Chapter 496: Divine Academy’s Destruction
Leon opened his [Storage Space] to check the items he had obtained from Dominik, Alikar, and Leoric, hoping to find something valuable among their belongings.
[Divine Academy Insignia x3]
[Divine Academy Teacher Armor x2 (Legendary)]
[Divine Academy Teacher Sword x2 (Legendary)]
[Chairman’s Staff (Ancient)]
[Divine Belt x3 (Ancient): +20,000 Defense, +15,000 Constitution. Has a faint trace of divine energy surrounding it, though it is so faint that it doesn’t do anything.]
Leon examined the items before taking out one of the Divine Belts and equipping it, replacing the one he had been using until now.
Its additional Defense and Constitution made it a better choice, and since he had two more available, he decided to give them to Emilia and Celeste.
"Not as good as I expected," Leon said with a shake of his head as he looked at the remaining items. "I thought Dominik would have good equipment, especially since he was being controlled by the God of War, but that doesn’t seem to be the case."
Although the Chairman’s Staff was an Ancient-grade item, the rest of the equipment wasn’t particularly impressive.
He had expected something much more valuable from someone who had been blessed by two gods.
But thinking of the gods made Leon realize something.
If the God of War had been watching their battle, it was also likely that the God of Magic had been doing the same, especially considering that Dominik had received blessings from both of them.
"Maybe the good items are in Dominik’s office," Violet remarked.
Hearing her suggestion, Leon nodded, as he had already considered searching the chairman’s office before leaving the academy.
"I was about to head there as well, just in case. After that, we can leave this place for good."
Leon opened his [World Map] and selected Dominik’s office as his destination, preparing to teleport there directly.
Emilia and Celeste quickly moved closer and held onto his shoulders, expecting him to take them along, but Leon shook his head with a small smile.
"Hold on just a second," he said. "Gotta be careful."
"Careful of what?" Emilia asked. "Aren’t they all dead?"
"Yes, but... who knows? I’ll be back."
Leon wasn’t certain that the academy was completely safe yet. There could still be traps, so he preferred to check the office alone.
With that in mind, Leon used his [World Map], and his body turned into particles before disappearing from the chamber.
"There may still be a trap," Violet explained to the girls. "We don’t know just how far they went to protect this place after all so—"
BOOOOOOOOM!
Before Violet could finish her sentence, a terrifying explosion erupted from somewhere within the Divine Academy, its immense sound spreading throughout the entire city.
The force was so powerful that even the girls could feel it from inside the chamber, causing their eyes to widen as the walls around them began to shake.
Cracks rapidly spread across the academy’s structure, and pieces of stone started falling from the ceiling as the building struggled to withstand the explosion.
"S-SHIT!" Celeste gasped, staring toward the direction of the blast. "How?!"
"Is Leon okay?" Emilia asked anxiously. "That sounded way too strong..."
The girls immediately worried that Leon had been caught in the explosion, especially since he had teleported directly into Dominik’s office only moments earlier.
Fortunately, their concerns didn’t last long, as a rift suddenly appeared near the chamber’s entrance, and Leon emerged from it using Abyss Teleportation.
Despite the explosion, he appeared completely unharmed, although his expression was serious.
"We need to leave," Leon said immediately.
The girls quickly approached him, relieved that he was safe, while he glanced toward the already damaged chamber, which was on the verge of collapsing.
"What happened?" Emilia asked. "Were you caught in the explosion?"
"The moment I teleported into Dominik’s office, I noticed a book on his desk," Leon explained. "I grabbed it and placed it in my [Storage Space], and that’s when the explosion erupted."
Leon had barely managed to react before the blast struck him.
The explosion was so powerful that it completely destroyed his [Ultimate Darkness Barrier], and he would likely have been injured if he hadn’t escaped using Abyss Teleportation.
’It was far too strong for even Dominik or Lotus, and as they died, the trap should have been deactivated.’
Leon was certain that neither Dominik nor the other teachers could have prepared such a powerful trap on their own.
The explosion had been strong enough to overwhelm one of his best defensive skills.
The most likely explanation was that the God of Magic himself had helped prepare it.
If Leon had brought Emilia, Celeste, and Violet with him, they would have been caught in the explosion as well, and all three would have likely been killed.
Fortunately, they still possessed their [Resurrection Stones], but Leon had no intention of putting them in such danger when he could avoid it.
"Let’s get out of here," he said.
Leon grabbed the three girls and teleported them outside the Divine Academy, appearing on a nearby street where they could safely observe what had happened.
The moment they looked toward the academy, they understood just how much damage the explosion had caused.
The enormous structure was covered in deep cracks, with several sections of its walls and towers already collapsing.
Thick clouds of dust filled the air as pieces of stone continued to fall, while numerous players and natives gathered in the surrounding streets, staring at the destruction in disbelief.
Before long, the remaining parts of the academy began to crumble, and the entire structure collapsed into a massive pile of rubble, leaving nothing standing.
’Holy hell, they really planned to kill us with that explosion, huh?’
Leon watched the academy collapse, still surprised.
’The fact they sacrificed their own academy for such an attack is... insane.’
Dominik and the other teachers had been willing to go that far because the God of Magic and the God of War had promised them ascension if they completed their mission of killing Celestial.
The teachers and chairman had been so devoted to the gods that they were willing to sacrifice everything for that opportunity.
It only reinforced how fanatical the gods’ servants truly were.
Either way, the battle was finally over, and the Divine Academy had been destroyed by its own trap.
"Well..." Emilia stared at the rubble. "I guess we really destroyed everything..."
"Well, they’re the ones who destroyed it, technically," Leon replied with a shrug. "So there’s no need to feel bad."
"I wasn’t," Emilia answered, shaking her head. "After fighting these people, I think I understand just how twisted the servants of the gods are."
"Good to know," Leon said with a smile as he patted the elf’s head. "There’s many more of them to take care of."
With the girls now safe, Leon turned his attention toward his [Storage Space] and retrieved the book he had taken from Dominik’s desk.
The cover had a simple title written across it: [Divine Journal].
Curious about its contents, Leon opened the book and began turning through its pages, expecting to find information about the gods or the Divine Academy.
However, every page he examined was completely empty, and no matter how far he flipped through the journal, there was nothing written inside.
Yet, as he continued turning the pages, Leon noticed a faint glow coming from somewhere near the middle of the book.
He stopped and opened it to the glowing section, revealing an image spread across two pages.
It depicted a majestic golden door surrounded by a powerful aura.
And even though it was only an image, Leon could sense something extraordinary coming from it.
Beneath the door, a short message was written.
"Find it."