As he cut through the demonic beasts, Yoon Si-woo thought to himself.
The world truly is a harsh place.
Scarlet was a strong girl.
Even knowing that her time was limited, she was trying to keep her promise to herself and strive to be happy, smiling as if nothing was wrong.
So strong, that she would rather die than hurt others with her own hands.
The memory of the girl’s smile, who said you are a reliable person even as her breath faded, lingered in his mind.
Having endured a certain level of pain and suffering in his daily life, how could she laugh so brightly even in the face of death?
What kind of mindset allows her to smile and thank someone like him for such things?
He couldn’t even fathom it.
All he could confirm was that her life was not all sunshine and rainbows.
He wished that with the limited time she had, she could spend it happily and peacefully.
Why, then, does the world always bestow hardships and trials upon the good?
Biting his lip, he pierced the body of the beast before him.
His hands trembled.
The sensation of piercing the girl’s body with his own hands echoed in his mind, and he swung the sword even more fiercely to erase it.
The red blood of the beasts splattered everywhere.
Seeing the red blood, he unconsciously tightened his grip.
It didn’t sit right with him.
The fact that those monsters shared the same-colored blood as her.
He’d been taught to control his emotions while wielding the sword, but today he didn’t want to.
In a fit of rage, he slashed and slashed at the beasts.
Then, he felt the gazes from behind the barrier.
Students from the Academy, who were supposed to be on a field trip today, were watching him from a distance.
He caught a glimpse of Scarlet’s red hair.
Not long ago, knowing she was nearby would have made his heart race.
Now, rather than excitement, he felt a sinking sensation.
Even while killing and tidying up the beasts, that complex feeling didn’t fade.
Yet, he couldn’t help but direct his eyes toward her.
Not out of affection, but out of worry and concern.
Imagining what kind of struggles might be hidden behind her expressionless face, he continued to look at Scarlet.
Then, an unusual figure caught Yoon Si-woo’s eye.
Next to Scarlet, where no one had been just a moment ago, stood someone with a hood pulled over their head.
“Wow, this is impressive. I almost got a little excited with your promise to protect me.”
A thin, high-pitched female voice.
Before he could even ponder who that was, he had already dashed toward Scarlet.
“…You, who are you? Unauthorized people can’t enter here.”
“Aah, don’t worry. I’m not a suspicious person.”
Yoon Si-woo observed.
The female was smiling widely, looking at him as Martina the deputy commander asked her with suspicion.
He felt an unpleasant sensation crawling up his spine, urging him to move faster, but the distance to the battlefield and the students was too far.
The orb she pulled from her possession glowed ominously.
“She’s not a person; she’s a witch.”
With the voice of the Holy Sword revealing the truth,
[[[[■■■■■■■■■■!!!!!!!]]]]
The roar of the demonic beast echoed in all directions,
“NO!!!!!”
Yoon Si-woo’s hollow cry resounded from within the barrier.
*
“What’s this madness! How are the beasts suddenly here?”
“That’s not important right now! We need to save the students first…!”
“Damn it, the barrier! To save the students, we have to take down the beasts creating the barrier first! Target all the beasts within the barrier!”
The appearance of the woman who introduced herself as a witch.
And at the same time, the demonic beasts pouring out from the air.
The cries of the squad members, a mix of urgency and anxiety in this unprecedented crisis, echoed within the barrier.
It wasn’t the beasts themselves that were the problem.
Though it was extremely rare for mid-level demonic beasts to pour out like this, they posed no significant threat to the squad members.
The Astraea squad was made up of strong fighters who could easily handle mid-level demonic beasts.
The real issue was the students, isolated in the same space as the beasts and the witch, whose strength they had no way of knowing.
If they delayed even a little, something terrible could happen, so the squad members hurriedly began to engage the beasts inside the barrier.
Apart from their ability to use the barrier, the beasts of greed had notably lower combat capabilities compared to other beasts.
With their flying advantage restricted by trapping themselves inside the barrier, the beasts inside were swiftly taken down by the squad members.
While Yoon Si-woo was soaring through the air, slicing through beasts with a terrifying momentum, he suddenly felt a sense of unease.
