The Novel's Professor

"Now, Ali...!"

Eugene suddenly shouted, his eyes immediately shifting to the thin student.

"R-right...!" Ali nodded, his eyes closing. He raised his hand, manipulating the magical energy inside him as he focused intently. "[Smoke Diffusion]...!"

In that instant, before everyone's eyes — large amount of black smoke suddenly erupted at the surroundings. The fumes of the gaseous smoke covered everyone's bodies, hiding their positions.

Amidst the chaos, Eldric was startled from the sudden eruption of smoke. He coughed, feeling like a blemish was stuck in his throat.

"Cough! Cough!"

Ali bit his lips, forcing himself to stay focused. It wasn't done just yet... There were yet two more skills he needed to cast. The ruby red ornament ring on his hand suddenly glowed, as if mocking his attempts.

"[Speed Zone]....!"

At that moment, an invisible circle conjured beneath the area. The circle granted reinforced speed towards his allies, giving Eugene, Veena and Warrington immense help.

"Nicely done!" Eugene shouted in praise, his knees lowering. Before he continued, he commanded. "Now, Veena and Warringson, go through with the plan!"

Amidst the smoke, Veena, along with Warringson, nodded resolutely. Warringson carried Veena over his shoulders. In one huge leap, his body flew to the air, carrying Veena as they motioned through the air.

"Good! Let's meet the area according to the plan." Eugene shouted, his knees immediately letting go as he dashed away from the smoky area — his body vanished like a blur, reinforced with immense speed.

In mere seconds, he was already running far.

"This is all..." Eldric muttered angrily, his hand waving the sword. The smoke slowly dispersed, revealing his tall figure. "...all useless."

Above the area, Veena closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she opened it again, revealing her extraordinarily pure white pupils. She raised her arm, conjuring crackling lightnings on top of her hand — she dropped her hand to Warringson's body.

Crackle—!

At that moment, Warringson flinched. His eyes suddenly trembled. The lightning flashed through his body, electrifying him. However, with his sturdy earthly physique — he was able to redirect the electric lightning to his arm. He smirked as he aimed below the smoking area.

'Come on...come on...!'

Below the smoke, Ali struggled vehemently. The devil viciously attacking his mind. He closed his eyes, trying to focus intently. He muttered:

"[Sleuth—?!"

However, before he could cast the skill, an ear-rupturing scream suddenly echoed inside his mind. The scream uttered out an unknown, foreign language—its mere tone and cadence held diabolic insanity, as if containing the voice of all demons and devils combined.

It destroyed his mind, causing intense destruction towards his psyche. The voices continued on—increasing in intensity at every moment. The harrowing scream echoed out undecipherable secrets that could make any ordinary man go insane.

"Graghhh....!!!" Ali shouted in pain, his eyes turning white. He grabbed his head, pummeling it hard in utter desperation. "No...no...make...make it stop..!"

[Hahahahahahaha!] The devil's voice resounded, laughing madly.

Ali vehemently struggled in pain, his psyche slowly deteriorating into unconsciousness. In the midst of his suffering, he remembered a precious memory, a memory before the academy started.

It was the image of his hometown.

...No—no! He couldn't just fall here yet...!

[Quite too late, human.]

An alluring, smug voice suddenly resounded in his mind. Ali widened his eyes in disbelief. In that brief moment, as if timed stopped—the devil's figure appeared in his sight.

The devil was otherworldly, its appearance foreign to anything he had ever glanced towards—there was no accurate description of its visage. It stood two meters tall, having feminine features, hinting of its gender. On her face, countless eyes were etched, staring at his body eerily.

[If only you accepted the contract before all of this, but...]

Ali wasn't able to hear the devil's last words, his mind turning suddenly unconscious as his body fell to the ground, producing a loud thud into the area.

At that moment, Warringson thrusted his arm into the air. The air blew as the storms of lightning on top of his hand blasted beneath the ground.

Crackle—! Crackle—!

The lightning integrated with the smoke, causing a chemical chain reaction—the storms of electricity boosted in power several folds as the whole area experienced sudden high voltage.

Boom—!

"Ah!" Eldric flinched in pain, his body paralyzed. He vehemently moved his hand—waving the sword once more than he dispersed the surrounding smoke. "Shit! Shit! It hurts!"

