Surviving as a Villain at the Academy - Chapter 180



180 – The Devil Lives in the Magic Tower. (7)

Unaware that the Emperor was plotting against them, the magicians of the Magic Tower were immersed in their research. Aym also found life in the Magic Tower quite to his liking.

He let out a languid sigh and rose from his bed. Recently, his power had been increasing at an exponential rate.

It wasn’t just the desires emanating from Delazio that he was taking, but the magicians of the Magic Tower were so enchanted by the research he proposed that they poured out their own desires.

“Indeed. It was wise to leave the research materials behind. I never expected things to go so smoothly.”

Had the research materials not fallen into Delazio’s hands, he wouldn’t have been able to indulge himself to this extent.

He surveyed the situation leisurely. It didn’t matter if he was caught. He had no intention of taking responsibility for the magicians of the Magic Tower.

After all, he could just move on to another place and act as he had done here. Across the continent, magicians are a breed willing to sacrifice their lives for a single enlightenment.

Even Delazio, a member of the royal family, a high-ranking magician of the Magic Tower.

Even he, lacking nothing, was captivated by the desire for a higher realm, the value of the name ‘Archmage.’

Demons are inherently adept at magic. Even a low-ranking demon surpasses an average high-ranking magician. Let alone a high-ranking demon, and Aym, who possessed profound insight into magic, had written magical theories and research materials.

Any average magician would go mad at the sight of those research materials, and that prediction hit the mark.

The magicians of the Magic Tower, now caught up in the craze brought by Aym and Delazio, had long lost their rational judgment.

They did not consider challenging taboos as wrong. Morality and ethics were luxuries for magicians. All they needed was the knowledge to move forward.

Aym looked at the increasingly deranged magicians of the Magic Tower with a pleased smile. They had lost their rational judgment to the possibilities of new magic.

Using people as experimental subjects was something magicians had considered for a long time.

The thought that ‘if they are useless humans, if they are harmful to society, then perhaps it’s alright to conduct human experiments on such people?’

That thought became reality through Delazio, and the magicians’ moral concepts began to crumble. If even he, of royal blood, could commit taboos, what couldn’t they do?

The magicians began to repeat experiments like untethered colts. Even the head of the Magic Tower was no exception. After all, they were just cleaning up the trash that was of no use to society.

Even the royal court might have overlooked it. Especially since the instigator was Delazio Talantis, there was nothing more to say.

Becoming an Archmage didn’t mean the end of magical advancement. On the contrary, it was by becoming Archmages that they pursued immortality even more fervently. The extended lifespan that came with the title was not enough.

Aim deftly mingled among them, beginning to impart the magical knowledge he possessed. Imitating Delazio was no trouble for him, so much so that the mages trembled with joy at the knowledge they gained from him.

He had not particularly cared about cleaning up after Delazio’s abduction of vagrants, contrary to the promise he had originally made with Delazio.

At first, Aim naturally preferred not to be caught, so he took care of the aftermath, but at some point, he realized that figures from the Holy Kingdom were stirring up this incident.

Once the Holy Kingdom intervened, he planned to cut ties and make a quick escape. No demon had ever fared well in opposition to the Holy Kingdom.

The Holy Kingdom was a unified entity. The moment news of a demon’s appearance reached their ears, they would be subjected to the relentless pursuit of the Holy Kingdom. And that would signify the end of his leisurely life.

Of course, trampling over humans was not a difficult task. To Aim, a high-ranking demon, they were mere humans who could turn into a pool of blood with a single gesture.

But the true terror of the Holy Kingdom came from the angels that watched over them. The recent excommunication judgment of the saint, where the haughty chicken-headed Michael directly judged the transgressors, was a story that had already spread across the continent.

Especially now that it had been directly confirmed that angels were monitoring every move of the Holy Kingdom, there was no need to provoke unnecessary danger.

Thus, Aim gave up on cleaning up after Delazio. After all, the contract was nothing more than a false name with no binding force. The moment the Holy Kingdom stormed into the empire, he could just slip away leisurely.

After all, the entire tower had become a den of corrupted human scum, and naturally, all eyes would be on the tower and Delazio, leaving no threat directed at him.

It was slightly regrettable that he could no longer leech power from this place, but it would be foolish to throw away his entire leisurely life over such a minor disappointment.

