Hero Academy (3-17)
After finishing the purchase of Seong Sua's game, I rode in her car toward the Hero Academy.
Being driven by a woman like this left me feeling oddly restless. It wasn't embarrassing, exactly — more that the sensation of freeloading just sat wrong with me.
…How many Enel would it take to forge a license around here?
Damn it…
Unlike a medieval world like Shutra, security concepts in a place like this were entirely different — forgery wasn't something you could pull off easily. Get caught with a shoddy fake and you'd be in genuine trouble.
Honestly, a license was just a matter of putting in the effort. The real issue was the car.
Picture an instructor from the Hero Academy tooling around in some compact economy model. Even the security guards managing the parking lot would laugh. And then, leaning an arm against a car like that, turning to Seong Sua with a smooth—
(Shall we go?)
—even someone as mild-tempered as Seong Sua would probably have her brow twitching hard.
Hmph. Doesn't matter. I've got a ship.
…Aren't you special.
Hmph. Once everything was over, she'd be mine too. Which meant the ship would be mine as well.
I was still pouting with that full cloud of inferiority complex hanging over me when we arrived at the Hero Academy.
Something about the atmosphere felt off — very different from usual. Every light at the checkpoint, which should have been controlling access, was completely dark.
What the hell? Because it's night?
But that only made the question sharper. Access control should have been stricter after dark, not looser. Especially at a place like the Hero Academy.
And I wasn't the only one wondering.
"This is strange. Even at this hour, they never turn the lights off like that…"
"It's not normally like this?"
"No. I don't go out at night that often myself, but this…"
That was the moment.
KWAANG!
"Kyaaak!"
"What the—!?"
A black figure smashed down onto the hood, crumpling the metal beneath it. In this place wrapped in darkness, the only light came from the car's headlights — and those sole sources of illumination shattered under the impact of the unknown presence landing in front of us, plunging our vision into total black.
Whether the thing beyond the windshield was human or monster was impossible to tell. But that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was that it was threatening Seong Sua and me.
KWAANG! CRASH!!
The dark shape slammed down on the windshield and shattered it in a single blow.
FWAAAAH!
In that instant a whirlwind of air roared up, and the creature in front of us went flying into the distance along with a spray of glass shards. Flames erupted in midair, and Seong Sua's voice came from beside me.
The fire she'd conjured lit up the situation. She'd blasted the creature away with wind magic, windshield and all.
"Are you all right!?"
"Yes, I'm fine!"
One thing was certain. Whether the thing that hit us was human or monster, we had to fight.
I spoke to Armonia over the comms.
Armonia, bow!
A collapsible bow materialized at my right side — one Armonia had prepared to match the situation. It looked a notch weaker than the bows I normally used at the academy, but with Seong Sua right next to me, I could hardly pull out a massive war bow.
The fire Seong Sua had created at least gave us visibility.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
I loosed an arrow at the creature charging toward the car. The posture from inside the vehicle was terrible, but shooting itself wasn't a problem.
Let's try a normal one first!
Fwoooosh!
The arrow tore through the air with a sharp whistle and flew straight at the creature—
Ting!
—and shattered to pieces on contact, doing nothing more than making the thing stagger for a moment.
Seeing it falter, Seong Sua slammed her foot down on the accelerator.
"This isn't working! I'm going to ram it!"
The car surged forward like a launched projectile. It slammed into the creature and drove through; Seong Sua's magic kept the thing from coming through into the cabin, bouncing it upward instead. She punched the vehicle straight through the thick parking barrier and into the grounds beyond.
Once we were inside the academy, the building lights let us make out our surroundings.
"Let's get out!"
"Right."
Seong Sua climbed out and checked the direction our attacker had come from. As for me—
This thing's a total write-off, isn't it?
I looked at the car with a pained expression.
What? It's an expensive car. It's a waste…
Seong Sua's car had already crossed the River Styx with its hood and windshield as the ferry fare. But the actual owner of the vehicle wasn't paying the wreck the slightest attention — her eyes were fixed on the academy entrance.
And the creature that had attacked us was charging our way again.
"It's coming! …A person?"
The shape was human, at least, and it was wearing human clothes. But its entire body was covered in a dark violet-black, making it hard to call the thing a person at all. More than anything, the voice wasn't human.
"—____—!"
It let out a howl that belonged in a monster's throat and lunged.
Ordinary archery isn't going to cut it. Armonia! Superconductor arrow!
An arrow appeared in my hand at once, and I drew the bowstring toward the creature. Seong Sua kept her eyes forward and shouted at me.
"Instructor Sung! Arrows won't work on that—"
THWANG!
I generated a weak magic circle as a first step and loosed the arrow.
THUNK!
"_—!!"
The arrow punched clean through the exact center of the creature's skull, and the thing collapsed on the spot.
"…"
Seong Sua stared at me in open shock. I shrugged and offered an awkward smile.
"Lucky it worked this time."
She looked at me blankly for a long moment, then the tension eased from her face and she smiled.
"…That arrow was remarkably effective."
"Haha…"
"We should identify what it is. Judging by the form, I suspect it's a mutant, but…"
That was when I spoke, still looking straight ahead.
"Uh… Instructor Seong…"
"…Yes?"
"These mutants of yours… do they usually keep walking around fine with a hole through their head?"
"No. …They don't move like that."
The creature that had taken an arrow straight through the skull was rising to its feet, blood streaming down its face.
Clang! Clang!
"These things don't have normal skin! Don't fight them head-on!"
