The Golden Generation
The entrance ceremony wasn't just a spectacle for the new students and the demonic beasts. I wasn't the only one watching the bloody battle unfold.
High up in the main building of Stella Academy, inside a secret control room sealed behind thick magical barriers, sat the poor souls who had sold their spirits to the devil—otherwise known as the teaching assistants.
They stared into crystal orbs placed on their desks, frantically scribbling notes and checking off items on their clipboards. The scenes playing across those orbs showed a live feed of the grand auditorium, now a complete madhouse after the demonic beasts had poured in.
“This year’s production feels especially vicious for something we do every year, doesn’t it? Half the freshmen look like they’ve completely lost their minds.”
When one assistant spoke up, the older-looking man beside him snorted.
“This much is just right. This year has an unusual number of big names. Internally, they’re already calling this batch the Golden Generation. So we need to filter them properly, don’t we? Back in my day…”
“Yeah, yeah, in your day they dropped you on a deserted island and made you survive for a week, right? How many times have we heard that story now?”
Even as the two bantered, their hands never stopped moving, diligently recording every detail. Their bodies, long since broken in by the devil professors, were brutally honest.
The natural way they carried out their duties without even thinking—that was the price of selling their souls.
“Still, this class really is something else. Just look at that.”
“What— whoa, already at that level at their age? That’s incredible.”
The assistants’ gazes were fixed on the crystal orb, where geniuses were slaughtering demonic beasts at terrifying speeds, proving exactly why this group was called the Golden Generation.
There was a hulking man swinging a massive shield like a club, smashing beasts in a single blow. Then came a pair of men and women in Eastern-style clothing that stood out among the Western uniforms, drawing ghostly sword lines through the air. A woman clad in beast pelts who tore apart demonic creatures with her bare hands. And a young girl commanding countless spirits.
The assistants’ quills flew across the paper without pause.
“In my day, the moment demonic beasts appeared, we ran like hell…”
“Guess that’s what happens when you’re from one of the Three Great Ducal Houses or a Margrave’s bloodline. Looks like the Sing Kingdom and the Cradle also sent their best this time.”
Yet even among those so-called geniuses, the one dominating the center of the battlefield was none other than the Crown Prince of the Libertan Empire, Edward.
Rumble— Boom!
With one hand, he floated a bundle of massive magic circles in the air and rained down ferocious lightning strikes. The way he instantly organized the scattered freshmen into proper formations showed that his title as Crown Prince was well-earned.
“His Highness’s personality is a problem, but his skills are the real deal.”
“Watch your mouth. You’d need several necks to make up for that slip.”
At the senior assistant’s rebuke, the younger one shrugged and kept writing. Despite the grumbling, Edward’s performance was easily filling out their strict scoring sheets with passing marks.
But at that moment, behind the Crown Prince in the crystal orb—right at the safest center of the makeshift shelter the students had built—a blinding holy light burst forth in every direction.
Within that flood of radiance stood a single girl.
“So that’s the one who appeared after a thousand years…”
“Yes, the Saintess. She doesn’t even look fully grown yet, but that divine power is overwhelming.”
On the screen, the Saintess’s brilliantly shining pink hair danced through the air. Her nun’s habit was stretched so tightly over her conspicuously voluptuous chest that it looked ready to burst, radiating a beauty that bordered on blasphemy.
Yet even seeing that, the assistants couldn’t entertain a single lewd thought.
What they felt was pure, overwhelming divinity.
It was exactly the kind of power one would expect from the goddess’s own representative.
The assistants continued their endless note-taking while manipulating the crystal orbs to scan different parts of the battlefield.
“Alright… this area looks good. How about over there?”
“That side seems mostly done too.”
“What about the Dranice girl? She’s off by herself, isn’t she?”
“Ah, that one… well…”
The junior assistant trailed off and glanced down at the orb showing Iolet.
“…She’s a monster.”
The scene reflected in the crystal orb was nothing short of shocking.
The entire auditorium had become a living hell stained with blood and screams, yet the corner where she sat remained eerily, unnaturally quiet.
Iolet Dranice.
She hadn’t moved a single step from the exact same posture she’d held before the demonic beasts attacked. Still sunk deep into her chair, arms crossed, watching the battlefield with an arrogant gaze.
She even had her brow slightly furrowed in clear annoyance, legs crossed, as if this entire annoying commotion was nothing more than a brief disturbance to her.
But despite her relaxed demeanor, what was happening at her feet was horrifyingly brutal.
Shhhrrrrk.
The long shadow stretching behind Iolet writhed and twisted like a living creature.
Any demonic beast foolish enough to charge at her had its mouth clamped shut before it could even scream. The shadow swallowed them whole and dragged them down into the abyss beneath the floor.
Crunch! Screeech—!
The sounds of bones shattering and flesh being pulverized echoed softly. Once the shadow had digested the beasts without a trace, it quietly seeped back beneath Iolet’s feet and lay still once more.
“…She’s already terrifying.”
“You can say that again…”
“Well, looks like we’ve confirmed everything we needed to. Let’s wrap this up.”
“Understood. Oh, what about the Titan?”
“That was just a visual threat anyway. It’ll dispel itself once time runs out. Still, it’d be annoying if it rampages before then, so check it one more time.”
“Yes, sir!”
The junior assistant reached toward the crystal orb that dominated the center of the main screen—the one showing the massive demonic beast known as the Titan.
