The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 162
‘He really came to kill His Highness Mikhail.’
Whenever Duke Alfonso wore the mask of the King of Contrary Heaven, blood was sure to follow.
“Mikhail His Highness is a member of the royal family.”
“What does it matter if I intend to kill him?”
“!!”
“Van, you’d better be careful too. I won’t attack you directly. But if you rashly interfere and get caught up in my magic, who knows what disaster might unfold.”
Duke Alfonso lifted the corners of his mouth beneath the mask.
“Truth be told, I’ve felt inferior because of the Gray Tome. No matter how hard I look, I can’t figure out what trick you played. You can’t imagine how that’s been driving me to fury every day. You should be thankful that my friend Huam is your father.”
This wasn’t a mere threat like before.
I could feel his serious intent, implying he might indeed kill me too.
‘…The trick I ‘played’ on the Grimoire was actually a bluff.’
I recalled a secret I had kept hidden.
When I had to retrieve the Gray Ritual Tome, I didn’t have enough time to play any tricks on it because of the Massacrist Mage.
So, I devised a plan.
I decided to bluff!
I pretended to tamper with it slightly, but in reality, I didn’t touch any of the crucial content and lied about having done so.
‘Since I didn’t tamper with it, there’s no way he could find what I tampered with.’
It was a trick equivalent to pretending to throw a needle into the desert but not actually throwing it, then asking someone to find the needle in the desert.
Now, revealing the truth would definitely get me torn apart, so I had no choice but to keep quiet.
That’s when Mikhail, who had been by my side, stepped forward.
“King of Contrary Heaven, I’ve heard of your infamy. What is this insolence? As a member of the royal family, I command you to leave immediately.”
I was slightly surprised.
This was the first time Mikhail had taken such a step forward.
It seemed he had undergone some kind of change through this recent incident.
However,
“Haha. How dare such a pathetic worm speak so freely? Someone whose only value is being born into the royal family and nothing more.”
“!!”
With a fierce aura, the King of Contrary Heaven unleashed his presence.
Mikhail paled and froze like a mouse facing a snake.
“Actually, I’ve been requested to kill you a long time ago, but I ignored it. Someone as cowardly as you wasn’t worth my effort to kill.”
“!!”
“The Second Prince Renius is a fool, but compared to a coward like you, even the Second Prince would be better. Among your siblings, the only one worth acknowledging is Her Highness Princess Esmeralda.”
I was puzzled by the sudden mention of Esmeralda.
Despite being sacrificed to the guardian, ‘Van’s childhood friend managed to maintain her self.
‘Could Duke Alfonso be involved in Esmeralda’s current state?’
Though the question arose, it wasn’t the time to delve into it.
‘What to do?’
Of course, I couldn’t just leave a main protagonist, Mikhail, to die.
The issue was the level of difficulty.
Even with Professor Burnstein here.
<Survival Probability against the King of Contrary Heaven>
Abandoning the friend to flee
: 100%
Attempting to protect the friends
: 0% (Death Probability 100%)
Joining forces with Professor Burnstein, now at Level 7
: 0% (Death Probability 100%)
I felt a chill.
‘Even if Professor Burnstein has become a super-strong Level 7, he’s still no match for Duke Alfonso.’
The gap between those below Level 6 and Level 7 is a different realm.
Below Level 6 is within the realm of ordinary humans.
From Level 7 onwards, one enters the realm of superhumans. That’s why they are called powerhouses.
Level 8 transcends the mortal coil. Beyond even “superhumans” as “transcendents.”
Just recalling the scene when the Sword King helped me escape, it’s clear.
The Sword King subdued numerous high-ranking knights, including a Level 7 master, without even using a mana blade.
Moreover, if we compare the Sword King and Duke Alfonso, Alfonso is the stronger one.
Although both are in the realm of Transcendents, Duke Alfonso is a few steps closer to heaven.
“Stop babbling and let’s finish this. I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble.”
The moment I heard those words, an idea sparked in me.
‘I can use Duke Alfonso’s personality to our advantage!’
Duke Alfonso is a madman.
However, he’s a madman who tries to maintain a facade of righteousness and control his rage.
‘If I call the royal knights from outside, he’ll have no choice but to retreat. He wouldn’t publicly kill a member of the royal family.’
Though he claims not to care about royal status or anything of the sort, that’s not entirely true.
‘The problem is how to call the royal knights from outside.’
Mikhail’s private palace is neglected and located far from the center of the royal palace.
There’s only one way.
“Professor Burnstein, please go outside and call the royal knights.”
“What?”
“You’re the only one here who can escape the grasp of the King of Contrary Heaven and call for help.”
With Professor Burnstein now at Level 7, he might not be able to withstand Duke Alfonso, but escaping should be possible.
“That’s absurd. If I leave, who will hold off this monster?”
“I will.”
“Nonsense!”
“It’s not nonsense. Don’t you know who I am? Van the Legend, no, Van the Great Legend. I can create miracles like this.”
Professor Burnstein looked incredulous.
“Really. Don’t worry. I have no intention of dying here. Instead, let me officiate at your and Lady Sienna’s wedding in the future.”
