Midterms (5)
Demons are generally stronger than ordinary espers. In exchange, they lose their intellect and mindlessly attack anyone in sight, which is why heroes can defeat them. But among those demons, there are rare mutations. The command entities.
These are monsters who were already filled with malice toward humanity even before becoming demons, and that same malice allows them to retain their intelligence. They can command other demons and devise strategies, making them incredibly dangerous. But the real reason they’re so terrifying lies elsewhere.
“Ugh…!”
“Haha, that was pretty sharp, huh?”
The demon’s right foot grazed my cheek, leaving a trail of bright red blood streaming down.
The reason intelligent demons are dangerous is simple: they can use martial arts and magic.
“It stings…”
“Of course it stings. That was just a probing attack. Next time it won’t just sting—it’ll hurt.”
Despite his crude laughter, the demon’s stance was perfectly balanced with no openings. Had he trained in martial arts before turning into a demon? Even though I’d seen martial arts used in the game, watching it in real life was on a completely different level. The sheer pressure radiating from him, like he could shatter me at any moment, made my skin tingle.
In terms of pure martial skill, he was on par with Dana, or maybe even better.
“No way I can beat him in a martial arts match.”
If he’d just been some thug who relied on raw physical strength, I might’ve had a chance. But this guy was the real deal. There was no beating him with technique. That’s why I relaxed my guard—the most basic stance in martial arts—narrowed my wide stance, and stood casually like I always did.
Then I tossed the minigun slung across my back onto the ground.
“Huh? Giving up already? Well, even an S-rank hero would need to gang up on me to have a shot. I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt too much.”
The demon smirked arrogantly, apparently thinking I’d surrendered by throwing away my personal weapon. But I knew that smug grin wouldn’t last long.
“Who said I was giving up?”
I gathered mana in my palm. The minigun I’d discarded was the personal weapon I’d received upon entering the academy, but its true purpose wasn’t as a weapon.
It was a shackle.
Wilhelm had created it to prevent me from using more than a certain level of power. Of course, since it was my personal weapon, it still boasted overwhelming firepower. But in reality, the destructive power of each shot was barely a quarter of Camilla’s rifle, if that. I’d simply compensated for that weakness with my absurd mana reserves.
Which meant my personal weapon wouldn’t work on this demon. Even a B-rank demon could withstand Camilla’s rifle. There was no way an S-rank demon would be taken down by something with even less power.
Anyway, long story short.
The conclusion was simple.
“I’m going all out.”
Once I confirmed enough mana had gathered in my right arm, I infused it with my ability. What I summoned wasn’t the sun’s main body—just a fragment of its heat.
Heat Ray
I swung my arm, releasing the heat wrapped around it in a straight line.
“Wha—!”
The demon must have sensed it coming. He ducked his head at incredible speed. At the same time, the heat ray from my right arm barely missed the back of his head and sliced straight through the ocean behind him.
“Too bad.”
“What the hell is this…!”
The heat ray, reaching temperatures in the tens of thousands of degrees, evaporated the seawater in an explosive burst. Thick clouds of steam and salt scattered everywhere as a perfectly straight scar was carved into the sea. The ocean, being liquid, erased the cut in less than a second, but the demon’s eyes had clearly registered that single second. He stared at the spot where the attack had passed, his body frozen stiff.
“Damn it, I shouldn’t have underestimated her!”
Then he suddenly vanished from my field of vision. He was probably trying to hide and launch a surprise attack, but that wasn’t going to work on me.
“Hup!”
Flashbang
I struck a pose I’d often seen in an old dinosaur cartoon from my childhood and released a burst of light from my fingertips. A pained scream erupted from behind me.
“Aaaargh! My eyes!!!”
“Whoa… looks like you got a good look.”
The light output was strong enough to overwhelm ordinary flashbangs. No matter how tough a demon he was, staring directly at that flash would leave his eyes anything but fine. When I turned around, the demon was clutching both eyes, tears streaming down his face. I stepped forward and planted my foot on his chest, pinning him down.
“How about you surrender nicely and tell me who’s backing you? I’ll let you live.”
