Hellscape After the Finals
Right after being chased out of the final exam like a dog, what reflected in my pupils was a vision of hell. The clear sky was filled with dark clouds, and the verdant earth was painted in desolation.
"…Master. It's dangerous."
Just like Lilia's urgent call from beside me, the scene before my eyes far exceeded my wildest expectations.
What the hell is this shit?
Students were being assaulted en masse by unidentified monsters everywhere. Lightning rained from the sky, and demonic beasts rampaged across the ground—it was a scene straight out of a catastrophe.
"That crazy old man… he didn't mean stop this, did he…?"
It made no sense, but I had no choice right now. An event that never appeared in the original story was trying to kill me before my eyes.
"Lilia… I need your support."
"Got it. But this feels really bad."
"I know."
This spectacle evoked the image of a lost paradise. A disaster born from some unknowable cause. But unlike that mere illusion, this was harsh, unyielding reality—not a single detail spared.
An unwelcome truth, to say the least. No path to victory came to mind.
"Master! Behind you!"
The moment Lilia's words ended, I swung the sword at my waist.
—Slash!
With a clean cutting sound, a death knight's head flew off. Looking closer, it was identical to the knight from the Trial of Autumn we'd passed earlier.
The ones from the trial suddenly attacking us? No way.
Insight pierces the truth of the world.
In an instant. As I turned my gaze toward the death knight, an unfamiliar sight unfolded before me. Chilling blue eyes that seemed to peer into me, just as I peered into it.
"Urk…!"
A sharp pain stung my eyes, and the vision vanished. I'd never felt this using Insight before… Did it sense me and forcibly repel me?
This was a bad sign. If it could do what even demons couldn't, it was a seriously troublesome foe.
"Lilia. Any idea how to resolve this?"
"I'm not sure either. But… all the power in the area is being absorbed into one point."
"…Yeah. Looks like that thing in the sky, right?"
My gaze shifted to the center of the exam field's sky. Something hovered there unnaturally, asserting its presence. It looked like a small orb, smaller than my fist, but the aura it exuded was anything but insignificant.
Can't even properly grasp it with Insight, so it's definitely something.
It floated higher than expected, out of reach, but that didn't matter.
"Lilia. Mana platforms, please."
"Yes. Preparing now."
I couldn't fly, but jumping? No problem.
"Huu…"
I drew up my aura and reinforced my body. Jump as high as possible and end it in one go.
—KABOOOM!!!!
Kicking off Lilia's mana platform, I leaped repeatedly. The closer I got, the more lightning bolts from the sky annoyed me…
Heavenly Martial Body assists you.
The blade infused with aura had enough power to cleave through.
"The presence grows stronger the closer I get?"
It felt similar to when I first met Lilia. Like a great demon unbound to me.
—Thump! Thump!!
Now within arm's reach. I could feel the small orb, shrouded in mana, pulsing like a heartbeat. An unpleasant sensation, evoking a heart. An impulse to smash it right then surged.
Insight appraises the target.
"…Not a fluke, huh?"
I'd hoped getting close would allow Insight to work since it couldn't fully grasp it from afar, but no dice. Well, smash it anyway—
"Master!!! Destroy it now!!!!"
At Lilia's shout, I raised my aura-clad sword without hesitation. Just in case, make it a sure one-hit kill. No orb wrapped in mana could withstand this.
Dragon Slayer Style.
First Form.
Overlapping Scale Slash.
The aura-infused blade sliced through the mana and struck the orb true.
—CLAAANG!!!!
"………Clang?"
Huh? Instead of a clean slice, the blade bounced off.
This was seriously fucked—
Insight detects danger.
As a blue window appeared.
"Master!!! Fall back!!!!"
With Lilia's scream, my body was flung away.
"…Did that orb just repel me?"
I bit my lip at the incomprehensible situation.
—Whiiiirrr!!!
The mana that had been voraciously absorbing moments ago was neatly contained. The absorption halted, and mana began pouring out from the small orb.
A bizarre phenomenon even I, the possessor, didn't know. I didn't understand it fully, but one thing was clear: this was a being beyond my comprehension or reach.
"Finally… success."
The voice came from what had been the orb moments ago. It sounded unfamiliar, yet the tone tugged at my memory.
Its owner hovered in midair, clad in a black robe.
"…Why are you here?"
"Hm? So you're the one with that strong presence I felt earlier."
Blue eyes like a piercing blue sea, gazing through the world. Snow-white hair evoking a mythical angel. Identical—no deviation—to the man who had welcomed me warmly before.
"Nice to meet you."
"…………."
"Child of gray."
*******
Belloa, flustered by the inexplicable phenomenon moments ago, stared in disbelief.
"What's wrong, Belloa?"
Perhaps due to her dazed expression, Luel asked worriedly from beside her, but Belloa had no time to reply.
Bel… Belhalm…?
The thing that had menaced the world with ferocious absorption now matched perfectly the portrait of Belhalm from the past.
"Luel…."
"…Yeah?"
"Can we beat that thing?"
Though not asked by someone like Dante, every student in the exam field instinctively knew. Unlike the original test, this sudden calamity hovering in the sky had to be defeated.
"…Beat it?"
"Yeah."
"No."
Luel, the savior chosen by the gods. She didn't know his face like Belloa did, but she knew for certain: that thing in the sky was a calamity in human form.
Even the stigmata urges me to flee right now.
The divine stigmata was the power and mark bestowed upon apostles—a guide signaling when to advance.
But now, the one etched into her body demanded she stay back. It wasn't a disaster for an immature hero yet.
"Dante… Let's find Dante."
Ignoring her trembling body, Belloa suggested cautiously.
"…Yeah."
They bore the fate to save the world, yet now they were mere students. When victory seemed impossible, it was always that one man who saved them and solved everything.
"That jump into the sky earlier was Dante, right…? Head that way?"
"Yeah. I sense him there too."
Like lost children, Belloa and Luel trudged toward Dante. As they fended off attacking monsters and drew closer—
Luel, silently heading there, finally spoke.
"Belloa…."
"What?"
"Dante's presence feels faint."
If an aura user of her caliber couldn't sense an opponent clearly, it was one of two cases.
One: The target had deliberately erased their presence. Manageable, even positive.
The other: Their life was fading, presence dimming.
If that… it was the worst.
"…No way. That guy wouldn't go down easy."
"Right…?"
They recalled Dante's countless feats. Unyielding. Unbelievable. Their last hope.
And it didn't take long for that hope to shatter.
"………Guhk. F-Fuck."
His heart pierced clean through. Back against a rock. Life ebbing away—that was his form.