Chapter 152: Sadist Writers

Caelum watched as an elf and another cloaked figure dashed toward the far side of the sixth floor.

However, instead of chasing after them himself, his mind was occupied by something else entirely.

Instructor Stalin’s words echoed inside his head.

"...Damn it! I should never have granted those two talking beasts permission to enter the sixth floor!"

His expression instantly changed.

’Wait, does he mean by those two talking beasts?’

For a split second, panic flashed across his face.

’Don’t tell me, Jojo and Voomie are here?!’

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became.

There was only one panda and one dog capable of giving a teacher a headache in this dungeon.

Caelum immediately turned toward the Hollow Lich seated beside him.

"Please... go after them."

The Lich looked at him with empty eye sockets.

"...What do you mean?"

"There isn’t any time! My dog is there!" Caelum said urgently.

Although the request sounded strange.

The urgency in Caelum’s voice was genuine.

The Hollow Lich silently observed him for a brief moment before slowly nodding.

"Alright..."

The next instant, his style of action proved to be anything but subtle.

A dark magic circle appeared above his raised hand.

Then the circle expanded into a colossal formation that covered a large portion of their parade.

The surrounding Dark Mana surged toward it like a raging tide.

Without the slightest hesitation, Grozni extended one finger toward the direction in which the elf and her companion had fled.

Meanwhile...

Only a short distance away, the battle between the Light Phantom, Stalin, and the two cultists had already reached an explosive stage.

Sword Aura, dark Aura, magic.

All three forces collided continuously, causing the sixth floor to tremble.

Before any of them noticed Grozni’s spell...

A blinding ray of darkness suddenly shot across the battlefield.

It streaked horizontally through the air with terrifying speed.

"What?!"

All three instinctively looked toward it.

"You dare resort to dirty tricks?!" Stalin roared.

He had completely misunderstood the situation.

From everything he had seen, he believed the cult’s true objective was Ethan Morvendrell.

If the second son of the Duke were kidnapped, or worse, killed inside the Imperial Zenith School.

The Empire would descend into chaos.

The school’s reputation would suffer an unimaginable blow.

As if matters weren’t already troublesome enough...

The enemy mage seized the opportunity.

A sinister curse spread from his staff and dark runes and chains wrapped around Stalin’s surroundings.

His senses immediately dulled.

Vision, hearing, smell, touch.

Even Aura perception.

Everything became clouded as Stalin’s expression hardened.

"...A sensory curse."

[Catastrophic Sea of Light.]

The gentle radiance surrounding him completely vanished.

In its place emerged an overwhelming tsunami of brilliant white Aura that exploded outward from his sword.

The attack surged toward both Korrik and the enemy mage.

The two cultists’ expressions immediately changed.

"So strong!"

Neither had expected Stalin to unleash such overwhelming power despite being afflicted by a curse.

The entire battlefield was swallowed by white light.

Within that endless brilliance.

Hundreds of phantom images of Stalin appeared simultaneously.

Each one launched relentless sword strikes from different directions, making it impossible to determine which was the real one.

The sixth floor descended into complete chaos.

The terrifying collision of Light Aura, Dark Aura, and Mage’s spell destabilized the dungeon itself.

The spatial structure of the sixth floor began cracking under the overwhelming pressure.

Large sections of it collapsed.

Countless boulders rained downward.

Skeletons, zombies, and every undead below and at the Second Circle (Adept) were violently blown away as the dungeon itself struggled to maintain its integrity.

Outside the dungeon.

Aurelius Zenith quietly observed everything through his vast [Mana Sense].

The Headmaster slowly rubbed his forehead as he felt a headache coming.

Not because of the invading cultists.

Nor because of the Hollow Lich.

But because, the school’s property was being destroyed.

His gaze shifted toward the unconscious dwarf lying nearby.

"You are going to work until you drop dead..."

His calm voice somehow sounded more terrifying than the battle raging above.

***

Goblin and Undead Dungeon, Lowest Level.

While the competition continued on the upper floors, Paul had already retreated into the tent with the illegally smuggled Viewing Device placed carefully in front of him.

His entire attention was fixed on the screen.

At this point, nothing short of the apocalypse could distract him from Justice Kid.

Outside the tent, however, the atmosphere was much more relaxed.

Skyler, Ryan, and Sénior had gathered, casually chatting while waiting for the competitors to return.

After a while, Skyler suddenly spoke.

"So, who do you think is going to win?"

The question immediately sparked a small discussion.

"I think it’ll be Caelum," Ryan answered without much hesitation.

Sénior glanced at him curiously.

"Why are you so certain? Bonjour has a good chance too."

Ryan shrugged.

"I don’t know... I just have a feeling."

Naturally, he wasn’t about to reveal that an old man had once told him Caelum possessed extraordinary power.

Skyler’s eyes lit up.

"Then why don’t we make a bet?" he suggested with an innocent smile.

"I’ll happily act as the trusted third party."

His smile grew even brighter.

Of course, a trustworthy third party deserved a small commission.

It was only fair.

Before anyone could respond, Ryan suddenly frowned.

"...Doesn’t the dungeon seem to be shaking a lot?"

The others paused.

Now that he mentioned it.

The ground had indeed been trembling every now and then.

At first, they had dismissed it as ordinary dungeon activity.

After all, the lower floors occasionally produced minor vibrations whenever stronger monsters fought among themselves.

From their perspective, everything still appeared peaceful.

Apart from the occasional goblin wandering close to the campsite every ten minutes before being swiftly dealt with.

Nothing unusual had happened.

But now, the tremors were becoming noticeably stronger.

Even loose pebbles were beginning to bounce across the ground.

Just then, a loud cry echoed from inside the tent.

"Nooooooo! Why hasn’t Malachar the Faceless appeared yet?!"

Paul’s anguished voice rang throughout the campsite.

The three boys looked toward the tent with helpless expressions.

More than a dozen episodes had already aired.

Justice Kid had defeated countless villains, destroyed multiple criminal organizations, even dismantled an underground syndicate.

Yet somehow.

Malachar the Faceless, the mysterious right-hand man of Shadow, still refused to make his appearance.

Paul was beginning to suspect that the writers were sadists and were deliberately tormenting their audience.