Erebos Under Siege (2)
Sophia Aquilova’s day began early and ended early.
Though she was the top student in the Knight Department, she remained isolated within it. She rose before anyone else, finished her morning training at the practice grounds, and returned to the dormitory to sleep earlier than most.
Her only daily pleasure used to be receiving lunch at the chapel, but lately she had been holding back even from that.
I mustn’t trouble Master.
Master Leo had recently left Erebos, claiming exhaustion. She had begged and pleaded to bring him back, yet his words about being tired had clearly been sincere.
Sophia believed she was partly to blame for his fatigue. So for a while now, she had been repeating her training instead of visiting the chapel.
Fortunately, she had a perfect excuse.
The mid-term exams.
Once again, Sophia had confidently defended her position as the top student of the Knight Department.
“Well done, Sophia. At this rate, you’ll pass the Sword Master qualification exam too.”
“If I become a Sword Master… will Master be pleased?”
“Hm? Well… of course he will.”
Sophia herself had little interest in the Sword Master title. But if it would make her master happy, then she needed to prepare diligently.
That was why she had stayed behind at the Knight Department training grounds later than usual, repeating her drills.
Rumble…
“…Sophia Aquilova. This is bad. The clock tower just collapsed.”
“The clock tower? That eyesore?”
“An eyesore…? You can’t call Erebos’s symbol something like that…”
Kairon rubbed his forehead with a troubled expression before continuing.
“It wasn’t a simple earthquake. I just received the report. There was an explosion.”
“An explosion?”
“Yes. Someone detonated explosives inside the clock tower’s core. The scale is far too large to be some prank by the Magic Department. We’re under emergency protocol right now.”
“Is it dangerous? The emergency?”
“Yes. It’s the same level as the Full Moon Festival and the Twin Towers incident.”
Sophia’s eyes turned cold.
So Erebos had been attacked.
“It’s too early to jump to conclusions. However…”
While Kairon was speaking, one of the Knight Department instructors came running over in a panic.
“Instructor Kairon! It’s confirmed—an attack! Monsters are roaming the streets!”
“Monsters?”
“Yes! They’re the same ones from the Full Moon Festival! Those shadow monsters!”
“Damn it.”
Listening to their conversation, Sophia frowned.
The shadow monsters that had prowled the streets during the Full Moon Festival.
If they were freely walking the streets now…
Master might be in danger.
A wave of unease washed over Sophia. She moved to leave the training grounds with her wooden sword tucked at her waist.
“Aquilova, where do you think you’re going?”
Kairon called out to stop her.
“Aquilova, you’re coming with me to deal with the monsters in the streets.”
“Me? Why?”
“We have to protect Erebos, don’t we?”
“…But…”
She was worried about her master, alone in the chapel.
The concern must have shown clearly on her face.
“Worried about your master? What a devoted master-disciple relationship.”
Kairon gave a wry smile.
“However, Aquilova, do you really think your master is the kind of person who would get caught up in a minor disturbance like this?”
“That’s…”
Of course not.
If it was the Leo she knew, he would have already foreseen this situation and evacuated in advance.
Come to think of it…
A few days ago, Sophia had seen Leo renovating the chapel basement.
Perhaps he had already predicted this and prepared a hiding place underground.
While Sophia was lost in thought, Kairon spoke again.
“If I may speak my mind, I believe that eliminating the shadow monsters occupying the academy would be a much better way for you to earn your master’s favor.”
“…Really?”
“It’s only a guess, but yes.”
Sophia stared straight at Kairon.
If she resolved this incident, could she earn his praise again? Could she keep Leo from growing tired?
After thinking it over, Sophia placed her hand on the hilt of her wooden sword.
“Guide me. I’ll finish this quickly and go get praised by Master.”
“Good.”
Kairon chuckled.
“Honestly, even I can’t gauge the depths of your master’s power. No matter what happens, he’ll handle it just fine. Don’t you think?”
Sophia gave no reply.
*
I’m fucked.
Well and truly fucked.
I thought I could handle most situations, but this time there really was no way out.
“…Shit.”
Yaksha.
The muscle-headed executive of the Shadows’ physical faction.
In the original story, this giant should have been rampaging through the main building against the Knight Department students. So why had he come all the way to this remote western chapel?
There was no way he had come here for a normal confession.
The way he was currently pounding his fists together made that obvious.
He was overflowing with the desire to fight right this instant.
Yaksha… is a muscle-brain who only obsesses over fighting the strong.
I desperately searched through my game memories.
Unlike the other cunning Shadow executives, he had a straightforward personality.
“Are you ready, priest?”
Thud.
Yaksha raised his fist. Something sticky clung to the bandages wrapped around it.
Blood. It meant he had already killed someone before arriving here.
Whoever had died to that fist must have been strong enough to challenge Yaksha—someone with far more combat ability than me, at the very least.
…Damn it.
Even one hit from that fist would turn me into pulp. There wouldn’t even be a corpse left.
I forced my trembling legs to stay steady.
“…Uh… I think you’ve got the wrong person.”
“No. I’m certain. Dark skin, golden hair, and completely suppressed killing intent. I’ve never seen a master who hides their level this cleanly.”
“…”
I wasn’t some great master. I was just a mediocre priest who could handle a tiny bit of holy power and mana.
There was no refined killing intent. I simply had none to emit in the first place.
Yet this muscle-brain had completely misunderstood.
He was convinced I was a true powerhouse.
Judging from what Baekmyeon had told him, the misunderstanding about the Leo doll had apparently spread even among the Shadows.
Ottilie, that damn woman…
Of course, blaming Ottilie here wouldn’t solve anything.
If anything, I needed to rely on her right now.