“Officiate? That’s a bit…”
“Anyway, trust me and leave now! We’re running out of time!”
At my urgent call, Professor Burnstein clenched his teeth and vanished in a flash.
Duke Alfonso didn’t attempt to catch him.
‘Even if he’s fast, it’ll take at least 5 minutes for the royal knights to arrive. He thinks he has plenty of time to finish us off and leave.’
Indeed, 5 minutes would give Duke Alfonso enough time to slaughter Mikhail and me over 500 times.
“Haha. I’m curious about your plans. Surely, you’re not underestimating me?”
“Not at all. However.”
I clicked open my magic pouch and popped something into my mouth.
It was the recently acquired special recovery elixir, Communal Body Elixir.
“Surely, you?”
Duke Alfonso’s face hardened as he realized what I was planning.
I picked up another item.
Clang!
It was the Demon King’s Sword.
…Master? Surely not… right?
“You guessed right.”
I… I refuse!
“It’s an order.”
The Demon King’s Sword let out a mournful cry.
There was a reason for it.
You’re a terrible… master… making me experience the sorrow of losing my master again….
A tremendous power surged.
The true name of the Demon King’s Sword is the Dark Heaven’s Destruction.
It meant to destroy even the heavens and darkness, but there was another interpretation.
A cursed demon sword that destroys even its master.
This was due to the nature of the Demon King’s Sword’s abilities.
The Demon King’s Sword unleashes its power by destroying its master.
The ability I activated was the same.
‘Life Exchange.’
It bestows the energy of destruction in exchange for the life force of the master.
This allows the use of tremendous power but comes with a fatal problem.
It results in death.
However,
<Probability of holding off the King of Contrary Heaven for 5 minutes by sacrificing life>
: 18.73%
There was now a chance to hold off the King of Contrary Heaven.
* * *
Silence enveloped the area.
A tremendous power raged within me.
This was the first time I harbored such intense energy.
‘Even when I took four elixirs at once on the Whirlwind Island from the ghost of the Heroic Swift Sword, it wasn’t like this.’
Indeed, it was the Demon King’s Sword.
Then, an unforeseen situation occurred.
“Van!!! Why would you do this? No!!”
Stop! Noooo!
Mikhail and Mari cried out in desperation towards me.
The King of Contrary Heaven also voiced his anger.
“Are you mad? You’re sacrificing your life for such a cowardly worm? Even if you took the Body elixir, your chance of survival wouldn’t even be 5%.”
They all thought I was sacrificing my life for Mikhail.
That’s why Mikhail was bursting into tears.
‘…I’m not going to die, though?’
Did they think I activated the Demon King’s Sword without any plan?
As important as it is to save the main protagonist, my life is not less precious.
I trusted in the [Death Avoidance Right].
‘I hope for a miracle that allows me to survive from death.’
Especially since I also took the Communal Body Elixir, a secret healing elixir from the swordsmanship noble family.
‘The synergy between them should give me more than a 55% chance of survival.’
In this perilous world, a 55% chance of survival can be considered quite safe.
That’s more than half, after all!
‘I should tell them it’s okay…’
But the intense energy swirling inside me made it impossible to speak at length.
So, I managed only a brief comment.
“This is… nothing… to me…”
Ah.
I meant to say I was really okay, but my voice trembled, giving it a completely different meaning.
It sounded like a noble and tragic sacrifice, as if death meant nothing to me.
“Van… Why?! Why are you doing this?!”
Mikhail’s face was covered in tears.
For now, I decided to deal with it later and turned to face the King of Contrary Heaven.
“Ah, this is troublesome. I wonder what I should tell Huam. Even now, if you accept my treatment, you could live.”
“If you promise… to leave quietly… I’ll accept your treatment.”
“Haha. That’s impossible. Now that it’s come to this, there’s only one way. I must kill that cowardly worm as quickly as possible, forcibly heal you, and then leave. There’s no time, so I’ll be a bit rough.”
A magic circle appeared around the King of Contrary Heaven.
The number of stars wasn’t high.
Just a four-star magic.
Yet, it sent shivers down my spine.
‘Even a Lv. 7 Master wouldn’t be able to block that magic.’
I realized the magic Alfonso the Duke had shown while fighting Catherine at the festival circus hadn’t even utilized the smallest fraction of his power.
What it means to be a Lv. 8 Transcendent.
The most exalted being among all on earth.
“No matter how much power you draw from the Demon King’s Sword, standing against me is impossible. Don’t overexert yourself needlessly.”
Flash
lightning struck.
Its target was Mikhail.
An attack that no one could have resisted.
But after the flash of lightning disappeared, something unbelievable happened.
Mikhail, who should have been reduced to ashes, was standing there unharmed.
The King of Contrary Heaven looked at me with surprised eyes.
“Van, you?”
I was surprised as well.
‘…I blocked it? Even with the power of the Demon King’s Sword?’
Ah.
I realized something else.
Sure, the King of Contrary Heaven is a formidable being.
But,
‘I am also formidable.’
