Crushed Ambush and Frozen Foes
Because of her utter complacency—like a clam pan left wide open—Ios Savin had no choice but to take the hit. It was only natural she wouldn't suspect reinforcements lurking nearby. (If there were any, they would've shown up midway without fail.) Knowing she was a powerhouse, they should've disabled her in one strike. But the pressure of taking down an elite in a single blow must've weighed on my hands without me realizing it.
'This is bad. She's still fine.'
Even though part of her body was frozen solid, Ios swung her staff a few times and melted the ice away completely.
"I'll handle Senior Ios, Instructor! You take the small fry first!"
In pure magical prowess, Nagisa outclassed me. With quick thinking, she assigned roles and immediately pressured Ios, while I charged at the minions.
"Ngh!"
There were eight of them. All staves aimed straight at me.
'Can I take on eight at once?'
Ever since I started seriously learning magic, both Grand and Sena had given me the same advice about fighting multiples.
'How to beat a crowd? Don't aim to win—just focus on surviving. Lure them in one by one and pick them off. In the end, you'll be the last one standing.'
'Win against numbers? Instill fear. Show an example, and the rest will crumble on their own.'
I pointed my staff not at them, but at the floor. Firing a wide-area frost spell at the ground—crackkk—the chill spread rapidly across the surface. The minions' feet froze solid. If they tried yanking free, their shoes and feet would shatter together.
"Gaaah!"
Two who lost balance toppled over. The sight of their ankles shattering into pieces felt surreal.
Bam! Crash!
"Gyyyaaah!"
"M-my feet! My feet!"
"Urgh!"
But one guy—the leader up front—read my intent. He hopped nimbly, dodging the freeze.
"You cocky servant bastard!"
A blaze of crimson flame erupted from his staff, lunging at me like a living beast. But—
"Hyaah!"
I hurled my gladius from my other hand straight at the fire. It might scorch flesh, but a sword could withstand that much.
"Gaaah!"
I couldn't throw like some special forces operative, but a hefty gladius flying head-on made anyone flinch. The flames shrank on impact, and the minion—arm slashed—crumpled.
"Stay down."
I stabbed my staff into the fallen fool and froze him solid. No moving now.
"Melt it quick! Hurry!"
Meanwhile, the others melted their feet and rushed me. I snatched up my gladius. Deflected an incoming spell upward, then counterattacked. One minion who couldn't block my magic flew back and froze.
Dodged a side spell, stepped in close, stabbed the top of his foot with my blade. Then smashed his staff hand with my fist, knocking him out cold.
Against two casting together, I threw up a defensive spell. That's when I noticed the difference.
'I'm stronger than last time?'
The growth rate was insane—almost scary, like it wouldn't stop no matter how much sex we had. Strong enough to handle eight mages solo?
"Die!"
The moment the last witch closed in from the side and raised her staff, I swung my gladius skyward. Blades materialized in the air, piercing her hand and staff together.
Squelch!
"Kyaaah!"
"She wields a magic sword?"
"A mage-swordsman? That servant couldn't even cast until recently?"
I conjured more blades and fired them at the remaining two simultaneously. Skewered their knees and arms to pin them, then froze each one by hand.
'I might really become a powerhouse soon.'
Confidence surged. At this growth rate, for real!
Boom!
But witnessing Ios in action dampened it a bit. She was academy elite-level, overwhelming. Even Nagisa—a solid fighter in her own right—couldn't keep up.
Crack!
Ios blocked Nagisa's spell, then smashed her jaw with a punch no woman should throw. Followed by a low kick to her wobbling leg, shoving her neck-first into a pillar.
'What kind of woman fights better than a man?'
Luckily, Nagisa held her own barehanded. Her sturdy build endured the hits while she pressured back. Perfect time for backup from behind...
"You... you bastard...!"
Oh yeah, forgot about him. Cesare, yanking desperately at the sword in his leg, glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
"Our deal was reinforcements at the start of the fight!"
"..."
"You broke it on your own and left me like this...?"
"...Tch. Should've just come after you were dead."
"And I heard. You're not the academy director's servant? But the Ice Witch's?"
Gnashing his teeth, Cesare slammed his fist into the floor and roared.
"How dare a lowly servant scum like you deceive me, Cesare? I'll tell His Majesty and drag your entire clan—eighth cousins included—to be tortured!"
Those cousins aren't here, so whatever. I pretended to pick my ear, and his face twisted in disbelief. Then he beckoned me over.
"Tch. Help me escape now, and I'll overlook this mess."
"What're you talking about? Why would I?"
"What? Why not? Help me, and you're forgiven! While that big chick's distracted, grab me and run!"
Cesare seemed trapped in his own delusion—everyone existed for him, the center of the universe.
"Quit dreaming and save me!"
"Fine. Here, look at this."
I rummaged in my pocket and handed him something. My middle finger.
"Heh~ fuck off."
"You... you son of a bitch!"
I bolted to Ios and kicked her side. She staggered but blocked my thrust with her elbow.
'What kind of woman...'
Undeterred, I hooked her staff and fired a sharp icicle point-blank. She ducked low and punched my gut.
Thud!
My abs clenched, breath exploding out. Without Grand's brutal workouts, my guts would've been mush.
"...Urp! Hack!"
Kept getting surprised. What the hell kind of woman!
"Ngh!"
Nagisa side-kicked Ios to create space and fired a spell, but it wasn't enough. A few staff swings, and Nagisa's attacks fizzled.
"Crazy bitch..."
