Stirrings. (2)

The barrier's exterior and interior were starkly divided.

I viewed it through the eyes of Understanding, but without any preliminary information, the efficiency of Understanding was not particularly high.

"……."

I simply walked into the barrier. The faint membrane barring entry was torn apart with my cane.

The interior was acrid and dim. The entire space was dizzyingly tinged with red light, like a district bathed in crimson lanterns.

—Everyone, calm down.

A voice echoed from somewhere. I headed toward it, passing through the dormitory corridor to reach the first-floor hall.

The children were gathered under the dorm supervisor's guidance.

"Professor!"

Someone spotted me and shouted loudly. Their faces lit up as if they'd found a savior, but I couldn't respond with kindness.

The thick demonic energy inside the barrier was grating on my nerves.

"We're saved! Professor, what do we do now—"

"Silence."

The growing clamor died instantly.

I looked at the dorm supervisor.

Pointed glasses. Wrinkles on her clothes. Dust on her shoulders. Torn nails.

I examined the other students as well.

A single thread of their robes. The creases forming their expressions. The reflection in their pupils…… I took in every trivial clue.

"Is this everyone?"

"There seem to be people upstairs still."

The supervisor spoke. I drew the mulberry steel flying swords from my briefcase.

Ten of them hummed into the air, soaring up the stairs to the upper floors of the dormitory, while the remaining ten descended to the basement.

"……."

I closed my eyes and listened to the resonance of the steel.

This was purely a bonus of the 'attribute.' A special ability awakened through affinity and communion as one talented in fire, earth, and metal.

───.

The mulberry steel swords darted up the stairs, scanning each floor, resonating with me to convey the presence of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠human bodies.

At the same time, they mercilessly shredded any non-human aberrant lifeforms.

The result: one on the fifth floor, one on the sixth, one on the ninth, one on the tenth—a total of four detected on radar.

I maneuvered the mulberry steel to guide the survivors.

—Wh-what is this? What are you?

—Does it want us to follow?

—N-no. There are monsters outside…….

They hesitated at first, but I infused my voice into them.

"Follow."

The mulberry steel vibrated specially, creating a 'frequency' that transmitted my voice to them. Upon hearing it, they hurriedly followed the swords down the stairs.

"……Waaah!"

Finally escaping to the first floor, they collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. The supervisor gathered them.

The supervisor asked,

"Can we get out now?"

"It's a well-constructed barrier. Easy to enter, difficult to escape. With demonic energy woven in, it'll be twice as tricky as a normal one."

Dismantling through calculation and computation was possible. If I could observe the barrier's 'core' with the naked eye, I could delete it instantly.

But it would take time—time these mana-poisoned mages couldn't endure.

"Then……."

"Hush."

I pressed a finger to my lips.

Everyone froze. In that silence, I scanned the robed mages around us, scrutinizing their conditions and attire.

A barrier's activation isn't done by the incantation alone.

There must be a 'caster' who flipped the switch.

"……."

There were no clues on their exteriors—a perfect disguise…… but I activated Telekinesis.

I shook their hair with Telekinesis.

"Hmph."

A smirk twisted my lips. A surge of contempt furrowed my brow.

I approached one of them.

"A person's body accumulates their own essence. Even if they hide their appearance and origins, the 'years' remain etched in. No matter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how much time passes, it lingers deep within."

Dorm supervisor. I reached out and touched her hair.

"Your hair…… reeks of 'ash'."

Traces of ash reacted to the Telekinesis, clinging to her strands.

"Did you crawl out from a volcanic heap? Origin of the Ashes Heap."

Everyone turned to her in shock.

"……."

She stood silently, then lifted her glasses.

And peeled off her facial skin.

I was inwardly surprised without showing it. The ringleader of this main quest was indeed a named character.

"Good deduction, but does knowing change anything? Or do you already know?"

Her mouth smiled, but her eyes glared sharply.

"That those from the Ashes Heap kill every last one who calls us that."

I listened in silence.

No—I swallowed rising fury. Blue veins bulged at my throat. My mouth swelled with curses.

A side effect of the demonic energy.

"So, you're worth killing……."

It muttered, activating mana.

Rumble…….

Vast mana surged from the floor, but that was it. I glared at its incantation and flipped the switch of Understanding.

……Instantly, my vision expanded, the world sharpening into clarity.