‘…Why are the beasts so few?’
Compared to the number of beasts that had first emerged, the number that flew around within the barrier was ridiculously low.
Could it be that all those beasts had gone to where the students were?
Imagining the students being attacked by countless beasts, Yoon Si-woo quickly finished off the last remaining beast and confirmed that the barrier was gone before leaping forward.
What met him was
“…What the…”
Another barrier, similar to the one they had just escaped from.
Inside this barrier were flying demonic beasts, similar in number to those before.
Something was wrong.
As soon as Yoon Si-woo sensed this, Deputy Commander Martina unleashed a stream of magic that wiped out the beasts flying around in an instant.
With the beasts maintaining the barrier disappearing, the barrier was shattered again, and beyond it lay yet another barrier.
His unease turned into certainty.
“Those bastards are blatantly stalling for time…!”
The beasts of greed had lower combat abilities compared to other beasts.
But the ability of the barrier was notoriously tricky.
While it was possible to break the barrier without killing the beasts, it required immense power, and if a certain number gathered to deploy the barrier together, it was practically impossible to forcibly break through.
In the first place, the beasts of greed were selfish enough to trap people inside the barrier and quarrel among themselves for their prey.
But now, they acted as if they were following someone’s orders, behaving in unison.
Gathered just enough to make it hard to forcibly break the barrier, spreading out to cast barriers separately.
Stalling for time to escape.
Yoon Si-woo grimaced and beheaded a beast.
[■■■■■■■■■■!!!!!!!]
However, at the moment its head was severed, the beast cried out mockingly.
As if they knew exactly what would be most troublesome for them.
While wasting time breaking the barriers one by one, what could be happening outside?
If something were to happen to Scarlet…
Reflecting on the worst-case scenario that flashed through his mind, Yoon Si-woo trembled as he glared at the barriers.
He couldn’t just keep going like this if he wanted to break through the multiple barriers.
If ordinary methods wouldn’t work, he had to use unordinary methods…
Just as Yoon Si-woo was thinking about employing what he had been training with Lucy, she muttered.
“Stop it. You are not even prepared to use that power yet. Plus, there are too many eyes on you here.”
With that, Yoon Si-woo looked around.
There were indeed too many people, just as Lucy said.
If he used that method, the chances of something irreversible happening would be high.
But this situation might really lead to something irreversible happening beyond those walls.
Ignoring Lucy’s warning, the moment Yoon Si-woo was about to grasp the sword of humility,
Martina called out to him from behind.
“Yoon Si-woo, with that shining sword you showed last time, you should be able to take care of the beasts inside the barrier in one go, right?”
If she was referring to the released Holy Sword of Light, it should be possible.
As Yoon Si-woo nodded, Martina asked again.
“How many times can you use it?”
“I haven’t tried more than three times, but I think I can manage up to five…”
Considering the amount of energy it consumed for an attack strong enough to reach the clouds, Yoon Si-woo recalled that going beyond five would be taxing on his body as Lucy had said.
Martina nodded, muttering.
“Got it, then pour all your power into it. Among us, you and I are the only ones capable of such wide-range attacks. You’ll probably need some preparation time, so let’s alternate. Got it?”
Yoon Si-woo realized her intention.
Rather than having everyone tackle the beasts one by one, it was faster to erase them all with a wide-area attack.
Though it would put a burden on a few people, the speed would surely increase.
Excluding the reckless method he had considered before, this was the only fast way to get through this situation, so Yoon Si-woo nodded and drew the Holy Sword of Light.
Martina gathered her magical power and shouted to the squad members who were engaging the beasts.
“4th Squad! Rally behind me!”
At her command, all the squad members gathered behind her in an orderly fashion.
The Deputy Commander Kanna, having heard the plan, stiffened her expression and asked Martina.
“…Commander, we might not know how many layers the barriers have. Are you really sure we can do this?”
“Damn it, it’s not about whether we can or not; it has to be done. If we want to get out quickly, this is the best method. Even if I have to exhaust all my magic and collapse, I will destroy every barrier, so just ensure the kids are safe.”
“…Understood.”
Martina’s crimson magic flickered in the air.
Yoon Si-woo also murmured quietly.
