I Became the Mastermind Who Betrays the Heroines

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 110 – Red Sea (4)

The duel remained locked in a tense deadlock.

Magic clashed with ferocious intensity.

Their speed was nearly impossible to track with the naked eye. The only remnants of their collisions were the fierce sparks left behind in the empty air.

The only visible traces—

Fleeting shadows flickering across the battlefield.

And the occasional shockwave hammering against the protective barrier surrounding the spectators.

The crowd stirred.

—What the hell are we even watching?

—There’s no way to follow this with our eyes.

—I can’t even begin to grasp the tactical exchanges, let alone understand what they’re actually doing.

—He’s a student, just like us… right? How is the gap this massive?

—Even beyond the barrier, I can feel the sheer density of mana…

This had long since surpassed the level of a normal match.

The students couldn’t even properly discuss what was happening.

Because it was so far beyond their comprehension that even the most basic analysis was meaningless.

—That power…

And it wasn’t just the students.

Even the professors—

They, too, felt it.

Even when measured against faculty standards rather than student benchmarks, this duel carried an unsettling, chilling weight.

It was a battle being fought at an unthinkable level.

—Does this even make sense?

—It’s absurd.

—Even if he’s been retired for a while, he was once considered the pinnacle. And yet… he’s not overwhelming his opponent?

—Tsk. A true monster in the making.

Murmurs of astonishment filled the air.

It was only natural.

Frankly, not being shocked would have been stranger.

Everyone had known of his extraordinary talent, yet no one had ever truly measured his limits.

And for good reason—

There had never been an occasion where he had needed to show them.

Now, faced with the undeniable proof of his abilities, reactions across the audience were strikingly similar.

A heavy silence settled over them.

They could only feel—

Awe.

The scene before them defied all reason.

There was no need, no point in trying to understand it.

They could only stare in stunned fascination at the emergence of a talent never before seen.

The sheer pressure in the air left the audience breathless.

—Is this real?

—Hell if I know. You were the one who said he might be able to put up a fight.

—That was half a joke! But this—! This isn’t just holding his own—he’s matching a professor!

—Maybe the professor’s holding back?

—Do you think that looks like he’s holding back? Look at the other professors—they’re all too stunned to even react.

—Are you seriously telling me this is an even match…?

—LET’S GOOOO!! THE UPSET OF THE CENTURY!!!

The excitement had reached its peak.

The once-unshakable belief that professors were unbeatable was beginning to crack.

The duel’s intensity only escalated further.

What had started as a heated exchange had now reached its absolute limit—

And in a flash, the serpent slipped behind his opponent.

A heartbeat later, the professor was slammed into the ground.

A dull, resounding impact echoed through the arena.

In the silence that followed, a professor muttered,

—Has a student ever beaten a professor in a faculty duel before…?

—Just once.

There was one precedent.

A single student in history who had surpassed his professor.

—The Crimson Sword Saint.

A name said to have reached the highest of stars.

An undisputed legend.

A hero who remained the greatest force in the Empire—one who, across all of history, had never been surpassed.

And the last time he had accomplished such a feat—

He had been sixteen years old.

"..."

The professors all had the same thought.

Today—

History might be rewritten once more.

—...

《Fufu.》

The screen displaying the battle flickered.

Dust swirled in the air.

The shadowed arena lay still.

The boy who had just been soaring through the sky landed lightly on the ground—

His black coat fluttering as he touched down.

And with a sharp, almost amused smile—

He spoke.

《Do you wish to continue?》

His half-lidded eyes curved into an eerily playful arc.

The Faculty Exhibition Match.

I had originally planned to take it easy.

There was no need to stir up unnecessary attention in an event like this.

Unwanted scrutiny would only bring me more trouble.

And I had no reason to invite such a headache.

However—

—What can you possibly do with mere illusion magic?

Selena, mocked before the students.

That moment had irritated me.

She was someone who had helped me in many ways.

Even if she herself didn’t seem to care,

I did.

Perhaps because I saw something of myself in her.

A distant, half-forgotten reflection of my past.

Perhaps it was a kind of nostalgia.

‘Regardless.’

He had provoked me.

And I intended to return the favor.

No matter how formal or superficial our relationship might be,

He had tarnished my teacher’s name.

As her student, it was only right that I delivered retribution.

Like this.

"Ugh… ghh…"

Cadel Evans, on his knees.

His breath came in ragged gasps, trembling with exertion.

I adjusted my coat, then asked,

"Do you wish to continue?"

"..."

For a long moment, he didn’t answer.

Was it because of the lingering shock in his body?

Or because his mind refused to accept the reality of losing to a student?

Perhaps both.

"Hah…"

After a pause, he took a slow, deep breath.

Then, his head lifted.

His expression remained clouded with confusion, but—

He did not crumble.

As expected of a veteran.

His recovery was swift.

Dusting off his coat,

He found his composure.

His gaze, once laced with nonchalance, was now filled with a quiet chill.

He had finally acknowledged the weight of the situation.

"…I have to admit."

Cadel spoke abruptly.

A suffocating force of mana surged outward.

His narrowed eyes locked onto me with newfound intensity.

"I never expected to be pushed this far… I severely underestimated you."

"I’m honored you’ve realized it now."

"As a professor, I’ve utterly embarrassed myself. I intended to demonstrate an overwhelming gap in ability, and instead, I may have only cast doubt on my own qualifications."

The air grew unnaturally still.

Like the eerie calm before a storm.

Within that precarious silence,

Cadel adjusted his stance.

This time, mana coursed through every fiber of his being.

