Chapter 221: Why is the Academy Being Breached? (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 221: Why is the Academy Being Breached? (5)
Asran - He'll do fine on his own.
A silence so profound it was hard to believe a battle had been raging just moments ago.
Bell blinked her eyes in the quiet and then shouted.
“Sososo! The male has disappeared!”
“I can see that for myself, you know…?”
Watching the demon and Adam Smith vanish into thin air, Asran fell into thought.
He’s not the type to go off and die easily, but…
Despite all the karma he had accumulated, the man was still alive. Honestly, even if news broke that he’d been assassinated, the list of potential culprits would be so long it would be impossible to narrow down. The fact that he was still breathing was a testament to his survival skills. However… his opponent was a demon.
A race that defied the common sense of this world, followers of a wicked god.
Against such foes, even Adam Smith couldn’t be guaranteed to survive.
The problem was...
“What can we even do?”
“……”
Against an enemy that could suddenly teleport, there was nothing a brawler and a swordsman could do. Or so Asran thought.
“Incompetent. Sososo is incompetent.”
Bell looked at Asran and curled her lip in a mocking sneer.
“And you’re any different?”
At Asran’s incredulous reaction, Bell sniffed the air with a look of supreme confidence.
“I can smell the male. He’s not that far away.”
“What?”
“It means that unlike Sososo, I am actually useful.”
Bell puffed out her chest proudly, but her expression soon stiffened.
“But there is a problem…”
“What now?”
“…The smell is overwhelming.”
“What kind of smell?”
“That pitch-black guy from before… and a scent similar to the one Ellen is fighting is everywhere…”
“……”
Asran wasn’t stupid enough to miss the implication.
It meant there wasn't just one or two demons nearby. A demon party in the middle of the Academy? Why were these creatures, once considered mere legends, popping up like weeds?
Did they really pick a bad site for this place?
He recalled Adam Smith once lamenting at the training grounds that the Imperial Academy had been built on cursed land. It turned out he wasn't just being dramatic.
But that wasn't the only issue.
“And most of them are heading toward Daisy.”
“……!”
Asran closed his eyes at those words.
Adam Smith and Daisy, both of whom had been fighting alongside them until just now, were both in danger.
So, who should he save?
The deliberation didn't last long.
“Then I’m going to Daisy!”
“A betrayal, Sososo?!”
“Adam will find a way to survive on his own! But why are you following me?”
“What good am I alone! This is a strategic choice to call for reinforcements!”
And so, Adam Smith—entrusted with the full 'trust' and 'faith' of his comrades—was left to his own devices.
Arwen - The RoFan Male Lead Candidate (Not) is strong.
Unlike the Swordsmanship Department, which held exams by grade level, the Magic Department gathered all years except the seniors to test together.
Mages, whose firepower increased the more they clustered together, were now concentrated in one spot. With several professors there to lead them, the Magic Department’s testing grounds were far more effective at repelling the enemy's offensive than the Swordsmanship Department.
…At least, until the demons appeared.
However, there was someone who managed to hold even those demons at bay.
“How many times must I suffer the same indignity!”
Unlike Aren, the head professor of the Swordsmanship Department and the so-called Sword Emperor who frequently showed his prowess, McGregor, the head professor of the Magic Department, had a habit of losing face by getting taken out at every critical moment. This time, however, he was actually putting up a fight.
“As expected of Lord McGregor!”
Snowflakes fluttered down from a cloudless sky. Though winter was approaching, there was no natural reason for snow to fall right now. It was the ability to change the seasons, albeit over a small area.
Proving why he was a Grand Mage, McGregor finally managed to take down a demon single-handedly, but—
“Urgh!”
“Lord McGregor!”
In the end, he fell.
It was inevitable. After defeating one demon, he had immediately been forced to face two more on his own.
As McGregor was once again screwed over by fate, the other magic professors rushed in, but their standard spells struggled to deal any significant damage to the demons.
As the professors fell one by one and the students began to spiral into panic, a lone figure stepped forward to face the demons.
It was a RoFan Male Lead candidate. Or more accurately, a (former) RoFan Male Lead candidate who held the 'honorable' title of being the very first to be eliminated. The Magic Spammer.
No, it was Prince Arwen of Dale.
And Arwen…
“Why is he fighting so well…?”
To Violet’s shock, Arwen was putting on a magnificent display, perfectly wielding Dale’s secret magic, Eternity, to strike down a demon.
“…He should have shown this side of himself sooner.”
If he had acted like this when Daisy was still in the Magic Department, his favorability would have skyrocketed. Why was he only showing off like this after being dumped?
“Aaah! Violet?! Are you done yet?”
“It’s about to break!”
But there was no time for deep reflection. While Arwen dealt with one demon, Violet was busy organizing and commanding the remaining students to block the other.
“The analysis is already complete.”
The opponent was a demon embodying the concept of Wind. Fast and sharp, but lacking in raw destructive power. Of course, that also meant it wasn't a high-ranking conceptual demon.
“So what do we do?!”
“We can’t win! Just block it with everything you’ve got!”
There weren't many in the Magic Department right now who could deal real damage to that demon. Only the incapacitated head professor, Arwen with his Eternity, or perhaps Marie.
But Marie is too dangerous.
