Anyone would feel slighted and angry when subjected to complete indifference, let alone an academy Associate Professor who usually held herself in high regard.
This was especially true when that disregard came from a student she perceived as a delinquent—someone with poor character, mediocre talent, and long since abandoned by his family. The fire of offense, mixed with long-standing prejudice and the frustration of her failing plans, instantly shattered Audrey's final shred of scholarly restraint.
Seeing that Greg not only scoffed at her threats but even turned his back to her without any defense, focusing entirely on untying Silvia, his attitude of treating her like she didn't exist completely ignited her shame and rage.
"Arrogant waste!"
Audrey let out a low growl, wasting no more words. Her withered fingers moved swiftly, tracing a pale green wind rune in the air.
Although her primary focus was on the theory of magic history and combat was not her strength, she was, after all, an official Associate Professor of Glory Cael Academy, and her level had reached Level 28.
She also mastered several mid-tier wind-attribute spells. Even though her proficiency was generally low, she believed that dealing with a waste who was rumored to still be at Level 10 in his second year should be as easy as taking candy from a child.
"Wind Lash!"
A translucent, pale green whip made of compressed air shot out from her fingertips with a sharp whistling sound, lashing toward the back of Greg's neck with cruel precision!
If this strike landed, it would be enough to dislocate an ordinary person's neck and knock them unconscious on the spot.
However—
Greg didn't even turn around.
The moment the wind whip was about to touch the tips of his hair, he acted as if he had eyes in the back of his head. His right hand never stopped untying the rope, but his free left hand casually flicked backward.
A solid, sharp Water Arrow, its edges shimmering with a pale blue magical luster, met the aggressive wind whip with speed and precision that far exceeded Audrey's predictions!
Psh!
The condensed Water Arrow collided with the unstable wind whip, instantly piercing and scattering it!
The resulting gust of chaotic air blew Greg's blond hair and the hem of his clothes, but it failed to harm him in the slightest.
The Water Arrow, its momentum barely diminished, flew past Audrey's cheek. With a thud, it embedded itself deep into the decaying wooden wall behind her, its tail still vibrating.
The sneer and anger on Audrey's face instantly froze, turning into a blank void.
She stumbled back half a step, instinctively reaching up to touch her cheek.
A burning sting radiated from there, and her fingertips touched a warm, slick wetness.
By the residual light of the nearby magic circle, she saw her fingers stained with a startling crimson.
Blood... I... I'm hurt?
Was that... Water Gun just now? The most basic water magic?
But... but... that kind of power, speed, and control... how could a Level 10 waste use something like that?!
No, it's impossible!
He must have used some kind of one-time magic item!
The sheer absurdity and cognitive shock left Audrey's mind in a state of confusion.
But she was an adult who had seen her fair share of trouble, after all. She quickly suppressed her horror, and the ruthlessness in her eyes intensified.
Since ordinary magic couldn't deal with this strange delinquent, she would use a more effective method!
"You forced my hand!"
Audrey rasped, suddenly pulling something out of the inner pocket on the other side of her professor's robes.
It was the same small, transparent glass bottle sealed with a cork that she had used to drug Silvia earlier.
A small amount of white gas drifted inside the bottle, moving slightly in the dim light.
She intended to use this eerie thing against Greg!
As long as she opened the cork and let the gas diffuse, no matter what tricks this boy had, he would surely fall instantly just like Silvia!
"Senior Greg! Watch out for that bottle!"
Silvia had just escaped the constraints of the rope. Her limbs were still numb, but seeing Audrey pull out that strange little bottle again, she immediately cried out in an anxious warning.
However, her warning was a step too late—or rather, Greg's reaction was faster than she expected.
Almost at the same moment Audrey pulled out the bottle, even before her fingers touched the cork, Greg's right hand finished the final movement of untying the knot. With a flick of his wrist, the rough hemp rope—still stained with dust and grass—seemed to be endowed with a strange life!
Tentacle Entanglement Level 1!
The rough hemp rope shot out from Greg's hand like an awakening dark tentacle, its speed so fast it left a faint afterimage in the air!
