Magic Academy's Bastard Instructor

Even with the odds stacked against them, Damien Ryker did not let up.

To him, Vanitas Astrea was no different from the demons and anomalous phenomena that plagued the world.

Whether the threat took the form of a monster, a catastrophe, or a man made little difference. If it endangered humanity, then it fell within the Grimreapers’ jurisdiction.

The Grimreapers existed for that very purpose.

They were Aetherion’s primary extermination unit, tasked with protecting the nation from threats lurking beyond the public eye.

While ordinary citizens lived their lives unaware, countless battles were fought in the shadows to ensure those lives could continue peacefully.

The Red Moon phenomenon?

The reason Aetherion continued surviving year after year was because the Grimreapers confronted it time and time again.

Demons?

The reason demon attacks remained relatively infrequent was because the Grimreapers dealt with them before they could ever become public knowledge.

More often than not, entire incidents were resolved long before ordinary citizens even realized they had been in danger.

That was the nature of their work.

And now, standing before them, was another such threat. Even with the odds stacked against them, they did not falter before Vanitas Astrea.

But naturally, fear existed.

Anyone claiming otherwise would be lying.

The overwhelming surge of mana Vanitas had released moments ago had made it painfully clear how vast the gap between them truly was. Yet despite that realization, not a single Grimreaper lowered their weapon.

Because this was the job they had chosen.

Because retreating simply because an enemy was stronger had never been an option.

And because if the Grimreapers themselves refused to stand against monsters, then nobody else would.

———!

The winds around Vanitas surged.

Many already knew he was most proficient in wind-based magic, perhaps even the greatest individual in history to ever wield it.

Boom——!

At Damien Ryker’s signal, an explosion occurred.

The floor beneath them shattered apart. Stone cracked, pillars collapsed, and the entire level of the Imperial Palace gave way under the force of the detonations.

Everyone was sent plummeting downward as debris rained around them.

It was a desperate gamble.

By destroying the structure itself, they destroyed the suppressors alongside it. The anti-mana field immediately collapsed, restoring the flow of mana and aura throughout the battlefield.

The Grimreapers moved at once.

Years of training took over.

The moment their powers returned, they launched coordinated attacks without fear, attempting to overwhelm Vanitas.

However, Vanitas Astrea was indeed terrifying.

———!

Like whips coated in darkness blacker than black itself, tendrils lashed outward from around him. They moved with frightening speed, carving through the battlefield and dismembering any knight or Grimreaper unfortunate enough to approach carelessly.

Blood painted the collapsing vicinity. Screams echoed before being drowned out by the sound of destruction.

Several bodies fell before they could even comprehend what had happened.

"Tsk."

Damien Ryker clicked his tongue.

Moments later, everyone landed on their feet.

The remnants of the throne room had long since disappeared. What remained was a battlefield of broken stone, shattered pillars, and drifting dust.

The Imperial Palace itself was beginning to collapse around them.

Yet despite the destruction, the Grimreapers immediately reformed their ranks. Years of training and countless operations allowed them to recover almost instantly, even amidst the chaos.

But Vanitas merely stood there.

"Hoo..."

Damien Ryker exhaled a long stream of smoke.

The moment it left his mouth, the surrounding area gradually became obscured by a thick fog. Visibility rapidly deteriorated until figures became little more than silhouettes moving through the haze.

Utilizing the reduced visibility, the Grimreapers moved.

One by one, shadowy outlines appeared throughout the fog, gradually spreading out as they slowly surrounded Vanitas from every direction.

Yet even so, Vanitas remained standing.

To him, such tricks belonged to the weak attempting to bridge an insurmountable gap through skill and preparation.

And indeed, he had to admit it.

While Damien Ryker was hardly extraordinary in the grand scheme of things, he was undeniably skilled in the art of killing. The same could be said for the Grimreapers under his command.

Perhaps a unit like this could even overwhelm Archmage Soliette if they managed to catch her off guard.

After all, possessing overwhelming firepower and knowing how to kill were two entirely different things. Countless powerful individuals throughout history had died because they underestimated opponents who specialized in assassination and extermination.

———!

Vanitas utilized the power of the Iron Lotus.

Several petals shot toward the nearest silhouette, slicing through the fog. However, they struck nothing but empty air, the target having already vanished before the attack could connect.

The Grimreapers did not remain stationary.

They constantly repositioned themselves, never allowing Vanitas to properly lock onto their locations. Even within the fog, they maintained their coordination.

Then light began converging from somewhere.

A moment later, it flashed into a concentrated beam that shot directly toward Vanitas. The attack crossed the battlefield in an instant before dispersing harmlessly upon contact with the barrier surrounding him.

"How is that fair?!"

One of the Grimreapers couldn’t help but shout.

The attack hadn’t even slowed him down or forced him to move.

To the Grimreapers, the barrier surrounding Vanitas was astonishing.

An absolute defense unlike anything they had ever encountered. It made approaching him difficult, but perhaps not impossible. After all, everything in this world followed rules.

Everything could be broken. All they needed to do was find the method.

