Midterms (14): The Emperor's Taboo
All the lights were off in the pitch-black room.
A massive screen alone illuminated the darkness within.
This place, lit solely by that one screen without any other lights, was the monitoring room set up on the final day of midterms to oversee the cadets' exams. It was where every professor in the Academy had gathered.
Normally, the giant screen in the room would display the cadets taking their exams.
But not now.
What filled the screen at the moment was a half-destroyed corridor in the Great Hall building.
And atop it, two figures facing off against each other.
One was a fairly aged middle-aged man.
With his distinctive silver hair, green eyes, and snow-white skin... an appearance that evoked no cadet from the Academy.
The emperor of the empire, Shine El Soladion.
Facing off against the emperor was a young man in cadet uniform, bleeding from head to toe.
His unkempt long black hair, the subtle muscles gained from recent training, and his smooth, pale skin.
Perhaps the most famous cadet in Class A at the Academy, Shin Iheon.
Their battle had dragged on for quite some time.
Early on, Shin Iheon had held the clear upper hand against the emperor.
The professors had watched with considerable relief.
No matter the circumstances forcing their hands, they were educators at heart.
They couldn't intervene in this fight due to the Academy headmaster, who followed the will of the Academy's unknown founder.
But they had no desire to watch their students die.
The only cadets left in the Great Hall building were Shin Iheon and Sellin El Soladion.
Just the two of them.
On this final day of midterms.
The last exam, originally meant to be held in the Great Hall building, had its venue abruptly changed that very day.
The new location was a massive subspace created by space magic from all the Academy's mages.
Roughly estimated, it was large enough to accommodate every cadet in the Academy.
The sudden shift to the subspace was a form of evacuation.
Sellin and Shin Iheon were originally supposed to take the exam there as well.
No one could interfere in that place.
But the headmaster had blocked it.
The reason, as always, was the founder's will.
It seemed utterly foolish, but the professors couldn't object.
The Academy's compass had always been that will.
The Academy's identity was the founder's will.
So the professors had been grateful for Shin Iheon's early dominance.
A sense of helplessness in being unable to act.
All their worries stemming from that powerlessness were being resolved by a single cadet, Shin Iheon.
It was only natural they'd feel relieved.
But that relief didn't last.
Shin Iheon dodged every one of the emperor's attacks and closed the distance in an instant.
The moment he launched his first strike and it was blocked.
The emperor's aura shifted noticeably.
Even the professors watching through the screen sensed it immediately.
The transformed emperor was on another level entirely.
Not content with landing his first hit on Shin Iheon, who had evaded everything before.
Shin Iheon was soon a battered wreck from head to toe.
The emperor's attacks were malicious.
Deliberately avoiding vital spots, targeting areas that would maximize pain.
"…Headmaster, is this truly right?"
"Professor Luwell, wait a little longer."
"Headmaster… That power the emperor's using—anyone can see it's a Taboo. You know that, don't you?"
Luwell pressed, his tone accusatory.
It wasn't the sort of speech one used with the Academy headmaster.
Normally, the other professors would have intervened.
But seeing Shin Iheon's current state, none could.
"Headmaster. The Academy is swarming with holy knights right now… Why are you just watching?"
"Because that's the founder's will."
"…Hah."
Luwell sighed in disbelief.
The headmaster had evacuated all other cadets but left those two behind.
That decision was utterly incomprehensible.
"…Headmaster, is the founder's will really that important? Important enough to abandon two cadets?"
"Yes… That's what the Academy is."
"…What do you mean, 'that's what the Academy is'? No. The Academy is a place for the cadets."
Luwell's voice grew heated.
"The Academy… isn't a place to realize one man's will from broad daylight!!"
"Luwell, enough."
"Headmaster. I can't accept this. Letting two cadets go like this… It's utterly unacceptable."
The moment Luwell rose from his seat in fury.
"…Shut up and sit down."
Aeshy Emberline, the Hero of this generation, said coldly.
"Professor Aeshy… Can't you see who's fighting down there?"
"I see. Unless I'm blind, how could I not?"
"Yes, then I don't understand why you're stopping me."
"…Luwell, you don't need to understand."
Aeshy placed her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist.
Meaning she'd use force if he continued to defy her.
"Luwell. Last warning. Sit down."
