719
Chapter 719
"No!"
Laila shouted as Juno's sword strike flew toward Matana's neck.
At that moment, something suddenly jumped between the two.
CRACKLE!
Just as Juno's sword was about to slice Matana's neck, a girl wrapped in purple electricity blocked both Juno's sword and Matana's secret technique simultaneously.
The person who suddenly appeared was Lara, one of Pannotia's triplet guardians.
Lara grabbed Juno's sword and Matana's leg and spoke in a monotone voice.
"Danger situation detected. Danger situation elimination."
Right after, purple magical energy materialized, transformed into chains, and flew toward Juno and Matana.
KAAAAAK!
The chains condensed with powerful magic wrapped around Matana who had lost his reason.
But Juno, with vampire like agility, immediately rolled on the floor and avoided the magic chains.
SWOOOOSH!
Purple chains rose again where Juno had been, but he avoided them all with nimble movements.
Then he immediately regained his balance, stood up holding his sword, and took a stance.
Lara stretched out both hands toward Juno.
"Danger situation elimination."
As Lara fully summoned her magic power, purple electricity flowed from her body and a strange magical formation appeared on the floor.
SWOOOOSH!
Soon hundreds of chains sprang from the floor.
Lara, possessing infinite magic power, was capable of deploying wide-range magic formations in a short time.
Feeling threatened by the chains flying toward him, Juno immediately jumped into the air.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
The chains flew toward Juno as if they were alive.
Juno stuck to the ceiling, raised his sword, and took a dragon-slaying stance.
RUMBLE!
He immediately pushed off the ceiling forcefully and rushed toward Lara.
Dragon Slaying Technique Basic Form
Chapter 6 Section 2
Dragon Heart Pierce
Juno's swordsmanship as he charged toward Lara at ferocious speed was far beyond student level.
Lara stretched her hand toward the approaching Juno.
Rough purple lightning rose from the chains.
CRACKLE!
ZAP!
The lightning-wrapped chains tried to catch Juno, but he didn't stop and flew toward Lara with his sword raised.
But at that moment.
CLANG!
With a dull sound, Juno's sword flew away and stuck in the ceiling.
Claire, who had appeared out of nowhere, knocked away Juno's sword with her mace, and Luther, who appeared with her, grabbed his nape to stop his charge.
Claire clicked her tongue looking at Juno held by Luther.
"Stupid fool. You should gauge your opponent before attacking. If you'd charged straight in, your body would have disappeared without a trace in Lara's magic."
Luther Gemben nodded as if agreeing with Claire's words.
"Kids these days certainly have no fear. But it's impressive that he triggered Lara's elimination warning."
Juno struggled to break free, but escaping Luther's firm grip was impossible.
Claire put away her mace and clicked her tongue while looking around.
"That Richmond guy, I told him to prepare properly, but he really made this intense. At this rate, injuries are inevitable..."
While grumbling, Claire suddenly felt an alien energy from Matana who was restrained by Lara.
"What's this? Could it be...?"
But then.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The entire dungeon shook and something rose from the ground.
Claire and Luther were startled by the sudden change.
"What is...?"
What rose from the dungeon floor was none other than bone walls.
Hard, sharp bones interlocked to create walls without gaps.
Seeing this, Claire incredulously grabbed her mace again and knocked on the bone wall.
"What the hell is this?"
Luther also swung his sword at the bone wall and shook his head.
"Huh, did a war break out while we weren't aware?"
After examining it briefly, Luther approached Claire and whispered in a low voice.
"Department Head Claire, did Professor Richmond tell you anything about this?"
Claire shook her head at Luther's words.
"Not at all. I was just told to look after the students safely..."
Then something flashed through Claire's mind.
'Could it be?'
Claire knew that Richmond was carrying out a secret mission ordered by the principal.
If bone walls that she hadn't been told about were installed throughout the dungeon, it might mean something had happened to Richmond.
Claire clenched her molars and raised her mace.
"Professor Luther, I need to check something. Please take care of the students here."
Luther nodded at her words.
Immediately, holy energy surged from Claire's mace.
"HAAAAH!"
Claire swung her mace with all her might toward the bone wall.
KWAKWAKWAKWANG!
The tightly interlocked bone wall shattered from the mace, creating a wide-open hole.
Claire immediately entered through that hole.
She wanted to find Richmond and check what had happened.
Seeing this, Laila also tried to lead her team members through the hole Claire had created.
Then Luther blocked her way.
"Stay put. It's not too late to move after confirming what has happened."
Laila, momentarily upset at being treated like a child by Luther, clenched her molars tightly, but unable to defy him, she had no choice but to sit down.
Beside her were Juno with an unreadable expression and Matana still struggling while chained, having lost his senses.
The guardian Lara was repeatedly muttering something while looking somewhere.
"Abnormal reaction detected. Abnormal reaction detected. Eliminate risk factors."
Seeing this, Laila swallowed hard with a complicated expression.
'What on earth is happening here?'
* * *
KUNG! KUNG! KUNG!
Claire headed toward the situation room where Richmond was, breaking through bone walls with her mace.
"Professor Richmond!"
Claire reached the situation room and called Richmond's name from outside the door.
But the door showed no sign of opening.
After calling a few more times, she finally raised her mace to strike the door when something caught her senses.
WHEEEEEK!
Claire instantly jumped up to avoid the attack.
Turning around, she was surprised to see students holding weapons and exuding killing intent toward her.
'This is...'
