Ch.81Academy Attack Incident – 3

# The Academy Attack Incident

This incident drove the final nail in the coffin for Bellium Academy, whose standing had already been precarious due to various events in Part 1.

With the chairman missing, many professors dead, and a large number of student casualties, the fundamental purpose of the academy was inevitably called into question.

As a result, the academy essentially began the process of closing down, and from Part 2 onward, the novel’s setting shifts to the entire empire.

In truth, even if public opinion had remained favorable, normal lectures would have been impossible with the entire faculty having vanished. But that’s just speaking in hindsight.

‘This is happening much faster than expected.’

An event that should have occurred around the middle of next year was now unfolding just three months after enrollment, suggesting that whoever was behind this plan must have been in quite a hurry.

I looked up at the defense barrier, which was wrapped in a black veil and fluctuating wildly.

‘It’s easy to see why people would be confused.’

Even now, most people probably mistakenly believe that the barrier surrounding the academy is holding back something black. They’ll try to reinforce the barrier, thinking that if it breaks, the entire academy will be engulfed.

Little do they know that this is exactly what the perpetrators want.

“I cannot reach the chairman.”

After fiddling with the communication magic tool for quite some time, the Crown Prince finally gave up and set it down on the desk. I had expected as much. In the original story, it was mentioned that communication, both internal and external, had become impossible.

“Still, we only need to hold out a little longer. Surely someone outside must have noticed a veil large enough to envelop the entire academy.”

That too was a scenario that the original story had explicitly contradicted. I immediately denied that hope.

“That will be difficult, I’m afraid. Those outside are likely unaware of our situation.”

The space had been distorted so that while it appeared as a black veil from the inside, from the outside, the academy looked completely normal.

Unless someone tried and failed to enter this place, it would be impossible to visually detect anything amiss. This method was possible precisely because the black veil was nothing more than a harmless fake without any lethal power.

“Oh? May I hear why you think so?”

Obviously, it’s because I heard it from Priscilla. That’s true for all the knowledge I currently possess. But since I had no intention of revealing that, I brazenly told a lie.

“The imperial palace isn’t far from the academy. If this were visible from the outside, the Sword Saint would have arrived by now. Yet we’ve heard nothing from him.”

While it wasn’t exactly a short distance, both the imperial palace and the academy were located in the empire’s capital. There’s no way the Sword Saint wouldn’t be able to see something at that distance.

“…I see.”

The Crown Prince, who knew the Sword Saint’s abilities very well, accepted my explanation easily. Then he suddenly smiled at me.

“What am I to do? I find myself liking you more and more. So much that I’m reluctant to share you with anyone else.”

“If that’s the case, you should be very careful with your words and actions from now on. I will be constantly evaluating Your Highness as well.”

“You would evaluate me?”

It was a statement that could have been considered blasphemous, causing him to fly into a rage, but the Crown Prince instead showed an expression of keen interest.

The reason I could brush off the Crown Prince’s previous actions with mere grumbling was partly for the sake of my parents in this world, but paradoxically, also because the Crown Prince was nothing more or less than an ally.

Just a fellow human on the same side. I could accept and forget whatever such a person did as long as they didn’t cross certain lines. That had been the Crown Prince’s position until now.

But not anymore. Now that he had become someone who could legitimately give me orders, he needed to constantly prove that he was worthy of that authority.

“Yes. Otherwise, I cannot serve Your Highness. Even if I just pledged my loyalty moments ago.”

One sacrifice due to a rotten superior is more than enough.

When I looked at him with a somewhat cold gaze, the Crown Prince hesitated momentarily before breaking into a broad smile, clearly pleased about something.

“Hahahahaha! I truly like you! You’re the first person to show me such an attitude!”

I had considered the possibility that he might get angry about my disrespect. Of course, if that happened, my relationship with the Crown Prince would have ended right there.

“Conversely, does this mean that the more useful I make you, the deeper your loyalty will become?”

In the next moment, the smile disappeared from his face. Blood-red eyes, now devoid of emotion, turned toward me.

“I have matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave now.”

