CHAPTER 343: 342

In the dazzling conference room, various emotions such as confusion, shock, and dismay appeared on the faces of the attendees.

"Ugh... Why, why, why..."

Covered in alcohol, Park Ji-yoon couldn’t believe what had just happened. She touched her face, feeling the salty blood and sharp pain from the wound on her cheek.

’What just happened?’

Her pupils quivered.

What?

Did that kid just hit me?

Me?

Why?

Park Ji-yoon was so shocked that she could only stare at the man walking towards the center of the conference room.

Jin Yuha.

Everyone knew who he was; it would be strange not to.

He was the chosen successor of Lina, the Mage Emperor, and the leader of Utopia, renowned for his exceptional appearance, abilities, and strength that defied his gender.

He had been invited by them to establish a good relationship with him in the future.

After all, he was the successor of the Mage Emperor.

However, no one could have imagined that he would react like this.

Step.

Step.

Jin Yuha walked towards the center of the conference room.

But the attendees were sitting in their seats, drenched in cold sweat, unable to say a word.

No one could speak up against the chilling aura he was emitting, which was oppressing the entire space.

In the center of the conference room, Jin Yuha looked around with cold, sunken eyes.

"This is truly a spectacle."

Gulping, everyone felt a chilling sensation as if a sword was being held to their throats.

Unconsciously, their teeth clattered, and fear consumed their minds.

’A monster...’

’What the hell is this?!’

’What did we do wrong?!’

’That crazy bastard, once we get out of here... we’ll bury him...’

Yes, if the people in this room joined forces, it wouldn’t be difficult to bury Utopia.

The mad dog disguised as a hero should be brought down.

Park Ji-yoon glared at Jin Yuha, biting her chapped lips.

"This is truly a spectacle... These bitches..."

At that moment,

One person, just as surprised as the others, stood up to block Jin Yuha.

The Mage Emperor, Lina.

A glimmer of hope appeared on everyone’s faces.

The Mage Emperor would surely protect them from that crazy guy.

And as expected,

Lina also raised her energy to confront Jin Yuha.

"Jin Yuha! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!"

Then, Jin Yuha looked at Lina, sighed deeply, and scratched the back of his head with an annoyed expression.

And he said something that no one in the room could have imagined.

"Sigh... Teacher, do you really, truly believe that these bitches are your disciples?"

"What...?"

"These parasites, who are in cahoots with the demons and are eating away at the world you created and protected?"

And,

Confusion appeared clearly on Lina’s face.

Lina was flustered.

"...In collusion... with demons? These kids of mine...?"

What on earth did that even mean?

Her mind refused to connect her students with demons.

It couldn’t be true, could it?

Sure, they’d recently started making odd, private requests that were hard to understand. But she’d chalked it up to the strain of excessive workloads given their limited abilities.

No leader of any organization could make the right decisions all the time. It was natural for a group to veer in the direction most of its members pushed for, even if it wasn’t ideal.

After all, even she couldn’t always steer the academy on the right path—how could she expect better from them?

And yet, despite everything...

She never doubted that their actions were rooted in goodwill.

These students were comrades who had stood with her through the treacherous Gate crisis.

Although their innate abilities weren’t extraordinary, they had rolled up their sleeves and worked tirelessly to rebuild shattered civilizations, contributing their share to normalizing the world.

Could such people really do something as preposterous as colluding with demons?

The problem, however, was that it wasn’t just anyone making these accusations—it was Jin Yuha.

The one person she trusted and relied on more than anyone at this point in time.

"Jin Yuha, do you understand what you’re saying? Think carefully and answer again. Are you sure you don’t want to take it back?"

She hoped, desperately, that he would say it was all a lie.

But Jin Yuha simply shook his head calmly.

"No, I have no intention of retracting my words."

"What... Are you saying that I failed to see these kids colluding with demons right under my nose?"

Lina glared at Jin Yuha, her eyes blazing.

