Chapter 448: Dark Demon and the Real and False Execution (4k)
The consecutive victories of Winnie Scarlet and Pandora Dragon caused the atmosphere in the arena to explode.
Afterwards, the Mana Academy’s score instantly jumped from eighty-one thousand to one hundred and twenty thousand, leaving them in a leading position.
Unless the other houses achieved three consecutive up-level victories, they would have no chance of surpassing the Mana Academy.
Thus, pressure immediately fell upon them.
The senior year student from the Noble Academy who had just been defeated by Pandora took a deep breath and started replenishing her Mana Card, preparing to challenge the sixth-year students next.
Although challenging sixth-year students right after losing to fourth-year students seemed somewhat presumptuous, trying was the only way to know one’s limits.
Progress through failure.
Grow through duels.
Even fifth-year students understood this.
…
The Noble, Knight, and Fool’s Academies then took action.
Conversely, the Mana Academy remained inactive.
However, the difficulty of up-level challenges was fully demonstrated.
To defeat equally strong opponents from at least one grade higher was not easy.
Subsequent up-level challenges ended in failure, except for the fourth-year students from the Noble Academy who barely won against the fifth-year students from the Fool’s Academy.
That senior year student from the Noble Academy who had reinvigorated herself failed again while challenging the sixth-year students.
Thereafter, second and third-year students from the Noble Academy were forced to participate, but none succeeded.
The situation in the other academies was similar.
The only exception was the Knight Academy—they also achieved two up-level victories.
But due to a slight point difference, they still couldn’t surpass the Mana Academy.
It seemed that the Mana Academy had secured their position.
With an initial lead of nearly one hundred thousand points, the Mana Academy’s victory in this duel competition would increase their lead to two hundred thousand points!
This margin was almost impossible to overcome based on actual credits and final grades.
This meant that the Mana Academy securing the Academy Cup was almost certain.
…
After realizing this fact, the atmosphere outside the Mana Academy became unusually somber.
Gradually, only the Mana Academy students continued to celebrate in the circular area.
Once all four academy captains submitted their end-of-challenge applications, host Judy returned to the stage and announced the competition’s end and the Mana Academy’s ultimate victory.
For viewers worldwide, this match was worth watching.
But for the students, the purely thrilling duels weren’t enough to satisfy everyone.
When Tudor realized the Noble Academy had no hope, he twisted the tail of his magic fireworks in anger, wanting to release them to vent his frustration—only to let out a “puff” sound, failing to ignite.
Dark hurriedly suppressed his laughter. Although he didn’t care much about the Noble Academy’s outcome, he knew it wasn’t the time to laugh.
Moreover, the Noble Academy’s defeat also meant the loss of the Holy Grail, which was indeed not good news.
However, as a pure spectator, today was quite enjoyable.
…
With the final award ceremony complete, the Academy Cup duel competition officially ended.
The five Mana Academy students on stage beamed with confidence, raising their fists high toward the sky!
This year, the Mana Academy finally overthrew the Noble Academy’s dominance, ushering in a brighter future for them.
“Like the ancient noble system will eventually be overturned, only those who control knowledge should rightfully sit above.”
In a corner of the audience, an elderly man wearing a monocle looked down, drawing a symbol along the shape of “4” on his chest with a pen.
Then he slowly blended back into the crowd, disappearing.
…
The night sky shone brightly, like the gods observing the world below.
…
Dark Demon walked through the dispersing crowd, flanked by two carefree young girls.
Tudor and Pistons nearby complained, unable to let go of the Knight Academy’s elimination even after the event ended.
The laughing crowd passing by were undoubtedly Mana Academy students.
As the saying goes, fortune turns, and today was the Mana Academy’s turn. Their win was already a foregone conclusion.
Mana Academy students couldn’t help but imagine what wishes they could make to the Holy Grail.
Other academy students couldn’t help but look envious.
Why is happiness always someone else’s?
…
Time flows like sand, and years pass in a blink.
On Saturday, when the duel competition ended, the last joy quickly faded away.
Both lower and upperclassmen quickly immersed themselves in final reviews.
With only one day left before Monday’s exams, even if they only sought peace, they had to pretend to study.
Then came Monday, and the final three days of final exams began.
This year, there were six written exams for first-year students, in order: Summoning Spell, Potions, Mana Theory, Arithmetic, Duel Class, and Beast Mastery.
Each exam lasted two hours, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
After the exams, there would be about two days of staying on campus until the results were released.
…
That morning, Dark Demon woke up in a fluffy embrace.
In winter, such luxury was cherished, but in the gradually warm summer, it carried a hint of irritation.
He took a light breath, picked up the furry bundle on his chest, and placed it aside before getting out of bed to wash up.
Once his mind cleared, he drank apple juice handed to him by Eevee, and took out breakfast from the basket brought by the Imp Beast.
Breakfast this morning was unusually lavish. He consciously controlled his appetite to ensure he got the necessary nutrients.
Then came the habit he hadn’t lost despite the exams—he retrieved The Wise One Daily and flipped through it.
Upon seeing the headline, he spit out the mouthful of apple juice.
The front page banner read: [Shocking! The Undying Demon King Will Be Executed!]
…
The accompanying picture showed an old bishop in clerical robes, wearing small round glasses, looking scholarly.
Pointed out by the bishop’s gaze was a dense black fog, within which faint red eyes glimmered.
