The Novel's Professor

Rio's eyes widened, the hair on his body standing erect—feeling the cold, hidden threat from the man's words. He closed his hand. Not yet, he wasn't going to die here. Not here.

He bit his lip, forcing his body to calm down. He still has a chance, it was not hopeless yet. The man was willing to reason, if he could convince the man he was an ally—he would live.

Right, live. That's what matters the most. Rio thought as he calmed himself down.

"So? Are you gonna speak or what? I don't have time, just so y'know." The Combatant said.

"Ah—sorry, this place was off-limits...? I didn't know that..." Rio said, his head lowering, deep in thought. "Strange...I swear it wasn't off-limits, the guard didn't say anything to me."

"Oh? So you're saying you entered earlier, and the guard even let you go through the portal?" The Combatant pondered, his hand caressing his chin.

"Exactly, I had a trip to the Harrowing Lands, SilentDemon Forest to be exact, and the guard let me pass easily." Rio exclaimed, his hand raising in mock surrender. He sighed, "So as you see, I'm not an ally, nor an enemy. I'm just a stranger, an innocent victim with absolutely no part on this."

"Hm, that's strange..." The Combatant muttered.

"What is?" Rio asked off-handedly, his eyes creeping in confusion.

"If you are, then the smartwatch should have announced that this place was offlimits, how come you didn't know of that?" The Combatant asked, sharply staring at Rio.

"Ah, that," Rio said, his hand running around his hair. He was lucky, somehow he has a reason for all of this. He continued, "You see...my smartwatch is bugged."

"Bugged? You mean not working?"

"Yeah, I'l show you then, if you won't believe me." Rio said, quickly raising his other arm with a device attached on the wrist.

The Combatant grabbed his wrist, his eyes raising in wonder and interest. He stared at Rio's arm longer while caressing his chin in thought. "It really is not working. I guess I shouldn't blame you for this, then."

Rio sighed in relief. He raised his head—shifting his eyes to the red haired man in front. "Then, does that mean..I'm innocent now?"

The Combatant returned the stare. His brows raising in interest. The silence stretched long until he spoke. "No. Not really. I don't believe you."

"W-what?" Rio stuttered, disbelief etched on his face. What went wrong?! He continued, trying his best to remain calm. "..Why? Is there something wrong?"

"You should drop the act, you know," The Combatant frowned, his hand reaching out to his waist, taking out the saber. He pointed the saber to Rio. "I ain't playing games here. You thought I wouldn't notice your disguise? Do you play me as a fool?"

Then it dawned on him. Rio opened his mouth, trying to utter out words. But it quickly close itself, undecided. Should he just confess right now and here? Was that his only choice?

"...How did you notice?"

"Well, I'm not really good at checking out magical energy. At first, I only thought the something about you was weird but I just wrote it off as a mere hunch," The Combatant explained, his saber nearing Rio's throat. "But then you gave me your arm. The moment I touched your arm, I felt the layer of magical energy. In that instant, it hit me that you're either in a disguise or applying a skill to protect yourself. But I'd rather believe the former, after all—the magical energy covering you is mostly concentrated on your face."

Rio was impressed. But other than impressed, he was cursing at himself. ...It was a mistake on his end. The thought of a person discovering his disguise through a simple touch didn't even cross his mind. In his defense, he didn't even expect to encounter someone—a person as impossibly, overwhelmingly strong as this one.

'It seems...I have no more rope to grasp on. I have to reveal my identity as a professor to escape all this.'

He sighed, resigning himself to his fate that his original identity as a professor be revealed. He didn't even know if this man was going to be spare him—even with the knowledge of him being a professor in hand.

He raised his head, staring at the sharp saber pointed at his throat. He gulped, ready to talk. But then he noticed something.

His eyes shifted from the saber to behind The Combatant, noticing a strange scene envelope before him. No, it wasn't just strange per se. It was beyond that.

Behind the Combatant, the originally vibrant—thriving of life trees slowly withered, losing luster as the life within them visibly drained. On the ground, the shattered, broken down remains of the dragon molded into something. Something.