He met her gaze, his expression tinged with pity, and spoke.

"Well... It seems their collusion with demons is a recent development. But you know as well as I do, Chairwoman, that it’s not hard to avoid getting demon energy on oneself even when dealing indirectly with them. And with powers like the ’Authority to Conceal Demonic Energy,’ like the demon who infiltrated our academy had, it’s not impossible to evade detection altogether."

"Do you realize what you’re saying? Can you take responsibility for it?"

Lina’s voice was firm, but even as she spoke, she knew Jin Yuha wasn’t the type to make baseless claims.

He sighed softly.

"I started with the most shocking part, just to grab your attention. Chairwoman, your students—no, these scumbags you call your students—aren’t worth the regard you have for them."

Jin Yuha let out another quiet breath and swept his icy gaze around the room. Finally, he pointed at one of the collapsed discepole.

"For instance, falsely accusing someone of dissenting opinions and destroying their reputation in the process." "What are you talking about?"

Lina tried to interject, but Jin Yuha moved his finger to the next student without pause.

"Misappropriating artifacts meant for veteran welfare, keeping them for personal use, and reselling them at exorbitant prices." "...What?"

"Distributing drugs within the country."

"Loan sharking."

"Embezzling donations meant for public welfare organizations."

"Rigging elections—four times."

"Misusing public funds for personal expenses."

"Deliberately neglecting Gate explosion zones."

"Promoting awakened supremacist ideologies and exploiting civilians." "And taking bribes. Every single one of them here is guilty of that."

Jin Yuha’s low voice echoed through the hall, its emptiness chilling.

With each crime he listed, Lina’s face grew paler.

Not a single accusation was minor. If his words were true, they deserved to lose their heads on the spot.

She couldn’t believe it.

It couldn’t be true.

Her students couldn’t have done such heinous, despicable things.

"Where’s your proof!?"

Lina’s voice rose in a frantic pitch. Jin Yuha tilted his head, puzzled.

"Proof? Why would you need proof?"

"What... did you say?"

"Chairwoman, you can read hidden thoughts if you use your power, can’t you? It’s simple— just ask them if it’s true. Why bother with evidence?"

Lina turned her gaze from Jin Yuha to her fallen students, clinging to the faint hope that at least one of them would deny it.

But...

"Teacher! You know me, don’t you? It’s me, Yurayna! The kid you saved and took in from the back alleys!"

"N-no! Please, listen to me first! You have to hear my side of the story!"

"T-teacher, you’re not really going to use that mind-reading power, are you? I have state secrets in my head—if they’re leaked, it’ll be catastrophic!"

"Aha... well, sometimes, you end up doing slightly wrong things in the line of duty, but everyone lives like that, right?"

"Teacher, we’ve known each other for so long. You wouldn’t turn your back on us because of this guy, would you?"

Their excuses came tumbling out, but none dared to rise in protest or claim their innocence outright.

If they had truly been blameless, they would have stood tall, declared their innocence, and demanded justice.

Instead, they crouched, pleading and pathetic, relying on sentiment and excuses.

"Teacher! This is all a misunderstanding! We were pretending to collude with demons to find their hideouts and eliminate them!"

The violet-haired student, Park Ji-yoon, had been the one Lina cherished most—a student who lacked talent but worked hard. She had been like an injured finger, painful yet beloved.

Now, that same student was stammering ridiculous excuses after being caught colluding with demons.

At this point, Lina didn’t need to read their minds to know the truth. Every word Jin Yuha had said was true.

A thick wave of revulsion clouded her mind.

"How... How could you... How did you all become like this...?"

Crushed by the weight of betrayal, Lina covered her face with trembling hands.

....

We are nearly equal to raw! My dear patrons

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

Support the Translation! 🌐✨

30+ Advanced Chapters are currently available in Patreon, make sure to visit and support me.

patreon.com/Immortal_author

ko-fi.com /immortalauthor

discord.gg/KscfBegBPT