My System Just Exploded, And You Ask Me to Become a God?-Chapter 39 --Falling Inferno!

As the high-rank spell descended slowly from the sky,

everyone present stood frozen in wide-eyed shock.

The students of Ilan Royal Academy, in particular, wore expressions of sheer panic and despair.

They shut their eyes tightly,

awaiting the arrival of death.

One second... two seconds...

But even after dozens of seconds passed,

nothing happened.

No impact. No destruction.

Wait—what was going on?

Someone cautiously opened their eyes—

only to be stunned by the scene before them.

That world-shrouding beam of magical light...

was being completely blocked by a thin, golden protective barrier!

The shield resembled an inverted, transparent bowl,

enveloping the entire Ilan Royal Academy and holding firm.

The high-rank spell’s radiance bombarded the barrier,

flaring with brilliant ripples of energy—

yet it couldn’t break through at all!

"What... what is this?"

"Oh my god! We’re saved!"

"It’s a protective magic array! The academy has a defense array!"

"Thank goodness! We’re not going to die!"

"Sob... I thought it was all over..."

The students of Ilan Royal Academy, shaken from the brink of despair,

broke out into elated cheers and tearful celebration.

"This... this is impossible!"

Even the original Grand Duke Ilan was stunned.

He stared at the sky, face full of disbelief.

"A defensive magic array... in the academy?

When was this even set up?"

As the founder of Ilan Royal Academy,

he had no idea such a powerful magic array even existed on campus!

Unthinkable.

To withstand a high-rank spell, such a defense array would require massive resources.

Could it be...

a remnant from the legendary Mage God Ilan?

A storm surged in his heart.

"Hmph! So Ilan Royal Academy had a turtle shell after all,"

the crone from the Pyrothian Kingdom sneered from midair,

visibly surprised herself.

But soon her face twisted into a scornful sneer.

"But so what?"

"Do you really think a barrier like that can withstand me forever?"

"Today, Ilan Royal Academy will fall—

not even the Goddess of Magic herself can save you!"

With that, she raised her wand again,

mana surging wildly from her body as another blazing light formed at its tip.

"Break for me!"

She howled and swung her wand downward.

BOOM!

A beam even stronger than before slammed into the barrier—

yet like a stone into an ocean, it rippled and vanished without effect.

...

Joad returned calmly to the Goddess of Magic statue,

glanced up at the sky, and gave a faint snort.

He leaned against the statue’s calf and let out a long, relieved sigh.

Just a mere archmage, 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

and she couldn’t even crack the magic array.

Back when Joad had first arrived here,

he already knew this world was far from safe.

As a low-profile transmigrator with a love for mana stones,

he understood well: survival comes first.

So ever since he enrolled in Ilan Royal Academy,

he had quietly and diligently carved defensive array runes across every corner of the campus.

After years of effort,

he finally wove the entire academy into a massive protective array.

The array remained dormant unless attacked by powerful magic—

activating only when truly needed.

Its energy source?

The mana stones Joad had painstakingly collected and buried deep beneath the academy grounds.

This was one of his greatest trump cards.

"Good. All that effort wasn’t for nothing,"

Joad thought to himself.

...

But up in the sky, the old crone had completely lost her composure.

"Damn you Ilan Royal Academy... courting death!"

"Don’t think a mere magic array can save you!"

"Today you’ll die—even the Goddess of Magic can’t change that!"

Her voice was like something from the depths of hell—filled with hatred and madness.

She suddenly pulled out a scroll from her robe and tore it open with a vicious rip!

Magical runes on the scroll burst into dazzling light—

far more intense than the high-rank spells she cast earlier.

The entire night sky turned blood-red,

as a wave of annihilation swept across Ilan Royal Academy.

"It’s a high-rank spell scroll!"

Headmaster Simar’s voice cracked with panic.

"This... how can this be?

She actually had something like that?!"

Scrolls that sealed high-rank spells were hundreds of times more valuable than casting them normally.

Even mages who couldn’t use high-rank spells could activate the scroll and unleash their full might.

And this one was exuding unmistakable energy—

"Ultimate Hellfire: Skyburn Calamity"!

A Level 7 high-rank spell!

"We’re done... it’s over..."

The Grand Duke’s face turned deathly pale.

He closed his eyes in despair.

"There’s no way... no way the barrier can withstand two high-rank spells in a row..."

"Is Ilan Royal Academy really... going to fall in my hands?"

"I refuse to accept this!"

"Damn it!"

Harvey slammed his fist into the ground.

"Is there really nothing we can do?!"

Ivy bit her lip until it bled, eyes filled with despair.

"Senior Joad...

I don’t want to lose you..."

Leit gripped his wand so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Damn it...

If only I were stronger...

If only I were an archmage...

Maybe... just maybe..."

The entire academy was swallowed by hopelessness.

They all knew: in the face of a scroll-cast high-rank spell,

Ilan Royal Academy had no chance of survival.

"Hahahahaha!"

The crone’s laughter grew maniacal, completely unhinged.

"Die!

You pathetic insects—

Burn to ashes!!"

The scroll in her hand burst into flames.

A terrifying energy erupted from it,

taking the shape of a massive fireball crashing down like a meteor.

Wherever the flame passed, even space itself began to warp.

This—was the power of Level 7 Ultimate Hellfire: Skyburn Calamity!

BOOM!

The giant inferno struck the protective barrier with earth-shaking force.

The shield trembled violently, cracks appearing in its surface with an ominous crack... crack...

It looked as though it could shatter at any moment.

"It’s over..."

The Grand Duke’s heart sank to the abyss.

He knew—the barrier had reached its limit.

"Break!"

The old crone screamed again,

channeling all her mana into the descending fire.

The flames surged even more violently!

Crack!

A loud snap echoed as a fracture split across the barrier.

The crack widened rapidly, spreading like spiderwebs.

And then—

BOOM!

With a thunderous shatter,

the protective shield collapsed completely.

"Hahahahaha!"

The crone laughed triumphantly.

"It’s over!"

"Ilan Royal Academy... will vanish from this world!"

"Without your little shield—what else can you rely on?!"

...

Meanwhile, the original Grand Duke Ilan was growing frantic.

He knew that unless he ended his opponent now,

the academy would be doomed.

No longer holding back,

he launched a frenzied assault.

His powerful aura warped the very space around him!

PUH!

Duke Mington coughed up blood and was sent flying.

He looked up at Ilan in shock.

"Ilan...

You...

You actually..."

"You’ve lost, Mington,"

the Grand Duke said coldly.

"Now—die."

He raised his wand again,

ready to deliver the final blow.

Duke Mington shut his eyes in despair.

He knew... this was the end.

But just then—

a voice suddenly rang out!