The Novel's Professor

The whirring sound of the helicopter resounded, echoing within the barren land. Within the helicopter, a thin, beautiful female figure held a mic, her eyes widening as she noticed something on the ground.

She hurriedly turned to the pilot, proclaiming with worry and anxiety in her voice.

"Look! There's two bodies beneath, both look like half-dead!"

The pilot frowned, his brows knitting together. He straightened his back, leaning towards the yoke of the helicopter. He nudged it slightly, moving the helicopter.

Whirrr—!

The female figure sighed. She turned to the camera-man beside her, holding the mic upfront her mouth as she spoke.

"Hello, and good evening people from all-over the world. This is Reporter Julie from MCIB News...in exactly 11:54 PM, two bodies are spotted beneath the Harrowing Lands...! Their state is both unknown!"

The camera man focused the camera onto her body.

"We're dropping off to the ground right now to check of their state! Are they perhaps casualties from the sudden cataclysmic event earlier this night?!"

Report Julie shouted, her voice strained. The cataclysmic event she was mentioning was the sudden disaster of the Harrowing Lands. In no one's expectations, a sudden earthquake and disaster struck.

Her eyes looked beneath. The Harrowing Lands, previously filled with lustrous and lively forest dating back to ancient eras, were destroyed in an instant, reduced to a deathless, hollow land.

It was unknown what really happened to the place. The only thing people knew was that an earthquake first started, preluding to a greater disaster. After the strong earthquake, all hell broke loose—everyone near the Harrowing Lands saw a bright light engulf the entire sector of the world.

...Only then, after that the bright light lost luster was that everyone discovered that the entire land was lost. Utterly lost.

From behind her, a man wearing black clothes and glasses frowned. He squinted his eyes, looking at one of the bodies beneath. In that moment, his eyes widened in disbelief—he immediately pressed into his chest pocket.

Beep—!

"TM146 Agent Raj reporting in."

"Roger, TM17 here. What is it TM146 Agent Raj?"

"One of the bodies spotted on the Harrowing Lands...is a named suspect... A villain. I suspect this person is related to the cataclysmic event that happened."

"...Explain, now. Who is it?"

"From the details of the man's appearance and the cloak his body is wearing. The identity of the man is most likely... Archbishop of Greed, Aza Ledger. A villain in one of the top priority list."

"...Is that confirmed, Agent Raj?"

Agent Raj shifted his eyes to the bodies beneath, his gaze concentrating on the cloaked body. "Not yet. But I am confident so."

"...Further confirmation is needed, ASAP. In any case, good job. Make sure to not leak that information to the media. Is there anymore, TM146 Agent Raj?"

Agent Raj shifted his gaze to the other body, not recognizing the person's appearance. "...There's another body beside it. But I don't recognize the man."

"...I'l send in another agent on the way. Wait for him." The voice said before hanging up.

Agent Raj sighed, his head shaking. He nudged his hand to Reporter Julie, calling for her.

Reporter Julie noticed the gesture. She turned to look at the cameraman, her hand gesturing to stop the broadcast for a moment. The camera man nodded, turning off the camera.

Report Julie approached the agent, she asked with a frown. "What is it, Raj?"

"One of the body in the ground is a named suspect. A top priority one at that," Agent Raj said, taking out a cigarette from his pocket. He ignited the tip and blew it. "I just reported to the team, and they said to cover up the man's information."

"A top priority villain..." Report Julie frowned, her hand holding to her waist. "Just what has gone in to the world? Suddenly all the villains are popping out and cultist activity is all time high.... Do you think the cataclysmic event has to do with the villain on the ground?"

"High chance it is. The man is Aza Ledger, the Archbishop of Greed. He had been a previous normal criminal 27 years ago...until someone broke through prison and took him," Agent Raj answered. "Then, some years later... he re-appeared, this time being a Miracle Invoker and part of a cult. Ever since then, the TAOJ has marked him as a top priority villain."

Reporter Julie frowned harder, her brows knitting in worry. Cultist... In the recent years, the groups had been active and been marked as a top priority list by the TAOJ. In the past, they had been quiet and harmless—only having a few cases with their hands.

It was unknown what triggered them to be more active.

In that moment, the helicopter landed on the ground. The pilot from the cockpit spoke. "We're here."

Agent Raj nodded, his back straightening. He looked at the other people inside the helicopter. The others were agents of TOAJ from different teams. "Let's go folks. We're here."

The other agents nodded, leaving the vehicle as they surrounded the surroundings. Other agents went deeper into the forest.

Suddenly, the cameraman from beside called out. "Reporter Julie! It's time for the broadcast to resume!"

"...Alright," Julie muttered, wiping out the frown on her face. In that moment, her face returned to the calm expression she was wearing earlier. She nodded to Raj before turning her back.

