CH 78

"Hey, hold this for me."

Robert tossed me a bottle he had been holding.

"What is this..."

I examined the bottle.

A transparent bottle containing a brown liquid.

It was a very finely crafted bottle.

"It's liquor. It's pricey, so be careful with it."

Suddenly, liquor...?

I was a bit confused, but given the situation, I quickly regained my composure.

"Look who we have here. If it isn't the Empire's outcast, Robert."

Robert loosened the tie casually tied around his neck and threw it on the floor.

"It beats being a disposable asset. At least I wasn't abandoned because of my abilities."

Upon hearing that, a vein pulsed on Oliver's forehead.

"Is that right?"

Oliver reached out and began to manipulate mana.

"Then try blocking everything."

With a flash, electricity sparked from the blade aimed at Astina.

The blade attempted to move.

However, Robert moved his hand first.

Then, the blades shattered into pieces and fell to the floor.

"What...."

Astina opened her eyes wide at the sight.

Robert definitely didn't manipulate mana.

Yet, he shattered the blade.

I, too, found it hard to understand what happened.

Despite my studies in dark magic, I had never seen such magic before.

Robert calmly spat out a command.

"Guard the kids."

Suddenly, the ground started to rumble.

"What... what is this!"

Then, a massive figure started to rise from the ground.

"Ah!!!"

I gazed dumbfoundedly at the sight.

It looked like an elephant.

However, the energy it emitted was anything but ordinary.

A very sticky black aura.

I felt an uncomfortable yet familiar aura from it.

Seeing this, Oliver laughed.

"Do you think you can fight properly while protecting these brats?"

Robert responded to Oliver's pathetic taunt with a laugh.

"I am different from someone like you who was stuck in the academy doing only research."

"Heh……. Why did such an experienced person like you leave your son to die?"

Left his son to die?

The story I heard from someone else was that Robert had killed his son.

But hearing something slightly different, my eyes widened in shock.

No, more than that, if Robert heard that, he would definitely react badly....

Contrary to my fears, Robert was just calmly manipulating mana.

"It's surprising that you have reached this far and yet you know nothing."

He didn't show much reaction, but one thing was clear.

Robert was extremely angry.

Robert usually talks a lot, fussing about this and that.

But the current atmosphere was very different.

A murderous aura was emanating from him, that could slice anyone it touched.

“But you're prepared since you brought it up, right?”

As soon as Robert said that, a red gleam started to glow in his eyes.

"Defier of the Divine, descend."

A swirling black energy began to rise behind Robert.

This energy started to form the shape of a demon.

A figure with black skin and two horns on its forehead.

It was not human in appearance.

It resembled a beast more than anything.

The demon floated up behind Robert, as if it lacked legs like a ghost.

As the demon revealed itself, Oliver did not simply stand by watching.

As Oliver clenched his fist, the surroundings began to tremble.

-Kuugooong.

All the iron in the vicinity began to melt, breaking down into sharp fragments like shards of glass.

Thousands, hundreds of these shards.

No, even more shards began to appear around him.

"Steel Control."

Zzzzzzt! As he said these words, the iron shards sparked with electricity and began to fly towards Robert.

However, Robert did not move at all.

He simply uttered one word calmly.

"Demon Howling."

Then, the demon floating behind Robert looked up at the sky.

-Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

The demon let out a roar.

The roar was no ordinary sound.

As the demon roared, the movement of all the iron shards around it stopped.

"Urgh……!"

A powerful shockwave also resonated towards us.

However, that shockwave was blocked immediately.

The elephant standing next to us was blocking that shockwave.

Feeling that something was wrong, Oliver immediately cast a spell.

"Ugh……! Barrier!!!"

Oliver quickly cast a spell to block the shockwave.

However, all the iron shards flying towards Robert were sent flying far away.

Seeing this, Oliver quickly began to gather mana in his hand to cast another spell.

Before Oliver could cast his spell, Robert calmly uttered a phrase.

"You're too slow."

Robert reached Oliver in an instant.

"You might be a superior researcher compared to me……."

Robert raised his fist.

"But you're not a fighter."

As he swung his fist, Robert cast a spell.

"Punch of Ruin."

"Ba, barrier!!!!!!!"

Seeing Robert's fist, Oliver quickly cast a spell.

