The Calamity Saintess and the Puppeteer (2)

Yeah, I get it. Young hot blood wanting to charge in and sweep the dungeon clean. Sure. That tracks. Still, I can't let them die. In a completely different sense, these brats had become far more annoying to handle than the last bunch. The nobles were almost refreshing by comparison. At least beating them had a certain satisfying kick to it. But these ones? Managing them was a goddamn headache. From the Saintess's position, I couldn't just suppress them with brute force for no reason.

"Hold on a second."

In a situation like this, stopping them outright might spark protests. Getting into an argument with them would just be a massive pain in the ass. Better to focus on devising the safest possible strategy to clear the dungeon.

I placed my hand on the lingering traces of mana and demonic energy staining the floor. Following the flow, the concentration grew thicker the deeper it went. And right at the center of it all sat Jerato.

"Sigh."

The first practical dungeon session for Attelina's second-years had turned into Jerato's personal playground. Honestly, part of me wanted to be thrilled about that. Why? Because that bastard Jerato was insanely good at running away.

The Four Heavenly Kings at least had some pride. They'd only flee after getting thoroughly beaten and watching their subordinates get wiped out. Pector in particular had gotten absolutely demolished by me. But this Jerato asshole? The man was a virtuoso at escaping. Which meant by burying himself on the very bottom floor, he'd made it almost too easy to kill him.

"Is something wrong, Saintess?"

"No. Nothing at all."

I really wanted to seal the entrance right now, march down there, and set that smug mouth of his on fire. Since his mana circuits had burned out before, the current Jerato must have received some power from the Betrayer Clanice. After Noah disappeared, he'd apparently decided it was his time to shine and infiltrated the empire.

Yeah. Looking at it that way, this was the perfect opportunity to kill the bastard.

"Saintess! Let's head down immediately!"

"We'll wipe them all out!"

These lunatics were getting worked up. I was the Saintess, an Ashtar, and I was responsible for leading these students. If any of them died or got injured in the dungeon, it would all be on me. That meant I had to fight while protecting them. The difficulty level had just shot through the roof.

I could deploy defensive magic, but if Jerato was willing to risk his own head to take down even one of them, I'd end up taking damage no matter what. I considered just ending everything with one massive spell, but that would probably drag these idiots into the blast and kill them.

The reality was that I needed to clear out the threats appropriately while protecting these fools and preventing the dungeon from going into a frenzy.

"Should I just fuck them all up?"

There was a way to sweep everything without dealing with this mess. But after coming this far, I couldn't just let it slide. There had to be a method to handle these immature brats without too much trouble.

I glanced at the puppeteer standing beside me. This woman was grinning from ear to ear, completely oblivious to my thoughts. Her assistance was absolutely crucial right now.

"Seria."

"Yes, Saintess?"

"Use your puppet magic to send them outside."

Controlling the students with Seria's puppets was one viable option. Only then did her expression finally grow serious.

"Is it truly that dangerous?"

"Yes."

"In other words, this place requires purification by the Saintess herself."

"Correct."

Seria nodded thoughtfully.

"But I don't want to."

"Excuse me?"

Was this really the time for jokes?

"Well, of course I'd feel that way. I'd get to witness the Saintess in action. Why would I want to miss that?"

"What the actual fuck..."

In other words, she planned to make me handle everything alone?

"More importantly, I cannot use my magic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠recklessly."

"Says the woman who walks around with puppets all the time."

Listen to me while I'm still being nice.

"It means I cannot use it on the students. The elders of the Magic Tower made that decision."

"The Magic Tower?"

"Think about it. If I start using magic freely, wouldn't it completely break Attelina's balance?"

That was true. Considering how active Seria was even on real battlefields, she couldn't just throw magic around carelessly.

"But surely you can make an exception in a situation like this?"

"A mage of my caliber cannot disregard the elders' judgment. Ordinary low-ranking mages might break such agreements and simply get expelled, but for me, this is a particularly critical period."

So that's why the Magic Tower had sent her to Attelina. It wasn't just a simple assignment.

"Is this about the Mage's Contract?"

"Yes. The Mage's Contract."

The Mage's Contract. In that case, Seria had essentially become useless. Promises held weight for everyone, but they carried even greater significance for mages. Those affiliated with the Magic Tower possessed far stronger pride than ordinary mages.

Why such strong pride? Because they simply did. That was how mage types operated. Magic was inherently more difficult than other abilities. Those capable of wielding it naturally developed matching dignity and self-respect.

That was why mages formed contracts with each other based on their professional pride. Breaking one would cause their reputation to plummet. Someone of Seria's skill level was undoubtedly aiming for the position of Magic Tower Master. If she violated a mage's promise in that position?

She could kiss the Tower Master seat goodbye.

In short...

"You're truly useless. Both back then and now."

She had become completely useless.

"Pardon?"

"Ah, I just meant it seems that way."

I'd accidentally referenced the past. Given Seria's intelligence, she probably wouldn't let that slide. Surprisingly though, she had a rather simple side.

"Wow, that's really too much. Isn't it incredibly rude to blatantly disrespect me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like that?"

"For fuck's sake..."

I was trying to be serious here.

"D-did you just curse at me?"

"The ones who need to know already know anyway. Let's play nice with each other. Okay?"

It would be better if we could just get along, right?

"Hic... You're so mean."