I chose to withdraw without answering his question. There was no need to tell him that my expectations were already quite low.

Surely he couldn’t be worse than those filled to the brim with their sense of superiority, unless he did something truly terrible.

I was subtly hinting that the Crown Prince was someone who had the authority to do such terrible things. Based on his personality and past anecdotes, I was also convinced that he could be endlessly cruel when the situation called for it.

“By all means, do so.”

With his face full of interest and desire, the Crown Prince readily let me go. Even so, he made no attempt to hide his gaze, which followed me until the end.

I left the building. In the distance, I could see students who had barely regained their composure thanks to the desperate guidance of the professors, running somewhere. Explosions could be heard as well, suggesting that a battle was taking place.

I couldn’t join that procession yet. Hiding myself, I moved to a suitably secluded location. There was something I needed to do before meeting Priscilla and Rosaria.

I stopped at an appropriate spot and was about to take out the necklace Elisier had given me, but put it back. I had detected someone rapidly approaching my position.

“Haa! Haa!”

I first heard a voice that seemed to be panting from exhaustion, or perhaps deliberately panting in a suggestive manner. Soon after, the owner of the voice came around the corner of the building.

It was Roxanna Astriere.

She was wearing a school uniform with noticeably more exposure than usual. Her outer garment was nowhere to be seen, and her vest was half-torn. She wore stockings on only her left leg, and half the buttons on her white shirt had been ripped off.

With her hair disheveled in all directions, anyone who saw her would think she had barely escaped from a monster. After looking around, Roxanna spotted me and ran over with a bright smile.

“Junior! Over here! Over here!”

I silently pointed Eternity at Roxanna, who was practically bouncing as she ran toward me. Seeing the faint blue light on the blade, Roxanna stopped in her tracks. Her body shrank back anxiously, and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Why, why are you doing this… Junior? I’m scared… If this is a joke, please stop… This isn’t the time for this, right?”

“Drop the pretense, half-succubus.”

Since there was no longer any need to act as senior and junior, I spoke bluntly. A ripple momentarily crossed Roxanna’s face, but it was truly just for an instant. Soon, an anxious expression returned.

“Half-succubus? What are you talking about…? Don’t tell me you think I’m too pretty—”

“Do I really need to mention that the entire Astriere family is a base of operations for succubi? Let’s just acknowledge it cleanly.”

“…”

Roxanna stared at me with cold eyes. She seemed to think that further acting was pointless.

“How much do you know?”

“That you’ve long since bewitched not only the Pope but the entire Starlight Order, and not content with that, you’ve extended your claws to the empire’s nobles, gathering them as supporters of the deposed prince to split the empire in two?”

“Huh, you know everything? That’s strange. Where did we slip up? I thought we were being thorough.”

They certainly had been thorough. Even the Sword Saint couldn’t find the succubi that had infiltrated the empire. Priscilla and I also had to stand by, unable to find decisive evidence.

“So that’s why the Queen was grinding her teeth over you? She was fuming that the plan was ruined because of you alone, and it turns out that wasn’t an exaggeration. Honestly, even as I agreed with her, I thought it couldn’t possibly be true. She was so obsessed that even that old geezer of a Pope got jealous because she kept mentioning you. How ugly.”

“…Jealous?”

No wonder he glared at me as soon as he saw me—it really was jealousy. I was freshly dumbfounded.

‘What kind of guy is he?’

“Anyway, thanks for being here alone so boldly. Now I can deal with you quickly. It would have been a bit difficult even for me if you and the Crown Prince had come at me together. Thanks. I’ll save myself some trouble. Should I reward you after you’re dead?”

Her tongue darted in and out between her thumb and index finger, which she had formed into a circle. Saliva dripped onto her exposed chest. I smirked and responded.

“Why? Need to hurry and burst the barrier? Oh right, it’s not operating at maximum power yet, so you need more time? The higher the output, the bigger the explosion, right?”

The face that had been lewdly playing with her tongue froze. The composure she had shown until just now completely vanished, replaced by shock and anger.

“What are you? How much do you really know? Did someone tell you?”