Robert's fist connected with Oliver's barrier.

Crack.

"Wha...What."

A crack appeared in the barrier.

Robert exerted more force into his fist, pushing forward.

Crunch... Snap... Crackle.

"Thi..."

Slowly, the entire barrier began to crack.

And then it shattered.

"This crazy……."

Oliver couldn't hide the shock on his face as he watched the scene.

And when the barrier shattered, Robert's fist continued to move, making contact with Oliver.

"Cough!!!!!!!!"

Robert's fist accurately struck Oliver in the stomach.

With the impact of Robert's punch on Oliver's stomach, a huge flame burst forth.

-Kwooooooooom!!!!!!!!!

"Wha... What……."

Black flames.

They were enormous.

The flames resulted in an explosion so vast that it covered the surroundings.

The magnitude was unlike anything we had seen in our previous battles.

This was not on par with Rie's explosive magic.

It was far beyond.

Engulfed by the flames, Oliver was thrown into the air.

However, he didn't lose consciousness.

“Kuh…!”

From within Oliver's clothes, a concealed necklace emerged.

The necklace shattered, preserving his life.

“It's not over...!”

Midair, Oliver extended his hand once more towards Robert.

Immediately, the nearby fragments of metal rushed back towards Robert.

Robert calmly uttered a spell.

“Demon Barrier.”

Behind him, a phantom demon overlaid his figure.

The hazy form of the demon combined with Robert, and the oncoming shards of metal started to embed themselves into the demon's body.

However, the demon didn't flinch.

While the demon and Robert shared the same body, shielding him from the iron onslaught, small contusions formed where the iron pieces deeply lodged into the demon.

But these scratches couldn't inflict any harm on Robert.

“Do you really think you can achieve anything with just some metal manipulation magic?”

Robert spat out cold words.

The limits of a researcher.

A magic researcher paves new paths, acting as a trailblazer.

However, Robert was closer to a combatant than a researcher.

A person who comprehends multiple fields, devising strategies for confronting opponents.

Even though Oliver had higher authority in research, he was no match for Robert in battle.

After all, combat was Robert's expertise.

Robert reached out his hand towards Oliver, who was falling from the sky.

“Demon Fury.”

The demon overlaid with Robert also stretched its hand towards Oliver, mimicking Robert.

From the demon's hand, a black sphere emerged and ascended into the sky.

That black sphere headed straight for Oliver.

“Barrier!!! Barrier!!!!!!! Steel Control!!!!!”

Upon seeing the sphere, Oliver yelled in desperation.

All the metal shards flocked to Oliver, forming a protective cover around his body and layers of barriers emerged around him.

Looking at this, Robert scoffed.

“Just that?”

The black sphere kept rising and Oliver kept falling.

Oliver, encased in a spherical shield made of barriers and metal.

And the black sphere created by Robert.

Inevitably, the two spheres collided.

-Crash!

As the black sphere touched Oliver, it emitted a column of black energy.

The column, resembling a long spike, penetrated through Oliver's barrier, the protective layer of metal, and extended into the sky.

“Keuk....”

The spike precisely impaled Oliver's abdomen.

Then, the demon and Robert, who had been extending their hands, simultaneously clenched them into fists.

At that moment, spikes sprouted from the original spike.

Dozens of branching spikes penetrated Oliver's entire body.

"Cough...!"

Vice-Principal Oliver's last words.

He spat out blood with such a sound.

"Hu...!"

Robert exhaled sharply, watching the scene unfold.

Immediately, the demon overlapping with Robert dissipated like smoke, and the spikes piercing through Oliver also disappeared.

Oliver dropped straight from the sky, hitting the ground with a thud.

Following this, the elephant that had been protecting us also vanished into thin air, like dust.

Robert, wavered for a moment, coughing.

"Cough..."

"Professor Robert!"

I rushed over to him without hesitation.

Blood was mixed in with Robert's cough.

Even though he didn't seem to be severely injured, he was coughing up blood.

"Are you okay?"

I ran to Robert and propped him up.

Seeing this, Robert frowned at me.

"Don't ruin the cool ending..."

At Robert's grumbling, I couldn't help but smile.

Robert also mustered a weary grin.

"You were amazing, teacher."

I told Robert with a grin on my face.