Ch.34One Step Ahead in Preparation – 1

“They set up a base in a place like this? And all just to attack a mere academy?”

“That’s right. And it’s not ‘mere,’ it’s ‘barely.’ This is as large as they could build without triggering the Chairman’s senses. If they could have built it any bigger, they would have attacked the Imperial Palace instead of the academy.”

“Just getting from here to the academy without being detected must be quite a task. These people really have no common sense.”

“Don’t speak without thinking. If it were any closer, the Chairman would have detected it.”

“I was just saying! Why do you have to contradict everything I say?!”

Rozaria and Priscilla bickered as they walked along.

Perhaps because they shared the experience of being possessors trapped in the same regression, the two seemed to have a strangely compatible relationship despite their apparent clash of personalities. They had even become close enough to speak informally with each other.

“Um, I’m not saying I don’t trust you, but there’s still a whole month until the midterm exams. Are you saying you’ve already started preparing? Why?”

“When we fought the Succubus Queen, she said it herself. She asked if we thought it would be easy to invade a place guarded by the Dark Dragon Belligor. She said preparations can never be too thorough.”

“Ugh, for a demon, she’s unnecessarily well-prepared. Could those words themselves have been a bluff?”

“No.”

“…Really? What’s your basis?”

“Experience. I’ve been through this over a hundred times.”

“…”

In the end, it was as good as saying she had no real evidence, but Rozaria couldn’t refute her words. After all, if she hadn’t met me, she would have ended up in the same situation as Priscilla.

When someone claimed to know something based on experience accumulated through over a hundred regressions, Rozaria, who had gone through similar experiences herself, could only remain silent like someone with honey stuck in their mouth.

“Actually, there’s one more thing. Succubi only need to breathe a little influence, and the enthralled humans do the rest. Once they establish a proper foothold, humans bring sacrifices and build power on their own, so there’s no worry about demonic energy leaking out. That’s why they can prepare slowly and carefully over a long time.”

“W-Well, if that’s the case…”

With such certainty, there seemed to be nothing left to doubt. Rozaria gradually slowed her pace. It seemed she had changed her target to me. Noticing this, Priscilla also began to slow down.

“Hey, Mira. I’ve been wondering about something. What happened to the Sword Saint? He’d barely been at the academy for a few days before suddenly returning to the Imperial Palace. Do you know anything about that?”

“Oh, that?”

Since there was nothing to hide from these two, I explained everything that had happened the night before.

As she said, the Sword Saint had declared that he had urgent business and would be unable to serve as a special instructor for a while, returning to the Imperial Palace after just four days of being a special instructor.

The reason was, of course, Karna—the Sword Saint’s first disciple who had returned to being human after seven years as a murderous ghost.

‘It was fortunate, though.’

The title of being the Sword Saint’s former disciple still meant something, as Karna, despite having just returned to his senses and being in a confused state, was able to almost perfectly deduce the situation by looking at my expression and his own circumstances.

He understood that I had freed him from his state as a murderous ghost, that it was completely unexpected, and that it would be very troublesome if others found out.

So Karna coordinated his story with mine on the spot to protect me, his benefactor. He lied to the Sword Saint, claiming that he had overcome the curse of the murderous ghost and regained his senses through his own strength.

Though his timid personality remained unchanged and he was extremely embarrassed, he performed remarkably well once the act began. It seemed his desire to help me outweighed his embarrassment.

‘The Sword Saint seemed somewhat suspicious, though…’

Perhaps because he knew better than anyone that this wasn’t like his disciple’s personality, the Sword Saint seemed half-convinced.

If he had completely believed Karna’s words, he wouldn’t have insisted on giving me a separate reward, arguing that “I must have been of some help since I was by his side when he woke up.”

“Ah, so that’s why the Royal Guards came instead?”

“In a way, it’s better for those wanting to learn swordsmanship. The Sword Saint would just beat everyone up, saying he’d teach them if they could defeat him, but the Royal Guards have even set up separate evening lecture times to teach properly.”

Of course, the Sword Saint hadn’t left empty-handed. He had brought five Royal Guards as special instructors who, while weaker than him, were clearly stronger than the academy students.

Moreover, since they announced that they would teach anyone who wanted to learn equally, without requiring them to win against them first, there were hardly any complaints about the Sword Saint’s sudden departure.

“That’s also why I was able to bring only Priscilla out. When the Sword Saint went to the Imperial Palace, he took Brunhild and Aria with him.”

He said he planned to honestly explain to them why he had acted the way he did when they first met and ask for their forgiveness. It seemed like he was trying to make amends for his arbitrary actions.

“I see. I was wondering why. You four were always together, but today it’s just the two of you.”

“What about you? Is it okay for you to be out here? What about the nuns?”

“I created a doppelganger with holy power that resembles me. Well, not even a doppelganger… more like an object that emits holy power similar to mine? I left it in bed as if it were sleeping, locked the door, and came out, so it should be fine for a while. It’s not like they have any means to track me.”

