Demon King’s Academy

༺ 𓆩 Chapter 12 𓆪 ༻ 

「Translator — Creator」

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

In Terran, a student council president was invariably one of two things.

Either a conniving merchant or a fool.

The significance of the student council president's position in the academy carried more weight than one might imagine. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say they held rights and qualifications equal to teachers, their privileges rivaling those of royalty in small kingdoms.

Thus, across the continent's academies, being student council president marked one as the surest candidate to become aHhero.

But Terran was different.

‘A rotten cesspool, completely beyond saving.’

The wretched Terran.

Yet the authority granted to the student council president remained similar, and most...

'Hahaha!'

Reaped every possible benefit from that power.

Embezzling activity funds, threatening with their position, manipulating grades; the student council president would exploit every possible avenue for profit.

It was a well-known fact across the continent that serving as Terran’s student council president for just one term would guarantee at least three generations of prosperity.

Yet, even so, sometimes there appeared a fool.

A fool who would do anything to change Terran with sincere determination and resolve.

And Kal was such a fool.

Steadfast and honest.

The students of Terran, who couldn't bear to see others prosper, had made him student council president, but...

'I changed nothing.'

Kal had ultimately failed to transform Terran.

Yet he remained a fool who refused to give up.

"That's your problem."

Louis spoke.

Kal, the sole advanced-class third-year.

Louis had become his assistant homeroom teacher, conducting his lessons.

While the first-year Class-A hardly needed his direct involvement, Kal's case was different.

Of course...

Sneer—

It was also amusing.

This steadfast fool.

"I don't dislike fools like you."

A branch grown straight and true...

Crack—

The thrill of snapping it in half was something he couldn’t resist.

"Are you saying my steadfastness and honesty are the problem?"

"Of course it's not perfect. After all, you went so far as to come to me for help."

By continental common sense, choosing to grasp a Demon King's hand out of necessity was hardly ordinary.

Yet even that...

"Is steadfast in its own way."

A heart truly devoted to Terran, the will to become a Great Hero, love for the Kingdom of Franz — he truly believed in it all.

"Do you know what becomes of ones like you?"

"...A Hero?"

"What nonsense."

Kal flinched at Louis’ savage words.

"Either a massacre-crazed madman, or a pathetic wretch dying in miserable solitude."

One of the two.

"You've already crossed one line. And me being here is proof of that."

What more could he do, having already reached for a Demon King's hand?

The branch had grown straight.

But had the branch bent from its true course, it would eventually break under its own weight.

In his eyes, such was Kal's nature.

"That same steadfastness resonates in both your sword and magic."

Kal, who wielded both a sword and magic.

His face was already a tapestry of bruises and wounds.

— Come at me.

The price of charging forward without hesitation at Louis’ words; though he was a third-year on the cusp of graduation, he hadn't so much as grazed the hem of Louis’ garment.

Kal bit his lip, the taste of that humiliation fresh in his memory.

"You're aware your trait is Amplification?"

"Yes..."

Amplification.

"A remarkable ability. Used properly, it could easily be considered legendary-tier."

"...I know."

"And yet?"

Louis spoke with languid indifference.

"How are you wielding this power?"

Kal, who had just charged at Louis.

He had momentarily amplified his aura, strengthened his magic.

Not poor, certainly.

But it was devastatingly one-dimensional.

This was, to some degree, a matter of intuition.

"Your engine is a fine magic tank, yet you only know how to floor the pedal. There are times to ease off the accelerator, to brake, to shift gears. But all you can do is pour everything forward."

Not terrible, but the limitations were painfully clear.

"Then..."

“You’ll have to give up that stubbornness. Though, that’ll be difficult. It’s something you’re born with.”

"............"

In the end, wasn't this just telling him to give up?

As Kal's face twisted with dissatisfaction and doubt...

"What if not a magic tank?"

"Pardon?"

"You're an engine. And perhaps that engine isn't meant for a magic tank at all. What about an airship?"

Kal's expression shifted subtly.

"Or what of a magic cannon, designed purely to unleash power?"

The efficiency would surpass imagination.

"You mean... abandon sword and magic?"

"Yeah."

Louis spoke.

His lips curled slowly upward.

Kal, who had already crossed one line.

Louis found himself curious to see how many more lines this one would cross.

"Do you know where the trait of Amplification demonstrates its greatest efficiency?"

"Magic... that's what I was taught. That's why I learned it."

"Not wrong. But not quite right either."

Louis continued and his eyes glinted.

"It’s dark magic."

Kal's face turned ashen gray.

☩

The continent harbored countless paths.

Swordsmanship, magic, alchemy, martial arts, spear techniques...

This world, this continent held so many disciplines that naming them all would consume an entire day.

Yet among them existed things the continent deemed forbidden.

— Demon Kings.

All things associated with them.

Especially dark magic, necromancy, curses...

Every manner of negative arts.

These were forbidden by the Church, and the Empire, which cooperated with the Church, also regarded them as taboo.

Forbidden arts not to be learned, regardless of their efficiency or potency.

And Louis...

"Dark magic and Amplification share the strongest affinity."

To Kal now...

"Are you... suggesting dark magic?"

He was indeed proposing the dark arts.

"And?"

"What are you...! I am a Hero candidate!"

