Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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263 Chapter. Raid (2)

There lay the corpse of Radon, split in half.

It was a horrifying sight with the upper and lower body completely severed, but strangely, no blood flowed.

Moreover, there were none of the internal organs that should have been visible.

Could it be because this is the Illusory World and not reality? It wasn’t a tangible body, so it looked subtly different.

It was as if the gruesome parts had been intentionally painted black.

However, no matter how much it was censored, the situation remained that it would drive them to madness.

“Radon…?”

Jenny murmured softly, her eyes trembling.

Her best friend, her dearest person, was lying there in a half-destroyed state.

Though no blood was shed, she could instinctively sense the outcome.

What would happen if one died in this Illusory World?

“It can’t be true, right?”

Luska’s eyes quickly turned bloodshot as she unleashed her murderous intent.

Radon was an inseparable presence for Luska, just as much as he was for Jenny.

Mary and Nebia felt the same way.

“Senpais… what happens if we die in this world?”

Nebia asked in a trembling voice. However, they had no answer for her.

The concept of the Illusory World was an element that even existing scholarship had not yet fully grasped.

No one knew how it operated or what events could unfold within it.

At this moment, they were treading into a territory as yet unexplored.

Thus, their survival instincts were sounding alarms within them.

—I will answer that.

Then, a dark entity spoke in response to Nebia’s question.

The being that called itself the Destruction God lifted Radon’s corpse and opened its mouth.

—You die.

It was an extraordinarily simple answer.

—In fact, you likely have an instinctive understanding of this. Standing in this world is akin to being a soul. If that soul is destroyed in this manner, is there any necessity to elaborate further?

Indeed. Radon was dead.

He had not yet had his soul stripped by the Destruction God, but that was all.

The horrific answer cast dark expressions over the four girls. Their faces became inscrutable.

—Didn’t you hear me clearly?

The Destruction God Endless smirked.

And he said: Radon Crawler is…

—Dead.

Endless was still laughing as if mocking his death.

While there might be pleasure in seeing others’ suffering, there was also curiosity about Jenny Chain Silver’s sudden movement as she closed the distance.

Wham!—

In an instant, Jenny vanished, appearing before Endless with a blue sword in hand.

The blow of the blue sword swung with a heavy sound of slashing.

It aimed precisely at the opponent’s neck. Having witnessed her friend’s death, there was no such thing as restraint for Jenny.

But something seemed off. Instead of slicing through with such a strike, why did it resonate as if she had struck metal?

—That was heavier than I expected.

Endless’s neck was unscathed. It was literally as if metal had been struck; his neck was that sturdy.

Endless complimented Jenny, who displayed unexpected skill.

And then…

—You’re quite nimble.

At that moment, Endless swiftly turned his neck and grinned.

There was a murderous intent there that could chill the world.

Luska, wielding a double-edged sword, had moved to the rear, and the sword screamed with a terrifying bloodlust as it came down diagonally.

Boom!—

With that overwhelming destructive power, the ground cracked, and dust billowed up.

It was impossible to tell how far the ground had split; the range extended beyond the white horizon.

But the point of impact was devoid of Endless.

The dust obscured her view, yet Luska suddenly transformed her double-edged sword into a bow. She fired an arrow at an unexpected spot.

It was because that place reeked of the Destruction God’s presence.

Whoosh!—

The arrow, resembling a wolf, rushed forth clad in an ominous aura.

It was not the visage of a beast hunting its prey, but of a monstrous wolf lost in grief and hatred over its lost offspring.

As the arrow cut through the air and the dust, the figure of the Destruction God materialized.

It approached Endless at a speed several times that of sound.

However, it halted midway.

—A weapon that combines a bow and a sword? Humans seem to have developed quite a bit.

Having tasted that technique, Endless left a quiet remark as he caught the arrow.

The aura that had resembled a beast vanished without a trace the moment it was grasped in his hand.

—By the way, how can you summon your weapons like that?

Endless had one question.

The blue sword and double-edged sword that had summoned themselves into Jenny and Luska’s hands. Such abilities did not exist among humans 300 years ago.

Primary weapons were always carried around. They didn’t simply summon them whenever they wanted.

Furthermore, this was the Illusory World. It was impossible to bring objects from reality.

