— Emilia —
Master Magician, Rodwell.
The headmaster of our academy is a [Triple], so he specializes in three attributes; water, wind and earth.
His fame is equal to Lior-Ojiichan’s. I’ve heard that no one exceeds him in terms of magic.
Sirius-sama sighs because such a person became obsessed with cake, but I don’t think that can be helped. After all, the cake that Sirius-sama makes is very delicious, and anyone who eats it is filled with happiness.
On another note, the level of magic ability between him and Sirius-sama seems to be enormous. Sirius-sama even takes lessons from the headmaster when he brings cake to his office.
In my opinion, the magics that Sirius-sama uses are splendid and he seems to be an exception to the norm, as Sirius-sama specializes in attribute-less magic.
It is said that there is a desire to see Rodwell, who has mastered magic from all attributes even without specializing in them, battle seriously even just once.
Now, before us, he will display his true strength.
— Rodwell —
“Now… are you prepared?” (Rodwell)
Since the stands that I’ve entered from are slightly high up, it would normally be dangerous to jump into the arena directly, however that doesn’t matter to me. I will just use the elementary level spell [Craft] to make a staircase down using the dirt below. This magic is widely used in engineering, but Sirius-kun seems to just use for digging holes.
Chanting the magic’s name, I began to walk down the newly formed stairs, but I seem to have attracted a large amount of attention from students and mercenaries alike. Is this degree of magic really rare? I used chantless magic to make an entire staircase, sure, but anyone could use magic to this degree if they tried.
Glancing around my surroundings, I saw Magna-sensei’s golems defeating most of the mercenaries remaining. I leisurely walked into the arena, stopping my pace right beside Emilia-kun.
“Thank you for your hard work, Emilia-kun. Please leave the rest to me.” (Rodwell)
“However, you’re alone. I would like to assist you.” (Emilia)
I was offered assistance, but let’s just gratefully accept her feelings and decline. It would be shameful if I couldn’t handle this much by myself.
“It’s alright. If it’s just to this degree, I’m good by myself.” (Rodwell)
“…Understood. I will observe from the sidelines.” (Emilia)
Understanding my intention, Emilia-kun bowed gracefully and stepped back.
Judging from her obedience and words, she intends to use my battle as a learning experience for herself, to allow herself to grow further. Huhu… that’s good, I don’t dislike that attitude. Satisfied with her aspirations, I turn around and step towards Gregory and his student posse.
“Why are you here!? I heard you bastards were in a neighboring town!” (Gregory)
“Do you really think I’d be fooled by such shallow information? I purposely left to lure you out, why else would I advertise my leave as much as I did?” (Rodwell)
You are good at hiding, but quick to jump at any opportunity you get. So, I took advantage of that misinformation and used it against you.
For you to prepare war potential to this extent though… I certainly didn’t expect Golia to be involved in this. Furthermore, to use these collars on the students… though, this could turn into a good lesson for them. This way they can personally experience the disgusting impacts of using these collars.
“You should’ve immediately been suspicious when the barrier was activated. I deceived you fools quite splendidly, trapping you right here.” (Rodwell)
“I-if that’s the case, how did you bastards get back in!? I confirmed that you had truly left town before I made my move!” (Gregory)
“That is, well, I’m the creator of the barrier.” (Rodwell)
In truth, we entered through an underground passage created by Magna-sensei.
Since I buried the passage once we had come back through, nobody noticed it, and escape was once again impossible. I may have been the creator of this design, but there are too many flaws that I’ve noticed today. I should improve the barrier to close off underground access, and then focus on improving the portion in the sky afterwards. It should be fine to hold off on that until later though, since there are no monsters in the immediate area who can fly that high.
“Anyway, I’ve finally cornered you guys. Now, if you all surrender immediately, I will let you off with only facing the castle’s verdict. How about that?” (Rodwell)
Either way, Gregory won’t be able to escape capital punishment.
Furthermore, I’ve already informed the King, Cardeas, about the situation here. He’s stationed soldiers outside the barrier to capture any who flee and assist with remaining conflict when the barrier goes down again. He’s also ordered the capture of any nobles who were involved with this, although most of them are here inside the barrier.
I already expected Gregory to refuse to surrender, and indeed he points and laughs at me foolishly instead. He’s a stubborn fool for not recognizing his impending loss. Well, I’ll just do what I please now. There’s no need for me to explain anything to him.
