I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

[ …Kik, kikik!! ]

Envy and jealousy. The Ninth Bishop of the God of Anger, Amosis, Sakaguchi Kentaro, clenched his teeth and twisted his lips upward.

‘Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it…!!’

What the hell is going on?

The crystal, which should have been on the altar, disappeared without any warning, and the two basilisks, which had been ordered to kill the intruders, suddenly began to roam the labyrinth and fill their bellies with the worshipers.

And above all, the man in front of him, who he could not understand.

‘The stealth should have been perfect!!’

No, it definitely was perfect.

But… it smells?

What a ridiculous thing to say.

‘I couldn’t have made such a rookie mistake…!!’

He wanted to shout and ask how this man had found him, perfectly blended into the darkness, but the only thing he could do right now was to buy time by pretending to remain calm.

He stretched out his hand toward the darkness where he was hiding, and immediately, an unknown shock covered his body.

It wasn’t physical, and the moment it touched him, his magic started to go wild. If he had been a second too slow in dealing with it, his magic circuits would have been twisted, and he would have become a crippled wreck.

‘If I wasn’t a demon, I might have died right there…’

As his disordered insides returned to their original position and his dizzy head slowly settled, the anger that had boiled his body when the scent of death came closer quickly began to cool down.

‘…There’s no use in dragging this out.’

Right now, he was hunting the hidden worshipers, but once that hunt was finished, it was clear that the two basilisks would come for him.

“How long do I have to wait?”

[ ……Kik!! ]

A dry voice, devoid of any emotion, brushed past his ear, and at the same time, the scent of death thickened.

His magic was still unstable, so he couldn’t use any spells or abilities. Therefore, the only things available to him right now were the magic he had accumulated and the divine grace he had received as a bishop. Or rather, the power known as a blessing.

‘Damn it… This isn’t the time to be picky…’

Kentaro’s trembling lips twisted downward as the foul magic began to rise from his body.

Creak—!!

At the same time, with a bizarre sound, Kentaro’s bones twisted, his body expanded, and from his now widened forehead, a horn the size of his finger protruded.

“Is this the transformation into a demon?”

He had changed, prepared to lose all the magic he had accumulated over the past ten years.

“The shape of the horn is ordinary, and its size and length are nothing to speak of. And on top of that, it’s a single horn.”

What the hell…

“Tch… So you’re only a ninth-rate demon, huh.”

What’s with the leisurely self-assessment?

Ssshh—!!

The magic leaking from Kentaro’s transformed body began to corrode and melt anything it touched.

Yeah. That’s what magic is.

Deadly just by making contact.

If the target is a living creature, just breathing and touching it becomes poison and a deadly toxin— that’s magic.

[ …How arrogant. ]

“You’re just a bug, yet you’re overestimating yourself.”

Ssshh—!!

The density of the magic leaking from Kentaro’s body grew even thicker.

The purple aura that had already consumed half of the altar.

[ …I’ll cut off your neck, use your head as a decoration, and dig out your brain to eat it. ]

“How unpleasant, but I’m also quite interested in your head.”

His head…?

[ Ah, so that’s it. ]

Kentaro’s lips, which had stiffened, twisted grotesquely once again.

[ Kik, kikik… Very well. The one who survives takes everything from the other. Truly delightful. ]

The being in front of him was still in human form, but it wasn’t long before the mask would fall. Inside, it was no different from Kentaro himself— a kindred spirit.

‘For the sake of the grand cause, I am willing to burn this body completely.’

Crrack—!!

The grotesquely swollen muscles on Kentaro’s body surged with bulging veins.

He had thought to fight for survival, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t think of any way to save his life.

The indifference that persisted in the voice was not an act— he had long since realized this. Even if, by some stroke of luck, he killed the opponent, there were still the two basilisks rampaging outside the altar.

…So, he would burn everything and die as a martyr.

Boom—!!

The altar crumbled, followed by the delayed sound of destruction.

[ Die!! ]

Kentaro, leading a storm of horrible magic, appeared in front of Baek Woo-jin and slashed with his grotesquely grown fingernails.

Whoooosh—!!

The claw that was aimed directly at Baek Woo-jin’s heart did not pierce its target but merely brushed past his coat.

It was barely a half-step.

It was the range of movement Baek Woo-jin made to avoid the attack.

[ Aaaahhh!! ]

Kentaro let out a deafening scream, surpassing the human vocal range, and despite his failed ambush, he didn’t retreat but instead charged directly at Baek Woo-jin.

Hwaaaa—!!

The magic that rose from his body overwhelmed Baek Woo-jin in an instant.

Thud—!!

Then, a powerful impact shook the earth. Kentaro’s left foot, grotesquely swollen and tearing through his clothes, slammed down onto the corroded ground. The gate that split open released a dark, bluish magic that began to gather.

Kwahhhh—!!

With a massive explosion, the pieces of the ground, shattered and lifted by the surge, became a huge wave of debris that enveloped Baek Woo-jin, surrounded by magic.

[ Fiery hammer of judgment!! ]

A huge flame formed above the wave, taking the shape of a hammer.

[ Destroy that filthy hypocrite!! ]

The enormous flaming hammer, which seemed to swallow the entire space, ruthlessly dropped toward the ground.

The unstable hammer of fire, filled with malicious intent to crush and burn everything, collided with the violet magic.

