episode_0092

Although they succeeded in approaching the crystal flower, the Violets were suddenly caught in a rapidly changing situation and trapped inside a barrier.

“What in the world is happening outside?”

The external team members reassured the agitated Violets.

“Alright, snap out of it. We don’t know what the situation is, but it has nothing to do with us.”

“Really?”

Unit 123, waiting outside the barrier, shared its vision. The commotion was taking place in the central area of the school, far from the garden and forest.

According to the memory Adela guided them through, that was where the student union building, central library, and faculty building were located.

“Let’s just stick to our task. Hurry and pack up!”

The Violets trapped inside the barrier quickly gathered the flowers and reversed their creation. Nothing was left inside.

“We’ve secured everything. Unit 123 and Unit 43, retreat quickly.”

“Alright. Uh… wait a moment.”

“Why aren’t you coming?”

In the eyes of the two Violets keeping watch outside, red flames surged upwards.

“Let’s just look at this and go. Something’s strange!”

“What’s the problem?”

“What in the world is that?”

From the faculty building, where an explosion was heard, a large blaze erupted.

***

Meanwhile, Adela, who had been sleeping in the dormitory, reflexively sprang up from her bed at the sound of an explosion in her sleep.

Following that, sirens wailed, waking the entire school that had been immersed in dreams. Feeling something was wrong, she quickly changed, grabbed her armor and weapons, and went outside.

In front of the dormitory, students who had rushed out in their pajamas were gathered. Among the students rubbing their eyes, she quickly found the student council members who were guiding students nearby.

“This is Adela! Have all the students been accounted for?”

“Yes! Student Council President-nim, we just need to check one more floor, and then we’re done.”

“The professors and guards will arrive soon, so once everyone from the student council comes down, move to the gymnasium.”

While she was giving a few instructions, the dark surroundings suddenly glowed yellow. Turning her head, she saw flames erupting from the center of the academy. Several students shrieked in surprise.

“Fire!”

“That’s where the central library is! No, is it the faculty building?”

Adela suddenly remembered the students who studied late into the night at the library. The evacuation of dormitory residents was more or less complete, but what about them?

“You three, follow me. The rest of you wait until the head count is done, then move quickly towards the gymnasium!”

“Where are you going?”

“The library! There might still be people who haven’t evacuated!”

After relaying the situation via messenger, she ran across the campus, lit by the fire, with three students.

She put an earpiece in her ear and accessed the emergency communication network. Her mouth involuntarily closed as she was about to ask about the situation. The network was on the verge of saturation with frantic gasps and the confusion of people filled with questions.

-Professor Myers! Where are you? Are you alright?

-This is Security Team 1, engaging an unknown enemy!

-I’m alright! But the Principal-nim…

Suddenly, gunshots, like beans popping, rang out continuously. Adela activated the mana in her body and sped through the darkness.

In contrast to the faculty building, where an entire floor was engulfed in flames, the central library was intact. Students had long since run out with their book bags. After checking the reading rooms, she rushed outside.

“Checked! No one’s there.”

“Good, let’s head to the gymnasium now!”

As she emerged from the main entrance of the library, professors who had stayed late, security guards, and hastily arrived hunters were fighting in front of the faculty building.

‘Demonic beasts? That’s impossible, there’s no way a gate would appear inside the school.’

Filled with doubt, she sent the other students ahead and then ran towards where the people were.

A hunter rushed to the first floor, carrying an old man on his back. Adela’s eyes widened.

“Principal-nim…!”

A young professor snapped at Adela upon seeing her. It was just after he had drawn his sword and cut down an unknown demonic beast.

“Adelaide-goon! Why are you here? This place is dangerous!”

“The student evacuation procedures are all complete! I need information. What exactly is going on?”

“I don’t know either. In all my years as a professor, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The battered Principal was taken off the hunter’s back and received emergency treatment.

Once all the demonic beasts that had burst out of the building were intercepted, someone slowly walked out from the building’s main entrance, from which smoke was rising.

“Was there still someone inside? I thought everyone had evacuated.”

No sooner had someone opened their mouth than an unknown entity emerged from the smoke.

Those who were about to speak simultaneously gasped.