“Surrender? I will defeat you and run away, that’s it.” (Gregory)
“Run away, right?” (Rodwell)
“Yes, running away. Together with my comrades, the time has come to defeat you, ‘Magic Master’” (Gregory)
“Understood!” (Posse)
“If we defeat him… we will surely be famous, you know?” (Gregory)
The students were completely won over by Gregory’s rhetoric. Despite this being long past about beastkin, they still are very determined. It seems they don’t understand the mess they have gotten themselves into.
“You guys, do you understand what that man intends to do? Understand why he is doing what he is?” (Rodwell)
“Gregory’s father was killed by those detestable beastkin! Will you forgive for such a crime!?” (Posse Member)
“That’s right! Elysion doesn’t need beastkin!” (Posse Member)
“That’s correct, but do you know how his father died?” (Rodwell)
“I know it. He was killed by incompetents and beastkin who were blinded by greed, right?” (Posse Member)
The students were right, Gregory’s father was killed in his own house. He was stabbed repeatedly with a knife, by a group of beastkin and attribute-less who snuck in. There were also gold coins scattered all around.
…However, that information was altered and the truth is different.
“Most of that is correct, however certain things you said differ from the truth. It’s true that he was killed by beastkin and attribute-less, but they weren’t a random group. No, in reality they were his slaves. He didn’t treat them kindly, either.” (Rodwell)
“””!?””” (Posse)
Due in large part to his excessive cruelty, the slaves hated him to the point that they would gladly welcome their own deaths in exchange for his.
Indeed, when his arrogant and cruel behavior exceeded their patience, they murdered him. Once word of the murder got out, the slaves were hunted down, with half being killed outright by the guards. Those who remained were killed by their collars, but all of the slaves died with content expressions on their faces.
“For nobles, there is no disgrace worse than being killed by your own slaves. So, the true reason behind his death was swept under the rug, and a false story was presented to preserve his dignity.” (Rodwell)
“You’re wrong! My father was murdered by greedy incompetents and beastkin!” (Gregory)
“If they were after money, they wouldn’t have picked a location with such tight security. More likely they would’ve chosen a smaller, more remote location. Anyhow, it’s his own fault that your father was murdered. It’s unreasonable to hate beastkin and attribute-less, after all.” (Rodwell)
“Keh… what could a senile old man understand about this!?” (Gregory)
“I cannot understand your beliefs when you are willing to involve others in your personal grudges, nor do I wish to. Gregory, I’ve said in the past that you need to learn from your father’s mistake. You have failed at this task.” (Rodwell)
“Shut up, shut up! You’re a senile old man who’s held the position of headmaster for too long! How long do you intend to cling to that seat!?” (Gregory)
“I’m not particularly attached to this position. I simply can’t find the right timing to resign.” (Rodwell)
Oh? Changing topics forcefully since I hit the bullseye? That’s fine though, the students who made up his posse have started to doubt him. After fighting on that side for this long, I think they probably understand that a lot of the motivation behind this revolution is simply personal grudges, right?
It’s true that I’ve been the headmaster of this school for nearly a century, but that means there’s no reason why I wouldn’t know about you. It’s not funny to call me a senile old man either, I have reasons why I can’t retire!
“If that’s the case, I’ll have you retire by my hand! Oi, you guys!” (Gregory)
“B-but…” (Posse Member)
“…Wha” (Posse Member)
“You’ve committed the same crimes as me up until now! Thinking of backing down now is foolish, we’re in the same boat! That’s no longer an option!” (Gregory)
“Kuh… Do we have any other choice?” (Posse Member)
“I’ll do it! First I’ll defeat this guy, then I’ll kill that incompetent!” (Alstore)
“That’s right! Besides, if we win here, we won’t be criminals! We’ll be heroes! Follow me!” (Gregory)
Alstore-kun seems to be vigorous, isn’t he? He was probably shunned and abandoned by his parents the moment he decided to participate in this. Likely by now the only thoughts in his head are those of revenge against Sirius-kun. The other students were less certain, but were spurred into action by Gregory’s rhetoric once more.
Each of them began to invoke magic; intermediate magics of various attributes hovered above the group in the air, aimed at me. I could count at least twenty. It seems Gregory invoked five [Flame Lance] in particular…
“Oh yes. The reason I haven’t retired is…” (Rodwell)
“Drop dead old man!” (Gregory)
“There are plenty of people with the same level of strength as you guys, you know. This much is nothing. [Multi Elemental].” (Rodwell)
They released their magics towards me, and multiple explosions occurred when their magic collided with my own. As the dust cleared, I could clearly see a shocked expression on Gregory’s face when he saw me unharmed. They don’t seem to understand what just happened, perhaps I should do it again more clearly?
