The Strongest Student of the Weakest Academy - Chapter 286

Chapter 286: Karma (V)

CRACK!

My fist punched straight through his frozen chest, causing multiple ice crystals to splinter across the ground.

But then, a grin stretched across the frozen face.

My eyes narrowed.

It wasn’t him.

The statue flickered, and my own shadow suddenly smiled back at me.

Long black tendrils rose from the ground, coiling around my feet, trying to drag me down into the darkness.

“…So this is your real trick,” I muttered.

“All shadows belong to me.” The shadow’s grin widened as it hissed.

To his words, I scoffed slighly.

But at the same time, my lips curled up.

Taking one simple step forward… and my shadow didn’t move with me at all.

The grin on the fake shadow froze in confusion.

“Loser,” I whispered coldly.

I clenched my fist, and instantly, my own shadow began to twist, bend, and scream, gripped by an invisible force.

“Ghh…!!”

The shadow broke apart, and from it, the true body of Shadow burst out, stumbling back into his dark humanoid form.

He grabbed at his throat, his breathing ragged.

“W-what’s… up with your strength?!” he shouted, his voice shaking. “How can you… How can you be this strong, despite only being a Low God?! Impossible!”

His eyes were wide, filled with something between fear and disbelief.

But I just tilted my head slightly, lips curling into a faint smile, as if his question wasn’t even worth answering.

Instead,I lifted my hand slowly.

In my palm, a small sphere pulsed with black and crimson light, twisting like it was alive.

Chaotic Energy.

Shadow’s eyes widened, locking onto it.

“…What kind of… Divine Energy is that?” he muttered shakily, “It… doesn’t feel like divinity at all…”

His curiosity got the better of him. He stretched out his dark hand, shadow fingers curling toward the sphere.

The moment he touched it…

SPLURT!

His whole body shattered into countless tendrils of shadow, scattering wildly across the ground like worms cut apart.

I lowered my hand, the sphere still convulsing slighly.

“See?” I said coldly, my voice calm, almost bored.

“That’s what happens.”

Shadow swallowed hard, his jaw tight as he stared at the ball of Chaotic Energy still swirling faintly in my palm.

“…Is that your confidence?” he asked.

I simply nodded.

“Yes.”

It was a lie, at least partly.

But they didn’t need to know that.

Instead of answering further, I raised my hand lazily, and with a flick of my wrist, the Netorare God was yanked by an invisible pull, his body dragged across the ground until he stood right next to Shadow.

Both of them looked at me, uneasy, waiting.

“Tell me…” I said slowly, “Who is the most… scared god?”

The two exchanged a glance, brows furrowing in confusion.

Shadow blinked in disbelief.

“…What kind of question is that?”

“Why would you want to know that?” the Netorare God asked, his tone half-curious, half-wary.

To answer him, I let my Chaotic Energy seep into my eyes. Vertical slits opened and glowed faintly, their dim light flooding the place with dread.

A suffocating wave of fear pressed into their chests.

The Netorare God’s voice instantly cracked, a wave of unnatural fear crashing into his body.

He shook violently, his throat tightening as if his very heart wanted to escape his chest.

“A-Ahh…! D-Don’t…!” He tried to look away, but my aura held his chin in place.

“Answer.”

My voice was cold.

His lips trembled, and finally, he broke.

“…I-It’s… the God of Dreams…” he finally blurted out. “H-he… acts playful… whimsical… but deep down, he’s fragile. Afraid of being confronted directly. Always runs. Always hides in illusions…”

Shadow’s silence told me enough that it wasn’t a lie.

“…The God of Dreams,” I repeated, a faint smile curving my lips.

I tilted my head, staring down at them.

“So the one who hides in fantasies… is nothing more than a coward when dragged into reality.”

I nodded faintly, then asked:

“…Is he also here?”

At that, the two gods exchanged a nervous glance.

“Kneel.”

THRUUM!

Their bodies slammed against the ground, faces pressed deep into the dirt. A thin line of blood trailed from my lips, but I ignored it, holding them down.

“Answer,” I ordered coldly.

“Y-Yes! H-he’s here!” the Netorare God stammered out instantly.

I raised an eyebrow at how quickly he gave in. Either the truth was worthless… or he was just that weak.

I released my pressure. Both of them gasped for breath, their chests rising like they had just survived drowning.

“…You’ve gotta stop doing that…” the Netorare God whined, clutching at his chest.

“My poor little heart can’t take this kind of abuse…”

…My eyes curved slightly at his words.

You’re on my list now.

“Ugh… what’s up with that creepy smile of yours?” he asked me, shivering a little.

“Nothing.”

I turned my back on them.

That was when I felt it, five distinct auras rushing from the north, and another five closing in from the west.

Ten in total.

