An Angel Lives in the Academy
Chapter 195: The Angel Who Receives Observation Class (18)

Truth lies in silence.

Leffrey couldn’t help but acknowledge that.

This place, where the Demon King had disappeared, was incredibly quiet. In this place where infinite light surged like waves, then disappeared to some unknown place.

From the beginning, there existed no vibrations in this place that could be called sound.

And so the silence continued.

The adrenaline that had surged through him, forcing him to act in that critical moment, subsided, and the cruel reality gently sat down next to Leffrey, swaying its tail like a cat.

So, in that silence, Leffrey reflected on what the Demon King had said.

‘There wasn’t a single lie.’

Not a single word was wrong.

Leffrey had said that humanity was still young and therefore didn't deserve to be judged. Because it’s too much to blame children for their sins.

But did he really…

…believe in those words he spoke?

“No…”

Leffrey didn’t believe.

That the future would be brighter.

That humans wouldn’t hurt each other anymore.

And.

That there won’t be any more children crying in the darkness, Leffrey couldn’t believe in such things.

The silence stretched on, and the boy’s eyelids began to droop.

‘It'll be dangerous if I fall asleep now…’

Neither the violently rampaging killing intent, nor the darkness within his heart, nor even his own sorrow and resentment… Just as the Demon King had said, nothing had been resolved.

‘It’ll… be really… dangerous… if I fall asleep now…’

Despite such worries, Leffrey’s body collapsed, like a doll with its threads cut. He slowly sank to the floor.

If he fell asleep now, what kind of dreams would he have? Would he even be able to wake up again? Many thoughts tried to pry open Leffrey’s eyelids, but…

In the end, Leffrey fell asleep.

* * *

“Light, the light…”

“Is this the demon king’s doing? No, it doesn’t make sense for the demon king to use light.”

The two girls, momentarily blinded by the sudden burst of light.

Once their vision disappeared, Soya started panicking. But Hongwol, without a moment’s hesitation, grabbed the back of Soya’s neck and pulled her close.

“My eyes, I can't see.”

“Calm down. It’s temporary.”

Then, as if to prove that she was a professional warrior, Hongwol took position in front of Soya and used her every sense to guard against whatever might happen next.

‘I can’t sense the demon king, nor can I sense Leffrey. A barrier? Space transfer? Then why, why do I feel so tense?’

Gulp- Hongwol swallowed her dry saliva.

Just why, why was she so incredibly tense?

She hadn't been this tense even in front of the Demon King.

She hadn't been this afraid, not even when she was smeared from this world.

‘Dangerous. All my senses are screaming danger.’

What in the world was happening now.

Her sixth sense pounded her head with pain, as if it were something tangible.

A premonition that something irreversible was about to happen.

At that moment, Hongwol's ears twitched.

‘Someone’s crying.’

In the old lecture hall of the Academy, where no one should be able to enter. Only Soya and herself should exist here.

‘I can hear someone crying.’

* * *

‘No one can reach Ain Soph besides Leffrey. No one can replicate it, that’s why it’s a power beyond imitation. And no one can touch it, that's why it’s an Ultimate Skill. Absolutely unattainable, truly.’

The fallen angel, dwelling in the darkness, thought those words.

That angel, called the Demon King, looked at the sparkling cities of humans with eyes filled with hatred.

‘Even a hero cannot reach Ain Soph. That’s why Leffrey will be left alone in his loneliness, and he’ll cry until he’s exhausted, eventually giving in to his killing intent and darkness.’

The Demon King could see it.

The moment when the cities of humans are engulfed in darkness. The armies of humans, disappearing under young angel's judgment. The sight of those pigs, insulting the light until the moment before their death and only at the last moment begged the light for mercy.

“Hehehe.”

And after all that was over.

The child exhausted from crying would surely come into his embrace.

“If only that day would come quickly.”

The Demon King stretched both hands forward as if entranced by something.

Squeeze—

His two arms that had been wandering aimlessly in the void, eventually wrapped around himself.

“Please, quickly, come…”

* * *

There was a story like this once.

A story of a child who fell asleep exhausted from crying and struggled in nightmares. They say that the child lay alone in a dark world and curled up lonely, unable to find any warmth.

They say the heavy darkness dyed their hair in inky shades anew, and the sorrow, pain… yes, all that deep resentment tinted the child’s eyes red.

So they say the child forgot even their friends.

Lost even their own sense of self.

All they gained was a case of sleepwalking, through which they rose again.

They say that the child fell asleep like that, having a nightmare about becoming the Demon King, having a dream too sad to be satisfying.

Thus, the world lost its angel and gained a demon king who had cried so much that he could no longer cry.

However, isn’t this story too sad.

Then, how about changing the story a bit.

Some would say that only the Supreme Creator can change the story, but others would say this,

That heroes can change the world.

“Ugh, u-um… that light just now.”

“What about that light?”

“…That light was definitely the light of karma. It’s on a completely different level than powers like mana, divine power, physical strength, or supernatural abilities.”

Soya, rubbing her eyes, began to explain in her usual TMI, magical studies nerd fashion.

“Then that light must be one of Leffrey’s abilities. Probably an ability that summons himself and the demon king to a space filled with light karma.”

Hongwol, using her sixth sense and her vast combat experience, arrived at her own conclusion.

“How can you be so sure?”

Soya frowned suspiciously.

