Chapter 346: End of the Inter-Academy Tournament (4)

The “shareholders’” party at Parsy Academy continued even after the second test concluded.

In other words, they spent an entire week eating, drinking, and celebrating nonstop.

It was the classic case of the bear does the work, but someone else gets the money.

“Drink! Drink! To us, to Parsy, may glory be with us!”

“May the blessing of the founding hero be upon us!”

“Hahaha! The founder was the one who founded Joaquin—what are you invoking him for here, buddy?!”

“If he had been born in this era, he’d definitely be here celebrating with us! Who knows! Maybe in his time he had nothing fun to do, so he lived ‘inevitably’ in virtue.”

Omitted the rest…

To some, all this commotion might have been bewildering, not understanding why they were getting so excited.

But it was well known that nobles were a breed that went wild for parties.

If demons lived on mana, nobles lived on champagne and perfume.

“…Still, there should be a limit…”

From a corner, Parsy Academy’s director grit his teeth in frustration. Of course, he was also a noble.

As the academy’s head, it was clear he belonged to an elevated class.

He too was corrupt—though moderately.

He liked money, and his vanity was such that he’d even erected a statue of himself on campus.

But that didn’t mean his conscience as an educator had completely died.

He couldn’t allow his own students—namely, the children of those families—to be used as tools to fill their bellies, turning this academic exchange into a mere campaign to inflate Parsy’s value.

“This isn’t right.”

If he didn’t act now, this pus would turn into cancer. And soon.

Before the critical moment passed, he had to intervene personally as the director.

He had already tolerated the shareholders enough.

If any took offense at a few harsh words, it’d be better to stop it at the root now.

He made the decision, nodding to himself firmly. And right then, the determined director of Parsy took a step out of the corner.

Bang!

A tower of champagne glasses shook.

“Hic—What was that?”

The atmosphere chilled.

Everyone in the hall looked toward the door.

An unexpected guest had slipped in unnoticed.

The nobles clearly looked uncomfortable.

“…Hey, you, what—”

“…”

“…”

Through the open door, the silhouette of a man could be seen—difficult to identify.

His outline was darkened by the backlight, as if a black halo surrounded him.

“T-that hair…!”

A darkness deeper than the shadows covering his body. Among his disheveled hair, a single obsidian lock cascaded down.

Step.

He entered the hall.

“Don’t move.”

He took another step.

“From now on, if anyone moves, I don’t know what might happen.”

“Hic!”

At that hiccup, a champagne glass dropped onto the marble floor and shattered. At the same time, the intruder drew something from his waist.

Flash!

The light of his sword gleamed for an instant. A second later, the man who dropped the glass collapsed, eyes rolling back.

“I always mean what I say.”

Heavenly Sword declared in the center of the hall.

“Hands behind your head and stay seated.”

It was a threat worthy of a terrorist. But no one dared defy him.

It was Kang Geom‑Ma, the Heavenly Sword.

“If you move, you’ll end up like him.”

This guy was a lunatic.

***

Additional Episode, Death Sashimi

Despite my sudden appearance, the attendees in the hall regained their composure rather quickly.

It wasn’t a surprise, so they didn’t take it as a tragedy. Rather, their expressions said, “We knew this would happen.”

That made me realize my arrival was already within expectations. But as always, there are exceptions.

Only one person reacted with real panic. The director of Parsy Academy flinched and ran toward me.

“L-Lord Heavenly Sword! What is happening here?”

“What else? I just came to take a look.”

“…Take a look?”

The director abruptly turned his head as he spoke.

And then, like a child caught with a forbidden red book, his face flushed with embarrassment.

Shaking with anger, he clenched his fists but ultimately stepped back.

The director yielded the floor to me without resistance.

That’s when the tension began to show in the nobles’ eyes.

It seemed they expected the director to openly oppose me.

But his response and demeanor confirmed something for me—Parsy Academy’s director wasn’t involved in this “shareholders’ assembly.”

