Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Killing the Talented Freaks (4)

“Damn it, I nearly got roasted alive.”

I dusted off my slightly scorched combat uniform and frowned.

That flame-wielding narrow-eyed bastard should have held back a little. 

I had nearly been eliminated.

“Wow…….”

Viole, who was running alongside me, looked at me as if she were looking at some kind of thug.

“You really know how to fight.”

“It was thanks to your blessing.”

“If things had gone just a little better, I think you could have taken Jaeger’s band too.”

“Forget it. It was already impressive enough that we managed to run away like this.”

I smirked and raised the hand that was gripping a bundle of bands.

“We swiped the other guys’ bands anyway.”

After checking the bands of the students who had been dragged into the fight, they amounted to a total of 40 points.

If Viole and I split those points evenly, it would be 20 points each.

With that, I had filled all 200 points I had aimed for.

“Ah, let’s hurry up and go. I do not want to be eliminated.”

Viole grumbled in an utterly fed-up tone.

Now we would pass as long as we entered the Ice Castle, but… there was one thing bothering me.

Had Yulia passed already?

Yulia in the previous round had passed through the Ice Castle faster than anyone else.

I hoped this round was not too different, but.

I had to check.

Even now, I could still sense the flow of curses guiding me because of the Detection Curse.

One was Viole, who was currently beside me, and the other was Yulia.

That was why I could sense where Yulia was right now.

‘…Damn it.’

The moment I sensed her location, I had no choice but to frown.

No wonder I had a bad feeling.

It was a good thing I had given Yulia a water bottle with the Detection Curse attached to it, just in case.

Yulia in the previous round had passed through the Ice Castle faster than anyone else in this survival class.

Yes. 

That was how it was supposed to happen, but…….

Yulia, that damn girl, still had not gone into the Ice Castle.

By now, she should have had more than enough time to pass.

Even though she had reached a distance where she could easily pass through the Ice Castle, she was not entering it and was instead continuing to wander around the area.

She was clearly looking for someone.

…And I had a feeling I knew who Yulia was looking for.

Lucia Dorg.

Yulia must have sensed something alien from Lucia during the spar they had this morning.

The madness embedded in Lucia’s body.

‘This is troublesome.’

The situation had changed noticeably from the previous round.

This… could become dangerous.

TAP.

I stopped walking.

“…From here on, let’s go separately.”

“Huh? Why? We are almost there.”

“I want to earn a few more points. It is not often that I get a chance to obtain a dragon’s treasure, you know?”

At my shameless answer, Viole’s face went cold with disapproval.

“Sigh! Your greed……. I will not be responsible if you get eliminated, all right?”

She ran toward the Ice Castle as if telling me to do whatever I wanted.

I also advanced through the jungle, following the flow where Yulia was being detected.

***

Somewhere in the jungle near the Ice Castle.

BOOM! BANG! BAM!

A series of shockwaves that seemed to strike the air burst out one after another, and more than ten students were sent flying backward just like that.

“Hoo…….”

SWISH…….

Lucia lightly inhaled, and one of her feet drew a circle as she straightened her posture again.

Together with both wrists bent at almost right angles.

Her movements were so smooth that they seemed agile beyond measure.

Even now, more than twenty first-year students were still surrounding her, each pointing a weapon at her.

From the outside, it seemed as if the students were overwhelming her, but the reality was the opposite.

Even though they were holding combat stances, the students’ complexions were not merely pale. 

They looked horrified.

“This is insane…….”

“Why are our attacks not working?”

“Does it make sense for her to dodge everything and hit us back?”

The first-year students nearby had gathered together to get past Lucia, but they had not managed to land even a single proper effective hit on her.

The physical abilities unique to the Beastfolk must have played a large role, but among the first-year students facing her, there were Beastfolk mixed in as well.

It was not a difference in race.

It was a clear difference in skill and talent.

“She is not even using a weapon, and she is not using Beast Transformation either…….”

That was the biggest reason the students were shaken.

Aside from their animal ears and tails, the appearance of the Beastfolk did not differ greatly from humans, but they were born with the trait of being able to transform parts of their bodies closer to beasts.

However, Lucia’s arms and hands were currently in human form, without fur or claws.

She was overwhelming them with pure physical techniques alone, without transforming any part of her body into that of a beast.

No, it would be more accurate to say she was going easy on them.

“Uuugh…….”

“Cough……. Kgh…….”

The students who had just been knocked away gasped for breath and got back to their feet.

However, the bands they were wearing had not been cut.

She had deliberately controlled her strength so that the first-year students’ bands would not be severed.

Thinking she had entertained them enough, Lucia relaxed her stance.

“…Do you want to keep going?”

The students flinched, but without giving any particular reply, she pointed behind herself.

“A-are you letting us go?”

The students looked bewildered.

“I guess I do not have a hobby of bullying my juniors……. Be careful not to run into other seniors on the way. They will not deal with you as moderately as I did.”

“T-thank you.”

“We will definitely pass!”

The first-year students repeatedly expressed their gratitude as they moved away.

This was why she had a good reputation in Saengterminum.

Even though she was widely known as someone considerably skilled among the second-year students, she did not act arrogant.

A person who was blunt yet skilled, and who nevertheless quietly showed goodwill to others.

That was Lucia Dorg.

And it was the mask she wore to hide the fact that she was a Demon Cult Leader.

‘…It is laughable, really.’

Lucia herself knew that all of this was hypocrisy.

However, living in Saengterminum while acting like a kind student, even like this, was the only comfort she currently had.

The comfort that she was the same as everyone else.

She had to soothe this troubled heart somehow in order to endure her current situation, did she not?

Because there was no one who knew her secret.

…Ah.

“…That is not true.”

Recently, one person had come to know about her.

