The Academy's Monster
"......Ah."
Having absorbed the Ice Snow Dragon’s energy, I felt a vicious cold bloom from deep inside my body.
Fuck, it’s so damn cold…
If I hadn’t possessed fire energy, I really might have ended up with frostbite. Everything simply felt slowed down. Siris hadn’t been speaking slowly or staring blankly for no reason.
Hwaruruk.
I kindled my fire energy so subtly that Siris wouldn’t notice and used it to suppress the invading force. If she realized her curse had passed to me, she would definitely confront me, asking why I had chosen to shoulder it. I didn’t want to make her worry unnecessarily, either.
It’s strange, too.
I hadn’t erased the curse—I had absorbed it. Absorbing a dragon’s curse was something even an ordinary person would call impossible. I pressed the cold down with everything I had.
…I can’t use it.
I had half-hoped I might be able to wield it, but the power was so dense that my current level fell far short. I had no idea how I was supposed to handle this curse.
"……Did you do this?"
The instant Siris asked, a violent cracking sound rang out.
The Ice Snow Dragon’s power rampaged, radiating an even harsher cold that threatened to leak outward.
Shit…
The cold was so intense it made even moving my body feel laborious.
"……Yeah. I figured fire energy might work, so I tried it. Turns out it does."
"Really?"
"……Yeah."
Even my speech sounded sluggish. I kept talking while steadily suppressing the worsening cold with my flames. It was still freezing, but—
"……Siris. I’ll dispel the rest of the curse tomorrow."
"Thank you, Adel. Truly."
Even though her words carried genuine gratitude, there wasn’t much I could do in return.
"……It’s nothing. For now… let’s just… stay like this."
I tightened my arms, pulling Siris closer. I felt both proud of her for enduring this cold and strangely sorry. I wasn’t exactly in any condition to move much myself.
"Yeah. I’d like that."
Fortunately Siris responded positively, so we were able to remain that way a while longer.
"……Heh."
Her pure, happy smile was so bright it felt like the cold inside me was melting just from the sight.
Hwarururuk.
I intensified my fire energy even further. I needed to adapt quickly so she wouldn’t notice anything strange. The cold shrank back like prey before a predator, and the temperature inside my body gradually returned to normal.
"Siris."
Once I had stabilized while still holding her, I could speak at my usual pace again. I released the hand that had been embracing her.
"Isn’t it about time for you to go?"
"Ah……"
Siris glanced at the clock and let out a regretful sigh. She seemed disappointed she could no longer bask in my fire energy.
"Yeah… I suppose I should leave……"
Her voice trailed off, as though she wanted to stay longer. Siris reluctantly stepped out of my arms and stood up. She had a prior engagement; she had only stopped by because I asked her to.
"Then I’ll be going. Adel, see you tomorrow."
"Yeah. See you tomorrow."
She opened the door and left.
Guess I’ll train.
After Siris was gone, I spent the rest of the day as usual—practicing my fire energy, swinging my sword, throwing punches. An ordinary, unchanging routine.
The new change arrived the following day.
Duel applications were submitted to a separate box, not handed directly to me. After class, I went to check it as usual.
"……?"
I couldn’t help but be stunned.
It decreased?
The number of applications had dropped so sharply it was immediately obvious.
Why?
Possible reasons came to mind—rumors about my sword qi spreading, or fear of challenging someone who still hadn’t lost. But only one event could cause a change this big.
The return of Class A.
The students who had gone to the Demon Realm practical training were back at the academy. I flipped through the remaining sheets, searching for names from Class A.
"……"
A short while later, after looking through the roughly one hundred remaining applications, I realized every single one from Class A had vanished.
…Then I’ve got nothing to do.
Since I had been scheduled to duel a Class A student today, I suddenly found myself with free time.
Step. Step.
Convinced the root cause lay with the Class A students, I went looking for them.
Huh? Found one.
I spotted a target faster than expected and quickly walked over. He must have sensed me too—our eyes met.
"Who…… Hic!"
His eyes were filled with pure terror, as if he were staring at a monster.
What the hell?
