Chapter 461 - 463: Compromise

[You have gained 120 attribute points]

[You have awakened: Shadow Stride]

Damon didn’t have time to look at the new skill. Honestly, he didn’t even bother.

He walked up to Chrome’s headless corpse, raising his hand as Ashborn flickered to life—black flames licking out, blending seamlessly with the writhing shadows.

He used Shadow Control to engulf the corpse completely. Before it was burned.

While everyone watched the flames consume what remained, Damon secretly pulled the body into his shadow storage.

It was impossible to tell where the flames ended and the shadows began.

To the untrained eye, it was all just flickering shadows.

He stepped over to Chrome’s severed head and picked it up.

The professors were too shocked to speak. From the moment they heard the explosion to now—it had all happened so fast. They had arrived just in time to see Damon behead Chrome.

The students were in disbelief. There was fear, anger, and confusion.

And why wouldn’t there be?

Chrome was one of the kindest professors on campus. Everyone had only good things to say about the old man.

Which was exactly why Damon couldn’t forgive him.

He had used kindness to deal out malice in the shadows.

Now, those shadows had come for him.

A girl in the back collapsed to her knees, sobbing.

"He... killed him... He killed Professor Chrome..."

"W...what have you done?" Emeralda’s voice trembled.

Professor Alfred stepped forward, raising his hand as mana swirled into his palm.

"Turn yourself in. Right now. You have a lot of explaining to do..."

Alfred had mixed feelings—because they had heard it. All of them.

They had heard exactly what Chrome said before he died.

Hail Unknown... the Unknown God.

That was blasphemy of the highest order.

If that phrase spread beyond these walls, the Temple would have every reason to investigate the academy.

Chrome had been Alfred’s friend. That made it worse.

And just those words alone would absolve Damon of many crimes... Heretics were executed on sight—until recently. Now they were given trials.

Sometimes.

Alfred was sure he wasn’t the only one who heard it.

The students, on the other hand, had heard nothing.

All they saw was their favorite professor killed—beheaded before their eyes.

Damon sighed, dismissing the Staff of Carnage back into his shadow storage.

"I don’t mind cooperating, professors... but I’m sure you’re not deaf. This was just a little payback."

He glanced toward Lilith, who had arrived with Kael.

She walked up to Alfred and handed over several stacks of paper—evidence she’d gathered over time.

Kael had also been tailing Chrome.

Alfred’s hands trembled as he read.

His voice dropped cold.

"All students... dismissed. Now."

His aura flared, and the students quickly evacuated.

One professor raised a hand to form a barrier over the area, but before it could stabilize—

An old man casually stepped through it.

The Headmaster.

Alfred bit his lip and handed the documents over.

The Headmaster flipped through them in silence.

Then he sighed deeply.

"Chrome has been here since his youth... when did he go wrong? Why did he take this path?"

Damon didn’t care for their regrets.

"I’ll be taking his head. As for the Temple—you can skip the lengthy interrogation. I’ll keep his affiliations to the Unknown God to myself."

He turned toward the Headmaster—who had the most authority present.

"I’ve destroyed his corpse, so there isn’t much evidence left. You can weave the story however you like. Whatever saves the academy’s face. But I will be handing his head to the White Ruler."

He clenched his fist.

"After what he’s done to us, he shouldn’t even dream of a funeral or last rites... though I don’t know how deep his bonds run with some of you."

From his shadow, Damon pulled out the Disorienting Bell—the same artifact Chrome had used during their battle.

"This belonged to him. You can bury it if it makes you feel better."

Kael let out a long sigh, holding his head.

"You shouldn’t have killed him. You had evidence. You should’ve submitted it. The academy would have captured him. We’d have made sure you got the justice you deserved..."

Damon cut him off.

"I don’t believe in justice. But I do believe in vengeance."

"I couldn’t care less what god he worshipped... all I care about is that he tried to kill me. This wasn’t justice."

"This was vengeance."

"An eye for an eye."

The Headmaster sighed again.

"I could still have you incarcerated for killing a professor, excessive violence, and taking the law into your own hands..."

Damon shrugged.

"I took that into account. I figure I’ll get... what? Three weeks detention at most? No matter what charges you create."

"Of course, I could always call the Temple. One pager is all it takes..."

He gave the Headmaster a tired look.

"Let’s not pretend. You don’t want the Temple here any more than I do. Did you already forget the Cleric Incident? I don’t like them either."

The Headmaster closed his eyes.

"Very well. You may keep the head. You’ve already destroyed the body, and since he was responsible for the Dark Spirit Incident, we’ll close that particular case."

"However... what happened here stays secret."

Damon crossed his arms.

"So, my punishment is what—being labeled an outcast by students who’ll think I murdered a professor without reason?"

The Headmaster nodded.

"And we’ll need you gone from the academy for now. At least until this blows over. We’ll notify you when it’s time."

Damon found that acceptable. The academy was still on break anyway.

He’d be back before the War Games.

The Headmaster turned to the other professors.

"What happened here was a tragedy. Trust in the academy will plummet if this gets out—both in the students and in us as faculty."

"But Damon has volunteered to take the fall. The least we can do is... let go of our resentment."

Damon rolled his eyes.

"I didn’t volunteer. You literally forced me."

The Headmaster stroked his beard.

"I call that a win-win."

He began walking away.

"You, Matia and the Student Council President—come with me. I still need to interrogate you... or at least put on a good show of it."

"I think a good story would be... Professor Chrome was replaced by a doppelganger from a heretical organization."

"It was discovered by Damon Grey, who uncovered the truth and eventually killed it—avenging the real Chrome."

"It was behind all the recent evils in the academy."

He smiled.

"It’ll take time to forge all the evidence. But we will investigate—formally."

Damon watched the old man walk away.

He was pragmatic, that much was clear.

In one stroke, the Headmaster had rewritten Chrome’s entire history—from traitor to victim.

And Damon... still got to keep the head.

For now, it would be kept under wraps—until the academy was ready to submit the forged story to the Temple and the Knight’s HQ.