I could only pray that the doll on the chapel’s attic beam would quickly assess the situation and come help.
“…Haa.”
To buy time, there was only one thing I could do.
Stall Yaksha somehow.
Whether it was Ottilie, Sophia, or Isolde—once they realized what was happening, they would definitely come for me.
I really hope Sophia shows up…
Yaksha was a physical combatant.
A vanguard-type executive.
He was the type mages struggled against. On top of that, his mixed giant blood gave him high magic resistance, making him a famous mage-killer boss even in the game.
In other words, the beginner spells I could use wouldn’t even scratch him—they wouldn’t even tickle.
Fighting is impossible. So then…
I took a step forward. Yaksha’s eyebrows twitched. Grinning with delight, he raised his fist.
“Haha. Nice! So you’re a martial artist after all.”
“…”
Where the hell did he get that idea?
Just look at this ordinary body.
“You’ve focused more on internal energy than external techniques. That’s excellent too.”
“…”
One thing was certain—this idiot’s misunderstanding showed no signs of clearing up.
In the end, I stepped in front of Yaksha with a calm expression.
His fighting spirit intensified in response, but at the same time his face grew puzzled. Instead of raising my fists, I had crossed my arms.
“How disappointing.”
“…Hm?”
“Did you really barge into this sacred place with muddy feet just to throw punches? You have no manners whatsoever.”
Yaksha’s expression hardened.
Though my heart felt like it would burst under the crushing pressure of his aura, I wore the mask of the most arrogant priest in the world.
“This is God’s domain. It’s no place for an unbeliever like you. If you have any sense, leave immediately.”
“Oh? So this is Priest Leo’s domain. Then this must be a territorial dispute.”
“…”
No, that’s not it at all.
Instead of wavering, I continued with a serious expression.
“A territorial dispute, you say. How rude—and suicidal, at that. The Shadows’ education policy is questionable. Did that woman Baekmyeon teach you to act this way?”
“Hahaha! Quite the sharp tongue! But I can’t understand more than three lines!”
“…Of course you can’t.”
“Therefore, I shall see whether Priest Leo’s skills match his words!”
As if he no longer wished to listen, Yaksha raised his fist.
The plan to buy time through conversation had completely fallen apart.
Damn it.
I hurriedly uncrossed my arms.
If Yaksha brought that fist down, my skull would be smashed to pieces.
“Then here I come!”
Yaksha took his stance with obvious enjoyment, wrapping his fist in aura—no, in concentrated aura force.
Yes. That aura force.
It was the same level as the sword aura Sophia had desperately created during winter break to show Beatrice.
In other words… Yaksha was a master on par with a Sword Master.
This is really bad.
That fist would come flying in the blink of an eye.
The moment it swung, there would be no blocking it.
So then…
“Hm?”
Before Yaksha could swing, I moved first.
I raised my hand upward and clenched it into a fist. It wasn’t to fight back.
This was a signal.
“Void!”
Before my shout even finished, Void, who had been behind me, stretched out both hands.
Void couldn’t speak, but she understood my intentions perfectly.
Flash!
A massive crack appeared above Yaksha’s head.
Void’s unique ability.
Illusory Space.
From the black hole in the sky, all sorts of junk began pouring down like a waterfall.
Crash—!
Brooms and mops stuffed away during cleaning, buckets, bags of hardtack stockpiled as emergency rations, and even crates of potatoes.
“Ugh?!”
Yaksha was momentarily flustered. He clearly hadn’t expected a potato bomb to fall from the sky without warning.
Right after, the thick winter bear pelt I had obtained from the Libel region for this winter covered Yaksha’s face.
Taking advantage of his obstructed vision, I scooped up Void and leapt over the chapel’s broken outer wall.
We landed and tumbled.
“Ahaha! Daddy!”
From her position on my back, this must have been a fun ride. Void giggled brightly.
Her laughter didn’t annoy me today.
*
Whoosh——.
The scenery changed in an instant. The streets of the academy’s lower town. The main road leading to the central building. And the forest path to the west. It was like a panorama.
Isolde was currently flying toward the chapel at tremendous speed using flight magic.
“Kgh.”
She had never used flight magic this intensely before.
But there was no time to waste.
The closer she got to Leo, the more the mana link connected to him pulsed.
Thump. Thump.
“He’s in danger.”
His life was being threatened.
Isolde gritted her teeth and pushed her mana to the limit, accelerating to the extreme.
In the distance, the chapel roof came into view.
That was when it happened.
“———!”
Isolde sensed something wrong.
A sticky, unpleasant feeling.
It was no different from what she had felt earlier in Everett’s office.
—Boom!
The moment Isolde twisted her body and deployed a defensive spell, a black bullet flew out from between the trees.
“Ahaha… Too bad.”
Someone leapt down from a tree. A robe embroidered with colorful patterns, ashen hair, and pale skin. His pure white eyes were narrow and cunning like a snake’s.
“It was a perfect ambush. Yet you reacted? So this is what Erebos’s top student is capable of?”
“You are…”
Isolde frowned.
The aura she felt from this man was anything but ordinary.
“No matter how much I think about it, it’d be better to kill you. You’re in the way in all sorts of ways.”
“…Move aside. You’re the one getting in the way.”
Isolde drew out her mana.
Whoever he was, he was an enemy.
She wanted nothing more than to ignore him and rush to the chapel. But his attacks were too dangerous to dismiss. The moment she showed her back, her heart would be pierced.
“I like how quick you are on the uptake, miss.”
Seeing Isolde assume a combat stance, the man smiled faintly and raised his hand.
“Ah, by the way, my name is Youngrang—the Shadow Wolf.”
Shadows writhed around the forest.
True to his alias, they were wolves made of shadow.