Found: Ceres
Finding Ceres wasn't difficult. All he had to do was follow the trail of her residual mana. Judging by the lingering curse, it was a First-Class Spirit, but the sheer volume leaking out put it on par with a Special Grade. Most First-Class Spirits conserved their power by keeping their curses intact as much as possible... but this one was probably the showy type. The kind that was easy to deal with. It had likely just reached First-Class and was drunk on its own omnipotence. The leaking curse alone would crush an ordinary human under pressure. Even battle-hardened veterans would tense up against a First-Class curse.
"But it's just First-Class, after all."
Being measurable within the established ranking system made all the difference. Immeasurable and measurable were worlds apart. In truth, Special Grade had the widest gap between individuals—no two were alike. Some were just barely stronger than First-Class, while others were freakish outliers. All lumped under the same label.
"So we can wipe them out?"
"Yeah. First-Class is nothing. With me, you, and Nero, it's doable!"
What couldn't they handle? Thanks to his recent body conditioning, he could suppress even Second-Class Spirits with one hand. And though he hated to admit it, Skaya's tweaks had boosted his mana reserves significantly. Plus, there was the new curse-based weapon he wouldn't normally have, and their Nero, who operated on a whole other level from First-Class.
"If you're scared, just hang back."
"Don't make me laugh. You think I, the lady's bodyguard, am just gonna hide behind you?"
"Nah, that's exactly why I said it."
He gave his body a quick warm-up.
"Let's go."
Mantra seal, deploy.
"Here we go!!"
"Yeah!!!"
BOOOOM!!!!! An ear-shattering roar echoed as one wall of the academy crumbled, unleashing dozens of spirits. No need to panic at the numbers.
Second- and Third-Class at best. No different from flies before Nero. Spotting an object in the corner gave him a sense of how they'd breached the barrier.
"So you manufactured curses right here."
Curses typically spawned where death occurred. With few deaths in the academy, conditions weren't ideal for spirits or curses. But these had smuggled in body parts—fingers, toes, heads, eyeballs, uteruses, testicles, teeth—and force-produced curses using them as mediums. The forced method and soul fragments made them weak enough for even Minel to handle.
"Ha... what do they take the academy for?"
Not his place to say, but this was humanity's stronghold. And with Skaya around, safety was guaranteed. She was probably watching from somewhere right now—no mana in the academy escaped her dominion.
"...You watching, Skaya?"
His words drew mana into forming letters.
Yeah, watching just fine.
Ha, she was actually spectating this...
"Then why not save her yourself?"
This is the academy. Not a kids' playground. I've insured her life against the kidnapping, but escape is on her.
"Ha... yeah, that's you."
She wanted heroes. Someone to carry on after her. He didn't know why— she never said, even drunk. But she had her definition of hero etched in her mind.
Heroes need trials. Doesn't matter what sparks them. Only those who overcome become heroes. In that sense, this is a golden opportunity for Ceres Reinhardt.
Not wrong. Ceres had no experience with bizarre crises like this. She saw mages as backline artillery only—purely one-dimensional. If he'd helped back then, leaving the front to him and Minel, she'd have lived as a pure mage, never learning to fight up close or even use her body properly.
With death staring her down, what will she do?
"She won't move."
Skaya's mana twitched. Curious about his answer, but this was pure experience.
"Ceres gives up when death looms. Rationalizes it as unavoidable, convinces herself it's the best option."
Facing death before, she'd even shed her pride. When heirs of the other four ducal houses vowed revenge after demon forces stripped their power, she'd been scared and begged to flee with him. Back then, ravaged by his sister's betrayal, he'd agreed despite his own thirst for vengeance.
"And once she bows her head, it's game over."
She never rebuilt that pride. Living as a village maiden, working the tavern, quick to apologize, brushing off men's advances with a smile. He'd thought her resilient then, but she'd simply discarded her self-respect entirely.
A year passed, then two, five. Doubts crept in just as he arrived.
[Is Ceres Reinhardt here?]
The Second Prince, newly turned eight, had somehow tracked her down and said to him:
[No way a nobody like you can care for her. I'll take her off your hands.]
Absurd, but he'd expected her to fight.
[...Yes, I'll go.]
But Ceres just went meekly into the Second Prince's grasp. It threw him. Sure, village life left him lacking, but that bad? The tavern-inn earned decent coin...
All illusion. The prince who took her issued a horrific order unfit for a child.
[I'm taking this village's knights to the capital. And unleashing monsters. All your fault, Lian Primal.]
Didn't compute at first. Kill the whole village? The empire's Second Prince treating citizens like ants made him want to vomit, but events snowballed. Knights were poached for the capital in a flash; even the sole sword user trailed after the empire like a fool. Only he, who'd slacked on training, defended the village.
[All your fault, Lian Primal. Should've just accepted it...]
Killing intent surged toward the prince, but slaying him then would've left the village undefended. In the end, he held out until the final Orc King routed him to death. Ceres abandoned the village and him to follow the prince.
...You think she lacks hero potential?
"Yeah, she can't be a hero. Might make a fine mage, though."
He was saving Ceres now for Minel's sake. She'd cherished Ceres to the end, made their escape route despite her sadness. Time to repay that.
Then let me save her...
"Nah, too late for that. I'm closer anyway. Nero?"
"Blow that away too!!"
Crunch! Crack! Graaawr!!!! Nero's hands shattered walls, tore spirits, exploded doors. Her body was a weapon unto itself. Curse aside, her physicality exceeded expectations.
I'll handle repairs with mana. Smash freely.
Fine then—no holding back. Mantra seal, decompose, reconstruct, reinforce, elucidate, analyze, decompose again, complete.
"Fire!!!"
──────!!!
Impressive output. Glancing around, spirits buried in debris hadn't reformed; surviving Second-Class ones were getting finished off by Minel in real time.
"Lian! Go save the lady now!!"
"Got it."
At Minel's words, he and Nero channeled mana through their mana force circuits toward Ceres's mana signature below. Hated admitting it, but mana efficiency felt improved.
"...I ain't thanking you."
No problem?
"Fuck!"
Why was she still listening!? Ignoring Skaya's voyeur mode, he blasted the final door with a curse shot. There lay Ceres, bound and dumped on the floor, glaring at him alongside a red-eyed spirit that looked flustered.
"Found you."
Mantra seal. Construct.
[DIE!!!!!]