Chapter 124: The Turmoil of Hwangdo

Aslan is quite something.

He’s gathering students however he can, showing a bit of what it means to be a prince.

I have at least a little hope for what comes next.

At the very least, I believe he won’t be like that damn hero.

***

“Olivia? What on earth is going on?”

Aslan, having spotted me, asked urgently.

These days, whenever I show up, he starts barking out questions like a dog.

It’s just simple logic, really.

“It’s simple. Right now, anti-imperialists have joined forces with nobles who are dissatisfied with the empire and have invaded Hwangdo.”

He should have some level of awareness.

That’s why he’s gathering the students.

He’s doing what a prince should do.

If he keeps this up, even if he talks too much, he might just become the crown prince again. He’s already managed to gather a considerable number of students in a short time. That’s impressive.

“Then, are all those black tendrils…?”

Aslan pointed at the black tendrils creeping into Atlerina.

Black tendrils pouring into Atlerina.

They’re probably from the demons.

It must be some kind of ritual to summon them.

More precisely, they’re lurking in the shadows, slowly corroding Atlerina.

I gave a slight nod.

For now, escaping from here would be difficult.

It’s fine since I’m here, but it would be better to gather in one place and hold out.

The auditorium would be the best option.

***

“We need to gather the students in the auditorium.”

“But it’s too open on all sides. There are too many doors, making it difficult to defend. And you want us to hole up in there?”

Yuria objected to my suggestion.

“Yuria’s right. Are you trying to get us all killed?”

“So, you guys can actually think things through. Fair enough. It is too open and hard to defend. If we all gather there, the demons could wipe us out in an instant.”

“However, the auditorium is the only place that can accommodate all the students of Atlerina. Besides, I’m here, so there’s no problem. And there’s nowhere else to go anyway.”

“Then, do you have another place in mind? Or do you intend to throw yourselves right into the enemy’s jaws?”

“If we just run outside, we’ll be slaughtered immediately.”

“But the auditorium is still dangerous!”

“It would be—if I weren’t here.”

“There are a lot of doors, yes. But there’s no other place big enough to hold all the students. I’ll set up a barrier, so it’ll be safe for now. The important thing is protecting the students who are still out there.”

“We could try barricading the main building, but there’s no time to set up a full-scale barrier. For all we know, the enemy might have already infiltrated the building. Instead of defending the main building, the auditorium is smaller and can house all the students.”

“That makes sense. Alright, let’s send everyone to the auditorium.”

“The teddy bear squad will hold things down here! Get moving!”

Aslan is actually listening pretty well.

Dark, heavy shadows began spreading across the school.

Atlerina’s defense consisted of dozens of golems provided by the Mage Tower, assigned security professors, mages, and a few knights.

Escorting the students safely was the priority.

***

“Why are there so few defenders?”

“Well, who would have expected the enemy to come all the way to Atlerina?”

For the enemy to reach Atlerina, they would have to break through to the center of Hwangdo first.

If things have come this far, even the Imperial Palace wouldn’t be safe.

‘Who would have predicted this?’

In any case, after this incident, neighboring countries will look at the empire differently.

‘They allowed an invasion into Hwangdo?’ They’ll say things like that.

“My teddy bears really saved the day.”

“Still, at least we managed this much.”

Moving the students to the auditorium wasn’t too difficult.

The only problem was that, along the way, we were quickly caught up to by shadow demons.

Or rather, it’s a miracle we weren’t attacked while gathering the students.

“Damn it, they caught up! What do we do now?”

“What do you mean, what do we do? We fight.”

“Does Aslan still expect me to help him?”

“Still, I can’t let him die here.”

“For now, we need to get all the students inside the auditorium.”

‘[Syria, you guard the auditorium until I finish setting up the barrier.]’

“Yes, Your Highness! Get inside, now!”

Syria and the prince’s group rushed into the auditorium.

Meanwhile, I quickly began setting up the barrier, keeping my eyes on the shadows.

“Wait… what’s going on? Why is the Saint here?”