Agent Raj blew the cigarette on his mouth. Julie was part of his team as an agent, disguising as a reporter. Their team was titled—Team Media. Their team handled information and news transmitted to media.

They take off the things that shouldn't be shown. Verify and promote things that needed to be shown... It was a simple job, but hard to be in.

The job is basically about controlling the knowledge the masses should know. Most of the time, they hide the truth of some events to not cause outrage and controversy.

Such as protecting the kingdom noble's secrecy, or in other words... hiding some of the top noble's crimes. It was a disgusting job. But as a longtime agent—he already accepted that disgusting side of the TOAJ.

"... It's all for the Kingdom after all." Agent Raj muttered, his eyes turning to the sky. Everything was all for the Kingdom.

Suddenly, the device inside his chest pocket rang. Agent Raj pressed it, asking. "TM146 Age—"

"Hurry! Two kids are tied up from here!"

"...Where is that? And who is this speaking?" Agent Raj frowned.

"Theres no time! One of the kids is the... Duke's son!"

"What?! What is the Duke's son doing here?!" Agent Raj asked, disbelief in his voice. "What's his state?! Is he alright?! Also, where are you...?! Tell me, now!"

—

Within the SilentDemon Forest, a tall, intimidating figure carried over a red-haired man. Behind the figure, several Rank B Miracle Invokers followed him, their heads lowered in fear.

"The Wizard has messed up this time.." The Sojourner muttered, his hand carrying The Combatant. Everyone in the Council had underestimated the Dragon. No one thought that it would overpower The Combatant.

Earlier in the Council, the Wizard suddenly turned angry. It was a sight to see from the always calm old geezer. And only a few seconds later when the old man calmed down did he announce The Combatant's loss.

"But, nevermind that..." The Sojourner muttered, his gaze shifting to the sky. Within the sky, faint cracks of reality appeared. "How am I going to explain this mess up...?"

... The faint cracks of reality were closed off too late. Because of that mistake, some Archdevils escaped to the world before it was shutdown completely.

On his forehead, faint bulging veins erupted. This was the first time since decades that the TOAJ had messed up this horribly. It was a stain on his record.

The Sojourner suddenly stopped his body. Behind him, every figure also stopped. No words drifted, only silence. The silence brought an opressive atmosphere, making the several Rank B Miracle Invokers sweat.

"Tell me..." the Sojourner said, his voice calm yet chilling. "How did you guys fail so horribly...? It was just one job. It was to cover up the Territorial Invasion. That was it."

No one dared utter back. All of them were silent, unable to respond.

"Perhaps it's time," The Sojourner said, shaking his head in disappointment. "It's time to replace Team Leaders."

His words immediately brought panic and shock to the figures behind. One of the Rank B Miracle Invokers spoke, "B-but...! Chief! We were notified late...! The alert was only sent to Team Dreadshadow..!"

"Bullshit!" A burly, muscular man cursed. "You know full well that's not the case! Don't listen to him, Chief!"

"Oh yea—!"

"Enough." The Sojourner uttered, stopping everyone from talking. Both of the two arguing immediately lowered their head, ashamed. "As for the alert, who alerted it again...?"

The burly, muscular man from earlier raised his hand. He spoke gloomily. "It was from my team...Dreadshadow, a member of ours alerted us earlier...."

"Who is this member?" The Sojourner asked, his brows raising in interest. He had thought that the team leaders themselves were the one to discover it.

"TDS24 Ciel Gray, he had notified us earlier when he was inside the forest." The muscular man said, his back straightening.

"Hm, hm... Ciel Gray," The Sojourner muttered. "Promote him. Raise his rank and salary. Ask him if he wants anything."

"...Yes, Chief." The muscular man nodded, relief gushing inside him. Well, at least he wasn't going to get removed from his position anytime soon. He could still change the Chief's opinion about him...

"Alright, your new mission this time is to hunt the Archdevils. I want them eliminated immediately," The Sojourner muttered, dropping The Combatant's body to the ground. He held his hand up in the air. "I hope you won't fail me this time. Another failure, all of you are removed... the TAOJ holds the responsibility over the Kingdom's safety and image. Failure isn't an option, remember that."

"Yes, Chief!" All of the team leaders shouted, their back straightening.

The Sojourner nodded. He moved his hand in an arc, causing a tear on reality to appear. In that moment, the tear on reality widened, turning into a large portal.

The Sojourner grabbed The Combatant's body as he approached the portal. Before he left, he took one last glance at the forest.

The deathless, barren state of the forest reflected in his eyes.

"The next few years are going to be hectic..." He muttered, shaking his head. He walked to the portal, vanishing along with it.