"I have already lost in principle."

"Hm?"

"The moment a professor is forced back by a student, the match is decided. However—"

A slow, ominous breath.

"Since it’s come to this, I will crush you with everything I have left."

"Oh? I look forward to it."

"The last round—I'll be going all out."

"As you should be."

Cadel brought his hands together.

The air vibrated.

A spell of overwhelming density filled the arena.

His eyes—

Gleamed with merciless resolve.

Rumble—!

The ground trembled.

A vast, unseen force stirred.

A presence so suffocating that students clutched their chests, professors instinctively rising from their seats.

The sheer, overwhelming pressure.

‘It’s coming.’

I recognized it immediately.

This was the omen—

The precursor to a calamity.

"I’ll do my best not to kill you."

Crack-!

A resounding clap.

And with it—

A wave began to rise.

A towering tidal wave, vast enough to swallow the entire arena.

It surged upward, nearly fifty meters high, frothing with boundless destruction.

A spell renowned in the original work for its sheer, unparalleled power.

—Cadel Evans’ Ultimate Marine Magic—

‘Red Sea.’

A towering wave, so massive it was impossible to fully take in, loomed over the battlefield.

Even the spectators, safely behind the barrier, were thrown into turmoil.

Panicked screams echoed across the stands.

And yet, amidst the chaos—

Cadel’s gaze remained eerily calm.

Only the subtle movement of his lips disturbed the stillness, murmuring the words that would bring about the catastrophe.

A final incantation.

"O sea—"

He squeezed out the last of his strength.

"Wash away the blood."

At once, the wave turned crimson.

As if steeped in blood, the water was dyed a deep, unsettling red.

And with the final words of the spell—

The crimson tide came crashing down.

Beyond the barrier, horrified voices rang out.

—W-what the hell?! Someone needs to stop this—!

—How the hell is he supposed to block that?!

—If he gets caught in that, he’ll die! He needs to surrender now!

—It’s too late—the barrier won’t let him withdraw…!

The air crackled with urgency.

Pure, unfiltered panic.

For many, this was the first time they had witnessed magic of such sheer intensity—

A power so overwhelming that their instincts screamed in terror.

Had it been any ordinary student, they would have lost consciousness already.

Suffocated under the sheer weight of mana pressing down on them.

But—

"Fufu."

I did not retreat.

I stepped forward.

A slow, unhurried stride—

A deep, creeping smile curling across my lips.

The arena was blanketed in darkness, smothered under the impending wave.

And yet, I advanced fearlessly, striding towards the collapsing tide.

At my fingertips, power coiled.

A Lie, woven darker and deeper than ever before.

"Let the sea hear my call."

I began my chant.

"The Lord shall fight for you—"

"And you shall hold your peace."

"Why do you cry out to me?

Lift up your staff—"

"Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let it be divided."

"And sin shall walk upon dry ground."

"As the Lord commanded, He sent a mighty wind—"

"And the sea was parted, and the waters stood still as walls."

"To the false believer, I proclaim—"

The air trembled.

The Lie surged forth.

A staff, forged from shadow, formed within my grasp.

I raised it high—

And then, with absolute certainty—

I brought it down.

CRACK—!

"Break."

A single word.

And at once—

The shadow of the tidal wave vanished.

The monstrous sea, poised to consume the battlefield, collapsed into nothingness.

The Red Sea, moments away from swallowing everything whole, split apart—

And a path opened.

A miracle defying all reason.

"…"

Silence.

Absolute, stunned silence.

A sea—split in two.

An image so incomprehensible it felt like a dream, like a vision from another world.

And yet—

No one could look away.

Clack.

The crisp sound of footsteps echoed through the hushed arena.

I walked forward, unhurried, unbothered.

Through the parted sea—

Through the disaster itself, now forced into submission.

And at the very end of that path,

A lone figure stood, trembling.

Cadel Evans.

"Haa… haa…"

His breath came in ragged gasps.

His body swayed, struggling to remain upright.

Mana exhaustion.

His once-confident gaze, sharp and prideful at the start of the match—

Now clouded with disbelief.

His lips parted slightly, his voice barely a whisper.

"A… monster… like this…"

And then.

Thud—

He collapsed.

His body crumpled to the ground, utterly drained.

Unconscious.

I tilted my head slightly, amusement flickering in my half-lidded gaze.

"Hmm~ Does this mean I win?"

I turned my attention to the floating screen that projected the match across the arena.

A massive display—showing nothing but the serpent’s smirk.

"Well?"

A brief pause.

Then, the voice of the announcer—stunned and hesitant, but finally processing the result.

《T-the match… is over!》

《Professor Cadel Evans has forfeited. The winner—》

《Judas Snakes, Senior Assistant Instructor!》

A beat of silence.

And then—

The crowd erupted.

Shock.

Then awe.

Then thunderous, deafening cheers.

The moment before the stadium exploded into applause—

The first voice to break the silence was a triumphant shout.

—THE UNDERDOG WINS!! I HIT 200x ODDS, BABYYYYY!!!

A student leapt into the air, shaking a betting slip wildly in his hands.

His gleeful cries were quickly drowned out by a wave of applause.

A roar of pure, electrified excitement.

WAAAAAAAAAHHHH—!

"Ahem."

The Crimson Sword Saint.

The greatest hero of the Empire—

The only student in history to have ever surpassed a professor.

Until today.

For the first time since that legend—

A student had overwhelmed a professor in battle.

And at the heart of it all—

The serpent stood, grinning playfully, immortalized in the moment that would be written into history.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]