Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 260: The Assembly of Greed (1)

With the sudden arrival of an uninvited guest, the generals in the room began darting their eyes around, scanning for a way out.

Not only had the guards outside been slaughtered, but even their escorts within the room lay dead.

And the man responsible for this massacre now sat calmly, staring at them with razor-sharp eyes.

There was something in that gaze... something so unnerving that even seasoned politicians like them—men who had survived through scheming and manipulation—couldn’t decipher it.

“You seem curious why I’m here.”

At those words, all the generals flinched.

They had seen their subordinates—healthy just moments ago—slaughtered in the blink of an eye. Their eyes, turned to Ludger, were filled with fear.

Ludger, seated comfortably, fixed his gaze on Lieutenant General Geto, sitting to the side.

“Did you enjoy the gift I sent?”

“What...?”

“I left a little present at the factory. But instead of accepting it, you ran away to hide here.”

Geto clenched his teeth as the factory explosion earlier that day came rushing back to mind.

“That was your doing.”

“You should consider reinforcing your magical defenses next time. If there is a next time, that is.”

“What’s your goal? What do you want from me?”

Geto’s jaw trembled. A man with this kind of power—what interest could he possibly have in them?

“You—are you working for the Empire?”

“Working for them? That’s an insult. Do I look like someone who would serve those bastards?”

“Then if you're not Black Ops, why target us like this?”

At Geto’s bewildered demand, Ludger answered with a question of his own.

“That’s what I’d like to ask you. Why have you done all this?”

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“What?”

“Kidnapping civilians. Using them as test subjects. Enslaving demi-humans. Developing secret weapons for war.”

As Ludger began listing the crimes they had committed in secret, the faces of the men around the table turned pale.

This man had come here fully aware of everything they were doing.

And the recent sabotage of their black operations? Every one of them had been him.

“Y-you...!”

Geto’s blood boiled to the top of his skull.

The grand ambition he had dedicated himself to—reduced to ashes by a single man.

But he had to endure it.

Ludger held the upper hand now.

Not just in momentum—but over their very lives.

“Why, you ask?”

Geto twisted his lips into a sneer and glared at Ludger.

“Because this is our sacred mission. To reclaim the greatness of a weakened homeland. To reinstate the discipline of steel into a kingdom rotting away under the weight of peace and show those pigs what real order means.”

“Pigs, you say?”

“Yes. The current royal family of Delica is full of soft-brained fools, drunk on peace. Peace, freedom, equality—utter nonsense. You expect us to buy into that?”

Geto unleashed ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) every bit of pent-up frustration he’d harbored inside.

The Kingdom of Delica, once hailed as the Steel Nation, had grown mighty through conquest and colonization.

But as peace settled, Delica had begun to rot and decline.

“Our steel must never rust. But look at it now. It's corroded. So we're going to replace it—with something that will never rust.”

“You killed people for that?”

“Who cares if a few demi-human slaves died?”

“And your own citizens—used as test subjects?”

“They had no voting rights. They were useless to society. Given our aim of preserving superior genetics, we were simply filtering out the weak.”

Pro-war. Eugenics. Geto was genuinely proud of his ideals.

Ludger closed his eyes as he listened. Geto, mistaking the gesture, asked:

“You’re quite capable. You brought down our guards in seconds—clearly not an ordinary man. How about it? Join us.”

What Geto was really saying was: “I recognize your worth.”

Even in a situation where death loomed, he meant it sincerely.

He truly believed their cause was noble. That their actions were for the greater good.

The other generals around the table seemed to believe the same.

Ludger finally opened his mouth.

“Everyone here is under seventy, correct?”

The abrupt mention of age made the generals glance at him uneasily.

“But the war ended over a hundred years ago. None of you has ever actually experienced it.”

“And what of it?”

“Isn’t it strange? That men born in peacetime scream for war?”

“What?”

“At first, I was furious. Enraged by what you’ve done. But then I started to wonder...”

Ludger narrowed his eyes, scanning each of their faces.

“Why did these men do such things? Why do they feel no shame? Could there be some complicated reason I’m not aware of?”

But now, looking them in the eye and speaking to them face-to-face, Ludger knew.

There was nothing.

No noble mission.

No great ambition.

Not even the burning drive for revenge.

Only ignorance and stubborn arrogance.

Ludger recalled the faces of those crushed under their greed.

He remembered the dreams that had disappeared.

“I’m not even angry anymore. All I feel is disgust.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying... you’re garbage beyond redemption.”

As Ludger’s killing intent flared, Geto could no longer contain himself.

He shot to his feet and yanked a pistol from his belt, aiming it at Ludger.

“Then die!”

It was a special-issue pistol, reserved only for generals.

More decorative than practical, but it functioned as a firearm.

Of course, a gun was useless against a mage.

Unless the opponent was a complete fool, they would have prepared countermeasures like Silence of Fire.

