I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 708: Light of Despair (1)

Hans' rampage ironically provided an opportunity to reorganize the battle lines.

The soldiers of the Yuta Kingdom blocked the approaching cryptids while withdrawing the existing forces to the rear, beginning to hold their position atop makeshift barriers created with magic.

They faced the cryptids, but never sent their formation forward.

They thoroughly held their position and merely blocked the cryptids.

To someone, this looked like an iron wall thoroughly blocking the enemy's offensive.

But from a slightly different perspective, it could also look like they were blocking the path to prevent the rear troops from advancing forward.

Considering that their actual intention matched the latter, it wasn't wrong to say so.

However, there was no way to harbor complaints against the soldiers of the Yuta Kingdom.

Although their goal was to stop the Demon King, everyone was feeling considerable fatigue from the strange phenomena that kept occurring repeatedly.

Above all, the Galahad Citadel where the Demon King resided was now floating high in the sky.

Even if they wanted to go, there was no one who could reach up there.

A pure white tree that had suddenly sprouted was connecting like a drawbridge, but where could you find someone brave enough to climb up that thing?

Naturally, as ordinary soldiers, they had no choice but to wait for those who had gone ahead to resolve the situation.

Thanks to this, Rene could gather people without anyone's interference or obstruction.

She fully benefited from spatial magic that allowed rapid movement to desired locations.

"Does this mean everyone's gathered?"

Verom asked, casually resting his sword on his shoulder.

The fact that he was teaming up with the priestess he had been fighting with just moments ago was quite uncomfortable, but what could he do?

That's how the situation was.

"Don't we need to bring that beastman gentleman who's fighting over there?"

Alex answered Verom's question.

"It would probably be difficult."

"Why?"

"Because he's having the fight he so desperately wanted. If we go to help, Pantos would get angry instead."

"I can't understand that at all."

"Just think of it as a pride that a man must absolutely maintain."

"If that's the case, then fine."

Pantos had to focus on stopping Hans.

In addition, people who had been huddled together avoiding cryptids in the 1st checkpoint city also joined.

There were quite a few disturbances when Stella Siren and Cold Steel joined as well.

The cult's brainwashing wasn't limited to just the Night Crawler Knight Order.

Their cunning hands had reached other knight orders as well, and when the situation began to flow subtly, they immediately revealed their true colors.

But such brainwashing could no longer exert its power.

With the combined technique of Aidan and Madeline who used anti-magic, all their brainwashing was completely destroyed.

"There are still many people on the battlefield who are under brainwashing. We need to help those people."

Aidan, who had a strong sense of justice, volunteered to say so.

Madeline pressed down on Aidan's head with her hand and vigorously ruffled it.

"Agh! Why!"

"Because I'm proud. You little rascal, now you've become so reliable that it's hard to ruffle your hair. There's still a lot of work to do, so I won't take responsibility if you collapse on the way?"

"I'm fine, but what about you, Master?"

"Who's worrying about whom right now? You don't need to worry about that, so feel free to run wild."

Since not everyone could go to the Galahad Citadel, they divided roles among themselves.

First, those who had been brainwashed had aftereffects remaining, so they needed to rest.

People were also needed to protect the injured.

Although Pantos was blocking Hans, overflowing cryptids were still wandering around one by one.

For that purpose, the priests decided to stay behind.

"Even if we go, we probably won't be of help. It's better to help the injured here and prevent greater damage from occurring."

Of course, there were also those who volunteered to go.

"I have to go too."

Alex shook off his wounds and stood up.

Indeed, the priestess healing skills were excellent.

When they were enemies, there was no more troublesome opponent than this, but now that they were allies, they were incredibly reassuring.

They could even heal the wounds of someone who was nearly dying.

Of course, this was also thanks to Alex having a stronger physique than others, which allowed him to endure that far.

"Alex. Do you really have to go?"

Enya asked with reddened eyes.

Perhaps because she had cried too much earlier, traces of still-wet tears remained on her cheeks.

"Yeah. I have to go and help. This is a man-to-man promise."

"Alex. I..."

"Shh."

Alex shook his head at Enya, indicating she didn't need to say more.

"Let's talk about the rest when I come back later."

"......"

Enya realized she couldn't stop Alex and stepped back.

Still, the fortunate thing was that Alex himself was showing the will to somehow return alive.

"Then I'll go. Everyone relax and follow as my mana guides you."

Rene scattered her mana around.

The mana of space circled around and created light.

Everyone's eyes widened at the reaction that was different from other magic.

Master-level knights could feel that Rene's mana was resonating with the atmosphere and subtly shaking the entire space.

-Flash!

With an intense flash of light, the figures of Rene and the people gathered around her disappeared as if they had never existed in that place from the beginning.

Catherine, who had received the note from Rudger and regained her forgotten memories, could only calm her emotions after quite a long time had passed.

Perhaps it was a reaction to suppressing her emotions and acting as a saint until now, but she felt like she had cried all the tears she should cry in her lifetime.

"Hah. sniff"

After crying it all out, even she found it absurd, and this time she just laughed.

At this age, to cry so sorrowfully like that, yet at the same time be so happy about this situation itself that she didn't know what to do.

She felt foolish about herself, but at the same time, there was a sense of relief somewhere.

She had fought her best, but lost.

Moreover, she had even received help from Rudger.

'I see. That fool, even after escaping from this hell, continued to care about me.'

Without knowing this, she had gotten angry at Rudger asking why he came here, and had even attacked him.

Catherine felt ashamed of her actions.

How could she be called a saint with such imperfect eyes that couldn't even see this future?

Catherine's thoughts stopped there.

Her head turned sharply to the side.