The surrounding flames, which had been glowing yellow, suddenly flickered strangely, and from within them, a deformed entity walked out.

What emerged from the smoke was a person in uniform. Though it was questionable whether that monstrous being, with its indescribable aura, was truly ‘human’.

The surface of its face, which resembled a mask, shimmered with a grotesque glow, changing shape. Struck by the bizarre atmosphere, people lost their words and stared blankly at it.

One of the hunters was the first to regain his senses. He was the one who had carried the Principal on his back. The hunter pointed at the monster and shouted.

“That’s him! He’s… the intruder!”

Upon hearing that, everyone present aimed their weapons. Adela also nocked an arrow and aimed at the opponent.

“What are you?”

The monster, tilting its head, pointed at the fallen Principal.

“That’s none of your business. Hand over that old man.”

Adela frowned as she listened to the monster’s words. Its voice was bizarre, as if mixed with static.

People reacted fiercely.

“The Principal-nim? Don’t make me laugh, you bastard! Who are you? Don’t tell me you’re from the Obsidian Legion?”

“We can find out its identity later. For now, let’s subdue it.”

In response to the people’s reactions, the monster replied once more.

“This isn’t a request. It’s an order.”

As the man raised his arm, dozens of demonic beasts surged from the ground.

“Actually, I suppose I didn’t need to give orders. I’ll take him myself.”

“Demonic beasts? How?!”

As the bewildered people gasped in horror, the monster simply gestured, ordering an attack. The midnight campus seemed on the verge of exploding with the heat of battle.

That is, if a roaring sound tearing through the wind hadn’t suddenly been heard.

In the dark sky, from beyond, a sound strongly tearing through the air was heard. The sound soon became clear enough for even ordinary people to hear. The battle ceased. The monster murmured in surprise.

“This aura…?”

The monster and the surrounding people all looked up at the sky with astonished eyes.

“What’s that sound? A fighter jet?”

“It’s flying at low altitude. Where did it come from?”

At that moment, surprised voices erupted consecutively from the communication network.

-This is Security Team 2! From the Inspectorate… a superintendent has been dispatched!

-What are you saying? The Inspectorate? Why a superintendent suddenly?

-‘We have identified the abnormal situation at the academy. We will provide immediate support,’ they say.

At the immediate reply, Adela and the professors were dumbfounded.

-Ah, new information… They’ve arrived now?

A black silhouette swiftly passed across the pitch-black sky.

Someone raised a hand and pointed to the sky.

“Look over there!”

They concentrated mana in their eyes.

A human figure was caught falling from the air. The human figure, descending through the ink-like darkness, plunged directly in front of the unknown intruder.

-CRASH!

Dust flew up, and the deformed monster, startled, barely avoided the collision.

“Ugh…!”

Immediately after, the monster’s form crumpled and disappeared. Right after the roar, the intruder crashed into the wall of the faculty building.

Through the smoke and flames, the figure of a man was revealed.

“I’m not too late. That’s a relief.”

The man’s gaze fell upon the Principal of Aegis Academy. After giving a slight nod to the academy officials watching him, he replaced the mace he was holding with a sword.

“You, just who…”

“Milia, I’ve arrived. What’s the situation around here?… Understood.”

Ignoring the questions from around him, he calmly muttered something as if reciting a scripture.

“Federal Year 25, October 7th, midnight, 00:07.”

The distorted, deformed intruder, who looked human, was visible.

The man thought.

If it had gone as planned, that person would have appeared several months later.

The incident would also have unfolded more quietly, without anyone knowing, compared to now.

“From this moment, emergency intervention will be carried out at Aegis Awakened Academy.”

He didn’t care.

Quite a few things had already changed, and many more would be twisted in the future.

The man calmly declared.

“Since this is an emergency, the academy’s consent will be obtained later.”

The black-clad man, with tired eyes, slowly stepped forward amidst the flames and smoke.

“…Therefore, I will execute it.”

The superintendent of the academy city began administrative action.

***

Violet could not understand the scene before her.

“What is that?”

“That guy, he’s a superintendent!”

“That’s Seijis, isn’t it? Why is he here?”

In front of the protagonist of the future she had suddenly encountered, Violet’s mind was filled with question marks.

An unknown enemy, an intruding superintendent.

