The True Monster Awakens
“Hah, hah, hah……”
It was magic cast with every ounce of her strength, draining more than half her mana. Jenella clutched her trembling legs, on the verge of collapse.
Her entire body ached. She wasn’t used to pushing her body like this, let alone close-quarters combat.
Her wrists throbbed as if they’d been dislocated. Of course they did—she’d brute-forced mana into them for reinforcement.
……But still. I won.
Jenella grinned brightly. The stark notification window floating before her eyes proved her efforts hadn’t been in vain.
'Bulria Arishion' has entered a complete combat-incapable state.
Judging…… Victory determined for student Jenella!
You Win!
She’d won. All in just one day. Her heart had shattered in despair, risen from the ashes, and now she’d smashed her fist into the face of the one who’d broken her.
“I won, so that’s what matters!”
Jenella flopped back onto the floor with a carefree laugh. Only then did the throbbing pain in her body hit her full force.
Ah, I’m gonna die.
Should’ve listened to the professor.
The professor teaching magical combat had insisted that even mages needed physical training. She’d done a little, sure…… but honestly, she’d put it on the back burner.
I can just train with Eugene.
His name made her heart skip a little.
Why’s this happening?
Arrhythmia? Rubbing her sore chest, she groaned and hauled herself up.
Now that the exam was over, she had to get out of here……
………Grrrrrr.
A tiny breath. A beast’s growl even smaller than that.
“……!”
Goosebumps erupted across her skin. The air felt frozen. The ache in her body vanished, replaced by one overwhelming emotion.
Terror.
Like prey facing a predator, her body locked up.
Against her will, Jenella forced her trembling head to turn.
Smoke. Billowing from where her spear had struck.
Slowly. Ever so slowly, the smoke cleared. Something began to reveal itself.
A human?
No.
An arm covered in fur, elongated and tipped with razor-sharp claws. Not just a beast’s arm.
“……W-Why is that here?”
It was the arm of a “real” monster—one she’d seen since childhood, one she’d never have noticed without the curse and blessing called Duty.
A dream.
Was it a dream?
“It can’t…… that can’t be here……”
Bulria was dreaming. He’d lost to some pathetic commoner. Unbelievable. He couldn’t lose like this. No, he wouldn’t lose!
—Want me to take care of it?
In that dream, someone spoke to him.
A transcendent being. No lifespan limits, endless growth…… an ancient existence like the “god” Bulria had always dreamed of.
The moment Bulria nodded, his dream shattered.
Sacrificing one who could have become a hero in the future, the ancient monster awoke from its dream.
Hummmm!
The Duty etched into her heart began to quake violently.
Duty was both blessing and curse. Why? Because it granted power, but in exchange imposed unbreakable constraints.
Specifically, if an ancient monster strayed from its habitat, it compelled her to stop it, even at the cost of her life.
“Nngh……!”
Her teeth ground together against the crushing pain in her heart. It pounded wildly, squeezing out mana faster than ever.
It felt like her lifespan was draining away.
Jenella thrust her trembling hands forward.
“……Bind it! Strike it down!”
Double cast. Two spells at once drained her mental strength and mana in a rush.
Shrrrrk!
Space twisted as countless iron chains burst forth, binding the massive shape rising from the smoke and yanking it down.
Then, spears of fire and lightning formed overhead and shot like bolts of light.
BOOM!
A deafening roar echoed from the smoke, accompanied by a agonized scream.
“Kaaaaaaaagh!”
A human scream. Why a human scream? But Jenella didn’t hesitate.
She didn’t know why the ancient monster’s arm had emerged, but it was real. Her Duty-bound heart confirmed it, squeezing painfully.
So she had to stop it. If it was descending using Bulria’s body as a vessel, she’d burn Bulria to ash if she had to—
“……Grrrrkekekeke!”
The scream turned to laughter.
“……Huh?”
The sky darkened. Magic? No, not magic.
Just a palm. An enormous palm.
Ancient monsters drove humans to despair and eroded their minds simply by existing.
And now, one had truly revealed itself.
ROOOAAARRR!
Jenella’s body froze at the ancient monster’s roar. The terror of death. She was going to die for real. A fear greater than when flames had engulfed her assailed her.
I have to…… stop it……
She barely extended her shaking hands, erecting a barrier in the air. But it was thin. Her mana and mental strength were insufficient.
Whoosh!
The palm descended to crush her. It met the barrier.
Crack!
The barrier shattered into the air, and the palm bore down with brutal force to smash her.
Her mana surged. Mental strength depleted.
She was dead. Truly—
“Stop!”
Humm!
The space around her shattered.
The classroom before the fight. No, not just the classroom—it was half-destroyed, wind blowing in from outside.
The ancient monster’s presence and arm had broken through spatial magic, wrecking even the academy.
Jayyan, blood dripping from a wound on her arm, swung her hand.
“Teleport.”
Flash!
Space warped, attempting to teleport Jenella and the students. Or trying to.
The mana flow destabilized.
Jayyan prided herself on superior mana control, but she was still a young human not yet thirty.
Thud!
“Ngh!”
Jayyan gritted her teeth as the blow shook her body through her barrier.
What the hell is this doing in the academy!
Jayyan reached toward the students.
“The exam is over! It’s an emergency—evacuate now!”
The other students fled in a panic. Those who stayed were Eugene and his friends, plus Princess Banasi, bound by her imperial duty.
Professors monitoring nearby exams rushed in through the broken door.
