Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 309: The Lesson (2)

Should I do it?

Hans stood at a crossroads—perhaps the greatest decision point of his life.

He had turned the problem over in his head countless times, but no clear answer emerged.

After wavering again and again...

The unease that had been crawling up Hans’ spine now stabbed at the top of his skull.

In the end, unable to bear it anymore, Hans mustered his courage and opened his mouth.

“Are you really not going?”

“What?”

Grander, lying across the sofa, barely turned his head to glance at Hans.

Those red eyes—heavy with annoyance—locked onto him, and Hans felt the kind of terror that came from falling off the edge of a cliff.

Don’t get scared.

Still... he’s the teacher # Nоvеlight # of the hyung-nim. He’s not going to hit me, right?

Hans gulped and spoke again.

“I asked if you weren’t going to help hyung-nim.”

“That again? I thought I already gave you a clear enough answer.”

“Yes, you did. But... you do know, don’t you.”

“Know what?”

“You said there was something underground. And when we checked, we found black mages conducting secret experiments with demonic power.”

At the mention of demons, Grander gave a faint smile.

“Hmm. I did drop a hint, but you figured it out faster than I expected. So what? That power’s sealed away behind layers of shells.”

“That’s for now. But those black mages and the Liberation Army are up to something. That sealed power could awaken.”

“And what makes you think that?”

Grander didn’t tell him to stop spouting nonsense.

Instead, those ruby-red eyes sparked with curiosity as he asked Hans again—

What made him think that?

“...Excuse me?”

“I asked why you think that.”

“Uh, well...”

Hans hesitated, unsure how to respond.

Truthfully, it wasn’t something he’d logically reasoned out.

It was more of a hunch.

An animal instinct, if he had to name it.

But he couldn’t just come out and say It’s because I had a feeling.

Grander would think he was being mocked.

As Hans hesitated, unsure how to answer—

Grander stared at him steadily.

And in that moment, Hans, for reasons he couldn’t explain, ended up saying exactly what he had resolved not to.

“It’s because of a feeling.”

...Wait, what?

Hans froze the moment the words left his mouth.

He was bewildered—and a wave of anxiety crashed over him.

He had no idea why he said that.

It wouldn’t be strange if Grander flared up and accused him of mocking him.

But contrary to Hans’ fears, Grander didn’t get angry.

Instead, he sat up on the sofa and asked, as if genuinely intrigued,

“Oh? A feeling, huh. And what exactly did you feel?”

“Eh? What do you mean, what did I feel... I just... had a sense that something was going to happen if we left things alone...”

“So you just felt like something might happen?”

“...Yes.”

“Hmph. So you haven’t fully awakened to it yet. That disciple of mine’s picked up quite the interesting one.”

“...Excuse me?”

Hans was about to protest—What’s that supposed to mean?—when Grander said,

“Truth is, I was planning to move even if you hadn’t said anything.”

“R-really?”

“Of course. You think I wouldn’t notice something you picked up on? I’m the one who told you there was something underground to begin with.”

Then why didn’t he move?

Hans didn’t say it out loud, but the emotion must’ve leaked from his eyes.

Grander let out a scoff, crossed his arms, and leaned deep into the sofa as if the idea were absurd.

“There’s only one reason I haven’t moved. I haven’t felt the need.”

“But you were planning to, and now you don’t feel the need?”

“You can’t sense it?”

“...Excuse me?”

When Hans repeated it back, Grander shook his head.

“Forget it. Looks like your instincts are hyper-developed only when it comes to sensing danger.”

“Wait, what does that even—”

“That’s enough. No point in fussing about it. Just sit back and watch.”

Grander smiled at the waves of power emanating from beneath the ground.

It was a smile not unlike a proud mother watching her child mature.

“He’s more than capable.”

* * *

Luypholdt tried to push himself up with both arms.

But it was as if a massive slab of lead had been placed on his back—he couldn’t move his limbs at all.

This is insane.

His body, enhanced through demonic power, far surpassed even that of a Swordmaster.

He had enough strength to lift a boulder larger than a house, yet now he couldn’t even lift his own torso.

“...What did you do to me?”

Even breathing was difficult, but Luypholdt forced the words out.

This overwhelming pressure—

Ludger had definitely done something. But Luypholdt had no idea what.

A chilling possibility crept into his mind.

Could this really be... true magic?

A kind of magic that only a child of pure talent could wield—something utterly alien to him?

No.