He couldn't properly convey the appearance. It was just something. He knew of the dragon's body and regenerative ability—but this wasn't it. This one was unlike the last. It wasn't simply the dragon reviving itself. It was molding itself to something stronger and more destructive.

"Huh? What are you looking..." The Combatant frowned, his head quickly turning behind. As soon as he saw the scene, he staggered, disbelief etched on his face. "What?! How come you aren't dead yet?! Your conscience should be utterly erased. Wiped out. I made sure of that!"

He was sure of it. No one, not a single demon—or monster, even a human, survived his Oblivion Art. It only had one direct purpose, it was to completely remove the target's consciousness in one strike.

"Fool. A fool you are. But that is to be expected. You are but a flea—a human, less than a dragon." A voice reverberated throughout the forest, making the land shake. "It shouldn't need to be explained. I am a Primordial. My conscience doesn't simply hold to my vessel, it extends to earth. The land. The forest. The world. Nature."

Rio's body shuddered from the voice, his ears bleeding from the strength and loudness. He quickly covered his ears, trying to lessen the pain.

"...What..?" The Combatant said, disbelief etched on his face. A conscience extending over...everything? That was insane! No, more than insane, it was impossible! No wonder his strike didn't do anything. He was simply taking down a tree from the infinite nature.

Other than disbelief, his body shuddered. He loosened his hold over the saber. So... conscience can work like that. That piece of knowledge made him shiver, uncontrollably tremble—in excitement.

His red eyes shone admist the darkness, filled with fervor of battle and desire. This was what he needed. Within him, something shattered. For a long time, he was troubled about how to improve—but this piece of knowledge showed him to a greater alternative path.

"Hahahahahahaha!" The Combatant laughed madly, his hand gripping over the saber tightly. He pointed the saber at Loterra. "This is gonna be fun! This is the first time I felt the desire to battle after slaughtering an entire dimension of demons by myself! Prepare yourself, Loterra!"

"Fool. Even in my state, you wish to seek further death?" 'Loterra' spoke, its body completed from the rebirth. Unlike its last body, this one was far larger—extending over the whole sky, blocking even the moon. "Perhaps it was destined so. Even your power itself is related to the Authority of Death."

"I don't know what you're saying, but if you're wondering about my power—I call it Oblivion. The power to wipe anything in the face of the earth!" The Combatant said. "Unfortunately, it is not yet perfected."

"I can see that. Your power does not yet represent you. It is not yet your anima. Close, but still an extension." Loterra said, its body moving slightly, shaking the whole world once more. "Perhaps if you lived beyond this, you might perfect it and reach the rank of Sovereigns, but unfortunately—only death is your ending at this battle."

The Combatant laughed, ignoring the threats of the dragon. For him, only one single thing mattered. It was the battle. His death and life were inconsequential to him. He knew himself than any other, even in death—he will fight. Improve. And battle.

He pointed the saber directly to Loterra. "For a final bout, may this world be destroyed; shattered and tore down. Only one will live in this exchange!"

"You are incompatible with nature," Loterra scoffed, its huge head shaking in contempt. Its body slowly rose, tearing the whole forest—ground with it. "All the more reason to execute you."

From the side, Rio's body fell to the ground, rolling to the side. He quickly tried to recover himself by standing up. He raised his head, staring at the exchange that was about to envelop before his eyes. "...Fuck."

He was going to die. That was the finale. If this exchange happened—he was going to crumble and turn to dust from the sheer power they would release. As he was thinking of his death, he felt something enter his body.

He immediately looked inside his body, checking for anomalies. Then, his eyes widened in shock—it was...corrupted magical energy. The energy from The Devourer.

Thinking of something, he quickly raised his head to the sky, noticing the large dimensional crack further break apart. There were arms of demons, devils stretching out, excited to enter the world. From the crack, corrupted energy spread, flooding the whole area.

How could he forget?! No, it was not that he forgot. He was just simply too occupied with his current situation to remember his original reason wanting to escape quickly. Now he was too late. The...Archdevil's descent has begun, and it wasn't stopped, unlike in the novel.

As soon as he thought of that, The Combatant holding over a saber, rushed to Loterra—slashing a beautiful arc. Loterra likewise responded with an attack.

Then the world blanked. Everything was enveloped with white and darkness.