To Vanitas, however, there was no need to waste effort on unnecessary actions.

The barrier itself was the result of incorporating the power of the Lily of the Valley into his own magic. Through that integration, he had recreated one of the most absurd defensive abilities ever conceived.

The Lily of the Valley acted as an impenetrable defense.

Within it, magic was swallowed, and spells were consumed. As far as conventional magical attacks were concerned, the barrier might as well have been invincible.

The Iron Lotus granted him overwhelming offense.

The Lily of the Valley granted him overwhelming defense.

Each was a phenomenon he had personally devoured. Each was an existence capable of leveling armies and bringing entire regions to ruin. Even in their dormant states, they had been disasters feared by nations.

Yet those disasters now belonged to a single man.

Vanitas Astrea had already reached the pinnacle of humanity.

Shatter——!

A sword coated in aura struck from somewhere within the fog, aimed directly at a blind spot. Yet the moment the blade made contact with the floating petals surrounding Vanitas, it shattered into countless fragments.

Whoosh——!

A fist coated in aura crashed forward with enough force to pulverize stone. Yet the momentum ceased entirely the moment it collided with the wind barrier surrounding Vanitas.

That single moment was enough.

The petals swooped forward and severed their torso cleanly into two. Blood sprayed across the ruined palace grounds.

Yet the attacks did not stop.

Clang——!

A chain wrapped around one of the petals.

Boom——!

An explosive detonated moments later.

Another Grimreaper appeared from above.

A spear thrust downward.

Another emerged from below the rubble.

A dagger shot toward Vanitas’s throat.

The coordination was flawless. Each attack flowed naturally into the next. But unfortunately for them, their opponent was Vanitas Astrea. A man everyone already recognized was far above the Archmage herself.

The petals accelerated.

Like a storm of crimson blades, they swept through the battlefield.

Slash—slash—slash—!

Bodies fell. Weapons shattered. The fog itself seemed to be painted red.

"Don’t stop!" Damien’s voice echoed through the battlefield. "Keep the pressure on!"

More silhouettes emerged from the smoke. More attacks descended. More blood was spilled.

And yet the distance between them and Vanitas never seemed to decrease.

Yet despite everything, the man simply stood there, as though everything occurring around him was little more than a minor inconvenience.

"Tsk."

Damien clicked his tongue once again.

The situation was getting worse.

Every second they remained engaged, casualties increased. Every exchange only further highlighted the absurd difference between Vanitas and everyone else present.

Yet despite that realization, Damien refused to retreat.

If there was even the slightest possibility of killing Vanitas Astrea, then this would be the only opportunity they would ever get.

"Now!"

Damien’s voice echoed throughout the battlefield.

"Huh."

Vanitas glanced downward.

Only then did he notice it.

Beneath the shattered ruins of the Imperial Palace, hidden beneath layers of rubble and corpses, countless magic circles had already been constructed.

One after another, their illuminating patterns overlapped and interlocked as they rose upward in concentric layers.

Vanitas watched as the circles continued to activate.

The sheer scale of the formation was surprising. Dozens of mages chanted in unison, their voices, their mana, all merging together. And in an instant, the sky itself lit up.

Crackle——!

A colossal pillar of light descended.

The attack crashed onto Vanitas’s location with enough force to shake the capital itself.

The impact generated a deafening explosion as the ground collapsed beneath him, while the resulting shockwave tore through the surrounding ruins and sent debris flying in every direction.

Then another followed.

Boom——!

Then another.

Boom——!

Dozens of beams descended from the heavens one after another, relentlessly hammering the same location as though attempting to erase Vanitas Astrea from existence itself.

The battlefield disappeared before the light as stone vaporized, steel melted, and entire sections of the ruined palace were reduced to nothing.

Even the Grimreapers were forced to retreat several steps in order to avoid being caught in the blast radius.

"Keep going!" Damien roared. "Don’t stop chanting!"

The mages immediately obeyed.

Sweat streamed down their faces. Blood trickled from their noses. Several had already begun suffering backlash from the sheer amount of mana they were forcing through the formation, yet none of them dared stop.

Boom——!

Another beam descended.

Then another.

And another.

The world itself seemed to drown under an endless sea of light as the barrage continued relentlessly, refusing to grant its target even a moment to breathe.

Even from a great distance, Archmage Soliette witnessed the phenomenon.

The heavens themselves appeared to have opened. Towering pillars of radiance descended one after another upon a single location, illuminating the entire capital and turning night into day.

Beside her, Astrid stared at the distant spectacle.

"It’s coming from the Imperial Palace..."

"Then..."

"The Professor."

Neither of them needed to say anything else.

Without another word, the two accelerated toward the source of the disturbance, moving through ruined streets and collapsing structures as the distant pillars of light continued battering the Imperial Palace without pause.

As they moved, Soliette narrowed her eyes.

"That spell... it’s Jacob’s Ladder."

"Ah?"

Astrid blinked. The name alone was enough to catch her off guard.

Jacob’s Ladder.

A Sovereign-tier spell said to have been created by the Goddess Lumine herself.

