I got into school for nothing - 177
I got into school for nothing (177)
Lesson 35. The Last Changeling - 2
"Hah."
A section of the forest collapsed entirely, emitting a dreadful roar.
Lyu Cheolmyeong let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
"So, it was merely a low-tier Constellation after all? To think it would descend under such perfect conditions, only to be defeated by a mere worm from a lower dimension."
"Hmph... Heh."
Dokgo Yeon, regulating her breath, tilted her lips into a crooked smile at his words.
"You ignore your own inadequacy in setting the stage... and only blame your unfortunate allies. Hmph... I can truly gauge the size of your vessel."
Even Dokgo Yeon's venomous words failed to diminish Lyu Cheolmyeong's spirit, for he currently held dominion over the situation.
It wasn't that the restrictions and curses placed upon him by Mira and Shatie had no effect.
It was merely that their efficacy was limited due to the casters being too far away, beyond the dimensional barrier.
"Huuuuuh..."
"I concede that you all foresaw further than I did. I was never particularly adept at using my head."
Lyu Cheolmyeong said, grimacing at the pain that grew increasingly severe each time he inflicted harm upon Dokgo Yeon.
He had never, even in his wildest dreams, imagined that they would prepare for an attack from him during a special activity.
"'As long as you remain a professor, you are a person who deserves respect and reverence from all students.'"
When Lyu Cheolmyeong had sought out Shatie to challenge her.
Shatie, who had promised to help restore his honor, had said that to Lyu Cheolmyeong, and he had nodded without a second thought.
Whatever methods Shatie had employed, from the very next day, his authority and honor were more firmly established than anyone else's in the Academy, and when dealing with students, his words carried more weight than even the Chancellor's.
――That was when he should have suspected something.
Indeed, when acting as a 'professor' towards 'students', he could exert boundless authority.
Conversely, when he acted unbefitting a professor, he became infinitely vulnerable to students and suffered immense pain.
The devil's unique trick of deceiving humans with cunning words and binding them in irrational contracts, combined with a curse that twisted those restrictions to their advantage and multiplied his pain, rendered even Lyu Cheolmyeong, who possessed abilities comparable to a transcendent being, unable to find a way to break free. Its maliciousness was beyond words.
"However."
A fierce, crimson Aura erupted from the greatsword he raised, multiplying in all directions with a simple swing, filling the entire front, and then, without delay, all of it flew towards Dokgo Yeon.
"Kuh!"
Dokgo Yeon bit her lip and swung her shortsword—swallowing nearly half of the Aura with death, then flung her body towards the blind spot she had created. But in the process, she was grazed by the Aura she couldn't completely cut through, and blood splattered from her cheek.
Her movements had become noticeably slower, partly due to the continuous battles she had fought since earlier.
If not for the protective artifact Yumina had given her, she would have reached her limit much sooner.
Though even that was now shattered and gone.
"Absolute might crushes even stratagem! Look at your body, that is the proof."
Dokgo Yeon, who had never sustained a single scratch unless she wished it throughout her classes at the Academy and her ascent of the Tower, now had her entire body covered in scrapes.
"Huuuuuh..."
Yet, far from being wounded and shrinking back, she merely wiped her cheek and calmly composed her mind and internal energy.
"To see you boast and swagger, priding yourself on nothing but the crudely accumulated internal energy and years you possess, calling it might—it truly makes me scoff."
"Is your tongue still alive...!"
Lyu Cheolmyeong charged with unbelievable speed, bringing his greatsword down on Dokgo Yeon.
The momentum behind the greatsword was like Mount Tai, yet Dokgo Yeon, even with her remaining strength, could easily shatter Mount Tai.
—Thwack
She slipped past, not even grazing the blade, extending only the black Aura that bloomed from her shortsword to slash across Lyu Cheolmyeong's chest.
At that moment, the nth crack appeared on the protective armor he wore.
"No matter how many times you cut, it's useless—"
—With a crackling, snapping sound.
The steadily infiltrating death ultimately shattered the high-tier artifact.
A sinister smile flickered at the corner of Dokgo Yeon's lips.
"Now, it will be a slightly more even match."
"How... could a curse weaken even my artifacts?"
Naturally, Lyu Cheolmyeong, who had reigned as an absolute being in his dimension and had explored the Tower of Babel for long enough to secure a full professorship at the Academy, was adorned from head to toe in high-tier artifacts, incomparable to those of mere students.
Yet, the armor protecting his vital points, among all his gear, had shattered after enduring only a few sword strikes from a mere student. His suspicion was, therefore, natural.
However, that was by no means the power of a curse, but rather due to the profound depth of Dokgo Yeon's martial arts and the extraordinary nature of her Authority.
"Hmph."
The Elixir Candy of Life, which could only be consumed once a day, restored all conditions to their peak and even enhanced one's potential.
The moment she bit into and consumed the candy she had held in her mouth since Lyu Cheolmyeong's appearance, the injuries inflicted by him began to heal, her depleted internal energy replenished, and simultaneously, the ill effects of death that had been encroaching upon her body and mind receded.
'However, if I wield death again in this situation, the aftereffects that will come later will be doubled... but I have no choice.'
The current situation was too urgent to worry about an Authority backlash.
Perhaps the only fortunate thing was that Ban Yuwon had successfully defeated the Constellation, Ruler of the Forest?
To be honest, throughout her fight with Lyu Cheolmyeong, she couldn't help but worry about Ban Yuwon more than the enemy before her.
For she, too, was acutely aware of how terrifying Constellations could be.
But Ban Yuwon, as always, did not betray her expectations this time either.
And as always, he would grasp the situation and rush to her aid...
'Rush to my aid? Him? To help me? What foolish thoughts.'
