Chapter 208: I Must Live (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 208: I Must Live (4)
Violet - Maybe the Demon King wasn't that big of a deal.
To be perfectly honest, Violet thought Adam Smith was a lunatic.
Of course, that opinion hadn't changed much even now.
However, she had come to understand at least one thing.
“No, this makes no sense!”
The person shouting the words Violet herself wanted to say was none other than Joan, the Academy Director.
As the director of the Imperial Academy—which seemed to get ransacked by dark mages every other day—she was a formidable mage who held the title of Archmage.
To the readers, she was a tragic character who was treated as a mere gag character whenever she appeared during the Academy arc.
…But she was also the character who shocked those same readers after the Academy arc ended.
When a portion of the world suddenly vanished, replaced by an influx of monsters turned into variants and demons blessed by the Evil God, humanity faced its greatest crisis.
During the event known as the Total War, she was one of the figures standing at the forefront of humanity’s grand offensive.
As a commander who not only possessed immense personal power but also elevated the caliber of the mages under her command by a whole tier, she made the readers recognize her name not as a simple gag character, but as the embodiment of an Archmage.
Joan Helias.
That very Archmage, capable of taking down high-ranking demons single-handedly, was now howling in frustration.
“This is impossible! You’re not even a swordsman! How can a mage pick up a sword and perform like this?!”
Violet nodded instinctively.
No one knew her own skills better than she did.
In the chapters where Joan truly shined, the character named Violet didn't even exist.
To build up the plot for a full-blown angst-fest, Violet—the best friend of Daisy, the RoFan female lead—was scripted to be killed off.
Violet had done her absolute best to ensure that didn't happen.
That process included learning self-defense. Daisy, who learned alongside her, was so talented she eventually transferred to the Swordsmanship Department…
But Violet didn't have that kind of talent.
She wasn't bad, but she wasn't exceptional either.
Furthermore, focusing on magic and sorcery was already overwhelming, so most of the self-defense she learned consisted of close-quarters combat techniques designed to create variables.
In other words, her skills were limited to basic dagger techniques.
Perhaps it was because it was a weapon from the mythological era, or perhaps it was due to the divine power Delmoa had bestowed upon her.
The Magic Sword was light enough for her to handle with her own strength… but it was still a struggle to wield a blade of that length with any proficiency.
Consequently, her stance was a mess, and her swings were even worse.
And yet, that was enough.
Whenever she swung and cut through a spell, the sword absorbed Joan’s mana.
When she was caught off guard and took a spell head-on, the sword absorbed that too.
It was the height of absurdity.
Even if it was the same type of mana, cutting or parrying an opponent’s magic shouldn't be that easy.
If simply using mana made that possible, the world would be ruled by knights who could use magic.
But the Magic Sword made the impossible possible.
And it allowed a mage like her to do it against an Archmage like Joan, someone she normally wouldn't even be able to make eye contact with.
To be honest, even when Adam Smith entered a contractual relationship with Daisy, Violet had wondered if he actually had feelings for her.
It was a position the RoFan male leads couldn't get even if they begged for it, and besides, Daisy was beautiful.
Even from another woman's perspective, she was stunning. What man would turn down a beautiful woman making the first move?
Even if Daisy was burdened by the fate of a RoFan female lead, wasn't it worth it?
That’s probably why he pretended to hate it while going along with the contract relationship and accepting everything so naturally.
…That thought vanished the moment she used the Magic Sword herself.
If I had a sword like this, I would have accepted a contract relationship too.
In fact, it felt downright unfair.
Why did I have to be reincarnated as a woman and miss out on a contract relationship with Daisy!
No, going further, she felt a twinge of resentment that Daisy hadn't asked her for a contract relationship.
The 1st Prince Couple are like that too! Women can have contract relationships with each other!
The power of the Magic Sword was so great that she found herself entertaining such nonsense without a second thought.
And that wasn't all.
What about the Helmet of the Demon King echoing in her head?
It automatically cast a spell for her, making it feel like she had gained an extra arm.
Moreover, just wearing it made her mind feel several times sharper.
It was as if she could intuitively sense exactly when and what magic to use.
Nothing felt specifically different, yet the act of using magic itself felt as fluid as running water.
How should she describe it?
It was like she had been perfectly content using a PC with a GTX 1060 and 8GB of RAM, feeling no need to upgrade.
Then, she suddenly swapped it for an RTX 5070 with 32GB of RAM.
She was still playing the same low-spec games she always did, but the difference in performance was staggeringly palpable.
It was definitely… something.
Even when she got distracted and made a mistake, the helmet naturally compensated through attack or defense.
The terrifying part was that this was only a fraction of the Demon King’s divine artifacts.
Of course, it was mentioned that among the Demon King’s signature gear, the Magic Sword, helmet, armor, the rings on both middle fingers, and the boots held particularly immense power…
But just wearing the Magic Sword and the helmet made it clear.
These items elevated one's tier by several levels.
And yet, the Demon King lost to the RoFan party even while wearing the full set?
