episode_0032

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The sword slowly walked and wielded the holy sword. Light shoots out.

The swordplay sweeping from the holy sword, refined by mana, is different in nature from the black magic that controls a unit of mana. It is opposite to my black magic that controls a unit of mana. The power of the royal family is gradually weakening.

“Ugh..!”

Even hastily gathering mana to create a shield and then supporting it with black magic, it was not easy to block. The frightening fact is that the sword has not yet used its inherent power. It only pours out swordplay through the power of the holy sword. It was dizzying to think that someday, I would grow and combine the power of mana and the holy sword to shoot.

“Calm down, and listen to what I have to say…!!”

Zap-

Chain Lightning.

I spread my hands to send out electricity without controlling the power, trying to clear his mind. It’s a higher-level magic of lightning that I used when defeating Fabian’s spell. Out of some sense of injustice, I used the maximum allowed mana with chain lightning. I won’t die from this, will I?

The sword held the holy sword straight. Towards the rapidly pouring current.

Crack-!

The wave of light spreading from the holy sword blocked all the current. It would be more appropriate to say it absorbed them. It was so simple as to be anticlimactic.

‘This artifact is really a scam.’

Even now, I can’t feel the sword’s mana. Apart from the mana I released when I first saw it and summoned the holy sword, I am only fighting with the power of the holy sword.

Some people can’t even demonstrate their abilities because of that damn artifact…

Come to think of it… if my abilities are weakening, what about Fabian..?

The dense darkness, the magic that enveloped me, noticeably diminished. It means that the ability to control a unit of mana is losing its grip.

I turned my head and looked for Fabian, who had been tucked away in the corner. He had regained control of his body and was running frantically toward the entrance.

“This is not the time, he’s escaping!”

“….”

The sword slightly turned his head to look at Fabian and lightly swung the holy sword to release the swordplay.

Swoosh-

Fabian urgently pulled something out of his pocket. Sensing the powerful mana emanating from it, he immediately recognized its identity.

The horn of Eligos.

A bronze-colored relic that also appeared like a horn flute.

Raising the horn towards the flying sword, a massive magic circle emerged. The crimson magic circle was entirely inscribed with grotesque symbols.

With a bang, the magic circle and the sword collided and neutralized each other. In the meantime, Fabian fled out of the door. This was serious; wandering around the academy with such an item…!

I tried to chase after him.

Just as when entering the classroom, I could use spatial movement. Concentrating on gathering mana, I prepared for spatial movement. Now, recalling the path and directing my mana towards the desired space…

!!!

Grrr—

Someone interfered with the trajectory of the mana I was sending for spatial movement. The only person here was the man in front of me. Unfamiliar with magic, he noticed that I was concentrating and emitting mana, so he mixed his own mana and sent it along with mine.

In other words, he obstructed my spatial movement. If I had ignored it and activated the spell, I would have been caught in the crevice of space. Spatial movement is such a dangerous and difficult magic.

“Don’t interfere. You know how dangerous that guy is…?”

“Not as dangerous as you. Don’t worry, I’ll go stop him. I’ll check inside that helmet first.”

“You…!! You idiot!!!!”

Crack!

I gathered mana in both hands.

A lightning spear in the left hand, an ice spear in the right hand.

Seeing him aiming the sword at me again, anger surged within me. It felt like talking to a wall. There was simply no way to communicate.

Now, I had no choice either.

*

“Gasp, cough..!”

Fabian ran as if possessed.

Like a herbivore fleeing from a predator.

He ran as if his heart would burst, without even a moment to look back.

Flapping in the wind, the robe continued to run until it could no longer flutter due to breathlessness.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the dormitory room. If the plan succeeded, it was a place he didn’t need to return to.

Clank-

Only after closing the door could he catch his breath.

It was unimaginable that the heir of the Mayner family would appear with the Holy Sword. He must be affiliated with the Imperial Guard, but how could he possess such power…? And an unidentified sorcerer wielding the power of the royal family as well…

Recalling the moment when control over his body was taken away, he couldn’t help but shiver. It was a terrifying experience. If not for Eligos’s horn, he would have been drawn into their fight and died.

