©NovelBuddy
The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 248
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 248
‘That’s the power of someone our age?’
This has to be a joke… a really cruel joke.
Basara stood frozen, staring at the monster that had been completely incapacitated with a single blow.
He began to wonder if Leon was even human at all.
‘Even if he’s a genius, is that really possible?’
It defied every piece of common sense Basara knew.
And then came the crushing sense of helplessness.
‘Just like Grandpa always said, I was just staring up at the sky from the bottom of a well.’
But still, he felt bitter.
With someone like Ashuria Abelgard, he at least had the illusion he could catch up one day.
But Leon Cascadia... Not even that illusion was possible with the boy standing in front of him.
‘He’s not even the disciple of the archmage like Ashuria. Just some noble from a regular family. How the hell is he this strong?’
Just then, as the monster that had been utterly defeated began twitching in resistance, Leon tore through space itself and pulled out a sword.
A blade that reeked of ominous, chilling energy.
Basara had seen that sword before—long ago.
It was a cursed blade kept in the house of swords, Mielephon.
A sword steeped in malevolence, known to devour the unworthy who dared to wield it.
And yet… in Leon’s hands, that cursed weapon looked no more dangerous than a lamb.
—Screeeeee!!
The monster’s eye began to churn, and the light around it shimmered like fractured glass.
From those glass-like shards, hundreds of tendrils burst forth like water from a broken dam.
The real problem was their speed.
So fast, Basara couldn’t even react.
“D-damn it, it's dangerous!”
The mass of tendrils had already reached Leon’s immediate vicinity before Basara even realized it.
‘Of course, he’s a mage… he’ll be slow to respond!’
He instinctively moved, even though it was already too late for him to do anything.
But before he could even attempt to act—
The situation resolved itself.
CRACK!!
Luna, standing nearby, casually kicked the air.
The shockwave tore through the tendrils, shredding most of them in midair.
What in the world?!’
‘Basara’s eyes flew wide open.
He had seen techniques like that kick before.
None other than his grandfather—Spear Saint—had sometimes displayed similar skill.
And this delicate-looking girl had just shown the same technique as Spear Saint?
“Thanks,”
Leon said calmly.
The cursed blade in his hand hummed with a sinister red afterglow.
Leon hadn’t moved an inch, but blood—unidentifiable—was already dripping from his sword.
—ScreeeeeeeAAHHHHHH!!
The monster flailed madly, blood spraying from every inch of its body.
Its massive eye writhed like a squirming insect, and Leon slowly approached.
“A creature that eats mana to feed? Then we just make it throw us up.”
He didn't intend to kill it.
He’d just feed it until it burst.
WUUUUUUUMMMMM!!
Leon reached out and began injecting mana into the monster’s body.
At first, the monster surged with power, but it soon began to emit strange, gurgling noises.
“What’s wrong? You like mana, don’t you? Eat up. Have your fill.”
—Kiik… Kieeeek!!
It tried to expel the overwhelming mana in pain.
But it couldn’t.
Basara, still dazed, turned to Ashuria who was sitting beside him.
“Hey… Ashuria Abelgard. What the hell… is going on?”
“He’s wrapping the mana in a barrier that prevents it from being expelled… That technique would cost at least twice the amount of mana he's injecting.”
Even the mana flowing through Leon’s hand now was beyond belief—yet he was expelling twice that amount.
The torrent of energy was raging wildly.
Then it happened.
The monster, unable to endure it, writhed violently and suddenly—BOOM!!—with an explosive sound, tore open a massive rupture.
Everyone present was swallowed up in an instant.
But the next sensation was cool, fresh air.
“Hhhah—! W-we’re outside! We’re finally outside!!”
Before their eyes, a massive chameleon-like creature—easily dozens of meters long—was thrashing on the ground in pain.
It had overeaten too quickly and looked far too exhausted to fight anymore.
“Professor Leon here. Secured the three problem students.”
Leon brought his hand to his ear and said something quietly.
“Leon, can I take care of the rest?”
Luna asked.
“That’s sudden.”
“I’ve been needing to let off some steam lately.”
Leon nodded silently.
“Sure. Do as you like.”
Even before he finished speaking, Luna cracked her knuckles and slowly began to walk forward.
The monster, struggling, flailed one of its massive claws toward her—
But a huge wolf emerged from the shadows and bit down on the limb, stopping it cold.
The phantom wolf, radiating immense killing intent, flashed its eyes once—and then spun in a deadly death roll, tearing the monster’s leg clean off.
With its means of resistance destroyed, its fate was sealed.
BOOM!!
A deafening crash rang out, one that didn’t match the size of the small girl.
The monster—Berga—bent unnaturally under the weight of the impact.
—Screeeee…
Racked with internal damage, Berga could not endure Luna’s onslaught any longer.
With a final groan, its breath stopped.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
It collapsed.
A monster king—dead in a painfully anticlimactic way.
“Be glad Berga was one of the weaker ones among the demon kings, you lot,”
Leon muttered with a heavy sigh, walking over.
He stared at Ashuria for a moment—
And then flicked her forehead with a loud snap.
“ACK!”