Sure, Daisy’s divine power was his natural counter, and the RoFan male leads eventually found and equipped the Goddess’s divine artifacts… but still, was the Demon King just a total noob?
Honestly, if Silence had worn even half of the Demon King’s gear, the Academy would have been destroyed and the world would have surely fallen into the hands of the Evil God.
“Eeeeeeek!”
Look at that.
The Archmage’s face was flushed red as she began to unleash her full firepower.
But it was too late.
She should have attacked like that from the very beginning.
Because now…
“Is this… mana?”
The Magic Sword was already overflowing with mana.
Of course, it wasn't my mana.
It all belonged to the Director, Joan.
I never knew a single person could hold this much mana.
It was a truly ignorant amount of mana that commanded awe.
“Is this… my mana?”
This mana belongs to me now.
I can use it however I want.
It was a shame it was a one-time deal, though.
If I used this as a sacrifice, I felt like I could achieve something truly ridiculous.
For example, something like this.
“Oh…”
A miniature sun was completed.
Using my mana and sorcery as a catalyst, calculated by the Helmet of the Demon King.
And brought to life by the Director’s mana.
Small compared to the actual sun. But…
“Hey, you crazy bitch! What are you making?!”
It was a spell that made even the Archmage turn pale and contemplate whether she should just bolt.
And as they say, magic exists to be used.
“Art is…”
An explosion.
My head is burning up.
To create a heatwave worse than midsummer right as winter is approaching.
“I hope she doesn't refuse to give the sword back after this.”
“You crazy bastard, is that all you have to say after seeing that?!”
Our Sososo was debating whether to run while staring at the massive sphere of fire.
“Stupid male.”
Bell mocked Asran.
“Do you really think you can outrun that?”
Or maybe she had just given up.
While I watched Bell blankly staring at the flames while eating popcorn.
“……”
Perhaps she was certain of Violet’s victory. Delmoa, who was sitting on my lap, waved her hand enthusiastically toward Violet.
“……”
Was it just my imagination that her fingertips were pointing toward the Holy Kingdom’s camp?
Having confirmed a truth I probably shouldn't have known, I chose silence.
“Aaaaah!”
I could guess why Violet did something so reckless.
First of all… because she actually could.
Having achieved something she had only imagined, she must have wanted to fire it.
Of course, just because you have the nuclear button in your hand doesn't mean it makes sense to press it.
But if there’s a way to suppress the fallout, wouldn't some people try pressing it anyway?
“I’m definitely seeing you when we get back! You’re writing a reflection paper for sure!”
And the one Violet trusted was likely the Director.
Violet had said before.
The Academy Director was a fairly trustworthy, heroic character.
Contrary to her will, the Academy was breached every time due to the fate of the RoFan world.
She wasn't involved with dark mages, nor was she a hidden mastermind; rather, she was someone who worked day and night for the sake of the students.
In fact, during the fight with Violet, she had several openings she could have exploited, but she hesitated to strike the finishing blow.
Unfortunately, the result was that catastrophe.
Violet, that black-haired beast who knew no gratitude, saw it as a perfect opportunity to drop her ultimate move and unleashed the spell.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
The Director poured out even more mana than she had already lost to block Violet’s sun.
She didn't just block it; she absorbed it in a way that minimized the aftereffects of the magic.
This was only possible because the mana Violet used originally belonged to the Director.
Even so, the way the Director orchestrated the countless shifts in the mana flow proved her mastery.
It was incredible technique, backed by an amount of mana that made even that technique look trivial.
Even I, who didn't fall behind anyone in terms of mana capacity, probably had several times less than her.
Of course, a knight’s mana is compressed, so mages naturally have a higher raw volume of pure mana.
Since the total amount of mana a person can hold is part of their talent, someone more talented than me—who forcibly crammed mana into a slightly larger-than-average vessel—could hold even more.
But even that has clear limits.
Unless you’re a dragon, no other race should be able to contain that much mana.
It was likely a unique type of magic possessed by the Director.
As expected, she was a powerhouse worthy of being ranked among the strongest, provided she actually stepped out of the Academy as Violet said.
“I’ve… burned it all away…”
In the end, her opponent was her own mana.
While she didn't lose the battle against herself, she didn't achieve a perfect victory either. The Director collapsed as if every drop of her mana had been drained.
Which meant.
“Violet… won…?”
“Well, their power levels were actually similar.”
If it hadn't been for a certain Dragonkin’s trolling, it might not have even escalated to Violet’s turn.
It was a classic trope of the Academy genre.
The students are always stronger than the professors or TAs.
The problem was.
“Wait, where is Violet going?”
“That girl is bolting…”
“Bolting? Why? Violet won. She’s the victor, so there’s no reason to run anymore…”
To Asran, who wondered why she would bother, I pointed out Violet’s actions.
“She’s running away with my stuff!”
Maybe she didn't know until she tried it, but now that she’d had a taste, she was clearly drooling for more.
“You’re dead if I catch you.”
And so, I had no choice but to pick up Delmoa—the Magic Sword charger who had been sitting on my lap—and give chase to the fleeing Violet.