Chapter 87

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“…Khh!”

The acrid scent of burning filled Eugene’s nostrils. The searing air he inhaled left his lungs heavy and stifled.

He coughed, grimacing. As expected, wielding the Sun Sword with an unfamiliar dagger was an arduous task.

Even the sensation of breathing made him feel like his insides were being cooked in the extreme conditions.

Cherry blossoms burned, their vibrant pink hues blackened and consumed.

The one responsible for the scorched surroundings was none other than Eugene himself.

Everything around him, except him, was engulfed in flames.

“Hoo…”

Eugene exhaled sharply, his breath catching in his throat. His fingertips trembled slightly.

It had only been a few minutes. While he’d been firing the Sun Sword repeatedly, he still had some stamina left.

The problem was the toll it took on his body.

Supernaturals have natural resistance to their own abilities. Eugene, who wields fire, possesses exceptional resistance to heat.

But resistance isn’t immunity. If it were, he wouldn’t have suffered burns the first time he used the Sun Sword. Resistance has limits, and once those limits are breached, a supernatural’s power begins to consume their body.

The temperature had risen dangerously high. Continuously unleashing the Sun Sword: Meteor Shower for minutes on end had made it inevitable.

Under normal circumstances, when his ability was controlled within his resistance threshold, there wouldn’t have been a problem.

But using ultra-high-temperature flames like this caused his body temperature to spike abnormally, impairing his physical abilities.

This was Eugene’s chronic weakness—and a familiar one at that.

Training is the act of overcoming one’s shortcomings.

For Eugene, who constantly pushed himself to the brink within the limits of his body’s endurance, such temperatures were all too familiar.

Clenching his fist, the trembling subsided. He reawakened his focus, gradually reviving the dulled sensations in his body.

Eugene raised his Scarlet Blade.

Once again, flames gathered around the short blade.

In truth, the Sun Sword: Meteor Shower wasn’t a perfected technique.

It was much like last time—a completely new skill constructed in theory alone.

Considering it was improvised on the spot, the results were fairly satisfactory.

At the very least, he hadn’t gotten burned this time.

In the process of repeated use, he had also refined his technique.

Kicking off the ground, Eugene leaped high into the air. Without any preparatory movement, he soared over ten meters.

Scanning his surroundings rapidly, he caught a fleeting glimpse of countless sights. Collapsed citizens. People fleeing in panic. Monsters roaring grotesquely. Beasts pursuing their prey.

He took it all in during that fleeting moment, his eyes narrowing as he tightened his grip on the Scarlet Blade.

The Sun Sword.

Meteor Shower.

Swirling flames plummeted.

Like meteors streaking across the night sky, fiery trails slammed into the ground without mercy.

Each impact was accompanied by brief, eerie shrieks. Monsters capable of surviving the meteoric assault were rare, as most were incinerated instantly.

Though Eugene had annihilated dozens of monsters in mere moments, his expression remained grim.

The number of monsters didn’t seem to decrease. Even when they were reduced, reinforcements quickly took their place.

An unending horde of monsters.

It was no longer just an attack—it was a wave.

A tide surging forward with the intent to swallow everything whole.

For now, they were only facing weaker monsters, but the number of creatures that survived the initial strikes was steadily increasing.

Eugene gritted his teeth.

Even a brief aerial view revealed much.

The number of monsters wasn’t the only thing growing—it was also the blood soaking the ground.

No matter how hard Eugene fought, no matter how fiercely his sun-like flames burned, he couldn’t prevent all the casualties.

It was inevitable. Eugene was undoubtedly extraordinary, but that was only by student standards.

Among seasoned heroes, there were plenty whose skills matched or even surpassed his.

Even the captains at the pinnacle of heroism couldn’t save everyone, so the scope of what a student could achieve was naturally limited.

“Don’t make me laugh…”

The moment his feet hit the ground, Eugene launched himself forward with explosive force, flames surging around him again.

More precisely. More powerfully.

The crimson glow swirling around the Scarlet Blade grew hotter and more intense.

“I’ll protect them! Everyone!”

With a thunderous boom, Eugene tore across the sky.

A streak of red ascended in a straight line.

Increasing the number of meteors. Enhancing their power. Amplifying their speed.

During the few seconds of his ascent, Eugene repeated these thoughts, preparing. As soon as the force countering gravity began to fade, he unleashed the compressed flames in all directions.

The flames scattered like shards, then reformed into blazing weapons.

Orbiting Eugene like satellites, they swirled in a fiery vortex.

The principle of the Sun Sword remained unchanged: rotation and compression.

The Meteor Shower followed the same logic.

“Haah!”

With his fiery bullets prepared, Eugene unleashed a relentless barrage on the ground below.

Each strike was deliberate, differentiating between civilians and monsters, targeting only the beasts with precision.

