SRS 143
What should I do?
A brief conflict bloomed in Yohan’s mind. Since it was a demon-related matter, he thought the angel professor’s help would be of significant help while the headmaster was away.
However, the angel professor fundamentally hated demons. He might kill the divine beast before he even heard the full story. Based on what Yohan had seen so far, it wasn’t exactly an exaggerated guess.
The distance between him and the professor narrowed even as he deliberated.
“The headmaster is currently away. What business brings first-years here?”
Divine power spread like wings over the professor’s shoulders. The atmosphere in the hallway immediately grew heavy.
The oppressive divine power made it difficult for even Yohan, a former priest, to endure.
“Ugh…”
Those who couldn’t endure it groaned. Suhyeok collapsed, and Kylus’s knees hit the floor.
“I’ll consider you doppelgängers if you don’t answer.”
The angel professor spoke in a cold voice. Yohan didn’t understand why his attitude was so cold, but then he remembered the doppelgänger issue that hit the school wasn’t resolved yet. It made sense.
Yohan had no choice but to be honest in this situation.
“…I came to report something to the headmaster regarding those doppelgängers.”
The angel professor looked briefly interested when Yohan managed to speak through the pressure. It was a look that Yohan didn’t welcome.
“What is it?”
“I’ll speak after I see the headmaster.”
“He’s away. He went to the Divine Realm, so it’ll take at least a month for him to return.”
“…Huh? The Divine Realm?”
The Divine Realm Yohan knew…
You mean the place where the gods reside?
Not just Yohan, but the others’ mouths gaped in shock at the unexpected words.
“Ah…”
Yohan looked down at the divine beast in his arms after he exchanged looks with his friends about what to do now.
No matter how excellent the pigeon was as a divine beast, it didn’t seem likely it could meet the headmaster in the Divine Realm. The dimensions were completely separate.
“…Why did the headmaster go to the Divine Realm?”
“That’s not for you to hear.”
“…I see.”
It was cold, but it wasn’t exactly wrong. Yohan bit his lip and started thinking after he accepted the answer meekly since they were mere students.
Why did the headmaster go there? Was the barrier issue more serious than he thought?
Or… did he sense some crisis about this situation where evil things corrupted good things?
Many thoughts occurred to him, but he couldn’t just guess. This wasn’t a reasonable deduction; it was a hypothesis closer to a prayer mixed with his own wishes, it lacked credibility.
Yohan breathed a short sigh once he realized a whirlpool was forming, even if he didn’t know the details.
There’s no other way now. He had to trust the angel before him since it was confirmed the headmaster wouldn’t return for a long time.
There was also the vice-headmaster. But honestly, the vice-headmaster was a demon. Yohan didn’t trust him to judge the situation fairly.
“…Then I’d like to report what we’ve learned to you, Professor. However, this isn’t a conversation for this place.”
“No problem. Let’s move to the lab.”
The angel professor turned his back after he withdrew his aura.
“Cough, cough…!”
Suhyeok coughed and tried to stabilize his irregular breathing. Yohan lowered himself and checked on his friends. Both Suhyeok’s and Kylus’s eyes were bloodshot because of the pressure of the divine power.
“Are you all right?”
“Wow… cough! I really thought I was dying. What was that just now? That pressure…”
“…He pressed down on the atmosphere with divine power. It must’ve been harder for you since you aren’t used to divine power. You held out well.”
“Really…?”
Suhyeok wiped away his cold sweat and frowned as he watched the angel professor’s back. His look made it evident what he was thinking even without words. Mikael helped Kylus to his feet.
“Now that I think about it… you’re fine this time too, Mikael.”
Suhyeok and Kylus stared at the boy with questioning eyes. Mikael flinched, but he soon gave a benevolent smile as if it didn’t matter.
“Hmm.”
Suhyeok squinted after he saw his curved eyes and calm smile. Soon after, he shook his head and dusted off his clothes.
“Alright, I won’t dig any further. Should we follow the professor first? The distance has grown too much.”
He pushed Yohan’s back, saying they should catch up before they lost him. He let it go more easily than expected, even though there must’ve been more than one suspicious thing. Yohan sighed quietly after he met Mikael’s eyes, thinking Kylus and Suhyeok might’ve caught some clue about Mikael’s identity.
Even Yohan didn’t know where the boat they were on was drifting.
***
“Evil gods from another dimension are kidnapping good gods and corrupting divine beasts?”
