Chapter 465

“You like me.”
Ronan looked up at the sky and muttered.
The sun was slowly setting. A cool evening breeze cooled the world after a day of heat. The Pileon Academy’s main plaza glowed a beautiful amber color in the setting sun.
It was the perfect weather for a family outing, but unfortunately it didn’t work out.
There was unprecedented tension in the square ahead of the big event.
“Lance. You’re sure you have access control, right?”
“Of course, Principal.”
Nabiroze asked, and Lance replied.
On his shoulder, as he saluted confidently, were three stars made of steel.
As a General in the Imperial Army, Lance is in charge of security for today’s top-secret project.
His most elite agents were deployed throughout Phileon to keep civilians out.
“Okay, I’ll trust you. Maybe at other times, but today I can’t afford to make a mistake.”
“I agree. It’s the most important day in history.”
“Don’t let your guard down until the end of the trip. I’ll be patrolling for vulnerabilities.”
With those words, Nabiroze turned away. The green uniform fluttered coolly over his shoulders.
Despite the nearly forty-year age gap between him and Lance, the two seemed to be about the same age.
Sita and the dream bird Abel circled the sky, on guard duty.
It’s our job to protect the low skies. At the slightest hint of suspicion, blow it up.
“Bam!”
“Wham!”
Orse, wings removed from his human form, was in command.
The dreambirds, who would normally be busy frolicking with each other, were at a tight angle. It’s hard to see from here, but Navardoze and the rest of the fire dragon clan were there too, guarding the high skies.
Ronan lowered his gaze.
He glanced around, his mouth agape.
“Oops. Looks like I’m the only one playing.”
In the center of the great plaza was a giant magic circle.
Dozens of circles and the sigils within them writhed and flickered as if alive. It was the most intricate magic circle Ronan had ever seen. The wizards of the day, including Asel and Erzebet, Lorhon and Kratyr, clustered around the circles, chanting their spells.
“Haaaaah!”
“Ugh—Ugh—.”
Everyone was groaning in pain.
Vast amounts of mana were being sucked into the circle in a giant vortex.
Adeshan was using the mana of the shadows to strengthen their minds.
“Woohoo–you guys, hang in there!”
“Thank you.”
Asel was the only one who could afford to say thank you.
I didn’t expect it to be this bad. I couldn’t believe how much we were screwing over wizards who could make stars if they wanted to. It reminded me of how insane we are.
Ronan watched the mages’ struggle with a grave expression on his face.
Someone’s hand covered both of his eyes.
“Guess who?”
Soon, a playful voice rang out. The tension melted away.
Ronan smirked, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.
“I don’t know. Ugly goblins?”
“——think.”
“Am I wrong, the snotty one who wrote in her diary that she was going to marry her grandfather, not her father?”
“Cee, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?!”
His voice rose in pitch. Ronan spun around at that moment and swept his hand’s owner into a princess-like embrace. She was pretty, but her eyes were piercing. Only after Ronan’s eyes locked with hers did she realize what was happening, and she sucked in a breath.
“Whoa, when did you move?!”
“That’s the basics.”
“Chet, I guess you can’t beat Grandpa after all.”
The girl puffed out her cheeks in exasperation. Her fair, flawless skin had been inherited from her mother’s side of the family.
It was Akasha de Valture, Ronan and Adeshan’s granddaughter and the key to today’s operation.
“Okay. Now get off.”
“Just a little bit more.”
“Aren’t you an adult next year?”
“My granddaughter says it doesn’t hurt to put it in her eyes. I’m going to do this for five more minutes.”
Akasha gave a shameless thumbs up.
Ronan laughed in disbelief, but he couldn’t bring himself to dismiss her. After all, Akasha was his granddaughter, the kind of granddaughter who wouldn’t hurt him if he put her in the eye, you weakling.
Akasha, watching the mages from Ronan’s arms, spoke up.
“Oooh, can I help?
“Arthur. You mustn’t let up.”
“I’ve never seen my maternal grandfather so troubled, and Aunt Erzebeth—.”
Akasha trailed off worriedly.
Still, I can’t believe the wizards right behind me are having such a hard time.
Ronan said.
“So, how ready are you?”
“Yes. For now.”
Akasha opened her palm. Four fist-sized cracks opened simultaneously. They were small, but they were passageways to parallel worlds, each one different.
Ronan smiled, feeling the hairs on the nape of his neck stand up.
“Excellent. It’s only a matter of time before you become the scourge from the future.”
“Ugh, there it is again. Do you really want that to happen?”
“That can’t be right, you’re used to the special suit now, right?”
“It’s okay, but it’s definitely not normal stuff.”
Akasha shrugged. She was required to wear a specially designed costume throughout the operation. A fearsome villain’s outfit that would never give away her identity.
A booming voice rang out as if it had been waiting for me.