Unfortunately, even if hundreds of Violets put their heads together and activated their mental network to the maximum, they couldn’t perfectly interpret the scene before them.

If fate truly existed, it would be composed of a complex tangle of threads, wrapping this world within five knots.

For Violet to understand the battle between that monster and the superintendent, she would have to overcome at least the third knot. Unfortunately, these were things Violet could not know right now.

Between the burning buildings, the two entities fought.

The sight was closer to a natural disaster than a battle. With every sword strike, the surrounding ground cracked, and every movement brought a gale. Their every move already surpassed the speed of sound.

When the demonic beasts protecting its front instantly disappeared, the monster summoned new entities to surround the superintendent.

The superintendent extended a hand into the empty air. A massive machine gun barrel, comparable to the height of an adult male, appeared as if sliding forth. A long ammunition belt stretched out on the ground.

He gripped the machine gun with one arm and poured fire onto the approaching enemies. The demonic beasts, caught in a hail of armor-piercing high-explosive rounds, were shattered without a trace.

“…Damn it!”

Realizing that its actions were merely buying time, the monster formed hand seals and unleashed an incomprehensible spell. A metallic downpour crashed down on the monster’s location. The high-speed projectiles futilely struck a lattice-patterned barrier and bounced off. It was a high-speed motion nullification barrier.

The machine gun in the superintendent’s hand vanished. A complex, ink-black mechanical crossbow appeared in his right hand. A beam of light, imbued with blue mana, pierced the barrier.

The monster immediately dispelled the barrier and evaded. The beam of light relentlessly pursued the monster like a shark chasing prey. The monster’s left arm was pierced. In the brief moment it flinched, a merciless axe strike tore through its body.

“Graaahh!”

Blue smoke billowed from the monster’s distorted body. Its body regenerated. From its wrist, a burning flame sword shot out.

“Was there a hunter like that? Is that even human?”

“It’s not magic or a unique ability!”

-CLANG!

While the onlookers watched blankly, dozens of sword strikes were exchanged. In a flash, the monster’s wrist was severed. As it retreated, a sledgehammer greeted it. The monster broke through the building’s exterior wall and flew inside. The superintendent followed him, intruding into the faculty building.

“That’s the new superintendent they said was appointed…”

“How can a person be that fast?”

Adela and the school staff could only watch the entire spectacle. Trying to intervene and help would only get in the way.

“Professor-nim, what should we do…?”

“I don’t know either.”

Coincidentally, the Violets’ sentiments were the same as theirs.

“The superintendent… Did he always fight that well?”

“He was strong, but, uh…”

There was nothing a person could do by racking their brain in the face of an approaching storm. The Violet network fell silent for a moment.

The successive roars from inside the faculty building ceased for a moment, then the monster burst through one side of the building and reappeared. The black-coated superintendent pursued closely. The two entities continued their close combat without pause.

As the monster prepared a spell, twin pistols in the superintendent’s hands spat fire. When it tried to settle the fight in close quarters, a merciless barrage of greatswords, hammers, twin swords, and crescent-bladed polearms ensued. It opened some distance. Grenades flew, and lightning magic scorched the aetheric defense.

No matter what tactics the monster employed, or what attacks it launched, the superintendent’s assaults flowed like water.

-BOOM!

In an instant, the superintendent charged with a cavalry spear. The monster, impaled on the spear, and the superintendent crashed through one side of the central library’s wall and entered. As the sounds of breaking, exploding, and shattering chaos continued from inside, a professor sighed.

“Ah, the library…”

“Is that important now? Look at that.”

Shortly after, the outcome of the battle was decided.

-CRASH!

The monster broke through a window on the second floor of the library and fled. The superintendent, who had pursued him down, swung his gleaming sword.

Five white lines were drawn in the air. While the monster hesitated, a barrage of crescent-shaped sword energy tore into it.

“What in the world is this… Graaahh!”

The monster, its limbs severed, fell to the ground. Confirming that the opponent was incapacitated, Seijis roughly grabbed the monster by the collar and lifted its upper body. Despite its severe injuries, the monster coughed and spoke.

“To think there was someone like you in this academy city. I’ve truly been bested.”