Further down, the article clearly stated the bishop’s identity—a scholar from the Church of the Saints, once known as the “Sage of Suffering.”
Dark’s attention was immediately caught by this report. Putting down his cup, he carefully examined it.
Moments later, he raised his head, his eyes flickering.
“Pfft.” The Imp Beast, snuggling close to his face, laughed as they read the newspaper together.
Dark asked, “Is it funny?”
“The Imp Beast died laughing!” The Imp Beast grinned wickedly, “Does he dare call himself a Demon King?”
Dark was taken aback; he hadn’t expected the Imp Beast’s sensitive spot to be here.
He shook his head, pondering.
This report was not an official statement from the Church but rather an outsider’s perspective.
Of course, whether this person was truly an outsider was debatable.
The report mainly described how a Saint’s scholar named Abel Jekis discovered a method to completely kill the Demon King after more than a decade of research!
[The Demon King has not died.]
-This was actually not a secret.
Because the original Demon King was called the “Undying Demon King,” with a legend of being invincible.
In the story of the Hero’s sacrifice, the Demon King’s fate was sealing, not death.
Common people might not know the true secret behind the Demon King’s immortality, but they firmly believed in his indestructibility.
Now, Abel Jekis suddenly claimed he found a method to completely kill the Demon King. How could this not cause shock?
Probably, this report would be widely reprinted by other newspapers as soon as it was published.
The outside world might start to stir because of it.
Rational people would try to verify its authenticity.
Superstitious people would spread it wildly in disbelief.
If this report was true and credible, the so-called “execution” would become reality.
Of course,前提是魔王还被封印在圣教的秘密之地!
…
After careful thought, Dark pondered, “Perhaps it’s a smokescreen.”
No matter how he looked at it, he didn’t believe the report was true.
If killing the Demon King was so easily researched, the Demon King from the original game wouldn’t have survived until later stages.
Therefore, it was more likely a smokescreen to deal with the Demon King escaping his seal.
But what benefit would releasing such a smokescreen bring to the Church?
Or was it not the Church that released it, but some other force?
But what force would dare make such a statement in front of the Church?
Even if someone dared to publish it, would The Wise One Daily dare to print it?
Dark’s mind flashed with a million questions.
But he didn’t dwell on it.
Because there were still exams ahead.
…
Once outside, he temporarily set aside thoughts about the report and met Diana and Rose in the common room, then headed to the classroom together.
Many shared his thoughts.
When Dark sat in the common room, he noticed more people gathering around.
After a while, Diana appeared in a hurry from the stairs, holding the textbook for Summoning Spell and muttering to herself, clearly cramming at the last minute.
Beside her, Rose, though also holding a textbook, seemed more relaxed.
Their theoretical learning abilities had always been different.
Diana was a quick learner, struggling with memorizing textbooks.
Rose, on the other hand, was naturally intelligent and had a great memory, though she lacked ambition.
If not for meeting Diana, she probably wouldn’t have studied seriously to help solve problems.
Now, they complemented each other, and neither was far behind in their studies.
Just that Diana held herself to a higher standard, making her somewhat nervous.
Dark joined in, easing her tension a bit.
The trio soon arrived at the Summoning Spell classroom.
Professor Shylph was already waiting on the podium, with thick stacks of test papers beside her. Her demeanor seemed more serious than usual.
Students entering the classroom were silent.
Those with textbooks or review materials quietly flipped through them.
“This feels familiar!”
Dark sat in the back row by the window, filled with memories.
First-year professors never did mid-term tests, and even the previous semester had only major projects without exams, almost making him forget the feeling of entering a testing environment.
…
At 8:10 AM, after seeing all students present, Professor Shylph briefly spoke, then distributed the test papers but prohibited writing.
Only when the bell rang at 8:00 AM did the exam officially begin.
Dark quickly scanned the entire paper, gaining a preliminary understanding of its length, then started answering from the beginning.
The exam duration was from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, totaling 120 minutes.
But the paper was shorter than Dark had anticipated.
Perhaps this was because the world lacked standardized tests and frequent examinations, so students lacked experience and speed.
Professors wrote the paper based on average student speed.
But for Dark Demon, who had experienced the exam-oriented education system, this was not satisfying.
Within half an hour, he finished all the questions.
Then, to secure a high score, he meticulously checked his answers.
Actually, in his previous life, he hadn’t developed the habit of checking thoroughly.
But now, he was not the same person he used to be.
Born in this world and with his memories awakened, his mental fortitude had improved, translating to greater patience during exams.
After checking three times and correcting a careless mistake, Dark put down his pen and looked at Professor Shylph on the podium.
Professor Shylph glanced at him and pointed to the board.
Clearly written on the board was a reminder: “Exam time must be at least one hour before leaving the exam room.”
…
At exactly 9:00 AM…
Dark packed up his paper and prepared to submit, but then sat back down.
“After all, submitting the paper doesn’t change where I am, so I’ll wait a bit.”
Thinking this, he turned his head and gazed out the clear window, his thoughts swirling.
“Extra time in the exam room,” perhaps one of the quietest and most worry-free periods in the world.
Calmly thinking, the report from The Wise One Daily earlier sprang to mind.
Using normal human logic to judge:
The probability that the report was intentionally released by the Church through an outsider was ninety percent.
And the purpose of doing so was surely not to carry out a delayed “execution” of the Demon King?
…
After the exam, he might discuss this with Professor Shylph.
