Shadow (2)
When Selena and the other academy students arrived at the training ground, the scene before them was one of an utterly empty courtyard.
Well, the training ground in this academy wasn't exactly popular to begin with.
The academy itself drew talented individuals and the children of high-ranking noble families.
In fact, if you looked closer, the majority were clearly from noble houses.
While there were occasional cases of commoners who somehow managed to enter the academy, like catching a dragon in a gutter, more than ninety percent were nobles.
From their perspective, the training ground here was just a drop in the bucket compared to the facilities assigned to their own families.
The academy's training ground equipment wasn't shabby, but naturally, it couldn't match a personal training area.
Of course, there were students who trained intensely and came to the ground even on the first day, but finding someone who would actually show up right away was difficult.
"Let's get started."
But Selena didn't care about any of that.
She was simply relieved to have a space where she could train.
The students who had followed her didn't care either. They quietly took their positions and began preparing to train.
After all, Selena's own family home had personal training areas, though they weren't nearly as large. And the other students had simply come along with her, so they didn't dwell on the size of the courtyard.
Selena and the Class A students who headed to the training ground surprisingly began to immerse themselves in training. Because they were students of exceptional talent in swordsmanship, each one burned with competitive spirit while watching the others.
Time passed without her noticing as Selena continued training, then she unconsciously glanced out the window... and nearly jumped out of her skin.
It was night. A pitch-black sky stretched out, devoid of light. It was far too late.
Had so much time already passed? The very nature that made her lose track of time when she focused on her sword had now awakened.
Thinking this, Selena turned back toward the others to tell them to hurry, but she felt something was off. She slowly turned her gaze.
Outside the window, the night had turned pitch black. The stars and moon that had shone so brightly even in the darkness had vanished, as if wiped away.
Only then did she realize something was wrong. She took a deep breath and raised her sword once more.
'...... What is this?'
The moment she sensed something amiss, chills raced down her spine.
It was quiet.
Unnaturally so. The surroundings were eerily still, far too still.
Classes had ended some time ago, so the quiet made sense... but not a single sound of wind blowing was clearly abnormal.
It felt as if the outside world and this place were completely 'disconnected' from each other.
"Why?"
Selena, who had been mid-swing, froze instantly. A student approached her and asked.
"...No, isn't something strange?"
"Eh?"
Selena blinked slowly at the student's question, but the moment she noticed the large shadow cast behind her, her eyes flew wide open.
"...... You're sharp."
He appeared as abruptly as if he had been hiding in the shadows. Behind Selena, he swung his massive hammer in a wide arc and muttered low.
"Danger..."
It was clearly meant for Selena.
But the moment he saw Selena step in front of her, he revealed himself with the intention of taking care of one of them before she could fully realize the anomaly.
Her intent was crystal clear. She had already thrown herself in to shield Selena before the assassin could react, and in doing so, she had finished her attack just as her appearance became visible.
'Too late!!'
Selena bit her lower lip hard.
She had noticed, but it was too late. Reaction was impossible. If she let it continue, Elia would be struck by that enormous hammer.
In that moment, something small darted out and shoved them both aside, hurling them just beyond the hammer's swing range.
THUD!!!
A deafening crash echoed, far louder than any human body could produce as it slammed into the wall.
Selena, frowning at the wind that swept past her face from the hammer, raised her sword and shouted.
Elia still didn't understand what was happening, but Selena had already analyzed and judged the entire situation.
"Everyone, be careful!!"
Unbelievable as it was, this was an ambush inside the academy.
@
"Cough...!!"
It hurt.
An immense wave of pain surged through him.
Gritting his teeth, he spat out blood and stared ahead with blurry vision.
Thick smoke rose, blocking his sight, but he could still see most things.
'Has the fight begun.'
Considering the giant hammer blow of Carlison, the assassin from the original story, was the catalyst that started everything, it was only natural.
'My arm...'
He had curled his body as much as possible, raised his arm to minimize impact, but he still couldn't completely block Carlison's strike.
The only good thing was...
'It's not like the original.'
First, the extra heroine from Carlison's attack had retired.
She didn't die, but the situation was too awkward to call it a rescue.
'So later...'
We'll get to that later.
Right now, he couldn't use his right arm at all, and his internal organs were shaking. Still, it was relatively good under the circumstances.
After all, it had been Carlison's powerful blow.
Because it had been so devastating, the pain dulled quickly.
'I came here for nothing, damn it.'
He had known this would happen.
Even though things were supposed to go according to plan, he had stepped in anyway. There was no other reason.
'I' knew how this would play out, and 'I' could prevent unnecessary sacrifice.
'It's just that simple.'
He clenched and unclenched his left fist, gauging the force, then exhaled lightly and struggled to stand.
Even if he had successfully blocked the initial ambush without taking real damage, the situation still favored the other side.
No matter how strong Selena and the male lead were said to be later, right now they were nothing more than new academy students.
Moreover, mana couldn't be used here. The black veil visible through the window separated the outside world from this place, and mana was one of the things sealed away.
It meant they had to fight highly trained assassins with only the most limited mana available.
'Of course, it was still possible to overcome...'
But inevitable casualties would come with it.
And 'I' could prevent that.
...... Well, saying this while one arm hung uselessly was ironic.
To ignore the pain in his right arm, he kept his thoughts going and watched the situation with narrowed eyes.
'For now...'
@
Elia Frost.
Not someone who would become 'something' in this world a little later... no, even after a bit of time had passed, she was the one who would still be shaken.
With trembling eyes, she looked around and raised her sword.
As the daughter of the Marquis Frost, she couldn't understand what was happening.
That was only natural. She couldn't believe something like this could happen inside the empire's prestigious academy, renowned for its ironclad security.
'But more than that...'
What mattered most was the existence who had taken the blow meant for her and been sent flying by that monstrous hammer.
She needed to know if 'he' was still alive after taking the attack meant for 'me' and crashing into the wall.
But Elia couldn't move even a single step.
Nor could any of the students.
"......"
Facing the enemies in front of her was already a struggle.
The aura emanating from them wasn't particularly threatening. If the students were all in normal condition, they would have been more than enough to handle them.
But...
"Mana..."
Mana wasn't moving properly.
The opponents knew it too, yet they didn't seem to care much. It almost looked as if they were more accustomed to not using mana.
They had clearly trained under the assumption that they couldn't use mana, and their movements were flexible.
But Elia and the other students were accustomed to using mana. The difference between those unfamiliar with this situation and the enemies who were perfectly at ease created a difficult predicament.
"Ugh...!!"
Elia barely blocked the enemy's blade aimed to kill her and bit her lip.
This was another thing.
She had never fully received the murderous intent behind a blade flying to kill someone.
In real combat, the body naturally tensed even while knowing someone was being 'killed.'
If it continued like this, someone would at least get injured or killed.
As she thought this, a slow, listless step entered the center of the battlefield.
One arm hung limply at his side as if broken, blood dripping steadily. In his other hand, he gripped his sword tightly.
With eyes as calm as ever, the man looked at the enemies and opened his mouth.