The opponent was wind. Although she had perfectly controlled the Flame of Karma during her rampage, that was only because she had been consumed by the magic. If an uncontrolled Flame of Karma caught the demon’s wind and swept over their own allies, it would be a catastrophe.
Therefore, the best course of action was to buy time for McGregor or Arwen to recover.
“Senior, I’m seriously going to die!”
Princess Ruelle, who was blocking the front line, cried out with a tearful face.
“Try using a finishing move like your brother!”
“I don’t have anything like that?!”
“Arwen does, though…”
“To think I’d hear that I’m inferior to that man…!”
As a princess who hadn't inherited the secret magic, Ruelle could only protest the unfairness.
“If you have time to open your mouth, chant another spell!”
“Fine, I get it!”
They had to focus on survival before they could worry about anything else.
To think a sword would come in person to take back a Magic Sword.
The turn of events was dizzying, but not as much as what followed.
“……!”
Why is this guy so strong?
He looked like something a five-year-old boy wouldn't even want to play with, yet I could feel myself being pushed back with every clash of our blades. Even worse, as someone who came specifically for the Magic Sword, he knew its weaknesses perfectly.
“You call yourself a Sword Demon, yet you can’t even use Sword Energy?”
“A childish provocation. The King’s Sword is a blade that usurps the foundations of the world. Therefore, if one uses mediocre power, it will only be stolen.”
“So you’re saying you can only use mediocre power despite being a Sword Demon.”
“You are an opponent I can defeat regardless. I have no intention of creating variables.”
He was openly stating he could beat me without even using mana.
Unfortunately, true to his name as a Sword Demon, the blade protruding from his body was overwhelming my mana-infused sword, despite having no mana of its own. His technique was on another level, too…
“Why are you so damn hard…!”
It was hard to even call it a 'body,' but his physical form was incredibly durable. My Sword Energy couldn't even scratch him. Even when struck by the Magic Sword, the demon—a supposedly magical being—took no damage at all.
“I am a being born from the very concept of the 'Sword.' I am a material existence rather than a magical one.”
“A sword talking philosophy? Give me a break!”
“A swordsman who wields a blade is no fool, is he?”
Is that so? Looking at the Swordsmanship Department of the Imperial Academy, which supposedly gathered the continent's top talents, they seemed like fools to me.
“Whew.”
But I had to admit what needed to be admitted. As a swordsman, I couldn't even beat a walking blade. As someone who had studied the sword diligently since childhood, it was quite frustrating, but what could I do? My opponent was literally a sword with arms and legs.
In that case…
“Actually, I’m not a swordsman.”
“…What nonsense is this?”
Instead of answering the Sword Demon, I let flames and frost surge from the Magic Sword.
“I’m actually a mage—”
Before I could finish, a sudden surge of pain racked my entire body. By the time I regained my senses, I realized I had been smashed into a building.
“……”
I didn't even remember the process. I had lost consciousness for a split second.
“Foolish creature.”
Creeeak. At the sound of something scraping, I barely managed to lift my head. The Sword Demon looked slightly larger now—or maybe it was just my imagination. No, looking at the size of the blade scraping the floor, he definitely got bigger.
“You’re a sword, and you can even grow…?”
“I do not know what humans think when they forge and draw a sword. It may be to kill, or it may be to save.”
This guy kept saying profound things for a mere sword. If a sword was like this, it really raised the bar for actual swordsmen.
“However, those who wield the sword are those who stake their lives on the blade. They face walls, they despair, and they are broken. Yet, they are those who strive to move forward. But you… you fled.”
In short, he had been matching my level because he thought he was facing a swordsman. But when he saw me 'fleeing' toward magic, he got pissed off and cut me down.
What a swordsman-friendly demon he was. He’d probably get along great with the Sword Emperor.
“There is no paradise for those who flee.”
This was so unfair.
“I had no choice if I wanted to get my work done.”
This was the result of a salaryman’s blood, sweat, and tears.
“And so, were you successful?”
I was left speechless by his follow-up question. For a sword, he really knew how to twist the blade where it hurt.
“……”
Honestly, if you asked if this was enough to beat Ellen… the answer was no. The magic I had learned was less a weapon for the strong and more a tool to defeat the weak more efficiently. Of course, it was better than nothing against the strong, but it only increased my momentary destructive power. My pure skill was still stagnant.
But still.
“I’ll take that from my boss or the Sword Emperor, but not from a sword.”
Hearing that from a demon with limbs was just insulting. Whose fault did he think this was? They kept coming at me every single day without giving me a moment's peace, and then they told me not to run away.
“I speak to you as a sword, swordsman.”
“I’m a magician.”
“Do not flee.”
As if I don't want to become a Sword Master.
“Then give me a hand or something.”
I downed a bottle of Holy Water and barely managed to stand up. Of course, I didn't forget to keep my 'turn signals' flickering on my sword.
“Foolish boy.”
The demon swung his blade at the flames that flickered and vanished as if mocking him. This time, because I was focused, I could actually see his attack coming.
“Gah!”
Of course, seeing it didn't mean I could block it perfectly.
“Die as a swordsman.”
Does that mean you won't kill me if I'm a mage?
Before I could utter those words, a barrage of slashes rained down, rendering me unable to say anything at all.