Academy – Past

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“Now!”

As I gave the signal, the Holy Sword in my hand was enveloped in a dazzling light.

‘This time, I’ll cut him down.’

I have to end it with this one move.

Whoosh- CRACK!

The magic flying towards me was nullified by the Shield around my body and disappeared.

Overcoming the obstruction and finally reaching my target, I poured everything into swinging the Holy Sword.

Kwaaaang— Slice!

The head of the Monster with horns was cleanly severed and flew away.

The calamity that unified the Demons, started a war, and plunged humanity and other races into the fear of destruction.

The name people cried out in terror.

Demon King Lucifer.

-Thud.

That most heinous being lost his head before my eyes and collapsed.

“Did we… do it?”

“Leo, you did it!”

I heard a cheering voice from behind, a woman with pointed ears.

If Cornelia, the Elf, hadn’t drawn attention with her Spirits, I wouldn’t have been able to deliver the final blow. It was perfect teamwork made possible by our long time together.

“Haa…. Is everyone okay?”

I shook the blood off the Holy Sword and looked around.

“Haa, haa…. Aside from running out of mana?”

Marcus was barely supporting himself with his Wand, panting. As a Wizard, he had fought fiercely to block the Demon King’s magic flying towards me, so it was understandable.

“I’ve used up almost all the arrows I brought. All the Spirits have been summoned back too. Ugh… I got hit by magic earlier, and my leg isn’t right.”

Cornelia next to him was touching his dangling leg, checking his condition. It was clear he had been directly hit by the Demon King’s magic during the battle earlier.

I was worried it might be a serious injury, but…

“Ha, it really hurts my pride. That I got hit by magic like that. Should I go crush his corpse or something?”

“…”

Judging by how much he was rambling, it was probably something that could be healed.

I looked at the Demon King’s corpse once more.

His body was stiff and fallen without moving, and the Demon King’s head was lying next to him. The Demon King couldn’t believe he was dying until the very end, his eyes wide open.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be showing any signs of moving.

“Did we really defeat the Demon King?”

It was a goal that had to be achieved someday, but it was a goal I had only imagined, wondering if someone like me could do it.

The events up until now flashed through my mind.

The day I awakened as the Hero, the moments I met my companions, the terrifying day I was defeated by the Legion Commander and ran away, the day I finally succeeded in revenge and took the Legion Commander’s head for the first time.

And today, when I faced the Demon King.

Every day, my life was threatened, so it was like walking on a knife’s edge. I had achieved my goal after this arduous journey.

“You did a great job!”

-Whack.

Someone quickly ran up from behind and wrapped their arms around my waist. I felt a large, soft sensation on my back.

It was probably the Saintess, who had been in the rear for safe support, hugging me. There was no way Cornelia would suddenly hug me unless she had gone crazy.

When I turned around, as expected, there was the Saintess with black hair and a nun’s habit.

“Leo, are you okay? I’ll heal you right away.”

The Saintess examined the wounds on my body and began to heal them with Divine Power. Then, the wounds disappeared in an instant without leaving a trace.

“This much is fine. Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt badly, did you?”

“I’ve already healed most of it with Divine Power. You really did a great job.”

“You did a great job too. This wouldn’t have been possible without your perfect support and assistance.”

“Of course, it’s my job.”

I slowly stroked the Saintess’s soft hair.

Now, finally, I can be with her…

“Ugh, as soon as they defeat the Demon King, they’re all lovey-dovey? Heal me too.”

While I was imagining a happy future, I heard a sarcastic remark. When I looked at where the sound came from, Cornelia was making a jealous expression.

She was probably jealous of the sight of me and the Saintess. Cornelia had never been in a relationship before.

Well, with her nasty personality, the men who approached her because of her looks ran away, so dating won’t be easy for her in the future either.

“Haha, why are you being so insensitive? How much have these two suffered until now? How long have they been waiting for this day?”

Marcus laughed and scolded Cornelia.

“Ugh, I, a solo, should just die….”

“Sorry, but I’m just too happy.”

I laughed along with Cornelia, who was grumbling.

Even though she’s saying that now, she’s always been cheering for our relationship.

“I was so worried about what would happen if we lost to the Demon King…. It was really close, but we did it.”

“Leo is so strong. The Demon King’s end was inevitable.”

“How much have we grown in the journey to get here? There’s no way we could have lost. Especially you, you’ve grown unbelievably compared to the beginning.”

I felt embarrassed at Marcus’s compliment.

“That’s all thanks to you for being a good teacher.”