Dokgo Yeon, organizing her thoughts, was startled by her own line of thinking and grit her teeth.
Since when had she stopped thinking of resolving situations with her own strength and started relying on others?
On the contrary, it was her, Dokgo Yeon's, duty as a master to aid him in his crisis. Yet, not only had she failed to do so, but she was also tied up fighting a weakened worm bound by a curse, unable to provide timely assistance. Was this not utterly shameful?
'Indeed, things have been strange lately.'
Could it be that even in this decidedly unfavorable situation, her heart felt strangely reassured because of Ban Yuwon?
At that thought, she couldn't lift her head, overwhelmed by a surge of embarrassment and shame.
Such imaginings, no, delusions and impulses, were utterly unbefitting her.
Had he noticed? Lyu Cheolmyeong, who had been enraged by the destruction of his artifact, suddenly laughed.
"If you're waiting for Ban Yuwon, I'd tell you it's a foolish thought. That brat cannot come. The core sacrifice to summon the Constellation, Ruler of the Forest, was the chief of the beastkin tribe. Now that he's dead, all his tribesmen will brutally tear that boy apart to avenge their chief."
"Oh? In that case, I won't have to bother going to help him."
Lyu Cheolmyeong's words had indeed flown in at the perfect moment, calmly settling Dokgo Yeon's strangely soaring heart.
Had it remained that way, Dokgo Yeon would likely have made a pointless mistake, her thoughts tangled.
"Go to help him?"
"Yes, because you've wrapped your body in protective gear like a coward, our fight has been delayed, hasn't it?"
As Dokgo Yeon grasped her shortsword with both hands and took a deep breath, the blade miraculously extended, transforming into the shape of a longsword.
No, in truth, it was merely death, so densely concentrated, that it had materialized distinctively enough to be mistaken for a blade.
"But I'm tired of looking at your disgusting face, so let's finish this."
"......"
Lyu Cheolmyeong tightened his grip on the greatsword.
It wasn't that he was angered by Dokgo Yeon's audacious words, but rather that he had discerned her energy, which had been plummeting, had returned to its original state at some point.
How? By what means?
He wondered how she had accomplished something that even other full professors, skilled in ancient magic, couldn't easily do, but now was not the time for foolish questions.
Unraveling her secrets, including her mysterious martial arts, could wait until later.
Now—
"Very well. Let's finish this."
His Aura flared, then instantly condensed and intensified.
Even then, it was roughly the thickness and length of a utility pole.
Dokgo Yeon, countering it, pushed off the ground and charged without the slightest sign of hesitation.
"——Die."
"I'll only half-kill you."
The moment the shortsword and greatsword crossed.
Anneri, appearing behind Lyu Cheolmyeong, tried to slash his neck with her dagger.
But at that instant, his artifact activated, sending her flying in return—
Surprisingly, it still had momentum, deflecting Lyu Cheolmyeong's sword and rushing towards Dokgo Yeon, who was stabbing at his chest.
The next moment, it was thwarted, blocked by the full plate armor that appeared to envelop Dokgo Yeon's entire body.
—Thud
Dokgo Yeon, having successfully landed her attack, retreated.
The full plate armor that had encased her entire body instantly disassembled into its individual parts, then reassembled before her eyes, revealing itself.
"What... is that...?"
Yet another artifact shattered.
The considerably fatal wound Dokgo Yeon had inflicted closed and healed, as if time were reversing.
Dokgo Yeon clicked her tongue.
"Lady Dokgo Yeon, are you alright?!"
"Worry about yourself."
The full plate armor that protected Dokgo Yeon—the Living Armor 'Livi'—and the mercenary Anneri Dedota, who had annihilated all other beings within the ship and then waited to exploit Lyu Cheolmyeong's opening only to fail, took their positions to her left and right, respectively.
"A full professor from the Academy truly is different! I also have quite a few artifact nullification techniques, but they aren't working!"
"That armor, no, that greatsword. Could it be my sword? And the way it countered my swordsmanship..."
"Rest assured, it wasn't a sword profound enough for you to gain an advantage against me by learning it."
Dokgo Yeon scoffed in reply.
Then, she narrowed her eyes and asked.
"So, how's your wound healing?"
"...Kuhhh."
It was a question asked with full knowledge.
Any human who had lived for hundreds of years would naturally cherish their life dearly, diligently preparing escape tools or life-saving artifacts for any dire situation.
—Crackle, crackle
One after another.
Lyu Cheolmyeong's artifacts, which he had prepared for any contingency—all his attempts at healing, be it reversing time for his wounds, restoring them, temporarily granting the Authority of a phoenix, or infusing them with the vital essence of a special race—were proving futile, shattering in their failure.
"Aren't you curious why, despite the multitude of artifacts you wore, I relentlessly targeted only your armor? That is the answer."
Although she had poured all the internal energy restored by the Elixir of Life into this single strike, it had firmly embedded death into Lyu Cheolmyeong's body.
No Authority, no matter how great, could repel death.
All would collapse and die.
"Hah..."
Lyu Cheolmyeong couldn't help but laugh.
How could he not find it absurd? Unable to deal with a single wound inflicted by a mere student, all the artifacts he had accumulated over centuries were being destroyed and scattered.
It was a situation of his own making, throttling him with the very ambition that had started from a minor craving.
But.
He might die, unable to overcome this situation—when that thought crossed his mind.
Even the pain constricting his chest began to seem not so formidable.
"If that is what you truly wish."
Once again, his Aura surged.
All the Aura that had been trying to staunch his wounds concentrated on the greatsword, unleashing an Aura of such intensity that even Dokgo Yeon could not produce.
It was the Aura of an absolute ruler, one who deceived the heavens to reign.
"Very well, let us both experience death together."
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