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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuzio
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‘This is driving me crazy.’
This misshapen underground space had been dug out to investigate the source of the dark magic constantly emanating from the academy’s construction site.
He was about to encounter Regita and other demons here, and now he was stuck with four of his students.
It was touching, truly touching…
“What in the world made you follow me down here?”
“We didn’t follow you, Professor… Actually, it was Michelle who started chasing after you…”
Isabel was about to argue, but quickly shut her mouth.
It didn’t matter now.
They were stuck underground with Professor Adrian.
“What do we do now?”
“I don’t know.”
Despite Jekiel’s nonchalant response, the students couldn’t help but cling to hope.
He had jumped down this incredible height while carrying all of them, landing gracefully without a scratch.
Surely, someone with his abilities could save them.
“Say…”
Michelle’s gaze darted towards a particular direction.
The others followed her gaze and noticed a path stretching out before them.
“Seems like there’s only one way to go. Like it or not, this is our only option.”
Magic for falling and magic for ascending were different beasts entirely.
Just because they had survived the fall didn’t mean they could magically fly back up.
“Hmm…”
Adrian started to think.
His head felt like it was about to explode.
In the worst-case scenario, he could open a portal to the Demon Realm and send his students there for temporary protection.
However, that would expose his true identity as a demon and ruin everything.
That was a last resort.
“…What is this place?”
Charlotte started to look around.
The other students were just as curious.
They had no idea why such a place existed beneath the academy.
“You are aware that construction was halted here.”
The students nodded.
“Do you know why it was halted?”
This time, they all shook their heads.
“It was halted because they detected dark mana.
The presence of dark mana is incredibly dangerous for human mages.”
Isabel’s face paled slightly.
“So… does that mean we’re being exposed to dark mana by being here? Why was this underground space created in the first place?”
“To find the source, of course. But they haven’t been able to find it yet. I was sent here to investigate the cause.”
The students gasped.
They had fled towards Adrian out of fear when the rift opened, but now the gravity of the situation was truly sinking in.
They had stumbled into something incredibly dangerous.
“What… What do we do now, Professor? We saw a rift. The kind that opens when demons enter the human world.”
“I see.”
The situation was dire, but he had to remain calm.
His goal wasn’t to save just one of them, but all of them.
“One thing’s for sure. You’ve gotten yourselves involved in something dangerous. One wrong move, and you could die.”
Everyone nodded somberly.
Even they had to admit, they were in over their heads.
Adrian started walking, leading the way, and his students trailed behind him like baby chicks.
He frowned.
“…Stay back.”
“W-What?”
“You were supposed to be studying in the classroom. You disobeyed my orders and got caught up in this mess. Don’t expect me to help you.”
Adrian picked up his pace.
His students, however, matched his speed, clinging on for dear life.
“B-But! We didn’t know this would happen! Please, help us!”
Isabel, naturally, was the most desperate.
“No.”
“But we might be helpful!”
“No.”
Adrian stopped walking and turned around.
His gaze was ice-cold.
“You should have considered yourselves dead the moment you entered this construction site. Keep that in mind.”
“Eek…”
The students trembled.
Being trapped in this desperate situation was terrifying enough, but the fact that Professor Adrian might not even help them made it even more unbearable.
“Professor! We’re your students!”
“Disobedient students are still disobedient.”
“We’re going to die! We’re really going to die!”
“Then die.”
Michelle, being Michelle, remained stoic, but the other three students were on the verge of tears.
‘Sigh…’
Adrian sighed inwardly.
He had no intention of abandoning them.
However, this was a matter of life and death.
He had to instill some sense of urgency, some ground rules, if they wanted to survive.
This little scare tactic was for their own good.
“Listen up.”
“Yes?”
“Do you think you can do whatever I tell you?”
“Anything…?”
The three students nodded frantically.
Michelle, however, let out a small “Oh my,” and blushed furiously for some unknown reason.
Adrian continued in a serious tone.
“First, absolutely no acting alone. No impulsive actions, understood?”
He ticked off each point on his fingers.
“And if we end up fighting, your only job is to defend yourselves. I’ll be the only one attacking.”
They readily agreed.
Even they had to admit, these were reasonable demands if they wanted to survive.
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As they walked deeper into the tunnel, they noticed signs that others had been there before them.
For example, the path was lit by magically conjured torches.
It seemed the academy had put a lot of effort into investigating this place.
“Amazing… they don’t even feel hot, but they’re as bright as real torches.”
As a healer, Isabel was naturally drawn to such magical feats.
“Isabel.”
Imagine having to treat a patient in the dark.
These torches would provide light without burdening the patient with heat or harsh light.
She had to have one.
Isabel pulled out one of the torches.
“Isabel.”
“Yes?”
Isabel snapped back to reality and realized everyone was staring at her.
Adrian’s gaze was particularly chilling.
“I thought I told you no impulsive actions.”
“…”
Adrian was right.
She had acted impulsively.
“I-I apologize! I… I just couldn’t help myself… I’ll be careful from now on.”
“Let’s hope you get the chance.”
Adrian muttered under his breath.
Michelle suddenly exploded.
“Isabel… what… what are you doing?”
“Huh? I… I just wanted to take a closer look. I always wanted to know how they create such realistic flames with magic…”
“That’s not the point! The point is that you touched something you shouldn’t have!”
They say the nagging of siblings is far more annoying than the scolding of parents, and they weren’t wrong.
Isabel knew she had made a mistake, but Michelle’s reaction was a little over the top.
“I apologized, didn’t I? I said I’d be more careful! What more do you want?”
“This isn’t the time to be arguing about that! The problem is that you touched something you shouldn’t have!”
“Why are you repeating yourself? Ugh, fine, I get it.”
Annoyed, Isabel shoved the torch back into its original spot.
It wasn’t difficult.
Or rather… it shouldn’t have been difficult…
“Huh?”
Isabel blinked.
The magically conjured torches were supposed to emit a blue light.
However, the one she had just touched seemed to have taken on a greenish hue.
No, it wasn’t green anymore. It was red.
A bright, ominous red.
She finally understood why the others were looking at her with such accusing eyes.
“Uh oh…”
The other torches lining the tunnel began to change color as well, slowly turning red.
And then, she heard it.
A faint beeping sound, growing louder with each passing second.
Isabel’s blood ran cold.
“W-What… What is this…?”
She turned to Adrian, her eyes wide with fear.
He was the only one she could rely on in this situation.
Adrian sighed.
“There are always security measures in place in areas overseen by the academy. It’s a necessary precaution in case someone from the outside were to infiltrate.”
Lotten, sweat dripping down his face, pushed his glasses up his nose.
“…And Isabel just triggered it.”
“Indeed. It’s quite logical, actually. A human mage wouldn’t even think to touch those torches, and a demon wouldn’t be able to resist messing with them.”
Charlotte gulped.
“Then… what happens now?”
“No need to ask.”
Adrian suddenly stomped on the ground.
“Run!”
At the same moment, a deafening explosion erupted behind them.
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