“Ugh… Heh heh. How funny. You know what the amplifier is for, yet you expect me to reveal my backers? Just kill me already.”
“Hmm…”
I’d considered torturing him a bit in case he had information I didn’t know, but seeing him laugh so leisurely even while blinded, it was clear he had no intention of talking even if he died.
“Sigh… Can’t be helped.”
If I got greedy and he somehow escaped, one of the students or professors might die. It was a shame, but I’d have to give up on extracting information.
“Then off you go.”
I gathered mana once more. I’d considered burning him alive with the heat ray from earlier… but he was an S-rank demon. A half-baked technique that only spewed heat might not be enough to kill him for sure.
So I would kill him thoroughly. Decisively.
Miniature Sun Manifestation
The moment the apple-sized ball of fire appeared in my right hand, the entire eastern section of the island began to burn and melt. I quickly shoved the sun into the demon’s stomach.
“Lord Escal…”
Even in death, he was still an S-rank demon. He managed to utter one final word before perishing. The burning demon turned into black ash in less than a second, then completely disintegrated into a handful of dust in another.
After watching the demon’s end, I immediately extinguished the sun. I’d been careful in case it started a wildfire, but its power was far greater than I’d expected.
“Ah crap, I’m screwed.”
Looking around, the entire area had turned into lava. Where the seawater had evaporated, the relatively intact ground was covered in white powder, and the cliffs had melted into gentle curves, unable to maintain their original shape. There was no way any trees could have survived that.
Crackle. Crackle.
Watching the trees burn spectacularly, I broke into a run. Before the wildfire consumed the entire uninhabited island, I had to gather the students and head to the white sand beach in the north.
“Oh right, the amplifier.”
While running, I remembered the thing I’d forgotten. I glanced back and spotted the cube I’d seen earlier near the pool of lava.
“Thank goodness. They said it was indestructible, and it really lives up to the name.”
I dashed over, scooped up the now-scorching hot amplifier, and tucked it into my arms before sprinting back toward the forest where the students were waiting.
*
“Siwoo! Aria! Can you hear me?!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs as I ran through the forest searching for the students. After a moment—
“Plea?! Over here!!!”
Siwoo’s voice rang out from the left. I immediately changed direction and ran toward it at full speed.
When I arrived, I found Siwoo and the other students huddled together, supporting the injured.
“Looks like you took care of the demon. What about the rest of the students?”
“According to the list on the watch, everyone except the ones who were eliminated has gathered here. They must have seen the flare Camilla fired earlier and came running.”
“That’s a relief. At least I don’t have to waste time searching for more students before the wildfire reaches us.”
As long as the students weren’t scattered all over the place, getting to the northern elimination base camp wouldn’t be difficult. The professors would figure out the situation and come by plane, so there was nothing to worry about.
“That’s good, but… Plea, where the hell did you go? What were you fighting? That flash of light and heat earlier…!”
“To put it simply, there was another demon on the island besides the one you guys fought. I took care of him. I’ll explain the details at camp. The wildfire’s coming soon, right?”
When I pointed at the crackling, burning trees, Siwoo nodded in understanding and began leading the students again. Since Siwoo had apparently done most of the work against the mid-boss demon, the students followed his lead obediently. We reached the elimination camp without any trouble.
“Huh? The ones who stayed behind are here! Are you guys okay? What’s with this wildfire…!”
When we arrived at the elimination camp, the students who had already failed the test opened the gate and welcomed us. Thanks to their help, we were able to treat the injured quickly.
“What on earth happened? The wounds from the illusion demons should’ve disappeared the moment we were eliminated. So what’s this…?”
When one of the eliminated students asked, Camilla stepped forward and explained the current situation. A real demon had appeared in the midterm exam site, and a fire had suddenly broken out on the island. The students listened in shock and awe.
In the middle of it all, I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around, Siwoo was staring at me with a hardened expression.
“Right, you were going to tell me what happened. Let’s go somewhere with fewer people.”
“Yeah…”
Siwoo and I quietly slipped away from the group and headed into a gap between the rocks on the white sand beach.