Chapter 208
Chapter 208
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 208
Chapter Title: The Mad Ex-Girlfriend
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Decal."
Just then, Neris rode up toward us on horseback.
The black steed's intimidating presence made me step back without thinking.
"Calm down. It's not an enemy."
Neris reined in the snorting black steed and dismounted lightly.
She wore a black suit of armor over her Melbrit uniform, one that gave off a dull glow.
Thighs, breasts, face.
Even though it was light armor that barely covered the parts it was supposed to protect, I could feel some inexplicable power emanating from it.
There was no doubt it was safeguarding Neris's body.
Neris walked right up to me.
"I've dealt with the Guardians.
Is there an altar inside the auditorium?"
"According to Herka, yeah. She says it's in pretty bad shape."
"Of course. A ritual magic altar is something the enemy has to defend at all costs."
Really?
I hadn't known that.
I stood there looking dumb, and Neris sighed.
"Looks like you're not badly hurt. That's a relief."
She was... worried about me?
Neris?
"Anyway."
Neris awkwardly changed the subject and glanced at Herka.
"Herka. Aren't you still supposed to be under house arrest for another month? Must be nice to see the sunlight."
"For knocking down one wall, and they lock me up for a month!"
"You should've listened when the enforcer told you to stay put for three days. You tried to break out, so that's what happens."
"Hmph! Locking up a talented asset like me for a little mishap. Don't they get that these backward customs are the problem?"
That's when Noah approached and spoke up.
"Sorry, but I'm an enforcer of those backward customs."
"Ah, ahaha. Ironwall Senior? I wasn't talking about you, Senior!"
Herka hid behind me.
"What's wrong?
You were standing up to her just fine before."
"Sh-She's serious right now. Serious mode. Touch her and you're dead."
"......"
Serious mode, huh...
Noah didn't look any different from usual.
The eyepatch nun was still flaunting her killer figure under her habit, tempting me.
"Decal."
"Yeah?"
"How did you... know that I fought with Herka?"
Eek!!
Serious mode confirmed!
I grabbed Herka's hand and trembled along with her.
"Scary. Noah!"
"...No. I was just curious. Did you... spy on us somehow...?"
Uwaaah. My crime's about to be exposed to the whole world.
The moment I accepted my fate and resigned myself—
"Darling!"
Esty threw herself into my arms, and I stroked her hair.
Nice timing. Esty!
"Not hurt anywhere?
This arm... Who did that to you?"
"Oh. This? It's nothing. Cat scratch."
"......"
Stia, watching us from a little ways off, turned her head guiltily.
Karen and Diana showed up too.
"What. At this point, we can just head in, right?"
Who's gonna stop us?
Neris looked at me.
"Decal.
With Shia gone, your on-site judgment as special investigator is crucial.
Is that judgment one you've made after careful tactical consideration?"
"Nah. At this level, we can take down any executives or whatever."
I've got hypnosis too.
Magic beasts don't fall for hypnosis, but looking at who's gathered here, it's weird to worry.
Can't Esty handle it all on her own? Our Esty.
I scratched under Esty's chin like you would a cat.
"Mrr. Thanks for believing in me, Darling.
I wanna live up to your expectations."
Esty clung to me openly, showing her affection.
"What do you think about Herka?
Tell everyone what you told me earlier."
Herka pointed at the auditorium without even looking at its firmly shut doors.
"There's a swarm of Demon King's Army guerrilla magic beasts inside.
The space transfer magic's been dispelled, but they've probably gathered all the energy they need for hatching in the first ten minutes.
That's what makes it a well-crafted ritual magic. Hate to admit it, but this is the first time I've seen black magic this proficient."
Ekaterina's magic is that impressive, huh.
Wanna hug her tight and creampie her again. Lots.
Ekate, you pregnant yet?
I listened in a daze, lost in childish thoughts like a kid who can't focus in class.
"If we drag this out, the number of magic beasts will keep growing.
That's how those spawns work.
Won't take an hour before there are more of them than cadet candidates."
"May I ask a question?"
Diana raised her hand.
"Yeah. Go ahead."
"An honor, Herka.
My question's about what you mean by 'guerrilla magic beasts' exactly...?"
"Oh... Right. Now that I think about it, there are quite a few that fit.
That's why they have academic names. The academic name is..."
"Keep it simple."
Neris cut her off.
"...Ugh. Fine. Can I use the slang from the front lines?"
Herka asked, deflated.
"Names only a few researchers like you know would just cause confusion here.
Names should reflect what they are. That's best for understanding the enemy."
"The spawn they've prepared is the 'Harbinger of the End.'
The Demon King's Army's most ferocious and cruel vanguard."
"......"
"......"
In an instant, the mood sank.
That name evoked the enemy's strength all too clearly.
Herka continued.
"Shortened to 'Endie.'"
"...Pfft!"
I burst out laughing.
"Why laugh? My naming sense funny?"
"Yeah. Hilarious. Haha."
Ah. Damn.
Should've heard Geomka first to get why this is funny.
Sucks that only I know. Hahaha.
My unexpected laughter seemed to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
"I don't know about strategic judgment.
I'd just waste time trying.
Anyway, I trust all of you here. Let's go in, finish it, and head back for dinner."
"Hm..."
I figured she'd say something, but
Neris's expression was surprisingly solemn.
"I'll take point. Charges are always the cavalry's job. Everyone, fall back."
We all stepped aside, and Neris lightly mounted the black steed, taking the reins.
Black flames rose from Neris's hand.
The flames coalesced into a thick spear in her grasp.
Herka tugged at my sleeve repeatedly.
