Mind Collision was originally a risky control spell card with significant limitations. High-level mages rarely engage in close combat and most warriors skilled in close combat might not necessarily win in a mental spirit clash. In case of losing a mental clash, it would be equivalent to helping the opponent control oneself. Except for specific situations, this card had low utility and was considered quite ineffective.
However, when used by Dekan, this card became a win-win no matter the outcome. If he won the clash, he would stun the opponent. If he lost, both would be stunned. But his opponent would likely remain stunned longer.
...
The moment the spell was activated, a sharp pain surged through Dekan's brain. It was accompanied by an irresistible dizziness. He felt his vision darken and collapsed to the ground.
In the last moment before losing consciousness, he saw Olive's body convulsing violently. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. Her expression was a mix of pain and what seemed like excitement and pleasure. Under the cloth covering her eyes, her gaze had become unfocused.
"Wululu..."
The intense pain, unlike anything she had experienced before, seemed to have severed her nerves, making her unable to control her own tongue.
After Dekan fell unconscious, the limp Olive soon tumbled from the chair to the floor.
...
Not long after, the laboratory door lock began to tremble slightly.
"Ding!"
Accompanied by a crashing sound, the door swung open.
Entering the demon laboratory was none other than the lock-picking expert, Cornelia.
Before using the "Mind Collision" spell, Dekan had activated the broadcasting function on his ring. This function transmitted sounds from the demon laboratory to the nearby hallway. Even though she was waiting outside, Cornelia could clearly hear the sounds of Dekan and Olive falling to the ground. Of course, she also heard Olive’s ramblings.
Cornelia's task, as entrusted by Dekan, was to wait outside the laboratory. If she heard two "thumps” from the broadcast, she was to quickly unlock the laboratory door and enter. Then, before Olive regained consciousness, Cornelia was to eliminate her.
Dekan wasn't certain how long Olive would remain stunned. After all, Olive was a high-ranking demon. Given enough time, she might recover on her own. Should that happen, Dekan would be in real danger.
Cornelia gazed at the chaos inside the demon laboratory. She had the urge to criticize the situation but restrained herself.
Olive laid on the ground. Her face flushed, her tongue lolling out of her mouth, and her body twitching intermittently. It was as if she had been forcefully fed a bottle of strong alcohol. Occasionally, her body would twitch.
Meanwhile, Dekan appeared to be sleeping peacefully next to her. A faint smile on his lips. If anyone unaware of Dekan's scheme had walked in, they would surely suspect that he had done something outrageous.
Cornelia hurried towards Olive.
She didn't have time to dawdle now; she had the most important task -- kill Olive.
This demon was extremely dangerous; she had to deal with her completely to prevent any future troubles.
Normally, even if Olive were unconscious, Cornelia, who was at tier 3, would find it challenging to quickly kill a tier 6 demon without waking her up.
After all, she couldn’t kill Baron Bacher who was tier 5 even after smashing apart her hammer.
The structure of demons' bodies was truly quite mysterious.
However, Dekan had previously discovered a weak point.
A very important method that could easily kill demons in the Demon Academy!
Cornelia lifted the unconscious Olive and quickly ran to the window.
She opened the window and then threw Olive out.
She leaned on the windowsill, gazing outside.
Olive fell into the endless abyss, her figure completely disappearing.
Cornelia breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew, job done."
She stretched lazily by the window, thoroughly enjoying the benefits of having an external brain.
Then, she checked the progress of her mission. Dekan had advised her to take a look at the exploration progress of Mission Objective 1 to confirm if Olive had died.
During their previous exploration, they had determined that entering a room would provide a small amount of basic exploration progress reward while clearing a room would yield a larger reward. Both clearing the room according to the rules or defeating the demon teacher inside counted as successfully clearing the room.
As Dekan had predicted, the exploration progress for Mission Objective 1 had increased significantly. They were now very close to the target requirement of 50%.
[Exploration Progress: 32.7% → 47.7%]
[Remaining Time: 5 hours and 10 minutes]
So, all they needed to do next was to clear one or two more rooms. However, Dekan and Cornelia had already done enough for now. They had agreed before entering the boss room that, after completing this mission, they would stop committing crimes. They planned to take a break and enjoy their pool party.
As for the humans inside the boss room, Dekan's advice was to avoid contact with them. Since they hadn't defeated Olive using the usual method, attempting to rescue the humans according to the normal route might trigger unpredictable chain reactions.
In Dekan's current unconscious state, Cornelia needed to minimize her actions.
Cornelia squatted down and looked at the unconscious Dekan. She wanted to pinch his face to wake him up. But, after thinking about it, she decided to not do something that could potentially injure her teammate and decided to let him rest.
Cornelia carefully extended her hand to support Dekan's back and legs, carrying him in her arms. Then, she swiftly left the demon laboratory and headed towards the culinary classroom.
...
"Ugh..."
Since Dekan had only endured a three-fold increase in pain plus the dizziness effect from the mental clash, he gradually regained consciousness. He felt someone gently carrying him. The tender and warm touch made him strangely at ease. Goosebumps rose all over his body before he subconsciously opened his eyes.
At this moment, Cornelia, still carrying him in the hallway, had just left the demon laboratory. Dekan discovered that he was being princess-carried by Cornelia the moment he opened his eyes. They locked eyes, both falling into silence. It was meant to be a beautiful moment, but the scene of a young boy being carried in the arms of a young girl seemed a bit awkward.
"...I think it might be more appropriate for you to carry me on your back," Dekan started with a less awkward opening.
"I was afraid that if I carried you on my back, I might break your bones," Cornelia replied. She had considered carrying him on her back but remembered Dekan's initial advice: his body was fragile, and she shouldn't hurt him.
"Never mind, this is fine," Dekan said, feeling at ease in Cornelia's arms. Fragrant, soft, comforting - what's wrong with enjoying it after a busy day in the Shadow World?
"Shall I put you down now?" Cornelia asked.
"My head is still spinning. Take me to the culinary classroom," Dekan replied.
"Okay."
