The Battle at Ariaadna Square
Ariaadna Square was in an unexpected uproar, yet the Vivaldi Grand Concert Hall, relatively far from the chaos, remained peaceful and unaware. For over an hour, the silent standoff between the Tugwi Guard and the Death King had continued. This place, the most dangerous spot in the city, had paradoxically become the safest. Onto its stage walked a man with confident strides.
"Ah."
Arina's face lit up with delight at the sight of him. Though he didn't directly teach first-year courses, she had often seen him walking the halls alongside Professor Karlsen. Perhaps that was why. The fact that he was a familiar face filled her with a sudden sense of closeness toward Professor Vivaldi.
Are you watching?
Ecleus Vivaldi, an external violinist invited to perform with the continent's most renowned orchestra, lifted his violin onto his shoulder rest. Countless eyes turned toward him. He drew a deep breath, as if to shake off his tension, then glanced toward his fellow Benedict Academy professors—friends who had surely come to support him.
I'm certain the seats I gave them were around there.
As he turned his head, his gaze fell upon two conspicuously empty seats amid the packed audience. Professor Vivaldi's eyes widened.
Where did they go?
Before he could dwell on his confusion, the conductor's baton began to move. Instinct took over, and Professor Vivaldi drew his bow across the strings, starting the performance.
The Seven Deadly Sins was the title given to the seven superhumans who represented the underworld. In other words, even the vast darkness that ruled the continent only had seven publicly known superhumans. Such beings were exceedingly rare. For four of them to gather in one place and fight to the death was a sight one would normally only witness in a full-scale war between nations.
Kwaaaang!
Jealousy and Kindness clashed dynamically, destroying everything in their path. In contrast, Lust and Eun Ma-hyun remained so still that it was impossible to tell what was happening inside their battle, yet the very space around them was dying in real time. Even without seeing their fights directly, merely standing there made the tremors from every direction feel overwhelming enough to shatter one's mind.
"……"
Jeon's brain felt as though it might shut down entirely. Desperately fighting the urge to faint, he gritted his teeth.
If I pass out here, I'm dead.
For now, the damage was contained, but as the fights intensified, the area of destruction would grow exponentially. The police seemed to sense this too, steadily widening their perimeter while escorting fleeing citizens away.
I need to run.
With that thought, Jeon forced his legs to move.
"Where do you think you're going, kid?"
A voice from behind made him flinch. He turned with a stiff expression to see an enormous forearm blocking his entire view. The man, dragging two massive greatswords with grotesquely swollen arms, grinned at Jeon.
"You're playing with me."
Man-ryang. Among the attackers present, excluding Kindness and Eun Ma-hyun, he was the strongest—a 7-star warrior. His competitive spirit flared as he slowly approached the wounded Jeon, whom he had twice failed to kill.
His wounds aren't that bad.
Jeon had clearly seen it—Man-ryang being utterly beaten by Julia Evergreen. Even after taking a barrage from a 7-star mage, he had only sustained that much damage. His powerful muscles were forcibly staunching the bleeding through sheer pressure. Such monstrous endurance and defense explained why Jeon's attacks had been completely ineffective.
"Keep struggling to survive. If you want me to spare the other humans running away, you'll have to keep me here even a second longer."
Had he already grasped Jeon's personality in that brief moment? Man-ryang raised his right arm high, deliberately provoking his sense of justice.
Kwang!
Something slammed into Man-ryang's body just as he was about to attack.
"That's my line."
It was a gruesome sight. Compared to Man-ryang, who had merely been sent flying, the woman staggering toward them was in far worse condition—covered in deep wounds yet somehow still standing. She looked at Man-ryang and spoke coldly.
"Your opponent isn't that boy. It's me."
The woman who had consistently used formal speech now spoke informally. It was proof she no longer had the strength to maintain her facade. Sweat poured down her face, and she looked in no condition to fight, yet her eyes remained locked on the criminal before her, her presence undiminished.
"……Right. You were here too."
Man-ryang rose, dust and debris falling from his body. Despite the sudden blow, he showed no major injuries. He looked Julia Evergreen up and down with a twisted smile.
"I thought for sure Lord Eun Ma-hyun would take you."
The thought of tearing apart with his own hands the woman who had beaten him sent dopamine surging through his brain. He couldn't contain his excitement. His pounding heartbeat was so loud that even Jeon could faintly hear it.
Kwang!
Man-ryang charged forward with unbelievable speed for his massive frame. In an instant, he was before Julia, swinging both greatswords with full force.
"……!"
At the same moment, Man-ryang's eyes widened. Behind Julia stood the spirit golem, half-destroyed by Eun Ma-hyun and reduced to rags. It forced its creaking body to move and activated the spell formula embedded within. It manipulated the flow of wind. The trajectory of Man-ryang's swords twisted smoothly, veering away from Julia toward an entirely different direction.
Taang!
An explosion struck his face, sending his body flying back the way it had come.
"Fine! Let's see who wins!"