No, that couldn’t be.

He had never heard of magic like this.

Especially not something triggered by a mere mudra...

“You thought a mere mudra couldn’t produce this kind of power, didn’t you?”

“......”

Luypholdt shut his mouth.

It felt like Ludger had read his mind.

Then again, anyone would react the same way.

From Ludger’s words, it was clear: this attack was a mudra.

And that only deepened Luypholdt’s confusion.

Mudras were already obsolete.

Modern magic required complex and precise rituals to activate; mudras were too weak and unreliable.

Not to mention... that simple gesture?

To activate magic with a mudra, you needed to move your hands in intricate patterns.

Just holding your hand out like that wasn’t supposed to be enough.

“I told you. This is real magic.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! There’s no such magic—I’ve never heard of anything like it!”

Luypholdt shouted through clenched teeth—but somewhere in the back of his mind, a part of him wondered if it really was true.

The demon’s power... is being repelled.

And even more unsettling—was the golden aura pressing down on his entire body.

In front of that golden radiance, his demonic power couldn’t even resist.

I’m using everything I have just to get up... and I still end up face-down like a frog because of one damn hand gesture?

This was insane.

What even was that power, to overwhelm demonic energy?

It wasn’t even divine power.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?”

Ludger spoke to Luypholdt, still plastered against the floor.

“From the look on your face, I’d say you feel more shame than pain.”

“Y-you... bastard...”

Luypholdt bit his lip.

That downward gaze from Ludger only twisted the humiliation deeper.

In Ludger’s eyes, he saw the faces of others—people who had once mocked him, scorned him for reaching his limit.

Faces that had sneered, You’ll never make it.

He had wanted to kill them all.

His veins bulged across his body.

Black blood trickled from his lips and nostrils.

“I’ll kill you. Not just kill—you’ll beg me to kill you after what I do to you.”

“You’ve got a sharp tongue for someone who looks like a taxidermied specimen.”

“SHUT UP!!”

Luypholdt shrieked like a madman.

Ludger responded by pressing down even harder.

Demonic power was certainly threatening—

But before the hand seal of Antimagic Tactile Suppression, it was completely useless.

Just as Ludger was about to increase the pressure and crush Luypholdt completely—

‘What is that?’

For a moment, Ludger had the illusion that someone was clinging to Luypholdt’s back.

No—it wasn’t an illusion.

A black shadow in the shape of a human was leaning into Luypholdt’s ear, whispering something.

‘That thing’ lifted its head and looked directly at Ludger... then slowly, it grinned.

On its featureless black face, there was a stark white crescent moon, drawn like a slash.

Ludger felt a chill creep up his spine for no clear reason.

The moment he tried to react, it vanished like a mirage.

And right after—

Luypholdt began to change.

“GRAAAAHHH!”

Crack!

The sound of bones and muscles twisting came from Luypholdt’s body as he lay pinned to the ground.

Someone who hadn’t even flinched under the fiercest attacks now screamed in agony.

The grafted faces of the mages on his body also opened their mouths wide and screamed in unison, their eyes bulging in terror.

Amid the overlapping chorus of screams, the transformation continued.

The grotesquely enlarged arms returned to normal size—but instead, two new arms burst forth, one from each shoulder.

Now with four arms, Luypholdt began to slowly push himself up from the ground.

Astonishingly, he was resisting Ludger’s <Anti-Magic Mudra> and rising.

He’s stronger now.

Ludger furrowed his brow at the transformation.

He kept his extended right arm steady, while raising two fingers—index and middle—on his left, pointing directly at Luypholdt.

The mist of mana around them surged and formed a new spell.

The earth quivered.

Jagged stone spikes shot up and pierced through Luypholdt’s palms, pinning all four arms in place.

But then—something even more disturbing happened.

Crunch. Crunch.

The stone spikes that had pierced through his palms and jutted out the backs of his hands—were being devoured.

The pierced flesh had turned into mouths.

His hands had grown mouths that now bit and chewed through the stone.

He had mutated before—but this... this had crossed a line.

Calling him “human” now would be a disservice to humanity.

“You there.”

Ludger called out to Andrei, who had been silently watching from afar.

“Do you know what’s happening to him?”

“...Why the hell are you asking me?”

“You’re the one who made him like that. Shouldn’t you at least understand what’s going on?”

Andrei was dumbfounded.

Just moments ago they had been trying to kill each other, and now Ludger was asking him a question like this?

