Clown

As I returned to our temporary shelter, everyone was sitting on the ground, taking a break, seemingly having finished their respective tasks. Being late October, the weather was neither hot nor cold, perfect for outdoor activities.

“Why are you back alone? Where’s Roel?”

At Edward’s question, I scratched my forehead and replied.

“He went to scout the surroundings.”

In fact, it wasn’t just a simple scouting mission. I asked Roel-nim to kill the Kraken when the volcano rumbles 10 times. Asking one person to handle a team battle mission might seem like an unreasonable request at first glance, but it’s not that difficult for a Transcendental.

In the first place, it’s not a real monster, just magic made with elaborate illusions. With Roel-nim’s skills, who could kill a real Kraken, dealing with illusions alone would be more than enough.

And the most important reason for making this request was that we needed to be separated from Roel-nim. It eliminated the variable of Roel-nim smashing Eunice’s plan with brute force, like in the original flow.

From the opponent’s perspective, Roel-nim, the most dangerous opponent, is absent. Eunice, who is surely watching us from somewhere, won’t miss this opportunity.

KUNG―――!!!

The ground shakes with a roar. Smoke pours from the volcano, and the ground vibrates faintly.

It felt like a starting signal for the game, as tension spread around us.

“T-There, over there…!”

At Ophelia’s shout, everyone’s gaze turned to the sea. Bubbles started to form on the surface of the water, and then a giant tentacle popped out.

Not just one, but an incredibly large number of terrifying tentacles were emerging, heading towards the island.

“I-It’s here…!”

At Marie’s shout, something rose from the sea. A bizarrely shaped octopus, the Kraken.

The Kraken, glistening with dirty, slimy mucus and standing tall in the middle of the sea with its overwhelming size, let out an incomprehensible shriek.

Kuaaaaaaet―――!!!

As if that shriek was a signal, Naga minions appeared on the shore along with the waves. As everyone stood up to prepare for battle at the sight, a high-frequency sound echoed around us.

Bbiing――!

Casius, who turned his head sharply, shouted loudly.

“Detection magic! Enemies are approaching from the west!”

“They’re coming from the north too! It’s Muzeion!”

At Edward’s urgent words, I glanced to the east. The Academy Alliance was in the west and north, and Naga’s minions were covering the coast to the south. It felt too obvious that they were trying to lure us to the east, so I was a little disappointed. Did they think they could defeat us with just this much of a scheme? If it’s just to induce a simple melee, I’m going to get serious.

“Don’t panic, just defend this place. Hyung will be back soon after assessing the situation.”

At my calm voice, the seniors nodded with tense expressions.

Actually, it’s a lie. Roel-nim isn’t coming back. No matter what happens, he promised to catch the Kraken without returning.

At that moment, Ellie suddenly lowered her head and looked at the ground. Ellie, who felt something, raised her head and looked at me. Feeling the vibration under my feet and that gaze, I instinctively shouted.

“Run to the east!”

I pushed Casius, who was standing in front of me, in the back. Casius, who didn’t understand the situation, looked at me as if asking why I was pushing him, then his body tilted.

Kwaaaang―!

Kugugung―!

With an explosion and a huge vibration, the ground of the hill we were standing on collapsed and began to be swept down towards the shore where the Naga’s minions were. Fortunately, the seniors, who reacted to the warning late, used magic to cross to the other side.

I grew the vine seeds I had prepared in advance to create a new foothold. I grabbed Casius, who was struggling to keep his balance, and ran across the vine. By a narrow margin, we kicked off the collapsing vine and managed to reach the other side.

Kuaaaaat―!!!

As the ground collapsed, a gentle slope leading to the shore was created. With thick dust, the Naga’s minions screamed horribly and began to climb the slope.

“I-It’s coming…!”

“Enemies everywhere!”

“Prepare to fight!”

From the beginning, Eunice intended to lure us here by force. She deliberately made it obvious that she was trying to lure us, making us suspect her intentions and preventing us from moving, and then collapsed the ground of the hill with magic. It’s a strategy that fits the saying ‘appearing weak while being strong.’

Unlike the seniors who were flustered by the unexpected development, there were two people who remained calm. One was Ellie, who was preparing magic as if she was enjoying it, and the other was Ilia, who had no expression as if she didn’t care what happened.

I quickly assessed the situation and ordered.

“I’ll block the Naga in the back, so Ilia, Edward-sunbae take the right, and the rest take the left!”

I didn’t just have vine seeds. I took out the tree seeds I had gathered while looking around earlier and threw them towards the slope where the Naga’s minions were rushing in. It was an attempt to at least grab their ankles and prevent us from being attacked from both sides. But Eunice had already anticipated my response.

The fire magic that flew from somewhere struck the rapidly growing tree directly. Because the wind was blowing from the shore towards us, heat and thick smoke enveloped the area. Casius, who was confused by the chaotic screams and noises, stumbled backward and collided with Marie, who was preparing a vial of potion. Marie almost dropped the vial she was holding and screamed.

“Casius, you crazy bastard! Get a grip!”

“S-Sorry!”

I grabbed Casius by the scruff of his neck and pulled him towards me. I couldn’t see because of the thick smoke, but I could smell the fishy odor nearby. Then, a rusty sword passed through the smoke, cutting through the air where Casius had been standing just a moment ago. I blocked the attack of the barnacle humans who appeared with a spear and shouted to Ellie.

