The Cloaked Monster
Seong Sua gasped for breath, pressed into a corner of the cave, scanning her surroundings.
"Hah… hah…. Where the hell did that thing come from…."
Unlike the other monsters, the one draped in a cloak had let out a roar and charged straight at her party. Sua had done what she'd always done — kept her distance and poured magic into it. But every spell that touched the creature shattered on contact, and then the thing started casting right back as it closed the gap.
Hah… are the kids okay?
She canceled the incoming spells with her own, herding the cadets to safety. Then she drew the monster's attention with a volley of attacks and bolted in the opposite direction from the students.
Pulling its gaze and luring it away — that much had worked. What she hadn't planned on was becoming the star of a deadly game of hide-and-seek with the thing hunting her.
Her magic wasn't completely useless. If she poured enough raw mana into a spell, she could still hurt it. The problem was that its magic was stronger than hers.
No matter how I look at it, this is wrong. For things like that to just… show up out of nowhere….
An attack like this — during a Tower tour, one that Ye-riel and the Wise Stars themselves were personally overseeing — was not something a sane person would attempt.
Who the hell would do this….
The problem was she couldn't pin down a culprit. The Church had recovered every monster from the Hero Academy attack and claimed they hadn't found a single lead. That left only one real possibility.
Is there a reason the freaks would suddenly move like this?
Everyone knew the freaks ran dark operations that hurt society. But there were two organizations they famously left alone: Evrica and the Tower. Friction wasn't unheard of, but the freaks had a reputation for never touching either group in any way that would draw public suspicion. As the years stretched on, people stopped saying they wouldn't touch them and started saying they couldn't.
Sua had thought the same. Until now.
Forget that for now. I need to get out of here—
She steadied her breathing and carefully checked her surroundings again — and that was when it happened.
"GRAAAAH!!"
"Kh!"
The cloaked monster locked onto her and bellowed. Most heroes who'd seen real combat developed a knack for gauging the gap between themselves and an opponent the moment a fight started. Sua had already done the math on this one.
I'm at a disadvantage… Abnormal anti-magic resistance, and mana that shows no sign of running dry. I can't take this head-on!
This wasn't about pride. This wasn't a situation you handled with the casual assumption that it was just another beast.
"Haaah!"
She yanked the surrounding rocks into the air, wreathed them in fire-attribute flame, and hurled the lot at the monster. The creature didn't slow. It charged straight into the oncoming fireballs as if it meant to smash through them.
…No way—
The spell had only been meant to buy a few seconds.
"GRAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"
The cloaked thing swatted every fireball aside with its bare hands and didn't lose a scrap of speed as it barreled toward her. The magic she'd cast to buy time had only made things worse.
I—I can't—!
She still had mana to spare, but the thing's charge wasn't giving her any room to use it. Its arm was about to reach her face when—
BAAANG!
A sonic boom cracked through the cave hard enough to shake the stone, and a streak of yellow light carved a razor-thin line through the air toward the monster.
CRACK!
"GRAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"
The yellow bolt punched through the creature's shoulder from behind and kept going. From the direction it had come, someone shouted.
"Instructor Seong Sua! Are you all right!?"
I'd run into the cadets who'd been with Seong Sua by chance, and that was all it took to piece together her situation. I ordered them to follow the instructor they'd just met and get outside as fast as possible. Seo Jieun and the others had put up a fight, insisting they wanted to help too, but I managed to talk them down and send them to safety.
As I headed the way they'd pointed, I thought to myself:
I figured the kids would be more shaken up than this, but I guess Hero Academy stock doesn't fold that easy.
The cadets who'd been trembling and helpless at the start had adapted surprisingly fast and started responding cleanly. Once they'd confirmed their own limits, they were doing everything they could within them.
Still, I'm concerned. If the cadets' account is accurate, the opponent appears to be a different type from the monsters we encountered earlier.
Even so, I can't just leave Sua behind….
Even if the thing turned out to be a monster on Ye-riel's level, walking away from Sua wasn't an option. Armonia must have heard the resolve in my voice, because she asked quietly:
Just in case… shall I wake Miss Rena now…?
No! Don't.
But…
Anyone else, maybe. But I wasn't about to interrupt Rena's sleep. Not when she was deep in it, and not over a "just in case."
I'll keep it as safe as I can. Stand by until then.
…Understood.
I was still running, searching for Sua, when a massive boom rolled in from far ahead. In the distance I could see orange flames leaping up in tiny bursts — though from here it looked more like ash kicking off a fire than a real fight.
Armonia! Binoculars!
The distant light poured straight into the lenses. A cloaked figure was charging Seong Sua. I nocked a superconductor arrow and hesitated for half a second.
Stage Two is off the table like this.
Even with perfect aim, loosing that kind of arrow in a tight cave could put Sua in more danger than the monster. Before the last of the faint flames died, I fired.
BAAAAANG!!!
A colossal sonic boom, and then a roar from far off — the arrow had found its mark.
"Instructor Seong Sua! Are you all right!?"
I shouted as I raised the binoculars again to check on her. The moment the lenses found her, her voice came back:
"Watch out! It's heading your way!"
"Damn…."
A black silhouette was sprinting straight at me through the glass.
Shit. Did I miss?
The cloak hid its face completely, but the way it ran radiated pure murderous rage. The sheer force of its charge said it planned to cut me clean in half.