Kal shouted despite knowing full well who stood before him.

In that moment, it felt as if everything about him was being denied.

"How could you suggest dark magic to a Hero candidate..."

"A Hero."

Louis spoke.

The words from the entrance ceremony.

"What is a Hero?"

Though Kal flinched at that languid, emotionless face...

"They are those who shoulder great burdens for the safety and peace of the continent's people."

Kal spoke what he had always believed.

Snicker—

Louis laughed.

"What utter nonsense."

"What...!"

"Have you seen Heroes?"

He had.

"Your face suggests you've met a few. How were they?"

"They were... worthy of the title of hero."

“Is that so?”

Louis’ tone was cynical.

"Beyond their outward appearance, what do you think about what lies within them?"

".........."

"You should know."

Crown Prince Kal Franz of the Kingdom of Franz.

Since childhood, he had admired Heroes and yearned to become one.

He had even begged his father, the King, in his youth.

Then by chance, a Hero visited the kingdom.

— I want to meet them!

He managed to arrange a meeting somehow.

And the Hero, in Kal’s eyes, was everything he had hoped for: the very embodiment of the Hero he longed to be.

But the next day...

'He r*ped and brutally murdered the servants.'

Though everyone in the palace tried to hide the truth from Kal, he knew.

His faith had wavered then.

"A Hero..."

Louis, who had never given a proper answer at the entrance ceremony.

He spoke now.

"Is a butcher."

"............!"

"A butcher who takes up the blade to carve through Demon Kings, nothing but a tool."

"That's..."

Words that left him speechless.

"A butcher who need only wield a sharp blade. When butchers slaughter pigs, what criteria do they use to choose their knife?"

A blade that cuts well.

That alone would suffice.

"As long as you can kill effectively, that's enough. If you have that ability, everyone will turn a blind eye. After all, you can cover it up with a facade, right?”

The words seeped in.

"Learn dark magic and you will become a hero. Without question."

His whispers penetrated like poison into the mind.

"Even becoming a Great Hero might not be difficult. Your Amplification is of a higher grade than you imagine."

Kal's face grew distant, vacant.

For a moment, his future unfurled before him.

Himself as a Hero, having felled Demon Kings.

Returning to welcome and acclaim.

"Learn it. If you can just do that..."

Kal squeezed his eyes shut.

Louis’ words rang true.

He had already crossed one line.

For Terran, for becoming a Hero.

'So crossing one more...'

Could that really be wrong?

He was already stained, so what difference would twice make?

Slowly, Kal opened his eyes.

Before him, Louis Shambel, the Demon King of Chaos, smiled.

Kal's lips parted gradually.

"I..."

He made his choice.

☩

Snicker—

Louis observed the magic training grounds through the headmaster's office window.

Of Terran's 65 third-years, 64 had been reassigned to the Lower classes.

Moreover, Louis had declared—

— You will have access to no facilities for the time being.

Until all academy classes ended, the third-year Lower class students could only remain in their classroom.

Some thought it harsh, there was resistance.

But what could they do?

It was Louis' command.

Instead, all privileges and benefits meant for the third-years concentrated in the Advanced-class.

Where only one person existed — Kal Franz.

Thus today, Kal Franz alone occupied the magic training grounds.

Crackle—!

And sparks erupted between his hands.

BOOM—!

But they quickly burst into a massive explosion.

"*Cough! Cough!*"

His violent coughing echoed loud enough to reach the headmaster's office.

Covered in ash and soot.

It was a far cry from the image of a Kingdom’s crown prince.

Crackle—!

Yet Kal continued repeating this folly, as if proving his own foolishness.

Had the magic training grounds not been warded to reduce the force of magic spells, Kal might have died.

BOOM—!

Thanks to the weakening effects, he survived to repeat the same act again and again.

Not that it made the pain any less real.

His skin scorched and mana surged backward, bursting blood vessels with each passing moment.

CRACKLE—!

Yet Kal refused to stop.

— I will not learn it.

That had been Kal's answer to the offer of learning dark magic.

— Demon King, no, Headmaster, your words may be true.

However,

— However, that is not the person I wish to become. I have already crossed the line once. Perhaps now I can still turn back. But if I cross it again... and again...

Kal Franz.

Enrolled in the academy at sixteen, now nineteen years old.

—In the end, humans do change.

That had been his answer.

— I will try with my own strength. Please show me another way. Somehow... I will persevere.

In the end, Kal could not abandon his steadfastness.

Despite being told that this very steadfastness blocked his growth, he stubbornly pressed forward.

A branch that had lost its light.

Sneer—

That light was now seeping back in.

— Then I'll show you another way.

— There was another method...?

— Not as effective as dark magic.

Louis tossed a book to Kal.

A worn, scorched tome.

— Chandra's spellbook.

— ...!

Kal's pupils had dilated to the point of splitting.

Chandra.

One of the past Great Heroes.

One who felled three Demon Kings with lightning magic alone.

— They say lightning magic doesn't normally synergize well with Amplification, but Chandra was different.

Louis had explained.

— That one also possessed the Amplification trait.

And now, this scene unfolds.

Clutching Chandra's spellbook like a kingdom's royal seal, practicing endlessly.

"Fool."

Yet, there was something oddly endearing about a fool like that.

END of CHAPTER

☩

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