Without Marcus’s help, I wouldn’t have been able to handle magic properly, and without his sacrifice, I might have given up in the face of despair several times.

“Everyone has grown, that’s right. The Legion Commanders kept trying to cut off the buds that would threaten the Demon King. Not a day or two went by that I regretted participating in the Hero party every time I went to sleep after overcoming near-death experiences.”

Cornelia trembled, as if remembering the times she was attacked by Demons.

“Oh my, you were thinking that? Well, whatever, it’s over now.”

-Thud, Bang!

When I looked around at the sound of something breaking and falling, there were holes in the ceiling and walls due to the fierce battle, and the objects inside were difficult to recognize.

The Demon King’s Castle, which had reached its limit, was about to collapse.

“Now, let’s slowly return to—”

-Swish, swish.

At that moment, I heard an unpleasant sound. I instinctively looked at where the Demon King’s corpse had been.

-Kwaaaaaang!

Suddenly, a black storm raged from the Demon King’s corpse and then subsided in an instant.

Where the wind had died down—

“You bastards….”

The Demon King was standing there blankly, his severed head reattached to his body.

“…”

At the unbelievable sight, my thoughts stopped for a moment.

-Swish.

But the Hero’s energy inside my body restored my confused mental state and led me to make a quick judgment.

‘Get a grip.’

When I quickly checked the Demon King’s condition, I saw that his head and body were not completely connected, but were barely held together by Demonic Energy.

“He’s not fully recovered. Attack quickly—”

“You lowly things…. Do you think I’ll end like this? I’ll take you with me!”

-Kugugugung!

All the Demonic Energy the Demon King had was gathered in his hand, and a large black energy began to form.

‘Am I seeing this wrong?’

Not only Demonic Energy, but even the Demon King’s soul was being sucked into his hand.

He was clearly prepared for eternal annihilation and was planning to die together with us.

“We have to stop him somehow….”

Everyone hurriedly grabbed their weapons and stood up, but—

-Rumble….

Before we could even properly react, the Demon King’s last move was completed in an instant.

“Hahaha! It was fun being with you.”

“We’re screwed.”

Cornelia, who had grasped the situation, uttered a short curse. There was no more accurate way to express it.

-Kung, Kwaaaaaaaang!

Immediately, a wave of Demonic Energy was released towards us.

“Everyone, get out of the way!”

“Run away!”

I hurriedly threw myself in the opposite direction.

But the Saintess and Marcus must have judged that it was too late to evade, so they were hastily gathering their remaining strength to create a Shield.

‘I have to help too….’

I stopped and tried to move the mana in my body to help in any way I could.

-Whooong

But I couldn’t feel any mana left. It was completely depleted, probably because I had used all my strength for the final blow.

Normally, I would gather the mana around me and use it, but even that was impossible in the Demon World, which was full of Demonic Energy.

It was my mistake for not thinking about the consequences.

-Clang!

The wave touched the hastily made Shield and shattered in an instant. It was an attack that I couldn’t be sure I could have completely blocked even if it had been in perfect condition in the first place.

“Leo, get out of the way!”

“No, at this rate, everyone….”

-Kugugugung.

My vision darkened in the shadow of the giant wave.

I looked at the death that was right in front of me.

Is this how it ends so futilely?

“Damn it, I don’t know!”

At the moment of desperation, Marcus ran to the front.

He created a Shield like before. But unlike before, it was a much thicker and stronger magic.

“Please, just hold on a little longer!”

‘Where is that kind of power coming from… Could it be?’

He was clearly gathering and using not only his remaining mana but also his life force.

“If you do that, your life—”

“We’re all going to die anyway if we stay like this!”

Swish-

Suddenly, my hand, which I had reached out to stop Marcus, slowly began to disappear. There was only one thing this meant.

“…Are you serious?”

“Thank you, everyone. Leo, you have to be happy with the Saintess.”

Marcus had decided to use Warp Magic to escape us and sacrifice himself.

“What? Are you crazy?”

Marcus looked at Cornelia, who was running towards him with a blurry body.

“Cornelia, tone down your personality and date a little. You’re not going to live alone forever.”

“He’s still saying that until the end!”

“Ha, ha….”

I blankly looked at Marcus with a body that was becoming increasingly blurry.

It’s really all over now.

Only happiness was left for everyone.

Do I have to let him go like this?

But was Marcus’s life-risking sacrifice not enough?

-Kwaaaaaaaang!

Before the Warp was completed, the Demonic Energy broke through the Shield and covered Marcus. His figure was swept away by the wave of Demonic Energy without a trace.

