splash.

'I have to get out.'

Catherine struggled, but her body sank deeper and deeper into the sea.

Into the very dark and deep abyss where no light from the sea surface entered.

The extremely low temperature environment and enormous water pressure of the deep sea squeezed her body.

The scenery she had seen with her eyes was being realized exactly.

Catherine quietly closed her eyes.

Along with the thought that it might be easier if she closed her eyes like this.

Her body fell to the ground with a thud.

'Ah.'

Catherine finally realized that she had been defeated.

Through the collapsed ceiling, she could see the wide open night sky and even Rudger looking down at her.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and finish it. You won."

"Yes. I won. So now I'm going to leave."

"You're going to leave the saint behind? A demon king? Even though I might go to stop you again when I recover my strength?"

"That's right. If we fight again next time, the match won't be decided as easily as now."

"Today's match wasn't that easy either."

"Let's consider it so."

"But why are you trying to leave me behind?"

"That's because..."

Rudger took something out from his chest.

"Because before you were Saint Catherine, you were friend Catherine who first extended a hand to a boy named Heathcliff."

What Rudger took out was a neatly folded paper.

Rudger unfolded it and handed it to Catherine.

"What is that paper?"

"Take it."

Catherine received the paper with trembling hands.

"Read it."

Catherine scanned the contents written on the paper with her eyes and then opened them wide.

"This is... an address?"

What was written on the paper was an address written in elegant handwriting.

The address of a wealthy merchant family's mansion existing in some country.

And at the end of that address, it was written like this.

"Earnshaw..."

The moment Catherine spoke that surname, she felt her mind ache sharply.

"What, what is this?"

Her voice, which had been fine even during the fierce battle, trembled.

The moment she heard that name, which should have been heard for the first time, Catherine could feel longing and sadness somewhere.

"Why, why do I feel this way when I see this..."

"The Earnshaw family was an influential merchant family in Queoden, and they practiced righteous lives by giving to the townspeople or making donations with money earned from business. It's probably because the head of the family and his wife had very kind hearts."

"What does that have to do with..."

"Those two people were looking for their daughter who was lost long ago. Even in a time so long ago that they couldn't even remember now, they were desperate to find their daughter. They didn't even know her name, and all they remembered was that their daughter had beautiful blonde hair."

Catherine closed her mouth.

Her gaze was asking Rudger if that was really true.

Since Rudger had spoken this far, she couldn't possibly not know.

"Catherine. No, Catherine Earnshaw. That's your real name. The family you were born and raised in, your parents, your family. Things you must not forget. Things you must remember again."

"Heathcliff, you..."

"I really wanted to tell you this fact when I met you. You're not an orphan. You have a family desperately searching for you. A family that loves you more than anyone."

-Drip.

Clear, transparent tears flowed down Catherine's eyes.

"I came back to this hell partly to achieve my purpose, but also because I really wanted to tell you this fact."

Finding Catherine's parents took quite a long time.

Both lived in remote places, and the information gap was significant because the religious order had brainwashed her when they forcibly took Catherine away.

But Rudger finally found them and obtained their address.

"This is exactly where you should return. Not as Saint Catherine belonging to the religious order, but as Catherine Earnshaw, whom your family desperately seeks."

Catherine couldn't properly respond to Rudger's words.

Tears flowed endlessly from both eyes.

From her throat, it seemed like sorrow would overflow at any moment.

Finally, she remembered her name, her hometown, even her parents.

Why hadn't she known until now?

She shouldn't have forgotten. She should have kept remembering.

"Rest for now. After lying down for a while and getting up, everything will be over."

Rudger left Catherine behind and departed.

Rather than explaining anything more to someone who hadn't fully accepted it yet, it was better to give her time for personal reflection.

Rudger had something to do.

He had to bring this relic to the highest place in the castle.

'Did I fall a bit lower than originally?'

Due to the aftermath of the fight with Catherine, he had broken the ground surface and fallen below the castle.

Even trying to calculate spatial coordinates wasn't easy because of the enormous divine power.

Carrying a relic imbued with divine power and jumping through space was equivalent to tightrope walking with a lump of iron on one's back.

Since he had no choice but to move directly, Rudger flew up through the hole using flight magic.

Just as he was trying to return to his original position a golden net was scattered, targeting Rudger.

"It's the demon king! The demon king is here!"

"We must kill him no matter what! Stop his plan!"