On the students' foreheads were branded marks identical to those on Matana earlier.
This confirmed to Claire that the students were being controlled by a demon.
And she realized what secret mission Richmond was carrying out.
'So it was a demon hunting mission?.'
Demons that infiltrated the physical realm were very cunning, making them extremely difficult to find.
She understood why Richmond hadn't properly explained things even to her.
Claire pointed her mace toward the students and said,
"I don't know what kind of demon bastard you are, but you've picked the wrong person."
WOOOOOONG!
Holy energy surged from Claire's mace.
The demon-possessed students rushed toward Claire.
KAAAAAAAK!
Claire hurled the light gathered on her mace toward the students.
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA!
A massive storm of light engulfed the students' bodies.
Surprisingly, the light penetrated their bodies and completely evaporated the demonic energy dwelling within them.
CHEEEEEEEK!
After a moment, the brands on the students' foreheads gradually faded away until they disappeared without a trace.
THUD!
The students whose brands had disappeared collapsed like puppets with cut strings.
Claire immediately approached to check on them and, confirming they were merely unconscious but otherwise unharmed, rushed back toward the situation room.
KWAAANG!
The situation room door shattered under Claire's kick, and she immediately charged in with her mace raised.
"Richmond!"
If the demon's tricks had spread to the students, Richmond would inevitably be in danger too.
As she predicted, the situation room was already filled with students bewitched by the demon.
KAAAAAAAK!
In the center of the situation room crowded with dozens of students stood someone wearing a robe.
Seeing this, Claire shouted.
"Professor Richmond!"
Just as she was about to charge with her mace.
CHEEEEEEEK!
A hazy mist began to rise from the robed figure's body.
And frost formed wherever the mist touched.
KWADEUDEUDEUDEUK!
Students close enough to be touched by the mist had their feet completely frozen, unable to move.
KAAAAK!
In an instant, dozens of students were fixed in place, frozen solid.
Claire was startled by this unexpected situation.
"Professor Bane...?"
As if answering Claire's suspicion, the figure standing in the center of the situation room removed their hood, revealing not Richmond but Lich with jewel eyes.
Elemental Lich Professor Bane, looking rather surprised to see Claire, asked,
"Department Head Claire? How did you come here?"
Vane floated in the air, approaching Claire.
She remained vigilant, holding her mace while scanning the surroundings and said,
"I came to rescue Professor Richmond who seemed to have fallen into a demon's trap."
Vane was shocked by those words.
"What? A demon's trap?"
"Weren't you here knowing about this, Professor Bane?"
"No, Senior Richmond said he would get me ice attribute monster bones if I guarded this place..."
Claire clenched her molars at Vane's words.
"Damn it, then where on earth has Professor Richmond gone?"
BOOM!
The entire cave shook again.
THUD!
At that moment, an artifact rolled toward Claire's feet.
It was an artifact that could earn points if excavated and brought back.
Claire picked up the artifact that the students had been carrying. At first she thought nothing of it, but feeling something strange, she examined it carefully and discovered cleverly hidden spells.
"Damn devil bastard."
Upon further inspection, she found that spells had been cast on the artifact to make any student who held it become controlled by a demon.
The demon had reversed Richmond's planned dungeon battle, using it to cause chaos.
'If all the students who found artifacts are in this state...'
Since the safety of Pannotia students was the top priority, Claire quickly gathered her thoughts and said to Bane,
"The artifacts found by students have demon spells on them."
Vane's jewel eyes flashed with surprise at Claire's words.
"What? How could... Senior Richmond would have prepared thoroughly."
"I don't know what happened yet. For now, Professor Bane, let's go together and save the students first."
Just to be safe, she once again summoned holy energy to dispel the demonic spells residing in the students' bodies.
After that, she laid the unconscious students in a row on one side of the situation room, then left with Bane to rescue the other students.
And on the wall of the situation room, a single insect was attached, watching this entire situation.
CHIRP!
The insect that had been observing quickly disappeared.
* * *
A red-haired boy slowly rose from his bed.
CHIRP!
An insect on the back of the boy's hand sent signals with consistent movements as if transmitting something.
The boy nodded at the insect.
"They created walls themselves and sealed the dungeon? Richmond made a fatal move."
He was monitoring the situation inside the dungeon through the insect.
And he had just received information from the insect that the dungeon had been sealed, trapping the professors and students inside with no way out.
The boy brushed off the insect and muttered with a smile.
"Good, now it's time to move."
The boy who got up slowly left the infirmary.
He had remained at school after making excuses about feeling unwell to skip the dungeon battle that the entire student body participated in.
But the aura flowing from the boy was too intense to be considered that of a patient.
And waiting for him outside the infirmary were none other than the Guardians Lami and Luda.
Clear demonic marks were engraved on the foreheads of Lami and Luda who had been waiting.
The red-haired boy nodded with satisfaction upon seeing Lami and Luda.
"It would have been good if there was one more... but two is enough for now."
The red-haired boy headed somewhere with the two Guardians who possessed infinite magical power.
His destination was none other than the principal's office.
What he, the reincarnation of the demon Astaroth, wanted was none other than the principal, Arina Lubern.
'Once I get the principal, I can take over all of Pannotia.'
A natural fortress with the strongest defensive walls in the entire continent.
There was no place more suitable than Pannotia as a nest to safely build power while protecting the weak reincarnation.
Astaroth muttered while brushing back his red hair.
"Not only the physical world, but the demon realm too will all kneel before me."