Chapter 243
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 243
Chapter Title: Fifteen Minutes Grace
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After the aurora appeared, we all returned to the location where the faculty members were waiting.
The professors who hadn't accompanied us also couldn't hide their grim expressions upon hearing about the current situation.
That was how dangerous a Stampede Gate truly was.
Naturally, the chances of my proposal being easily accepted were slim.
"It's not that I don't trust you, Young Master. However, even with a low probability, if there's something that threatens the cadets' safety, we can't just throw them into danger."
"I made a promise. To let them achieve results proportional to their efforts this time."
"But if even one casualty occurs by some misfortune, it'll be too late. I know you're full of spirit, Young Master, but please try to understand."
The professors' concerns were clear and reasonable.
I knew full well how absurd and inconsistent my words sounded.
So, I put forward the best proposal I could offer.
"The stampede is surging from an area three zones away from the exam grounds. Correct?"
I pointed to the large holographic map set up inside the tent.
"Considering the stampede's average speed, there's some leeway before it reaches the cadets' zone. That's right too, isn't it?"
"Yes."
I pointed to the two zones between the cadets' area and where the stampede was occurring.
"There are a primary defense line and a secondary one. Even if the primary line is breached and we fall back, we'll still have some margin."
Professor Rommel spoke up with a hardened expression at my proposal.
"Young Master. Isn't this different from what you said back in the Black Forest?"
He was right—the inconsistency in my argument lay exactly there.
"Yes, it is different."
"Wh... what do you...?"
"Aren't there two key differences from that time? A Demon Realm versus a Stampede Gate. And whether there's someone who can control it or not."
The Demon Realm might look harmless on the surface, but it was a place where unknown variables could arise at any moment.
But a stampede was straightforward, no matter how numerous they were.
"What do you...?"
"Fine, then let's halt it. Just give me 15 minutes."
I pulled an hourglass from my subspace and slammed it down with a thud!
"I'll be back before this sand runs out."
15 minutes. There was definitely still that much leeway. In fact, the artifacts provided here allowed the cadets to use every means at their disposal for the exam.
"Young Master Leon. You..."
"The students I trained put in real effort for today's exam. My little sister is in the exam grounds too. I promised them they'd get to take it, so I have to keep that promise."
At my words, Saintess Nadia pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Luna-nim. Is it possible?"
"If Leon says it is, then it is."
The dean, who had been mulling it over, closed his eyes and let out a short breath.
Then he said,
"15 minutes. No more than that. Beyond it, safely evacuating the cadets becomes impossible."
"That'll do."
"Also, the moment even a single monster crosses into Zone 1, all promises are off."
"Thank you."
At my response, one professor shouted urgently.
"N... no, Dean! What are you saying? It's a stampede! You're sending him alone to stop it?! At least let me go too! Sending him by himself is absurd...!"
"Sorry, but it'll be just the two of us. We're turning the griddle upside down—having allies around makes it hard to control our power."
The professor opened and closed his mouth wordlessly.
The dean then let out a sigh.
"The academy already owes you a debt, so we'll trust you this once."
With the dean's permission, I flipped the hourglass over and set it down before stepping out of the tent.
I then drew upon my death mana.
The shadows at my feet began to writhe.
"Baril."
At my command, a massive magic dragon emerged from the shadows.
Saintess Nadia flinched at the sight but kept her mouth shut.
She knew what Baril truly was.
Those unfamiliar with it, however, couldn't hide their panic as a gigantic dragon appeared from my shadow.
Hwaaaah!!!
Luna and I climbed atop it, and Nadia hurriedly followed after me.
"Young Master."
"Stay here just in case, Saintess."
"Understood, Young Master. And Luna-nim, we'll be waiting."
Leaving them behind, we soared into the sky at tremendous speed, piercing through the clouds in one go.
Chilly air rushed past, and a massive aurora wall rising from the ground came into view.
Monsters were pouring out from the enormous aurora wall, dozens of meters in diameter.
Forest Wendigos. Hundreds of them, even at a rough glance.
A rare breed of monster.
Their brute strength rivaled ogres, and their tough hides were no slouch compared to troll regeneration.
Still, it was somewhat within my expectations.
"Baril. Let's fire off one fireworks shot."
I leaped off its back mid-air while issuing the command. Baril, hovering in the sky, began gathering a massive breath toward the monster horde.
Kwaaaaaah!!!!
A colossal blast of ultra-high-density, superheated breath erupted, carving a massive line from the ground directly below Baril straight into Zone 1.
Buwoooook!!