The angel professor asked with his arms crossed after he moved to his lab and obtained all the information from Yohan’s group. An aura close to killing intent billowed behind the professor’s back, perhaps because he was displeased. Yohan, who instinctively lowered his gaze to the aura, which seemed to move as if it were alive, nodded.
“Yes. We only found one target, but if their words are true, it’s certain other gods and divine beasts are suffering similar damage.”
“…The possibility isn’t zero. So, what did you plan to do by telling the headmaster?”
“…We didn’t intend to do anything in particular. We just wanted to inform him since the divine beast and doppelgängers are related to the recent incidents…”
The angel professor’s piercing gaze was fixed on the student who was talking too long. Feeling a cold sweat running down his face, Yohan chose confession over the unhelpful sugarcoating.
“…I wanted to help if I could help the divine beast.”
“It’s a divine beast already planted with a demon’s fragment. Do you have other intentions for wanting to help?”
As expected, the angel professor was hostile toward the corrupted divine beast of the Mirror Temple. Yohan raised his head and looked the angel in the eye.
“…That divine beast has weakened significantly because of the demon’s fragment, yet his will to help his god is strong. It’s the natural attitude of those who follow divinity to help the desperate and the weak.”
“It might not be a weakling, but an evil thing.”
“Because they are weak, they can become evil. If they are divine, they must understand and embrace them.”
Save the weak from corruption. Teach the right path. Purify the evil and embrace the weak. That’s the truth of divinity you seek to follow.
The teachings Yohan had heard until his ears bled since he was a priest had long since become his own and engraved themselves in his heart. Even if the angel professor was a great person, he couldn’t hold the same position as the god Yohan served.
Yohan stood tall and firm because he had to follow the temple’s doctrine if there were both a professor’s order and a temple’s doctrine.
Just then, the angel professor’s lips curled up ever so slightly after the halo above his head sparkled with a brilliant light.
“I’ll believe you. You’re indeed Yohan Herse.”
“Ah…”
Was he still suspecting I might be a doppelgänger?
It was quite baffling, but it would’ve been ridiculous to keep arguing when he said he’d believe him.
“Thank you.”
Yohan bowed his head in gratitude since it seemed like he granted them permission. The angel professor then stood up with a book that lay on the desk.
“Then let’s move.”
“…Are you going to the commercial district?”
“I must check the state of the divine beast you mentioned.”
At the professor’s snap of his fingers, a guide appeared like the wind, transporting Yohan and his group and the angel professor to the commercial district. The angel professor walked swiftly from the entrance and found the Griffin Lovers Club. Yohan, feeling slightly embarrassed at having to return less than three hours after leaving, was about to open the door.
But the angel professor suddenly grabbed Yohan’s collar and pulled him back just as a powerful explosion and a gust of wind erupted from inside the restaurant.
“Ugh…!”
The boys covered their faces and braced themselves against the fierce wind that was strong enough to push a person back. Yohan heard the angel professor click his tongue nearby. A thin but sturdy barrier soon surrounded the entire restaurant and its vicinity after he opened the book he’d brought and chanted some words.
“Has the rampage begun?”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll subdue him first. Follow me, Yohan Herse.”
The angel professor stepped into the ruined shop as if it were nothing after he gave the order to his dazed disciple. A dark, sleek beast appeared from the back of the shop and attacked the professor at that moment. Teeth thick with a black curse aimed for his pale neck. The angel professor, Joel, frowned slightly and reached out to catch the forehead of the lunging beast.
Bang!
As he exerted his strength, the huge body fell backwards.
“Professor!”
Yohan, who had been urgently following along, held his breath at the sight.
He felt a familiar ripple of energy from the enemy, which had the form of a four-legged beast, and was glaring straight ahead with black eyes and dripping black blood.
“…The divine beast?”
His appearance had changed, but he was definitely the Mirror Temple’s divine beast.
“…Why?”
Why did the divine beast, which had been relatively stable just a few hours ago, suddenly go mad and?
Yohan, who was wondering with his mouth wide open, belatedly remembered something.
“…Arun.”
Arun, the restaurant owner, would still be inside.
“Mr. Arun!”
“It’s dangerous, Yohan!”
Mikael followed behind Yohan when he ran inside to find him.
“Hah.”
The professor, who was left with only Suhyeok and Kylus, looked at them in disbelief.
He then casually raised his hand as he faced the beast that was stumbling to his feet.
So what if they’re a bit arrogant?
It’s a teacher’s role to watch a student’s back.
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