I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 706: Light of Hope (2)

-Grrrumble.

The castle shook.

The holy knights and high priests could feel it completely.

How could they not? The cause shaking the castle was right before their eyes.

Demon Lord Heathcliff van Bretus.

The spell technique he spread wide and long like parchment around him shook the atmosphere, and its effects reached beyond to the castle.

Even those ignorant of magic could instinctively sense that the magic Rudger was deploying was anything but ordinary.

Their blood ran dry and their lips burned.

The instinct to stop that arose in their minds, but their bodies wouldn't move.

Not like a mouse facing a cat, but like facing a tiger.

Their bodies were bound by the shackles of fear, moving beyond their will and not budging at all.

The widely spread spell technique moved following Rudger's gesture and then suddenly contracted.

The sight of magic particles scattered in the air condensing to a single point in an instant was even beautiful.

That condensed spell technique formed a perfect sphere, and they could see light flickering inside the sphere.

'That is.'

'A flame?'

What they thought was a bluish light was actually a small burning blue fire.

The trembling of the castle that seemed about to collapse stopped and the first thing that came to the minds of the church people who witnessed this was doubt.

The process of preparing the magic alone was powerful enough to make the atmosphere tremble, but the result fell short of expectations.

They expected some massive vibration to occur and a giant to appear, but it was like the deflation of seeing a tiny child suddenly reveal itself instead.

But that was a thought only possible for those who didn't know better.

The deeper one's knowledge of magic and the higher one's discernment, the more they would have fainted in shock seeing the magic Rudger had achieved.

Beyond that, they would have shed tears.

Saying that was the ultimate fire.

The church, not knowing this, judged Rudger's magic to be merely a flashy preparation with hollow contents.

'We can block it!'

'If it's that much, somehow!'

They had no choice but to make such a misjudgment.

Even if not, they didn't have many options available.

Reading that intense will in their eyes, Rudger no longer even sneered.

He merely looked at them with pitying eyes, feeling nothing but sympathy.

"Go."

Rudger spoke to the blue flame that bloomed like a lotus petal above his hand.

The blue flame that received Rudger's command slowly approached the church people.

Burning small with a brilliant light, it looked like a craft made by cutting sapphire.

Being captivated by that beauty was only momentary.

The holy knight at the very front touched the blue flame.

Compared to the holy power flame he was currently manifesting on his body, the blue flame was so small it seemed like it would blow out at any moment.

That's why the holy knight was also being careless.

Because he had not yet seen the terror of this small flame.

And he would never see it in the future.

-Crack!

Because the holy knight's body froze solid right there and stopped.

"Huh?"

There was no forewarning or process.

It touched the blue flame, and then froze. That was all.

The holy knight beside him, who had doubts about that sight, met the same end.

Only when that number exceeded 10 did the church people, finally sensing the crisis of life, move.

The blue flame that had extinguished the lives of 10 people was larger than before.

It wasn't a mistake. The flame moving by devouring people was continuously growing in size using them as fuel.

"Block it!"

Sacred law was deployed.

Spears of light were used to suppress the flame while a large light barrier blocked the flame's path.

Hot light masses shining brilliantly as if to burn the flame in reverse.

All of that crumbled and disappeared before the blue fire, only making the blue fire's size grow even more.

"Wh-what is that thing!"

A high priest who saw the blue flame reaching right before him screamed in terror, and died frozen solid in that same position.

Rudger quietly watched that scene.

7th tier flame attribute magic [Blue Tranquility]

That magic that froze whatever it touched was ironically indeed flame attribute magic.

It might seem strange that despite being a flame, it froze rather than burned those it touched, but the mechanism of that magic was different from ordinary flame.

[Blue Tranquility] absorbs the heat around it.

It didn't need the three elements necessary to maintain flame: temperature above ignition point, oxygen, and fuel.

That thing absorbs surrounding heat just by existing.

Naturally, what [Blue Tranquility] mainly targets is 'heat sources'.