But that’s why Geto was confident.

This gun used a special powder—immune to Silence of Fire.

He was certain. This one shot would end it.

‘With this powder, I can shoot straight through his forehead...!’

Click.

But when he pulled the trigger, nothing happened.

“What...?”

Only then did Geto notice something strange.

The gun he had aimed at Ludger—was gone.

Along with his wrist.

Blood sprayed, and agony exploded through his body as Geto shrieked.

“Aaaargh! M-my hand!”

“Interesting powder, that.”

Ludger casually flicked his swordstick to shake off the blood.

Then he raised his hand—and the severed wrist still gripping the pistol floated up from the table and flew to him.

He discarded the hand and held up the revolver.

A flashy, gold-plated piece.

Six bullets loaded in the cylinder—each one filled with that special powder.

“Gunpowder immune to Silence of Fire, huh? Quite fascinating.”

“Ghhh... h-how did you...?”

“You think I blew up your factory without checking things like this?”

Geto’s face went pale.

Blood poured from the cleanly severed stump. If left alone, he’d die of blood loss.

Ludger smirked as he watched Geto’s desperate eyes.

“Six men at this table.”

And just so happened, six bullets in the cylinder.

“Too perfect a match.”

“W-wait—!”

BANG!

A hole appeared between Geto’s brows before he could finish.

Another general screamed.

Someone begged for mercy.

Someone else shouted for guards.

One tried to run.

None of them acknowledged their guilt.

Ludger handed out bullets to each, one by one.

Six shots rang through the room.

The Kingdom of Delica was in turmoil.

A string of disappearances.

The demi-human slave scandal.

A prominent university dean murdered by a fellow professor.

Reporters were already overwhelmed with breaking stories.

But this... this was bigger.

The extermination of the military’s pro-war faction.

Six generals—men adorned with stars—killed in a single stroke. Their guards, too.

The impact shook the entire kingdom.

No one knew why they died.

But who killed them? That was no secret.

Professor James Moriarty.

Already wanted for the murder of Dean Gord Himvel, he was now blamed for killing the generals as well.

It was said that he had hidden his true identity and possessed immense magical power.

The confirmation? Came from Casey Selmore.

The greatest detective of the age had named him as the culprit.

And if she said so, how could it be wrong?

Everyone buzzed about James Moriarty.

His cruelty. His cunning. The crimes he might commit next.

Reporters pounced on the story like rabid dogs.

Even petty crimes were reported as somehow connected to James Moriarty.

Truth didn’t matter.

What mattered was that people believed it.

—James Moriarty seeks to overthrow the Kingdom of Delica.

—Professor James Moriarty tried to start a war.

—He led unethical experiments.

—The city’s recent murder-spree? His doing.

Even small rumors ballooned into national scandals.

Criminals, seeing a chance at fame, added fuel to the fire.

—“We’re Moriarty’s men!”

Deluded fools hoping to ride the coattails of notoriety.

But at such a sensitive moment, their posturing only fanned the flames.

And so, James Moriarty became the undisputed criminal mastermind of Delica.

No longer a professor.

Now a crime consultant.

The Kingdom of Delica declared: they would not let this stand.

They would hunt James Moriarty down—no matter what.

Others rushed to publicly condemn him, hoping to prove their innocence and moral superiority.

These were the very people who, albeit indirectly, had been linked to Geto’s war-mongering projects.

They realized Moriarty had only killed those directly involved—and scrambled to sever all ties.

Most of them were swiftly arrested.

Not by James Moriarty.

But by detective Casey Selmore.

The police raided their labs and seized the researchers involved.

They cried innocence.

But Casey had the evidence.

And so, across the Kingdom of Delica, a massive purge began.

“Haaah... I’m exhausted.”

Casey Selmore slumped into a chair in a lavish room.

“To think the rot ran so deep.”

James Moriarty had conducted horrific, inhumane experiments within Delica.

Everyone connected to it had been arrested.

Among them were civil servants and high-ranking police officials.

And all of them were tied to James Moriarty.

She could hardly believe it, even seeing it with her own eyes.

And yet, the man at the heart of it all—James Moriarty—remained out of reach.

“But I have the scent now.”

Casey knew he was targeting someone.

The six generals.

Dean Gord.

And others connected to their shadowy dealings.

“James Moriarty’s crimes can’t be ignored. But the ones he killed... they were hiding something too.”

That secret passage under the incinerated factory was proof enough.

The scale of it—this wasn’t the work of one man.

“Tonight, I’ll break the chain of these crimes.”

Casey Selmore stood.

Instead of her usual detective coat, she wore a shimmering water-blue gown that fluttered with her movements.

She wasn’t at a crime scene.

In fact, it was the kind of place she normally refused to attend.

As she opened the door and entered, the chandelier above cast brilliant light over the guests.

A noble banquet.

And Casey Selmore believed—

James Moriarty would definitely be here tonight.