Like thick cloth ripping in an instant, the Forest Wendigos within range were swept away all at once.
Of course, their numbers were too vast and spread too wide for a single breath to finish them. I had no intention of playing around either.
Kung!!
I landed leisurely on the ground after jumping down from Baril, and Luna called out to me.
"Leon."
"Yeah?"
"This."
She handed me a fruit glowing golden—she must have fetched it at some point.
"Enhancement successful?"
"Hand slipped."
...
"But the enhancement is perfect."
The millennium fruit from the World Tree was shining even more beautifully than before, but its size had shrunk dramatically to about the size of a single strawberry.
"Swallow it in one bite."
"Can I eat this now?"
"Doesn't matter. It's already beyond the realm of ordinary spirit medicines. Here, ah~"
With that, she held the fruit out to me, and I popped it into my mouth whole.
Instantly, something immense enveloped my entire body.
"Whoa... this is beyond imagination."
Effects like this would normally come with massive losses and strain on the body, but Luna's enhanced fruit had none of that.
It stayed purely within me without leaking out, wrapping around me as if urging me to absorb it slowly.
Power surged madly through my entire body.
My already vast mana, aura, death mana, and spirit energy exploded upward in amplification all at once.
I'd never handled this much even in Labyrinthos.
Whatever—it was good, so good it was.
Best of all, its inherent efficiency had improved dramatically.
"Have all the effects manifested?"
"It'll take a few days to fully absorb everything."
"That's fine."
I swept my gaze over the monsters surging from beyond and the aurora spewing them out.
Following the Forest Wendigos, massive wyvern-like monsters were now taking flight with wingbeats.
Left alone, those monsters would scatter every which way and advance toward the academy.
Dealing with a situation like this was simple in theory, but difficult in practice.
Individually, they weren't that threatening—but their numbers were overwhelming.
"Let's intercept them all."
I immediately cast Fly magic and took to the air.
Then I swept my eyes over the massive aurora wall and spread one hand.
Pajik...pajijik!!!
A colossal bolt of lightning gathered above my palm.
Electricity has many traits, but I exploited its tendency to flow in one direction.
I linked one pole to the aurora gate and condensed ultra-high-voltage electricity at my fingertips.
The horde of monsters, driven solely by destructive urges, actually flinched at the massive thunderbolt amassing.
With improved efficiency and explosively increased mana reserves, I didn't hesitate to do something I'd normally avoid due to its poor cost-effectiveness.
"Hey, look over here."
I slowly raised my hand, drawing their aggro.
Pajik...pajijijik!!!!
The massive thunderbolt rampaged ferociously, as if trying to break free from my hand.
Then, I hurled the condensed thunderbolt at them like a baseball pitch. A huge shockwave erupted as the thunderball splintered into hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of lightning tendrils, engulfing the entire area in a storm of electricity.
[Thanatos]
Death Authority infused into lightning strands
I then imbued my lightning tendrils with authority.
The authority of death. Thanatos.
Space tore open behind me, and a grim reaper clad in tattered black robes, wielding a massive scythe, manifested in the air.
As the colossal reaper swung its scythe through the air, my lightning bolts turned pitch black like an infection spreading, sweeping through the entire area.
The advancing Forest Wendigos collapsed into charred husks all at once, while the wyverns soaring into the sky were blasted away, plummeting like flies swatted by a flyswatter.
Even after the electric wave passed, black lightning tendrils lingered on the ground, wriggling like solar flares.
"Turned it into an AOE spell. Not bad, huh?"
"No one but you could pull off something like this, Leon."
The Stampede Gate pulsed once more, even larger, spewing out fresh monsters.
But there was no need for wide-area magic anymore.
The monsters already contaminated by the lingering death authority on the ground began losing their life force in real time, dropping dead one after another.
And trailing behind them, the massive shadow dragon Baril swimming through the skies unleashed its breath without pause.
"Since we're at it, let's replenish some undead."
I scanned the thoroughly charred monsters, slowly closed my eyes, then opened them again.
My Specter Eye activated, revealing all their souls.
I ripped out the rampaging souls en masse and subjugated them into my domain.
Hundreds, thousands of Forest Wendigos and wyverns transformed into wraith-type undead all at once, lunging toward the new monsters emerging from the rift.
And then, with about 10 minutes of the promised 15 gone...
The massive aurora wall cracked and shattered with a crash.
"Gate's been handled. You haven't started the evacuation yet, right?"
I'd been watching silently. I slowly activated the communication artifact and relayed the situation here.
Noisy voices erupted from the other end of the artifact.