episode_0199

Nari’s six women.

Among them, Yuri and Nix were particularly close.

Because she left Nari’s side immediately after experiencing love, Lulu was temporarily absent from the heroine’s ranks.

Nix appeared during that time.

She clashed with Yuri first, and then they joined forces.

Same goal, same heart.

Yuri, who is fundamentally good at getting along with people, quickly befriended the gloomy hikikomori spirit.

Nix was fundamentally sensitive to new stimuli.

After first obtaining a physical body, she became deeply engrossed in the allure of the “taste” of food, and for a while, her dinner menu changed daily.

Yuri made those meals.

She, too, found happiness in cooking and seeing others enjoy her food.

Soon, the two of them also went on adventures together.

They had similar positions as long-range support, and they gradually coordinated their moves in battle.

Nix, who specialized in wide-area magic, needed to use her mana to the fullest extent, and Yuri, with her incredibly vast mana pool, was the perfect support for her.

After that, Yuri spent a lot of time with Nix.

When Nari wanted to sleep with someone, she would embrace Nix along with her. When Nari went somewhere, Yuri would wait, wearing Nix’s sleeping black onyx necklace.

The curious Nix, and Yuri, who could both control and unleash Nix’s freewheeling exploration of this world and that.

It was a relationship perfectly suited for the blossoming of friendship, and it was a good time.

Yuri smiled gently.

“It’s okay, Instructor.”

From the moment the attackers first appeared, Nix began chanting a large-scale mind control spell. Yuri quickly scanned her surroundings, sharing her senses so Nix could smoothly target the spell.

Sparkle-

The moment the signal was given, she placed her hand on the black onyx on her chest and drew up mana.

‘I’ll borrow it for a bit, khihih~’ ‘Anytime.’

A joint strategy where two or more mages overlap their mana waves, sharing one side’s spell to achieve greater output.

Yuri and Nix, whose bodies, minds, and even thoughts were intertwined,

didn’t need any elaborate signals to instantly synchronize their mana waves.

“Yurias student!! What are you—”

Once is enough.

Yuri and Nix simultaneously activated their magic.

「Those who threaten my friends and the Instructor… kill them all, Nix.」 「I’ve been waiting for this guhuhuht-」

It’s okay that the attributes are different.

Mana is ultimately from the same source, Aether, children of the same parent.

In a way, Yuri and Nix are the same, aren’t they?

Even if their appearances, birth times, and places are different.

At their core, they were the same.

One of the women who loved Nari.

Yuri’s water attribute mana, overflowing like a wave, shared the same wavelength as Nix’s darkness attribute mana, which enveloped like the night.

And.

A black mist rose from beneath her feet.

Drawing all the surrounding attackers into Nix’s domain, spread through her dark mana.

Shhh- shhh-

“The women’s companions—” “Kill- kill them—”

Underneath the attackers’ feet, over their heads, in the shadows cast upon their bodies, as if their souls were pulled away.

[Nightmare]-!!!

Perfect darkness descended.

. . .

Shuwaak—

“Hiiik—!!”

A student, cowering with eyes squeezed shut, utterly intimidated by the attacker’s sword. When he opened his eyes again, the blade falling towards his head was frozen in mid-air, as if it had solidified.

He got up and looked around.

It wasn’t just this one attacker. Everyone around them stood still, as if dreaming.

The instructors didn’t miss the opportunity.

“…We underestimated them.”

Magic swords, magic gauntlets, wands, staffs—without exception, each used their weapons to activate lethal magic, eliminating the ones trapped in the “nightmare.”

If they were the same slaughter puppets that disregarded friend or foe during the Academy incident, they might not have been able to protect all the students.

But killing motionless enemies was too easy for them.

Poook- Puwak-

Rock fragments, ice shards, wind blades, and fiery magic bullets.

Magic of different attributes swirled, turning the black-cloaked attackers into nothing but scraps.

The defense against the attack was successful.

Thud-

“Ah- Aaah—”

However, even with firm resolve, for a first-year Academy student who had never even been on an adventure…

Human corpses were a shocking and unfamiliar sight.

There were ways to neutralize them without killing, but the instructors, unsure of the precise effect of the [Nightmare] spell, made the unavoidable choice to protect the students from the attackers, who could wake up at any moment.

The situation was that urgent.

“Huu… Let’s join up with the other squads first. We’ll talk later.”

The instructor of the Wand squad helped the surrounding students and moved towards the center of the Tara Plains. Yuri, who was in the same squad, freed Nix from the black onyx necklace and entrusted her with the surrounding area’s security.

Shhh-

“The mind control magic just now… what was that?” “I did it. To be exact, it was a spell used by me and my companion, the dark spirit.”

Yuri stepped forward, answering the bewildered instructor. He pondered something.

“Your name is definitely…” “Yurias Philbrogue.” “Ah, yes. The sister of that tournament champion… that was a surprisingly skillful response. You did great.”

Yuri then pointed towards Nix, who was standing guard, explaining the effects of the magic they had just used. After the instructors praised her skills, the students slowly began to relax from their tense state.

“More importantly… it’s the attackers. Judging by their attire and aura—” “We have to assume it’s the same as before.”

They put aside the questions of how they knew about this place and their purpose. The urgent matter was how best to deal with them.

The instructors huddled together.

“Today’s training must be stopped. We should return to the Academy immediately…” “That… sounds difficult.”

One instructor with keen senses stared at a spot far from the Academy group. Soon everyone shifted their gaze there, witnessing a disturbing sight similar to the attackers from before.

“It wasn’t over…” “Damn it… where the hell did those things come from…”

They gripped their weapons tightly. Despite being high-level adventurers, several instructors trembled at the chilling miasma.