That didn’t mean he had no connection. Just that he didn’t seem tangled in the shady business.

‘Wow, the guy who looked the greediest turned out to have more integrity than I thought.’

I cast a brief glance at the director, whose face was full of concern. The words I exchanged with Knox on the way here echoed in my mind.

‘…Seems like there’s something off with this list, huh?’

— You mean the director’s name not being on it? I also had doubts at first, but it’s accurate. It was verified multiple times.

‘Fine, maybe he’s not involved… but according to this, the guy kept detailed records in the books.’

— Are you implying he’s an internal whistleblower?

‘That’s a big leap. Would a guy like this really have the guts?’

— If we’re going by appearances, you too… never mind. We don’t yet know Director Dante’s true intent, but it’s clear there’s friction between him and the nobles.

If this were a fish market, Director Dante had carefully lined up a list of rotten fish.

Clearly, he planned to get rid of them at some point, but lacked the guts to pull it off.

It was a surprising and refreshing truth. After spending my life getting trampled by nobles, Dante had all the hallmarks of a hopeless corrupt type to me.

Time to reassess my prejudices.

“Heavenly Sword.”

As expected, someone interrupted my thoughts. When I looked over, a middle-aged woman flinched.

The fur coat draped over her shoulders bristled.

“Even for you, this is too much! Do you even know who that man you just killed was?!”

“You lot are the ones who crossed the line first.”

Even so, she managed to continue arguing. In a place where even noblemen stayed silent in fear, she showed a rare bit of boldness.

Of course, it was a miniature kind of courage.

“We’ve received reports that you’ve been feasting and drinking non-stop for a whole week with embezzled funds from this exchange.”

“……!”

“If you doubt it, speak up.”

I threw the bundle of documents I’d brought onto the floor.

“If necessary, I can write down the names too.”

“S-still, no matter the reason, you can’t escape the responsibility of killing a noble, Lord Heavenly Sword…!”

“You’re the ringleader, aren’t you?”

At my words, the color drained from the woman’s face. She began shaking her head silently.

“…N-not me…”

“Dodging accountability is a bad look.”

“You’re the one avoiding the issue! You must answer for killing a nob—!”

“No.”

I clicked my tongue in disdain.

“Who said he was dead?”

“He has no vital signs, clearly he’s—!”

“Look again.”

“……?”

Everyone turned their heads at the same time as the woman. In that instant, their mouths opened and closed like fish.

The man who had collapsed earlier was now clutching his chest.

He was gasping as if confused between dream and reality, even scratching at his cheeks to make sure he was awake.

‘Authority of “Core Strike.”’

A unique ability of Murasame, gained by using a manticore magic stone as reinforcement material.

It causes the target to faint or panic, rendering them unable to fight.

Originally, this effect only applied to “mana-bearing enemies.”

‘Or so it used to.’

Nowadays, the air in the human world is filled with mana particles like fine dust. That means humans carry traces of mana too.

Since this authority comes from one of the strongest magical beasts, there used to be a sharp difference between the demon realm and the human realm.

But that’s all in the past now.

Even in this world where incomprehensible phenomena occur, it now wields power rivaling that of the demon realm. I’m growing stronger by the day.

It’s a constant process. I thought I’d hit my limit after awakening the Sword God’s power, but I was wrong.

I must keep demonstrating physical strength beyond the horizon. That’s the only way I’ll be able to face the end of the world.

“Haah.”

A sigh, or perhaps a statement. After that, everyone stared at me as if it was protocol.

“I-I saw it! I definitely saw him stop breathing!”

“Don’t speak unless you’re sure. Didn’t anyone ever teach you that?”

Finally, I got to say that line.

How satisfying.

“H-Heavenly Sword…”

As the dark atmosphere began to spread, Director Dante had no choice but to intervene.

“I’ll explain everything. For now, why don’t you sheathe your sword and leave this for another time?”

“What’s ever changed from doing that?”

“What are you talking about…?”

I let out a sigh.