“Eh? He was hit… right?” (Posse Member)
“Ah, aah. He should have been hit.” (Posse Member)
“What seems to be the problem? Could you all have run out of mana after just one exchange?” (Rodwell)
“Do not falter! Keep pressuring him!” (Gregory)
They begin chanting again, but I’m in no rush to intercept since I don’t need to chant myself. Looking at the scene in front of me, I judge that I can just cast at any time and still intercept their magic safely.
However, I’ll make them reflect this time instead. I’ll give the other students a lesson using these fools, to dissuade any other idiotic thoughts they might have. To put it simply, I’ll overwhelm them and crush their confidence into tiny little bits. Besides, as someone at the top, people have a desire to see the heights of my abilities. The road to where I am is far and long, and many will give up along the way, no doubt about it. However, I want to show the younger generations that if you believe in your magic, you can achieve great heights.
Previously I invoked the magic just before they got me, but this time I’ll invoke it the moment they finish chanting.
“Spear of Flame! [Flame Lance]” (Posse Member)
“Rock spear, pierce! [Earth Lance]” (Posse Member)
“Shoot with water! [Aqua Barrett]” (Posse Member)
“Tear of wind! [Air Slash]” (Posse Member)
“[Multi Elemental]” (Rodwell)
Matching the type of spell and number summoned, I launched my own counter magic at them, neutralizing the spells successfully.
All around the arena, students stared in sheer amazement at my magic, adjusted to the exact level needed to cancel out the magic used against me.
“Is it already over? Your words of revolution, are they nothing but cheap talk?” (Rodwell)
“Wha!? Bastard, spear of flame–…” (Gregory)
“Too slow, [Multi Elemental].” (Rodwell)
Gregory regained his spirit earlier than the other students, but I invoked my magic once more before he finished chanting.
He summoned more copies of [Flame Lance] than he had previously, and had them float above him on standby as he kept chanting. Unbeknownst to him though, the other students who previously supported him had lost all of their fighting spirit, and most had fallen into complete silence.
[Multi Elemental].
An original magic that I’ve created after several decades of research.
It’s a magic that allows me to invoke the same elemental magic as the opponent, like with the [Flame Lance] that Gregory was summoning. It’s advantage is that I can invoke the same magic regardless of attribute, so I’m not limited to the fire element. That said, I have to be familiar with the magic my opponent is using to invoke the spell successfully. I need to understand the chant used and condense it to use it myself, which means the spell is almost impossible to use if the opponent uses chantless magic.
Currently, I can invoke thirty magics at a maximum, most likely because I’m a [Triple].
“How long will you sit there chanting? I’m tired of waiting, and I only grow older with each passing second.” (Rodwell)
“A-as long as I can, you fool!” (Gregory)
“Is that so? Well if you’re not coming, I’m going at you. I’d recommend you sit still during this, to lessen damage to yourself.” (Rodwell)
Pointing my fingers towards my opponent, twenty magics were invoked and simultaneously attack Gregory and the others.
Spears of flame, bullets of water, blades of wind, spires of earth. All of these simultaneously ravaged the arena, as onlookers could only watch and feel pity for those on the receiving end of my attack?
When I blew away the dust my attack kicked up with [Wind], I could see the arena we were previously standing in in complete ruin. The only exception was where Gregory and the students were, which was left relatively unscathed. Since I can’t kill them, I had to lower the power and purposely aim away from them to avoid a direct hit. Though, admittedly, I did go a bit overboard. The arena is a mess. I guess I can always repair it later with [Craft].
“Will you surrender?” (Rodwell)
“Ah… I’ve come so far… this is as far as I go?…” (Gregory)
“Since this is groundless trouble, please answer quickly.” (Rodwell)
I invoked [Multi Elemental] again, this time summoning the full thirty [Flame Lance] to my side. Finally, one of them broke. A student ran towards me hands up, bowing down and apologizing.
“I surrender! Please forgive me, I swear to you that I won’t do something like this ever again!” (Posse Member)
“M-me too! It’s impossible to win against such opponent!” (Posse Member)
“I cannot die… until I defeat that incompetent. I surrender as well.” (Alstore)
The students surrender one by one, until Gregory is the only one remaining. It doesn’t matter, since he will be taken care of soon anyway, but let’s use him to the fullest first.
Since the ensuing battles around me ceased when I unleashed my magic a moment ago, I took advantage of the stillness and used wind magic to amplify my voice.
“Everyone! Gregory is nothing more than an extremist who hates beastkin and colorless. He views any reckless or vile action against them as righteous and any other actions as shameful. As evidence, look no further than the collars around some of your necks.” (Rodwell)
Although what I am saying is slightly exaggerated, it’s perfect for this situation. For putting slave collars on these students who are not slaves, I will slander you as much as I feel like. I’ll turn you into an example for them.