As dozens of monsters met their end, something abruptly disrupted the rhythm.

“…?!”

A sharp ringing noise pierced the air.

A primal instinct warned Eugene of danger.

Reflexively, he wrapped himself in the remnants of his Meteor Shower and slashed diagonally to his left.

At that exact moment, he was struck with immense force.

The sheer power of the impact sent him hurtling uncontrollably toward the ground.

Falling was inevitable for someone without the ability to fly, but this time was different.

It wasn’t gravity pulling him down—it was an overwhelming physical force.

Eugene narrowly avoided a head-first crash, twisting his body midair and using flames to cushion his descent, landing on both feet. Even so, a cold sweat trickled down his back.

“What the hell was that?!”

A shadow loomed overhead, blocking the sunlight.

Thanks to this, Eugene could look up without squinting.

A massive eagle.

Its sharp, upturned gaze radiated menace.

Its beak, hard enough to shatter boulders, gleamed with predatory intent.

Its wings stirred violent gusts with every flap.

However, only its upper half resembled a bird.

Beneath the wings, a form resembling a lion was revealed.

A platinum-white head and immaculate white wings.
Yet below them lay the body of the king of beasts.

“A griffon…”

Eugene muttered the name in a low, restrained voice.

An unmistakable high rank monster.

Some individuals of its kind were even assigned a “Named” title, becoming myths in their own right.

If he hadn’t instinctively counterattacked moments ago, he’d undoubtedly be dead.

A precise strike aimed at his neck and head.
A quiet, practiced hunter’s ambush, meant to crush resistance and ensure the prey’s demise.

“So, it finally shows up.”

Eugene’s surprise lasted only briefly.

This scale of a rift—it was inevitable.

One high rank monster would not be the last.

If the rift had stabilized enough to allow the entry of such creatures, others would soon follow.

Eugene rotated his aching wrist and took a step forward.

For now, it was just one.

If so, he’d eliminate them one by one before the numbers grew.

He didn’t bother considering whether it was possible or not.
If it had to be done, then he would do it.

“…Come on. Let’s finish this quickly. I don’t have time to waste on the likes of you.”

“Feeling confident? Hey, you okay? Isn’t even one high rank monster too much for you?”

A voice whispered teasingly, accompanied by the weight of a chin resting on Eugene’s shoulder.

Eugene brushed it off without even sparing a glance.

Astaroth stepped back with a feigned look of hurt.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t intervene. Then disappear quietly.”

“That was my plan. But watching this made me feel oddly concerned.”

“…”

Even with his attention fixed on the griffon, Eugene hadn’t noticed her presence at all.

Knowledge comes with experience.

Since moving beyond his beginner days, Eugene had become sharply attuned to the strength of others.

‘I can’t see her limits. What kind of monster is she, really?’

Yet, with Astaroth, there was nothing to sense.

She was suppressing her power, yes, but the real reason was that her presence was so vast Eugene couldn’t even begin to comprehend it.

“I like you, you know?”

“So?”

“Make a contract with me. Then I’ll help you.”

“Shut up.”

“Not even going to hear me out?”

“I already know anything you say is worthless.”

“You’re so cruel…”

Astharoth feigned retreat, taking a few exaggerated steps back.

“To think my perfect plan to exploit this crisis and win you over would fail…!”

“…”

“Fine, whatever! I’m not even bothered!”

Something was off.

The griffon wasn’t attacking.

It was merely circling in the sky, showing no overt hostility toward Eugene.

More accurately, its attention wasn’t on Eugene—it was on the girl standing beside him.

‘Is it because of her?’

Even a high rank monster hesitated?

These creatures would rather risk death than retreat, even against the Celestial Corps captains.

‘What in the world is she?’

“I won’t insist if you’re unwilling.” Astaroth said nonchalantly. “Maybe today’s just not the day. I wasn’t expecting much anyway. Just thought I’d ask.”

She idly tapped her parasol against her palm before lifting her gaze to the rift in the sky. Tilting her head thoughtfully for a moment, she chuckled softly.

“Maybe I’ll visit Lucia instead? That girl might accept my offer…”

A sharp slash cut through Astaroth.

Three consecutive strikes followed in quick succession.

Head. Chest. Shoulder.

The scarlet blade carved through the air, yet Astaroth dodged them all effortlessly.

Her feet remained planted as her upper body swayed slightly, the attacks missing entirely.

“Don’t you dare touch Lucia!”

“…Hehe.”

Astaroth laughed cheerfully.

She clasped her hands behind her back, humming a little tune.

“You attacked me?”

“…”

“I told you I wasn’t going to do anything today. I even promised! But if you attack me first, well, that’s a different story, isn’t it?”

“You… from the start…”

“Ahaha. A promise is meant to be kept, you know. Breaking it for no reason would be so uncouth.”