Seijis’s lifeless eyes swept over the monster.

“Just what kind of human are you…?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Despite its severe fatal injuries, the monster chuckled as if unfazed.

“Our comrades were repeatedly defeated last time, and that was your doing too. Do you think you can stop us by doing this?”

“…”

“Your kind is willingly gnawing at the pillars of your own homes. You’re bringing about your own destruction. We’re merely giving you a push.”

The superintendent didn’t feel the need to reply.

Yet, at some point, he realized he inwardly agreed with the enemy’s assertion. A series of names he had organized in his memory came to mind.

Hideous hunters and various secret societies. Tyrant Casador, Chairman Raihan, Raphlaxia, Astraia…

Corrupt federal officials.

Restraidna, Arsith, Magnabius, Luminousa, the foolish leaders of the four great clans.

Sorcerer Valefor, Colonel Sycamore, insane secret societies.

And, and…

That name that brought him indelible despair, Violet. The Infinite Witch.

When the past of the unhappened future suddenly arrived, he gnashed his teeth, suppressing his rising anger.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“What…”

When the superintendent released his hand, the monster’s upper body fell to the ground.

“Because I’ll stop it from happening.”

The monster, about to say something, saw the sole of a black combat boot.

Its head shattered with a crunch like a biscuit, and it slowly evaporated, emitting smoke like dry ice.

A severe cough welled up. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand. Black blood stained it. Thinking he had pushed himself too hard, the superintendent wiped the blood away discreetly.

The academy officials approached only then. Ignoring the barrage of questions about the new superintendent, he turned his head. An elegant female student with flowing blonde hair gazed at him with skeptical violet eyes.

“It’s been a while, Adela-yang. This is our second meeting.”

“So you were the one who helped last time. To think you’d be the new superintendent…”

Adela’s gaze shifted to the monster’s corpse, which the superintendent was stepping on.

“What in the world is that?”

“It’s a person. And it’s not a person.”

“What do you mean by that…”

“I cannot explain further. I cannot tell you now. Though one person knows.”

His gaze turned towards the Principal of Aegis Academy, who was lying down and receiving emergency treatment.

A gust of wind swept through. A black vertical take-off and landing aircraft, bearing the Inspectorate’s emblem, slowly descended and landed.

“Adela-yang, I will contact you again later. There’s a lot to discuss, so I’ll see you again then.”

The superintendent turned around and headed for the vertical take-off and landing aircraft. As the rear ramp opened, a red-haired girl with a tablet came running frantically. Peculiarly, something resembling animal ears was attached to her head.

-“Superintendent-nim! Superintendent-nim! Why on earth did you come to Aegis Academy in the middle of the night? You’re not going to explain again, are you?”

“I’m sorry, Milia. Now’s not the time. I’ll tell you everything. So…”

Leaving the people’s questions behind, the ramp closed. Once again, cutting through the wind, the aircraft flew off into the darkness and disappeared.

‘What did he mean he would tell me?’

Adela’s mind was filled with questions. She pondered through the night but couldn’t find an answer.

After the battle ended, the Violets also stayed up all night, pondering and discussing.

What they had seen then were things that even the Violets’ way of thinking couldn’t easily comprehend. The monster, the battle, the superintendent…

“I don’t know. What in the world was that?”

“Was something like that in the original story?”

Their heads began to ache. Nevertheless, reassured that they had gained an advantage, the Violets one by one tried to sleep.

“Still, we got all the crystal flowers, didn’t we?”

“Whoever it was, let’s thank that monster.”

Regardless, the plan was achieved. Nothing directly harmful happened to Violet.

However, one thing was clear. It was a fact that even Violet’s mind could easily grasp.

On the night Aegis Academy suffered an ambush that should not have happened, Violet faced a fragment that had flown in from the future.

***

There was one more thing Violet didn’t know.

The aftermath of the academy’s ambush was enormous. The faculty covered up the unknown entity that had attacked the academy, but they couldn’t conceal the faculty building being engulfed in flames and the central library being partially destroyed. In the end, the academy appropriately excused it as a gas explosion and a failed experiment.

In this process, the existence of the crystal flowers that had disappeared from the garden and forest was inadvertently buried. One could say it was a stroke of luck for Violet.