“Ellie, you have to blow up the slope!”

Ellie, who heard my words, immediately turned around and prepared synthesis magic. I blew up the head of a barnacle human approaching Ellie and checked the situation behind me over my shoulder.

“Push…!!!”

At the same time as someone’s shout was heard, a huge rock broke through the thick smoke and rolled towards us.

Ophelia, who was in front, hurriedly waved her staff and created a water barrier.

Kwawaaaang―――!

The water barrier that sprang up from the ground threw the rolling rock high into the sky. Thanks to that, the barnacle humans who were climbing up the slope were swept away by the fallen rock as if they had been hit by a cannon.

Except for the Naga’s minions, the other academies haven’t shown themselves yet. They’re just keeping us in check from outside the smoke. I wondered what Eunice was aiming for, and thinking in reverse, I realized that Eunice’s response to the tree I made to block the slope was very fast, and that she had investigated things about me.

If so, there was no way Eunice wouldn’t know about my most famous rumor, what I did in the survival exam. She must have planned a scheme to use it against me, thinking that I would definitely use fire attacks. The strongest artifact that the Transcendence team obtained is also a newly developed artifact from the Red Magic Tower. That’s information that other academies also know.

Realizing that fact, I threw seeds towards the side where the rock had rolled from and grew trees. The trees that grew rapidly blocked the rolling rock with their bodies.

“Thanks!”

Edward gave me a thumbs up, seemingly happy that we had cover. Since it wasn’t a good intention, I silently raised my head and looked at the sky. As it was the last game, a scoreboard where you could check the scores in real-time was floating in the air. After quickly calculating the scores, I approached Ellie and whispered.

“Ellie, no matter what happens, don’t worry about anyone else.”

If it’s Ilia, who has similar skills to Roel-nim, and the genius magician Ellie, they’ll survive no matter what happens.

At my nonsensical request, Ellie turned her head and looked up at me askance, then asked with a happy smile.

“Are you planning to do something bad?”

Her obsidian-like eyes sparkled as she looked at me.

“Yeah. I can’t explain it in detail right now. But when the game is over, you’ll definitely say it was fun.”

At my answer, Ellie nodded with a seductive smile. Her expression showed that she would look forward to my guarantee.

“Okay. Since Ross said so, I’ll be excited and look forward to it. Don’t disappoint me.”

At Ellie’s answer, I smiled and threw seeds towards the ground.

Now, the finale of the long-running farce is approaching.

***

“They’re definitely going to use the Red Magic Tower’s artifact to change the situation! Aim for that moment and use the artifacts together!”

At Eunice’s shout, the leader of Muzeion and the leader of Arcadia nodded at the same time.

Eunice, who finally came to her senses late after the 2nd grade game yesterday, immediately called other academy teams and explained the plan she had come up with.

In order to counterattack the Red Magic Tower’s artifact that the Transcendence team had preemptively secured, she deliberately brought an artifact related to the Green Magic Tower’s wind magic.

The information Eunice obtained also included the survival exam where Ross became the top of the combat department. If it’s Ross, who looks down on other academies with his arrogant personality shown in the triathlon, he definitely won’t be able to stand the frustration and will rashly use the artifact.

Kuuuung―――!

Once again, the ground shook with a roar, and the smoke coming from the volcano became thicker. With this, the volcano has rumbled for the 5th time. Eunice was recording it, not forgetting that lava would erupt on the 13th time. She needed to quickly deal with Transcendence Academy, manipulate the scores, and then catch the Kraken to achieve the goal of a surprise joint victory that would surprise everyone.

“T-There! The sky!”

At someone’s shout, Eunice raised her head and looked at the sky. There was Ross, standing on the branches of a giant tree that had grown through the smoke.

Ross, who looked down at the surroundings with an arrogant gaze, found Eunice and reached out his arm.

Eunice, who noticed that the flow of magic around him was changing centered on the bracelet Ross was wearing, shouted loudly.

“It’s here! Everyone prepare…!!!”

At Eunice’s shout, the participants wearing the artifact bracelets reached out towards Ross.

The space shimmered like a mirage, and something appeared in front of Ross.

It was a giant bird engulfed in flames.

Kkiiiiit―――!

As the phoenix flapped its wings with a short cry, a huge storm of flames burned everything and approached Eunice. It felt like the surrounding air temperature had risen rapidly in an instant.

“Now!!!”

At Eunice’s shout, 8 artifacts were used at the same time. Instantly, a strong wind blew like a typhoon, reversing the flow of the air currents. The storm of flames, pushed back by the wind, covered the Transcendence team as it was and headed towards the shore, burning all of Naga’s minions.

Just as Eunice was about to shout with joy, the giant tree that had grown collapsed. Ross, who landed in front of Eunice, gnashed his teeth. Oliver quickly hid Eunice behind him. Perhaps he had still taken some damage, as the color of the shock-absorbing artifact attached to Ross’s chest had changed. Ross, who frowned as if he had been insulted, let out a roar.

“You trash who don’t know your place…!”

Strangely, Eunice felt like Ross, who said that, had smiled very faintly.