Eugene leapt back, widening the distance between them.

Though Astaroth still emanated no discernible aura, an intense sense of danger gripped him. His fingers tightened instinctively around the hilt of his blade.

“Maybe I’ll play a little. It’s only fair—self-defense and all.”

Astaroth extended her parasol, not toward Eugene but toward the sky.

Gripping it delicately by the edge of its handle, she moved it as though painting an invisible canvas with graceful strokes.

What was she doing?

The answer revealed itself quickly.

Rrrrrumble.

The fracture in the sky—the rift—shuddered violently.

“I can’t open portals myself, but I can meddle with ones that are already open. Murmur is such a slacker. If she’d done her job properly, she’d have opened it wide enough from the start. Leaving it half-done like this…”

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■───────!!!!

An unearthly roar resounded.

The griffon screamed.

Not just the griffon—all the monsters that had crossed into this world howled in unison.

“You’ve only been fighting weaklings so far. Boring, wasn’t it?”

“You… interfered… with the rift? Who—what are you?”

Eugene’s voice trembled as he spoke.

He had never seen—or even heard of—anything like this.

The widening crack was plain to see.

The rift in time and space was expanding.

Which meant…

“Things are about to get busy. Good luck.”

Monsters were pouring through.

Not one or two—but in exponentially increasing numbers.

Low rank monsters. Mid rank monsters. High rank monsters.

Even beings beyond those classifications.

Clang. Clang.

The faint sound of metal echoed as if heralding doom.

An armored figure, clad in pitch-black armor that seemed to absorb all light, stepped forward.

Crushing burning grass underfoot, snapping fallen cherry trees with every deliberate step.

“…”

The oppressive aura it exuded was suffocating.

With only a few strides, it closed the gap and knelt silently before Astaroth.

“I greet you, my liege.” (T/N: Pretend there’s monster language here, I lost the original meaning for it, sorry!!)

‘What… am I looking at?’

Eugene’s lips were parched as he closed his mouth.

If Astaroth was too immense to sense, this being was different.

Though still colossal, it was something Eugene could perceive—a magnitude he could measure.

And that made it all the more terrifying.

‘A Named…’

A high rank monster.

But this wasn’t just a high rank monster—it stood apart, warranting its own designation.

Humanity had a unique way of distinguishing such creatures.

A Named Monster.

A knight donning jet black armor.

The Death Knight.

‘…What have I gotten myself into?’

Eugene, whose body temperature that would have been life-threatening for an ordinary supernatural due to excessive use of his abilities, had now cooled to the point of being cold.

His school uniform, soaked with sweat, clung onto his skin. He realized that he had made a big mistake.

He had naturally thought that she was a human, a supernatural. That was because of one simple reason.

The aura of ‘mental corruption’ typically felt from monsters was completely absent.

Some monsters could suppress their unique presence, but only briefly—seconds to mere minutes at most. This limitation made Eugene certain the girl in the red fox mask was human.

That belief shattered just now.

This entity manipulated the rift. It ruled over monsters. It possessed a strength that defied reason and understanding. It had appeared without warning or precedent, breaking every norm that Eugene knew.

“You’re… not human, are you…?”

“Only realizing that now? You’re not very perceptive.” Astaroth teased.

“A monster…?”

“That term feels too crude. Call me a ‘Devil’. Or wait… I suppose ‘Demonkin’ works for now.”

Astaroth rested her parasol on the death knight’s shoulder, resembling a monarch knighting her subject.

The knight trembled, its massive form shuddering. From within its helmet, a crimson light pulsed, and its deep, reverent voice filled the air.

“Dainagessleutta.” (It will be done, my liege.)

With deliberate motion, the black knight stood upright. Its helmeted gaze locked onto Eugene.

In an instant, a suffocating killing intent surged toward Eugene—a predator poised to rip out its prey’s throat.

“…”

Eugene, still reeling from the shock of this unfathomable truth, forced his frozen body into action. He gripped his dagger tightly and steadied his stance.

There was no room for distraction—not even for a heartbeat. One misstep, one moment of hesitation, and his head would roll.

This wasn’t a theory or a possibility. It was absolute certainty.

The embodiment of death, clad in a knight’s armor, stood before him.

“…Fine. Let’s do this.” Eugene muttered.

Instead of retreating, he took a step forward.

No matter the foe.
No matter how powerful or fearsome.

It didn’t matter.

He would fight.
And he would protect.

Lucia.
And everyone here.

That was all he had ever resolved to do.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Eugene swore he would never run away again.

He would never give up, no matter how strong the opponent was.

The reason for that oath should have been Alice.

Lucia is a bad girl.

What are you going to do to the match made in heaven?

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Monster language strikes right again… 

Kill me.