Above the smoky area, noticing their job was done, Warringson changed his trajectory, landing himself and Veena on the ground. Shortly after, he leaped once more.

Woosh—!

"Tsk." Eldric clicked his tongue, annoyed. He stared at their leaping figures in distaste. He shook his head... slippery rats. While he was feeling annoyed... he then noticed something near him.

Eldric widened his eyes in surprise.

..It was not a thing per se, it was a person—an unconscious person seemingly dead.

"What..."

A thin student, wearing the same uniform as Eugene. Ali's body... In simple words, could only be described as horrendous. The student's eyes were unconscious, while his entire skin was charred black.

"...In god's name happened?"

—

In the observation room, a heavy silence descended; the teachers staring at the hologram with tense and serious eyes. In their pupils, a mix of confusion dwelled.

It didn't exactly escape their notice either, but amidst the chaotic battle... the thin student was suddenly acting weird, screaming in pain as if something was guttering him from the inside.

Not only that, but there was something far more wrong.

Brandon tapped his feet on the ground, his eyes narrowing.

"What happened? Why didn't the protection barrier from the smartwatch not activate? This shouldn't have happened... Is there a bug in the application? Or was it a problem with the formation...? No, that couldn't be. It's Director Guinevere's formations... It can't have a problem."

"This is a huge oversight from the academy." a Combat Teacher commented. "...Shit."

an Arcane Teacher lightly glanced at the hologram, their eyes callous. "It's a mere civilian, why pl—"

Crack—!

"Be quiet." Brandon coldly said, his feet cracking the floor. He wasn't in the mood to entertain any teacher's thoughts right now. He paused before continuing. "Larkinson should be on his way. Hopefully, the student isn't dead yet... that would be hell for the academy."

The teachers stood quietly, all their attention focused on the hologram. In the entirety of the academy's history, not a single student's death has been ever recorded... However, with how things were looking out right now... It might be its first.

Somewhere in the room, Rio, with a complicated look, stared at the sight of the thin student body. He expected that... but what he didn't expect was himself not ready yet to face one of the many consequences of his actions.

"Mr. Rio..." Samantha suddenly called out, her voice soft. "If you don't mind me asking, but why are you wearing such a complicated look on your face?"

"Ah..." Rio sighed, his head shaking. He paused for a moment, struggling to form "Its just... I know that student very...very well."

"Is he a relative of yours, Mr. Rio?" Samantha asked, casting a pitying glance towards the student.

"...You could say that." Rio answered, his eyes losing focus. After all, the student Ali — holding an Archdevil in his mind, was a creation of his. A separate, individual creation.

"I see..." Sophia nodded in understanding. "Then, I hope for him the best."

'Me too.'

Rio nodded in agreement, his attention returning to the blue-colorful hologram.

—

Somewhere in the wide area filled with massive rocks , Eugene leaned towards a towering tall boulder. His shoulders relaxing as he stared above the sky.

He waited for a few seconds, hearing nothing but the calm wind.

'...Did it work?'

While he resting his body, a beep suddenly resounded from his smartwatch. A red-screen suddenly projected on his hologram.

[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]

"What... is this?" Eugene muttered, confused.

[Please, standby and wait for Help and Security!]

"Help and Security?"

Eugene widened his eyes in surprise. What happened? Did something go wrong with the plan—? What could have gone... In a flash, he remembered his teammate, Ali.

'...Goddammit.'

He clenched his hand tightly. Back then, when he was discussing the plan—he had noticed that the thin student was more anxious and distracted than usual... but due to the tight time, he couldn't do anything about it. All he could do was trust him.

Evidently—it didn't go as planned and something far worse happened.

'...But..wait...'

A possibility suddenly flashed through his mind. Eugene instinctually moved his body, reinforcing himself as he ran towards where he had gone from.

'..If this is a group test—then, if one person in the group is disqualified... what happens to the entire group?'

Then he remembered back to the second phase of the exam. There were a lot of teams missing and remained unqualified. However, on the other hand, all the qualified teams that managed to qualify were all complete, with four members even with injury or not.

Eugene hurried his steps, using more magical energy as he reinforced himself several folds. His body flashed—rapidly advancing towards Eldric from a distance.

Before the help and security arrives, he needed to finish this exam. If not... then... he might fail this exam completely, losing all his chances for the Star Scholar position.

From a distance, Eldric noticed him.

"Oh, it looks like you decided to come back..."