"I know you're not actually crying. Before I rip all your hair out, be quiet. Looks like I have no choice but to handle this myself."

There were things I'd already done. No point worrying about the Saintess's dignity at this stage. I clapped my hands to gather all the students in one spot.

"I have something to tell you all regarding magic."

"But there aren't any horses here? This isn't a stable, you know."

Fuck. I couldn't hold back anymore.

I grabbed the head of the babbling Seria and slammed it straight into the wall.

BANG!

As Seria dangled limply from the wall, the students finally fell silent.

"Whew. Now it's quiet. Anyway, this is an emergency situation."

"An emergency? What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do you mean?"

"This dungeon is completely saturated with demonic energy. The structure consists of five floors total. From the fourth basement level to the fifth, it's entirely covered in demonic energy."

Which essentially meant the worst-case scenario.

"What does that signify?"

"In simple terms, if you go in there, your entire body will be covered in bruises, blood will pour from every orifice, and you'll die. That's what it means."

That was the nature of demonic energy. For an ordinary person to swallow it—or even for mages or humans who handled considerable amounts of mana—it would be nearly impossible to endure the demonic energy present on the fifth floor.

"Does that mean we can't fight the monsters?"

Normally it would be better if they couldn't, but these kids were at the age where their blood ran hot. Most came from noble families or military households, so their bodies were probably itching for action. If I outright told them not to? They'd throw an absolute tantrum.

In that case, it was better to make some adjustments.

"Up to the third floor should be manageable. I have a proposal for all of you."

"What is it?"

I needed to set conditions before they became completely uncontrollable.

"In the area filled with demonic energy, there is a boss. An existence that is absolutely impossible for you to defeat at your current level."

"Hey, isn't that underestimating us a bit too much—"

When one of them started to protest, I pointed at Seria, who was still stuck in the wall. The way she hung there limply was actually quite comical. I wanted to flip up her skirt and spank her, but such harsh corporal punishment seemed barbaric, so I refrained.

At least she was twitching, which meant she was still alive. I approached the object and wrapped mana around both her body and the wall, hardening them together. It was what you might call a mana restraint.

"Try pulling out this 'thing' that's stuck here. Then we'll see."

"I-is she alive?"

She should still be alive, right?

"If she could die from something like this, she wouldn't be a candidate for the next Magic Tower Master. Go ahead and try pulling her out. If you can extract her, we'll depart."

"Wait, it's not budging at all?"

"Of course not. I sealed it with mana."

That was obvious. I'd trapped Seria with mana so she couldn't escape. She must have understood my intentions from inside, because she wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠struggling to break free. She just seemed content to remain embedded there.

"Then this is..."

"Training using mana."

Also known as pulling Seria out with mana. The reward? Simply being able to walk through demonic energy should be reward enough, shouldn't it?

"Training using mana means we have to extract her using mana?"

"Yes. Since it's magic engineering class, this should work nicely, right?"

Adran wasn't here, but it wasn't a bad idea for me to handle it this time.

"We're not quite sure. What exactly is the principle behind this?"

"Excellent question. In truth, Seria can be pulled out easily as long as she isn't wrapped in mana. However, I've lightly fixed mana to both her body and the wall. A restraint created from mana can only be undone using mana. You students simply need to use your mana to release it."

Since they had decent heads on their shoulders, I expected them to figure it out fairly quickly. Maybe four hours? I'd give it about that much time.

"But shouldn't we hurry?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Pardon?"

I had secretly activated the Hourglass of Habel.

"Because time magic has been applied. For the next twenty-four hours, we are completely isolated from external time."

"Could it be that the Saintess...?"

I could have revealed it was me, but claiming it was the dungeon boss would probably motivate them to work harder. So I decided to use Jerato.

Jerato. Today, you unknowingly became the bastard who cast the time magic.

"It must be the dungeon master's handiwork."

Jerato. You've now turned all of Attelina against you. You're already an enemy since you belong to the Demon King's army, but still, getting beaten by students would probably sting that inferiority complex of yours, wouldn't it? Especially since the bastard had such a strong complex despite his talents. Yet when I beat him, his talent for running away was truly exceptional.

"Ah, so the dungeon boss set it up."

"It's what we call a time trap."

Such things weren't entirely absent from high-level dungeons. For example, rooms that drastically slowed down time. Once inside, time moved differently, and if you didn't quickly locate and destroy the trap mechanism, the time difference between inside and outside would become severe.

"A time trap. That sounds rather difficult."

"To use such a high-level trap against mere students..."

The more they cursed Jerato, the happier I became.

"It simply means he's that petty. Fortunately, the boss seems rather stupid. The trap is designed to release on its own after some time. During that period, we'll conduct mana manipulation training. Use your mana to slowly melt away the mana restraint attached to Seria."

We needed something to help them resist the demonic energy.

"What benefit does this give us?"

"The better your mana control, the better you'll be able to endure within demonic energy."

With some training, they probably wouldn't die. They might feel a bit nauseous at most. I figured they'd be fine at least up to the fourth floor. The fifth floor would be the real problem, though.

"So you're saying we can clear the dungeon without any major issues?"

Rather than answering questions, practical experience would be better. It was more effective to let them figure things out themselves than to explain everything in detail.

I pointed at Seria, still embedded in the wall.

"Our first goal is the fourth floor. So pull her out."

"Yes!"

And with that, the serious operation to extract Seria officially began.