Bretus' holy knights and high priests armed with all kinds of artifacts and support, attacked Rudger intensively with triumphant expressions.

"The ones who just stood still and couldn't do anything during my fight with Catherine until just now."

Rudger lightly tore apart the golden net trying to bind him and glared at the religious order's holy knights and priests.

"There's no mercy to be shown to those who chose voluntary fanaticism rather than brainwashing."

Rudger's magic struck the holy knights.

Alex tilted his head to the side.

The thrust coming like lightning pierced through where his forehead had been.

There wasn't just one sword.

Behind it, swords imbued with golden energy thrust in succession.

It was impossible to avoid them all so Alex's sword smoothly drew a circle in the air.

The circle created without any wavering sucked in the surrounding air and created a whirlwind.

The golden sword caught in the whirlwind was swept up and exploded.

The power of divine force scattering in all directions tore through the whirlwind and poured down on Alex like rain.

Alex struck the ground to create a large wall, putting up a barrier to protect his body.

The rain of divine force couldn't penetrate the debris, but the brainwashed knights were different.

They displayed strength several times stronger than usual and rushed at Alex, smashing through the thick debris like styrofoam.

Alex tried to subdue his opponents by swinging his sword, but each time, Enya with a pure white halo around her head blocked that flow.

Alex tried to subdue Enya, but it wasn't easy.

The divine power surrounding Enya's body wasn't ordinary divine power.

Someone very strong was controlling her, granting her all their power.

Alex didn't like that.

Not only the fact that they were arbitrarily controlling Enya's body, but what angered him most was the cunning fighting style the opponent showed.

Alex thrust his sword.

It was a simple probing thrust, so naturally one should choose to block or dodge.

What happened next was shocking.

Instead, Enya thrust her neck toward the sword.

Facing the lifeless eyes of a controlled puppet, Alex flinched and withdrew his thrust.

'Damn!'

Alex belatedly realized his mistake.

He had been completely caught by the opponent's scheme.

The price of forcibly withdrawing his sword was high.

-Slash!

Enya's sword imbued with divine power carved a deep wound on Alex's shoulder.

Red blood flowed down through the torn uniform.

If not for the protective artifact, his arm would have been cut off below the shoulder.

'Damn it. Knowing that I can't cut Enya, they're blatantly using her as a shield.'

The opponent controlling Enya was very intelligent and cunning.

Knowing it would be difficult to face him with pure skill, they deliberately held Enya hostage to pressure Alex.

'This isn't good. At this rate, I'll be worn down and die.'

Alex tried to stop the bleeding from his wound, but the controlled knights didn't allow it.

With the cardinal’s divine power added to the already strong knights, they displayed power far beyond ordinary knights.

Their superhuman movements disrupted Alex's breathing and forced him to swing his sword reluctantly.

'If I sweep them all away.'

Every time Alex tried to use a big technique, Enya would get close as if she knew about it.

It was as if asking, 'Are you okay with the woman you care about possibly dying if you use that?'

Veins stood out on Alex's hand gripping Copy Cat's handle.

If he swung his sword now, his gray aura would tear apart everything around him.

Alex could do it if he set his mind to it.

He had both the ability and talent to make it happen.

'Too much time has already passed. I need to end this here and defeat more enemies. I can't let everything be ruined here because of me alone.'

He was fighting for Rudger right now.

Under the name of the demon king's army, enemies of the world.

In such a war, he couldn't be bound by past connections that had been severed long ago.

Coldly and boldly, he had to cut them down.

That was rationally correct.

Aura surged over Alex's sword as he finished his resolve.

Time flowed slowly in extreme tension and concentration.

With an expressionless face, Alex suddenly saw past images overlapping in Enya's face looking at him.

-Alex! You skipped again! What are you going to do if you fail at this rate?

From cadet days, bothering him.

-I won, Alex! What did I tell you? You could definitely do it! Of course, it's all thanks to my cheering!

Smiling at him.

-Did you fight again? So foolish! I told you to just ignore them!

Getting angry on his behalf.

-A guy I like? Of course there is. Someone kind, warm, and steady? Oh what. It's a joke, why are you being so serious?

Joking around.

-...I'm disappointed.

Finally being sad.

The face of the person he loved most.

"Yeah, as expected."

In the split second that divided one second into thousands, Alex recalled all memories and with a smile.

He withdrew his aura.

"This seems right for me."

-Stab!

Enya's sword pierced into Alex's abdomen.