The shout belonged to Song Ara, a third-year at the Hero Academy. Locked in combat with the dark, human-shaped creatures, she was certain of one thing.
I can't handle this at my level! My attacks aren't landing at all!
It wasn't just her. None of the cadets around her were getting through either. The only reason they could keep the fight going despite the creatures' overwhelming defense was mobility.
High defense, but slow. Just keep the distance right and…
While she was holding the creatures at bay, screams erupted from behind.
"Guaaagh!"
"Kyaaaaaah!"
Other creatures had closed on the cadets providing ranged support from the rear. Low mobility only applied when you were a close-range fighter of Song Ara's caliber. Against the ranged cadets, the creatures inflicted critical wounds in an instant and kept attacking.
Song Ara shouted and sprinted toward the rear line.
"Somebody take this one! I'll cover the kids in back!"
"Got it!"
But by the time she arrived, the damage was already severe.
Two of them… damn it!
By her standards, she could handle two — weaving and dodging. The problem was the wounded. She knew full well she couldn't fight these things while protecting casualties. But Song Ara wasn't the type to back down.
No time to hesitate!
Even calculating the hits she'd take, she charged the creatures. She put everything into her sword strikes, and the creatures howled and came at her in turn.
Clang! Clang!
"—___—!!"
"Shut up!"
Song Ara scowled and cut at them again. Both creatures swung dark-violet arms at her.
THWACK!
"Ugh!"
Her defensive range was limited. She could have dodged cleanly and fought more comfortably — but that would leave the creatures free to go after the wounded.
Damn it… at this rate…
Both creatures lunged at her again.
CRACK! SPLAT!
A blade flew in from behind one creature and punched through the back of its skull. The other was driven into the ground by someone slamming down on top of it. The woman who landed on the pinned creature looked up at Song Ara.
"You okay?"
"Ms. Cho!"
"First… let's deal with this one!"
Cho Seohyun drove her remaining dagger into the howling creature's head with everything she had.
"—__——!"
"Shut up! Just die already!"
Thunk! Thunk!
She scowled and stabbed the head twice more. Then she pulled both daggers free and flicked them through the air, shedding the blood.
"You okay?"
"Yes… ah! The kids behind—!"
"Don't worry about them."
Even as she spoke, other instructors rushed in and began subduing the creatures. Song Ara looked between Cho Seohyun and the others with open admiration.
Real heroes really are different…
Unlike the cadets gasping and bleeding, the instructors handled the creatures with room to spare. The others still couldn't put them down as cleanly as Cho Seohyun, though.
Even while tending the wounded, Song Ara found her eyes drawn to the woman standing beside her. And with that, the words she'd heard from Sung Suho at the shooting range came back to her.
(You shouldn't talk about Instructor Cho that way. She's someone who spends all day thinking about how best to teach you. Calling someone like that "cute" is disrespectful, isn't it?)
(From what I can see, no one among the instructors here is more responsible or works harder than she does. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she's dedicating herself entirely to teaching you.)
Song Ara went back to caring for the wounded and reflected.
…I shouldn't mess around like that anymore.
Someone she'd always treated lightly had, in an instant, become a real hero in her eyes.
She finished her quiet self-reproach and looked back toward Cho Seohyun — just as the hand of the creature under Cho Seohyun's foot began to move.
"Ms. Cho! It's not dead!"
"What!?"
The creature seized Cho Seohyun's foot and lifted her into the air.
What the hell? It took a headshot and it's still alive!?
The creature she'd thought finished in a single blow was gripping her leg with crushing force and rising. Dangling upside down in its grip, Cho Seohyun swung her blades.
Whoosh! Clang! Clang!
Damn it! The position is terrible!
Suspended like that, she kept deflecting the attacks of both creatures. But with no power in her lower body, all she could do was bat away every hand reaching for her.
I can't land a proper attack like this—! Ugh!
While she focused on defense, the creature's hand tightened steadily around her ankle.
"Ms. Cho!"
Song Ara threw herself at the remaining creature and hammered it with attacks. But her strikes could only stall it for moments. She'd drawn one creature's attention, yet the other still refused to release Cho Seohyun's leg.
Even if I leave an opening, I have to cut the arm!
With that thought, Cho Seohyun spun her small body like an acrobat and raked both daggers hard across the arm holding her ankle. But unlike when she'd put her whole weight into stabbing the head, the arm only took shallow cuts.
What the hell is this thing!? Its head was that easy to pierce!
She ground her teeth and recalculated.
I had it wrong from the start! Aim for the head again—!
She went for the skull — but in her panic, her mind was so full of escaping that she lost track of the other arm for a critical instant.
Oh, damn it—!
As she raised a dagger toward the head, a dark-violet arm came swinging in from the side.
In that moment, the arm flying at her began to overlap with the arm of the person who had once abused her. Terror seized her, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
In that brief flash, the world around her seemed to slow to a crawl, and Hong Mi-sun's voice rang through her skull.
"You piece of trash!"
"It's your fault! If only you hadn't been there!"
"Everything is your fault!"
No! I'm not—! I'm not!!
All that filled her was the dread of not knowing when that reaching hand would close over her.
FWAAANG! THUD!
"——___——__!!!!"
"—____!!"
"Guaaah!"
Thud.
The creatures' screams filled Cho Seohyun's ears, and she hit the ground hard. She cracked open the eyes she'd clenched shut. The light was too bright to find her bearings at first — but she could make out someone running toward her.
The man who reached her extended a hand, his face lined with worry.
"Instructor Cho, are you all right?"
"…"
In Cho Seohyun's eyes, Sung Suho was reflected.