It didn't move in a straight line; instead, it traced a tricky, nimble arc, precisely coiling around Audrey's right wrist as she held the glass bottle!
"What?!"
Audrey felt her wrist tighten. An irresistible force surged through her, causing her fingers to involuntarily release their grip on the bottle.
Clatter.
The glass bottle fell from her hand.
But a split second before it could shatter against the hard ground, another segment of the hemp rope struck like a viper's head, deftly curling around the falling bottle and catching it steadily. Then, with a whoosh, it retracted, landing in Greg's already open left palm.
The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, happening in the blink of an eye.
"This...!"
Silvia watched, dumbfounded, her pink eyes filled with unbelievable wonder.
She knew Senior Greg was strong; she had seen his composure and skill when dealing with monsters in the dungeon.
But seeing him resolve a crisis so effortlessly in such a close-range, rapidly changing confrontation still left her deeply shaken.
Senior Greg... is truly amazing!
It's like nothing can escape his notice, and he can handle anything with ease...
Greg weighed the small bottle in his hand; it felt cold to the touch.
He had actually been wary of this thing from the very beginning.
In the original game, Silvia, as one blessed by the Goddess of Light, possessed a layer of divine protection that gave her significant resistance to ordinary toxins, curses, and other negative debuffs.
Yet, in the story, Audrey merely opening this bottle had caused the sleeping Silvia to fall into a deep coma without any chance to resist.
This was definitely not something an ordinary potent sedative could achieve.
"My other half."
Nightmare's voice rang out at the right time, carrying a hint of disgust.
"The contents of this bottle... although heavily diluted and disguised, indeed contain a trace of extremely faint, foul aura identical to those stone tablets. This thing must also be related to the Mother of Depravity."
"Just as I thought."
Greg's gaze turned cold.
The gas in this bottle, like those stone tablets, was a gift from the true mastermind behind this incident.
Audrey had not only used the Outer God's stone tablets but even her supporting items were from the same source.
For a teacher responsible for educating students, this was beyond cruel.
"No! Give it back to me!!!"
Seeing her final trump card taken away, Audrey completely lost her composure. The last shred of reason in her eyes was swallowed by a mad obsession.
She screamed and lunged at Greg recklessly, her withered fingers clawing out in a primitive attempt to snatch it back.
However, at this moment, she was full of openings in Greg's eyes.
Greg shifted his footing slightly, easily dodging her uncoordinated lunge. While still holding the bottle in his left hand, his free right hand shot out like a bolt of lightning, delivering a clean, sharp hand chop to the side of Audrey's neck.
"Ugh!"
Audrey groaned, her forward momentum coming to a sudden halt. Her eyes rolled back, and she slumped forward.
Greg used the top of his foot to gently cushion her abdomen, breaking her fall. Then, with a hook and press of his ankle, he pinned the now completely defenseless Professor Audrey face-down against the cold, dirty floor.
The entire process was as easy as subduing a misbehaving child.
"Cough... cough cough..."
Audrey choked on the dust and coughed. She struggled to turn her head, her bloodshot eyes glaring at Greg with resentment, malice, and a hint of despair on the brink of collapse.
She hissed, "You... you cold-blooded devil! What do you know?! You have no idea what a mother is capable of for her child! My son... he is innocent! He deserves a bright future! I just wanted to give him a chance! A chance to possess mana like a normal person! What is wrong with that?! How can you geniuses, who were born with everything, understand our pain! Let me go! Give it back to me!!"
She tried to use motherly love and sacrifice as weapons, launching a final counterattack from a moral high ground. Her voice was shrill, as if Greg were the villain obstructing a great mother's love.
Greg looked down at her, his face showing no emotion, only an icy calm.
His amber eyes, in the dim light, were like frozen amber, clearly reflecting Audrey's distorted features.
"For your child?"
Greg's voice wasn't loud, but it pierced through Audrey's cries. "What a... nauseating excuse."
Audrey's wailing stopped abruptly, as if she had been strangled.
"I've seen too many people like you."