Nagisa panted, winded to her limit; Ios barely broke a sweat. Deciding disguise was pointless, Ios shed her hood and headscarf. Brushing back her falling hair, she revealed eyes full of fierce arrogance.
"That all you got? Tch, no wonder your useless crew's already down. Can't even touch Eri with that performance."
"Is she a woman or a dude?"
"More importantly, you."
Ios turned her hand my way. I grimaced.
"Not long ago, you were a magicless normie."
Everyone I fought said the same damn thing.
"So what the hell? You soloed my eight minions and now you're pressuring me?"
Her glare turned feral, teeth grinding.
"That growth rate defies logic. No illegal booster or forbidden magic grows like that."
"What's your point?"
"You know how mages break their limits, right?"
She nailed it. Guess the secret wasn't staying hidden.
"Sena Michele... she knows too?"
"...And what if she does?"
I gripped my staff tight.
"Whether Sena knows or not, what's it to you? You'll never find out anyway."
"It pisses me off that a pathetic servant like you unlocked a secret mages couldn't for centuries—and became one."
Ios aimed her staff. Top-ten academy powerhouse—even against us both, she showed no weakness. Zero confidence I'd win.
"Was gonna kill you, but changed my mind. You might surpass even me someday. Kill Nagisa, capture you."
"..."
"Peel your skin with a carving knife, and you'll spill the secret?"
My gaze shifted behind her. Yeah, never planned to take Ios with just Nagisa and me.
"Who're you capturing?"
That cold, emotionless voice. But I caught the anger beneath—subtler than usual.
Ios turned despite us right there. Her smug face paled. The woman unphased by us lost all will at one person.
"Say it again. In front of me. Ios Savin."
"S-Sena Michele..."
It was Sena. Emerging from the side path with crisp footsteps, she overwhelmed Ios with her icy demeanor.
"You... you said you wouldn't meddle in the war. You've stayed out till now—why step in suddenly?!"
"Did I say I was stepping in?"
"Then why's your servant...!"
"Lee Hyun's actions have nothing to do with me."
Sena didn't even raise her staff—just flicked a finger.
"I'm just disciplining the arrogant witch who threatened to kill my servant."
Kiiing—a glass-like membrane shimmered into existence midair. Clear and reflective, like a mirror. It sliced across Ios's arm as she aimed her staff.
Chopped off? If it'd flown in, yeah—but her arm stayed intact, frozen solid instead.
"Nngh..."
"Move, and it severs."
"Fuck that!"
Shatter!
A shockwave exploded from Ios, shattering the membrane. Freed unscathed, she tried aiming again—but crack! An ice pillar erupted from her body like it was rooted there.
She staggered back, smashing ice repeatedly, but crack! Split! Crack! No matter how much she broke, new shards sprouted endlessly from her flesh.
"Nngh...! Michele!"
Ice crystals bloomed uncontrollably across her. With each cycle, her body slowed, freezing deeper. Icicles dangled from her hair; her breaths rasped metallically. Eyes squeezed shut against the encroaching frost. Skin turned corpse-blue, then her mouth gaped wide—icicles thrusting from within.
"Guh... hack... heh-heh..."
"Move recklessly, and your organs shatter first. Want to live? Stay still."
We'd struggled so hard against her, but Sena subdued Ios without a twitch.
Passing the grotesquely frozen Ios, Sena asked me,
"Lee Hyun. Hurt?"
"Not hurt. Thanks for the assist."
Sena glanced at the strewn bodies behind, patted my shoulder.
"Your growth defies reason."
"Good thing, right?"
"Bad side too. Flaunt excessive growth, and you make more enemies. Like me now."
"Grrraaah!"
Then Cesare finally yanked the sword from his thigh. Tossing it aside, he gasped raggedly, glaring at Sena ferociously.
"Hah... haah... Ice Witch..."
"...Who?"
"You really don't remember? We've spoken before."
But Sena looked clueless. As she turned away, Cesare suddenly called out.
"Wait! Don't go—talk to me."
Sena's face screamed reluctance.
"What do we have to discuss?"
"Got a scheme to claim not just the academy, but the kingdom. Wanna hear? I'm the kingdom's envoy—His Majesty's right-hand man."
The old coot, still clinging to life, shakily stood against the wall using his leg.
"The Michele family's prowess is on another level—top-tier mage. You must care about this war, right? Helena's on her last legs."
Sena eyed him coldly. Missing the implication, Cesare blabbered on.
"You came here for the war, didn't you? But it's not just about strength. This war's for the academy director's seat and the kingdom's backing."
"..."
"Join me. With the kingdom behind you, snag the director spot, and the academy'll be paradise."
"King's right-hand... that true?"
Cesare frowned.
"What're you...?"
"Why's a 'right-hand man' rotting in an academy, wasting his few remaining days?"
"You... you bitch. Watch your mouth."
"Be honest. You're not here on important duty, far from the capital. You got demoted."
Cesare's veins bulged. Sena hadn't just touched a nerve—she'd grabbed it.
"Truth is, you're a useless headache, so the king dumped you—and you didn't notice?"
Would he collapse? His face flushed beet-red, swelling like it'd burst.
Rage so intense he stood on his mangled leg, snatched the discarded sword.
"...Fucking goddamn bitch!"
Clang!
But fury aside, he couldn't swing. He face-planted, retching.
"Urghhh!"
Cold blood spewed, laced with frozen flesh chunks. Ah, organs ruptured.
"Guhhh... grrrk."
Not just mouth—crimson soaked his pants; color drained from his face, turning ashen-blue. As Cesare writhed in agony, we watched coldly, then turned to Ios.
I whispered in her ear.
"Congrats. Mission accomplished."