Chapter 380

“What a mess.”

I clicked my tongue.

The sudden uprising of the spies had thrown the entire academy into chaos.

Blood splattered everywhere, and screams and shouts filled the air.

The only saving grace was that we had a numerical advantage.

No matter how deeply they had infiltrated, the spies were still a minority.

We had been caught off guard, but once we regained control of the situation, we would be able to eliminate them easily.

The problem was,

‘Armin could escape in the meantime.’

That was his plan all along. To create a diversion and then slip away.

I wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

We had to focus on the leader, not the minions.

But…

‘Where the hell is he?’

I narrowed my eyes.

I had thought that we would be able to find him easily from above.

But I was wrong.

He was nowhere to be seen, like a rat hiding in the shadows.

“Did you find him?”

“…No, not yet. I can’t see him.”

Elaine couldn’t find him either.

Which meant…

Did he have some kind of special concealment technique?

No, that couldn’t be it.

He would have used it already if he had such an ability.

He wouldn’t have sacrificed all his agents just to escape.

My mind raced.

We didn’t have time to waste. I had to come up with an answer quickly.

And finally, I found it.

“He must be outside.”

“Outside?”

“Yes, he must have used the chaos as a cover to sneak out of the building.”

“You mean…”

“He’s probably moving from building to building, like a rat.”

I said with certainty.

That was the only explanation for why we couldn’t see him from above.

Fortunately, thanks to Elaine’s successful stalling, we had been able to evacuate everyone from the academy grounds.

It had been possible because the semester hadn’t officially started yet, so there weren’t many people on campus.

Anyway, it meant that he couldn’t escape by blending in with the crowd.

“T-Then what should we do?”

Elaine asked, looking flustered.

Normally, the best course of action would be to gradually tighten the encirclement and search each building one by one.

But that was impossible now.

We didn’t have enough manpower, since most of our forces were busy dealing with the spies who had risen up.

Then,

“I’ll try to narrow down his location.”

“Huh?”

I activated my Hero’s Intuition, ignoring her confused expression.

I had a feeling that I might be able to sense something from a big shot like Armin.

And as expected,

‘I can feel it.’

My eyes gleamed.

It wasn’t like I could pinpoint his exact location.

But I could sense the direction of his dark energy.

“West.”

“W-West?”

“Yes, I’m sure of it.”

I nodded.

“T-Then we need to move now.”

She blinked in surprise, but she seemed to trust my judgment.

“No, wait.”

I stopped her.

We had narrowed down the direction to west, but the academy was vast.

If we moved recklessly, we might end up searching in the wrong place.

If we lost track of him now, we might never find him again.

“Let’s think.”

“Think?”

“Yes, why did he choose to escape to the west?”

North, south, east, west…

There were four directions he could have escaped to.

But he had chosen west.

Of course, it could have been a feint, but I didn’t think so.

He wouldn’t have had the time to think of such a strategy when he was desperately trying to escape after sacrificing all his agents.

“U-Um… Because it’s less crowded?”

Elaine blinked and offered her own answer.

“That’s possible. But normally, it would be better to blend in with a crowd.”

Armin was capable of doing that.

If he could break through the encirclement and blend in with the crowd, it would be extremely difficult to track him down.

“A-Ah, I-I see. Hmm, then… Maybe he’s trying to hide in nature?”

If not a crowd, then nature.

It was a logical deduction, worthy of a top student.

There was a dense forest to the west, as well as the large Lake Ariara.

It was a perfect environment to hide in.

But that also meant that it was a predictable escape route.

They must have stationed more troops on the forest path leading to Lake Ariara.

“Yes, that’s a possibility.”

I didn’t deny it.

But,

“Something doesn’t feel right.”

“What is it?”

“If it were me, I would choose a better method.”

I put myself in his shoes.

It was the best way to predict his actions.

Of course, it was based on the assumption that he was as cunning as me.

“What method?”

“Hide in plain sight.”

“Hide in plain sight?”

She tilted her head in confusion.

She didn’t seem to understand.

I explained, “Hide within the academy. In one of the buildings.”

“Is there a building suitable for that? He’ll be discovered eventually.”

“No, there’s one. A building that no one ever goes to.”

“…Is there really such a building?”

“Yes, there is. The Tower of Infinity.”

I replied with a meaningful smile.

The Tower of Infinity, which was only used once a year for practical training…

That strange tower was always swarming with monsters.

Naturally, no one ever went there.

If he hid inside…

Of course, it was insane to hide in a place full of dangerous monsters.

It was practically suicide.

But if he was the second-in-command of Red Rain, it was a different story.

He could survive for a week or two by eating monster meat and blood, and then escape when the encirclement was lifted.

“A-Ah! I-I see! There’s that place!”

She blinked rapidly, as if she had finally realized it.

“T-Then?”

“Yes, I think that’s his plan. Let’s move now. It’ll be troublesome if he enters the Tower of Infinity first.”

The Tower of Infinity was essentially a 100-story building.

If he entered the tower first, we would have to search all 100 floors.

We had to avoid that.

“A-Alright!”

She moved her hand.

We flew towards the Tower of Infinity.

* * *

‘Damn them, I’ll make them pay for this humiliation.’

Armin gritted his teeth as he crouched beneath a window, carefully observing his surroundings.

He, the second-in-command of Red Rain, was being forced to hide like a petty thief.

It was an unbearable humiliation.

Rage boiled within him.