After that, a portion of the overflowing Demonic Energy eventually hit me directly.

-Thwack!

“Ugh!”

I was warped somewhere and lost consciousness due to the Demonic Energy that was invading my body.

**

“Gasp!”

I jumped up. And soon realized that what I had just experienced was a memory of the past.

“Why did I suddenly have that dream….”

The Hero party had ‘almost’ won against the Demon King.

But we were careless because we thought the Demon King was dead, and in the end, we were fatally wounded by the last struggle of the resurrected Demon King.

Instead of just cutting off his head and ending it, we should have annihilated him to the point where not even a piece of flesh remained. But even then, he might have reattached himself by connecting his whole body with Demonic Energy.

Until now, all the Demons and Legion Commanders had ended when their heads were cut off, so there is also a part that is unfair.

Of course, the Demon King must have poured everything he had into it, as the Demon King’s Castle and its surroundings were completely blown away by the wave of Demonic Energy, and the Demon King disappeared without a trace. He must have shattered his soul.

We survived thanks to Marcus’s sacrifice, but in the end, our fates were completely changed due to the Demonic Energy and the Demon King’s soul that invaded our bodies.

As you can see, I have become a woman. Moreover, not just an ordinary woman, but a lewd body that is easily aroused and feels pleasure when hit.

The spirit of sacrifice that I had as a Hero has been strangely distorted, and I have become a crazy woman who enjoys sacrificing herself and enjoying the pain of others.

Fortunately, the Demonic Energy that had penetrated my body disappeared, leaving only a curse, but in return, I lost the power of the Hero.

“Thinking about it again, the price for one moment of carelessness is too high.”

How can a person not make a mistake even once? Fate is truly cruel.

This nightmare tormented me endlessly after the war ended.

But after learning about the happiness of sex, I haven’t had this kind of dream in recent years.

Why is the dream of Marcus sacrificing himself coming back again—

Suddenly, Jade, who threw himself to save me yesterday, came to mind.

‘Lena!’

The way he kept getting up and achieving his goals, no matter how difficult and painful it was.

“What is this….”

Could it be that I was overlapping Jade and Marcus?

In the past, I had saved countless people as a Hero.

But conversely, I had rarely received help from anyone. The people I met wanted me to do something for them rather than help me.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had this kind of experience.

But no matter how I look at it, there was nothing similar to Marcus except for the fact that he helped me.

“Ha, am I crazy?”

I must be out of my mind to compare him to that brat.

Rather, I miss Marcus because of the memories that came to mind after a long time.

Still, I’ve found a way… I’ll be able to meet him again at the end of the journey.

“Hoo….”

As the confusion in my mind subsided due to the dream, I began to worry about the next plan.

As expected, we will head to the Holy Kingdom.

The Hero must first be confirmed by the Pope of the Holy Kingdom as the Hero chosen by the Goddess. After that, he is officially appointed as the Hero in front of everyone.

Moreover, the Holy Kingdom has the Holy Sword that I returned and is storing.

The Holy Sword is literally the strongest sword when dealing with Demons. Just swinging it releases Divine Power from the sword, which is the natural enemy of Demons.

If Jade gets his hands on that, he will become strong enough against Monsters and Demons.

“The Holy Kingdom, huh…”

Naturally, I think of the Saintess who will be in the Vatican.

Her black hair, which seemed to contain the night sky, and her sculpted face that made me fall in love at first sight. Even more beautiful than her appearance was her kind heart.

I haven’t gone to see her since I left her at the Vatican. Looking back now, it was a really foolish thing to do.

To not even go to see her once because she wasn’t the person I knew. But that’s how much stress I was under at the time.

Now it’s time to face the past.

No, it’s time to overcome it.

-Knock knock.

As I was making up my mind, I heard a knock and Annie’s urging voice.

“Lena, if you’re ready, come out quickly. I have a ton of things to ask Jade!”

“Okay! Wait a minute. I’ll just grab this.”

For some reason, Annie seems to have perked up overnight. She’s definitely a young lady with quick emotional changes.

For the past week, I had only been able to see Annie looking lifeless and depressed. She would avoid me when she saw me, or turn her head if she happened to run into me.

At that time, I was even worried that Annie might quit the academy.

Actually… Would it be too mean to Annie if I said that state was good?

“Still, I want to make Annie cry one more time.”

Of course, sex is good too, but the sight of the people who like me despairing and suffering at my appearance.

I can’t possibly cut off the drug-like experience that flows through my whole body.

What kind of expression will Annie make if I make an even greater sacrifice than this time?