It was one of the Holy Church’s greatest miracles and among the most destructive spells ever recorded in human history.

The mana requirements alone were absurd, and the complexity of the spell bordered on impossible. Moreover, the amount of preparation necessary to successfully cast it made it impractical in most situations.

Even Soliette could not cast it by herself.

As the current Archmage, she stood at the pinnacle of modern magic, yet even she would require at least one other capable mage to properly invoke Jacob’s Ladder.

That meant that, right there inside the Imperial Palace, several clergymen must have gathered for the sole purpose of casting such a spell.

As they made their way toward the scene, several knights had already gathered around the area. The moment they recognized the Archmage and the Princess, their expressions immediately changed.

"W-We need your assistance, Archmage!"

Soliette simply nodded.

Without wasting any time, she and Astrid were immediately granted entry. The moment they stepped inside, the scale of the operation became apparent.

There were indeed several clergymen present. Sweat poured down their faces, and their breathing was ragged.

Yet despite their obvious exhaustion, none of them stopped chanting as they continuously maintained Jacob’s Ladder, feeding vast quantities of mana into the spell while pillar after pillar of light descended upon the battlefield.

"A-Archmage?"

A familiar voice called out.

Soliette turned her head.

"Iridelle?"

"N-No way..." The woman stared at her in disbelief. "You’re... alive...?"

Approaching Soliette was none other than Iridelle Vermillion.

The Vice-Admiral looked utterly bewildered. Given the circumstances surrounding the Theocracy two months ago, many had long since assumed Soliette had perished.

Fortunately for them, that assumption had proven incorrect.

The reunion was brief. There were far more pressing matters at hand.

According to Iridelle, this operation was the result of a joint effort between multiple powers. The Zyphran Dominion, the Empire of Aetherion, the Celestine Hegemony, the Umbral Coalition, and the Grimreapers had all contributed resources, manpower, and intelligence toward a single objective.

Vanitas Astrea.

The plan itself was simple in theory. The Grimreapers would act as the bait, or perhaps more accurately, the sacrifice.

Their role was to keep Vanitas occupied long enough for the clergymen and supporting mages to fully establish and maintain Jacob’s Ladder.

Once the spell became operational, the gathered forces would continuously bombard Vanitas’s location while preventing him from escaping the designated battlefield.

In theory, the relentless barrage would eventually overwhelm his defenses and vaporize him. That was the objective behind the operation, and the reason so many nations and organizations had chosen to cooperate despite their differences.

Faced with an opponent like Vanitas Astrea, anything less would have been insufficient.

It was an absurdly costly strategy.

The number of people required to maintain the spell was already staggering. The amount of mana being consumed bordered on insanity, and the Grimreapers themselves had suffered catastrophic casualties merely to buy additional seconds.

Yet despite all of that, no one present believed they had any alternative.

After all, they were attempting to kill the most dangerous man alive.

It was then.

"Araxys."

Crackle——!

In the blink of an eye, before anyone could even process what had happened, Jacob’s Ladder shattered.

The colossal pillar of light fractured apart like glass. It was an impossible sight.

A Sovereign-tier spell said to have been created by the Goddess herself, a miracle that had endured throughout history and was among the greatest spells ever conceived, had broken apart before everyone’s eyes.

"...."

"...."

"...."

"...."

Silence descended upon the battlefield.

The clergymen stopped chanting.

The surviving Grimreapers froze.

Even the mages responsible for maintaining the spell could only stare upward in disbelief before falling to their knees.

"It’s... over..."

High above the heavens, an inky-black silhouette eclipsed the sky itself, blotting out even the moonlight.

Its enormous form stretched beyond comprehension, dwarfing everything beneath it as though the world itself had become insignificant in comparison.

Then its eyes opened. Amethyst-hued eyes. Eyes that seemed to belong to something that had existed long before humanity itself.

The moment those eyes fell upon the battlefield, an overwhelming pressure descended.

And at that moment, everyone understood.

Everything they had done so far had been meaningless. All of it suddenly felt insignificant beneath the looming figure of Araxys.

The Black Dragon had not even attacked, but had merely looked in their direction.

And that alone was enough to crush their confidence.

"...!"

"...!"

"...!"

Far below, beneath the shadow cast by that monstrous existence, stood a single entity.

"T-That’s ridiculous...!"

His clothing had suffered some damage from Jacob’s Ladder. Several portions of his attire had been burnt away.

Yet aside from that, he remained completely unharmed, with not a single drop of blood.

Not a single indication that he had just endured one of the strongest spells humanity was capable of producing.

The sight was enough to drive people into despair.

They had gathered the combined resources of multiple nations. They had mobilized the Church, the Grimreapers, countless mages, and some of the strongest individuals alive.

And yet, their greatest attack had failed.

Standing beneath the Black Dragon, with the heavens darkened above him and the battlefield rendered silent around him, the man appeared less like a human being and more like a calamity standing at the center of another, even greater calamity.

The dragon above represented the end of the world.

The man below had brought it forth.

A demon above all demons.

A tyrant among all tyrants.

The Crownless Emperor.

"...."

Vanitas Astrea.

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