Chapter 41: Did we survive?

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the middle-aged man who had just entered the hall.

Dark hair. Brown eyes. His presence seemed oddly familiar.

Amelia’s eyes widened."Is that... Professor Charles?"

Her expression lit up with relief. Several other students also sighed, their faces softening as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted.

Even Amon, battered and exhausted, felt a wave of relief wash over him.

’Finally... a professor. We can get out of here now.’

Though Amon didn’t know much about Professor Charles—he didn’t teach their class—he still trusted the sight of a faculty member.

Seraphina and Eliana also looked toward him, their expressions hopeful, expectant.

Charles walked forward with steady steps. His gaze swept across the battered group of students. For a brief moment, his eyes stopped on Amon, lingering there with an unreadable expression, before moving away.

Seraphina, though still injured and barely standing, forced herself forward.

"Professor Charles... thank the heavens you arrived in time. We already defeated the boss monster, but the gate to the outside still hasn’t opened."

Her voice was tired, but filled with relief.

Charles looked at her for a moment, then smiled faintly and said.

"Don’t worry. Now that I’m here, you don’t need to worry about anything anymore."

But before Seraphina could say another word, Charles’s hand moved.

It was fast—far too fast.

His fist slammed into her ribs with a sickening crack. She didn’t even have time to raise her sword, let alone dodge. Her body flew through the air and hit the ground with a heavy thud.

"Seraphina!" Eliana screamed, panic overtaking her as she rushed to her friend’s side.

The other students froze, stunned.

"What... Professor, what are you doing?! Why are you attacking a student?!" Amon’s voice rang out in anger and disbelief.

The others also panicked, their faces pale, waiting desperately for an explanation.

But Charles didn’t respond.

Instead, his figure vanished.

He reappeared right in front of Amon in the blink of an eye.

Amon’s instincts screamed at him to move, but it was already too late. Charles’s hand shot forward, his fingers wrapping tightly around Amon’s neck.

The next moment, Amon was lifted off the ground.

"Khhhk...!" Amon struggled desperately, his hands clawing at Charles’s grip. His throat felt as if it was being crushed, his breath stolen away. His legs kicked uselessly in the air.

The professor’s eyes were cold.

"Though Hector was a weak, pathetic pawn... I still can’t believe someone like you was the one to kill him."

His other hand rummaged through Amon’s clothes, searching with practiced precision until he pulled out a cube. His lips curled upward.

"Good."

He tossed Amon aside like garbage. Amon hit the floor hard, coughing violently as air finally rushed back into his lungs.

"Cough... cough..." His hand clutched his throat, raw from the crushing grip.

Charles studied the cube in his hand, then turned his gaze toward Seraphina, Eliana, Marcus, and Aisha.

"Well, I got what I came for. Now, it’s time to finish the job."

His eyes flicked back toward Amon.

"It’s fortunate you’re only at the Awakened stage. You’re incapable of using this artifact. Only someone at Master rank or higher can activate its true power."

The students’ eyes widened. Murmurs of fear spread.

Charles smirked.

"You were wondering why your wristbands weren’t working, weren’t you? Why you couldn’t teleport back to the academy after being critically injured? Why the gate to the outside didn’t open even after you killed the boss?"

He raised the cube slightly.

"All of that was because of this artifact. This dungeon... is under my control."

A student shouted in fear, "Why are you doing this?! You’re a professor! Why trap us here? What do you gain by killing us?!"

Charles laughed. A cruel, mocking sound.

"Why? Why should I explain myself to a bunch of dead children?"

His gaze sharpened.

"None of you are leaving this place alive. That was the plan from the start."

His eyes darkened as they swept across Seraphina, Eliana, and the others.

"Honestly, I didn’t expect you all to survive this long. Even after I corrupted the boss monster’s by implanting a corrupted crystal to push it into Rank Three, you still managed to kill it."

His lips twisted into a sneer.

"And to make matters worse, someone even killed our pawn."

His eyes locked on Amon, filled with hatred.

"There was no need for me to appear personally. All I had to do was observe from the shadows... but now, I’ll just kill you myself."

The air thickened instantly.

Charles released a wave of crushing pressure.

The students fell to their knees, their bodies trembling. Breathing became difficult, like a mountain had been dropped on their chests.

Amon gritted his teeth, his vision spinning.

’I can’t... breathe. He’s stronger than Hector. Far stronger.’

His friends were no better. Marcus groaned, Aisha collapsed to one knee, even Eliana’s hands shook as she clutched her bow.

Charles’s voice rang out, amused and casual.

"Now then... who should I kill first? Or should I just kill you all at once?"

Despair filled the students’ faces.

Amon’s body weakened further, his eyelids growing heavy. His chest heaved, but his lungs refused to take in enough air.

’Am I... going to die here?’

He forced his eyes open, his gaze falling on his friends. Their expressions mirrored his own—helpless despair.

His gaze shifted back to Charles, who stood smirking with complete confidence.

But then—Charles’s expression changed.

His smirk froze, his eyes narrowing. He turned his head toward a particular direction, unease flickering across his face.

"What... how?!" His voice cracked with panic.

He looked down at the cube in his hand and hurriedly activated it.

The artifact floated in his palm, glowing with ancient runes. But instead of relief, terror filled his face.

Cracks split the air behind him.

Crack!

Space itself tore apart, like shattered glass.

From within the broken void, a figure stepped out.

A woman, her presence overwhelming.

A pristine white robe covered in intricate runes. Long silver hair that shimmered faintly. Eyes like crystal silver, beautiful yet colder than ice.

Isabel Dawnheart. The Headmistress of Arcadia Academy. One of the only Mythborn in the world.

Charles’s face drained of color. He panicked, opening a portal beside him with the artifact, attempting to flee.

But before he could escape—

Crack!

His hands and legs shattered instantly. Blood sprayed into the air.

"ARGHHHHH!" Charles screamed in agony as his body collapsed, broken and mangled. The artifact flew out of his hand, pulled toward Isabel’s outstretched fingers.

She caught it easily, her gaze piercing into the traitor."Charles. I trusted you as a professor of Arcadia... and this is how you repay that trust?"

Her voice was like frost.

"Tell me. Who sent you here?"

Charles floated helplessly, groaning through the pain. Blood poured from his shattered limbs.

"I... I was sent b-by—"

But before he could finish, his body convulsed. Cracks spread across his skin. His eyes glowed an unnatural yellow.

"He’s... going to explode!"

Isabel’s expression hardened. She snapped her hand, and a barrier of light instantly enveloped Charles.

The next moment—

BOOM!

His body exploded violently inside the barrier. The explosion rattled the dungeon, but the barrier held firm.

Isabel clicked her tongue.

"Tch."

The barrier dissipated, leaving behind nothing but ashes.

Amon, watching from the ground, felt his consciousness slipping.

The last thing he saw was Isabel standing tall, the artifact in her hand glowing faintly.

Then—

Darkness swallowed him.