The Strongest Student of the Weakest Academy - Chapter 343

Chapter 343: The Beginning Of The End [V]

Step, step…

Walking down the hallways, Selindra’s words lingered in Aestrea’s mind.

“Haah… that woman,” he sighed quietly, brushing a bit of dust off his sleeve as the faint glow of runic lights on the walls guided his path forward.

“‘He’s at the heart of the complex’, huh…” he muttered under his breath, recalling what she had said before vanishing into thin air with that infuriating wink.

He didn’t trust her completely, but he trusted the system. Besides, Selindra might have been a seductress, but she wasn’t a fool.

She knew what kind of man Aestrea was, and knew that lying to him would’ve been suicide.

The corridor stretched onward, lined with broken machinery and faint traces of blood on the walls

It was clear this place had been through multiple battles before, perhaps between the Seraphic Division and intruders like him.

The deeper he went, the thicker the air became, filled with a metallic taste that made every breath heavier.

Step after step, Aestrea’s presence alone made the small motes of dust tremble on the floor. The silence around him was so deep that each step sounded like thunder against the stone.

Clank…

A metallic sound echoed from ahead.

Aestrea’s eyes narrowed as his fingers slid across the hilt of his sword.

The sound grew louder, armor scraping, weapons clinking, and the faint whisper of disciplined breathing.

Moments later, a group of guards appeared at the far end of the corridor.

There were seven of them, each wearing silver armor with the insignia of the Seraphic Division etched across the chest.

Their faces were hidden behind visors, but Aestrea could feel their power and knew that they weren’t actually that strong.

“Stop right there!” one of them shouted, raising his spear.

“This area is restricted!”

Aestrea stopped walking.

His gaze remained cold, detached.

“I don’t have time for this.”

The words came out soft, but the moment they did, the air itself seemed to thicken, and several of the guards involuntarily took a step back.

“Wh–what is he…?” one of them whispered, feeling the overwhelming stillness pressing on his lungs.

The leader, trying to keep his composure, shouted again.

“HE’S AN INTRODUER! DON’T JUST FUCKING STAND THERE! ATTACK HIM NOW!”

The guards moved instantly, trained instinct guiding them into formation.

Two spearmen charged from the front while three more raised their weapons, channeling divine energy into the tips of their blades.

Aestrea didn’t even move at first and simply let out a cold breath that escaped his lips.

Fwish!

The first guard lunged forward, his spear aiming straight for Aestrea’s throat.

But before the weapon even reached him, the man froze mid-motion. His eyes widened as a thin, cold line appeared across his chest.

Shing!

Blood sprayed like a crimson mist. The man’s body fell apart in two clean halves before his scream could even escape.

[You’ve killed one 3✯ True God!]

[You have absorbed the Authority of Spear!]

Aestrea had moved faster than sight. His sword returned to its resting position, faint traces of energy dancing along its edge.

“Don’t blink,” he murmured coldly, stepping forward.

The next two guards panicked and launched a flurry of strikes, their blades glowing with divine light as they tried to overwhelm him.

But Aestrea flowed between them, his movements smooth, almost lazy. Every swing they made passed through afterimages.

Their authority was so weak that Aestrea didn’t even notice that they were using it.

CLANG!

Aestrea’s sword parried both weapons at once. Sparks exploded, followed by a burst of invisible force that threw both men off their feet.

Before they could recover, Aestrea vanished from sight.

Fwip!

He reappeared behind one, driving his knee into the man’s spine.

CRACK!

The sound of bones snapping echoed through the corridor as the man collapsed, coughing blood.

The last one tried to retreat, fear twisting his movements.

But Aestrea’s sword flashed once more, a single horizontal cut so clean that for a moment, the man didn’t even realize he’d been struck.

Then his head slid off his shoulders and hit the floor with a dull thud.

[You’ve killed two 3✯ True Gods!]

[You have absorbed two small portions of the Authority of Resistance!]

“…Next.”

He turned his gaze to the remaining guards, four left, each trembling, unsure whether to fight or flee.

“W-We can’t beat him!” one shouted, voice cracking with panic.

The leader gritted his teeth, trying to rally them.

“Form the Seraphic Wall! We hold him here until the Commander arrives!”

‘Commander… is it that bastard?’ Aestrea wondered, looking at them curiously.

