Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 304: Test Subject: Third (1)

Upon entering the cavern, Ludger’s group immediately split into two.

Terrina, Chris, and Bellaruna went to support those fighting Andrei.

Ludger and Casey, meanwhile, moved stealthily, hidden from Andrei’s sight. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Casey had cast a veil of water to obscure them from view, and thanks to the others drawing Andrei’s attention, they had avoided detection.

‘Demonic power, is it.’

Ludger sensed at once that the black energy emanating from Andrei was no ordinary threat.

And now, he understood why his master had subtly hinted that he should investigate the underground.

If it was demonic power, it was natural that his master would take interest.

Of course, that power was still sealed within the World Tree, and Grander had yet to begin any real movement—hence why it was left at just a hint.

‘Whatever the case, I have to destroy everything related to the experiment while that bastard is distracted.’

That was why he and Casey were acting separately.

“Will they be okay?”

Casey sounded worried, wondering if their allies might need help.

Perhaps because they were now alone, her tone had reverted to casual speech again.

“They’ll be fine. Two Masters are there, and they’ve gathered matching power. Even if Andrei Semov is wielding demonic power, they won’t be overwhelmed.”

“...Right. I’m sure you’re right. We have to do what we came to do.”

Casey, too, reaffirmed her resolve as she took in the sight of the busy black mages.

Though she glanced at Ludger from time to time, she didn’t ask anything outright.

Given the situation, there was no room for idle conversation.

“Let’s go.”

“...Yeah.”

Ludger began preparing his spell, and Casey assisted.

The incantation was completed in an instant, and the magic unfolded in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, Casey dispelled the water veil surrounding them, exposing the two of them to view.

The black mages and Liberation Army members sensed the sudden burst of mana and realized enemies had reached this area.

But it was already too late.

A massive fire spell unfurled in a wide fan shape, sweeping across the laboratory like a tidal wave.

Its wide range meant the power wasn’t concentrated enough to kill, but it was more than sufficient to damage the facilities producing chimeras and the test subjects inside.

“Stop them!”

“We must protect this no matter what!”

Faced with disaster, the Liberation Army and black mages chose to stand and fight instead of flee.

Those who had already undergone bodily enhancement hurled themselves into the fire wave to push it back.

In that brief window, the mages completed their incantations and cast defensive spells.

The first wave of Liberation Army soldiers were burned black, but thanks to their sacrifice, the rest were shielded by the defensive magic.

Ludger’s firestorm failed to achieve even half of its intended effect.

‘They threw themselves into the flames without hesitation...’

It was fanaticism, plain and simple.

But the attack wasn’t meant to be a one-off.

The next to move was Casey Selmore.

Following the fire came thin, crescent-shaped blades of water.

Each watery slash curved like a crescent moon and contained massive mana, cleaving through anything in its path.

Shrrk! Squish!

The defensive spells shattered helplessly, and the blades began slicing into the breeding equipment.

Transparent glass chambers were sliced cleanly, their sharp edges glinting.

Unknown fluids, half-formed chimeras, and hunks of Second experimental flesh spilled onto the floor.

“No!”

“You damn bastards!”

The Liberation Army soldiers, eyes bloodshot, rushed at Casey in fury.

But her attack didn’t stop there.

Most mages would be done after unleashing such an attack, but she was a single-element specialist.

Water, once conjured, could be reused several times.

The water blades obeyed her will, boomeranging back and whirling around her at a terrifying speed.

One of the approaching enemies flinched involuntarily at the memory of the prior slash’s destructive power.

That moment of hesitation gave Casey the chance to counter.

The gathered water blades clustered in one spot, forming over ten cannons.

When Casey thrust her hand forward, the cannons fired—not flames, but jets of high-pressure water.

BOOOM!

The water cannons blasted away the Liberation Army forces and destroyed the remaining breeding tanks.

“Damn it! Release all the test subjects!”

“B-But they’re still unstable—!”

“There’s no time! Just release them! And protect the Thirds no matter what! Guard them with your lives!”

Under normal circumstances, one would expect morale to collapse by now.

But the Liberation Army and black mages instead burned with greater rage and determination.

They weren’t unaware that they couldn’t defeat the two before them.

They knew—and still refused to back down.

For the black mages, it was the fulfillment of their long-sought creation: the ultimate test subject.

For the Liberation Army, it was hatred—hoping that this abomination would become a weapon to kill their loathed enemies.

It wasn’t faith or belief.

But it did ignite a fire in their hearts all the same.

Screeeech!

Unstable test subjects rose and charged at Ludger and Casey.

Their forms were incomplete, and their bodies were actively breaking down.

But they were more than capable of grabbing hold of their enemies’ ankles.

“I think that’s bought us enough time!”

Still keeping her eyes on the enemy, Casey shouted to Ludger.

He had taken the first attack, she the second, and now Ludger was about to unleash the third.

“For someone who casts so fast, what’s taking so lo—!”

She was just about to complain when a blinding flash of light exploded behind her.

Even without facing it directly, the radiance made her vision swim.

Had she been staring straight at it, she might have gone blind in an instant.

The chimeras and test subjects rushing toward them clutched at their eyes and froze in agony.

Enormous mana mixed with the light and began forming a spell.

The exploding light—

Beams of radiance extended in all directions, transforming into countless spears of pure white.

It was an enhanced version of the light magic Ludger had once used to sweep away chimeras on the surface.

This time, packed with more mana, and wielded with enough power to pierce all foes at once.

A 5th-Circle light-element spell.

[Angel’s Ladder]

It was less a spear and more like a laser.

The speed was so great that the enemies couldn’t even register what hit them.

By the time they noticed the attack, the white trails had already pierced through their bodies.