——!!

With a deafening roar announcing the end of the world, the terrible heat mixed with magic engulfed the entire altar.

…Whooooosh.

The last of the magic burned as fuel, and the flames began to die down.

The ceiling, shattered and collapsed, and the blackened, melted floor.

“Uweeek…!!”

In a place that could no longer be called an altar, where the heat made it impossible to breathe, Kentaro, his body grotesquely melted, fell to his knees, vomiting black blood.

Due to the unstable manipulation of magic, the magic circuit was completely destroyed.

“Ugh…”

Kentaro, who had barely survived in the fiery storm that melted even the artifacts he was wearing, forced his trembling body to move and raised his head.

The floor was completely melted, leaving a small pit.

“Heek, hee-hee-heeek…”

A sound mixed with metal scraping, like something scraping against steel, involuntarily came out.

His muscles, nerves, and cells had all burned, and he could no longer feel pain. If it weren’t for the horrific sounds coming from his mouth, he wouldn’t have even realized he was laughing.

The arrogant hypocrite had been erased from this world, not even leaving bones behind after letting his guard down.

“Heek, heek-heehee…”

What a fitting end.

He, too, would soon breathe his last, but it wasn’t such a bad feeling.

However, one thing was regretful.

He didn’t know how the witch, who had been called his lover, would react when she heard of the man’s death.

Tap—
The faint sound of small shoes echoed in the destroyed space.

With his damaged hearing, the sound was faint but became increasingly clear.

Tap—
For some reason, the sound became clearer and more distinct, and as it did, his fading consciousness began to sharpen.

Tap—
The intense heat that still consumed the space, which had once been a shrine, was suffocating. The heat was so intense it wouldn’t even allow him to breathe or open his eyes. The floor had melted to the point where bubbles were rising.

Thus, he couldn’t help but wonder.

Tap—
How could a regular, orderly sound be coming from this destroyed and melted space?

Finally, when the sound stopped, Kentaro found himself facing a dark shadow hanging in front of him.

Baek Woo-jin.

The one known as “the Black.”

“Is this what a demon looks like? Quite resilient.”

Baek Woo-jin stood, looking down at Kentaro with a calm demeanor, still wearing the black coat he had when he entered through the stone gate.

“Heh! Heh heh… Uwehheek!!”

A mix of dark blood and clumped pieces of flesh was expelled from his mouth.

He was growing closer to death.

However, ironically, as his body neared death, his consciousness became sharper, like that of the living.

“If you have nothing more to show, then die.”

A monster.

Yes, what stood before him was a monster.

“Heek heek…”

Therefore, he wondered.

Could this monster overcome the curse of the gods?

‘…Still arrogant to the end.’

But in this moment, he was grateful for that arrogance.

Thanks to it, he had earned a chance to strike back at this monster.

‘…You should regret not killing me outright.’

The power manifested at the cost of his life.

His remaining life was nothing more than a grain of sand.

That’s why Kentaro had made his choice.

‘I offer my soul to you!!’

Crack—

Kentaro’s head swelled grotesquely.

.

.

.

Thud—
Brains and flesh scattered on the floor.

At the same time, from the body that lost its head, a black glow began to rise. The rising black light shaped the face of a man with a pair of horns growing from the side of his head.

【 You— 】

Swoosh.

As the mouth of the shaped form opened, an ashen energy flowed from his body and swallowed the black form in an instant.

【 —!! 】

And then came the monstrous cry.

Crack.

“….”

The ashen, empty being, satisfied for the first time, sank back into his body.

Amos’s power was a curse.

The conditions for activation are when the bishop who received the power dies or when a sacrifice equivalent to their life is made.

This time, both conditions had been met, and when both were fulfilled, Amos would surely appear.

In a situation where death could not be avoided, the only thing worth the same as life was the soul. With death already certain, and desiring to cast a curse by offering his soul, the twisted nature of the one behind the curse became clear.

“…This is unexpected.”

It was expected that Amosis would manifest, and that the emptiness would swallow him, but he hadn’t expected that it would return so willingly to his body.

Whoosh.

I split the chest of the headless corpse and retrieved its heart.

There was no trace of magic or even the remnants of the curse—raw.

The reason I went through such trouble was not only to strike at Amos but also to obtain a complete heart.

If I had killed him instantly, the heart would have been filled with disgusting magic and curses, and the remnants would have been repulsive.

Holding the heart, still radiating unpleasant warmth, I looked down at the headless corpse and thought.

‘I was right to tamper with the mask.’

The artifact that they had originally possessed.

However, the reason they didn’t recognize Loki’s mask was because, just like the seal on the scales had been erased, I had erased the existence of the mask.

Unlike the scales, which were related to the gods, few humans even knew of the mask’s existence, so this was an action I could take.

Had they remembered the existence of the mask, they would have destroyed not just the head but the heart as well.

Whooosh—

Just as I was about to eat the heart, the crystal that had been hiding until now appeared before me.

Whoooosh—

The crystal spun around me, glowing brightly, as if it expected praise for its help in sending me to another place amidst the explosion of magic.

“Tch, wasting power for no reason.”

Whooosh—?!

The crystal stopped spinning and rose high, and I gave it an order.

“Go and absorb the Guardians that are rampaging.”

Damn creature.

Had it not been for this, I would have erased its ego instead of giving praise.