Episode 720
Crackle!
A security barrier flared to life in front of Astaroth as he made his way toward the principal’s office.
With a wave of his hand, Rami and Luda stepped forward. Drawing power from the two guardians, who possessed infinite magical energy, Astaroth reached out and touched the barrier.
Hum!
The security spell circle glowed red at his command, then dissolved, clearing the path for him.
“Good, everything’s going according to plan.”
The greatest threat to Astaroth’s scheme to seize Pannotia was the guardians. If he didn’t adhere to the rules set by the migration plan, the guardians would appear and obliterate him the moment he surfaced in the material realm. Astaroth needed a strategy.
Unlike other archdemons, Astaroth chose the rarely used method of reincarnation. Reincarnating into the material realm meant enduring a powerless childhood with most of his strength sealed away. While this reduced the risk of detection, discovery would likely lead to his immediate destruction.
Despite the risks, Astaroth opted for human reincarnation. He enrolled at Pannotia as a student, laying a trap to capture Principal Arina and the guardians in one fell swoop.
A crucial element of his plan was the presence of guardians with infinite magical power. The triplet guardians were irregulars, capable of opening gates between the material realm and the demon world even under Karma’s restrictions. With their limitless power, Astaroth could unleash his true strength as an archdemon, confident he could handle Arina and the guardians.
To this end, Astaroth deliberately modified Hades’ integrated circuit, leaking information to anti-establishment groups to draw the guardians’ attention to Pannotia.
Capturing Principal Arina and the visiting guardians would leave no one on Earth capable of stopping him.
As he strolled through the empty academy corridors, Astaroth smirked.
“Sending Richmond to track me was a mistake. Thanks to him, all the professors are busy in the dungeon, making my work easier.”
Effortlessly dismantling the security barriers, Astaroth arrived at the principal’s office. The door was heavily fortified, but it posed no challenge.
Hum!
With a gesture, the red spell circle on the door dissolved, and it swung open.
“Everything’s going smoothly.”
Astaroth entered the office with Rami and Luda in tow.
Thud, thud.
Inside, he saw shelves lined with books and, at the desk, Arina, buried in paperwork as usual.
Astaroth’s sinister smile widened as he addressed her.
“Arina Luvern, master of Pannotia. At last, we meet.”
Arina paused her signing, slowly raising her head to meet the gaze of the red-haired boy, Astaroth’s reincarnation, with a smile.
“Astaroth.”
She spoke his name as if she had been expecting him all along, her calm demeanor unsettling Astaroth.
“Are you putting on a brave face? Not a bad choice. Humans are like that, after all.”
Arina set down her pen, meeting Astaroth’s eyes.
“An archdemon pretending to be a philosopher is quite amusing.”
Astaroth shook his head at her taunt.
“No, no. This isn’t what I expected. I thought you’d either beg for your life or resist with bravado. I was hoping for one or the other.”
As Astaroth spoke calmly, he raised his hands, and the marks on Rami and Luda’s foreheads glowed red, channeling their infinite power into him.
Hum!
A strange spell circle emerged around Astaroth, enveloped in red light, as he began to transcend the limits of his reincarnated form, unleashing his true power as an archdemon.
Arina watched without a flicker of emotion.
Astaroth tilted his head, puzzled.
“Are you so terrified you’ve lost your mind? Or perhaps you’re relying on the guardians who visited? Tsk, tsk. Do you really think they can withstand the true power of an archdemon?”
Hum!
Astaroth’s body began to levitate, a massive eye forming behind him from the gathered energy.
Summoning the fiery eye, Astaroth grinned with satisfaction.
“The Eye of Destruction. One of the weapons of the arrogant savior who once ruled Babel.”
Rumble!
As if on cue, flames of destruction erupted from the eye, threatening to engulf Arina and the entire office.
Astaroth addressed Arina.
“Arina Luvern, I’ll give you one chance. Submit to me, and I’ll make good use of you.”
Facing the terrifying flames, Arina’s expression remained unchanged as she replied.
“I’ll give you a chance too, demon. Leave that body and return to the demon world now, and I’ll spare you from annihilation.”
Astaroth burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!”
His laughter, infused with immense power, shook the entire office.
Astaroth stopped laughing, glaring at Arina.
“I’m tired of indulging the arrogance of a presumptuous human.”
He raised his hand, and the eye of destruction flared with red light, ready to explode.
“I’ll burn your body and extract your soul to make you a lich. A 9th-circle mage as a lich should be quite useful.”
As Astaroth narrowed his eyes and unleashed the destructive flames at Arina, a massive bone wall suddenly rose in front of the eye.
The flames were blocked, unable to reach Arina.
Astaroth, startled, glanced to the side.
“What is this?”
To his surprise, Richmond stood there. Seeing him, Astaroth clenched his teeth.
“What have you done?”
He gathered his power again, sending a red bolt toward Arina.
Crackle!
The powerful bolt struck above Arina’s head, but white lightning erupted from her, neutralizing Astaroth’s attack.
“You insignificant creature!”
As he seethed and prepared to draw more power, he sensed something amiss.
Sizzle―
The marks on Rami and Luda’s foreheads faded, severing their connection to him.
“What, what is this!”
Astaroth, bewildered, glared at Arina, but it wasn’t her doing.
Realizing this, he turned to Richmond.