Unfazed, Man-ryang continued his assault along the exact same trajectory as before. It was a foolish tactic relying entirely on his extraordinary durability, ignoring defense completely. Jeon ground his teeth as he watched.
This is bad.
In the East, there was a saying: "Softness overcomes hardness." Yet just as water could extinguish fire while fire could evaporate water, no absolute advantage existed in this world. Julia seemed to be winning now, but if the fight dragged on even a little longer, she would be the one to lose. Each of Man-ryang's powerful blows would crush her softness with raw force, and his monstrous endurance would steadily drain her already dwindling stamina.
"You look like you're struggling. You okay?"
The two fighters were well aware of what even a mere 2-star mage like Jeon could see. Man-ryang pressed his attack even more fiercely as the spirit golem's form grew increasingly faint. Julia barely maintained her balance on the cracked ground and pressed a hand to her abdomen. Had she moved too violently? The blood she had barely managed to stop was flowing again, soaking her torn clothes. Whether from blood loss or sheer exhaustion, her vision had blurred, yet she forced her eyes to focus on her opponent with desperate intensity.
"……"
Julia gave no reply to his taunt. Perhaps she no longer had the strength to speak. Unlike her earlier relatively composed defense, she now struggled to block even a single one of Man-ryang's attacks. Her defeat was inevitable if things continued this way. Jeon felt a crushing sense of powerlessness. Once again, he could do nothing.
What am I……
It was no different from before. The memory from his childhood remained vivid in his mind—the day he had fled through the city holding his brother's hand, avoiding hordes of undead. His father's back as he sacrificed himself to open an escape route still haunted him. Even as he witnessed that death, he had been powerless. That overwhelming helplessness from such a young age was repeating itself now.
I thought I was getting stronger.
He had done nothing. His classmate who had blocked an attack in his place had been sent flying, his fate unknown. Julia Evergreen, fighting in his stead, was hurtling toward death with every passing second.
"……"
His trauma was being triggered. Jeon's gaze fell upon Julia Evergreen's eyes. Why did she continue fighting without giving up even in this situation? The answer was reflected in those eyes. Julia's gaze remained unwaveringly resolute. All she wanted was to bring the criminal before her to justice. There was no hatred, no resentment—only determination, as if she had no energy left to spare on such emotions.
What I wanted.
Why had he wanted to join the Special Investigation Unit? Asking himself that question, Jeon let out a wry laugh that felt out of place in the despairing atmosphere.
"……"
He raised his finger. At its tip gathered a bullet of electricity—pitifully weak compared to the monsters fighting before him. He aimed it precisely at Man-ryang, and the tremor in his eyes gradually subsided.
I just wanted to protect.
He didn't want to lose anyone else before his eyes. He couldn't forgive those who stole what others held dear. That was his justice—the reason he had wanted to join the Special Investigation Unit. So he aimed. He couldn't let Julia Evergreen die to a mere criminal like this.
Even if it's useless.
Rather than doing nothing and regretting it later, he would try everything and despair afterward. He didn't expect this attack to kill his opponent. It would be enough if it distracted Man-ryang even slightly, giving Julia a chance to land one more blow.
This isn't enough.
As if to prove his resolve, the mana gathered at Jeon's fingertip began to change. The mana compressed. Through direct manipulation of mana, the amount that could be contained within the spell formula increased. As he poured more mana into it, the spell's power nearly doubled.
Twitch.
Without Jeon realizing it, a new path was opening within him—within the star engraved inside. A new path connecting, a new star forming. Jeon's level advanced, his completion as a mage rising further. The boundary between a 2-star and 3-star mage—the first gateway marking the transition from novice to adept, bringing dramatic change. In this moment of crisis, Jeon broke through and fired the lightning bullet at Man-ryang.
Taang!
Hitting him wasn't difficult. Though the speed was too fast for Jeon's eyes to follow, Man-ryang's movements were so straightforward that even Jeon could predict them. Until now, Jeon's magic had vanished before even piercing the mana swirling around Man-ryang. But this strengthened spell, though gradually weakening, continued to push through that mana until it reached him.
Pang!
With a surprisingly light sound, Jeon's magic exploded right in front of Man-ryang's eyes. As Man-ryang frowned at the unexpected flash during combat, another explosion from behind struck him, slamming his body into the ground.
"Haa… haa……"
Julia turned toward Jeon, breathing heavily.
He grew?
It was an unexpected assist. Thanks to it, she had survived another crisis. Realizing at a glance that Jeon had advanced, she turned her gaze back to Man-ryang, who was embedded in the ground.
"Watch out!"
She shouted. Man-ryang had already risen, and with a face full of rage, he hurled one of his greatswords straight at Jeon with all his might.
Puhwak!
There was no time to dodge. The greatsword flew like an arrow and tore through Jeon's side. Rather than cutting, it was more accurate to say it destroyed—his side burst open with a popping sound upon impact. Blood, flesh, and shredded pieces of organs flew past his eyes. With that final memory, Jeon's vision went dark.