And in polite speech, no less.

If this had been any other time, Andrei would’ve scoffed and ignored him.

But he, too, could feel it—something terrifying in Luypholdt’s grotesque transformation.

“...I don’t know.”

“...Are you joking?”

Ludger clicked his tongue, but kept focusing his energy on restraining Luypholdt.

Even now, he was losing ground—if he let his guard down even for a moment, Luypholdt would break free and rampage.

He had to hold him down, buying as much time as possible.

“Then... even a guess? Anything?”

“...That...”

Seeing Andrei hesitate, Ludger scoffed.

“Right. My mistake for expecting anything from the man who nearly got killed by his own experiment.”

Andrei flinched at the sarcasm, but couldn’t refute it.

Because it was true.

He had lost to the very creation he made.

He had part of his demonic power stolen.

Even his past—one he had kept secret for so long—had been revealed through Luypholdt’s mouth.

Nothing could be more disgraceful.

“...He’s probably being consumed by the demonic power.”

The provocation had worked.

“Go on.”

“Not all demonic power works like this. But the one sealed in the dead World Tree—it reacts to negative emotion.”

Indeed, the black waves Luypholdt had wielded earlier had wormed into human minds, instantly incapacitating them.

“...So it doesn’t just affect others. It turns inward, too.”

“Exactly. Negative emotion eats away at the user as well. After all, unless you’re a demon, that power is still borrowed—it doesn’t belong to you.”

“Right. So that bastard’s throwing a tantrum out of inferiority. Got it. Now tell me—how do we stop him?”

“That... I don’t know. The original goal of my experiment was to create the ultimate lifeform.”

“Liar. He’s just one of many prototypes. Don’t think I don’t know.”

Andrei’s eyes widened.

How could a mere schoolteacher know that?

No—none of this made sense. Nothing Ludger was doing made sense anymore.

But at this point, there was no need to keep secrets.

“...Demonic energy that targets the psyche is fundamentally incompatible with the life force of the World Tree.”

“He looks plenty fine to me for someone with ‘incompatible’ energy.”

“That’s the whole point of the experiment. Though the two forces repelled each other, the human body didn’t. The body acted as the perfect neutral ground.”

The life force and the demonic energy—

It was the human body that bridged the gap between them.

Just like how a surfactant binds oil and water.

The human body could contain both the life force of the World Tree and the power of demons.

And through countless failures, one product of that research was born: Test Subject Third.

The very one now rampaging before them—Luypholdt.

“I thought... if we could pull it off, then humans could evolve—become something greater. Free from defects, from incurable diseases... with a perfect body.”

Andrei’s voice trailed off, as if overcome by memories of the past.

Maybe it was because part of his demonic energy had been stolen—

But his eyes looked clearer than before, touched by a trace of melancholy.

“...But looking at him now, it’s obvious. We were wrong. We thought we were wielding the demonic power. But in truth, it was wielding us.”

“So you’re saying that right now, it’s not just running wild—it’s acting with intent.”

“No, it’s not ‘rampaging.’ It’s moving with purpose.”

“What the hell does that mean—”

BOOM!

Before Ludger could finish, Luypholdt finally broke free from the restraint.

A wave of blazing mana exploded outward.

It was blinding.

Luypholdt now had four arms, and from the top of his head—horns had sprouted.

It felt like something massive and icy was crushing the air around them, like sinking into an abyss.

The demonization had completed.

Luypholdt raised one hand toward the World Tree’s trunk.

Then, it began.

Inside the roots of the tree, something squirmed like worms beneath the surface—coalescing in one place.

And then it reached Andrei, too.

“Keghk! Khhkk!”

Andrei’s eyes flew wide as he vomited black blood.

So much poured out it felt like all the fluids in his body were being drained.

His skin turned dry and ashen. His cheeks hollowed.

He looked down at his frail body, stunned.

“Wh-what is this...?”

At the same time, the ground beneath the World Tree bulged.

Ludger’s eyes locked onto it—the same place where he had once seen a vaguely human shape jutting out from the root.

But this time, something far greater was about to break free.

FWOOOSH!

One of the bulging roots exploded, and black liquid burst out like a waterfall.

It poured directly onto Luypholdt, engulfing him completely.

If what was sealed within the World Tree was the power of a demon...

Then this black liquid, now erupting—

And now covering Luypholdt entirely...

Ludger felt a sharp pain lance through his head.

Because he had realized what that grinning black shadow truly was.