All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 279

◈ Chapter 279

140. I Liked You – 1

Nightmares materialized.

As the horrors within them took shape, those gathered to face Rubellin screamed.

“Aaaagh!”

“G-Get lost!!”

“What! What is this!”

Chaos erupted instantly, and Rubellin, high above, laughed.

“Those who cannot even confront their own fears dare to stand beside him…”

“Wake up!!” Ian roared, cutting her off.

The shout, imbued with a mind-awakening power, instantly enveloped Rubellin’s entire domain.

-Clang!!

The fear dissipated.

The nightmare entities, embodiments of inner fear, collapsed.

But even that brief exposure left many exhausted, collapsing one by one.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

“Of course not.”

Rubellin smiled and raised her hand.

With that gesture, the sky began to swirl with an ominous blue.

And then…

“……That?!”

Widron gritted his teeth.

He recognized it all too well.

Those spores he had seen in the Pelle territory before.

“Damn it!! Everyone, cover your noses and mouths!”

At his warning, everyone scrambled to cover their faces.

But the scattering blue spores grew denser and denser.

If that stuff lands, it’s over.

“Sylphiron-nim!!” Valentine cried out.

The spirit of the wind could envelop those spores at once.

As she shouted, Sylphiron, bound to Valentine, responded.

-Woooooong!!

A miniature typhoon manifested.

The strong wind gathered all the spores, concentrating them into a single mass.

Widron felt a momentary relief, but Rubellin spoke in a chilling tone.

“A mere spirit.”

With a dismissive wave, she dispersed the typhoon.

And the spores, once gathered, began to coalesce.

It transformed into a giant.

“Tsk.”

Those who saw the Mushroom King’s immense form immediately launched an attack.

Magic and aura flew, battering the fungal monstrosity.

-Pshushushushut!!

Pridion’s aura carved a wound into the Mushroom King’s body.

Simultaneously, blue spores erupted from the wound, and Valentine desperately summoned gusts of wind.

“Mages!! Burn it!!”

“Fire Bolt!”

“Explosion!”

“Blaze!!”

The mages’ fire magic incinerated the blue spores wherever they spread.

As they fought a desperate battle with the Mushroom King, Ian raised his hand.

-Fwoosh!

A tiny spark ignited in his palm.

Ian flicked it away, and the fluttering spark drifted toward the Mushroom King.

-Fwoooooooosh!!

Instantly, the spark engulfed the Mushroom King’s body, which had resisted aura attacks and regenerated spores, turning it into ashes.

“You are amazing, as expected.”

Rubellin casually raised her hand again.

With that, the clouds shifted.

Out was surprised to see the clouds in the sky changing.

An unspeakably evil power emanated from those clouds.

“That is…….”

-Kyaaaaaaak!

-Kkeuaaaaaaaak!

-Ihihihihihi!!

Terrible screams echoed from the clouds.

They were inhuman cries.

“It’s the Hyakki Yagyō [Night Parade of One Hundred Demons]!!”

“Huh? Priest Willis, how do you know that?”

“I also visited the Tower of the Forgotten City before! But how……?”

The real question was how Rubellin had created this Hyakki Yagyō.

Ian simply answered Willis, who was clearly confused.

“Demons frequented the Forgotten City, so they must have brought monsters along the way.”

“Is that possible?”

“Why not?”

I even brought out a tiger before.

Ian said nonchalantly, and Danju nodded.

“Then let’s catch them.”

The clouds churned, and the monsters within revealed themselves.

A giant centipede.

A bird with two heads.

A spider with a human face.

Numerous monsters writhed within the clouds, seething with hatred for the living and eager to devour them.

“Ten evils and five transgressions, four major sins will disappear before this mantra. Om Amoga Vairocana…….”

A sacred halo materialized behind Ian.

With that halo as his focus, the mantra continued, and as he finished, the Hyakki Yagyō vanished without a trace.

“Is this all?”

“Of course not.”

She approached the truth a little more by absorbing even the Demon King.

That’s why Rubellin took out another number.

But.

It’s blocked.

Everything was simply blocked by Ian.

Even the huge fire.

Even the biting cold.

Even attacks on people’s psychology.

Nothing was working.

“You are amazing, as expected.”

“Did you do everything you wanted to do? Then let’s finish it now. Myane, come down for a second.”

“Myaa~.”

Though seemingly reluctant, Myane jumped off Ian’s shoulder.

And quickly hopped onto Nuab’s head.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Myam Mya……?”

Myane stared at Ian with wide, concerned eyes.

Something felt wrong.

The back of her owner, who had just displayed such immense power, somehow radiated unease.

“Myaa!! Myam Myam Mya!!”

She immediately jumped off Nuab’s head and tried to reach Ian.

But Ian was already bracing his legs.

-Koo Woong!!

He leaped with enough force to crater the ground.

As if to end it in one blow, he drew his sword.

Rubellin smiled.

“As expected. At times like this, you always use the Sword of the World.”

In an instant, Rubellin’s body vanished without a trace.

A subtle spatial rift had opened right behind her.

Ian frowned as he confirmed her escape.

“Hey! Ian!!”

“Where are you going?!”

The students shouted as he reached for the gap.

“Stop!! If Rubellin escaped, let’s end it there! It’s too dangerous!”

“She is the one who has been preparing for the destruction of the world for a long time!”

“Suddenly changing places means that Rubellin has prepared something too! Don’t go!!”

Everyone was gripped by an unknown anxiety, despite witnessing Ian’s earlier display of power.

‘Is it dangerous?’

At Kirke’s reassurance, Ian smiled and turned his head.

Looking down at everyone.

Ian said calmly.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be a big deal.”

