Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

253rd Chapter. Ancient Evil God (1)

At the edge of Aligieri Academy, on the hill lies the Dantia Pavilion.

This was originally the sanctuary operated by the Great Sage Dantia 300 years ago.

It is not surprising that such an old place has become shabby, but it has been maintained in a new form both then and now.

It is a trace left by the great sage, a benefactor to everyone. The followers deemed it unacceptable to damage that legacy.

All of those who served as principals throughout history inherited the kind intentions she created.

Except for Demora, who took office during the Demon Beast War.

Seated in that position, Kaitan was deep in thought.

“Is this truly the future I know?”

He had a peculiar trait of having strange dreams since childhood.

He thought they were just simple dreams, but days later, exactly the same events unfolded before his eyes.

At first, he believed it was just coincidence, but as time passed, it happened repeatedly.

Only then did he realize that it was not coincidence; it was a dream that allowed him to see the future.

He only understood what it was after asking his grandfather, the previous principal.

In fact, his grandfather and ancestors were humans who shared the powers of the Thousand-Year Fox, a friend of Dantia, and it is said that occasionally, talented individuals who received the strange abilities of the Thousand-Year Fox appear in their bloodline.

Kaitan was one such person.

The future predictions of the Thousand-Year Fox were astonishingly accurate. However, Kaitan could not view that future at will.

It was always in the form of suddenly having a prophetic dream whenever he momentarily forgot.

“I can see the future, but… I can’t see every future.”

In fact, Kaitan was unable to prevent the incidents that had already occurred within the academy.

When Elder Enviel suddenly struck from behind and brought in the Nine-Tailed Fox, or when the artificial spirit Mosria rampaged.

Kaitan could not foresee or prevent those events in advance.

How wonderful it would be to know about a major incident happening in the future and to stop it beforehand.

He believed that because he had the prophetic dreams, it would become a reality, but the reality was cruel.

He wanted to anticipate the future and prepare for future threats, but it didn’t go as planned.

Seeing the future was not at his command.

“Oh, Great Sage Dantia, I pray to you in my heart. What should I do…?”

Kaitan silently prayed to the figure he admired.

Despite possessing such powerful abilities and with great events occurring, why was he not present at that moment?

The immense sense of responsibility flowing from such great power left him feeling as though his body and mind were being crushed by an iron weight.

This feeling was not unique to Kaitan.

Everyone gathered in this room must feel similarly.

Vice Principal Rephelly Manus.

Head of the Magic Department Talena Kristen.

Head of the Combat Department Cage Revola.

Head of the Alchemy Department Dino Rize.

The ruling elite within the academy had gathered in one place.

From Kaitan’s mouth, shocking words erupted.

“The truth is, I was originally destined to die.”

Hearing those words, the vice principal and the department heads felt their hearts drop momentarily.

They had spent a long time with Kaitan, so they were aware of his unique ability to see the future.

Given such a friend’s statement, the impact could not be understated.

“What do you mean by that, Principal?”

Vice Principal Rephelly swallowed hard and asked.

The other members widened their eyes, and Kaitan continued explaining without hesitation.

“You all know that I can have prophetic dreams.”

“So you mean it came from a dream?”

Talena asked cautiously, and Kaitan nodded.

It was just a few days before the Magical Banquet. At that time, Kaitan witnessed in his dream:

Being ambushed by the followers of Enviel with poisonous magic. Following that, he was stabbed by the Beastman Brigade and ultimately died.

“That dream will undoubtedly come true.”

The wheels of fate that cannot be twisted.

Kaitan was filled with fear at the prospect of death, but he tried to twist it somehow.

However, by this point, the preparations for the Magical Banquet were already complete, and he thought that altering the festival would cause Aligieri to fall under the emperor’s disfavor.

Above all, no matter how many times he tried to change it, the future did not change.

Every attempt to change it only seemed to hasten that future, while doing nothing felt like simply waiting for it to arrive.

“But I… as you can see, I am fine.”

So he surprised himself.

This was the first time for anything like this.

Initially, he had resolved to accept his death, but as time passed, he did not die.

For the first time, the future that had never changed was altered.

It felt as though someone had slyly swapped out a cog in the gears.

“It’s a great relief that the future has missed its mark but….”

“First time in my life….”

While relieved, it still felt somewhat unsettling.

Sudden changes in a predetermined future were miraculous beyond miracles.

What intervention had caused such a variable to arise? If such a being truly existed, he would want to express his sincere gratitude.

After all, he had been given a chance to pave his own future.

“But it’s too early to relax. I have seen another future.”

While his spirit lightened at the thought of escaping death, he was not in a position to let his guard down.

Recently, when he fell asleep, he had another dream.

He witnessed half of the land that looked like the Papias Kingdom being devastated. In the aftermath, a flyer floated by.

On that flyer was the face of an Aligieri student.

“Just as I suspected, the flyer has come out as it was in that future.”

He thought he had finally found some comfort, but it was merely a mountain over a mountain.

The flyer featuring the face of Radon Crawler was placed on the table.

Seeing this, the head of the Combat Department clenched his fist tightly but struggled to suppress his anger.

Shouldn’t this future also be altered…? Such optimistic thoughts needed to be dismissed.

“Even now, the student we must protect has been swept away by a gigantic wave. While it may be just one now, the ripples will eventually target all of Aligieri.”

Even though he had escaped death, the ominous future was far from over.

Although it was unclear when, something of unknown origin that appeared in Papias would surely aim for Aligieri.

Thus, Kaitan could not sit back and watch.

He was weary of not being present at critical moments.

“Therefore, I will spare no means or methods.”

“Principal, what do you mean…?”

Kaitan placed a box on the table.