“This is the result of his foolish belief. Understand that I am not telling you to stop hating someone and like them instead. All I ask is that you don’t hold prejudice against someone without good reason.” (Rodwell)
“But, headmaster! Actually, I don’t dislike beastkin. We…were tricked by Gregory!” (Posse Member)
“Me too! I was ordered to do it by that man.” (Posse Member)
“Is that so? However, you guys still acted, even if someone else made you. If you call yourselves proud nobles, you’ll take responsibility for your actions.” (Rodwell)
Although the students who followed Gregory prostrated themselves desperately, I will not forgive them. You’ve broken the law and stained your hands with crime, I refuse to defend you now.
I said they need to take responsibility as nobles, but I doubt they’ll still be treated as nobles when it comes time for their punishment.
“Just accept the punishment from castle obediently. Don’t bother clinging to your parents either, with all of the witnesses here, myself included, it is useless.” (Rodwell)
This also includes the remaining mercenaries around the arena, and at my words the students begin to smile with the sight of victory so close. Next is the root of the problem, Gregory. He is unlikely to try resisting after that, but his eyes still burn with indignation.
“Is there something you want to say?” (Rodwell)
“If you bastards didn’t show up, this would have gone smoothly…” (Gregory)
“So what?” (Rodwell)
I expected him to spout something along those lines, but even if I hadn’t shown up, I have a feeling that this still would’ve been wrapped up quickly. Perhaps even sooner than this. That person, who eliminated ‘Dragon’s Fresh Blood’ on his own would’ve had an easy time with just this number of opponents. That said, I can’t see him anywhere. Where is he?
“Emilia-kun, where is your master, Sirius-kun?” (Rodwell)
“Ah, yes. Sirius-sama is acting separately while still secretly watching over us.” (Emilia)
He’s taking action separately, but still watching secretly? Hmm, if that’s the case, I wonder where he is to be able to see what’s happening here? Regardless, he probably didn’t act himself because he understood my intentions from the beginning.
He understood my reasoning for overlooking Gregory’s rampage; to not only capture as many as I could, but to use the opportunity to teach the other students a lesson. I didn’t expect the slave collars, but this incident may prove useful for changing the opinions of those who dislike beastkin.
Once this is over, let’s take off the collars from the students. They should have the key for the collar somewhere.
“Gregory, where is the key for the collars? It won’t be good for you if you hide it, you know.” (Rodwell)
“… Golia has full authority of the collars. So, I don’t know.” (Gregory)
“Headmaster, he’s currently paralyzed and disabled…” (Emilia)
The moment Emilia-kun pointed at Golia, white fog suddenly engulfed the arena.
There was mana reaction… this seems to be [Aqua Mist]. The fog thickened while I was analyzing it, to the point where I could barely see Emilia-kun, who was only a few steps in front of me.
A loud clamor drowns out much of my hearing, as the students start panicking at the lack of visibility, but amidst that I picked up a voice that couldn’t be misheard.
“Master, Golia is secured! Let’s get out!” (??)
“Well done!” (Gregory)
The voices of an unusually agitated man and Gregory echoed from the fog. Is this fog a cover for those two? I could easily blow away the fog, but that does me no good unless I can find where the magic formations that serve as the source of the fog are located.
“Water, please! Emilia, over there!” (Reese)
“Yeah, I saw it! [Air Shot]! [Wind Storm]!” (Emilia)
Emilia-kun and Reese-kun were already moving before I could take action.
Reese who is good with water searches for the formations, and then Emilia breaks it using [Air Shot] while simultaneously blowing away the fog with [Wind Storm]. I look forward the future of these two.
“Where are Gregory and Golia!?” (Reese)
“They’re not here! Find them!” (Emilia)
“Oi! The mercenary guy is also gone!” (Reus)
They were already gone by the time the fog cleared; neither shadow nor figure remained. The students searched around the arena, but they probably fled outside.
“Good grief, not only he is good at hiding but he’s fast at escaping too.” (Rodwell)
“Headmaster! Those guys may have escaped, but this case is still not settled yet!” (Emilia)
“That’s right! The lives of the students with collars on are in their palms!” (Reese)
“Please calm down, all of you. Those guys haven’t escaped yet, their location will be found immediately. Don’t worry.” (Rodwell)
Emilia-kun and Reese-kun drew close to me, flustered, but panicking is pointless. They won’t get far with the barrier in place, not to mention to reinforcements just past it.