He could simply repeat the same process in another region, so this loss was negligible.

He planned to continue accumulating power by repeating similar deeds and to carry on with his leisurely life among humans. The sight of foolish humans walking towards their own ruin was amusing just to watch.

Accumulating power was merely an added bonus to his amusement.

‘It’s time to start making my exit. It wouldn’t be strange for the Holy Kingdom to barge in at any time, and the current emperor of the empire is someone who could coldly sever even his own bloodline… It’s better to ensure safety before things escalate further.’

With that thought, Aim began to prepare for his departure.

* * *

“Who should we catch first?”

I asked Asti.

“Let’s deal with Aim in the tower first.”

“The tower?”

“Yes. The guys inside the academy are bound to have some interactions, whether they know it or not… So we’ll take care of Aim beforehand.”

“Wouldn’t that stir things up unnecessarily… Are you sure? There’s also a chance that the tower is in cahoots.”

Considering my words, Asti pondered for a moment and then nodded.

“That’s why we need to act quickly. Aim is quite clever. He knows how to draw out people’s desires. Such individuals usually prioritize their own safety. Honestly, a demon of his caliber would have already noticed if the Holy Kingdom was digging around the tower.”

“So he might run away immediately.”

“Exactly. We need to move as soon as the inspection schedule is set. Or, we could wait near the tower and catch Aim first. I can lure out his presence.”

Asti’s words made sense. The purification of the tower was an inevitable task. And catching Aim wouldn’t likely alert the demons in the academy. Aim wasn’t like the other demons targeting the saint.

That is, he’s a devil that moves independently of the others… It would be best to capture him first and swiftly deal with the rest.

There’s a way to handle Aime without force, but that’s on hold. He was originally just experience points for Ruslan, but the scale of his misdeeds turned out to be larger than expected.

The Mage Tower becoming a hotbed of corruption was not something seen in the original work.

I didn’t expect lowering the morality of the Mage Tower’s characters to cause problems here. They are people who would give everything for magic, so it was logical for them to fall for the devil’s temptations, wasn’t it?

I couldn’t help but click my tongue.

If things continue this way, who knows what chaos it might bring? Then, elimination is the only option.

With the world already full of variables, it’s impossible to predict what will happen next. I can’t leave such a threat unchecked, not when it’s about increasing Ruslan’s experience points.

“As for the audit schedule, I can ask Father… The key is how to deal with him.”

“Well, dealing with him won’t be too much of a headache. I’ll take care of it. But the madness of the Mage Tower’s mages is another issue. If an incident inevitably occurs in the Mage Tower, it’s bound to explode during the audit.”

“That makes sense… Then I have no choice but to accompany you to the audit. First, we’ll handle Aime as soon as the audit is scheduled, and then deal with the other mages during the audit.”

“Right. But be careful. If the Tower Master is an Archmage, the others might be helpless against him. And more importantly… if a problem arises during the audit of the Mage Tower, I must not reveal my power. What would the Holy Kingdom think of me?”

“So, I have to resolve it with my own power.”

“Exactly. Of course, Salus is there, and I can muster the strength of an average mage, so even if the opponent is an Archmage, we can handle it. But it’s difficult to completely overpower them. If only the Seekers weren’t all from the Inquisition, I could simply charm them, but the Inquisitors are almost immune to mental manipulation…”

“But isn’t that a problem you can solve by consuming sincerity? Last time, you charmed the priests and paladins just fine.”

At my words, Asti shook her head.

“The divine magic that the Inquisitors awaken, the Eye of Truth, is a technique directly bestowed by angels to humans, so no deception or charm works on those who have awakened the Eye of Truth.”

“…That’s a divine magic directly bestowed by angels to humans?”

“Yes. Otherwise, all the priests and paladins of the Holy Kingdom would have awakened the Eye of Truth. Becoming an Inquisitor is for the so-called chosen ones.”

It’s not the first time this world has filled in the gaps in the setting, but it’s always a headache when it’s revealed. This time was no different.

Who would have thought they’d add such a background behind the plausible setting of the Eye of Truth?

I clasped my forehead.

In short, if things don’t go well, I might have to duel the owner of the Empire’s Mage Tower.

Damn it.