But Hongwol ignored Soya and continued perking her ears.

As if she was searching for something.

As if chasing after a certain sound.

She kept her ears perked up with a serious expression.

Even Soya who was about to whine swallowed her breath with a 'hup' after seeing her serious face. How much time passed in that silence.

Hongwol's white finger pointed to an empty space.

“Soya, break through this.”

If this had been any other time, Soya would have immediately retorted with a ‘What? Why should I?’

She probably would have explained how sturdy this lecture hall is and said that it was impossible, and that since she could only copy dark karma abilities, there was nothing she could do about light karma.

But Soya didn’t say a word.

She simply nodded and, with her hand outstretched, chanted a few words of spells. Although they weren’t in any human tongue, it was simple enough that even a child who hadn’t learned how to speak yet could understand.

Because it was earnestness.

Because it was longing,

And therefore, it was a prayer.

Because a child was crying in the darkness, Soya, who mimics darkness could reach that child, and perhaps it was a coincidence that the demon king, while being reverse-summoned, had left some traces behind.

Miracles are always born between prayer and coincidence.

The demon king's prediction wasn't wrong.

No one but Leffrey could reach the infinite light, Ain Soph. Even if there were other angels besides Leffrey in this world, only Leffrey could have reached it.

But just because they couldn’t reach Ain Soph didn’t mean that they couldn’t reach Leffrey.

If they could hear Leffrey's cries through the string called ‘connection’.

If they could reach Leffrey’s darkness through the line called ‘bond’.

Then perhaps they could reach even that which could never be reached.

“Boy, boy!”

“What? Did you find him?”

The girls’ hands grasped the boy’s shoulders. Not roughly, but with a firm yet gentle touch, they pulled the boy outside.

“You antisocial angel! Come out quickly!”

“That's right. Stupid idiot Leffrey! Come out!”

Thus, the two girls’ hands reached Leffrey.

The warmth flowing from those hands turned the boy's white cheeks red.

“G-Guys. I.”

The boy who was pulled out was crying.

With his head lowered, he couldn’t look at the girls, as if too ashamed.

“I, I’ve fallen. I’m consumed by killing intent.”

“What are you saying. The demon king is gone.”

At that moment, Leffrey's appearance came into view.

Leffrey’s golden hair, once as radiant as the warm morning sun, was now a dark gray color, and his eyes, which once sparkled like flawless emeralds, were becoming ominously tinted, like rubies soaked in misfortune.

‘The Demon King’s color. He’s still falling…!’

A voice that seemed to have resigned itself.

But also a voice that was trying to hide its tears.

Leffrey looked at the girls with such a voice and said.

“Before I lose my mind to killing intent and darkness, please end me…”

“Stop talking right there!”

Grip- Soya hugged Leffrey tightly, as if she would never let go.

Soya threw away even her witch’s hat and shouted in a loud voice as if she didn't want to hear.

“Are you a chuunibyou or something? Kukuk, consumed by killing intent? Huhu, fallen into darkness? Only black mages like me can say those kinds of things!”

Soya hugged the discoloring Leffrey tightly while shedding tears profusely.

“And, and it doesn’t matter if you fall. I’ll always be here with you, I’m Fallen Angel-friendly.”

And at that moment, something soft strongly embraced Leffrey's back.

“I absolutely won't forgive you for taming me and then trying to leave without taking responsibility.”

The pink-haired girl, Hongwol’s voice was deep.

“W-Wol…”

“If you pick up a cat, then you’re responsible for them until the very end…!”

And so the children cried.

Hugging each other tightly as if the world was about to end.

They sobbed their hearts out until, at last, they fell asleep.

Even as they slept, they were still holding each other tightly.

On the day, the demon king was summoned.

Leffrey drifted into a deep sleep, free of dreams.

* * *

On the day the demon king was summoned,

A parent observation class was being held at the Central Superhuman Academy.

The guild masters and executives of each guild, powerful figures from superhuman families, filled the seats, and the professors greeted them with their own form of courtesy.

Even the Martial Arts Department class was like this.

Lusa, abandoning her usual lazy demeanor, was seriously correcting the students’ postures, and the students, surprised to see Professor Lusa like this, wished that observation classes would be held every day.

And someone quietly begins to whisper.

“That, I don’t see that child Leffrey anywhere.”

“Ha, you can't recognize him even though he's your son?”

The man, enraged by the mockery, retorted,

“That child is not my son. It was just… a mistake.”

“Yes, I'm sure it was.”

“And I hired you to take care of that mistake, Doorman.”

“Yes, yes, that’s right. If it was revealed that you had an illegitimate child, your inheritance would be in danger. And your current rank in the line of succession is so high only because of, well, your wife, no?”

“H-hey, keep it down…!”

*Crackle*—The two men’s conversation was cut short by the sudden sound of static electricity.

“Black lightning. More refined than even Mr. Dragon Lord’s.”

“What are you going on about all of a sudden?”

At the center of that static electricity stood one girl.

The girl made no effort to hide her enlarged horns, nor did she bother tying up her long black hair swishing behind her. She simply looked at the world with a blank expression.

Her name was Yumari.

“Professor Lusa.”

Her voice was cold.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t simply cold, she spoke with killing intent.

Enough to make even Lusa, the guardian of the World Tree, tense up.

“…What is it?”

“Will you spar with me?”