The heat sources in this place were the church people revealing intense holy power.

The sacred law they used for resistance couldn't damage [Blue Tranquility].

Rather, that energy became fuel for the blue flame in reverse, making it survive longer and stronger.

The gradually growing flame filled the corridor, and all those who touched it had their heat stolen and turned into ice sculptures.

No matter how faithful they were, it was useless.

Strong bodies, faithful minds, burning holy power.

Under the fair judgment the blue flame bestowed, they could only respond with silence.

After the flame devoured all enemies like that, what flowed through the gathering was suffocating silence.

The flame that had consumed all surrounding heat returned to Rudger.

Rudger holding the blue fire quietly gazed at it.

[Blue Tranquility] is a flame that burns stronger by absorbing surrounding heat.

According to the text in grimoires carved in long history, it's called the ultimate fire that transcends existing flames.

Such magic doesn't end with just consuming heat.

This flame that became stronger with the consumed heat was the real deal.

Rudger considered using this but decided to stop.

Because he realized that the woman who seemed to need this flame was still holding out well without falling.

"I see. You've realized it too."

Rudger, who gently grasped and extinguished the blue flame with his hand, flew up through the broken ceiling.

Icicles formed in the air fell with a patter.

Casey, who would normally have surrounded herself with a water barrier, retreated to avoid them.

The icicles changed direction to target Casey, but behind Casey was one reliable ally.

The spirit Pasca, burning with hot flames, melted all the flying icicles.

The water from the melted ice joined around Casey under her control.

Pasca didn't stop there and opened his mouth wide to shoot a breath at Marias.

Seeing the long-shooting flames, Marias casually gestured to create cold air and blocked it.

Though it was a flame of hot heat, the power possessed by the blue mage was greater.

Marias' ice easily blocked Pasca's breath.

However, since the heat couldn't be completely ignored, the surface of the ice wall melted and water flowed down.

That water moved stealthily across the floor following Casey's command and approached Marias' feet.

"You think you can defeat me with such tricks now?"

Marias froze all the nearby moisture with a benevolent smile.

Not stopping there, the frozen water on the ground changed into sharp waves with a cracking sound and attacked Casey.

Casey clicked her tongue and put Pasca forward.

Pasca spread both arms to confront the ice wave.

"You can't keep borrowing that spirit's power forever, can you?"

Casey didn't answer Marias' but she also knew deep down that Pasca's power alone couldn't win against her sister Marias.

'At first, we fought evenly with fire's firepower, but we're gradually being pushed back.'

Pasca, who had been melting ice to the point of evaporating it, was now only blocking ice or barely melting it.

Marias' cold air was much stronger than even the fire spirit Pasca.

Casey moved the water vapor that rose hazily from Pasca's heat.

Water vapor looks like gas but is actually composed of very fine water droplets.

She processed its form sharply, changing it into a needle form that was hard to see with the naked eye and sent it at Marias.

The flying water droplets froze solid and turned into small ice pellets.

Realizing that control had been taken over, Casey gave up without hesitation.

Because she had painfully learned through numerous battles that entering a power struggle here would be disadvantageous for her.

"Giving up already? Or are you deliberately trying to buy time?"

"What are you talking about?"

"A little while ago, you felt that massive shock that shook the castle, right?"

There was exactly one moment when the fight between Marias and Casey stopped.

It was because of the aftermath created by the fight between Rudger and Catherine.

The battle between the demon lord and the saint had such a massive impact that even the color mages suspended their mutual fight and held their breath.

And what was felt last was an unbelievably pure and massive sense of magical power.

'6th tier? No. What I felt wasn't just that level.'

7th tier.

A magic she had never seen before, which Rudger had used.

"I don't know how the victory was decided, but it seems you're expecting that demon lord to come help you. Like a prince on a white horse. Or should I call him a demon lord on a white horse?"

"Shut up."

