Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: The Dean's Proclamation
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Why were these guys, who’d only been prowling outside the building, suddenly charging in like mad?
I didn’t even have time to follow that thought.
My eyes met those of the doll leading the charge. The adult doll let out a hideous screech, accelerating even more before smashing headlong into the window with a reckless body slam.
Crash!
Damn it, didn’t that girl say it wouldn’t break?
Just as I was thinking maybe I should take everything Arin said and assume the opposite…
The doll that had broken into the building fixed its gaze on me.
It looked like a bear doll, but there wasn’t even a shred of a fluffy impression.
Thick saliva dripped from its jagged, uneven teeth, and its eyes gleamed blood-red.
The torn and ragged doll mask had stitched-up patches, some of which looked disturbingly like human skin.
A horrific sight, like a stuffed doll with human flesh sewn onto it.
Thud.
Since I was carrying Dean Alderson on my back, I didn’t clash head-on but leaped aside to dodge.
The qi surging from its soles was fairly strong.
I could see now why they were called [adult dolls]. Compared to the ones inside the building, it was exactly like the difference between an adult and a child.
…Of course.
Compared to Kajitta, whom I’d just fought, it was insect-level.
The moment I thought it’d be hard to use big moves with the dean weighing me down, I recalled the Foot Meridian Kajitta had used in our fight.
‘Let’s try it.’
I knew the Foot Meridian technique well enough. No problem executing it.
Smack.
As I passed the bear doll, I placed my palm on its head and circulated my qi.
Boom!
Its head exploded on the spot.
“Urk.”
A foul stench assaulted my nose.
It wasn’t just the stink. Black blood sprayed everywhere from the burst head, mixed with unidentifiable chunks.
‘This is why I hate bare hands.’
I wiped the black blood from my hand onto Dean Alderson and looked ahead.
Raaargh!
Did these dolls have a sense of smell?
A swarm of adult dolls rushed toward me. Maybe because they’d smelled blood, their eyes were rolling back in frenzy.
At least they finally seemed demonic enough, which inwardly satisfied me. Better than incinerating those tiny dolls with White Sun Eclipse.
Truth be told, no matter how many swarmed, as long as they didn’t fully surround me, they weren’t much of a threat…
But the unconscious Dean Alderson was a hindrance.
I slung the dean over my right shoulder and bolted down the hallway.
Naturally, the dolls chased after me with their signature screeches.
‘There sure are a shit-ton of them.’
The ones chasing from behind weren’t the only problem.
Soon, more adult dolls smashed through windows ahead and lunged at me.
Shing-.
I drew the Yin-Yang Blade with my empty hand.
It was the best weapon right now.
Big moves like White Sun Eclipse were hard to pull off, and Seven Sins Sword suited strong swords.
For lumpy cotton balls like these, the razor-sharp Yin-Yang Blade was perfect.
Slash!
After roughly slicing through eight dolls, I reached the first-floor cafeteria.
Bang!
No hands free to open the door, so I kicked it. The entrance door splintered and flew off, revealing the inside.
“D-don’t come closer…!”
“Taylor, you idiot! Get down!”
It was a mess inside too.
A large doll had already broken in, and there were quite a few small ones.
The cadets had formed a barricade with long tables and were desperately fighting back.
Fortunately, no one was dead or seriously injured.
The one battling the adult doll was Zidonne, the knight cadet I’d met on the fourth floor.
He looked the most endangered right now. He was fighting it alone.
It wasn’t an even match. Blood poured from a gash on his forehead, and one arm dangled limply, probably broken in the fray.
I glanced at the non-combatants cowering and trembling in the corner.
Pathetic, but that was right. Better to hide than get in the way and become dead weight.
“Hold the dean for a bit.”
“Uh. O-okay…?”
I dumped him on them unilaterally and charged into the fray.
First, to Zidonne, who seemed most at risk.
I kicked the head of the adult doll he was fighting.
Thwack…!
The doll’s head detached like a ball and flew off.
“In one strike…?”
Zidonne gasped in shock.
“Senior, you held out well.”
A brief compliment on his efforts. Sincere. If Zidonne hadn’t held, all these cadets would be dead.
I patted his shoulder lightly, then cleaned up the rest.
“Damn it…! Don’t back down! If we lose here, we’re all dead anyway!”
Surprisingly, leading the fight were Russo and his cronies.
Blood-soaked Russo bellowed hoarsely at the dolls, so focused he hadn’t noticed me approaching.
Slice.
Their positions were perfect. One swing mowed them all down.
“Huh…?”
Russo’s eyes glazed over as he realized the enemies were wiped out in an instant. The others too.
“Snap out of it.”
