The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character-Chapter 310: Time To Finish The Act [3]

[Literally.]

I tilted my head slightly, letting the mask's shadow hide the faint curve of my mouth.

[You don't look particularly impressive to me, but the Great One seems to think otherwise. He said that while you're weak now, you might grow into something troublesome later.]

Ryen's eyes narrowed. He wasn't buying it completely—but that was fine. Doubt was useful. Doubt meant fear.

"…Then wouldn't it make more sense for you to kill me now," he asked, his voice steady but strained, "while I'm still weak?"

A fair question. Logical, even.

[It would,] I admitted easily, lowering my head just a fraction. [But that's not for me to decide.]

The shadows around me stirred faintly, curling like smoke in an unseen wind.

[The Great One prefers to let potential bloom before deciding whether to crush it or use it. You've caught his attention, and for now—] I paused, letting the silence stretch before finishing, [that's both your curse and your blessing.]

The words hung there, sinking into their minds like hooks.

It was vague, cryptic—just enough to sound profound.

Just enough to make them hesitate.

All I needed.

At the same time, I poured everything I had left into Black Shadow. Every last drop of primal qi.

The shadows around me writhed, then surged upward, devouring all light in their path. The air trembled as the darkness condensed and twisted, taking form — scales, wings, and eyes that gleamed with ancient hunger.

A Black Dragon.

Its presence alone made the chamber quake. The sheer pressure forced even the strongest among them to take a step back. The moment it opened its jaws, all other sounds vanished — only the whisper of shadows remained.

But I wasn't done.

A wave of dizziness hit me, sharp and sudden. My body screamed in protest as the last remnants of qi drained away, leaving only pain and the hollow ache of something breaking apart inside me. My vision swam. The ground felt far away.

It hurt — gods, it hurt. Every nerve burned, every breath felt like swallowing fire.

[If you are truly His adversary,] the voice echoed faintly in my mind — deep, ancient, almost compassionate. [Then become stronger. Stronger than anyone else. Become the world's last hope. Because He will crush even that hope, just to prove He can.]

The words cut through me like a blade.

And then the darkness swallowed everything.

The world turned silent — no sound, no warmth, no light. Just endless, suffocating black.

> -Remaining life force has dropped to critical levels. Nearby transferable vessel detected. Initiating forced exchange between clone and main body.-

My thoughts scattered, then pulled together in an instant. My perspective twisted, as if the universe itself folded around me.

When I opened my eyes again, I was somewhere else.

Only the lingering afterimage of that vast darkness remained — deep, brilliant, alive.

Before the shadows faded, I forced my subspace ring open, and the relics I'd claimed were swallowed whole into it. Every shard, every fragment — gone without a trace.

And when the veil finally lifted, the masked man was gone too.

Vanished without a sound.

No footprints, no aura, no trace of his existence — as if the darkness itself had erased him.

A perfect crime.

I exhaled weakly, the faintest smile tugging at my lips.

No one would ever know. Not about me. Not about what happened here.

And the best part?

It would be one hell of a memory for the protagonist — something he'd never forget.

The silence after my disappearance was deafening.

For a long time, no one moved. The only sound that filled the boss chamber was the soft hiss of dissipating mana, the faint hum of the runes dying out one by one.

Professor Lena was the first to stir. Her eyes darted around the room, scanning the fading shadows as if expecting the masked man to reappear at any second.

But there was nothing.

No trace of battle remained — no blood, no scorched stone, not even the lingering scent of smoke. Only the slain Rose Dragon's remains, dissolving into motes of light as the dungeon's purification system began its slow process.

And Rin. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Rin, barely breathing, pale as ash but alive.

"…He's really gone," Rachel muttered, her grip on her sword slackening. The fury that had fueled her moments ago had nowhere left to go. "That bastard just… vanished."

Professor Lena rushed toward Rin the instant the masked man vanished, her boots echoing against the stone floor. The air still trembled faintly with residual mana, but she ignored it—her focus entirely on the boy lying at the center of it all.

"Rin," she called softly, crouching beside him. Her voice was steady, but her hands trembled as she pressed them against his chest, channeling a small stream of healing energy. "You're safe now. You hear me?"

Rin groaned faintly, his eyelids fluttering open. His breathing was shallow but steady—alive, conscious.

"…Professor…?" His voice came out hoarse, barely a whisper.

"Don't move." Lena's relief came out as sternness. "You're exhausted. Stay still."

Behind her, Rachel exhaled, lowering her sword completely. "Thank god," she muttered, dragging a hand down her face. "He's alive."

Leona sat down hard against a broken pillar, letting out a shaky laugh. "That's… good. That's really good."

The tension that had been gripping everyone finally began to ease, though unease still lingered beneath the relief. The oppressive aura from before had faded completely, but the memory of it lingered in every breath they took.

Ryen moved closer, kneeling beside Rin. "You scared the hell out of us," he said quietly, trying to sound light but failing. "Next time, try not to disappear on us, yeah?"

Rin's eyes shifted slightly toward him, still dull with fatigue, but a faint smirk tugged at his lips. "…No promises."

"Figures," Ryen said, shaking his head. "Still the same smartass."

Lena let out a quiet sigh, part frustration, part relief. "Don't talk too much. You're lucky to be alive at all."

The others exchanged looks—Rachel, Leona, Kiera, Nora—all of them seemed to share the same unspoken question.

That man. Who was he?

None of them dared to say it out loud, but the same thought pulsed in their minds: whoever he was, he wasn't part of the dungeon. And he wasn't someone ordinary.

The Rose Dragon—a creature that could wipe out entire teams—had been killed like nothing.

And Rin had been right there with him.