Aron Bayonel.

The one who was even hiding his identity in Saengterminum under the name “Damon David.”

Fleeing the Dark Empire, making a contract with a demon, hiding his identity in Saengterminum…….

‘I suppose he truly is the Mad Dog…….’

Even though he was clearly a junior in a similar situation to hers, his attitude was not only light, but also insolent.

To think that someone like that was the child of a noble family as prestigious as hers. 

It was absurd.

She had seriously wondered more than once whether his mind had truly gone mad.

However.

‘It was… a little comforting.’

Sharing a secret she had hidden for more than five years with someone else.

For her, that fact alone made the guilt that had been weighing heavily on her feel a little lighter.

Though the person in question had probably not noticed.

Just as the corners of Lucia’s mouth were about to rise slightly while she thought of Aron.

“They said you were a Grade 2 senior from the year above. Indeed, your skill is convincing enough.”

“You are…….”

A long-haired man with blond hair and blue eyes.

“Lloyd Desmond…….”

“So you know me after all.”

Lloyd, who had appeared at some point, gave her an elegant greeting while keeping a distance of about fifty meters from her.

GRRRR…….

GROOOAN…….

GRRRK…….

While accompanied by twenty undead monsters.

One Mid-Rank Undead, an Undead Orc.

And nineteen Elementary Undead created from the corpses of Low-Rank Monsters.

“…There are a lot.”

It was a considerable number.

To handle that many undead at the same time despite his young age. 

Lucia thought that he was indeed worthy of being a child of one of the Four Great Houses, just like herself.

Well, he could not be compared to Aron, who used all types of Black Magic.

“Why did you come to me in particular?”

With Lloyd’s skill, he could have used those undead to push past the other seniors and pass easily enough.

However, Lucia was Grade 2 and stood among the upper ranks even among the second-year students. 

No matter how capable Lloyd was, he could not guarantee victory.

“If one is a child of the Four Great Houses, one must naturally show a presence befitting that position.”

“If that is the case… then I suppose I do not need to go easy on you either.”

CRACK.

Lucia transformed both arms into beast arms and lowered her body to approach Lloyd.

SNAP.

Lloyd also stretched both hands forward to control the undead with greater precision.

RUMBLE!

The battle between two Grade 2 students had just begun.

***

“…Found her.”

Yulia hid herself behind a nearby tree and watched the situation.

RUMBLE……. BOOM!

KYAAAAK!

Lloyd and Lucia were engaged in battle.

Lucia was trying to approach Lloyd, while Lloyd was agilely controlling his undead, blocking her approach while attempting to restrict her movements.

‘Fortunately, their skills seem similar.’

Yulia felt relieved.

If the battle was so close that it was difficult to tell who held the advantage, then it would be difficult for them to discover her as she continued hiding here.

And that meant neither of them would notice until she finished casting her Holy Magic.

SWISH…….

Yulia carefully drew her sword and swept the blade with her index and middle fingers, both filled with Holy Power.

WOOOONG.

Yulia’s sword hummed faintly.

The casting time was somewhat long, but it boasted a correspondingly certain effect.

A High-Rank Holy Magic.

Simplified Holy Ground.

The formula was vividly engraved onto the sword’s blade, using the blade itself as a medium.

***

“Whew……. Am I not too late?”

I crouched at a distance where Yulia would not notice me and caught my rough breath.

Still, it was fortunate that I had arrived in time. 

I had pushed myself quite hard because I had run here immediately after parting from Viole.

“Let’s see…….”

I took a pair of binoculars out of my Subspace Bag and looked at Yulia.

When I confirmed the motion Yulia was making, I clicked my tongue.

“You are still as rigid as ever, aren’t you?”

There were many formulas that could be activated by infusing a sword with Holy Power, but there was probably only one Holy Magic that took that long to cast.

“Simplified Holy Ground…….”

A Holy Magic that declared the area around the caster to be holy ground.

Normally, it was a High-Rank Holy Magic that could only be cast when three or more high-ranking clergy joined forces.

However.

‘With Yulia’s current ability, if she opens even her Sacred Mark… she should be able to cast it alone.’

Lloyd would also fall within the range of Simplified Holy Ground, but there was no need to worry about that bastard.

Even if one was a Black Magic user, as long as one was not corrupted by Demonic Aura, nothing serious would happen to the body. 

The Black Magic one had cast would simply be canceled all at once.

But what about people whose bodies were mixed with even the slightest bit of Demonic Aura?

The moment they entered the range of holy ground, they would writhe in agony and suffer terrible pain.

It was not pain that could be endured through willpower.

Lucia, who was a Demon Cult Leader, fell exactly into that category.

“Hah……. This is giving me a headache.”

The moment Lucia entered the range of Simplified Holy Ground, there would be no next step for her.

If she showed even a momentary sign of pain, Yulia would judge her to be a Black Sorcerer and immediately take a guarded stance.

Or she might try to kill her on the spot.

Either way, it was the worst possible outcome.

Still, it was not as though there was no way to break through this.

In the first place, I would not have chased her all the way here if I had not had a plan.

“If I offset Simplified Holy Ground with Black Magic… I think it might work…….”

If I activated a Black Magic with a wide area of effect at the same time as Simplified Holy Ground was activated… I could keep the fact that Lucia was a Demon Cult Leader from being exposed.

Of course, if I activated a Black Magic with that wide a range, it would naturally stand out.

…Yes.

In other words, I needed to appear not as “Damon David,” who was learning Holy Power, but as “Aron Bayonel,” who had fled the Dark Empire.

RUSTLE…….

Having made my decision, I slipped a hand into the nape of my neck and pulled out the pendant.

Polymorph, release.

Yulia Yupiter.

This will not go your way.