Joint Class - Part 4
In that moment, Claire thought everything was over.
There was no excuse. She had attacked Wade.
She had prayed for the Dark Arrow to miss, but her prayer was futile.
Claire's magic struck his body. In an instant, he staggered.
"No!"
This wasn't what she wanted.
"Tch..."
A wound opened on Wade's body. The sudden, sharp scent of blood pierced her nose.
This... this is...
But she panicked. She had lost control of her body.
When people realize their actions have caused a mistake or a tragedy, they typically lose all strength in their limbs.
As humans, it is an instinctive reaction.
If a problem arises because they did something 'wrong,' they naturally believe that doing 'nothing' will prevent the issue from spreading.
But right now, Claire's body was not her own. Her mind, her emotions, her heart, her arms, her demonic energy—every single part of her had been consumed.
"Ah, ah, ah, aaaaah!!!"
Dozens of blood-red Dark Arrows, fueled by her very life force, materialized in the air.
Every single one of them flew straight toward Wade.
"N-No! Run away, quickly!"
The last remnants of her sanity forced the words from her mouth, but she already knew.
She could do nothing. Death was inevitable. She was going to kill Wade.
The first friend she had made since entering the Academy. The man who, though a bit blunt, had sincerely worried about her future.
She was going to kill him with her own hands, with her own demonic energy.
"Aaaaaaaah!!!"
She wailed. Amidst her sorrow, the rage and screams of the giant magic beast mingled with her voice.
She couldn't resist. She had to accept it. There was nothing she could do but submit.
If she had known this power was like this, she wouldn't have spared it a single glance from the start.
She regretted it over and over, but she no longer had a choice.
She could only flounder in the grief of having ruined everything, drowning in the realization that she should never have come along in the first place.
"Grrrrr..."
The monster growled low.
Absolute despair and helplessness dug deep into Claire's chest.
Forcing her eyes open, she looked toward where Wade should have been—where surely not even a trace of him would remain.
"You did well to hold out."
But he was standing there, completely fine.
"Huh?"
Claire's rational mind felt a spark of hope. She felt a surge of happiness that he was still alive.
Yet her body and demonic energy, consumed by the beast's rage, felt only anger and hatred toward the living being before her.
"U-Uaaah!!!"
More Dark Arrows formed. Once again, demonic energy powerful enough to tear a human apart poured toward him.
"..."
Yet he said nothing, taking long, steady strides toward where Claire stood.
The Dark Arrows that struck his body vanished in an instant, like snowflakes melting upon touching a warm hand.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
Claire wailed in despair, but her possessed body—her demonic energy—had no intention of listening to her cries.
As if it were the most natural thing to do, it kept firing the only dark magic she knew: Dark Arrow.
The demonic energy surged with a wrathful spell to kill him, but Wade had no intention of accepting that rejection.
As if it were the most natural thing to do, he casually deflected dozens, hundreds of Dark Arrows.
"Ah."
He arrived right in front of Claire's eyes.
I'd rather...
He must be angry. After all, she had tried to kill him without any explanation.
Or perhaps he thought it was already too late.
That she was someone consumed by the beast's demonic energy, unable to think or judge properly. That she was already beyond saving.
Claire thought so too.
But... if it ends like this, now—
She would die.
Claire accepted that painful reality.
She could meet her end quietly, without harming anyone else.
It's finally over...
"You did well."
"Huh?"
But Wade, standing right before her, did not try to kill her. He simply pulled her into an embrace.
Even now, Claire's body was generating and firing countless Dark Arrows, but his body remained completely unharmed, save for the wound from the very first arrow.
Ah... Ah!
Joy seeped into Claire's mind.
The helplessness of being unable to do anything and the despair of having no choices gradually transformed into hope and happiness.
No matter what she did, she could not hurt him. She didn't need to make any choices with her weak mind.
It's... warm.
