episode_0018

The individual who destroyed the teleportation magic circle that could take them back to the academy.

The person who appeared to be a student with their face covered soon removed the robe of the magic department they were wearing.

Flutter!

And then, their appearance changed.

Wild green hair and a magician’s hat as if they were a magician.

A sinister smile mask covering their face.

Dressed in a flashy green suit like a magician.

In short, a man who looked like a clown.

Standing at the center of the incident, they spoke.

“I tried to create a reason to pay back the foolish nobles… but it seems like I was just a student who couldn’t do more than that.”

The moment Rudy was convinced that he was a lunar eclipse follower.

Before he could even speak, all the professors who were waiting rushed towards the clown.

“It seems like everyone liked the surprise box.”

Like a contortionist, the clown deftly avoided everyone’s attacks.

Then, in a moment of triumph, they struck a triumphant pose.

A green light began to glow from their body.

-Keeying!

“Ugh!”

“Hey, a backlash…?”

-Cough!

“Everyone, put up your shields!”

The professors who were confronting and the students who were watching began to show symptoms of a first-stage backlash.

If they couldn’t stabilize the first-stage backlash on their own.

In the second stage, blood would pour from all the holes in their body.

In the third stage, they would faint from cardiac arrest and die.

A backlash occurs when one exerts more power than their limit.

Or when one is suppressed by someone with stronger magic power.

Whether it was a mysterious dark magic of the lunar eclipse followers.

All the professors and students present had to suffer from an inexplicable backlash.

“For the mages and wizards, this is the second gift that I, Harfheart, ambitiously prepared. Please savor this magic that can only be used once.”

Addressing himself as Harfheart, he casually sat down and passed through the struggling professors.

At that moment, one professor who was in relatively good condition shouted.

“You fool! I don’t know what you’re thinking, but if you don’t kill everyone quickly, you will die! Only the best elite forces are gathered here!”

Then, another professor followed suit.

“Since you destroyed the teleportation magic circle to the academy, you will never leave here alive! Once the recovery is complete-”

“Hehehe.”

With a mocking gesture, Harfheart turned back to them.

“It seems like your heads are quite bad for professors. Think slowly about why I destroyed the teleportation magic circle in the first place.”

The professors, upon hearing Harfheart’s response, widened their eyes and pondered.

They’re trying to trap us.

Their goal is the academy!

The professors, who realized this belatedly, tried to suppress the first-stage backlash as quickly as possible.

But…

It’s not possible to do so.

Harfheart walked quickly towards somewhere.

Right to the ring where Charlotte Claret was.

Perhaps due to the disruption caused by the explosion, the protective ring around the professors had already been deactivated.

On top of that, Charlotte, due to the backlash, was sitting crouched with blood trickling from her lips.

“Bonjour, Lady. Nice to meet you.”

“Cough-! Who are you…?”

“The second gift I prepared won’t last long. We must escape with the Lady as soon as possible before the dish is complete.”

Harfheart hoisted the immobilized Charlotte on one shoulder.

His goal was the abduction of a promising talent.

This was a demonstration and a warning.

If they continued to interfere.

A warning to take away one by one the heirs of the noble families praised as the empire’s finest and remove the obstacles.

“Let go of her…!”

“Hush. If you struggle.”

“….!”

Harfheart pressed a poisoned dagger against Charlotte’s neck.

“You’ll have to release the backlash in the afterlife.”

“….”

Making everyone a laughingstock like that.

Singing a tune.

With the sound of the jolly boots clacking happily, the half-heart descended down the ring, looking gentlemanly.

At the moment when the professors and students couldn’t move against the tide and felt frustrated!

“…!”

“Ugh!”

Half-heart swiftly pushed Charlotte, who was clinging to his waist, to the ground.

“What are you?”

“…….”

It was because he would have been in trouble if he hadn’t done so.

Clang!

The staff-shaped sword of Half-heart clashed with someone else’s sword.

“You seem like a pervert who enjoys clown porn, can’t you speak more decently?”

He was a swordsman with a white mask similar to Half-heart but with different eyes.

He was Phantom, a new student at Agnis Academy.

*

“…There’s no way you could suppress the tide so quickly, are you a pure swordsman?”

“Yes, sir.”

“…! You must be out of your mind.”

Half-heart, feeling enraged like experiencing Korean spicy flavor for the first time, emitted a black aura.

A form of dark magic that imitated Ouro.

Half-heart’s staff-shaped sword was gradually becoming darker.

Like the symptoms of the Rose’s Domain people, it had the power to corrode and rot flesh upon contact.

“Die.”

“You first.”

Thud!

Half-heart’s sword was easily deflected by Rudy.

Rudy was already using his aura to protect his sword.

Naturally, Half-heart’s dark magic had no effect.

Seeing Half-heart slightly flustered, Rudy spoke to him as if feeding him.

“Why? Is it strange because nothing happened?”

“…Haha, is that so. You, the disciple of the great spirit-sword Rose?”

Half-heart said, pointing his staff-shaped sword at Rudy with a distance.