"Who's there?"

Even before sensing a presence, her eyes began to hurt again.

In the gentle pain, she could feel her pupils connecting to something.

That connected something was approaching this way.

Two people revealed themselves from beyond the half-ruined passage.

One was a cold-looking silver-haired handsome man, and the other was a beautiful woman with long ash-gray hair.

Catherine's gaze fixed on the woman among them and wouldn't let go.

That's the person.

The cause of the pain felt in her eyes. For reasons unknown, the person connected to her.

"Who are you?"

At those words, the silver-haired woman, Arkenis, spoke with a smile.

"Nice to meet you. The saint of this era. My name is Arkenis. Just an ordinary girl who woke up from a very long sleep."

"Arkenis? That can't be."

Catherine was greatly shocked by those words, but found herself unknowingly accepting that the person was Arkenis.

Because she instinctively felt that the source of this power that had settled in her body was the woman before her eyes, Arkenis.

"But how? You were said to have died a thousand years ago..."

"That's just what it was known as."

"...What's your reason for seeking me out?"

Catherine's tone changed.

Being intelligent, she was quick to assess situations.

Although she showed respect toward Arkenis, the strongest emotion dwelling in her pupils was wariness.

If Arkenis were to say she wanted to reclaim her power, it would be troubling for Catherine.

But Arkenis spoke with a gentle smile, as if there was no need for such worry.

"There's something I really want to say."

Rudger climbed to the top of the citadel.

The center of the Galahad Citadel. The highest spire.

It was already a high place originally, but because the citadel was floating in the sky, the entire Bretus Island could be seen below.

Everything was small and distant.

Even the hellscape unfolding down there looked like nothing when viewed from such a wide and high place.

It seemed like it would break fragilely if you just brought your hand over and pressed it lightly.

'Is this the view you're seeing, Lumensis?'

The chief god Lumensis would be looking at an even wider world from a place higher than himself.

To him, humans living on the continent would appear as nothing more than less than insects, microorganisms not even worth paying attention to.

Lumensis simply liked the fact that such microorganisms formed colonies and lived together in the cage he had created.

It didn't matter what unreasonable things each individual microorganism experienced. He didn't even pay attention to them.

There was only the desire to contain the most beautiful form as a whole cage.

Perhaps the scene he most ideally wished for would be everyone worshipping and serving him unchangingly for a lifetime.

But Rudger could feel the sadness, suffering, anger, pain, and despair that people experienced on the battlefield.

Nevertheless, the resolve and will to somehow survive.

He could feel all those emotions.

No matter how high a place he was in.

No matter how small they looked like ants.

'In the end, we're all the same humans.'

The center of the citadel, the highest spire, was built large and wide so that the enthroned Holy Emperor could lead his close associates to look down upon the people's livelihood.

Here.

This place was the final battleground where Rudger would end this entire journey.

Perhaps that's why unfamiliar faces and familiar faces began to appear one by one.

People suddenly appearing in a place with no cover where there was nowhere to hide.

It would have been surprising, but Rudger just calmly took in each of their faces.

Finally, Rudger's gaze turned to the girl Rene, who would have moved all these people here.

"Rene. You've come this far."

"Yes."

Rene answered confidently while meeting Rudger's eyes.

"Did you come to stop me?"

"No."

"Then?"

"I came to talk."

"I don't know what story you want to tell, but please step aside for now. I have something I must do."

Rudger took out a relic from his chest.

The relic densely written with pure white divine script now looked like nothing more than a glowing pure white disc.

"I must use this. I came this far overcoming all those hardships for this."

"What happens if you use that?"

"What do you think happens? You can see now, can't you?"

Rudger asked as if looking into Rene's pupils, the [Eyes of Judgment].

Rene shook her head.

"...No. I can't see either. As if fate itself won't allow it."

"I see."

In the end, the Eyes of Judgment were also an authority stemming from divine power.

No matter how powerful an authority, because a relic imbued with the power of multiple gods was involved in this incident, even the Eyes of Judgment couldn't dare to foresee it.

In other words, it was an undetermined future, a pitch-black future where nothing could be seen.

Therefore, desired things could happen, but conversely, terrible things could also occur.

Those who would create that future would be the people gathered in this place.

"Since you've come this far, you deserve to know what I intend to do."

Everyone listened to Rudger's words.

Even the Owens members were no exception because even fellow comrades had never heard Rudger's true purpose.

Having come this far, the situation should be considered over.

Did such optimistic thinking invite trouble?

"That story. I'd like to hear it too."

A voice was heard.

A leisurely, relaxed voice full of playfulness.

Who?

There was no one around who had uttered such words.

Naturally, the gazes of the people gathered turned toward the direction the voice came from.

Right above, in the sky.

'The sky?'

That couldn't be.

The citadel was already floating in the sky. But the sky?

Everyone's gaze turned toward the sky where a hole was gaping open.

And they could see something falling with a pure white flash.

"Everyone dodge!"

No sooner had Terina's warning ended than something falling with light collided with the spire.

"Th, this is..."

What was revealed as the dusty haze cleared far exceeded everyone's expectations.

It was the Wind Elemental Lord.

A unique form with a body that rotated like overlapping rings at the center and six pairs of large white wings.

The being that brought storm clouds to this battlefield and blocked the path of the sky, standing at the pinnacle of wind spirits, that Wind Elemental Lord had fallen onto the citadel.

It was shocking.

It wasn't a monkey falling from a tree, but a Wind Elemental Lord crashing from the sky?

Who on earth?

Everyone's gaze turned toward the sky where the elemental lord had fallen.

A single starlight was descending there.

To be precise, it was a person emitting light like starlight.