“…Is that possible?”

“Of course it wasn’t possible before. But at some point, it became possible.”

Despite being treated so poorly while trapped inside Rozaria’s body before meeting me, the fact that she could use such abilities showed that her talent was indeed exceptional. It wasn’t for nothing that she was called a Saint candidate.

After that, with Rozaria leading the conversation, we walked for quite some time until we finally arrived at a sheer cliff face. Priscilla pointed to the wall in front of us.

“This is it. The place where they gather humans for suicide summoning terrorism.”

“There’s nothing here.”

It was truly just a wall, without even the slightest crack or cave. Rozaria tilted her head in confusion.

“It’s hidden by magic.”

Priscilla raised her staff and began to chant.

“Shatter, chains. Break your bonds, cast away falsehood, and return to your original form.”

As the incantation for a top-tier spell dispelling magic flowed from her lips, the mana gathered at the tip of her staff spread out like powder. The magic formation covering the entire cliff was revealed.

The magic formation touched by the powder melted away like cotton candy. Soon, a large cave entrance appeared where Priscilla had been pointing.

“What? Should it be dispelled this easily?”

“It wasn’t easy. It just looks that way because I used a top-tier spell dispelling magic. It hasn’t even been created yet in the current timeline.”

“…Somehow, everything you do is either top-tier or a spell that hasn’t been created yet.”

“That’s because I’ve used all of them before. I can cast spells I’ll use in the future with my eyes closed even now. You could be like me too if you experienced regression over a hundred times.”

“…”

Rozaria was once again rendered speechless by Priscilla’s all-purpose shield. She had also spent over 20 years in regression if all her time was added up, but the comparison was simply ridiculous.

“Then let’s go inside—”

“Wait. Let’s use an invisibility spell just in case.”

She snapped her fingers, enveloping the three of us. As our bodies became translucent and hazy like mist, Rozaria curiously stroked her forearm. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she asked:

“Don’t you need to chant when using magic?”

“In that world, I could just think it without saying it out loud. Though I had to think in that world’s language, which was hellishly difficult until I got used to it.”

“That world’s language?”

Seeing Rozaria’s curiosity, I explained a few simple spells, which caused a disgusted expression to appear on her face.

“Ugh. What is that crazy language?”

“Writing and magic were the exclusive domain of the ‘noble’ aristocrats. So to prevent ‘inferior’ commoners from understanding if anything leaked out, they kept adding modifiers until it evolved into this.”

Even the basic fire magic to create a small flame at one’s fingertip had more modifiers than its actual name. If basic magic was like that, there was no need to explain what top-tier magic was like.

When I told her the name of the soul purification magic I had used to free Karna from his murderous ghost form in that world’s language, Rozaria grimaced, asking what on earth she had just heard.

“Wow, that world wasn’t right in the head either? How did you survive in such a place?”

“I tried desperately not to die. Let’s end the chitchat here and go in. We might get caught if we waste more time.”

After casting a soundproofing spell as a final precaution, we entered the cave. Priscilla, who claimed to have visited this place in every regression, guided us with naturally flowing steps.

After disarming numerous traps with a handful of mana and navigating what seemed like non-existent forked paths, Priscilla stopped in front of a dead end.

“This is it. The breeding ground is behind here. Just a moment. I’ll dispel the magic formation.”

Priscilla raised her staff and was about to use the spell dispelling magic again.

“…!”

Sensing killing intent from inside, I pulled Priscilla back with magic. Her body flew backward, and a massive axe sliced through the space where her head had just been.

I drew Eternity and prepared for battle. Priscilla still seemed unaware of what had just happened, while Rozaria looked dumbfounded.

“Draw your weapons. It’s an enemy.”

As I warned the two, the empty space that had appeared to be a wall shimmered faintly. Someone walked out from inside with heavy footsteps.

“Indeed, the great Demon King’s words are never wrong! To think he would prophesy even this!”

It was a centaur—the lower half was a large brown horse, and the upper half was a muscular giant of a man. His forearms were thicker than my torso. In his right hand, he wielded an enormous double-bladed axe.

‘…The 6th Legion Commander?’

A centaur using a double-bladed axe had to be the 6th Legion Commander. How could such a being be here?

I looked back at Priscilla. She seemed very surprised, as if she hadn’t expected this. It meant something had changed again.

And in a very bad way.

“What did the Demon King do?”

I stepped forward. The creature rested the axe on his shoulder and declared triumphantly:

“He prophesied that humans would come here, you tiny thing!”

“…And why are you telling me this?”

Perhaps he was also needlessly talkative like Maker. If I recall correctly, Priscilla had described him as just a muscle-brain obsessed with fighting.

The creature snorted and flashed an incredibly ugly smile.

“Because he ordered me to tell this to any human who finds this place! I am merely faithfully following the Demon King’s command!”