I slapped the cheeks of the guys standing dazed beside me.
Then, confirming the light return to their vacant stares, I said,
“You can all stand, right? You’ve grasped the situation. This place isn’t safe anymore.”
In this hell, the fragile order they’d maintained had collapsed.
Adult dolls that only prowled outside had broken through windows… Even the rooms inside were no longer safe.
“Th-then what do we…?”
All eyes turned to me.
Truth be told, I didn’t have a brilliant plan, but showing hesitation would just fuel their panic.
“To the rooftop.”
“R-rooftop?”
“But on the rooftop, we could get trapped if…”
We could get trapped, sure.
As the cadets exchanged uneasy glances, only Zidonne nodded.
“In this situation, getting holed up might be better. At least we won’t get surrounded.”
I nodded.
Adult dolls swarmed outside, and rooms inside were no longer safe.
Better to evacuate to the rooftop, barricade the single entrance, and hold out.
My judgment might be wrong…
But in urgent times like this, better a quick wrong call than a delayed right one.
I coaxed and urged the cadets along as we raced down the hall.
Raaargh!
Adult and small dolls lunged one after another, but I repelled them effortlessly with swings of the Yin-Yang Blade.
And inwardly, I marveled at my own swordsmanship.
‘Hmm…’
Clean, efficient sword paths. The blade extended precisely as my mind willed.
Not just because the Yin-Yang Blade was a rare divine weapon.
My bout with Kajitta.
Suffering full-body burns had deepened my understanding of fire’s essence…
And I’d gained insights into qi circulation too.
My dantian was still empty, but those realizations let me coat my scarce qi into sword aura and unleash blade winds.
Passing the second floor to the third, then the fourth, we reached the rooftop.
A horde of dolls pursued, stomping up the stairs like they’d shatter them.
“Q-quick, close it!”
Russo hurriedly shut the door.
A door alone wouldn’t hold, but was there something to wedge in the handle?
Something sturdy. Anything sturdy.
I instantly drew Seven Sins Sword from my waist and jammed it into the handle.
[My liege?]
‘Sorry.’
A quick apology to the Martial God, then—boom!—the iron door shuddered.
Boom…! Thud…!
“…”
Dull thuds came from beyond the door.
Like they were brutishly slamming their heads. The door was denting slightly, but it’d hold for now.
“Hold this for a sec.”
“Leave it to me.”
I told Zidonne, the most reliable one, then went to the dean.
“How’s his condition?”
Arin happened to be tending him, so I asked her.
“H-he seems deeply asleep. This… is Dean Alderson, right? Where was he?”
“Underground prison.”
I replied curtly, placed my hand on Alderson’s abdomen, and probed his internals.
“…”
A total mess.
Tangled qi and blood, rampaging mana. I clicked my tongue inwardly. Even if he woke, he wouldn’t be much help.
‘Still, he can talk once conscious.’
I forcibly injected qi into the grand mage’s body, calming the rampaging mana at least.
“Cough…!”
Moments later, Alderson coughed harshly and snapped his eyes open.
He looked at me with thoroughly confused eyes.
“You are…?”
“Ruan Bednicker.”
“B-Bednicker!?”
Arin, standing beside him, was more startled.
Come to think of it, I’d never told that senior my family name?
“If Bednicker… cough. I see… The leader of the training conference who was to come to our school.”
“I’ll explain briefly. This is the shadow world. I just rescued you, the captured dean.”
Mid-sentence, feeling his condition stabilize greatly, I withdrew my hand.
“…I see.”
Dean Alderson regarded me with calm eyes.
Not undeserving of his title as grand mage. No panic despite a situation warranting it.
“Continue.”
“The dolls in the shadow world—probably demons in doll masks—suddenly turned ferocious. This is the rooftop of some building, swarming with berserk demons beyond that iron door. Bluntly, we’re in crisis.”
“Hm. Understood. Then, we must resolve the immediate situation first.”
Dean Alderson rose.
“Dean?”
“Wait a moment.”
He stood there, taking deep breaths.
In that instant, I sensed turbulent mana writhing around Alderson.
‘This is…’
Regulating his breath, inhaling and exhaling several times, he suddenly opened his mouth.
“…I proclaim.”
“…!”
Now even the other cadets sensed the mana’s turbulence.
Alderson’s robe billowed fiercely.
Five, six, seven overlapping magic circles spun like interlocked gears.
“Let this place be my castle.”
Fwoosh!
It was like a fountain of light manifesting.
A massive pillar of light surged from Alderson toward the sky, then shattered into tiny particles raining over the entire building.
Drifting down lightly, more like snowflakes than raindrops.
Shrieeek!
A horrific scream echoed as the building shook. I saw countless evil presences vanish.
