Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 415 An Organization That Will Destroy the World

Like John, who claimed he was "not prepared," Ritas was also not prepared to confront John.

The last time Ritas saw John was at the end of the first semester. And afterwards, even though they never actually met, Ritas could see John's shadow looming over many events.

But this doesn't mean John always held any particular attachment to him. It's more like once the intensity of an event escalates to a certain level, people will naturally come into contact with those connected to John in areas far beyond common sense.

Even if the goals are different, as long as one tries to explore the secrets and truths of this world, John will exist there.

"Since you're so confident, go ahead and show me what you've got."

Ritas said this to John, who seemed confident.

As he opened his mouth, a streak of blood flowed uncontrollably from the corner of his lips.

Unlike in fairy tales, in the real world, Ritas still pays a price for using teleportation magic to move himself. This is one of the reasons John judges Ritas to be outwardly strong but inwardly weak.

However, as John gazed at Ritas, he became somewhat unsure.

Knowing Ritas as he did, it seemed more like Ritas was deliberately feigning weakness to utter a single, barely-there remark that barely qualified as a threat.

John's gaze swept in other directions, and then he saw a small boat that was moored above the perimeter of the arena.

The reason this ship appeared in such a strange location was because a giant wave rose to that height.

It's likely that Ritas was already on that ship before he teleported.

In other words, even though Ritas's teleportation still has flaws, it can already achieve short-distance, free teleportation without the need for an "anchor point."

John withdrew his gaze, pondered for a moment, and then a smile appeared on his face.

"I have some things I'd like to discuss with a friend in private, so please excuse me for the time being."

"Wait a moment!"

Floyd, still tormented by Ritas's poison, seemed determined to do something. But John didn't give him the chance, instead turning around and pulling out a semi-transparent magic book.

Because John had his back to Ritas, Ritas couldn't see what John was chanting.

As a result, John's five companions were all turned into palm-sized wooden puppets, which John then swept up with wind elemental magic and contained in a magic book that had become an empty box.

“Now, we can have a proper talk, Ritas.”

John turned around and continued speaking with ease.
"Now that you see my 'abilities,' you won't be surprised anymore."

"Because I realized that in this already 'out of control' world, no matter how strange, amazing, or how much others' abilities may be, the only ones that are truly worth caring about are those that will work on me."

As Ritas stared at John and uttered these words, he confirmed his suspicions once again.

John stopped time around him not so much to control his opponent, but more to conceal himself to some extent. Furthermore, this power only worked within John's "seeing" range; otherwise, he wouldn't have been unable to teleport for fear of Ritas disrupting the flow of space.

His incredible ability to magnify or shrink distant objects based on his viewing distance is most likely ineffective against "people." As for his ability to turn others into puppets, it probably also has distance limitations, or can only be used on companions.

Otherwise, the person inside that wooden box now would be Ritas himself.

Therefore, aside from the sheer number of John's abilities, which remains a mystery for Ritas to unravel, Ritas is no longer alarmed by incomprehensible and strange abilities.

"It seems you've grown quite a bit in that fictional world, Ritas. If it were anyone else, it would be growth, but for you, it's more like you've simply 'released' some of it."

During his conversation with Ritas, John, who realized that his current situation was more unfavorable than he had imagined, instead showed a cheerful expression.

In the arena where time has been frozen.

John and Ritas remained locked in a stalemate.

John, who had previously shown some disdain for Ritas, was now cautiously surveying his surroundings. Even though Ritas's magic could "take away" anything visible to the naked eye, just like that random number spell, John still dared not let his guard down.

Less than a year ago, in that labyrinth spawned by John, he could still "let" Ritas leave with absolute superiority.

But just a few months later, John had to negotiate with Ritas on equal terms.

Even if he was just a phantom in the arena.

"I don't know everything that happened in that world. But I'm good at working backward from the outcome. So I can guess a little. Were you among them, witnessing the 'future'?"

"Not entirely clear? So, you mean the 'Wanderers' haven't returned to your camp yet?"

"Hehehe, we and that lady are merely assistants. She is not my companion, much less our 'fellow traveler.' She doesn't need to come to me to report immediately. After all, you should be able to guess that we weren't suited to operating extensively in the world before. Therefore, it's necessary to cooperate with some organizations and have them do things for us."

John's words weren't exactly meant to distance himself from the "wanderers." However, this explanation, in a way, revealed a slight sense of disdain in his heart.

"Also, since this is a negotiation, let's skip this level of probing. We're both very busy, aren't we?"

"Negotiation?"

Ritas stared at John.

As two mages trained by the same witch, John and Ritas were certainly not the type to resort to brute force to determine life or death the moment they met. Ritas, who had been in a state of rage, had now calmed down. Because even if he controlled his emotions perfectly, it would be unwise to face an opponent only slightly stronger than himself while still harboring anger.

Therefore, no matter how angry he was, the current situation left John with no choice but to lead the conversation into a "negotiation" phase.

"After all, there isn't much conflict between us. Even if you're inevitably affected by what I've done, it's not to the point of hatred. In other words, you won't actually try to kill me, Ritas. And even if you did, I'm just a phantom right now, so what can you do about it?"

John shrugged lightly and said casually.

"You are a phantom, but your companions are not. Therefore, they must pay the price for interfering with the Western Frontier. While I will not attempt to kill you, or anyone else, I can hand you over to those qualified to judge you, those who should judge you—"

As Ritas spoke, a figure simultaneously appeared in both John's and his mind.

