episode_0069

-Kwagwang!

“Kick kick!”

“There!”

Dodging the ice magic attacks from possessed Tia, I continued the pursuit.

It seemed like over 30 minutes had passed already.

The exam would end tomorrow at the crack of dawn.

Though it was deep into the night now, if this situation persisted…

“I need to hurry!”

My heart raced with urgency.

At that moment, in the distance, I could see other examinees taking the test.

It was a pair consisting of a male and a female student.

“Kick kick!”

“Just a moment…!”

Ignoring my words, Tia approached them.

Unaware of anything, they rejoiced holding the fairy tears in their hands until they sensed our presence and turned to look at us.

I urgently shouted to them.

“Everyone, watch out!”

“…?”

“Kick kick!”

-Kwakwa!

“Eek!”

“What, what’s happening!”

Tia, running at an incredible speed, collided with a female student who was holding the fairy tears in her hand.

As the girl let go of the tears into the air, Tia quickly caught them and started running away again.

“What are you doing! Give it back quickly!”

“Ugh!”

“Sorry, guys!”

“Kick kick kick kick.”

It was chaotic.

After gesturing an apology to them with clasped hands, I resumed chasing Tia.

But this incident wasn’t a one-time occurrence.

“Huh?! My, my fairy tears-!”

“Give it back!”

“Hey! Are you guys crazy?! Stop right there!”

“Capture them!”

Repeatedly, Tia snatched the fairy tears from the kids using the same method and fled.

Every time, after the kids had their tears taken, I had no choice but to apologize to them and chase after Tia.

“Kick kick kick kick!”

“Argh! This troublemaker…!”

Tia’s arms were already full of fairy tears.

It seemed like she was determined to sweep up all the nearby fairy tears.

“What the heck are you guys?!”

“Sorry!”

“Kick kick.”

How many times did this cycle repeat?

Tia started running towards a group of two female students, seemingly planning to snatch their fairy tears.

However, the backs of this particular group seemed oddly familiar.

“They are…!”

One had neatly tied black hair in a ponytail and wore a swordsmanship club armor.

The other had flowing long blonde hair and wore a spirit department uniform shirt.

I shouted to them.

“Lucy! Aria! Run away quickly!”

“Huh? Sir Cyan?”

“Cyan? What’s going on here-”

-Understood!

“Eek!”

“Lu-Lucy?!”

“Kick kick kick kick.”

Using the same method, Tia snatched the fairy tears from Lucy and made a run for it.

In response, Lucy and Aria began chasing after her angrily.

“Cyan! What are you doing! I didn’t expect you to engage in such wicked deeds! Stop right there!”

“We obtained those fairy tears fair and square! Give them back! Obtain them through legitimate means!”

“Oh, no, it’s not like that!”

The number of pursuers suddenly doubled.

An ironic situation. While running alongside them, I explained the situation.

Upon hearing this, Lucy was greatly surprised.

“What?! Possession…! Wait, shouldn’t a contracted spirit user be immune to possession by corrupt spirits…?”

“Tia is not a spirit user who made a contract with a spirit! That’s why she has no immunity!”

“Regardless, this is a big problem! Cyan, I’ll block the path first! Take advantage of the opening with Lucy!”

At that moment, Aria explosively enhanced her body with magic and leaped faster than Tia.

In an instant, Aria reached in front of Tia. She swung her sword toward Tia.

-Kwakwakwakwa!

“Kick…?!”

“Aria! Be careful! It’s still Tia’s body!”

“I know! That’s why I’m just restricting her movements!”

Having evaded Aria’s attack, Tia finally stopped in her tracks.

She realized she couldn’t run anymore. With Aria blocking her in the front and Lucy and me forming a triangle around her from behind, she reluctantly faced us, her eyes now wary.

“Kick…”

I also looked around.

Before I knew it, I had ventured deep inside.

The atmosphere had become more sinister than before, with eerily grey plants and a desolate field devoid of any trees…

“This is bad. Have I entered the central area, which is a restricted zone?”

In the center, one might encounter high-level corrupted spirits or ghouls tainted by corpses.

If we delay any longer, we might lose the chance to save Tia.

“Lucy! What should we do now?!”

“We need to deplete the corrupted spirit’s magic completely until it reaches the point where it can possess residual magic!”

I said to Lucy beside me.

“…But that will take too long. Other spirits might come in that gap and possess Tia.”

“Then what…! Do we just keep chasing her?!”

“It’s shameless, but I have a plan.”

I shouted to Aria, who was confronting Tia in front.

“Aria! Buy some time with Lucy!”