But he had to endure it for now.

He had to survive.

He had to survive to take revenge.

His eyes narrowed coldly.

‘Good, the coast is clear.’

*Rustle, rustle.*

He crawled on all fours like an animal, keeping his body low.

It was a humiliating way to move.

But it couldn’t be helped.

He couldn’t be seen.

He would endure any humiliation for the sake of revenge.

He scanned the area outside the window.

It was a grassy slope.

Just as he remembered.

He could move through it without being seen.

‘In one go.’

He took a deep breath, opened the door silently, and dashed outside.

*Rustle, rustle, rustle.*

He crawled on his stomach, moving as fast as he could.

He was practically flat on the ground, blending in with the grass.

‘Alright, almost there.’

His eyes gleamed.

All he had to do was climb this slope.

His destination was at the top.

The Tower of Infinity.

‘Heh, they’ll never find me if I hide in the upper floors of the Tower of Infinity.’

He chuckled coldly.

No one would expect him to hide in plain sight.

They would think he had already escaped the academy and would be searching outside.

Of course, there was a small chance that they would search the Tower of Infinity.

But even if they did, it was a 100-story tower.

And not just any 100-story tower, but one that was swarming with monsters.

It would be a difficult task to search it thoroughly.

Especially the upper floors, where the most dangerous monsters resided.

‘They’ll never find me if I hide on the 90th floor or so.’

And,

‘They can’t maintain this level of security once the semester resumes. I’ll escape then.’

He smirked.

He was confident in his escape plan.

*Rustle, rustle, rustle!*

He climbed the slope.

The Tower of Infinity was just ahead.

And finally,

“Ha, hahaha!”

He couldn’t help but laugh triumphantly.

He had sacrificed all his agents, but…

No, they were the ones who had failed, since they hadn’t been able to catch him.

Which meant that he had won…

“What’s so funny?”

Huh?!

* * *

Armin froze, his eyes wide with shock.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

It was always fun to outsmart someone who thought they were so clever. It was like poking a hole in their carefully constructed plans.

I smirked and said, “Did you think you were the only one who could use your brain? You’re just a second-year brat. Don’t underestimate the world.”

“U-Ugh?”

His face turned red.

His fists trembled with rage.

“H-How did you find this place?!”

His voice trembled with anger.

I sneered.

“It was obvious. I know how people who think they’re smart think.”

“W-What?”

“You’re stupid.”

“Y-You cheating bastard!”

He was speechless.

His bloodshot eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

“I told you Max isn’t like that!”

Elaine shouted before I could even react.

T-Thanks, but you could have just ignored that part…

“Ugh, you’re so good at seducing innocent women. It’s disgusting.”

Armin suddenly calmed down and sneered.

“Heh, say whatever you want. It doesn’t affect me. You’re so predictable.”

I chuckled.

“What?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know that you’re trying to provoke me into a one-on-one fight?”

The stronger someone was, the bigger their ego.

They especially hated being outnumbered. It was a blow to their pride.

But I was different.

I was strong, but I didn’t have an ego.

It was foolish to make a fight harder than it had to be. That was my philosophy.

Why wouldn’t I use my numerical advantage?

Only an idiot would do that.

“Y-You bastard! If you’re a man! If you’re a hero! If you’re a duke! Then fight me one-on-one! Don’t hide behind a woman!”

He shouted, frustrated by my nonchalant attitude.

He knew that he would be at a disadvantage if he had to fight both Elaine and me.

“I’m not hiding? I’m going to fight alongside her.”

“Y-You coward!”

“Yes, yes, I’m a coward. So get ready. Or I’ll attack you cowardly.”

He flinched and took a step back.

And then his face turned red when he realized how he had reacted.

“Y-You bastard! Fine! Let’s do this! I’ll show you how strong the second-in-command of Red Rain is!”

BOOM!

An immense aura exploded from him.

‘…This energy?’

I frowned.

It wasn’t just human energy.

It was mixed with something else.

A primal, destructive energy.

“Don’t tell me you’ve…”

“Hahaha! Yes, it’s the Dark God’s energy! I’ve embedded a fragment of the Dark God within my body!”

He laughed maniacally.

I realized immediately.

A fragment of the Dark God.

He had embedded it within his body.

It probably wasn’t as powerful as the fragments that were embedded in the Saint and the Great Sage, but even other fragments were enough to grant superhuman power.

If you embraced the Dark God’s power instead of resisting it.

My eyes narrowed.

“Be careful, Elaine.”

“…Yes.”

Her expression hardened.

But her eyes were filled with determination.

She was determined to stop this primal evil.

“Hahaha, did you think you could defeat me in a two-on-one fight? You’ll regret that!”

His eyes gleamed with madness, fueled by the Dark God’s energy.

The atmosphere was tense.

It was then that,

“Who said it was a two-on-one fight?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“P-Professor?”

We all turned our heads.

And there she was.

My fiancée, Regina Erenbert.

“It’s a three-on-one fight.”

Regina sneered.

“No, it’s a four-on-one fight, sister.”

Another person appeared.

Another familiar face.

Sister Marianna, the Guardian Knight.

“U-Ugh?! W-What is this?!”

Armin’s face contorted in frustration.

My face, on the other hand, brightened.

“Heh, it seems like my social skills have won. You should have built a wider social circle instead of relying on the Dark God.”

I, the one with a one-sided social circle, gave him a piece of advice.