“Holy Sword, unleash.”
Brilliant golden light burst from the sword in his hand.
Seeing Yoon Si-woo prepared, Martina murmured toward the beasts flying inside the barrier.
“I dislike water, so let’s burn them all with fire.”
With those words, the sky inside the barrier ignited.
As the flying beasts fell in flames, the barrier shattered once more,
“Haap!!!!!”
Immediately, Yoon Si-woo’s prepared light blade devoured the next wave of beasts appearing within the barrier.
As if giving them no time to rest, the moment Yoon Si-woo’s attack ended, Martina’s magic was unleashed again.
Every time the wave of fire and the light blade flashed within the barrier,
The barriers would disappear and new barriers would appear.
Rapidly repeating this process, ten barriers were destroyed,
Yet, more barriers remained.
“Ugh… huff… I’m sorry… I can’t…”
Exhausted from the continuous attacks, Yoon Si-woo collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
The brilliant golden light that had been shining in his hand gradually lost its glow.
Martina, seeing this, lightly tapped Yoon Si-woo’s shoulder.
“Yeah, you did well. Thanks to you, we must have bought a lot of time. Leave the rest to me.”
“…Okay.”
Martina summoned her power once more.
Crimson magic sprinkled in the air, painting the sky with flames.
This relentless assault continued until…
“…Cough.”
Martina gasped, momentarily pausing.
Her pale complexion showed signs of mana exhaustion.
No matter how much she was called the great sorceress, continuously unleashing such a large-scale magic was overwhelming.
Yet, even while blood trickled from her mouth, Martina channeled her magic again.
In a desperate attempt to save the students trapped in danger, she squeezed out her magic to the limit.
Who could see her face that clearly showed she was on the verge of collapsing, yet she still pushed through.
Watching this, Yoon Si-woo suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of shame.
‘What the hell am I doing right now?’
His limbs trembled from exhaustion, but his arms were still strong.
His legs quaked, but he could still hold himself up.
But with his commander putting her all into this struggle…
While his loved ones faced danger outside, here he was, sitting on the ground doing nothing.
Why was he showing such a pitiful state of being at his limits?
If there was a limit, then this was the place to overcome it.
Yoon Si-woo bit his lip and murmured once more.
“…Holy Sword, unleash…!”
Light once again reclaimed its brilliance in his hand.
Though his body screamed from the strain of unleashing it, he forced himself to stand.
“…Are you okay?”
Then, even though he looked far more exhausted, he asked Martina, managing a smile.
Just like the girl he liked had.
“Anything less than helping and relying on others is unacceptable….”
“…Ha, is that so?”
At his words, Martina smirked and murmured.
“Then stop whining and follow me.”
At those words, Yoon Si-woo grinned and swung his sword.
Light engulfed his vision.
Fire flared, as if refusing to lose.
Then, once again, light split the sky.
His joints creaked as his body cried out in protest,
Yet through sheer will, he swung his sword.
In the end, he cleaved through his limits,
Revealing the sky beyond the pitch-black barrier.
Beneath the world now restored with the sky, Yoon Si-woo saw the students who had gathered just as before.
Seeing that most of them looked unharmed, a wave of relief rushed over him.
But then, he realized something was wrong.
Yoon Si-woo scanned the place where the students were gathered once more.
But she was nowhere to be seen.
They were all there, yet one person who should have been present was missing.
Yoon Si-woo looked at the children’s expressions blankly.
Even without injuries, the children’s faces were extremely gloomy.
Some were even in tears.
Most of them were students who were close to Scarlet.
‘No way…’
No, please don’t let that be true.
Thinking that, Yoon Si-woo, trembling, asked the weeping Sylvia.
“Where is Scarlet… Where is she?”
At his question, Sylvia burst into tears.
Yoon Si-woo felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen.
In that moment, how he longed for it.
No, not that.
Please, just not that.
But Sylvia, choking up, revealed the harsh reality to Yoon Si-woo.
“…Waaaah… To save us… to save us…”
“…Ah—”
“…In exchange, Lady Scarlet… to the witch…”
At that moment,
Yoon Si-woo thought.
The world is indeed a cruel place.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”
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