It was a night of pouring rain. Only after feeling his warmth did Claire realize how freezing cold her own body had been.
I don't have to do anything. Nothing at all...
Her strength entirely spent, Claire collapsed against him.
A faint smile played on her lips.
"Seriously, how did you hold out so well..."
Claire might not understand, but by my standards, what she had achieved was close to a miracle.
"Even for a novice dark mage, maintaining sanity in front of a magic beast like that is..."
At the very least, her voice had remained her own until the final moment.
I looked at the magic beast before me.
Its massive size, sturdy waist, a tail larger than a giant tree, and a gaping maw.
And the ferocious demonic energy flowing through its body revealed its true identity.
"A Behemoth..."
It was small. Though "small" was a word that hardly fit its size, it was definitely not an adult.
Once fully grown, it would be a magic beast comparable in size to this entire mountain, not just trees or boulders. It had likely been born not too long ago.
However, its ferocity and demonic energy were the real deal.
Driven by instinct, it scattered violence, rage, appetite, and greed in all directions.
Even putting its massive size aside, it was a living nightmare for any dark mage.
"Demonic energy corrosion..."
Demonic energy bows to power.
No matter how strong a dark mage's mental fortitude, they had no choice but to kneel before an entity possessing demonic energy stronger than their own.
"I suppose I should be glad she was weak."
Unless a dark mage's demonic energy surpassed the Behemoth's to the point of subjugating the monster, their strength was meaningless.
Instead, it would only become a shackle that bound them more tightly and painfully. The stronger the dark mage, the more they would be swayed.
Even considering that, Claire's resistance was nothing short of miraculous.
Her eyes had been trembling right up to the moment she fired the Dark Arrows at me. The small amount of demonic energy she possessed hadn't been enough to completely strip away her sanity.
I had no choice but to take the first arrow, but the wound wasn't that deep. From the next arrow onward, I could easily block them all just by deploying a barrier of demonic energy.
"Still, I need to find a way..."
Her body had already reached its limit. She had collapsed for now, but given this torrential rain, it wouldn't be surprising if she died of hypothermia at any moment.
"I wish the Princess would get here."
By now, Yurisia and Zenia must have realized we were missing.
But I couldn't just wait.
"Grrrrr..."
The beast noticed something was off.
I wasn't stronger than it. The source of my power was a Fragment of the Void, not an actual archdevil.
However, I would not be dominated by it. Indomitable Will allowed me to utilize my power to its fullest, even in front of this colossal magic beast.
"No choice then."
It was massive. And it was fast, far faster than its giant bulk suggested.
The moment I turned my back and ran, I would become 'prey.'
If the Behemoth pursued me through the forest without any resistance, I would never be able to escape it.
"You played a rather interesting card... Katarin."
It was far too grand a card just to kill me. She had probably released it on this mountain as an egg, but even considering that, this was excessive.
A monster of this scale could summon a heavy storm just by breathing and paralyze communications by causing massive magical thunder.
"Did she disguise it as a secret weapon... to kill the Princess?"
Numerous factions existed within the Academy. And among them was a gathering of dark mages working toward the destruction of the world.
It was an organization that shouldn't have stepped into the light just yet, but if it was Katarin, using their plans to accelerate things slightly wouldn't be impossible.
"Graaaaaah!!!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it."
The beast clearly realized that despite carrying demonic energy, I was neither ally nor enemy.
It sensed that I was an anomalous existence—one that could neither dominate nor be dominated.
I couldn't just wait for rescue. First, I had to deal with this thing on my own.
I hadn't learned many dark magic spells yet. But here, I could pour out my infinite demonic energy without restraint.
"Let's do this."
Behind my back, countless Dark Arrows rose.
A massive mass of demonic energy, closer to spears than arrows, and closer to pillars than spears.
Beyond the pouring rain, the beast's eyes glowed red.
"Here I come!"
I fired the Dark Arrows straight toward its hideous mouth and disgusting eyes.