<697 – Shocking Confession (15)>
The Golden Dancer Riske felt dizzy from the shocking outcome.
She calculates what knowledge would hold value to the person seated at the banquet table and presents him with the most highly rated—yet not overly precious—information.
Sometimes, knowledge that exceeds her expectations appears, or a participant with far more experience receives information value far lower than expected, escaping this gathering alive.
[Measurement – 0]
Zero assessment luxury, huh?
I’ve never faced such a figure in my life.
I intended to ruin those who dared to present impure knowledge meant to harm the one I admire.
The outcome, surprisingly, didn’t land at all.
Complete understanding.
Absolute collection.
Her opponent at this dinner clearly perceives the [Time Until World Destruction] and understands even the [Turning Point of Destruction].
Prophetic insight.
Reading others’ muscles or the subtle movements of mana to predict future offensives and evade all attacks perfectly is the highest technique of the Mana Insight class.
Only those who can manifest [Prophecy Magic], by extending that technique further into the realm of abilities, collapsing the axis of time with high-density mana, and glimpsing fragments of the distant future, can catch a glimpse of one among countless future shards.
Collecting all those shards is, no matter how you think about it, abnormal.
“You… what are you even? Are you even human?”
If she had gathered all the shards with a multitude of prophetic magicians, her humanity wouldn’t be human at all.
Prophecy Magic consumes the user’s lifespan, and if she gathered that many shards, the prophetic magicians would have certainly met their death.
No one without a loss of humanity as a servant of Dark Mana could possess such mind-reading.
If she were a prophetic magician who had glimpsed into all futures, her talent wouldn’t be human.
There’s no way to return to the original timeline without sacrificing lifespan to the god of time in exchange for peeking into the future; that means she had to conduct backward magic from an unbearable future podium to past moments herself.
Unless you’re a dragon, known as the master of magic, no one could have such prowess.
If one hasn’t borrowed others’ prophecy or used their own, then that is not human.
Those who can know the future without peeking are the ones who plan and drive that future themselves.
A starting point of countless dooms and a guide to destruction, an existence that shouldn’t exist in this world—[The Worst].
Dragon Principal Omoshiroi.
The birth of a being who can swap places with the pinnacle of evil signifies existence itself.
“Oh! But don’t think too deeply about future knowledge! The reason prophecy-obsessed magicians suddenly drop dead is that a [Prophecy Hunter] emerges from a future great evil conscious of the changes from the past! If you keep being curious about the future, your mind might get destroyed, you know?”
Even threats to destroy your soul can be expressed like pure kindness in front of an actress as skilled as Riske, who realizes she has summoned an evil master whom she should never have brought before her Lord.
“By the way, we did win the bet, right?”
“Ugh, damn. I should have bet on the Oknodie coin!”
“Who was the idiot who suggested we sit at the Adventurer table?”
Waaahhh! Sob sob! Bellowing and a brawl ensued at the adjacent table, where the Golden Shackles soared out, sealing the mouths and limbs of the fourth-year teaching assistants.
Those lacking in knowledge, falling to the level of banquet food to offer to the great one.
Originally, the purpose was to ensure that the prize from the duel could not be harmed, but facing the embodiment of evil, the Dark Princess, Riske had another intention in mind.
“I accept the outcome. However, it would be too astonishing and delightful to end it in one go, wouldn’t it?”
“True!”
“If we enjoy a second banquet, I’ll give a chance for those at the adjacent table to be set free.”
“Eh, I’m not too interested… I’d actually prefer it if the seniors who would jitter around and add unnecessary comments while the Professor Weird catches us just disappeared from here!”
At Oknodie’s wicked response, Riske, who had sacrificed many offerings, felt a swell of confidence.
If she were to step onto the axis of good and evil, she would roll willingly towards the end of evil.
Even if her sense of morality were tarnished, because she had a mission to fulfill—the resurrection of her benefactor, Avalon—she had long cast aside shame and hesitation.
What could be within Oknodie?
What made her the Dark Princess?
Are my thousands of years of sacrifice and devotion insufficient compared to the foundation of the Dark Princess?
“This time, I will offer the item representing my past and history. Wouldn’t you like to measure its value against your past and history?”
“If only the reward were a bit tastier, I’d consider it!”
The shackles that had bound the mouths of the fourth-year teaching assistants were removed.
Realizing it was Riske’s unspoken pressure to prove their worth to live, the assistants hurriedly shouted at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“I’ll kick the professor out!”
“We know how to do it!”
“Gasp. Really?”