Mana coursed through my mind, accelerating thought, amplifying computation.

Time seemed infinitely slowed.

The trait's exaltation tingled through my body…….

"Die……?"

I grasped the magic it was about to unleash in an instant.

Its core circuit visible to the naked eye—I interfered with Understanding and dismantled it.

Tzzzzzt—!

The result of its labored spell: a single spark.

"You mad bastard!"

It attempted another spell immediately.

I dismantled that one just by looking.

This time, merely a snowball.

"What the fuck?"

Of course, this consumed mana wildly, but I absorbed the external demonic energy at a matching rate.

"……."

It kept trying; I kept dismantling.

I wore a sneer.

In a barrier this thick with demonic energy, the combination of Understanding and naked eyes allowed me to directly observe and interfere with nearly all magic…….

Finally, it abandoned constructing spells.

"……This is why."

I approached the silent fiend.

"You're called the Ashes Heap."

I spat each word deliberately, enunciating like grinding teeth.

"Worthless trash not even fit for maggots. Vermin rejected by society. Too deficient in composition to be human, too unlovable to be beasts—mere larvae."

It glared straight at me. I pressed a finger to its forehead. The distorting magical aggregate behind it was instantly severed.

"Your tricks amount to mere wriggling, and that base, filthy root is beyond salvation."

"……Ha. You talk a good game. If you're so great, why not dismantle the barrier before the kids died? Can't do that either?"

It sneered up at me.

"Then, let me point out the flaw in your dull brain."

I met its gaze without flinching, countering with deeper contempt.

"Your boundless stupidity and dullness led you to apply the barrier to the building instead of the space."

The ten mulberry steel swords had saved the survivors, but the other ten had descended instead.

Those ten were now attached to the dormitory's core steel supports. They'd drilled into the basement rock walls, clinging to the pillars upholding the entire structure.

"That alone proves your intelligence is woefully lacking."

The mulberry steel generated heat in the steel beams' cores.

Moreover, superheated steel made fitting explosives in itself.

It belatedly grasped my intent and retorted,

"……Suicidal? Destroying the building to dispel the barrier?"

I sighed hotly. Some personality flaw boiled from my chest's depths. I leaned close to its ear.

—Al Ross.

Its shoulders trembled.

—Don't think I wouldn't recognize you.

I stepped back. It glared with wide eyes.

"Know your opponent before you charge."

……By now, the basement mulberry steel was hot enough to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scorch the pillars.

Soon, flames would rage, and at that moment, my firepower control would activate.

────!

A vibration erupted. The firepower amplified in an instant mixed with the mulberry steel, causing a massive explosion.

What followed was mere instants.

Demolition led to collapse.

Deprived of its core, the building sank in a cloud of dust. The barrier engulfing it disintegrated with the structure.

Kaboom…….

A hellscape of crumbling debris raining like biblical hail. Amid the collapse's heart, I calmly looked down at it.

"Time to return to your true form."

"……!"

At that moment, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it showed greater shock than when I named it.

But soon, my mulberry steel pierced its throat, its pupils dimmed, and it turned into a mannequin.

A 'specialized magic' manifest at the pinnacle of manipulation and harmony series—

The mages screamed. I glanced back slightly. The lights had shattered, darkness flooding everywhere, but there were no casualties.

There couldn't be.

Cough, cough.

Only coughs from the dust.

All of them had been under my Telekinesis protection.

* * *

Ifrin was detained outside the barrier. Julia and the professors had physically held her back from entering.

"Wh-what! It's collapsing!"

Someone shouted then. Ifrin watched wide-eyed.

────!

Dormitory Building 3 was collapsing entirely.

The explosion itself was clean. No steel fragments flew; it simply sank straight down. A massive dust cloud followed.

A blink-of-an-eye demolition.

The knights arrived late, rushing into the dust haze.

But before they could fully charge, figures stirred. They gripped swords and fell back momentarily.

"……?!"

Deculein.

He was emerging.

Escaping unscathed from the debris pile, he was with the survivors.

"Are you alright?!"

To the swarming knights, Deculein handed over the mages and brushed dust from himself.

"Well done."

"Yes, sir!"

……As he turned to leave.

He sensed the professors watching from afar.

He approached them.

There were a few unfinished words.

"For so-called tower professors, cowering from some unknown barrier like this."