They froze at the sight.
“What the hell happened?!”
“……!”
“……!”
“What is that monster……!”
“Looks like the real deal, not a fake or impostor.”
Professor Nipella Aoman, who’d been waiting nearby because of Eugene, adjusted his disheveled monocle with a hardened expression.
The monocle captured the scene.
A massive arm bursting from the smoke, and a gigantic face slowly emerging.
An unfamiliar creature, but instinct told him.
“An ancient monster.”
ROOOAAARRR!
The incarnation of myth and history itself, the harbinger of destruction, had descended upon the academy.
“We’re screwed.”
“Yeah. Totally screwed.”
An ancient monster had descended. Meaning the ancient ritual had succeeded.
The worst-case scenario.
No, not quite the worst yet. It hadn’t fully descended. Only the upper body was out.
No Sage yet. Casualties…… none except Bulria. So not total catastrophe.
“Any way to stop that thing?”
“No…… Once an ancient ritual activates, it doesn’t fail. Results just vary a bit.”
“Hold up. Ancient ritual? What’s that mean?”
Princess Banasi, who’d been eavesdropping, cut in. She was covered in dirt, apparently dragged here mid-spar.
“……Sis.”
“You knew?”
Banasi snapped at Adria.
“If you did, you should’ve reported to me first, as a princess.”
“Sorry, but I told her not to say anything.”
I pulled Adria behind me. As she went “Huh? Wha—?”, Banasi’s glare turned ice-cold.
“Hiding behind a man now?”
“Y-Yeah, ‘cause sis doesn’t have a man to hide behind!”
“What?!”
“Save the sister fight for later. We gotta deal with that thing first. You lot, stay back.”
I drew my sword. Just in case, I pulled out Eodukshini too.
—Master! Take me too!
“What help are you gonna be? Against that size, you’re useless. Can’t risk you dying, so stay here.”
No way I was bringing Eodukshini. Couldn’t waste the life I’d saved. I tossed the squirming slime to Ashy and asked,
“You can take that thing, right?”
“Yes. It’s not fully mature, so I can kill it.”
……What?
“Not fully mature?”
“Yeah. If it were, it’d dominate this space already. Ancient monsters are territorial beasts. It’s disrupting magic, but no domain declaration……”
“We got the principal here.”
“But he’s not an ancient monster or anything. Just a great archmage who went blind with corruption for a bit before returning to the faith.”
Ash eyed the ancient monster trying to drag out the rest of its upper body.
“What makes ancient monsters truly terrifying isn’t just their long lifespan, tough bodies, and mana—it’s how they neutralize mages. Jenella’s usually fine, but……”
Jenella lay half-unconscious in Ash’s arms. Not dead, but breathing shallowly.
“She’s exhausted. Severe internal injuries. Any more fighting and she’ll be seriously hurt.”
“Where the hell’s the principal when his school’s like this.”
“He can’t come.”
I clicked my tongue and approached Jenella.
Without the principal, few could stop an ancient monster right now.
Non-mages mostly, and Sky Island was full of magic-focused professors.
Can’t do it alone, but with the other professors……
Not mature, not fully summoned.
We could take it.
I placed a finger on Jenella’s forehead.
Recovery
Red divine power enveloped Jenella’s body. Her ragged breathing evened out.
“Rest up.”
“W-Wait. That energy just now—”
“Y-You?”
“Wh-What the hell did you just do? No, before that—how do you plan to fight that monster?!”
The two princesses gawked at me.
I shrugged and spun around.
It’d been months since I arrived, and my cover was about to blow. Whatever.
The Eyes are in place now. Time to reveal it…… they’ll deal.
No plans to die.
If it got dicey, I’d bail.
But it didn’t feel dicey.
“Th-That was…… healing……”
“Red…… not mana……”
Doable.
I gripped my sword with both hands, ignoring them. Hummm! The two gems embedded in it vibrated wildly.
My heart pounded. Divine power surged through my veins like blood.
Every sense sharpened. Facing a “real” one—not the fake from before—my heart raced with excitement.
“C-Cough…… Wh-What are you doing?”
Awakened Jenella stared wide-eyed. She reached out to rise, but her exhausted body refused.
“L-Let me go……”
“You’ll hurt yourself more.”
“I-I have to stop it…… my Duty……”
“That’s what I’m doing for you.”
I twirled my sword.
“Anyone got a mask?”
—I do.
Eodukshini handed over a cherished mask with a sulky face.
—My favorite. Come back ali—mmph?!
“That’s a death flag.”
“If it looks bad, I’ll bolt. So you lot run while you can. Oh, Yahan’s under there—drag him out. Where’s Mosik?”
“Down below, evacuating the kids.”
“Tell him to back me up when he’s done.”
“Should I help too?”
“Nah. You’re hurt. Just get to safety.”
I stretched my stiff neck and shoulders, eyeing the ancient monster. Under attack from the professors, it growled excitedly, grrrrowl!
—How dare it.
A memory flashed in my mind.
A man with a greatsword over his shoulder, standing atop a dead ancient monster’s corpse.
—Don’t come out again. Unless you wanna end up like your mom.
And this ancient monster had ignored its—my predecessor’s—warning.
“……How dare it.”
My predecessor’s memory.
I bared my teeth in a grin.
My heart thumped with joy and thrill.
At the same moment, the blessings around me intensified.
War God's Blessing
Guardian
Ancient Monster Hunter
The moment I donned the mask, crimson divine power exploded outward.