“Do you have a trick up your sleeve?!”

“Yes! Just let me get close enough to Tia to make contact!”

“Got it!”

Sensing danger, Tia began chanting spirit magic.

Geometric patterns glowing blue appeared in magical circles on her sides and above her head.

“Where?!”

At that moment, Lucy touched the ground.

Instantly, a magical circle formed, and spirits poured out of it.

“Growl! Growl!”

“Growl!”

Four wind-element wolf spirits obedient to the contractor emerged. They immediately understood Lucy’s intention and lunged at Tia.

“Kick…!”

Tia swiftly crafted ice spears in mid-air as the wolf spirits approached her.

She then swiped the spears, sweeping away the four wolf spirits charging towards her.

The wolf spirits dodged the attack and continued pressuring Tia, when Aria rushed towards her.

“Haap!”

-Clang!

Tia’s ice spear clashed with Aria’s sword.

Aria hadn’t cast Aura. If she had exchanged blows with Tia using Aura, Tia’s ice spear would have shattered and hit her directly.

“You’re doing great, Aria! Keep it up!”

I ran with all my strength.

The distance between Tia and me was closing. Tia glanced at me briefly but was preoccupied with Aria, unable to move.

It was the perfect opportunity.

I enveloped Tia from behind as if hugging her and aimed my sword at her throat.

Aria quickly stepped back.

“Kikik….”

Feeling the threat to her life, Tia hesitated to move rashly. I immediately placed my hand on her waist.

‘I’ll absorb all of Tia’s magic like this…!’

For a moment, a blue light surrounded me.

The Magic Sword began to shine brightly, absorbing Tia’s magic and the magic of the spirit she possessed.

“…!”

Realizing the change in her body, Tia tried to resist, but it was too late.

The Magic Sword rapidly absorbed the magic, transmitting the excess beyond its capacity into my body.

“Ki….”

The corrupted spirit, now devoid of magic, released its possession of Tia and emerged from her body.

“Aria! Now!”

“….!”

Upon hearing my words, Aria immediately infused Aura into her sword.

Swish!

Aria swiftly struck down the corrupted spirit that emerged. The spirit lost its form and gradually dissipated into thin air.

Exhausted and powerless, Tia collapsed.

“Is it over…?”

“Yes.”

I took one of the many fairy tears from the grip of Tia’s hand and handed it to Aria.

Finally realizing that the situation had ended, Lucy sighed in relief and asked, “Phew… I thought we were in big trouble. By the way, Cyan, what did you just do?”

“I’ll explain later. We are in the center of the Enchanted Forest. We need to leave quickly for safety.”

“What! We’ve already reached the center?!”

We had delayed too long.

The center of the Enchanted Forest is a restricted zone. Even during exams, instructors strictly forbid entry into that area.

Soon, due to the strong aura emanating from the tears shed by Tia’s dozens of fairies, corrupted spirits and ghouls would gather.

Fairy tears are crystallized entities containing magic and aura.

With a suitable host, corrupted spirits could potentially advance a level by harnessing the energy within fairy tears. Ghouls, too, might evolve into superior beings by consuming fairy tears.

We must quickly move away from the epicenter.

With Tia in tow, I sprinted back towards the path we had taken with Lucy and Aria.

Our running speed significantly decreased due to the exhaustion of our energy and magic from pursuing Tia and engaging in battles.

While I managed to recover some energy by absorbing Tia’s magic, Lucy and Aria seemed quite drained, their breathing ragged.

“Just a bit more strength-”

“Grrraaaww….”

Then, a few ghouls staggered into view before us.

Given Aria and Lucy’s weary state, it was up to me to act.

-Clang! Swish!

“Everyone, we need to move faster! I will handle the appearing spirits and ghouls, so pick up the pace!”

“Huff, huff… We want to go faster too!”

“My armor and sword weigh me down; I can’t push myself any further!”

“Grrraaaww….”

“Keeheeheeheehee!”

Ghouls emerged from all directions.

Simultaneously, a powerful force was felt, even more intense than the intermediate corrupted spirit that had possessed Tia earlier.

They were faster than us.

We ran at full speed without hesitation, but…

“Grrraaaww….”

“Grrraaww, aaaww….”

“Keeheeheeheeheehee!”

“…Looks like we’re surrounded.”

“What do we do now, Cyan?”

We can fight a little longer. But… dealing with this many foes is too much.

Ghouls and what appeared to be a superior corrupted spirit, their leader, had encircled us.

In an instant, they pressed in on us like drawing a circle, exerting pressure.