Richmond wore a crown made from the skull of a cursed king and held the staff of the evil god Azitahaka. Using their power, he had severed Astaroth’s control over Rami and Luda.
Astaroth, unable to believe a mere necromancer could disrupt his power, shouted at Richmond.
“You, you ruined my plans!”
Richmond, intimidated by Astaroth’s fury, stepped back.
“Uh, well, yes…? If I let you be, I’d get fired from the academy.”
Faced with an unexpected setback, Astaroth’s anger boiled over.
“How could a mere wretch like you!”
Arina’s assessment of Richmond was spot on. He had focused on why Astaroth’s reincarnation had come to Pannotia, concluding it was for the “infinite power.”
If demons harnessed the guardians’ infinite power, they could immediately unleash their true strength.
Preparing for a school-wide martial arts battle and planning a dungeon event were obvious ploys to approach the triplets amid chaos.
Richmond had identified students who seemed to approach the guardians during preparations, leaving Lara in the dungeon and Rami and Luda at the academy to monitor who approached them.
Initially, he thought Astaroth would target Lara amid the dungeon chaos, but instead, he aimed for Rami and Luda at the academy.
Realizing this, Richmond had immediately closed the dungeon, leaving Bane in charge of the situation room.
This allowed Richmond to lure Astaroth to the principal’s office without arousing suspicion.
Arina smiled at Astaroth.
“You’ll pay dearly for targeting Pannotia, demon.”
As she snapped her fingers, magical seals appeared throughout the principal’s office.
A deep, resonant hum filled the air.
The demon-binding spell activated, and Astaroth recoiled in shock, retreating instinctively.
“I need to get out of here.”
If he were captured in this place, his very soul might be obliterated.
In a desperate move, Astaroth abandoned his physical form, transforming into a spirit and rising into the air.
The spell focused on his discarded body.
Crackling energy gathered, holding the red-haired form in place.
Meanwhile, Astaroth’s spirit attempted to escape the office.
“Not so fast!”
Richmond swung the Staff of Azhdahaka to capture Astaroth’s spirit.
It seemed he had caught him, but Astaroth, a formidable archdemon, was not easily subdued.
The body trapped by the spell shed its outer garment, revealing a bomb modified for mass destruction.
Following Astaroth’s command, the body prepared to detonate the bomb.
Arina quickly extended her hand, casting a spell.
A brilliant light enveloped the explosion, neutralizing its impact.
Richmond, standing behind, also drew upon the power of his crown and staff to contain the blast, protecting the student who had been possessed by Astaroth for years.
The combined forces of light and darkness subdued the explosion, and the red-haired boy collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
“Roy!”
Richmond rushed to check on the student.
Thankfully, there were no visible injuries.
“Ugh…”
Slowly, Roy, a fourth-year student in the magic department and Astaroth’s former vessel, opened his eyes.
He looked at Richmond and the principal, startled.
“Where… Where am I? Did I pass out again?”
Roy often experienced narcoleptic episodes due to Astaroth’s parasitic presence.
Without a word, Arina approached and examined Roy, casting a healing spell.
A gentle glow enveloped him, restoring his complexion and stabilizing his breathing.
Satisfied, Arina turned to Richmond.
“I’ll handle things here. Professor Richmond, please pursue him.”
Richmond nodded, rising to his feet.
He harnessed the power of his crown and set off in pursuit of Astaroth’s fleeing spirit.
As he dashed forward, Richmond sensed a familiar energy from afar.
“Could it be…?”
His pace quickened.
Astaroth’s spirit swiftly exited the principal’s office.
He needed to reach the secret hideout he had prepared beneath the academy to recover his strength.
But he could feel Richmond closing in on him.
“If this keeps up, he’ll catch me.”
Then, Astaroth sensed something unexpected.
“Unlimited magic?”
To his surprise, he detected a presence other than the triplet guardians possessing unlimited magic.
“Still young and unaware of their power. I can take over their body.”
If he could seize the body of someone with unlimited magic, he could quickly regain his strength.
Astaroth’s spirit darted toward the source of the power.
Soon, he spotted a child wandering the academy grounds, just as he had anticipated—an inexperienced youth unaware of their potential.
“A blessing in disguise!”
Just as he lunged to possess the child’s body, a sword strike flew toward Astaroth’s spirit.
He sensed the attack but ignored it, focusing on taking over the child’s body.
However, the seemingly ordinary strike transformed into a dazzling array of colors.
“This can’t be!”
Astaroth’s voice trembled with disbelief as the light began to consume his soul.
“No, it can’t be! The Godslayer has returned…!”
With a final, anguished cry, the archdemon Astaroth’s soul disintegrated into ashes.
Noah, who had been surveying the academy grounds, widened his eyes as Rio swung his sword.
“Lord Rio, why did you do that all of a sudden?”
“There was a rather large fly buzzing around. Don’t worry, I took care of it.”
Rio replied kindly, then looked up to see familiar faces rushing toward him.
“Master! Master!”
A man with a pale complexion was at the forefront, tears streaming down his face.
Rio smiled at Noah.
“Noah, come here. There are quite a few people I want you to meet.”
The legendary Godslayer had finally broken free from the chains of fate, finding a peaceful sanctuary.
At last, he was a truly free being, and as he welcomed his cherished companions with a radiant smile, his long journey came to a close.