The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 420 Part 2 - The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Athena screamed in front of me and shook her head as if trying to escape.

It seemed she had pulled herself out of the void.

“Oh, you’re back?”

“My, my eyes! Ugh! I can’t, I can’t see!”

“Well, that’s how my Pandemonium works. You experienced it partially before, remember? This time, it just encompassed everything.”

“No, that’s not it! My eyes, I’m blind!”

“Yeah, it feels like you’re blind. Of course, I don’t have that sensation, and neither did Baal…”

“Turn off that light!!”

Ah.

Only then did I cancel the still-radiant Wisp.

The magic used for the Formulaic Crystallization involves a tremendous number of spells occurring simultaneously, so canceling it takes a bit of time.

Crackle, fizz-

Even the moment it faded resembled fireworks. The light diminished, flickered, and then vanished with a small sound.

“There, it’s off.”

“Gasp, wheeze…”

Athena was still covering her eyes with her hand as if they hurt.

Hmm, was it that bad?

“I, I thought I was going blind.”

Athena seemed to have calmed down a bit and removed her hand from her eyes. Her jewel-like eyes seemed to sparkle even more. Maybe it was just my imagination.

“What kind of God goes blind from something like that? You’re exaggerating.”

“It’s easy for you to say! You just threw that barbaric magic right in front of me!”

Athena exclaimed in disbelief.

Then, she placed her finger on her temple.

“What kind of magic was that…?”

It seemed like she was searching her mind for any magic she knew. However, as if it wasn’t coming to her easily, she groaned for a long time.

To think a God wouldn’t know such basic magic. Disappointing.

But I was feeling generous, so I decided to explain it to her kindly.

“It’s called ‘Will-o’-the-Wisp.’ It’s light magic used to illuminate dark places, and…”

“How is that anything like a Wisp! The power and purpose are completely different!”

Athena cried out in absurdity.

But a Wisp is a Wisp, no matter how you look at it.

“Want to see it again?”

“No way! I’m good! Just turn it off!”

She really hated it.

Finally calming down, Athena looked around.

“…Where are we?”

“Like I’ve said countless times, we’re inside my Pandemonium.”

Athena looked around with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

Just like Baal, she didn’t seem to be affected by this space as long as I was here. Whether it was because I broke Pandemonium’s rules or due to the nature of my power, I wasn’t sure.

“You really can re-enter Pandemonium.”

Athena looked at me, genuinely surprised.

Then, she placed a hand on her chin, her face turning serious.

“To think a human capable of such a thing exists. This could disrupt the balance…”

“What balance?”

“N-Nothing important. It’s an internal matter.”

“Tell me, or I won’t let you out of here.”

“Hey! Don’t be ridiculous! You promised to let me go! Are you going back on your word?”

She was right. The promise was that I would let Athena escape from here, and she would give me information.

But I said,

“Athena. You seem to be forgetting, but I’m human.”

“W-What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know about Gods, but humans break promises sometimes.”

Athena gasped.

“A-Are you saying you’d break a promise made with a God?”

“Just give me a hint. What you just said really piqued my interest.”

I said it half jokingly, but I wanted to know what she meant if possible.

The fact that I could re-enter Pandemonium suggested something beyond my understanding.

“A hint? I can’t just…”

Athena began to say, but then seemed to change her mind and muttered to herself.

“No, depending on the situation, it might actually be beneficial for this guy to know…”

“So what is it?”

“You want to get back at Poseidon, right?”

“…Well, that’s not my main goal, but…”

It was probably unavoidable at this point.

Athena spoke.

“As far as I know, you’re the only one who can re-enter Pandemonium.”

“Yeah, I know.”

I had heard that from the devil, Marco. He said that all the devils tried but failed.

But I didn’t know it included Gods as well.

‘It’s not that Marco was hiding that fact from me. Rather, he probably didn’t realize that Gods were included in Pandemonium’s scope.’

Gods like Athena knew from the beginning, but Marco didn’t.

Knowledge that even a devil as powerful as Marco didn’t possess. The devils below him were probably all clueless.

Athena continued,

“You keep calling it ‘your’ Pandemonium, but it doesn’t become yours just because you won.”

“I know that, but it feels good to call it mine, doesn’t it?”

“…What kind of devilish logic is that?”

Athena gave me a tired look.

She let out a sigh and said,

“It doesn’t become yours just because you won. Think about how it might be more advantageous to think that way.”

“…Huh?”

Pandemonium wasn’t mine even though I won. It’s more advantageous to think that way?

Athena, who was briefly observing my expression, clapped her hands.

“Alright, that’s all the hints for now.”

“…I don’t understand what you’re talking about even after hearing your hints.”

“If I explained everything clearly, would it still be a hint? It would be more efficient to just tell you the answer.”

“True. It’s better to make efficient choices, right?”

“Absolutely not!”

Well, I didn’t want to push her any further.

She had given me a hint that I couldn’t immediately understand. In other words, it meant that the hint itself wasn’t a lie.

“Okay. Let’s get out of here.”

I reached out my hand into the air.

I had done this before with Baal, so I just had to do the same thing. We just had to leave the way we came in.

But then, Athena spoke,

“Frondier. One last thing.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve never considered leaving Pandemonium before, but if it were to happen, logically, the two of us inside would return to our respective worlds.”

“Well, yeah, that makes sense. That’s what happened before.”

“Meaning, I’ll return to the world of Salvation, and you’ll return to the human world. If that happens, you won’t be able to interfere with me unless you use Pandemonium again. And since I won’t curse Carla anymore, you won’t be able to use that either.”

“Yeah, I’m aware.”

“Do you really believe I’ll help you? That I’ll give you information about Poseidon? Knowing that you won’t be able to interfere with me?”

In other words, the situation was completely reversed.

There was no guarantee that Athena would keep her promise after I rescued her. Moreover, since she was Carla’s enemy, it was highly likely that she wouldn’t want to help me.

I replied,

“It doesn’t really matter.”

“…What?”

“My first objective was to get Carla involved. And since you’re away from Carla, I’ve achieved that initial goal.”

And if Athena really didn’t want to see me, she naturally wouldn’t curse Carla again. It would act as a kind of security measure.

“Besides, you hate Poseidon, and you also hate me.”

“…That’s not an easy question to answer, but yes.”

“Then you’d want to see us two fight. Naturally.”

At my words, one of Athena’s eyes twitched strangely.

“Are you smart, or are you incredibly stupid?”

The Goddess of Wisdom asked me a profound question.

So, I gave the Goddess of Wisdom my answer.

“We’re alike.”