“…Everyone, you can relax now. This building is safe.”
As Alderson smiled faintly, the cadets erupted in cheers.
Some weak-hearted ones collapsed and sobbed outright.
Like survivors rescued after weeks stranded.
It was understandable.
Dragged to this hellish place, enduring weeks or months in terror.
Cadets suddenly pulled into the shadow world.
Living in daily fear, wondering when death would come, they’d finally met a reliable adult.
The academy’s strongest, Dean Alderson, no less.
No wonder their tension snapped.
“Enough of that. No crying from proud Cartel Academy cadets over this.”
Alderson comforted and encouraged them with a faint smile.
‘…’
So probably only I noticed.
How much paler Alderson’s complexion was than right after waking.
‘…This isn’t good.’
I didn’t know much about magic, but I could tell he’d overexerted himself greatly.
Impressive he’d pulled off that spell with barely a fraction of his power…
“Ruan, leader.”
Then Dean Alderson addressed me.
His inscrutable eyes turned my way.
“Could we speak privately for a moment?”
I nodded.
* * *
“Whew…”
Alderson wearily sank into a chair. I rummaged the room, found a water jug, and handed it over.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
Gulp. He drained half, closed his eyes, and fell silent briefly.
Not organizing thoughts.
Steadying his shaken insides.
He’d finished the water ages ago, yet his throat bobbed belatedly.
Probably swallowing back blood.
“…The legion commander was guarding me.”
“It was a strong foe.”
Alderson paused at my words, then asked,
“…You defeated it?”
“Yes.”
“…”
Alderson eyed me as if gauging truth from lie.
“Ruan Bednicker. The Iron-Blooded Duke’s youngest brat, the Bednicker family black sheep… The fool who sold the family sword, or so I heard. All a facade?”
“…Well, something like that.”
I didn’t bother correcting the tiresome misunderstanding anymore.
Then the dean rose and walked to the window.
His deep-set eyes turned to the blood-red moon.
“It’s grown much closer.”
“Closer?”
I asked absently, following his gaze to the moon…
And slightly grasped his cryptic words.
Indeed, since first sight, the moon loomed far larger.
“That moon—what’s with it?”
“More than ‘something.’ That blood moon is Hadenaihar itself.”
“Huh?”
I blinked.
The blood moon wasn’t a nickname—it was literally its appearance?
‘No. Though Tantata did look like a real tongue too.’
Alderson spoke.
“As it draws ever closer until it touches the ground, it will corrupt the minds of all in the shadow world. The effects will spill into the real world.”
“Then we just take down the culprit before that.”
Alderson looked at me with faint surprise.
“You know more than I thought. Correct. But…”
“A problem?”
He sighed heavily and asked,
“Do you know who the culprit is?”
“Pretty much confirmed as the Ferist Princess.”
“Indeed.”
His demeanor suggested he knew too.
I asked,
“Worried about imperial assassination taboos?”
“No. Imperial law doesn’t apply to cultists.”
Then what?
As I asked with my eyes, he explained.
“Embarrassing to admit, but much time has passed since I was brought here. A doll impersonating me must exist in reality, no?”
“Yes.”
“Then the princess has seized full control of the [Tower of Trials]. That’s the issue.”
Tower of Trials?
“Is mass-producing dolls the problem?”
“No. Ruan, leader—have you climbed the [Tower of Trials]?”
“Yes.”
“To which floor?”
“Fourth.”
“I see.”
Alderson nodded gravely.
“…At the tower’s pinnacle is a golem handling the final trial. My greatest masterpiece, a combat golem.”
“Ah.”
I recalled hearing it from the dean’s doll.
“And the princess likely controls that golem.”
“Is that a big issue? Unless it’s stronger than a demon legion commander.”
No sarcasm—just genuine curiosity.
Alderson shook his head.
“No. The legion commander guarding me was a mighty demon, weakened or not. Hellfire Legion Commander Kajitta… Hard for my golem to face.”
“…”
“Even so, it wouldn’t lose outright. The golem boasts superb durability, waterproofing, weather resistance, heat resistance. Its combat prowess surpasses high-grade aura knights. Ten at minimum, fifteen generously, and it’d crush Kajitta.”
I still didn’t quite follow.
Alderson averted his gaze slightly and muttered,
“The golem’s motif is the White Knight Order. Know it? The legendary order serving the Platinum King three hundred years ago.”
Platinum King.
One of the empire’s five kings, deified after death.
But what caught me wasn’t the king.
“…A knight order?”
“Yes. Aspiring to the White Knight Order legend, I invested fortunes mass-producing combat golems to form one… Total of two hundred fifty.”
What a lunatic.