“W-We don’t know either!”

‘Oh? Judging by their reactions, I wasn’t their target? Was the Saint not part of their plans? Or were they working with the Plant faction? Maybe they just assumed I was too dumb to use teleportation.’

“Screw it! Kill them all!”

“Saint or not, just slaughter them!”

‘Saint or not, just slaughter them’? These bastards have lost their minds.

One thing’s clear—they have no idea who I am.

If they did, they wouldn’t be acting like this.

They must be anti-imperialists or demons who think they can take me down.

Either way, they’ve pissed me off enough.

“There’s a limit to how much you can look down on someone, you filthy worms. Is it because you’re lowborn? Your actions are disgusting.”

“!?”

Judging by their reaction, ‘was I right?’

It’s too dark to see their faces clearly.

“What, you got a problem? Or are you fallen nobles? Got pushed out by Ashtar, so you’re bitter and decided to stir up the commoners for this mess?”

“How dare you insult our cause!”

They keep yapping about their ‘cause.’

I really want to know what that even is.

Because right now, rebelling in this country is nothing but pure stupidity.

Nothing more, nothing less.

***

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Magic bullets tore through the black shadows.

‘Why do they look so shocked?’

They’re just a bunch of nobodies.

“N-No way…!”

“What, did you think I was some helpless girl? Well, great. Come at me, all of you. It’s been a while since I’ve had a proper massacre.”

‘A few hundred enemies?’ Sounds just right for a satisfying kill spree.

“You crazy bitch!”

Syria’s teddy bear squad took care of the minions while what seemed to be the demon officers charged in.

And, of course, as expected—

The demons that had stormed into Atlerina exploded under my magic bullets.

They were weak.

Nothing more, nothing less.

***

“What kind of monster is she?! Then let’s take her down in close combat!”

‘Oh? You think you can take me in melee?’

Crack!

I shattered the skull of a trash-tier demon with a single punch.

“You really think close combat will give you a chance?”

“What the hell… Is she really the Saint? How is our target—?!”

‘Our target’?

As if you ever had a real shot at winning.

“You think I’m the Saint?”

“T-Then…”

“I’m Taesa.”

“Quit playing games!”

The only ones playing games here are you fools who came charging in with that pathetic strength.

It’s ridiculous.

Idiots with nothing better to do keep stirring up trouble.

“Wow, so much for your grand cause. Looks like it’s crumbling right in front of me.”

“You think we’ll die here?! If that’s the case—”

The shadowy figures began preparing something together.

Crackle.

‘Oh? Black magic, huh?’

Dark spears were rising from all directions.

The iron bars rise up on all sides, forming a prison that traps me.

Hmm. Yeah. They’ve put in quite a bit of effort.

It’s a prison made of a rather solid barrier.

“Wow. I didn’t expect you to prepare magic like this.”

A filthy, murky mass of magic.

“No matter how strong you are, you won’t be able to break through this barrier. This dark magic is something no human can ever escape from.”

The shadows sneer arrogantly.

‘How can they be so confident? A human can’t escape, they say?’

“A human can never escape?”

“Equivalent exchange.”

Oh. Equivalent exchange.

That’s dark magic.

As the name suggests, it’s a form of magic that trades something of value.

A kind of dark magic where one offers their soul to fulfill a wish equivalent to the soul’s worth.

Since it requires staking one’s life, calling it a wish is a stretch—it’s closer to a curse.

“You used heretical magic? Seriously?”

“That’s right. No human can escape this prison!”

***

“‘Human’?”

Just now, ‘they referred to me as a mere human, didn’t they?’

“Yes. This prison was created by sacrificing a hundred souls to trap a single person.”

“Oh? And why would you do something so inefficient?”

‘Where on earth did they learn such an impractical spell?’

“It was prepared in advance by ‘that person’ for situations like this.”

‘That person, huh? And this dark magic is black magic. If that person provided it, then the mastermind behind all this must be the Black Magic Society, the New World Order.’

‘Anti-imperialists and the New World Order—two sides of the same coin. If some nobles are involved as well, then their influence within the empire might be more extensive than expected.’