I ignored the look and tried to speak.
"Hey……"
"A-Adel Ifrit?! S-sorry. No, I mean—excuse me!"
He ignored what I was about to say and fled into the distance as fast as he could.
"……"
Watching him run, all sorts of thoughts swirled through my head. His flight would probably spark weird rumors, and I couldn’t figure out why he had run in the first place.
…Someone else will tell me.
I pushed the negative thoughts down and continued searching for other students.
Thirty minutes later.
"……"
I sat on a nearby bench, feeling rather hollow.
I’m not a scary person.
All around me I could feel eyes darting away the moment they met mine.
Why does everyone run the second I approach…?
Whenever I got close, they gave me the exact same look, said the exact same thing, and bolted. Not knowing the reason left me feeling both wronged and irritated.
"Adel?"
A bright voice cut through my gloom like a ray of sunlight.
"Tina……"
"What’s the matter?"
Christina sat beside me, casually smoothing her glossy golden hair.
"All the students run away the moment they see me."
"Ah…… You really haven’t heard?"
She seemed to know something from the obvious frustration on my face.
"Heard what?"
"The Class A kids who returned from the Demon Realm practical are calling you a monster."
"……Why?"
The reason mattered most. If it had been a compliment I might have let it slide, but the way the students were using the word carried a clearly negative meaning.
"Well……"
Christina hesitated for a moment.
"They say Vincent started it."
"……That guy?"
A fresh wave of dejection washed over me.
Out of nowhere?
It was the last thing I had expected. The embodiment of laziness actually doing something felt almost unreal.
"Yeah. I didn’t catch the full story, but… apparently Vincent was the one who said it."
"……"
I’d probably learn the details during the next Demon Realm practical in about a month.
"Hic!"
Another Class A student spotted me, stumbled backward in fear, and ran.
…What exactly did he do?
If I kept living like this, time would probably fly by.
……Probably.
"Haa…… I wonder how it turned out?"
In the northern mansion, after sending Class A on their way, Vincent loosened his muscles in the training yard and let out a lazy sigh.
"Adel should be a lot more comfortable now, right?"
After Class S left the Demon Realm, Vincent had picked up some information. The boy he had taken an interest in was currently ranked 500th and treated as the academy’s greatest dullard.
Without even knowing that isn’t true.
For some reason the news irritated him, so Vincent made a decision. He would become a teacher for every single first-year.
When Class A arrived at the Demon Realm, the first thing he did wasn’t entering the realm itself but dueling them. One hundred students would have been a daunting number for most, but Vincent was on an entirely different level. He could handle them with one hand and still have energy to spare.
After dueling each student in turn, he spoke the same words to every one who lay defeated on the ground.
"Even Adel beat me. So why can’t you?"
The reactions split cleanly in two. Some accepted Adel as a monster. Others denied reality, insisting there was no way Adel could have done it. For those who denied it, Vincent kindly offered a second duel—extremely painful ones.
By the end, Adel had become a monster in their eyes.
I still don’t know why it wasn’t known before.
With that level of talent, judgment, and current strength, Adel should have been at least top ten in the academy. Vincent grew curious why he remained at 500th.
Things should be easier for him now.
Having heard plenty about Heiden Academy, Vincent knew exactly how the 500th rank was treated. Setting aside a few minor side effects, what he had done was definitely helpful to Adel.
Next is tomorrow, huh?
He planned to repeat the process with every first-year who came for Demon Realm training—acting as their teacher and dueling them all.
Works for me, too.
Vincent was strong enough to hold the line against demons in the middle layer, but that task was simply too bothersome. Using the excuse of teaching the students let him rest comfortably for a month. Sparring with novices was far more pleasant than slogging through the middle layer.
I’m looking forward to it.
Just thinking about Adel made him curious how much the boy would have grown by the time they met again. Absurd talent paired with relentless daily effort created something that could threaten even ordinary geniuses.
When we meet next…
I hope you’ve grown strong enough to cross swords with my own qi. Even though he knew it was unrealistic, Vincent somehow found himself genuinely anticipating that day.