“Magna. Have you prepared the arrangements?” (Rodwell)
“Yes. The arrangements have been completed.” (Magna)
Before we came to the arena, Magna-sensei and I deployed our golems around the border. If they enter a fight with someone, we will be notified immediately, and no doubt Gregory will have a hard time beating them in that state. At that point, we just have to thoroughly search the surrounding area for them.
Besides… they will likely be done in before they even come across the golems…
— Gregory —
… Why?
Why do I have to run away with such an unsightly appearance?
My plan was to charge towards the castle with students as hostage, use them as a meat wall, and eliminate the royal family. For that, I was even willing to join hands with a money monger like Golia. So why did it turn out this way?
Running behind me and breathing raggedly was the head mercenary I hired as lookout and to organize the other mercenaries, Dominique.
“Oi Master! It doesn’t look like they are chasing us…” (Dominique)
The mercenary carried Golia with one arm, the other was severed, and followed behind me while we ran. He stumbled slightly, slowed down, and turned to me with a dubious look as he said that.
I thought he was nothing but a miserable excuse for a mercenary when I saw the subhuman student cut him, but there’s no mistaking his tenacity, to escape like this. He loses out against that subhuman as far as fighting ability goes, but he is much better at surviving.
“You survived well.” (Gregory)
“Heh! I don’t feel pain because of the drug. I had fainted, but woke up almost immediately.” (Dominique)
It seems that he judged himself unable to win in that situation, so he pretended to lose consciousness. Then, when he saw a chance, he used a magic stone inlayed with the formation for [Aqua Mist].
“Dear me, this situation is the worst. I’ve used so much expensive equipment, and I’ve lost an arm.” (Dominique)
“Hmph, the situation is awful, I agree. At least you still have one arm.” (Gregory)
The situation is displeasing for certain, but we have Golia, who controls the collars.
The collars are designed to explode if they are forcefully removed, so it will take a while to dismantle, even for an experienced magic engineer. Plus, there are over 200 collars, so it should take a day or two at least.
Golia would recover during that time, and if we can convince him to trigger some of the collars, we can regain our advantage. Those wearing the collars are expendable, and we can show those who resist that we mean business.
It would have been better if we did that in the beginning. If only Golia weren’t so stingy with the lives of those students! Everything went downhill because of him, and he was even disabled by the same paralysis poison we used against the teachers. The fool, doesn’t he get that any who don’t understand our vision are useless, and thus expendable?
“Well, how are we going to escape? The barrier is still in place…” (Dominique)
“Who do you think I am!? You should follow me silently!” (Gregory)
The barrier is strong, sure, but I’m not going to the barrier’s border. I’m going to go underground, using earth magic to dig holes. That senile old man probably got in here with that trick.
Even if Dominique here falls defending us, as long as Golia and I escape, our victory is assured.
You can only blame yourself, Rodwell, for not fully completing the design of the barrier.
“Stop, Master!” (Dominique)
The mercenaries halted and yelled at me loudly. What do you have to say now, stopping when you just said that we need to escape quickly!
“Stop it, Master! You’ll be killed!” (Dominique)
I couldn’t ignore him so I reluctantly stopped and turned back. I thought he was going to complain, but instead he tossed Golia aside and grabbed his sword, grim look on his face.
“Oi you bastard, that man is a noble. Treat him more carefully.” (Gregory)
“Cheh! This is why nobles are stupid and unpleasant. Don’t you notice the bloodlust coming towards you?” (Dominique)
“Bloodlust? There’s no such–..!?” (Gregory)
Something runs through my body suddenly. Although it ran around excitedly, I have begun to feel chill.
What is this!? The crumbling mercenary said about bloodlust but this level is the similar to the time being stared by Rodwell… No, is it more than that?
“Oi oi, monstrous beastkin, monstrous elf showed up, so what next? What’s with this school?” (Dominique)
I don’t know! I don’t know who is releasing this bloodlust!
If Rodwell’s bloodlust is like a knife being shoved at my throat, then this bloodlust is like being gouged throughout my whole body! My whole body has become numb, as I stare ahead sweating and trembling.
As I stood there breathing hard from the bloodlust that bathed over me, a strange man appeared from the shadow of building.
No, he is probably a youth from his physical and height. His appearance is extremely extravagant, dressed in black clothing that covers his whole body and wearing a white mask that covers his face.
He looks strange, but there’s no mistaking the fact that he is the being releasing the bloodlust that has my blood frozen.
That person walked slowly strolled towards me, and then…
“Where do you think you’re going?” (Sirius)
Yeah, I was called by the youth’s voice.
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