"Hah… I refuse."
In response to Aeshy's near-ultimatum, Luwell replied defiantly, hand moving to his staff.
The already frigid atmosphere in the room chilled even further in an instant.
A situation like a bomb on the verge of exploding.
As Luwell and Aeshy faced off coldly.
Bang!
A massive boom echoed through the tense room.
How many exchanges had we gone through after all my bluster?
I dragged it out, pulling back to create distance and get used to his attacks, racking up as many clashes as possible.
Should I call it fortunate… or a bit suspicious?
No other cadets emerged from outside at all.
Quite some time had passed during the fight.
By now, some should have opened the doors to check the situation…
But throughout the battle, not a soul had appeared.
It felt as if only the emperor and I remained in the entire building.
Well, no need to worry about bystanders while fighting, so I'd take it as a plus.
Anyway, our prolonged one-on-one with the emperor.
Since his aura shifted, the flow of battle had been the same from start to finish.
Unilateral assaults from the emperor; I blocked or dodged as best I could.
That pattern repeated endlessly, resulting in…
Red blood now flowing from every part of my body.
"Haa… haa…."
I glared straight ahead, breathing raggedly.
What I saw was hazy dust and debris from the ruined corridor.
This is insane….
"You… How long do you plan to just keep dodging…? I'm starting to get bored myself."
"Haa…. Cough."
Blood sprayed from my mouth along with the rough exhale.
Bored, huh…
Yeah, fair enough.
I've just been taking hits this whole time.
Speaking of which, I was getting pretty sick of it too.
"Haa… haa… Let's… end this."
"Ha, hahaha!!! You, with that killer glare even now… Ah, the more I see, the more I covet such talent."
I ignored the emperor's words.
"Hoo…."
I exhaled deeply.
And relaxed my body.
Gripping the scythe in a comfortable stance.
My body was a total mess now, not a single intact spot.
I'd lost too much blood to drag this out any longer.
But I still hadn't adapted to the emperor's attacks.
…Because I'd bled too much.
Well, no choice.
I assumed position.
A stance for lunging forward.
Hunching my upper body, bending my legs to compress myself maximally.
Then gathering mana into my legs.
The remaining mana was barely a trickle.
Impossible to coat the scythe and form a blade.
But that's fine.
Even with a blade, it wouldn't pierce that hunk of meat anyway.
I poured every last drop of mana into my legs.
And leaped forward.
Crunch.
Felt like my leg bones shattered.
Whatever—I'll fix 'em later.
That's not what matters now.
Whoosh.
Straight ahead.
Yeah, that projectile slicing through the air toward me.
That's what I need to focus on.
Hard to see through the hazy dust, but probably a blade.
Aimed at my left shoulder blade, most likely.
To sever my left arm…
Not a vital spot.
Yeah, figures.
All his attacks so far had been like that.
Not vital, but fatal to me.
My scythe's in my left hand right now.
My only means of attack.
Lose the left arm, and I lose that.
Yeah, he'd think that.
Slash!
The blade tore into my shoulder, ripping off my left arm amid a spray of blood.
But my body shot forward regardless.
And then.
Bang!
"Kuhk…."
My right hand seized the emperor's nape, slamming him into the floor.
Alright, now it's a gamble.
You and me.
Whose Taboo devours the other first.
Let's see…
Clack. Footsteps in heeled shoes approached from behind me. And at the same time.
Stab.
""Kuhk….""
Blood spewed from the emperor pinned beneath me and from my own mouth simultaneously.
At the same time, a massive iron awl pierced my left chest… right into my heart.
"…Die. Both of you… just die."
A voice came from the direction of the footsteps. A familiar one.
The voice of the one the emperor sought, the one I'd spoken with quite a bit lately.
Sellin El Soladion.
I felt blood draining from my body in an instant.
My mind grew hazy at the same time.
Probably from losing too much blood.
As my vision blurred and my ears rang.
Somewhere, a frantic voice called out.
Not Sellin's.
A lazier, warmer tone.
I couldn't make out the words amid the fading consciousness.
But one word.
That rang crystal clear.
Transfer.
The rare phenomenon most people never experience in a lifetime.
In my near-death state.
I underwent my second Transfer in this life.
Together with the two imperial royals trying to kill me.