"Sister is really disappointed. I was so happy when you brought a man, but I didn't know you had such poor judgment about men."

"How would I have known? And that's exactly what I want to say to you. Sister has equally poor judgment about men, doesn't she?"

"I have high standards."

The conversation between Marias and Casey seemed like ordinary sisters bickering.

But the exchanges between them were deadly enough to have killed each other hundreds of times.

"Casey. Are you still having such lukewarm thoughts about subduing me?"

"What?"

"Be more venomous. Fight not with the thought of defeating me, but with the thought of killing me. Otherwise, you'll die."

"Does sister want to die by my hand?"

"Where in the world would there be someone who wants to die?"

"Then why are you talking such nonsense?"

"Because if a moment comes when one of us must die, I want you to live."

Those words were sincere.

Though Marias was brainwashed, as a colour mage, she didn't lose her self to the brainwashing.

Having a different brain from ordinary mages, Marias could think rationally and converse.

Everything she said was her true feelings.

Knowing this, Casey's body trembled momentarily, and Marias aimed for that gap to form an ice cannon and fire it.

-Crash! Bang!

Behind Casey, who threw her body to the side, the ice chunk broke through the wall and collapsed the passage.

"So! You're telling me to kill sister right now?!"

"If you don't kill, you'll die."

"Then, after killing sister!"

Sincerity with sincerity.

Thinking this might be the last time, Casey also didn't hide her emotions from Marias.

"Do you think I'll live well after killing my precious family?! Don't say cowardly things! Sister is just trying to run away!"

"That's a valid point. Maybe I do want to run away."

A blizzard swirled.

Since that couldn't be avoided or blocked, Pasca stepped forward and blocked it with his body.

Hot heat seemed to push back the blizzard, but eventually couldn't withstand the power difference in the continuing fight.

Pasca's flames noticeably weakened.

"Rather than being controlled like this and moving according to others' will, it would be better to die comfortably."

"So you make such a terrible request to your sister? You're disqualified as a sister!"

Pasca collapsed with a scream.

Fire sparks scattering in the air dispersed, and Pasca was reverse-summoned.

The reliable ally that had made Casey endure until here completed its role.

"Now there's no fire spirit to protect you. The demon lord won't come to save you. Can you face me alone?"

"I never hoped for help in the first place."

Casey spoke in a clear tone.

"I'm not a princess, I'm a detective. I don't need a prince on a white horse. What matters is what I can do right now."

Casey knew better than anyone that Rudger wouldn't come to help her.

By assigning Pasca to her, Rudger had already done everything he could within the limits her pride would allow.

Receiving help from Rudger, of all people, who had a long bitter relationship with her, was something she could never accept.

From here on, she had to fight alone.

It was an extreme situation where life and death were at stake.

Her eyes stung and her head ached from the stress rising to the tip of her brain in the fierce battle.

However, Casey felt that her senses were sharpened to an unprecedented degree.

What drove the wedge was the lingering echo of the magic Rudger had used while fighting the saint.

The deep and clear scent of water.

The scent of the abyss, which only a rain-colored mage could smell.

That scent of the abyss was essentially similar to the ice that Marias handled.

"The price of that reckless bravado will be your life."

"If I can't bet my own life, why would I be a detective?"

"I see."

Marias murmured in a rather sad voice.

A massive iceberg was created around Marias with intense cold air.

Though smaller than the iceberg used to pierce Galahad Castle, it was an unbelievable scale for something aimed at one individual.

"Farewell. My sister."

The iceberg was fired.

Facing the iceberg advancing while destroying the corridor, Casey didn't think of avoiding or blocking it.

Instead she spread her empty hand wide and extended it forward.

Could she have given up?

It was natural for Marias to think that but Casey, from before until now had never given up even once after setting something as a goal.

Her obsession was among the best on this continent.

"That's why I could chase him for over three years."

At the same time Casey muttered with a smile the flying iceberg stopped right in front of Casey's nose.