Still — it worked once. One more shot should do it. Armonia, arrow!
Yes!
A superconductor arrow materialized instantly. I drew lightly and loosed it at Stage One.
BAAAAANG!
Another massive boom, another yellow trail of light streaking toward the monster. Target: the chest. Every monster so far had died the moment you shattered the purple gem in its chest. This one should be no different.
All right then… problem sol—
I was already lowering the bow when it happened.
CRACKLE!
"…Huh?"
The arrow should have punched clean through its chest and kept flying. Instead—
Uh… is this about to get really fucking bad?
The monster stopped, snatched the incoming arrow out of the air with its bare hand, and crushed it on the spot.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
"Uh-oh…."
That roar carried a depth of pure rage I hadn't felt from anything yet. It stopped its charge, bellowed, then thrust an arm toward me and started spamming magic. In the already dark cave, space warped, and formless black blades came screaming toward me.
SHHHHHHHHHK!
"Oh, come the fuck on — it uses magic too!?"
This wasn't a speed I could dodge. Try to weave through that and I'd come out in pieces. I triggered Dismantle immediately, nullifying as many of the black blades as I could.
As many as I could.
Slash!
"Kh!"
Too many blades, too fast. I managed to dismantle the ones aimed at critical spots, but my reaction speed couldn't cover everything — a few still carved through me on the way past.
Initiating recovery immediately!
Hurry!
I snapped at Armonia without meaning to. The wounds on my body started knitting shut — but the enemy was faster.
"GRAAAAAAHHH!!"
"Ah, shit!"
The gash on my shoulder hadn't fully closed yet when I tried to haul the bow back up with everything I had.
"Instructor Sung Suho!"
WHOOOOOSH!
"GRAAAAAHHHH!!!"
A massive barrage of fireballs slammed into the monster from behind. Distracted by me, it took the full blast and went down hard. Seong Sua came flying toward me on a rough current of wind, riding it like a board.
"Hah… hah… a-are you all right!?"
"I'm fine. But that thing—!"
"We need to run! You're hurt — it's more dangerous for you right now!"
"W-wait a second—!"
Excuse me? I'm literally healing as we speak!?
She ignored me completely, wrapped her arms around me, and took off on the wind at blistering speed. It felt nothing like Ye-riel's magic. Ye-riel floated — Sua rode the wind like she was surfing it.
And thanks to that….
Armonia!
Yes!
Seong Sua's panties are black!
…
Holy shit….
I got a full view up under her fluttering skirt. That pure, wholesome woman wearing black underwear — who would've guessed.
I looked back at the monster and thought:
Thank you… I won't forget your sacrifice.
…The situation is not yet resolved.
??
Still wreathed in fire, the monster looked up at us and roared.
"GRAAAAAAHHH!!!"
"…."
What the hell is that thing?
I hadn't expected it to die, but I also hadn't expected it to get right back up in that state. Even the purple monsters at the Hero Academy had felt abnormally strong — but still strong in a way that made sense. This one didn't feel like an elite mob mixed in with regular trash. It felt like a boss had just dropped out of nowhere.
Catching my arrow bare-handed. Standing back up after taking Sua's magic dead-on.
But while it was still staggering to its feet, Sua's magic carried us out of its line of sight, and we managed to put distance between us and the thing.
Ye-riel emerged from the dungeon and began issuing orders to the gathered instructors.
"Everyone, take a headcount."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The instructors moved with a crisp precision they never showed under normal circumstances, falling into formation at her word. Ye-riel swept the area — and something felt off.
Still no sign of them….
She'd left the two of them behind, trusting them while she went to save the others. But Sung Suho and Seong Sua were nowhere to be seen. Neither were the cadets she'd gotten close with during the ride over.
This won't do. I have to go back in—
She left the headcount to the instructors and was about to re-enter the dungeon when cadets and an instructor came spilling out from inside.
"Hah… hah… we made it."
"Those things… how the hell did they even get in here…."
Ye-riel let out a small breath of relief and approached them.
"Is everyone all right?"
She looked over the gasping cadets and the instructor, counting heads.
…Huh?
Three people who should have been there were missing.
"…Seems like a few people aren't here?"
"Ahaha…. Some of them went off on their own mid-way…."
She'd asked the cadets, but it was the hollow-eyed instructor who answered. He stepped in front of the students and was about to launch into an explanation when one of the cadets burst forward and shouted at Ye-riel.
"Lady Ye-riel! The instructors and Jieun are still inside!"
"H-hold on! I'll explain, so you just stay quiet—"
"Silence."
"Hhk—!"
At Ye-riel's single barked command, the instructor clamped his mouth shut. She softened her expression and turned back to the cadet.
"Explain it carefully, from the beginning."
…
…
"So Instructor Sung Suho went back in to find Instructor Seong Sua, and Cadet Seo Jieun got separated during the attack after suffering a magic seizure?"
"Yes…."
"And even knowing a cadet was missing, the instructor forced everyone outside under orders?"
"Th-that's— Lady Ye-riel! I-I wasn't even that cadet's assigned instructor, so—!"
The moment she heard the answer, Ye-riel rose into the air and fixed the instructor with a flat stare.
"…I'll deal with the reprimand when I get back. You'd better pray nothing's happened to that cadet."
"Urgh…."
She held his gaze a moment longer, then shot back into the dungeon like a bolt.