Swish!

The four guards raised their hands in unison, divine light flaring between them.

The symbols on their armor began to glow as energy threads connected their bodies.

A shimmering golden barrier formed between Aestrea and them, strong enough to block a high-level blast.

To this, Aestrea slowly walked forward.

He approached slowly, step after step, until he stood before the golden wall.

His reflection shimmered across its surface as he pressed his index finger against it as if testing its hardness.

“Now! Fire!” The leader shouted.

Fwwwooooooooooop!

All four channelled divine beams into the barrier, transforming it into a blinding wave of energy that rushed toward Aestrea like a golden storm.

For a brief second, the light engulfed him. The ground cracked beneath the force, and dust exploded outward.

But when the glow faded, he was still standing.

Not a single scratch.

He raised his hand slightly.

“…Impacto.”

A surge of energy pulsed from his palm, invisible, but dense enough to distort the air. The golden wall shattered like glass.

CRAAAASH!

Before the guards could react, Aestrea appeared within their formation.

He took one step and swung his sword once.

SHING!

A single diagonal slash.

SPLURT!

Four bodies fell at once, blood blooming across the floor like crimson flowers.

The corridor returned to stillness.

[You’ve killed three 3✯ True Gods!]

[You’ve killed one 4✯ True Gods]

[You have absorbed the Authority of Spear (2x), Pain, and Anger!]

[The Authority of Karma has been strengthened slightly.]

[The Authority of Ice has been upgraded to the next grade!]

“Phew… almost there,” Aestrea continued on his way.

By now, there was no need for him to hide himself, as there probably weren’t many guards around.

The deeper Aestrea went, the quieter the air became.

The narrow tunnels soon opened into a massive underground hall, the heart of the Seraphic Division’s base.

The place was just like he remembered.

It wasn’t some holy sanctum or decorated throne room.

It was dark, mechanical, and filled with strange floating cubes of divine energy. Chains of light crisscrossed the ceiling, feeding power to a huge core suspended in midair.

But just a few meters away, Aestrea finally saw the so-called bastard.

Clostro, the God of Killing.

His presence was overwhelming, like a storm of blood and silence.

His body was tall and lean, wrapped in tattered black armor etched with old divine runes that glowed faintly red.

His silver hair was long, messy, streaked with crimson, and his eyes burned with a dull, murderous light that looked both dead and alive at once.

The air around him carried a faint metallic scent of blood.

It was as if every breath he took leaked killing intent strong enough to cut skin. Even the divine energy floating near him seemed to corrode, trembling at his mere existence.

He was a true monster, one of the greatest disasters to ever exist in the Divine Realm.

And Aestrea knew it too well.

Because this man had once killed him.

In one of his previous reincarnations, Aestrea had fought beside Clostro, trusted him, even. They had stood on the same battlefield, fighting against the higher gods.

But at the final moment of victory… Clostro had stabbed him in the back.

And now, that same monster sat right before him.

The same Clostro who had slaughtered millions of gods over the ages, devouring their divine cores to increase his strength.

A being who now stands at Peak 7✯, yet whose true battle power already rivaled that of an 8✯ True God.

If he wasn’t stopped soon, he would break through again, reaching 9✯, and possibly become one of the greatest calamities in all existence.

Just like he did before he backstabbed him…

Grip!

Aestrea’s fingers tightened around his sword hilt.

‘… I can kill him.’

His eyes stared glowing intensely until a faint scarlet smoke seeped out of them. He really wanted to attack him directly, but he decided not to.

After all, the difference between the realms was still immense, and because of that, he needed something to ease the gap.

“Fuuu…”

He took a slow breath and hid himself behind one of the large, broken pillars.

‘No… I can’t fight him head-on. Not yet.’

His eyes darted around the room.

There were glowing cubes of divine energy floating everywhere, power sources that kept the base running.

If he destroyed them, the whole area would go unstable.

The energy would turn wild… and that chaos could weaken Clostro’s control.

‘That’ll do,’ he thought.

He touched the floor, sending a small pulse of dark energy through it, marking the spots where the cubes were most connected.

‘First, I destroy the power channels. Then I make the energy around him go out of control. When he’s distracted… I’ll strike.’

It was a simple plan, but that was enough.

And to realize it… he just needed a single chance.