"Hm? Want a hug?"
"Get back, it's dangerous. Gonna keep up the low-class sexual harassment?! To our lofty Senior?!"
"Aww. Our Senior's mad?"
"Ugh!"
I easily blocked Herka as she charged with her scrawny build in a fit of rage, then retreated further.
Neris's black steed roared.
Incredible... It wasn't just a sound—it felt like it was shaking the very fabric of space, making all creation tremble.
"Piercing thrust...!!"
The black steed, rearing up with a mighty bellow, struck the ground with its hooves and charged at the auditorium doors.
Fiercely, as if walls were a mere illusion.
Neris's spear unleashed a mana storm that dwarfed even the steed's momentum, howling fiercely.
Neris's moniker.
I was reminded once more of the origins of "Melbrit's Black Light."
She became a single streak of black light and slammed into the auditorium doors.
Unknown protective magic enveloped the doors.
The mysterious force pressed back against her at the moment of impact, cratering the ground beneath.
But Neris's breakthrough power surpassed the magic effortlessly.
Boom!!
As if protective magic meant nothing, Neris blew away the entire building wall.
Debris collapsed in a roar, sending up thick clouds of dust.
Before the dust even settled, a nauseatingly thick stench of blood rode the wind.
Had Neris ground up the Endies too?
Kinda sounds like a person's name now.
I summoned wind spirits to clear the dust.
Karen followed my lead, stirring up a breeze.
Where the dust cleared.
Neris sat tall atop her black steed, blood-soaked, looking down imperiously at the sprawled magic beast corpses.
"Neris! Nice one!"
I shouted praise, but Neris turned her steed's head toward us and shook her head.
"Not me."
"What?"
"I broke through, but..."
Neris trailed off.
Unable to contain my curiosity, I rushed forward.
Valuing my life, I stuck close to Neris's black steed's hindquarters to peer inside.
They were all dead.
Not people, but magic beasts—still, I couldn't be purely happy.
The killing method was that brutal. Most were shredded beyond recognition, reduced to chunks of flesh.
Those bloody clumps carpeted the floor.
And that wasn't all.
The walls were blackened with gore, and past the breach Neris had made, sunlight couldn't penetrate.
Blood covered every window.
In that darkness, something enormous stirred.
A purple-skinned demon over 4 meters tall.
A vicious brute with six horns the size of my arm sprouting from its head.
It looked fucking badass, in crude terms.
Neris gulped.
"Demon King's Army guerrilla captain... Korend..."
"What is that. Strong?"
Even Esty looked tense.
"Darling. Get behind me.
Korend's the Demon King's right hand. Pure combat power? Top-tier."
Uwaaah.
Why's a big shot like that here!
I immediately hid behind Esty. No helping it if I look pathetic.
Look at those freakishly developed muscles. Brush against them and I'm dead?
With that thing standing in a sea of blood, everyone froze in fear, no one daring to speak first.
Neris forced out a loud voice.
"Korend! Listen up.
This is Melbrit. The hero-training institution Melbrit. You picked the wrong place to come.
Neris Rike, of the Rike family, will strike you down here!"
"......"
Korend moved.
Everyone with spirits, myself included, fully activated our spirit cores.
Ready to respond however the enemy came at us.
Korend slowly tilted forward...
And toppled face-first.
"...?"
No one could comprehend what had happened.
The Demon King's Army's strongest guerrilla captain, Korend...
Tripped and fell?
No.
We realized too late—Korend's condition was off from the start.
Korend was already... dead?
A fatal wound marred Korend's back.
The mangled gash resembled the way the Endies had been torn apart.
A chill ran through me.
An unidentified cold gripped my body and clenched my heart.
...This had happened once before.
The moment we'd finished prepping to charge in against the scheduled foe.
The place was already a disgusting hellscape, everything over...
Yeah.
Just like then.
But this time, it wasn't coincidence—it was inevitable.
Behind where the Demon King's Army guerrilla captain Korend had fallen stood a single woman, as if it were only natural.
We were like light and shadow.
Me in the light, her in the dark.
"Ahaha...
Big bro's friends are all here...?"
Drag. Drag.
The woman stepped past Korend's corpse, dragging a blood-caked guillotine along the floor as she revealed herself.
Park Seoyeon.
The ex-girlfriend who'd chased me across worlds...
The woman I'd loved.
Her braided black hair down, voluptuous breasts, pretty face... Everything the same, yet everything changed.
Holding a guillotine, splattered in blood, staring at me with the craziest eyes in the world.
No—my world was all Park Seoyeon saw.
Everything else was just objects to her.
"You look happy.
Big bro...
Surrounded by so many women... Hehe. But big bro's happiest with me, right."
"......"
Esty nocked an arrow to her bow.
Planning a one-shot kill.
I didn't stop her. Next time we meet, she's the enemy. I'd already resolved that.
To protect my current life, I'd kill Park Seoyeon again.
"Do it!"
I shouted.
Having seen Esty's skill many times, I knew.
The arrow Esty loosed, slicing through space, was undoubtedly the most powerful shot she could fire.
A single shot without mercy or forgiveness.
But.
Park Seoyeon deflected it without even glancing.
She swung the guillotine—I realized that later. My eyes couldn't even register it.
She... deflected Esty's arrow...?
The clash of arrow and guillotine rang out belatedly.
Seoyeon grinned widely, eyes bulging, and continued.
"Big bro. Seoyeon's here. The Seoyeon who loves you more than anyone in the world.
Be my livestock. Every day, every day, every day, I'll take care of everything for the big bro I love."
Fuck...
How high's her level now, this bitch...
I knew I was screwed.