They couldn't meet his blatant contemptuous gaze.

"Pathetic. Reflect on it. Introspect."

With justified disgust, he glared before departing.

"Pr- Professor!"

"Professor."

Someone approached. Two at first, but Sylvia flung one away.

"Are you alright?"

A voice flat in tone and pitch. Stabilizing in timbre alone.

"……It's dangerous. Step back."

He patted her shoulder lightly and passed.

Abusing demonic energy had left immense mental fatigue.

······.

After midnight, once everything was settled.

"Strong?"

Someone asked from a nearby bench. Al Ross nodded.

"Far stronger than expected."

"Not a greenhouse flower?"

"Too forceful for one. That speech, those eyes especially."

She answered, sweeping back her long hair. She'd tried to play it cool, but belated heat flushed her face.

"Points of caution?"

"Sharp mind. Dismantled every spell I tried, saw through the puppet too. Couldn't risk close combat rashly. Body looked sturdy."

"Need to be wary. The job?"

"Partial success."

The goal: absorb life force via demonic barrier.

Mages made fine puppet material—liquefy their essence and mana, deceive with devilish speed.

"This much."

Al Ross pointed to the liquid sloshing in the vial. Woefully insufficient.

A heavy voice replied,

"……The path of faith is thus arduous. Even saving mere flesh meets such interference."

Their constant mantra.

Faith. And the quest for the divine.

Al Ross barely suppressed a laugh.

Pitiful fools chasing a dead god. Divine revival was impossible fantasy, yet these zealots toiled tirelessly.

"Next is Marik, Al Ross."

"I know."

But their goals aligned with hers for now—no need to antagonize.

"Hm."

Al Ross fell into thought.

Deculein.

The chief professor was unexpectedly tough. Skill far beyond predictions.

No—that mana interference and dismantling bordered on divine technique…….

"Is there anyone who can complete a spell before him?"

Was his very existence the antithesis of mages?

Even as a puppet…….

The Ashes Heap's celebrity scowled in such worries.

* * *

The next day.

I sat in the manor study chair, eyes closed. A system floated over my dark eyelids.

A form of 'visualization.'

I viewed the Telekinesis in my body with naked eyes. Numerous spells clung to the Telekinesis incantation: Metal Reinforcement, Firepower Control, Fluid Manipulation, and more.

I sorted the circuit traffic, refining it cleaner.

"……."

Pain crushed my body like mangling, but bearable.

After enduring about thirty minutes, I slowly opened my eyes.

Suddenly, last night's main quest came to mind.

"Al Ross…… villain or not."

My top priority: clear the main quest.

Whether it led to Earth return or whatever, it didn't matter now.

No family awaited on Earth anyway, and failure meant this world's—and my—destruction. No alternatives.

But to clear easier, lower difficulty: good named characters grow strong, evil ones die.

I'd focused on the former, but now realized the latter was competitive too. ……Thanks to memories from Deculein's diary.

—Master. Security has arrived.

Suddenly, Roy knocked on the study door.

Security—for last night, probably.

I rose and descended to the first floor. A familiar face awaited at the entrance.

"It's been a while."

Security Vice Director Yurine Premien. Her indigo hair tied in a ponytail, she bowed expressionlessly.

"What is it."

"Have you heard Duchess Ruina is missing?"

"……."

Missing? At the unknown word, I shook my head.

"No."

"Now you have. She's missing, so—are you a suspect—"

"……Suspecting me?"

"No. Just procedure. She's a person, after all."

"Yurine Premien. Know who you're dealing with."

Being suspected felt rotten. I was genuinely angry.

Yet Yurine continued calmly.

"As said, not suspicion. You're likely the last to see her. She vanished right after leaving the palace."

"……."

I quietly recalled that day.

On the way back by carriage. Looking out the window, darkness fell briefly in the passing scenery. I thought mana, but tree shade. Checking the rearview, Ruina's trailing carriage was gone…….

Wait.

Really tree shade?

Or, mana-exhausted then, I hadn't noticed?

"Seems not. Thank you for cooperating."

Yurine nodded, pocketed her notepad. I watched her and her aide walk the garden.

I returned to the study.

"……!"

But a mana trace undulated on the desk—absent before.

I deciphered the sentence immediately.

In that instant, an unpleasant thought flashed through my mind.