Ashuria rolled on the ground, clutching her forehead in pain, unable to resist.
“Basara Krebad. Rubas Hontail.”
By now, there wasn’t a shred of resistance left in them toward Leon’s overwhelming presence.
The two cadets froze stiff, like fresh recruits standing before a division commander.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"Yup!"
"Close your eyes."
SMACK!!
"AAAGH!! MY HEAD!!" novelbuddy-cσ๓
"Ugh… AAAAAHH!!"
Even though they instinctively surrounded themselves with aura for protection, the sheer pain that surged through overwhelmed them.
Basara screamed and rolled on the floor, completely forgetting his usual composure.
"You guys are just… sigh. Never mind. The academy administration will hand down punishment. Especially you, Ashuria Abelgard."
"That hurt, Professor."
"I hit you because I wanted it to hurt. You’ll probably receive a heavy disciplinary action."
Soon, several professors' presences could be felt approaching from a distance.
Basara reflexively asked a question.
"Uh… Professor?"
"What is it?"
"Um… you're a mage, right?"
"That's right."
"Then… that sword aura you showed earlier…?"
"Just a bit of multitasking."
Basara gave up trying to think it through.
He was a person beyond comprehension anyway.
"Whew… Matches the descriptions in the old texts. It really was the Demon King Berga…"
"The fact that the Demon King emerged from the Demon Realm is shocking enough… but for him to be subjugated in such a short time…"
Even the professors seemed to have given up on understanding what happened.
The exam itself proceeded as planned.
However, several unexpected variables affected the outcome—chief among them, the failing students.
Ten students who were expected to fail ended up scoring surprisingly high, not only avoiding failure but placing among the top ranks.
The professors couldn’t even hide their astonishment at the sudden transformation of students they had long given up on.
* * *
As news spread that these cadets—previously seen as hopeless—had improved dramatically in just a month, it was only natural that attention turned to the person responsible for this change.
"If you want, you could be appointed as a full professor immediately…"
"Ah, I prefer the leisurely life."
"Ugh… That’s truly unfortunate… You’d make an exceptional professor…"
"Perhaps fate will bring us together again. Now then, what will happen to the former failing students?"
"Since they’ve avoided failing, they won’t face academic warnings. As you know, the academy isn’t that strict. Any previous warnings will be cleared, and they’ll have to rack up four new ones before disciplinary action applies."
In other words, unless they went completely off the rails again, they’d have no problem graduating.
"At the very least, they’ve found their path. There's no longer a reason to call them failures or problem students. You’ve done well. And thank you for your efforts."
"Then is the request officially concluded?"
"On paper, yes. But I hope you’ll continue to help us from time to time."
"Understood."
I gave a bitter smile.
"And those three problem children who left the exam hall…?"
"What happened to them?"
"They broke the rules, so they’ll be disciplined. Ashuria Abelgard, in particular, is likely to receive a heavy penalty. In fact, the results should be out today—would you like to see?"
"No. I have somewhere I need to stop by briefly."
Though I did teach Ashuria, it had only been a brief exception.
Her situation was different from the other failing students from the start.
"I see. Then will you return immediately?"
"Yes. Thanks to your permission, I can travel quickly via Melissa’s dormitory portal. I’ll head back now."
As I rose from my seat, he chuckled.
"Haha… I wonder how many times the Academy owes you now. Maybe I’m just cursed in my old age…"
It felt awkward to reassure someone sighing like that that everything would be alright.
After all, we still didn’t know exactly what the “seed” being targeted by Nyala, the servant of the Red Moon, actually was.
Moreover, even with the Stampede Gate, Berga’s movements had felt suspiciously unnatural.
The exam site was located far from the Black Forest.
Even for Berga, who specialized in stealth, his movements were a bit too discreet to make sense.
Whatever the case, Luna would probably be the best one to ask about the truth—but she seemed extremely reluctant to talk about it.
It wasn’t just a feeling.
It was something more than that.
After leaving the dean’s office, I joined Luna, who had been waiting, packed up our things, and prepared to return.
As we walked out, we saw the ten boys and girls waiting for us.
"Professor!!"
They stood there quietly, as if they’d been waiting just for us.
"What are you all doing? The exam’s over—you should return to your cadet life. I’m not a professor anymore."
But they didn’t budge an inch.
"This has never happened to us before. No matter how hard we tried, nothing worked. Even the professors who said they would help us eventually gave up and turned their backs."
They had fallen into despair, staring down a future where they’d be expelled.
What I had shown them might have been their only way forward.
"We will never forget this favor. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!!"
"Thank you!!"
I looked over each cadet as they waited for my reply.
Then I said,
"Cut the crap and go swing your swords one more time. Just because you made it into the top ranks this time, don’t think you’ve achieved anything. You were competing against a bunch of rookie hatchlings, you idiots. All you can do with your lack of mana and aura is put in sleepless effort."
They looked flustered at my words.
"If you get it, then get moving, you punks."
"Y-Yes, sir!!"
As I watched them scurry away, I quietly turned around.
Since I’d meet Melissa in the evening, there was no need to bother her now.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Read latest chapters at f(r)eewebnov𝒆l Only