All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 277

◈ Chapter 277

139. A Necessary Sacrifice – 1

The options to attack him were limited.

The first was a direct assault.

But if Rubellin attacked head-on, Ian would welcome it.

So, the first option was off the table.

That would be Rubellin’s last resort.

The second was an external attack.

Attacking the entire Academy, which Ian had essentially claimed as his territory, to force him to react.

That attack involved monsters and meteor strikes.

But that was already countered, so it was pointless.

Then the only thing left was the third option.

Attacking the people Ian cared about.

“Oh. You mean you actually care about us? I’m touched,” Park Bare said with a laugh, and Ian simply shrugged.

Anyway, since arriving in this world, these were the only people he’d grown close to.

Of course, there were a few others outside the Academy, but he had prepared for them, so he wasn’t too worried.

“Then I should rest comfortably.”

“Rest? What rest? Train,” Ian said firmly to Wilball, whose face had visibly relaxed.

“Do you think the world will suddenly become peaceful just because you caught Rubellin?”

“Hmm… but he’s the god of demons.”

“Even if he’s the god of demons, he’s just one element that makes up the world.”

The world wouldn’t magically solve all its problems just because one powerful being disappeared.

Everyone felt a bit deflated by Ian’s blunt words.

To him, the god of demons was no different from anyone else.

Silence fell over the group, their faces heavy. Balla, ever the carefree one, shrugged and stood up.

“Well, whatever. Anyway… Park Bare. Let’s go train.”

“Ooh.”

As they left, the others followed awkwardly.

The dormitory, which had been quite crowded, quickly emptied out.

Looking around the lobby as the last few people departed, Ian sat down on the sofa.

“What will happen now?”

“One of two things,” Ian replied casually to Wildy’s question.

“Either he’ll admit defeat and hide until I’m gone, or he’ll bet everything and face me head-on.”

Either way, it wasn’t a significant problem for Ian.

The moment he acquired the worldview, this world would essentially become his.

That meant he could find anything within it instantly.

Then, no matter how much Rubellin tried to use the power of another dimension, he would be caught.

And perhaps Rubellin knew that, which was why he was making his move now.

‘0.1 is better than 0.’

If he remained still, he would be caught without fail, but if he took action, he might find a glimmer of hope.

So, from Rubellin’s perspective, he had no choice but to try.

‘I’ve already done enough. Now all that’s left is to wait, so let’s relax and wait.’

* * *

Sitting alone in the darkness, she opened her eyes.

As always, he was the best.

He was always confident.

He always solved everything himself.

He wasn’t afraid of being alone and didn’t hesitate to take on any challenge.

“…I never thought I would see you like this.”

She remained in hell as Lucien’s clone.

But there was nothing special about being a clone.

In the end, she was no different from Lucien.

That’s why she hated it.

She hated hell, which was full of demons, and she hated Lucien’s will that kept her there.

She wanted to leave hell.

She wanted to see new things.

Like Lucien, who left hell because he hated it, she also wanted to escape.

But she couldn’t.

She was Lucien’s clone.

She had to follow Lucien’s will.

Because she had to stay there and protect hell.

The sense of alienation created by her desires and duties grew over time.

One day, she saw something unusual.

A forest.

A forest full of trees that could not be seen in hell.

There, she saw a man reaching out to a girl.

“That was the first time.”

She rummaged through her bosom [chest].

Then a large painting appeared.

A man with thick black hair and blue eyes.

And a girl in a maid outfit holding his hand tightly.

The first character from another dimension she had ever seen.

A being different from herself, who was trapped there.

It was an unforgettable sight.

“Ah…”

She regretted not seeing more at that time.

She had accidentally glimpsed another dimension, but she was too weak to sustain the connection.

So she took action.

To see more.

To see for longer.

She trained endlessly.

And she saw it again.

The man she saw this time was different.

A man with a long scar over one eye.

He was controlling a large ship flying through the sky with a sword shining with light.

He recklessly cut down golems and guardians and fought against overwhelming power.

In the process, he never backed down.

He was cool.

She admired his freedom, which was so different from her own existence, trapped in hell.

Again, she ran out of strength and couldn’t see any more.

When she trained again, built up her strength, and saw him, he was fighting a dragon while leading giants.

Later, when she saw him again, he was protecting a man named Tripitaka [Tang Sanzang, a famous Buddhist monk from the Chinese novel *Journey to the West*] with a monkey and a pig.

Train again and look.

See again.

See.

See.

See again.

She watched him for countless hours.

She was only peeking, but that was Rubellin’s only joy.

In this hell.

Among the terrible and disgusting demons.

That was her only joy and pleasure.

“Aaaaaah.”

She wanted to see more.

She wanted to be like that.

She wanted to move like him, who traveled through countless dimensions without being limited to one.

Thus, the unattainable wish.

And the alienation of inescapable duty grew larger and became a huge sense of incongruity, eventually leading to a connection with the truth.

“Ah… Truth…”

The laws that make up the world.

The power that sustains the world.