The board members quickly recognized what the box was.

Simultaneously, they were stunned.

It was the only treasure of Aligieri, a magical device said to have been personally crafted by Dantia.

“Are you really sure it’s okay to use this? It’s a magical device that has been preserved for over 300 years. Once used, it will simply vanish.”

As the vice principal said, using a heirloom that had been preserved for so long was akin to acting recklessly.

Kaitan had hesitated to use it while considering that point.

However… all preparations had already been made.

“So, I would like to hear your answers.”

Initially, there was a period of silence due to Kaitan’s overly straightforward demeanor.

But soon, the silence broke, and their responses converged into one.

*

“Everyone… are you okay?”

Mirona, nearly swept away by a large explosion, lifted her head.

“I’m fine. How about you, president?”

“I’m okay too. And thank you so much for protecting us, Senior Mary.”

Fortunately, it seemed everyone, including herself, did not have any serious injuries.

Thanks to the protective barrier deployed by Mary, who had horns sprouting from her head.

“Hah! A true assassin does not abandon her comrades!”

While she had blocked it gracefully, aside from her imitating a ninja with an odd mask wasn’t a problem at all.

Next, as Lyman regained his senses and looked around, he spoke up.

“More importantly… what was that explosion?”

The village… no, half of the country had lost its form and was destroyed.

What had collapsed was still in the form of debris, but there was no way it could resemble a country anymore.

“Who would do such a thing…?”

“More importantly, what about Radon? He was definitely inside the castle!”

While they had survived, they could not forget the most important friend.

He had clearly said he would stay inside the castle alone, and he had yet to make an appearance.

In the worst-case scenario, he might have been vaporized in the center of the explosion.

“Ra, Radon…. Radon!!!”

During that horrifying situation, Jenny cried out the boy’s name in desperation.

As others began to despair at the thought of the most precious person in the world being dead, it happened.

“Why are you calling for me?”

“Radon… huh?”

A very familiar voice came from behind. Jenny slowly turned her gaze in that direction.

“Ta-dah!”

“Oh my god! A ghost…!”

Radon, who they thought was dead, popped up with a playful face.

Seeing this, Jenny, who was nearly fainting, became pale, and Radon wore a nonchalant expression as he spoke.

“What’s the matter? I just got back, and this is your reaction?”

“No… I definitely… was in that castle….”

“I saved you.”

Only after Lyman interrupted did the chaos subside.

Jenny grasped his face and realized he was not a ghost.

Radon’s teasing expression was cute, but it was short-lived.

Boom!—

Suddenly, a massive arm shot up from the epicenter, clutching the ground.

Following that, another arm pressed down, revealing something climbing up the cliff.

[Ah….]

A massive skeleton, radiating a sinister aura, slowly began to emit a ghastly sound.

That dreadful existence surveyed the ruined village.

It seemed confused by the situation, but its true form was the corpse of an evil god awakened from the underground of Papias.

“Is this possible…!”

“How could there be such an aura?”

Even though it was just a skeleton, merely moving it could shock the two saints.

It lacked any life, but it was unmistakably the Evil God itself.

[Where am I…?]

“I-I said it!”

As the zombie-like Evil God’s mouth moved, Nebia jumped in surprise.

Honestly, even I was shocked. I could never have imagined that a being that existed only in the settings would awaken.

[I… I am certain… What in the world…?]

“Huh?”

Thanks to someone with keen hearing, they could grasp the inner thoughts of that creature.

Nebia could understand its feelings or emotions just from hearing a few words.

“That monster… is confused.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s filled with questions about why it’s here. That is not the soul of the Evil God.”

Does that mean another soul has taken residence within it?

As the zombie Evil God was trying to comprehend the situation, it finally turned its attention toward Radon.

[Ah… That is certainly… Aligieri’s school uniform… Moreover…]

It knows about Aligieri?

A moment of doubt flickered, and suddenly the zombie Evil God’s tone changed dramatically.

[Why are you there! Mirona!]

“Huh?”

[Don’t you know me? Your father!]

Mirona’s father?

At that moment, her ‘intuition’ skill activated rapidly.

[I am the emperor of this land! I am Kamain Fried Divine!]

The soul residing within that zombie Evil God was none other than Kamain… the soul of Makia.

Why was Makia, who should have been imprisoned, here as only a soul?

While curiosity surged, there was no time for questioning.

The Destruction God had already begun to descend from the sky.

“Lyman, how is your condition?”

Originally, Lyman would easily handle a being like the Destruction God.

However, following that clash with the meteor last time, he was currently in a state of diminished power.

“I can exert about 40%, but who knows how it will go.”

If it wasn’t at 100%, he couldn’t deal with the Destruction God.

Let alone, with their combined strength, facing the Destruction God or even just that zombie Evil God wasn’t possible.

‘It’s likely that zombie is the vessel.’

The vessel, the more it gets damaged, the weaker the Destruction God becomes, according to the settings.

In the main storyline, since it was Makia’s own body, the two saints could barely make a fight.

But now, this vessel was so much stronger than that.

There might be ways for Lyman to shatter that zombie, but with only 30% power, it was hopeless.

Even if he exerted all his 40% power, if the Destruction God’s power did not weaken, all would be in vain.

He couldn’t risk his fate on such an uncertain gamble.

[Where am I! I was certainly in prison… Ugh… my head!]

“Why is it acting like that?”

“Does it still not know where it is?”

The zombie Evil God was still in a state of bewilderment.

The spirit of Makia within it likely felt as though it had been abducted after fainting.

In other words, it was unaware of anything.

‘Eureka.’

With that thought, I smiled like a clerk at an electronics store hunting for newbies.

Survivor of the Academy Scammer.