“Of course! Who made it!”
“Kahaha, it’s a masterpiece, it’s the culmination of all our technology.”
Ronan and Akasha turned their heads at the same time.
Dressed in suits, Didikan and Albrije stood tall and imposing. They were the chairmen of Didikan & Alibrihe Heavy Industries, one of the most influential companies on the continent, along with Varen Pharmaceuticals.
Standing in front of the two of them was a three-meter-tall puppet.
“Wow–it’s been a while.”
Ronan flicked his bangs out of his face. It was not pleasant.
He looked like the Akasha he had beaten in the parallel world, except without the mask.
“Don’t worry, Ronan. You’ll be able to operate it just as well as your original body. I know you’ve heard this before, but I’ve never seen anyone as good as your granddaughter!”
“It’s reliable, too, with advanced defenses that automatically kick in whenever there’s an external threat. If it is damaged, blood and guts spill out, just like a real person, to fool the enemy.”
They rattled off the benefits of specialty suits for nearly ten minutes.
From being able to shape-shift her body like a liquid, to the fact that being cut in half won’t hurt her as long as the wearer keeps her wits about her, to the fact that she has a spare set of custom outfits that fit Akasha’s body just in case she’s completely destroyed.
Ronan shook his head in disgust.
“I know, I’m the one who did it.”
Initially, the special suit was based on a description in his book.
The scourge from the future, Akasha, was actually her granddaughter in that special suit. The head she wore in the final battle was actually a corpse she had secretly replaced.
In a way, I’m glad I did.
My sweet, adorable granddaughter hasn’t really turned into a monster.
Didikan and Alibrihe, unable to stop their mouths from watering, began to explain again.
Paaaaaaaaah!!!
A pillar of light erupted from the magic circle in the Great Plaza. A white flash enveloped the Phileon. It was a light that could only be seen from within the grounds, thanks to the perception-dampening magic.
“Bam!”
“Ohhh—! Finally?”
Akasha hugged Ronan by the nape of his neck. All eyes in the great plaza turned.
Ronan, stroking his granddaughter’s hair, raised his eyebrows.
“There you are.”
The light could only mean one thing.
Exhausted mages slumped in their seats.
Soon, the pillar dissipated, and a stout elven gentleman stepped out from the center of the magic circle.
The elf in the suit was left for dead only two years ago.
Ronan waggled his eyebrows.
“Sarante. Welcome.”
“Yep. I’m back.”
Sarante smirked. A charred brigia was slung over his shoulder. It was a fake, of course, made of magical engineering, and at the snap of his fingers, it turned to particles and vanished.
Ronan asked.
“How’s that, my old self was pretty good at being fooled?”
“You were very skeptical…but somehow it worked.”
Sarante pulled out a fist-sized crystal ball and pressed a button, causing an image to appear on the sphere. It was the image of Nebula Clagier and the Islands being destroyed by a giant.
Ronan’s decision to venture into the parallel world.
At the time, Sarante described the video as a disaster from the future.
To the current Ronan, it was just ridiculous. To fall for such a crude trick.
Sarante put the sphere back.
“Rewatching Dream Thunder’s ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers,’ it’s a really good movie.”
“I agree, the sequel sucked.”
“I’m glad Ronan was provoked quickly. Because any longer and the end credits would have rolled. Yikes, I’ve been watching for a decade.”
“Damn, I feel like a monkey because I know the truth.”
Ronan cursed under his breath.
The truth sometimes leaves a bitter aftertaste.
The images I saw that night in the forest were family movies made by the Dreaming Thunder, the indigenous people of Dainhar. The bald legions and fanatics invading the islands were all fakes, created by actors or hallucinogenic magic.
Ronan shakes Sarante’s hand after telling him how hard it was.
A sky-shaking cheer erupted across the plaza.
“Waaaaaah!”
“The thread has been connected, history does not change!”
Everyone seemed genuinely pleased.
There were quite a few people who collapsed from weakness in their legs, or hugged each other and cried.
And for good reason. Sarante’s return was the second most important part of the day’s action.
Sarante traveled to the past, decades before the present. He returned with Akasha’s blood, her coat, and the beginnings of a parallel adventure.
Sarante laughed.
“Ronan was so scary at the time, my hands and feet were shaking”
“I was still in the heat of the moment, and I swore.”
“Your role will be important from now on, Akasha, and I hope it goes well—.”
Sarante trailed off.
The first and last time travel was a close call, but it wasn’t a relief yet.
The first important part remained.
Sarante’s gaze was fixed on Akasha in Ronan’s arms.
Akasha swallowed hard.
“—…I guess it’s finally my turn.”
“That’s right. It’s something only you, Akasha, can do.”
“Whoa, okay, let’s try this crap.”
Akasha kissed Ronan’s cheek and jumped.
The Academy’s Genius KnifemanChapter 515