She had briefly connected to it, which brought her vast knowledge and information.

She knew that the price was enormous.

But she didn’t care.

If she could see him a little more.

No, if she could follow him, who travels through countless dimensions and worlds.

And if she could be like him.

She didn’t care what happened.

So, even as she felt her mind eroding, she continued to connect to the truth and eventually realized the answer.

“Ah… this world will soon be destroyed.”

She was only a component of this world.

There was only one way for her to escape the world.

Destroy this world.

If she used the enormous energy created in the process to create her own unique existence, she would be able to follow him.

Thinking so, she made plans to destroy the world and carried them out.

In the meantime, an anomaly occurred.

“Aaaaaaaaaah… what a blessing…”

He appeared.

He who travels through countless dimensions.

He whom she had admired and respected had come to this world.

So she was happy.

She had to go meet him right now.

And she had to tell him.

That she had been watching him for a long time.

That she wanted to meet him.

But she couldn’t.

She was still just an element trapped in this world.

Rubellin turned her eyes.

She looked at herself reflected in the obsidian mirror.

“Why. Why did you come here…”

She brought her hand to the mirror.

Jet-black hair in the mirror.

Large purple eyes.

A beautiful woman that anyone would fall in love with reached out to her.

As their hands touched, Rubellin looked at herself in the mirror and wept.

“Why did you come so soon. Why…”

He is the one who travels through countless dimensions and collects worlds.

The world collected by him will never be destroyed.

That means.

She, as a component of this world, could never be like him.

Shaking with despair, she slowly got up.

“I hate it…”

He lives an infinite life and collects countless worlds.

She didn’t want to remain as part of the world he met.

At least she wanted to be able to stand next to him.

And if.

If that’s impossible.

Rubellin’s body began to be covered in darkness.

Completely covering herself, she slowly went outside and muttered.

“As the only one who stopped you… I will be remembered by you forever…”

Even knowing that she was becoming his enemy.

Her mind, eroded by connecting with the truth and linking with other dimensions, made her unable to recognize it.

* * *

“Euryahhhhh!!”

‘I felt it too.’

Ian high-kicked the head of Blenche, who was rushing at him.

Blenche, struck squarely, went flying.

As he writhed on the floor after rolling several times, the students watching discussed the scene with sullen looks.

“Isn’t he dead?”

“Even if he’s not dead, his neck bones seem to be broken at that level.”

“Go and bring Priest Willis or Priest Out.”

While they were talking seriously, Blenche, who had been sprawled out, wriggled and got up.

“Ugh, geez. I thought I was going to die.”

“He used Aura [a type of life energy] momentarily to strengthen his body.”

Everyone was impressed that he hadn’t fainted even after taking such a direct hit.

Blenche’s skills had improved quite a bit.

Balla, who was watching, showed vigilance.

“Hey! Are you going to keep learning from Ian in a sneaky way?”

“Love is a hurricane!”

“What nonsense are you talking about?! Damn it! Ian! Fight me too!”

As Balla, wielding an ax, stepped forward and shouted, Widia and Park Bare moved to intercept him.

“Get in line, you bastard.”

“Go over there and spar with Instructor Pridion.”

As they were about to continue their sparring, Ian shook his head.

“Let’s stop.”

“Why?”

“Because we have to start the main event now.”

Everyone was puzzled by Ian’s words.

At that moment, Hiral, Valentine, and Nuave rushed into the garden where they were, looking panicked.

“I, Student Ian! It’s a big deal!”

“What, what is this…!!”

“No way. This is… this is really ridiculous…”

8th Circle Wizard [a very powerful mage].

Spirit King [a powerful elemental being].

Contractor of the Spirit King [someone who has formed a pact with a Spirit King].

Among those gathered here, except for Ian, the strongest were terrified.

The students who saw their reactions were puzzled.

“…The sky.”

Wildy looked up.

The color of the sky was changing.

The blue sky, which had been clear, was turning black.

And something was descending from above.

It was shrouded in black smoke.

When it was revealed, everyone in this place felt it.

A surge of immense, alien power, even greater than Ian’s, was bearing down on them.

-Ttaak!!

As soon as he saw it, Ian snapped his fingers.

In response, the mass-produced Titans [large, powerful constructs] waiting within the Academy began to move.

“Huh?”

“Wh, what?! What are there so many of?!”

Hundreds of Titans soared into the sky.

The students were awestruck by the sight of the Titans, which seemed to embody the blood, sweat, and tears of countless researchers.

“Ian! Did you anticipate this and create so many in preparation?”

“Why else would I have made them? Here.”

Ian, replying nonchalantly, snapped his fingers again.

-Woo woong!!

The Titans flew towards the black smoke.

-Kwaaaaaang!!

As soon as they entered the black smoke, they began to self-destruct.

Explosions that shook the sky continued.

The students who witnessed the spectacle turned their eyes to Ian.

“The researchers who worked so hard to make those…”

Ian shrugged at their incredulous gaze.

“It was a necessary sacrifice.”