In the original story, they had worked on it gradually over several months, so I was concerned, but fortunately, it seemed they were sticking to the plan. I don’t know how they managed to move up the timeline so drastically, though.

“That’s right. There’s a traitor on your side. Someone you couldn’t possibly imagine.”

Who would ever imagine that the Demon King would be the traitor? It’s the kind of thing you’d be lucky not to lose your head over just for mentioning.

“…Tch!”

Roxanna, who had been frowning deeply as if trying to guess who the traitor might be, suddenly looked flustered.

“You can’t contact the others, can you? I thought that might be the case.”

“What have you done?”

“Why would I tell you that? If you’re really curious, figure it out yourself.”

I raised Eternity higher. Seeing this, Roxanna bared her teeth.

“I made a mistake recently. I tried to test the waters, trying not to get noticed, and got hit by a phase 3 pattern, not even phase 2.”

I’m honestly reflecting on it. Part of it was that I couldn’t properly gauge the power of that black energy since I was seeing it for the first time, but ultimately, my mistake was the biggest factor.

“I won’t make that mistake twice.”

Rather than trying to hide from the beginning, it’s much better to deal with it quickly and then think about how to hide in the remaining time. That was the lesson I learned at the cost of the first blood I shed in this world.

What I’m about to do will definitely leave traces, but it’s a method that’s just as certain.

“No, I’ll make you make it again!”

Roxanna’s voice became much more seductive. The school uniform she had been wearing disappeared as if burned away, replaced by an extremely revealing outfit.

“Setting everything else aside, this butterfly effect happened because of me, so I should be the one to clean it up. It’s obvious the academy will be destroyed if I don’t.”

“You’re very confident, aren’t you? Do you really think you can handle me alone?”

“Of course. Why else would I be here like this?”

I exhaled one breath.

With just that, the surrounding air began to change. The atmosphere filled with blue mana. A fog made of mana enveloped the surroundings. Everything that entered the mana gradually disappeared.

The sounds that had been heard vanished, the blowing wind disappeared, and the darkness that had been beating down was gone. In the space where nothing existed anymore, only mana filled the void.

I exhaled a second breath.

My body, no longer needing oxygen for respiration, began to change. A blue light swirled through my veins, and my skin turned pale white.

Seeing the space gradually turning more blue and my appearance changing moment by moment, Roxanna faltered. She seemed to realize something was very wrong.

I exhaled a third breath.

What I inhale is not oxygen. Likewise, what I exhale is not carbon dioxide. This is the process of inhaling pure mana and exhaling refined mana.

Then, what does “refined” mana mean in this context?

“What the… What are you?! Are you really a student?!”

In the space filled with blue light, Roxanna, who had completely lost her fighting spirit and confidence, cried out words she had already uttered several times.

If she had been truly stupid, it would have been fine. She wouldn’t have recognized the nature of the blue mana filling the surroundings.

Even if she had been moderately intelligent, it might have been okay. Even if she knew the blue mana was dangerous, she wouldn’t have realized just how dangerous it was.

But Roxanna, the masterpiece created with the utmost care by the Succubus Queen, was an extremely intelligent half-succubus. That’s why she understood the nature of the blue light surrounding her.

“What kind of person can create such magic?!”

Refined mana means, in essence, magic.

Each particle of blue light created in the process of simply inhaling pure mana and exhaling, each mana particle surrounding the area, was all magic.

“Mana Breathing Technique.”

“Mana… Breathing Technique?”

Since magic was the exclusive domain of nobles, all nobles competed to study magic to show off their knowledge and status. The increasingly lengthy names of spells were also a result of this.

As a consequence, though extremely closed off, magical development progressed at a terrifying pace—the theoretical pinnacle of a now-extinct world, a collective that allows one to manifest tens of thousands of spells simply by breathing.

That power dwelled in Eternity’s blade as “refined” mana.

“Do you know why I’m telling you this?”

“How would I know that?!”

I looked at Roxanna through eyes that were probably mostly blue by now.

“Because I have no intention of letting you live.”