“…Hmm,” I murmured under my breath.

“I wonder what they all want with this little planet.”

And then…

BOOOOM!

A colossal surge of divine power erupted around us. A barrier of blinding light snapped into existence, encasing the canyon and sealing the skies above.

One after another, streaks of light and shadow fell from the sky, landing in a perfect circle around me.

The ground cracked beneath their steps, their presence alone twisting the atmosphere.

Ten gods.

Each aura burned with overwhelming might, pressing down on me from every angle.

Even the air refused to move freely in their presence.

Shadow slipped behind them, his form solidifying once more, and the Netorare God rushed to stand at his side.

Their trembling had disappeared, replaced with smug satisfaction as if they had just pulled the greatest trick in existence.

“You’ve finally walked right into it,” Shadow sneered, his black eyes glinting with malice.

“Look at toy now… the great Aestrea Moon standing in our little circle. Do you realize how stupid you are for falling for this?” The Netorare God chuckled, his tone sickly sweet.

A ripple of laughter ran through the assembled gods.

“Bold little mortal godling. Did you really think strength alone would protect you against those who know how to play the game?” The Goddess of Chains tilted her head, her decayed lips curling.

I looked around them one by one, meeting each gaze without flinching.

A man with a body enveloped in flames, presumably the God of Flames, grinned with fiery teeth.

“You’ll regret stepping here. We’re not like those weaklings you’ve bullied. This… this is where you end.”

“And especially…” A smooth, echoing voice drew all attention to a tall figure at the back.

His presence was suffocating, but not from power alone; it was from the strange weight of his gaze, one that seemed to pull you into a haze.

“…especially because I am here.”

He stepped forward slowly. White robes shimmered faintly like mist, and his silver eyes gleamed unnaturally.

His hair drifted as if underwater.

The others fell silent as he moved, giving him space to step on.

I narrowed my eyes.

“The God of Dreams…”

[Rank: False True God]

A faint smirk curved his lips.

“Correct. Somnus. Remember my name well, Aestrea… because it will be the last you hear before you lose yourself forever.”

The Netorare God, who had been silent for once, grinned viciously and pointed at me.

“Now it’s over. With Somnus here, even you can’t resist. He’ll lock you away in a dream so deep you’ll never claw your way back.”

Shadow also laughed darkly.

“And once you’re gone, your so-called divine power will be stripped from you… and given to someone who knows how to use it.”

Rustle~

Somnus lifted a hand.

“Sleep, Aestrea Moon. Sink into the dream where you belong. Forget the arrogance of rebellion. Forget the idea of standing against us. In dreams, you are nothing but another soul to control.”

THRUUM.

His divine aura pulsed outward. A strange weight pressed against my chest. My body grew heavy, every movement sluggish.

“Tch…” I clicked my tongue, forcing my legs to hold, but the pressure deepened.

My vision blurred.

The canyon began to waver like smoke.

“Already struggling, are we? I expected more.”

“Pathetic.”

“So much for someone who said that he would obliterate every single god that didn’t come here!” The God of Flames burst out laughing.

“Sleep.” Somnus’s voice cut through their noise.

The word wrapped around me like velvet chains. My knees buckled. The ground rushed up to meet me. My eyelids burned with the weight of iron.

“…Damn…”

My voice was a rasp.

The last thing I saw before darkness took me was the gods closing in, their mocking smiles curling wider.

Slump…

I collapsed, my body hitting the earth…

And then… closed my eyes.

“……”

Now…

I’m wondering a little…

Why isn’t his power working on me?

Is he simply that weak or something…

‘Cause, I’m not feeling anything at all.

But then came Somnus’s voice.

“He’s already gone,” Somnus said calmly, lowering his hand.

“His mind is locked in my infinite dream. No matter what strength he possesses, there he will wander without escape.”

“Perfect. The great Aestrea Moon… nothing but a sleeping fool now.” It was Shadow’s voice talking now.

“I told you before…. you’re just another toy in our hands. And now look at you.” The God of Netorare, I guess.

“Should we kill him now?”

Well… probably that God of Flames, I wonder why the others are silent though.

“No. His body must live. His spirit will rot in my dream, helpless. That is the punishment he deserves.” Somnus replied.

“Pfftt…”

The gods laughed.

“For someone whose bloodline literally dominated the whole Divine Realm, he’s really fucking weak.”

Oh?

Now that’s interesting…

“Right? He seems to already have that divine energy from his bloodline, but he probably doesn’t know how to use it to its full potential.”

“Well, for that, he needs the God-killing authority first.”

“Ah, yeah, I almost forgot about that.”

Oohh…

“That was plenty of nice information.”

My voice echoed through their ears.

“Thank you, losers.”

I slowly opened my eyes.