—I find this quite intriguing. I suppose I’ll have to see it for myself.

“…?”

At some point, Jenny’s hand had emptied.

And she belatedly realized that the blue sword she had been holding was now in Endless’s grasp.

—Hmm… So that’s how it is. This is a sword that has become one with you. That means… it’s connected to your soul?

Humans have developed compared to the past. They can absorb important magical devices into themselves, summoning them freely without fear of loss.

Therefore, it was thought that the fishing rod wielded by Radon Crawler earlier was similar.

—No wonder a weapon suddenly popped up just like that.

“Is that all for your musings?”

Whoosh!—

At that moment, a massive beam of light pierced through Endless’s body.

The recoil from whatever had shot through like an arrow caused Endless to drop the sword he had been holding.

The light arrow had been fired by Mary and Nebia. Their combined efforts had barely managed to pierce the creature’s body.

Zing!—

Then, in an instant, ice formed beneath them.

Using the power of the ground froze, Jenny accelerated.

With blinding speed, she snatched the sword and drew forth her maximum power.

[100%]

The absolute power that could be considered at the brink of the Silver Age.

Luska, not one to fall behind, also used Divine Beast Transformation to unleash her strongest power.

—Remarkable.

Endless’s smile emerged involuntarily as he admired their overwhelming strength.

In response, he began to transform his arm into a blade to counterattack.

It was then.

—…!?

Suddenly, shadows manifested from the ground, binding Endless’s limbs.

It was Mary’s magic, utilizing “Shadow Binding,” cast with near-ultimate magical output.

Endless could usually sever it with ease, but suddenly his body felt sluggish.

Ping~ Tinkling—

Suddenly, a holy melody rang out, accompanied by Divine Power to paralyze Endless’s body.

Before they knew it, Nebia was holding a lute that was emitting a beautiful sound.

However, the meaning was not a blessing from the Saint, but a curse and hatred aimed to tear the enemy apart.

—How interesting…

The cold blue sword strikes and sharp double-edged sword slashes surged like a storm.

In just one second, the number of strikes they delivered was uncountable, creating countless markings in the space around them.

Blue and red trails formed in the thousands, intertwining and crossing like a dense starry sky.

In that brief moment, the entire world was cloaked in constellations, and that intense onslaught even extended for kilometers away.

—To think you’re still this strong at such a young age.

“…?”

“…!”

As Endless’s voice of admiration echoed, they were greatly shocked.

To think that even after pouring out such devastating blows, it was still insufficient.

Was it indeed impossible for them to match against the Destruction God with their current strength?

However, there was something they were unaware of, swallowed by their own rage.

—Among all the boys and girls I’ve seen until now, you are the strongest.

Without realizing it, Jenny and Luska were exceeding their limits. Their power surpassed even that of Aligieri’s elite.

If Radon were to find out, he would be astonished. For they were not this strong in the original storyline.

There are those whose abilities exponentially increase due to surging emotions.

But they had reached the pinnacle even among such humans.

A power gained in exchange for a precious loved one’s life.

—But…

Whoosh!—

The storm-like slashes abruptly ceased. Black thorns had pierced the arms and legs of the girls wielding the swords.

Not only Jenny and Luska, but even Mary and Nebia, who were supporting from behind, had thorns embedded in them.

—Now then, let’s put away the festivities.

Where the slashes had been delivered, a black liquid, like slime, floated. From that giant droplet, black thorns were shot out.

A barrage of thorns shot out in all directions without distinction.

Jenny and Luska swiftly swung their swords to fend them off, while Angela and Nebia gathered all their mana to form a barrier against the onslaught.

The power was impressive, but the speed was equally alarming.

“Ugh!”

Each one flaunted a speed that was difficult to track with the eye. The two, while attempting to deflect with their swords, missed several thorns that pierced their thighs and abdomen.

And even the powerful barrier created by Mary’s Demon King power and Nebia’s Saint power began to crack.

The barrier, manifested at peak strength, began to shatter like glass amid a loud noise, and the thorns descended upon them.

“Gaaah!!”

“Gyaahhh!!”

The screams erupted simultaneously.

All four were pierced by the thorns all over their bodies.