“I… will fight too.”

It was then that one student stepped forward.

With a composed expression, even in the face of death, he tightened his leather gauntlets studded with magic stones.

Starting with him, most of the students picked up their weapons.

They instinctively understood.

The target had changed, but the battle that had just taken place and the one about to begin were essentially the same as the scheduled training.

Magical beasts, or madmen possessed by magical miasma.

Even if they were stronger and had the appearance of humans, the fact that they are ultimately a lifeform remained unchanged.

“…Us too.” “We can’t just run away…!”

If they were students from other classes, they might have already retreated. The 1-A students, although lacking somewhat in talent, had learned a bit of courage from their strong mental pillar, Nari.

However, the instructors thought differently.

“No. You must return to the academy under your squad leader’s guidance.” “…We can’t retreat. I’m so ashamed of myself for even thinking that if Narias-yang were here, we wouldn’t be having this dilemma—!!”

Everyone nodded.

They seemed to share similar thoughts.

Even with a strong leader, it’s a bit unsettling to be at ease, just enjoying the peace while gazing at their dependable back.

Even so, the instructor shook his head.

“Not yet… not yet. You are still those we must protect—”

He was trying to convince the students to return to the academy when…

Shhh-

“Protecting… interesting.”

He couldn’t continue.

It wasn’t just him.

Everyone standing around froze in place.

‘Who is this person…!!’ ‘Since when were they among us—’

A muscular man, in a tight-fitting black suit-like garment, appeared from among the crowd.

‘Nix—!!’

Yuri immediately turned to where Nix had been standing.

She hadn’t noticed the situation here, busy activating her mind control magic towards the approaching attackers.

It wasn’t time to worry about others.

“Here, who is Narias Philbrogue’s sister?”

For some reason, it seemed that the black-clad man was there to find this person.

“Who the hell are you-!!”

An instructor wearing gauntlets rushed at the black-clad man.

He enhanced himself with mana over his powerfully built physique, aiming a punch at the man’s jaw.

However.

The moment he swung his fist, the black-clad man’s body vanished like smoke.

The instructor was kicked to the ground by his foot, appearing out of thin air.

Kwuung—!!

“Keuhuk-” “I’ll ask again. Who is Narias Philbrogue’s sister?” “Haaaaap—!!”

The moment the instructor fell, the students of his unit, specializing in close-quarters combat, rushed the man.

However, they were no match for him.

Pok- Peouk- Pok-!

With invisible movements, the man evaded all the students’ punches and magic, kicking them all away.

“Kkeueeu…” “Keuhuk- Kuluk-”

Everyone there was a magic academy instructor or student. Using large-scale attack magic would risk hurting those who had rushed in first, potentially injuring allies.

They all desperately thought: I should have trained in close-quarters combat more— like those who had just attacked.

But it was too late to regret.

The situation had already unfolded.

“I’ll ask one last time. Who is Narias Philbrogue’s sister.”

The last time. It was practically a declaration that he would cease subjugation and begin killing.

An instructor, realizing the man was aiming for Yuri, stepped forward, raising his hands.

“I… I am Yurias Philbrogue.”

Even with the real Yuri in front of him, he didn’t recognize her. He clearly knew her name and status but not her face.

The instructor, taking the initiative with a lie, was trying to buy time.

At that moment, Yuri felt a chilling killing intent that made her legs go numb. It was similar to, or even stronger and more intense than, the aura of the Shadow Wolf from the Artemis ruins.

“No—”

When she reached out, sensing something was wrong.

“Is that so? Then… die.”

Poook—

The man’s right hand had already pierced the instructor’s body.

“Kyaaak—!!” “Instructor-!!”

At that moment, everyone’s resolve crumbled. No one could maintain their composure in the face of actual death.

“Keuhuk- Kuluk-” “As I thought… you’re not the one.” “Ru- Run—”

The instructor, reaching out with hands soaked in blood, tried to tell the students to escape. But her lungs were ripped open, and she couldn’t even speak properly.

“Aaaaa—” “Huk, Heouk…!!”

Everyone collapsed from the shock or stumbled backward with shallow breaths.

Only Yuri stood tall.

Kwaak-

Her legs trembled uncontrollably, but she clenched her fists and slowly took a step.

Shhh-

“Why… why are you looking for me?” “I have no reason to tell you.”

Puwak-

When the man withdrew his hand from the instructor’s body, she collapsed, bleeding profusely.

Then he slowly approached Yuri. His steps were very leisurely, but to Yuri, they felt like he was rushing.

Shhh- shhh-

“I killed one more unnecessarily. It’s your fault, Yurias Philbrogue.” “Nix—!!!”

Yuri hadn’t acted without any plan. She had noticed mana draining somewhere and was waiting for Nix’s spell to be ready.

Then, Nix’s black fog, which had been steadily rising from beneath her feet, enveloped the man.

“Nightme- Keuhuk-”

However… this time, it’s too late.

Almost simultaneously with Yuri’s signal, Nix’s mind control magic was activated. But the man, moving faster, had grabbed Yuri from outside the spell’s range.

Pok- Peouk- Kwack-

Yuri struggled in the man’s grip.

But she didn’t budge.

“Kut- Keuhuk-” “I’ll send your friends to join you soon, don’t be lonely.”

Pallak-

The man’s hand sliced towards Yuri’s abdomen.

But she laughed softly.

Hwirik-!

From within the awkwardly hoisted skirt of Yuri’s clothes, very familiar energy erupted.

“—?!”

Paaaat-

The space inside a girl’s skirt is an inviolable sacred space. From that space, a brilliant white light burst forth, deflecting the man’s arm heading towards Yuri.

Paang-!

“This is—!!” “Who… are you assaulting right now?”