Chapter 202: The Final Battle

“Got you.”

“What…?”

The shadow beneath the Grade Director’s feet began to twist instantly.

His aged form distorted bit by bit, gradually morphing into the figure of a young girl—it was Darkness.

Darkness stared at the claws piercing her chest, disbelief etched across her face.

Within the Academy, she hadn’t prepared to set up another Shadow Substitute.

In her mind, as long as she didn’t act first, there was little risk of exposure—let alone fighting someone.

Yet Liakade found her at this very moment, launching an attack Darkness could never have anticipated.

Liakade only knew she was hiding somewhere in the Academy.

How could she be sure Darkness was disguised as the Grade Director?

How did she dare to strike so decisively?

If Liakade had guessed wrong, the Human would have died from that blow without question!

Of course, Liakade was aware of this as well.

That’s why she only made her move after fully confirming the Grade Director was an imposter.

It started that morning, when Liakade happened to cross paths with the Grade Director.

She noticed his shadow seemed to be missing a piece, but it quickly reverted to normal.

Liakade thought she might be seeing things, yet a seed of suspicion was planted in her heart.

Even so, Liakade didn’t have Alice use magic to search for Darkness during the day.

The Academy was crowded with Students, and if she approached Darkness directly and a fight broke out, other Students would inevitably be caught in the crossfire.

After all, most Students in the Academy were of lower rank; in such unexpected situations, those slow to react could easily be harmed by the aftermath of their battle.

Furthermore, if Darkness became desperate and took other Students hostage or simply went berserk and attacked them, it would lead to the deaths of many innocents.

Liakade and the others had to ensure everyone’s safety.

So, Liakade decided to wait until nightfall, after the Academy had quieted down and all Students had returned to the Dormitory, before taking action.

First, Liakade planned to investigate the secret room the protagonist had visited in the Original, hoping to find clues about Darkness.

She didn’t expect that as soon as they descended to the Underground Level, the Grade Director—whom she’d already suspected—would appear before them.

This was no coincidence.

When Liakade signaled Alice and the others to stay back, her gesture was a covert cue for Alice to use magic to probe the Grade Director.

The grave look on Alice’s face confirmed Liakade’s suspicions were correct.

Whether the Grade Director before them was Darkness’s true form or a puppet she created, he was no longer Human.

He’d long since been replaced.

Thus, in the instant Liakade brushed past him—while he was completely unguarded—she struck.

To be honest, the result surprised even Liakade.

She’d thought the Grade Director was just Darkness’s stand-in, a mere puppet.

She hadn’t expected it to be Darkness herself, in disguise.

“Cough… How could…”

Darkness coughed up blood, disbelief still on her face.

Her eyes suddenly sharpened, and her body dissolved into a pool of black sludge, vanishing into the shadow at her feet.

Though Liakade’s attack had caught her off guard, even with a piercing wound, Darkness managed to merge into the shadows in that fleeting moment.

“Alice!”

Liakade shouted toward Alice.

Alice was already prepared to attack the moment Liakade moved.

A blinding ring of light filled the Underground Level in an instant.

The glow was even more intense than daylight.

Darkness had barely taken two steps within the shadows before Alice’s magic forced her out.

“Ah!!!”

Darkness screamed in agony.

She hadn’t returned to Human form in time, so her entire body was seared by the burning light elements.

Pale white scorch marks appeared across her pitch-black figure.

When the light faded, Darkness had reverted to Human form, collapsing to her knees.

On her fair skin, those white marks had charred into black, brittle wounds, as if carbonized.

Normal self-healing couldn’t mend injuries caused by light elements.

With new wounds layered upon the old, Darkness was now extremely weakened.

“…Li!a!ka!de!”

Her legs trembling, Darkness struggled to lift her head.

In her eyes, only Liakade’s silhouette remained.

She gritted her teeth, forcing Liakade’s name out syllable by syllable, her killing intent toward Liakade now surpassing even that toward Alice.

She simply couldn’t understand.

Why did Liakade side with the Humans, especially mixing with Alice—who was the mortal enemy of the Demon Race, the very existence that once brought their race to ruin?

Why could Liakade, with such peace of mind, forge such a close relationship with Alice—even entrust her body to such an existence?

In Darkness’s eyes, Liakade had utterly fallen from grace, unworthy of being called a Demon.

But now, Darkness lacked the strength to kill Liakade.

She could only glare at Liakade with eyes full of murderous rage.

Darkness had long known this day would come.

Her infiltration would one day be exposed, and she would be utterly destroyed.

Still, she couldn’t accept dying at the hands of her own kin.

She was prepared to face death, but at the very least…she could not let Liakade and the others discover what she had done these past years, nor could she let them realize that Minotauros’s resurrection had been advanced by several years.

The shadow beneath Darkness’s feet rippled outward.

It formed a dark, intricate Magic Array, from which countless pitch-black arms began to rise.

“Even now, you want to keep struggling?”

“Boom—”

A Fireball Spell roared toward Darkness.

She didn’t dodge.

When the fireball reached her, one black arm casually slapped it aside, dispersing the flames.

Seeing this, Alice began to chant again, brilliant light illuminating Darkness and the shadow beneath her feet.

Yet this time, the shadow didn’t vanish.

The black arms and Darkness herself, standing at the center of the Magic Array, were all set ablaze with white Holy Fire.

But the arms did not dissolve from the burning.

Judging from Darkness’s expression, she didn’t even seem to feel pain.

She stood silently, gazing at Liakade, enduring the scorching Holy Fire.

“What…it’s not working?”

Alice’s eyes widened.

Since learning magic, Alice had never encountered this situation.

From both her battles and studies, Light Magic was always the bane of Shadow Magic.

Earlier, Darkness had been wounded by her magic.

Why was it now ineffective against her?

Suddenly, the arms wrapped around Darkness’s body, slowly dragging her into the shadow.

“…Revenge against the Heaven Realm is necessary.”