And he stepped straight into the dimensional rift.

Ian sighed as he entered the gap in the dimension.

Dead earth.

A sky devoid of sun, moon, or stars.

All that existed were barren lands and ominous flames, facing complete annihilation.

“You made something like this in a place like this?”

Ian snorted.

A black-haired beauty, Rubellin, walked gracefully toward him.

“My limit is up to here. I cannot cross dimensions.”

That’s why she created this space in the gap between dimensions.

She smiled and approached Ian.

Reaching out her white hand, she caressed his face.

“It’s a pity. Not like this. You. You are not such an existence.”

Rubellin smiled sadly as she stroked his cheek.

“But it’s okay. If it’s here. If it’s here where everything has stopped.”

There was an obsession lurking beneath the sad smile.

The hand that gently stroked now gripped his shoulder tightly.

“If it’s my own world created here… I can be with you forever.”

“This is a place that is stopped. It seems to be a place created by dragging a dead dimension.”

“Yes.”

“You know I hate that the most, right?”

“I can’t help it even if you hate it.”

Rubellin smiled brightly.

But that smile was clearly fractured.

“Tsk tsk. You have too much access to the truth. Didn’t you know that you shouldn’t keep approaching something you can’t handle?”

As a result of constantly approaching the truth, she had ultimately lost her mind.

It didn’t matter what the other person thought of her.

Only herself.

She had become blindly convinced that only her purpose mattered.

Looking at her, consumed by madness, Ian raised his sword.

Rubellin, seeing this, burst into laughter.

“Hohohoho!! Are you trying to destroy me? With the Sword of the World? Woohoohoo…….”

She laughed as if she couldn’t contain herself and stepped back, raising her hand.

At that moment, figures from Ian’s past appeared in his mind.

They were the ones he had encountered while collecting worldviews [a comprehensive set of values, beliefs, and ideas about the world and life].

“I don’t think this is a hallucination. Are they the ones who were excluded from the world I have?”

“Hehehe. Yes. There are many powers in the truth. Hehehe. You see, I have been watching you for a very long time. I also know how to deal with you.”

The apparitions that appeared began to curse him.

They were the ones who had died by his hand in the place where he first obtained the worldview.

And those he met in the second world screamed, pouring out hostility and curses.

Again, the third.

Followed by the fourth.

In that way, those he had met while wandering the world were cursing Ian.

The countless worlds he had traversed were now attacking him.

“Your power is the worldviews you possess. How painful is their curse?”

“Hmm…….”

“Is it hard? Is it hard? Is it hard because of me?”

Ian’s expressionless face finally cracked.

As he frowned, Rubellin laughed with unrestrained madness.

“You are having a hard time because of me! You are suffering because of me!! So…….”

Rubellin took a step.

And she smiled brightly and continued.

“I’ll stop this. Hehe. You also know how to stop this, right? By using the soul of someone who has accessed the truth to create a helper who will be with you forever.”

As she chattered happily, Ian pushed Rubellin away.

“Ah. Don’t reject me. This was my dream. If I can only be by your side…… This world doesn’t matter if it’s destroyed or not. My body? Will? I don’t need that. If only I have you.”

But Ian did not answer.

“Anyway, life is just a game to you, right? So please let me join that game. Please let me be your skill.”

Rubellin smiled.

She laughed like a madwoman and roared.

“Only I saw you, only I felt you!! Only I know you! Only I cheered for your journey!! So!!”

Listening to her screams and pleas, laced with obsession, Ian said calmly.

“Kirke, disconnect the worldview.”

Rubellin was taken aback by Ian’s words.

To think he would sever his connection to the worldviews.

Then he couldn’t even wield the Sword of the World.

No, couldn’t he use the powerful abilities derived from the worlds he possessed?

“……You. Are you trying to face me without a worldview?”

He did not answer, and Rubellin tore at her beautiful hair.

“Do you…… hate me that much……?”

“Would you like it then?”

Rubellin stroked her face.

The power that had been so overwhelming that it was hard to look at had completely vanished.

What stood before him now was just an ordinary human.

“I have been watching you for a long time. For a very long time.”

And.

She had fallen in love with him.

She had fallen in love with his power, his actions, and his personality.

It had become admiration, and it had become everything to her, who could only exist in hell.

All of that denied herself.

“I liked you.”

“I guess you’re saying you don’t anymore.”

“……If you don’t take me with you. If you don’t be with me.”

She screamed and rushed forward, her earlier kindness completely gone.

“I’ll keep you by my side even if I have to force you!”

Rubellin charged, unleashing immense power.

Rubellin, who was trying to cut Ian with sharp claws that would cut everything apart.

-Puck!!

She was knocked out by one punch from Ian.

“……Huh?”

She was bewildered.

How had Ian, disconnected from the worldview, managed to hit her?

No, how had he knocked her down in one blow?

Rubellin, staggering to her feet, stared in disbelief, and Ian said calmly.

“You’re misunderstanding something.”

“What…… did you say……?”

“First. It’s not the first time I’ve dealt with crazy people like you.”

“What does that…… mean……?”

“It means you weren’t the only one who was peeking at me. Ah. There are still those who are watching now.”

Rubellin’s complexion changed.

Despair that she was not the only one who had been watching him.

Jealousy as if she had been robbed of something that was only hers.

As terrible emotions consumed her insane mind, Ian pointed his sword.

“And second.”

Cheonmasin’gong [Heavenly Demon Divine Art], Chapter of Destruction.

Cheonmasum [Heavenly Demon Steps].

The moment Ian, who had appeared in front of Rubellin, swung his sword, her chest was deeply torn.

“I’m strong even if I don’t use the worldview.”