"I never expected you to still be fantasizing about such things. You're still too insignificant, Ritas. Actually, if you truly witnessed the 'future,' or rather, the 'past,' wouldn't you have already vaguely guessed how this world works? Compared to what truly needs to be done, your family, your Western Regions, are insignificant, negligible matters. Even our teacher was just a tiny part of it." "Since you can speak so eloquently about the so-called 'future,' you should know very well what our teacher actually did."

When Ritas said those words, he was actually struggling internally.

Because talking about this is like admitting that the person who caused the destruction of the future where Estria lived was indeed the Tree Witch who had turned into a tree.

Livis, after all, was Ritas's teacher.

Therefore, Ritas would rather see Livis create a new world for her own desires, and something go wrong that leads to the world's collapse, than see Livis destroy everything in such a pure way that she brings extinction to the world.

"What that woman, Teacher, did was nothing more than destroy the world on the 'stage.' In the end, it was just the lament of a caged bird. Moreover, her destruction was full of coincidences and uncertainties. As for the toxin that spread throughout the world, let's call it 'factor toxin.' The reason why that factor toxin was able to spread throughout the world had nothing to do with her."

John shook his head and said.

John, who was polite to everyone and even showed some respect to wanderers, revealed undisguised contempt for Livis.

"Oh, I see."

Before Ritas could respond, John suddenly looked enlightened.
"Factor Toxin. The illnesses suffered by Miss Hecate and Mr. Freud are caused by this toxin. Indeed, without some restrictions, your bottom line is even lower than I imagined. You have actually reproduced in this world that kind of calamity that could destroy the world—no, it already has a proven track record of destroying the world!"

John looked at Ritas with a hint of ecstasy in his eyes.

"No. You value creation more than destruction. If you wanted to bring things back from the future, you wouldn't just bring back 'factor toxins.' Well, there isn't enough time. There isn't enough time for you to digest and improve the various 'knowledge' you've gained in the future. So, you only have some things that are relatively easy to reproduce right now."

"How pathetic. The Wanderer Lady has only focused on the most superficial power of that world and is obsessed with it. Little does she know that there are actually more valuable things hidden in that world."

“And now, I understand perfectly, Ritas. Your true trump card is the message condensed from those decades!”

Ritas remained silent throughout John's string of words.

Even though John clearly possessed information and knowledge beyond this world, even beyond this dimension, Ritas was still surprised that the other party could discover his trump card so quickly.

As John said, what Ritas gained in the fairy tale world was far greater than it appeared on the surface.

In the "Hall of Truth" guarded by Aran and Estria in the "future," Ritas found a vast collection of books, condensing countless wisdoms. What astonished him even more was that he was intimately familiar with the writing and encryption methods used by the compilers of most of these books.

It's as if he himself spent a long time writing it.

These are the reasons why Ritas was able to quickly construct a simple "factor toxin" and improve teleportation magic after returning to the real world.

"It's such a pity. I thought that you no longer seemed so 'insignificant' because you had completely broken free from your own constraints in that fictional world. I never expected it to happen in this way."

As if he had suddenly been free of all worries, a red glow began to appear on John's body.

"Wait, John!"

Suddenly spitting out a mouthful of blood, Ritas drew a spatial rift in mid-air that had been prevented from opening due to the suspension of movement.
"The negotiations are not over yet! You...you must pay a heavy price for what happened today!"

"This is?"

John looked at the crack, but didn't seem to care much.
“You won’t do that, Ritas.”

Ritas is attempting to connect this area to the "Livis Realm" through this rift. The moment John begins the teleportation, he can enter the Livis Realm, thereby attracting Livis, or causing Livis to shake the entire Livis Realm, affecting the entire space of this area.

Given the perilous environment of the Livis Realm, Ritas's actions were tantamount to suicide.

Furthermore, Livis might not be able to cooperate with him instantly. And even if she did, it's uncertain whether she could actually hinder John.

Therefore, John was quite certain that Ritas's reason and intellect would prevent him from doing something so foolish.

But
"Although you certainly won't do that, since I initiated the negotiations, I'll offer some leverage. I will absolutely not hand over my 'fellow traveler' to you. So, after we leave, I will tell you the location of the 'Aegis'."

".not enough!"

Ritas paused for a moment, not having time to ponder why John would mention this holy weapon, and how he knew he needed it.
"It was located directly beneath the academy. Even if you hadn't told me, I would have found it. So, if you want to leave with your companions, tell me what's going on with you! Who are you people? Why do you know so much? What are you doing? And what are you trying to accomplish!"

"."

This time, it was John's turn to remain silent for a moment.

He was both surprised and pleased with Ritas's request.

Because only with questions of this caliber can Ritas's negotiations yield "results." Things that are no longer important to John will be frankly told to Ritas to avoid being hindered.

"Although we are actually just a group of 'like-minded people' with the same goal who have gathered together for various reasons. I do not intend to be a commander."

"But since we are now essentially operating as an organization, and I am actually assuming the responsibilities of a leader, then let's sign up."

“We don’t need to pass on our traditions, we don’t need to sing praises, we don’t need others to remember us, and we don’t need to use this to recruit members.”

"Therefore, we do not have a substantial organization name, only a straightforward description."

"We are the 'organization that will destroy the world'—"

He spread his arms, showing off the dozen or so black phantoms that appeared behind him one after another.

A dazzling red aura surrounded John, carrying his phantom image and five organization members away from the arena.

In an instant, time began to flow again.

Gazing at the now empty space on the opposite side, and listening to the deafening clamor echoing around the arena, Ritas slowly closed his eyes.

Although there is still much information to process, he needs to bring this rebellion to a close.

(End of this chapter)