At the far end of the black mist permeating the botanical garden stood a blurred figure, like a sovereign reigning over a dark reef. Only the shimmering radiance around him and the eerie emerald glow flickering in his eyes amid the mist were distinct.
He gave a faint sigh, and his gentle voice followed shortly after.
"Why must you force the Headmaster to work overtime?"
He held a book in hand, looking like a teacher who had merely arrived to cover a class.
"...!!"
The cultist Lilette could no longer spare any thought for Hyperion. An intense sense of danger crept from her toes throughout her entire body, making the very air of the botanical garden feel suffocatingly heavy.
Logically speaking, even if one violated classroom rules, nothing would go wrong so long as the Headmaster did not happen to inspect the room.
And the headmaster of this academy rarely inspected such lower-tier classrooms!
Except earlier, when an essential special mechanic had mobilized him.
Yet now, the objective of this Shadow World had already concluded.
According to the mechanics of the vast majority of Shadow Worlds, a high demon of this caliber should not be taking any further action!
In that single instant, Lilette realized Hyperion was no longer the only one who desperately needed to break out of this classroom.
Under pursuit by the Headmaster, their only hope of returning to the real world alive was to survive the final ten-odd minutes of this Shadow World!
The silver aberrant entity, Immortal Quicksilver, which had originally blocked the door, was now engaged in a fierce struggle with the director-level demon teacher who had just blasted the entrance open with magic.
And flanking the Headmaster were two Tier 5 demon teachers.
Even though Lilette was confident she could break through those two Tier 5 demon teachers, the truly terrifying one was the enigmatic demon headmaster who could make senior professors bow and scrape before him!
The mana around him was controlled with exquisite precision—so faint and steady that she could barely perceive it.
Usually, there were only two explanations for such a state.
Either the opponent's mana was truly feeble, or they were a master of mana control and vastly stronger than you!
Evidently, the headmaster of this demon academy belonged to the latter.
That holy yet bizarre silhouette of radiant demonic light standing before the door seemed like an insurmountable wall, cutting off any hope of escape.
Just as Lilette was at a loss for how to react, Hyperion bolted toward the Headmaster with everything she had.
"Foolish..."
A suicidal move born of sheer desperation; Lilette naturally wouldn't stop her.
She had initially thought she should prioritize surviving to return to the real world, temporarily giving up on killing the duke's daughter.
Now that the young lady insisted on seeking her own death, it suited Lilette perfectly.
A demon wielding absolute power and authority wouldn't care which student had caused this carnage in the botanical garden; all three students present bore obvious traces of combat.
Yet, right when Lilette expected the Headmaster or the demon teachers beside him to obliterate Hyperion in the next second, she saw the Headmaster simply allow Hyperion to run up near him without making a single move!
"?"
Lilette stared in bewilderment at the Glow Demon shrouded in black mist.
She remembered that back in the Headmaster's Office, this headmaster had similarly projected a complete lack of aggression.
And that was precisely what made her dread him the most.
Because the more benevolent, rational, and composed a demon appeared, the more likely they were to be an extreme psychopath beyond human comprehension!
In the distance, seeing that Hyperion was out of danger, Lanqi finally reopened the book in his hand and resumed reading.
This nonchalant demeanor made it seem as though he didn't even view the Tier 5 female assassin in the botanical garden as an opponent worthy of his attention.
"Student, please describe what happened in this classroom," Lanqi said gently to Hyperion nearby, keeping his eyes on his book.
"..."
Hyperion hesitated for a fraction of a second, seeming to grasp Lanqi's intention.
"The two of them killed the demon teacher and all the students in this classroom."
Looking at the cultist Lilette and the black mist warlock beside her, she spoke with a tremble in her voice, casting a slightly frightened gaze toward Lanqi.
"Do you two have anything to say?"
Lanqi kept his eyes fixed on the book, lightly turning a page without even looking up as he questioned the two cultists.
"...No!"
Seeing that the Headmaster appeared neutral, Lilette hurriedly suppressed her urge to risk her life in a forced breakout.
As expected, Shadow Worlds always operated on logic.
Even with the Headmaster here, there was still a mechanic to follow, which meant there was still a chance.
Her goal had now shifted to enduring the final ten-odd minutes of the Shadow World and returning to the real world alive.
Even if navigating the mechanics failed, stalling for a few extra minutes by talking with this headmaster would vastly improve her odds of survival!
"It was the person behind you who broke the classroom rules, summoned that silver creature to murder the teacher, and sealed the classroom door in an attempt to wipe us all out and steal our credit coins!" Lilette argued indignantly, looking as though she could not stomach Hyperion pretending to be frail and innocent while twisting the truth.
"Is that so..."
Lanqi's voice sounded thoroughly absentminded, as if the book before him were far more important.
From the moment he arrived, judging by their positions and the standoff in the room, it truly did look more like Hyperion and the silver aberrant entity were in a two-on-two deadlock against Lilette and the black mist warlock.
"Do you have any rebuttal?" Lanqi asked Hyperion again.
"...They're lying! That silver summon isn't mine at all! I... I could never do something like that!"
Hyperion launched into a tearful performance.
Though she knew this was completely out of character for her, she had no choice but to learn to play dirty to play along with Lanqi.
Hyperion understood that in order to rush over as quickly as possible, Lanqi hadn't been able to gather many demon teachers.
At this moment, there had to be a large number of demon teachers still en route to this classroom.
Lanqi's composed demeanor—acting as though his entire mind was consumed by the book in his hands—was actually him deliberately stalling for time with flawless acting!
In the distance, Lilette had already secretly commanded Immortal Quicksilver to break away and lunge toward her, putting on a show to make it look as though she and Immortal Quicksilver were enemies.
Seeing Hyperion look so flustered that her logic faltered, Lilette felt her chances of pulling off this sophistry grow even brighter.
"Mr. Headmaster, you can simply have the director stop intercepting the silver familiar and see who it attacks on its own without orders!"
Lilette knew she might not completely fool the Headmaster.
However, compared to Hyperion, she held absolute control in this classroom, with plenty of ways to stage a scene and frame her.
"...Each side insists on their own version, and there is indeed no hard evidence present. But from what I've heard so far, I am somewhat inclined toward the latter explanation. You truly did look as though you had been in a two-on-two stalemate for quite some time."
Lanqi spoke at an unhurried pace.
"How about this? I don't wish to waste any more time. Whoever steps up to help the director dispose of this silver familiar—I will consider their words to be the truth."
He sounded as though he had grown a little tired and only wished to focus on his reading.
Hearing this, even Hyperion was momentarily stunned.
Finally, the dagger was revealed.
She knew this rascal Lanqi was messing with someone's head again!
Chapter 81