Ch.252252 – Rematch with the Hero

<252 – Rematch with the Hero>

A ball was added to the acceleration hell.

The ball that used to pass by with a swoosh swoosh sound now passes by with a shupababa sound, leaving electricity and afterimages.

What is that thing?

I’m scared…

Those trapped balls, can they be taken out?

“Oknodie…”

“Sorry! I thought I could get them out.”

Hehe.

Despite laughing it off, Cassia’s expression remains stern.

“You’re not angry, right?”

“I am angry.”

“Ugh, I’m really sorry…”

“She is.”

“Huh?”

The place Cassia pointed to.

Up there where the Imperial faction students were positioned, a battle was unfolding between the second-year valedictorian Senior Mandela Castella, who had been dominating the upper court left vacant by the absence of Princess Massgakki, and the hero Ishtar who was blocking her.

Or rather, it should have been unfolding.

Shing.

The symbol of a hero.

One who draws the holy sword.

With her golden hair glistening brilliantly as it absorbed the sunlight, she pointed her sword at me and said.

“Oknodie.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to have to eliminate you.”

So suddenly?

This is strange.

No matter how I think about it, there was no such event.

“Why?”

“If you want to pretend you don’t know anything, that’s fine. If you can keep it up, that is!”

When I asked honestly, her hostility only grew stronger.

* *

The Second Imperial Princess has become obsessed with dark mana.

And that has nothing to do with you.

Is that what you want to claim?

Everyone knows that’s a shameless lie.

The person who most openly handles dark mana in the Academy is none other than Oknodie.

“I heard rumors that the Second Imperial Princess had a previous encounter with Oknodie. If we’re looking for when she fell into dark mana, it must have been then.”

Even Skola, descendant of the divine bow, said so.

In fact, it doesn’t matter if you don’t admit it.

This is a warning to everyone in the Academy.

“I will show no tolerance or mercy to those who handle dark mana.”

The hero remembered.

The tragedy created by dark mana.

-Ishtar. Our slash-and-burn village is vulnerable to outside attacks. But with dark mana, we can repel both monsters and the lord’s private soldiers!

-Ah, no… Why am I killing the vigilante corps…? R-run… Ishtar…

-Huff… You… never use something like dark mana… Users of this power… are destined to eventually be controlled by someone… Even if you don’t want to, you’ll become evil…

The gifted child of the slash-and-burn village.

A man with potential that surpassed Ishtar’s.

Arthur, who might have become a hero.

He ultimately met his death.

As his body was controlled by dark mana, just before he could harm Ishtar, he partially regained his sense of self and stopped the sword that was about to strike her.

Having lost everyone in the village except for Yufi, Ishtar vowed to deliver death to all dark mana users and was chosen as a hero by the one true god <Sophemia of the Sun>.

She is an avenger.

Having felt the lack of power, she vowed never to choose someone who would die from being overpowered as a comrade again.

As such, her strength is higher than anyone else’s among the current second-years.

“Run, first-year! That hero is dangerous!”

While there are skilled individuals who check those who are doing well in the world, those who genuinely try to kill are rare.

To Mandela, the second-year valedictorian who didn’t know the circumstances regarding dark mana, Ishtar seemed insane.

“I don’t know what you’re so upset about, but I don’t like you either!”

Ishtar began her final confirmation.

“The technique you used to handle the ice ball, it was a skill that’s impossible without profound knowledge of freezing magic.”

“That’s right?”

[Truth]

“That’s another piece of evidence suggesting you were behind the old teacher ice trap incident.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

[Truth]

“You… after hurting so many people, are you trying to act like you’ve forgotten everything?”

“I tend not to remember minor events for long. There are much bigger things I need to do in the future, you know?”

Not a single statement was untrue.

That’s what made it more frightening.

This child doesn’t lie about anything.

Lying is the behavior of the weak.

Because she firmly believes herself to be an unshakable strong one.

That made it all the more vexing.

Someone needed to punish that bad child.

If she were younger, it might have been enough to pull down her pants and spank her bottom with a palm.

But now.

This child, broken by the Foundation’s education.

It’s too late for her to reflect with just a spanking.

“Good. Then… let’s start with a review.”

The holy sword vibrates fiercely, revealing the hero’s anger.

She pulled out the strong move <Holy Sword Release> from the beginning.

Ishtar could see it.

As the sword’s flame flickered, the eyes of students with dark mana looking at Oknodie trembled.

This is a battle between representatives of good and evil.

The outcome of this confrontation will determine whether good or evil will prevail in the Academy.

<Wing Cutter>

She adds propulsion to the sword energy, sending it in a versatile trajectory as if it had wings.

A virtually unavoidable guided missile sword energy.

Instead of using the irregular <Acceleration Afterimage Sword> against the hero’s unfair attack, Oknodie twirled her wand and shouted, “Eih!”