Tap, tap, wanting to taste something but needing to escape quickly, Oknodie hesitated like a child reluctant to step away from unhealthy snacks.
“Now I’m curious!”
“If you win, they will be free. But if you lose, this time, your comrades must become the banquet’s offerings!”
Rosinante prodded Gwakjo with trembling eyes.
Attempting to sacrifice him and with a cheerful shout of “Oh no, I made a mistake!” Gwakjo, who didn’t want to be sacrificed, hurriedly stepped forward.
“Why don’t you withdraw here? In front of the vast record of history and its totality, you, who have glimpsed so many futures, are at a disadvantage against someone who has amassed more past!”
“It’s okay! The Gift Academy is stacked with past knowledge, and I have a wealth of knowledge as a Graduate Student from the Academy!”
At those words, the assistants erupted with outrage.
“Wait a minute, you’re saying the foundation forces a scholarship student to become a graduate student?!”
“Forcing them to live a life under that’s worth less than a human, shackled in pursuit of a degree while living like a slave? The foundation shouldn’t be called an Evil Organization for no reason!”
“Hey, you crazy kids! Is that really what you want to say to the one who’s supposed to save us?”
One assistant, losing grip on their wits, shouted out, causing the other assistants to exchange glances and quietly retract their statements.
“Graduate students aren’t human, so we don’t have to consider their human rights.”
“Actually, that door leading to the heart in Professor Weird’s research lab does have a graduate student who screams in ways that don’t sound very human. Apparently, they’ve been locked up for ten years according to the previous lab assistants.”
With the assistant’s unfettered disdain and negative remarks about the dark-evolving graduate students, Oknodie suddenly became enraged.
“Graduate students are people! They aren’t livestock! They have human rights! How can you say such terrible things!? Do you think you could ever become a graduate student with that attitude?”
“Eeep!!!”
“N-no! Graduate students do have human rights. Please, don’t make us into graduate students!!”
“Are you dismissing graduate students right now? So that’s why you’re saying you don’t want to become one?”
“N-no!!”
“W-wait… Are you telling us that if we want to live, we should become graduate students?!”
Oknodie’s eyes sparkled in a menacing way.
“If you hadn’t disdained graduate students, wouldn’t you be able to do that yourself? Or… did you just lie to me?”
Oknodie’s expression hardened for the first time.
The coercive abilities that were seldom activated unless they were her enemies, and all the foul powers built up through various accidents, flickered ominously.
As the different evils intertwined like constellations in the night sky, the pressure became unbearable even for the fourth-year teaching assistants of the Academy.
Right just before, a rapidly growing ability.
Before the swirling dark energy of the [Evil Child], the assistants felt their spirits break.
“I… will…”
“I will become a graduate student…”
“Guess that would be fine…”
Finally, a smile returned to Oknodie’s face.
“Sounds good! Shall we start our second match?”
“… Okay. This time, as the challenger, I’ll put the prize on the table first.”
Unlike the knowledge of others that was condensed into a single line on paper, the document in Riske’s hand instantly filled front and back with pitch-black letters, and dozens of sheets unfolded, covering the margins entirely.
The enormity of that record caused the adventurers to be engulfed in complete terror, believing it symbolized the number of sacrifices the Golden City had devoured.
Imagining how many senior Gift Academy members had passed through, the assistants were terrified if Oknodie could even surpass that many.
“Curious. Isn’t the defeat of Alpha frightening?”
“Cruel. You, unlike those cowards, remain composed.”
“Confident. Cruel has a genius understanding of emotional perception and brainwashing techniques. She cannot lose in a match she already considers a victory.”
“You might see Oknodie as a sworn enemy who has taken your place, but unlike Darknodi, you’re quite indifferent.”
“Though fourth has taken my place, it’s a continuation of Jonnas’ efforts and dedication to create a superior Agassi compared to all those before. Her excellence is proof of Jonnas’ diligence. Cruel does not deny Jonnas’ diligence.”
Such remarkable conviction.
Is a human like Jonnas really that special?
Alpha felt a twinge of envy combined with pity.
Living one’s life believing and following someone.
A path that had been filled not just with admiration but with fanaticism.
That path was also the path of [Riske] before her, and it had once been the path of herself, [Alpha].
Under the words of fanaticism lay shattered dreams and a forsaken self.
A human thrown from a dream becomes the most pitiful existence.
Though it is uncertain when Cruel’s downfall will come, Alpha knew when Riske’s would arrive.
Perhaps right now.
This very spot and moment where she is being crushed under the Dark Princess’s talent and knowledge.