Even in the Illusory World, the pain felt was akin to what one would experience in reality, shocking their minds to alertness.

Arms and legs, abdomen, and shoulders. Blood didn’t flow, yet the penetrating power was palpably felt.

—Hmm?

Nevertheless, they rose again.

Even feeling the pain as if their bodies had become a beehive, they stood up.

They could still see it. The sight of Radon, split in half.

If this amount of pain accompanied their predicament, how on earth had Radon endured it?

For his sake… they were willing to sacrifice their lives if need be.

Seeing such determination, the Destruction God laughed again, returning to human form.

—Hahaha! Was that boy really so precious to you?

“Shut up…!”

—But now that he’s in such a state, you can’t associate with him any further.

“Shut it!!”

Wham!—

Suddenly, Jenny’s shout was cut short.

Endless’s elongated fist sent Jenny flying.

“Cough!”

Not only had holes been punctured through her limbs and abdomen, but she felt the pain of bones breaking.

It was a miracle she could still move at all.

The Destruction God approached her.

—In any case, meeting that boy is futile. You’re nothing but lives summoned as consumables.

“What…?”

—Radon Crawler, or rather… his real name is Choi Soo-hyun. His life is nothing but an empty and tragic fate.

What in the world was he talking about?

It didn’t sound like he was just brushing off by killing Radon.

Intrigued, her eyes trembled.

“Choi Soo-hyun…?”

Who in the world was that?

To that question, Endless responded.

—You are merely toys dancing on that boy’s palm.

Endless continued explaining. In reality, the being within Radon Crawler was not Radon himself.

And this Choi Soo-hyun was well aware of everything while distorting the original history to his liking.

The reason? Simply for his own satisfaction.

Not for them, but only for his own comfort.

—Do you think Choi Soo-hyun treated you well? You’ve been completely duped.

Choi Soo-hyun had grasped their characters and mentalities thoroughly.

Having toyed with them directly, he could not possibly be ignorant of them.

Thus, he likely knew well how to manipulate them.

—While I can praise your strength from earlier, you truly are foolish girls.

Everything was merely the trickery of a scammer.

You were nothing but dimwits duped by that scammer.

Even upon hearing about Radon’s true identity, their heads seemed to spin, and they could not lift them.

It was as if they had fallen deeply for his unreasoned benevolence.

—If you are to die anyhow… shouldn’t you know what you ought to know?

“….”

Endless slowly approached Jenny. His tentacle-like black arm transformed into a blade.

—So dream only at night.

The black blade swung.

Morning would never come.

It would only forever be buried in the darkness of night.

Crash!—

But the blue sword blocked the black blade.

Jenny rose again, having deflected it while trembling.

—How…?

“Radon’s real name is Choi Soo-hyun… and Radon deceived us… it’s so pathetic.”

—What!?

Jenny definitely heard that truth.

The other girls felt the same, yet they stood tall once more.

“So we should resent Radon for this?

—…!

“Who’s talking nonsense!!”

Zzzzt!—

Ice thorns shot up from the ground, piercing Endless’s body.

Even if Radon were an anomaly who knew everything, he remained dear to them.

If he hadn’t been there, they would have found it impossible to breathe.

And they would not have possessed any semblance of human-like feelings.

“Don’t distort it as you please! No matter how much he’s an anomaly or a lowly bug… I still love Radon.”

—What a typical human…!

“Ugh…!!”

Endless’s elongated arm tightened around Jenny’s neck like tentacles.

Raising her up, he wore a wicked smile.

—Such a firm will you possess, but… if you die, it’ll all be in vain!

“Ke-eek…!!”

She would die. Was this how it would end?

After receiving all his help, what could they possibly do for him?

They didn’t want such a pitiful end.

Not yet….

Swoosh—

It was at that moment. Endless’s body was split in half.

This freed Jenny, leaving her questioning, as Endless did likewise.

Yet Jenny soon eyed the cause of the splitting in disbelief. It was the elongated fishing rod that had done it.

“Thank you all so much.”

As the familiar fishing rod came into view… a familiar voice echoed.

“Thanks to you, I was able to revive just in time.”

There stood the boy who should have been split in half, holding the fishing rod.

With a smile that seemed like he could always catch others.

Surviving as the Academy Scammer.