“T-Thank goodness. Th-thanks to you… I’m alive.”

Taking out Eligos’s horn from his embrace, he spoke. It seemed like he was talking to himself, but as his words ended, the horn faintly glowed.

‘It’s all thanks to Lord Eligos.’

‘For him, for what he desires, I can do anything.’

From the moment he could hear Eligos’s voice in his head, Fabian’s life changed.

Everything, from bringing him here from the fallen noble house of a forgotten kingdom, to enabling him to exact revenge on those who scorned him, to the immense power he would gain in the future—all of it, he thought, was thanks to Eligos.

Now it was time for him to repay that debt.

“Fresh second-class students of the School of Magic will surely please Lord Eligos.”

Fabian’s actions, consumed by madness, were ruthless. First, he threw his roommate to the monsters. Then it was the turn of the students attending the magic potion lecture. But his plans went awry because of the sudden appearance of two individuals.

“W-Well, I guess there’s no other choice. I’ll have to find a different, different offering..!”

Now, while the heir of the Mayner family and the helmeted sorcerer were distracted, was the chance. He had to find another sacrifice. Only then could he obtain Eligos’s power.

That was when it happened.

“!”

Fabian felt a presence that shouldn’t have been there.

Certainly, there should be no one in this room. His roommate who used to be in the room is no longer of this world…?

“Fabian Le Fevre.”

“W-who’s there!”

A clear and deep voice was heard. It was a voice full of resonance as if it had learned vocalization. On the other hand, Fabian’s voice calling out into the darkness of the room was filled with irregular tones and tremors.

Thud—

“There aren’t many summoning-specialized mages at the academy.”

Thud—

“It’s hard to find professors, let alone students.”

The owner of the voice spoke, approaching slowly from within the darkness.

“They say they tore the corpse in the museum’s basement into pieces in all directions. At first, I wondered if they held a grudge. Why would they vandalize it so much?”

He slowly revealed himself from a corner untouched by the moonlight coming through the window.

A man wearing glasses. A man with an infinitely calm demeanor was waiting for Fabian. He was a figure that any academy student would recognize.

“T-the student council president…?!”

“Looking at it from a different perspective, the answer comes. The culprit is not alone. There is a fierce companion. There is a companion, but they did not go underground together.”

“H-how did you come here…”

Student council president David continued his words while adjusting his glasses. His hair, illuminated by the moonlight, appeared even darker than its usual deep navy color.

“No matter how foolish the museum employee who guides forbidden areas as a side job may be, they wouldn’t have taken more than two people in at once….”

“….”

“So, we can consider that the culprit called the companion after entering the underground area with Eligos’s horn.”

Before he knew it, David had walked up to Fabian.

“What do you think? I want to hear your opinion as someone skilled in summoning.”

“….”

“Second-class Fabian? No, it’s better to call you like this. Demon summoner Fabian.”

Fabian saw David looking down at himself beyond his glasses. His bright and unflustered eyes. In many ways, a person contrasting Fabian himself.

Looking around, no other presence was felt. Fabian rejoiced inwardly. Even if it were a professor or a security guard, coming alone without fear, especially if the opponent is the student council president with horns of Eligos. It was clear that the opponent was underestimating him.

“Th-the blood of the s-student council president… You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Fabian muttered an unknown soliloquy. At least to David, it seemed so.

“W-well then…! The blood of the student council!!!”

Fabian contorted his face grotesquely, as if his red, engorged eyes were about to burst. Drool flowed from his mouth, and he laughed as if about to tear apart. As he spread his arms, a huge magic circle appeared.

-Creak.

-Kyahhh!

-Grrr-!

From within the magic circle, a group of demons sprang out. They were monsters ravenous for blood.

David faced them without any particular agitation.

“It’s as good as a confession. Well, just by looking at the room filled with bloodstains, it was quite certain.”

Swoosh-

After finishing his sentence, he raised his hand to the hilt of the sword hanging from his waist.

“There are so many things I want to hear, Fabian.”

“H-haha… Hahahaha.. Hahahahahaha..!”

The fight between the remarkably calm man and the already insane man was about to begin.

Their fight was also a fight not found in the original work.