<Dark Fog>

She covered the court with pitch-black smoke and concealed herself.

Multiple life responses could be felt beyond it.

The hero followed the energy she first detected to the end, but realized that what was cut was not Oknodie.

Crunch

The sound of sword energy tearing up the bare ground was heard.

It was a technique that hid multiple doppelgangers with the same energy as herself in the fog to disperse the target.

“Are you trying to commit the same outrageous acts with a wand that you did with a sword? That won’t work.”

<Holy Sword Function – Purification>

The power of the holy sword that repels all evil and impure forces was fired at the 1-point zone where Oknodie had stepped.

But for some reason, the purification that had instantly cleared Oknodie’s afterimages couldn’t clear the fog this time.

“I’ve done my review properly. After all, I am the valedictorian.”

“You wrapped dark mana with regular mana to block the purification.”

The assessment that she doesn’t lie is withdrawn.

She’s a sinister child that doesn’t match her young face.

“If we’ve finished the review, we should move on. Now I’ll test how far you’ve studied ahead!”

“Why does she like review and preview so much when she’s not even a professor…? Is she trying to be a teaching assistant this time? Huh. ‘Teaching Assistant Hero’ sounds a bit edgy.”

The mouth that was chattering as if on a picnic suddenly closed when it encountered a translucent wall shot from the hero’s sword.

<Holy Mirror>

<108 Direction Formation>

Barriers of holy energy deployed in a disorderly manner in all directions like a barrier.

When Oknodie poked it with her finger, there was a sizzling sound and smoke rose from her finger.

“Ouch, that’s hot!”

“…These are sacred mirrors filled with purifying energy that cleanses all impure beings. Evil beings cannot pass through these mirrors. Neither from inside to outside. Nor from outside to inside.”

“Wow. What a cool new technique!”

Other students controlled by Oknodie, who handles dark mana, cannot break through this mirror to help either.

“But if first-years fight like this, won’t Senior Mandela just accumulate a ton of points?”

“It doesn’t matter. The inter-year competition is nothing compared to suppressing the evil ambitions of a dark princess tainted by darkness. Or…”

Ishtar turned to look at Senior Mandela, who was standing in the 10-point zone at the center of the court.

“Are you going to interfere, senior?”

“Not at all…? Finish your business! Our team is the winning team!”

The undignified year valedictorian even cheered, jumping up and down.

With Senior Mandela’s non-interference confirmed, another variable that could affect Ishtar disappeared.

“<Holy Mirror> not only repels evil forces but has the mysterious effect of charging sacred power into the mirror and transmitting it to other nearby mirrors.”

“Is it okay to tell me all that?”

“If I don’t match this level of fairness, professors might interfere citing balance issues.”

“Ah! Did you hear that, Monk Myungho?”

Monk Myungho, who had been considering intervening, frowned.

Though Monk Myungho never misses a ganking opportunity like an excellent jungler, the already discovered gank was firmly stamped by the Dragon Principal with his solemn dragon eyes.

“Principal…”

These kids have a point. Don’t interfere.

“Time to finish this.”

All variables had disappeared.

With that certainty, Ishtar explosively fired the power of the holy sword into the magic mirror.

Equivalent to a hundred slashes of <Wing Cutter>.

She poured out that many sword strikes like a storm of slashes.

Just how much enormous power was stored in the Holy Mirror?

Even by estimation, a terrifying power poured out as a beam from the mirror behind.

“!!”

<Amplification>

<Absorption>

The amplified power is absorbed into another mirror and absorbed again.

Only then did the students who realized the true value of the Holy Mirror scream.

“Break the mirrors!”

“Oknodie, if you don’t break the mirrors, the hero’s cowardly power will continue to amplify as it travels between the mirrors!”

Like Oknodie’s section-repeating infinite-acceleration dodgeball, a technique that theoretically allows infinite spec-ups!

Even in actual combat, it’s a terrifying technique that can build up tremendous stacks of enhancement by passing back and forth between 108 mirrors.

If she wanted, she could simultaneously annihilate multiple enemies from several mirrors, or stack as many enhancements as possible to overwhelm a single strong opponent in one blow.

A hero’s technique.

A technique that truly makes one feel she is a chosen strong one!

“That’s problematic.”

But Ishtar also couldn’t eliminate all variables.

Crackle

Clang!

Lightning that flew in from somewhere instantly shattered the mirror.

Only one person on this court could handle such lightning.

“You… should have been a safe person without dark mana?”

“Enemies aren’t distinguished by whether they possess dark mana or not. If you’re going to bully Oknodie… then you’re my enemy.”

The leader of Group C.

The fusion experiment subject Cassia.

The strongest electric ability user came to Oknodie’s aid.