Even the black mages who instinctively raised barriers at the overwhelming light were helpless.

Their defenses crumbled before the hyper-condensed heat and force of the spell.

With their sight blocked by the intense glare, evasion was impossible.

The light pierced everything.

As if it were divine judgment, punishing their evil.

The chimeras and Second test subjects charging in front were the first to fall.

Next came the sentient test subjects and the assisting Liberation Army, and finally even the black mages—all collapsed one after another.

The blinding radiance, followed by bodies falling like dominoes, was a spectacular sight.

Even Casey, who had been about to scold Ludger, was left speechless.

“Well, I guess... that took a while for a reason.”

She felt a little sheepish—and realized anew that what she saw three years ago was far from his full strength.

‘He didn’t even use that black shadow aura he had when he fought me.’

He could use both shadow and light magic simultaneously?

Just how many elemental affinities did this man have?

‘All of them? No way. That can’t be. ...Right?’

A mage capable of wielding even a single elemental attribute was so rare one couldn’t count them on a single hand—yet a mage who could use all attributes?

That was something spoken of not in legends, but in myth.

Casey shook off her thoughts and assessed the situation.

After three consecutive surprise magical assaults, not a single enemy remained standing.

Most of the breeding facilities and incubation tanks had been destroyed. The few that remained were barely holding their shape.

All except one.

There was a single tank still intact.

Unlike the others filled with green fluid, this one contained a large glass chamber full of red liquid.

Inside, a man lay motionless with his eyes closed, suspended in the fluid.

That it had survived this chaos could only mean one thing: the black mages had protected it with everything they had—even at the cost of their own lives.

Ludger noticed it as well and began gathering {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} mana once more.

‘Is that the most dangerous subject Hans warned me about? Survived all this... but not for long.’

He was just about to destroy it before anyone else could protect it.

“YOU BASTAAAAARDS!!”

A roar echoed from afar as Andrei, shrouded in black mana, flew straight at Ludger.

Ludger redirected the mana he had gathered for attack into a defensive spell without hesitation.

Andrei’s blackened arm crashed against Ludger’s hexagonal mana barrier.

‘What the—’

Why was Andrei Semov here?

Could it be that Terrina, Passius, and the others had been defeated?

Ludger’s question answered itself as he got a good look at Andrei’s condition.

The man bearing down on him was in no shape to be called “fine.”

His body was covered in white frost and deep gashes.

They had yet to regenerate—but Andrei was still glaring at Ludger with murderous intent.

“You won’t lay a finger on that!!”

The moment Andrei had realized the strike team was destroying the lab, he’d abandoned everything and flown here.

Master-level fighters like Passius and Terrina had unleashed everything they had to stop him.

But Andrei had evaded or blocked only the truly lethal strikes. He’d accepted all other blows without defending, forcing his way here.

Even with a modified body and the power of a demon, pain was not something one could simply erase.

And yet, Andrei had endured the torment—because to him, the test subject was the highest priority.

And so, his rage was real.

The thought that insects like these were trying to render his life’s work meaningless filled him with blinding fury.

He began drawing on the demonic power he’d only partially used up to now.

“I’LL KILL YOU ALL!”

The severed arm and all his injuries regenerated instantly.

The black energy that had previously only consumed one arm now spread across his upper body.

Some of it merged with the tattered remnants of his clothing, forming a black robe.

As the robe flared, countless yellow eyes opened across its surface.

FWASH!

The eyes trembled violently—then unleashed a wave of dark pulses.

An assault aimed at the mind. No normal defensive magic could block it.

That moment, Casey stepped forward.

She deployed a thin barrier of water. Then another. And another—until there were more than ten layers.

The dark pulse, carried through the air, weakened with every layer it passed through.

By the time it reached the final veil, its force had diminished considerably.

Even so, the demonic energy was potent enough that Casey still felt her head throb painfully.

A cacophony of voices began to ring in her mind.

Hallucinations. Confusion. Terror.

A flood of negative emotions surged up, but Casey roared through them.

“NOW!”

The shout was for Ludger—and he answered it.

In a flash, he completed his incantation. The spell, compiled via sourcecode in mere moments, launched at terrifying speed toward the test subject.

Power wasn’t important.

He only needed to destroy the containment tank.

“Not a chance!!”

Andrei would never allow it.

He rapidly composed a counter-spell, layering barrier after barrier around the tank.

The violet mana shields successfully blocked the magical projectile fired by Ludger.

‘He’s using both demon power and magic at the same time? Are they completely separate systems?’

Just then, reinforcements arrived.

As Andrei clashed with Casey, a blade laced with compressed aura slashed across his back.

“You imperial dogs...!”

Even struck by a Swordmaster’s aura-infused weapon, Andrei merely bled darkly from the mouth—he did not die.

His modified body, empowered by demonic energy, had long surpassed human limits.

Even destroying his heart or brain would not kill him. His regeneration drew endlessly from the black mana coursing through him.

But no one present despaired.

Because their top priority was not killing Andrei—it was stopping the experiment powered by demonic energy.

‘Now’s the time.’

Thanks to the reinforcements, Ludger had gained another opening to cast his magic.

“Not a chance!!”

Andrei further fortified the mana shields.

He didn’t care what spell Ludger was preparing—he refused to let anything through. Even as blades carved into his body, he focused solely on reinforcing the barriers.

But when Ludger finally unleashed his spell, Andrei’s eyes widened.

The completed magic bypassed the barriers and formed right in front of the containment tank.

“What... is this?”

Andrei’s stunned whisper was cut short—

CRASH!

Ludger’s spell, a spear of light, shattered the tank and pierced the heart of the dormant test subject within.