Their target this time was probably Aslan.

The New World Order must have thought these fools were only capable of handling something of that level.

“So this dark magic is the work of the New World Order. Was Aslan your original target?”

“If we fail, then killing you here and eliminating future troubles would be the best course of action!”

They can’t admit their mistake.

Looks like they’re trying to shift the blame onto me.

“Future troubles? Well, judging by how you keep calling me ‘human,’ you seem completely unaware of just how foolish and ignorant you are. It looks like your level of magic can only confine beings that fit into the narrow category of ‘human.’”

Sacrificing a hundred souls to trap a single human.

Honestly, it’s not a bad trade.

If you truly had a target worth killing, it wouldn’t be a bad deal to give up your lives for it.

If you could guarantee the death of someone even an army of tens or hundreds of thousands couldn’t capture—like the ruler of an enemy nation, a renowned prime minister, or a rival—it would be worth it.

Equivalent exchange magic isn’t a bad concept.

But… the problem is that these idiots specifically set ‘human’ as the keyword.

***

“Kuhaha! Die, Saintess!”

“You seem to be mistaken.”

A chorus of fools.

“What?! How can you still move?!”

‘Was I supposed to be immobilized?’

How pathetic.

“Who exactly did you investigate as the Saintess?”

Let’s see just how reliable their intel is.

“Tais, the noble daughter of the Ashtar family.”

“Then your intel is lacking. Or rather, maybe even the New World Order doesn’t know?”

The only witness, Zerato, is dead.

Even if the New World Order was connected to Zerato, they wouldn’t know about the Demon King’s fragment.

And even if they did, there’s no way they’d suspect that I have it.

After all, what kind of insane noble lady would willingly harbor the energy of the Demon King?

***

“…Huh?”

“I’m not human.”

Not exactly, anyway.

My body itself is practically a mass of mana due to mana fusion.

“Bullshit! You’re trapped in there, aren’t you?”

“Yeah! You can move, but you can’t take a single step out!”

Oh, it’s a double-layered barrier.

It was so weak I didn’t even notice.

But just the fact that I can move inside it should already make the answer clear.

I’m tired of laughing at these fools.

“Unlike halfwits like you, who can’t even control your own power, I can choose my race whenever I want.”

I draw out the demonic energy hidden within my mana.

More precisely, I invoke the power of the Demon King—Zerato’s so-called ‘gifted authority.’

That idiot must be rolling in his grave.

To think the one he tried to subjugate using a fragment of the Demon King would end up wielding its power freely.

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

“Syria will handle things on that side, and she won’t even see this happening.”

Might as well take care of this quickly.

“W-What are you?! That form…!”

That form, that mana—if they think it’s just a simple demon transformation, they’re mistaken.

I am something far beyond a mere demon.

“…Didn’t I tell you? I’m not like you lowly trash.”

“Would this sword suit this form better?”

The Authority of Despair.

The Blade of Despair.

A sword that corrodes and destroys everything it touches.

The shadows gasp in shock as they lay eyes on the blade in my hands.

“It’s just like Pector’s…”

‘Oh? So they know about Pector?’

“Well, I did get it from Pector, so you’re not wrong. But honestly, I think I’m much closer to the Demon King than Pector ever was.”

I can wield Pector’s authority.

And the reason for that is the Demon King’s fragment within me.

At this point, it has completely merged with me, so it’s more accurate to say that the power is mine now.

Which means I am closer to a Demon King than anyone else.

That’s why even Bernoa doesn’t dare provoke me recklessly.

I’m not sure about Seto or Clanis, but at the very least, my existence leans closer to that of a Demon King.

And so, I stepped out of the barrier with confidence.

“N-No way… A Demon King…”

Idiots.

Again with the Demon King nonsense.

“Isn’t this exactly the future you wanted? A world ruled by demons. And at the top of those demons… a Demon King. Isn’t this what you were hoping for?”

Crack…

I swung the authority, and everything crumbled effortlessly.