It was a giant summon placed by the academy to instill visual terror in the new students.
After confirming there were no abnormalities, the junior assistant was about to switch the view when his fingers suddenly froze.
“…Huh?”
There, right on the Titan’s enormous shoulder, beside its face that filled the entire screen.
A girl in a maid uniform was sitting there as casually as if she were lounging on her own bed, idly swinging her legs.
When the hell did she get up there?
The junior assistant, who had been monitoring the entire auditorium through the crystal orbs, had no idea when she had climbed onto the Titan’s shoulder.
In his confusion, his eyes met those of the girl inside the orb.
The moment he locked gazes with those pure white eyes that seemed to have endless depth, he had the distinct feeling that she was looking straight at him.
…That’s impossible.
The auditorium and this control room were quite far apart, and the surveillance magic on these orbs had been cast by the principal herself. It wasn’t some sloppy spell that a mere freshman could see through.
Dismissing the ridiculous thought, the junior assistant poured mana into the orb to zoom in and identify the girl.
Inside the crystal, Gladia smoothly lifted the corners of her lips into a gentle smile.
It was a smile filled with absolute certainty.
She lightly twisted the hilt of the sword she was holding, raising the silver-white blade, then gave it a casual swing through the air.
"Cut."
⟨ Sword Saint ⟩
Tap.
“…Huk!”
With that light motion, the crystal orb projecting the scene in the control room went out like a lie, leaving only a black screen.
This actually works.
While I had been leisurely watching the chaos below, I suddenly felt a gaze staring intently in this direction. I sharpened my senses and noticed invisible threads of mana floating through the air, persistently scanning the surroundings. When I focused on them, I realized they led straight to the control room—and my eyes met those of the assistant who had been observing me.
Wondering if I could cut this too, I gave my sword a light swing. Sure enough, the connection snapped cleanly with a soft tap.
The more I use it, the more I realize just how amazing the Sword Saint trait really is. I never expected it could physically sever mana-based surveillance techniques.
Well, I did cut through magic on the first day, so I guess it makes sense.
Anyway, I’d seen enough of the show downstairs. It was about time to head back.
Without hesitation, I kicked off the giant’s massive shoulder and leaped downward. Using Mind’s Eye to perfectly map my path, I crossed the battlefield littered with demonic beast corpses without making a sound.
When I finally returned to the area where I had started…
“……”
The sight that greeted me made me swallow nervously.
Our young lady was in quite a state.
She was still sitting with her arms crossed and legs elegantly crossed, but the aura radiating from her tightly pressed lips and slightly furrowed brow was no joke.
Anyone else might think she was putting on an air of perfect composure, but after three years of raising her, my eyes couldn’t be fooled.
Iolet was sulking!
It seemed she was upset that I had left her alone and gone off on my own.
The atmosphere was so tense that if I messed up even slightly, the ravenous shadows waiting beneath her feet looked ready to open their jaws and swallow me whole.
I quickly put on the mask of the world’s most loyal maid.
“Your faithful servant, Gladia, has returned!”
“Hmph! Why come back after abandoning me? If you like other people so much, just go to them!”
Seeing her pout and whip her head away, I couldn’t help but smile.
She might be complaining, but the moment I returned, the sharp edge in her eyes softened just a little.
How cute.
Our young lady really does like me too much.
“Aww, come on, my lady. Where would I possibly go? The only place my soul can find rest is by your side.”
I approached with a sly grin and began massaging her shoulders firmly.
“I went and took a good look around. No matter how much those people down there flap and struggle, none of them even come close to you. They’re all just fledglings who can’t even reach the tip of your toes.”
“…Really?”
I could see her ears perk up. Though her head stayed turned away, the slight twitch in her eyes and the way her crossed arms loosened just a fraction revealed her wavering heart.
By the way, that wasn’t a lie. They all fought pretty well, but none of them could compare to the Iolet MK.42 that I had poured my heart and soul into raising. Absolutely not!
My desperate flattery began to visibly melt away her bad mood. The menacing shadow jaws that had been lurking beneath her feet quietly dissolved back into the floor as if they had never been there.
Still wanting to preserve her last shred of pride, she slowly turned her head and glared at me with narrowed eyes.
“Even so, what kind of maid wanders off and leaves her master behind!”
“Come now, my lady. The only reason I can do that is because I trust you with every bone in my body. You’re perfect even without me around.”
“You smooth-talking…!”
Her pouting lips drew a smooth arc as they curved upward. A clear sign that her mood had completely recovered.
Before long, her face had returned to its usual slightly relaxed smile. She uncrossed and recrossed her legs before asking me,
“So, Dia, how long is this going to keep going? I’m starting to get bored.”
Even as we were chatting like this, fierce battles continued throughout the auditorium—everywhere except where we were. I quietly looked up at the ceiling. Sword Saint and Mind’s Eye resonated, piercing straight through to the core of the magic circle engraved there.
“It should… be ending very soon.”
The moment my answer reached her ears—
Ping—
With a strange sound, every demonic beast filling the auditorium turned to dust in an instant, as if it had all been an illusion.
The bloody stench vanished in a flash, and an eerie silence fell over the devastated grand hall.
As the freshmen looked around in confusion, weapons still in hand, a young girl’s voice rang out from beyond the auditorium ceiling, heavy enough to weigh on everyone’s ears.
[…That is all.]