“You can really neutralize our power… I was a little surprised experiencing it for the first time.”

“….”

“Do you know? Your master is finished. Today, you are our target for elimination-”

As Half-heart pretended to reveal something.

“-is a fake.”

He threw a poisoned dagger towards Charlotte.

“…! You despicable clown porn patient!”

-Clang!

In a tense moment, Rudy quickly moved to Charlotte and blocked the dagger.

It was almost a disaster.

While Charlotte, who was watching the dagger being blocked in real-time, was calming her startled heart.

Rudy shouted at Half-heart.

“You’re trying to destroy the world I’ll return to, you’ll make sure I kill you.”

“Destroy the world I’ll return to…?”

Is he referring to me?

Why would he mention returning to his world to me?

Thinking like that, Charlotte blinked her eyes without understanding the meaning.

“Clowns are sudden existences by nature. It’s a bit regrettable that I couldn’t kill the female of the Clyret family.”

“Hey, can you afford to act so relaxed? Don’t you see what’s behind you?”

“…What do you mean-”

The professors were getting up behind Half-heart, almost done recovering.

Thanks to Rudy’s well-timed delay.

According to Rudy’s status check, Half-heart was at about 5 stars out of 10.

With Rudy being originally 3 stars, there was no chance of overpowering Half-heart, nor did he intend to.

The provocation with Korean spicy flavor and the continuous talking to Half-heart were all part of a psychological warfare. Just stalling for time so the professors could overcome the tide and rise on their own.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Half-heart quickly made a decision on the situation and shouted at Rudy in frustration.

“…You coward!”

“Life is a real battle, John.”

“I’ve learned a trick or two as a villain. But can you really protect the academy?”

“It’s none of my business.”

“….”

Rudy didn’t respond at all.

Thinking that words were useless, Half-heart desperately threw something to the ground.

Bang!

A harmless smoke bomb.

The hazy smoke covered the view from all directions, as the professors waved their swords to disperse the smoke.

And just like that, the half-hearted presence that was there a moment ago disappeared as if it were a lie.

“Professor Maria! Quickly, activate the return magic circle!”

“Due to the backlash, my magic power is running low! Everyone, lend me your strength!”

As the professors busily searched for a way back to the academy.

Rudy approached Charlotte.

“Nice to see you again.”

“…Second time. Thank you for saving me.”

“Don’t mention it. Can you return the necklace you borrowed?”

“……”

Still in the process of recovering from the backlash, Charlotte willingly handed over the necklace.

Watching Rudy walk away after taking it back, she thought to herself.

‘The world I will return to… What did Phantom mean earlier?’

The world I will return to.

What does that even mean?

Is it his way of saying that it’s his world?

‘Why on earth?’

Charlotte fell into deep contemplation.

He was right about catching her training last time.

She couldn’t ask for an explanation in the chaos, but taking the necklace back was proof that Phantom was the culprit.

‘……’

Charlotte blankly stared at his retreating figure until the backlash was completely recovered.

***

Boom! Boom!

Boom!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Explosions are art! Allevan, go!”

“Nyahahaha! Bestie, this is so much fun I might go crazy!”

The academy was in chaos.

Hundreds of undead soldiers were rushing towards the dome-shaped barrier of the academy.

The undead that touched the barrier were grotesquely self-destructing, causing rifts in the barrier.

The ones behind this were a pair of a man and a woman.

A man with funky pointed hair, a manic look in his eyes, and dark skin.

The man was casting explosion magic recklessly, attacking the barrier.

A woman with pink pigtails and a heart tattoo under one eye.

The woman was leading the undead army, wielding a giant hammer twice the size of her body to strike the barrier.

They were the executives of the Eclipse Cult, Allevan and Bestie.

Students with low levels and weak powers had already evacuated.

Professors were using all their might to fend off the undead with attack magic. It was like a siege.

The two villains were so agile that they dodged the spells the professors cast one after another.

Amidst the chaos, Allevan spoke.

“Bestie! It’s almost time for Halfheart to return with the Claret family’s beloved daughter!”

“Heheh, already? I wanted to destroy the barrier and leave.”

-Roar!

Near Allevan and Bestie, a magic circle began to form and emit light.

“Huh? Hey, Bestie! The magic circle is forming outside? Something’s not right-”

“You idiot!! Run!!”

Quickly assessing the situation, Bestie grabbed Allevan’s hand and teleported away.

…In an instant, students and professors poured out of the magic circle, facing the undead army.

Everyone was in a panic, and some professors shouted urgently.

“Thankfully, the entrance barrier is still intact! We need to stop the undead before it’s too late!”

“Darn it! I almost depleted my magic power creating a teleportation magic circle on the spot with the backlash…!”

Pushing aside the confused crowd, Rudy saw someone far away running away.

It was a man and a woman who were already disappearing.

Allevan and Bestie.

“I can’t let them get away again.”

Rudy tightly gripped the necklace in his hand.

And.

-Crack!

He twisted it with force.