Chapter 18 - Overcoming Poison with Poison (1)
The demon inhabiting the First Prince's body, Marbas, wore a rare scowl.
Destiny had been twisted. What should have been a flawless prophecy was now riddled with error. And the reason? A single human.
Just one man was wreaking havoc on everything.
"I should have been wary of him, not the Child of Prophecy."
The curse meant to gradually eliminate the Emperor had been discovered and neutralized without warning.
Initially, Marbas had seen it as a minor setback. After all, reapplying the curse would be easy, and it wasn't far from the intended timeline.
An assassin could have quickly corrected this, or so he thought.
But then, the first assassination group was coincidentally wiped out by a freak hurricane that struck their base.
The second group was ambushed by an unexpectedly vigilant student guard.
The third group was discovered by a mercenary king who happened upon their hideout.
The fourth group's leader had mysteriously died of a heart attack right before they could act.
It defied all logic. Yet, despite his investigation, he couldn't find any connection to the professor.
Somehow, with inexplicable skill, this man continued to intercept the assassins, uncover spies, and defy fate itself.
He could no longer leave such a threat unchecked. Marbas took the calculated risk of summoning Lian to the heart of his stronghold. But that, too, was a mistake.
Now, here he was, staring at a blazing white light, the light of the detested Celestial Spirit.
He had broken the young princess's spirit over years, yet Lian had resurrected it in a single day, reawakening her potential as a hero.
The silver-haired girl's hands now held a radiant sword, bestowed with immense divine power. The Fifth Princess, who was once meant to succumb to despair, had now risen as a warrior.
Lian had orchestrated the worst possible outcome. Though Marbas had once again been outmaneuvered by the professor, he was far from defeated.
The girl's powerful attack drew closer. Though her raw strength was considerable, her lack of technique was apparent.
With practiced ease, he sidestepped her unrefined strikes. True, her power was potent enough to sear his flesh, but he had souls in reserve to fuel his regeneration.
His flesh mended as if untouched. In contrast, the girl's exhaustion was obvious.
Still, she gritted her teeth, using her sword to steady herself.
Though she staggered, her resolve was unbroken, proving her worth as a hero.
She swung her sword repeatedly, again and again, refusing to yield.
Her spirit was admirable, but…
[But you are still far too inexperienced.]
She was too focused on offense, neglecting her surroundings—and her target.
Marbas gathered his dark energy, directing it toward Lian. The girl, realizing his intentions, flung herself in the way, barely managing to shield him. But her stance was shattered.
She would need a few seconds to regain her balance.
More than enough time.
Pouring every ounce of energy into his spell, Marbas sacrificed efficiency for speed and power, hastening the incantation.
[…Perish.]
A hand raised to the heavens, calling down a massive meteor.
A thunderous crash engulfed the area, as those who dared challenge Marbas were erased from existence. Or so he thought.
For a brief moment, he felt something was off. Though his spell was complete, nothing happened.
Scanning his surroundings, he saw the professor, who was supposed to be unconscious, now wide awake, meeting his gaze.
A cold sweat trickled down the demon's back as a chilling thought crossed his mind.
"That can't be…"
Human and demonic magic are fundamentally different.
His spells ran on souls, not mana, bound by intricate runes that no human could know. Lian should have no way of interfering.
But, impossibly, his carefully crafted spell was warping. Lian, a mere human, was bending an unknown magic system to his will with sheer intuition.
As Marbas struggled in vain to stop him, the professor's grin spread.
Lian raised his hand and, with a triumphant shout, unleashed the spell.
A star was pulled from the heavens, crashing down with a resounding explosion that swallowed the world.
My head spun as I struggled to keep myself steady.
"Almost killed myself from the recoil…"
Collapsed before me, the Fifth Princess was unconscious. Her healing and protective magic had shielded me from the worst, but I'd been close to death.
Thinking back, I realized I'd survived four brushes with death within my first month of employment.
The demon I'd just fought was no doubt meant to be a major villain from much later in the original story. But now, by some cruel twist of fate, I'd confronted him years early, nearly dying in the process.
This palace seemed more cursed than the Academy. I wanted nothing more than to leave as soon as possible. But first, I had a job to finish.
"Better make sure he's finished."
I staggered over to the demon's body, my instincts screaming to verify he was really down.
Sure enough, he was still barely clinging to life, glaring up at me through half-charred flesh.
[Don't think you've won just yet.]
Ignoring his words, I calmly drew a weapon from my coat.
[You can't escape destiny. One day, you'll lose everything, and despair will consume you.]
I drew out the dagger that the Emperor had awarded me. I'd used it to kill Amon, so I knew it would work.
[When the Empire falls, I'll enjoy watching you suffer. Shame I won't be here to see it.]
The demon sneered, as if hoping to scare me with his ominous words. I wasn't fazed.
"The Empire will not fall to the likes of you."
I knew the protagonist would rise above any challenge and ultimately claim victory.
I drove the dagger into the demon's heart. He crumbled to ash without so much as a final cry.
The deed was done. Now all that remained was to credit the princess with the victory and leave this accursed palace.
Just as I thought I'd finally reached the end, I turned my head.
And saw something I hadn't intended to.
A sea of eyes stared back at me.
The Emperor, a white-haired man, collapsed to his knees, tears streaming silently down his cheeks.
As I looked into those grief-stricken eyes, a realization hit me.
This situation had taken a turn for the worse.