“Isn’t it by putting it off, day after day, that you all became puppets to these scam artists posing as shareholders?”

“Who are you calling a scammer?!”

“Shut up.”

“Ack!”

Another one collapsed under the authority of Core Strike. The collateral noise disappeared instantly. Ignoring the woman, I continued speaking with Dante.

“Complicity is a crime too.”

“……”

“You know it. You know that if you don’t fix this now, there won’t be another chance. If we let this exchange end quietly, even if future ones are held, Parsy’s students will gain absolutely nothing.”

“………”

“And why should the kids pay for the adults’ mistakes? No matter how hard they try, if they get nothing in return, they’ll just become more like their parents… like these nobles here.”

A human’s first social environment is the home. Then school.

Finally, the workplace.

Among those, the one you can intervene in earliest is the home. Growing up in a twisted family sends your life off course.

Fixing it requires bloody effort—and a tutor willing to spill more blood than the person being saved.

That’s right. I’m talking about me.

“Showing students the real face of the world—that’s what a true educator does. Dante, that’s your role.”

“……”

“If you want to leave, go. But I’ll do what I have to. I’ll educate this corrupt mob right here.”

I had said all I needed to.

The decision was his.

For a man used to riding the tide, making a personal choice must’ve been hard and painful.

Dante stood at the center of everyone’s gaze.

The shareholders’ eyes pressed on his shoulders like mountains.

Pathetic cowards. I decided to ease his burden a little.

“This is an ‘exchange’ period, right?”

“This was organized so people could mingle freely. Yes, there were some ‘minor’ disturbances, but…”

“Ha, ha… Heavenly Sword, you’re more eloquent than I expected. I thought you were more the swing-now-talk-later type, but it turns out you’re pretty persuasive.”

His hollow laughter was followed by sudden silence. Then Dante took a deep breath.

“Lend me your sword. I’ll return all the money these people embezzled.”

“Director!”

A woman’s voice pierced like a spear.

But neither of us paid it any mind.

“Where do you plan to return it?”

“Recently, a real sponsor appeared for our Parsy Academy. He goes by the pseudonym ‘Kitty.’ I’ve heard his foundation, called ‘GM Foundation,’ is the most transparent in the world. I’ll donate over 90% there. Then I’ll declare a new beginning for Parsy.”

“Hmm…”

The official name is GM Foundation. Among my family and old companions, we informally call it Kang Geom-Ma Foundation.

The money recovered from Parsy Academy’s shareholders would end up in my hands—or if you zoom out, in Joaquin Academy’s pocket.

Now that was a fitting example of “exchange.” So I nodded without protest.

“Good choice.”

“If this resolves without any deaths, I’ll give the remaining 10% to you as financial compensation, Heavenly Sword.”

In short, the guy wanted to donate everything. Too generous, my friend.

I ignored my conscience, which was already starting to burn. And I moved forward.

I began slowly unsheathing the two sashimi blades.

[The Blessing of the Sword God manifests – Heart (L).]

The light of the sword spread out.

The nobles tightly shut their eyes and then opened them wide.

“W-what is this…?”

The ballroom setting suddenly changed. Now it was a lake.

I, the party crasher, had kindly invited them into my spiritual world—the World of the Sword Lake.

Of course, they were all tied with thick ropes to enormous stakes.

It was one of the abilities I mastered after awakening the Blessing of the Sword God.

It allowed me to give them a lesson without bearing the weight of murder.

“Looks like everyone’s too hot-headed. So cool off a bit under the rain and think about whom and how much you’ve deceived.”

“Hey! Let us out of this right now!”

I ignored them and raised my head until my neck ached. Everyone followed my lead.

“Endure it.”

“…..!”

“This is what it feels like to be under the judgment of the world.”

It was instant.

Whoooooshhhhhhh!

Thousands of sashimi knives rained down like an icy downpour. The blasts drowned out the screams.

And the blood running down the stakes dyed the blue of the lake red.

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《May the blessing of the gods be with you.》

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