The Island Is Falling
Mu's half-closed eyes snapped wide open the instant a signal pinged through the verbal link.
The words had been left on a gentle breeze, nothing more than a soft whisper between friends.
A voice, ragged with exhaustion, answered immediately.
[Mu, can you hear me?]
“Yes, Mother. I hear you.”
Even through the signal, the ragged breathing was unmistakable.
Mu wanted to believe it was victory after a clash with the Demon King, but the words that came back were the opposite.
[We failed to exterminate the Demon King. We are retreating. But do not activate the spell yet. Wait exactly thirty seconds. There is one final matter we must discuss.]
“Understood. I will activate the spell exactly thirty seconds after the link drops.”
Failure to defeat the Demon King. Mu had expected it, yet hearing his mother speak it aloud felt impossible.
Could someone truly stand against her?
The command had been given. Mu had no choice but to obey.
After the link severed, Mu finished the final sealing circle and lifted the staff from the ground.
“A message arrived from Sister.”
“From Aria? What did she say?”
“From the Professor?!”
The moment the words left Mu’s lips, the entire tower erupted into chaos. Mira, still maintaining the magic, leaped forward with practiced calm. The students behind them charged in without hesitation.
“Professor is… okay, right?”
“Something must have happened… right?”
Arin and Kana looked pale with worry. Riana and Shaty shared the same anxious expression.
Mu had been about to hide the truth, but seeing their genuine concern, there was no point in lying. The raw words spilled out instead.
“Sister… lost to the Demon King. So she’s retreating. But it seems the Demon King won’t attack again anytime soon…”
Defeat at the hands of the Demon King. For them, it was the loss of the teacher who had raised them all.
Knowing how powerful their mother truly was, the shock hit even harder.
“That’s impossible… Even if it’s the Demon King, the Professor…?”
“I can’t believe it…”
“If she fell… then how strong is the Demon King…?”
“Well… absurdly strong, I guess.”
Arin refused to accept it. Kana stammered in disbelief. Riana prayed for an answer. Shaty forced understanding.
Even for them, their mother was an unparalleled monster. Hearing the truth now, their minds were still reeling from the sheer weight of the Demon King’s power.
Mu himself had trouble believing it, but his mother had admitted defeat. What more could he do?
Instead of answering their barrage of questions, Mu turned his attention back to the countdown.
Thirty seconds. That was the order. To Mu, the countdown was far more important than his own life.
Second by second, the seconds ticked away with merciless clarity.
Twenty-seven… twenty-eight… twenty-nine…
“Now… thirty seconds… activating.”
The instant the verbal link cut off, Mu slammed the staff into the floor.
Whoosh—
Light bloomed across the magic circle that had been waiting beneath them.
“Eh? Wait, just a moment…!”
“It’s too late… already.”
Mira, trying to maintain the spell, panicked and waved her hands frantically. Before she could finish speaking, Mu seized control of the magic and adjusted the final phase.
Mira would have fallen back to the ground with a crash if left unchecked, so Mu sent her far, far away from himself.
Far enough that when Mother finally moved her teleportation point close, Mu could surrender himself to the light of the devouring circle.
He closed his eyes and prayed for a safe passage.
* * *
It hurt like hell.
The first thought that crossed Mu’s mind the moment he opened his eyes after teleportation.
This wasn’t a joke. Every inch of him screamed with pain.
He hadn’t felt it when the adrenaline was still pumping, but now that the surge had crashed, the wounds tore through him like fire.
All he could do was curse.
“Damn it, you bastards… it hurts like a bitch. It really does, you filthy bastards.”
The curses that left his lips were mild by comparison.
Because of the filter, he had to add a polite disclaimer just to keep his voice from sounding like a sailor.
“Truly, a sight to behold.”
No part of him was untouched. The first thing Mu noticed was his palm. He swept his gaze across his body, starting there.
His palms, the very first weapons he had gripped, were split and raw from blocking blow after blow. Both arms looked like they had been carved into honeycomb patterns, blood still seeping from deep slashes.
The Demon King’s final strike had split his shoulder to his waist in a single straight line. Dozens of smaller cuts crisscrossed his entire frame, turning him into a living canvas of crimson.
The Demon King’s regenerative magic was slow, but Mu had already purged the worst of it. The wounds were simply too deep.
“Truly, one must call it the Demon King. This level of injury is unprecedented.”
He had never been this badly hurt before. The only injury he had ever taken in this world was the small scratch he had deliberately made on his own body just to create the avatar Mu.
The tiny cut had healed in roughly five minutes. Ten hours for this would be nothing short of miraculous.
But even knowing he would be in agony for ten hours, the information Mu had gained made the pain almost worth it.
This much data would take forever to organize. And while he was busy sorting through it, the wounds should heal naturally.
Plus, once he switched to another body, the damaged avatar would be sealed inside Canon. He could pick any remaining one, switch, and ten hours later Aria’s body would be perfectly recovered.
Right now, the only thing he wanted was to switch bodies and end this pain.
But…
“Professor!”
“There’s blood everywhere! Are you all right?!”
“Should we apply pressure right now…!”
“Should we call a doctor…?”
“…Shut up. All of you, be quiet.”
Even from across the tower, the four of them were already racing over, panicking. Mu could not silence them with words alone.
No, they weren’t panicking so much as genuinely worried. Treating him as a normal student would have been worse than helpful.
He had no choice but to speak up.
“Professor, are you really okay? What do you mean ‘crush’ it…?”
Arin was nervously unfolding and refolding the emergency bandage in her hands.
The conflicting mix of worry and disbelief in her voice made Mu reach out and pat her head with fond affection.
“Don’t worry. Meiel cast a painless spell on me. It’s completely fine. And as for crushing the island… I’ll explain it simply.”
Before Arin could ask what he meant, Mu casually raised his sword and pointed at the colossal floating island hovering high above.
The four of them followed his gaze.
They had never seen such an immense object from this close. Their mouths fell open in shock.
Mu spoke calmly.
“I’ll cut it in half and drop it.”
It was said as casually as someone announcing dinner.
“Eh?”
“Excuse me?”
“What did you just say…?”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Mu’s words were met with the exact reactions he had expected.
* * *
A soft, cat-like footstep echoed from behind.
Mu turned.
“Meiel? Thanks to you, I’m feeling much better.”
“Ung… Since Sister needs me right now… I already prepared……”
Mu nodded in confirmation. Meiel glanced upward. Mu followed her gaze and saw the floating island in all its glory.
“Mm, ah yes. Indeed.”
“I will clean up the pieces… and shatter it, Sister.”
The variable Mu had forgotten for a moment was now front and center again, thanks to Meiel.
The floating island had been losing gravity because of the Demon King’s subordinates’ scheme. It was falling toward the Fhara Kingdom.
In the original game, the player character would have sent it crashing somewhere else to save the kingdom.
But now that the entire population had been moved here, that plan was useless.
Mu had already told Meiel he would solve this in a different way.
And there was only one different way.
Crushing the island.
The residents had already become undead and died. Shattering it cleanly was the fastest solution.
But the four of them knew nothing, so Arin, as their representative, asked carefully.
“Uh… Professor, are you really all right? And what exactly do you mean by ‘crush’ it?”
Arin was clearly flustered, trying to decide whether to help or not.
The genuine concern radiating from her made Mu feel a spark of pride. He ruffled her hair lightly.
“Don’t worry. Meiel’s spell is working perfectly. As for the crushing… I’ll show you.”
Before she could ask again, Mu lifted his sword and pointed it at the island.
The four of them followed his gaze once more.
Mu spoke without hesitation.
“I’ll cut it in half and send it falling.”