Greg continued, his tone as flat as if he were stating the weather.
"Using your child as a tool to achieve your own unfulfilled dreams, as a bargaining chip for comparison and vanity, as a fig leaf to escape your own incompetence. The moment the child doesn't meet your expectations, you blame everyone and everything, feeling like the whole world owes you. 'For the child's sake'? It's nothing more than a cover-up for you to forcibly graft your own anxiety, resentment, and twisted desires onto these evil deeds."
"It is a misfortune that your son has no magical talent, but it is not the end of the world, and it certainly isn't a reason for you to kidnap and harm others! Your son has his own path to walk. It may be rugged, but it is his life."
"And you, Audrey Hope, as a mother and a professor, you could have guided him to accept reality, searched for other possibilities, and accompanied his growth with love and support. But what did you choose?"
Greg applied a bit of pressure with his foot, and Audrey let out a pained groan.
"You chose the most selfish, most insane, and most irresponsible path. You transformed your own despair into malice and harm toward others."
"You claim this is for your son, but have you considered what he would think if he knew that his hope of gaining power was built on the kidnapping and harm of an innocent girl—perhaps even the permanent pollution of her soul? Would he be grateful to his 'great mother'? Or would he be tormented for the rest of his life by this gift stained with sin?"
"What you want was never for the child's sake. What you want is to escape the sense of shame that a 'son without mana' brings you. You want to satisfy your own pathetic need for control and vanity. Don't use a word as sacred as motherly love to gloss over your ugly selfishness."
Every word was like the sharpest icicle, mercilessly piercing the psychological defense Audrey had carefully constructed.
Her mouth hung open, but she couldn't make a sound. Her face was as pale as paper, and the mad light in her eyes flickered like a candle in the wind before being completely extinguished, leaving only a deathly, hollow blankness.
Greg's words might have been a bit extreme, but combined with the knowledge from his previous life, they indeed struck the core of those who commit harm in the name of love.
Audrey might have truly loved her son at first, but under long-term pressure and the silent erosion of her obsession, that love had long since twisted and rotted, becoming her excuse and motivation for evil.
Seeing that Audrey had completely lost her will to resist, her eyes vacant as she lay on the ground like her spine had been removed, Greg said no more.
He nimbly used the hemp rope that had just performed so well to bind Audrey's hands and feet together, tying a complex but firm knot to ensure she couldn't escape.
Having finished all this, he stood up and let out a long sigh of relief.
Although there had been some twists and turns, he had managed to resolve things before the situation worsened.
Silvia was safe, and Audrey was subdued.
Now he just needed to contact the academy to wrap things up, and this matter would be considered a successful... or at least a smooth resolution.
He turned around, preparing to say something to Silvia, who was still in a daze, to tell her not to be afraid and that it was over.
However—
BANG!!!
The dilapidated wooden door of the shack, along with half of the door frame, was violently smashed open by a massive force from the outside!
Wood splinters flew, and dust rose once more!
A figure rushed in with incredible speed, the resulting wind sending the remaining dust in the room swirling.
Greg's pupils constricted. He instinctively pulled Silvia behind him, his muscles tensing instantly as his sharp gaze shot toward the uninvited guest at the door.
The dust slowly settled.
The newcomer was tall, wearing dark leather hunting gear that was vastly different from the academy's style, topped with a gray hooded cloak.
The hood was pulled low, covering most of his face and leaving only a cold, hard jawline visible.
In his hand, he gripped a uniquely shaped short-handled battle-axe. The blade didn't reflect the moonlight leaking from the holes in the roof at all; it only carried a heart-stopping sense of weight.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the despondent Audrey before quickly sweeping over the stone tablets and the small bottle in Greg's hand. Finally, it fixed on Greg and Silvia behind him.
An undisguised killing intent, like a physical current of cold air, instantly filled the narrow space.
"Hand over the stone tablets, the Breath of Slumber, and the girl."
From beneath the hood, a low, raspy male voice spoke, devoid of any emotion, carrying only an unquestionable command:
"Otherwise, I shall grant you death in the name of the Mother Goddess."
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