#112
I tried to endure the pain rising from my legs as I looked around. Unidentifiable magical beasts were pouring out from the ruined old school building. The magic formation drawn now seemed similar to the one from the entrance ceremony, but slightly different. If the previous formation had summoned magical beasts, this one felt like it had opened a pathway for them. Unlike before, this meant that unless the formation itself was closed, magical beasts would continue to emerge endlessly.
Even amid the chaos, Rikin had apparently carried me and escaped outside.
“Does your leg hurt? There’s no visible wound though.”
“I can move,” I replied.
I struggled to my feet, groaning. I was worried about the school that must be in shambles by now. During the entrance ceremony, the Duke had been present, which minimized the damage, but not this time. It would be difficult for just students and teachers to handle this situation. If Iria, Persis, or even Yutis were to be endangered…
I didn’t even want to imagine it.
“What about Ramtel?”
“He disappeared somewhere during the earlier commotion.”
I couldn’t believe he would cause such a major incident again. I couldn’t understand why he would do this. Weighing the benefits against the losses, the losses were much greater. Why would Ramtel repeat something similar?
At that moment, I remembered the sword in my room.
They wanted the demon’s soul to return to its body. Only then could the proper “experiment” they desired begin. If, as Ramtel said, he hadn’t passed information about me to Kuatrin, then he was the only one who knew the demon’s soul was inside the sword.
I couldn’t understand his intentions, but one thing was certain: Ramtel’s obsession with demons. Having lost the sword he had almost obtained, he might try to retrieve it during this chaos.
“I think I know where he went.”
I stood up with Rikin’s support.
“To my dormitory room, please take me there.”
Though I was worried about others, going to the training ground now would only make me a burden. At times like this, it was right to do what I could.
With Mujin inside the sword, it was impossible for him to draw a magic formation directly. Unable to use his demonic abilities, I could be helplessly overpowered by Ramtel. Of course, I could use mana to buy time, and I’d heard the Duke had set up several protective measures for Mujin.
But I couldn’t just rely on that and do nothing. Rikin seemed to want me to hide somewhere safe, but I couldn’t just stand by in this situation.
“Please.”
“Haah.”
With a deep sigh, Rikin put his arm around my waist to help me walk properly.
“Is it because of that sword?”
I silently nodded. Worried that he might be reluctant because Mujin was a demon, I checked Rikin’s expression. As if reading my concern, Rikin tightened his arm around my waist.
“Alright. We’ll go check, and if everything’s okay, we’ll immediately move to somewhere we can hide. Got it?”
“Yes.”
I nodded in response. Right now, capturing Ramtel was the priority. I wasn’t sure if the two of us could do it, but we had to stop him before he caused more trouble.
Leaning on Rikin, we walked toward the dormitory. Fortunately, the distance between the old school building and the dormitory wasn’t too far. As we approached, my anxiety grew. The magical beasts from the old school building were heading not just toward the school buildings but also toward the dormitory.
Rikin dealt with the beasts that approached us, but I couldn’t tell if the students in the dormitory were responding properly. The situation was becoming much larger and more dangerous than I had anticipated.
“This is bad.”
Rikin clicked his tongue softly as he looked at the dormitory.
The dormitory building had all its entrances blocked due to the magical beasts pouring in from outside. This would prevent the beasts from entering, but it also meant that the people inside couldn’t get out, and no one could get in. This was a bad situation for us who needed to enter.
Moreover, the number of magical beasts surrounding the dormitory was increasing. As a result, the students inside were trying harder to seal the windows and doors. Despite Rikin’s excellent swordsmanship, it would be impossible to break through those beasts while carrying me.
At this rate, not only would the students inside be in danger, but protecting Mujin inside would be impossible.
Also, Ramtel could be in there. Perhaps he was the one who blocked all the doors, convincing the students to wait inside until help arrived. It wasn’t a bad strategy, but in a situation where magical beasts were pouring out endlessly, it could become even more dangerous.
“What should we do?”
Getting into the dormitory was impossible. My mana was sealed, so I couldn’t help Rikin. Actually, even if the seal on my mana had been released, I couldn’t use magic in a situation where Kuatrin’s eyes could be watching at any moment.
It was frustrating to be unable to do anything. At times like this, I needed to stay calm and assess the situation objectively, but that wasn’t easy.
Just then, I felt someone else’s hand touch my waist where Rikin’s arm was wrapped. Startled, I looked to the side. My vision was blocked by red hair that had no reason to be here.
“Ana.”
The voice that reached my ear was unbelievable.
“Persis.”
I couldn’t understand why he was here. He was supposed to be taking the exam at the training ground… It seemed I wasn’t the only one surprised. Rikin, who was supporting me, was also shocked to see Persis.
“What? How did you know to come here?”
“I was wondering where Ana went right after the exam. I had a little insurance attached.”
Saying this, Persis lightly touched the side of my ear. Then, a white butterfly that had been there since who knows when landed on Persis’s fingertip. The magically created butterfly soon floated up and disappeared as if melting into the air.
“I didn’t expect you not to notice this despite being different from usual. Our Ana.”
“When did you cast such a spell…”
“I’ve trained a bit like Ana. The world is quite dangerous, isn’t it?”
Taking me from Rikin, Persis held me firmly, showing no signs of difficulty.
Persis being here meant that only Iria was left at the training ground. Though there were other teachers and guards would soon gather there, I was worried about Iria being alone. Yutis had also gone into the building to look for Tus, so it would take time for him to return to the training ground. I knew the teachers were much stronger than the students, but the presence of Kuatrin there kept bothering me.
Just as I was about to ask about Iria’s condition at the training ground, another voice I never expected to hear here reached my ears.
“I knew this would happen.”
With gasping breaths, Iria, whom I had been worried about, approached. I had no idea how she knew we were here. As I stood with my mouth open in surprise, she immediately pointed at Persis and shouted:
“Are you a stalker!? How did you know Andelion was here?”
“Is that how you introduce yourself? What about you? Why did you come here instead of staying at the training ground? Why are you coming here and complicating the situation?”
“What about you?! Your brother is sweeping up all those magical beasts like a hero over there! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be there scoring points or something?”
“What points? For eliminating magical beasts that suddenly appeared at school? I did enough of that during the entrance ceremony.”
Since Persis was supporting me, I ended up caught between him and Iria. The two exchanged heated words with me in the middle. I looked at Rikin, who was standing slightly apart, silently pleading for help. But Rikin just shrugged his shoulders, as if to say he couldn’t possibly intervene between those two.
“So what exactly is going on here?”
After exchanging words several times with neither willing to back down, Iria was the first to surrender. She gestured toward the dormitory as she spoke.
The magical beasts were increasingly surrounding the dormitory even at this moment. Still, with Iria, Persis, and Rikin together, getting into the dormitory wouldn’t be impossible. I explained about Ramtel, who had suddenly appeared in the old school building and activated the beast-summoning formation, and about Mujin inside the dormitory.
Although I couldn’t say for certain that Ramtel was in the dormitory, it was highly likely. Persis, who had been listening quietly to my story, looked at the distant dormitory.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
