Chapter 151
People filled the auditorium, along with skeleton soldiers.
Most of the students were fighting against the relentless skeleton soldiers.
Diphelia had taken the form of an old tree to protect the people.
In the center, a single pale pink flower was blooming beautifully.
“I’m the cute and adorable archbishop ‘Veris’!”
Veris introduced herself in a lively voice.
She lightly grasped Alicia’s sword with both hands.
Her eyes suddenly dropped.
Like a perfectly ripe dandelion seed ready to fly away.
Alicia locked eyes with Veris, whose gaze resembled that of a monster.
In a gaze so ominous it made one question if it was even alive.
The woman with white hair didn’t back down and instead tightened her grip on the handle.
Black Naias, who had swallowed Zagan’s Judgment Weapon, reacted.
With a surge of energy, it released black smoke rising in the aura.
The sword seemed to be linked to a heartbeat.
Alicia’s will was fiercely represented by the vibrating black energy.
Veris was holding Naias with an effortless grip, but bark-like debris fell from her hands in a rain.
However, there was no sign of pain on Veris’s face.
With narrowed eyes, she scanned Alicia.
“You… resemble ‘that guy.’”
Alicia didn’t have the chance to absorb Veris’s words.
There simply wasn’t time.
Even though Veris held Alicia’s sword carelessly, Alicia was currently clashing with all her might.
To put it exactly, Veris was also taking damage, but deemed it trivial.
What she was focused on wasn’t her own returning hand but rather.
“That face… I don’t like it…”
It was Alicia’s unrealistically beautiful appearance.
To Veris, the most beautiful being in the world should be herself.
“……!”
Suddenly, a massive cloud of pollen burst forth from the flowers enveloping Veris.
Sensing danger, Alicia held her breath and surrounded her body in transformed aura.
The aura touching the pollen fizzled like water meeting hot oil.
In an instant, it liquefied and dripped down the surface of the aura.
“Your face is worth it. Looks like you have quick reflexes, huh? Clap clap clap! If you had inhaled or made contact, it would’ve caused poisoning. Guess you’re not an idiot!”
Veris’s voice sounded cheerful and excited.
In stark contrast, Alicia’s usual calm demeanor vanished, replaced with a fierce determination to annihilate her opponent that danced in her eyes.
Holding her breath, Alicia changed her grip.
She aimed to thrust Naias directly into the fray.
At the same time, to assist her, the roots of Saint Diphelia’s old tree surged forward, enveloping Veris.
Veris swiftly scanned her surroundings with unnatural speed.
“Sorry, but I’m not the one you’re facing.”
So, just get lost.
With that, the stems of the flowers she had bloomed with began to writhe.
The massive stems, thick as the saint’s old tree, extended like spears, blocking the old tree of Diphelia and turning the students into mummies.
Blocking the old tree.
The flowers moved freely, as if they were creatures with a will of their own.
Facing Diphelia’s area attack.
Meanwhile, Alicia heated her mana circuits to the max, trying to drive Naias into Beris’s heart.
But no matter how much mana and power she gathered,
Beris’s hands didn’t budge an inch.
“Ugh…!”
Alicia gritted her teeth.
Even when she strained herself to the point where her breath came out in shallow whispers, there was no change.
Beris laughed at Alicia’s struggles.
“Pfft. It’s pointless~. I acknowledge your destructive power, but that’s all, isn’t it?”
Beris’s words were spot on.
Alicia had reached the second phase of transformation in swordsmanship, even at the level of a 2nd tier swordsman.
She had reached 1st tier, where she could utilize the red aura.
However, she had yet to attain 「Absolute Perception (絶對感覺)」, the final requirement for using the red aura, which involves the enlightenment of the swordsman and the sharpness of the sword.
Even if she was called a mad genius, the red aura was not an easy realm to reach, only ventured into by a rare few.
In fact, it was a miracle that she had already reached her current stage in just a little over a year.
But for Beris, that wasn’t a significant factor at all.
“So just give up already…”
Beris grinned as she looked at the struggling Alicia.
Her gaze traced Alicia’s beautiful skin.
“Let that pretty skin melt away.”
The flower bud in the center of her chest flickered like a mouth.
And then—
*Ptooey!*
It spat out a highly acidic liquid.
Alicia was currently protected by her transformed aura.
However, she could sense it.
That liquid seemed ready to dissolve her body along with the aura in an instant.
At zero distance, there was no way to avoid it.
Moreover, with her sword in hand, it was even worse…!
“Damn it. I didn’t want to get involved. That’s definitely gonna hurt.”
In the midst of the urgent situation, a voice reached Alicia.
With the resonance of the sword, it arrived.
Its inherently playful tone belonged to the spirit whose gender was hard to discern, Naias.
Naias, who had received mana from Vargan beforehand, adjusted her body to make contact with the objects around her.
In the end,
“Ouch, ouch, ouch—!”
Naias, having materialized, took the brunt of the acidic liquid that was meant for Alicia.
As a duke-level spirit, and one that had absorbed a Judgment Weapon, Naias was still affected by the acidic substance spat out by Beris, damaging her materialized skin.
Alicia’s pupils dilated at Naias’s sudden action.
Naias cried out in pain.
“Alicia, don’t worry about me! Just swing your sword!”
Though typically silly, Naias was a clear top-tier spirit. Given a moment, she could heal her melting skin.
Thanks to Naias’s efforts, the sword was now out of Beris’s grasp.
Alicia quickly calmed her startled heart and steadied her resolve once more.
*Crack!*
With her mana, she gripped her sword tightly.
Indeed, with Alicia’s current skill, her sword may not pierce the bishop Beris’s sturdy armor.
However, her body,
The memories of the past with Vargan,
Recognized the ‘specific area’ that could be considered Altife’s weakness.
Using wind magic, Alicia,
Like a rocket igniting,
Her sword dashed swiftly towards Beris’s face.
Targeting her ‘eyeball’.
But Beris anticipated where Alicia’s strike was aimed.
“Ha ha…!”
Is she comparing herself to mindless priests and untouchables? How dare she…!
As Alicia’s sword approached,
Solid bark shot out from Beris’s face.
That formed shape was like a mask, blocking Alicia’s full power with its shell and skeleton.
If things keep going this way, Alicia’s sword will be blocked once again.
In the meantime…
“Where do you think you’re going—!”
While Alicia buys time, Professor Paula establishes the equation of her spell.
It unfolds across Beris’s face.
Her arms.
Her legs.
Her body.
The meaning of this is destruction.
『……!』
The spell activates.
Shudder—
Cracks appear on Beris’s body.
Her mask, which protects her face, develops a gap.
As if it were planned from the very beginning.
Alicia’s sword naturally aims for that white eye in the gap.
『Kyaaaahhh⎯⎯⎯!』
The pitch-black greatsword pierces through Beris’s eye.
Alicia doesn’t miss her opportunity.
Changing the direction of the sword, she aims to slash across Beris’s face.
Instead of soft skin, Beris’s face is protected by something as hard as tree bark, ready to be cut clean off.
Like poisonous gas.
Millions of pollen particles explode en masse.
Veiling Alicia’s vision.
The barrier of aura surrounding Alicia begins to dissolve amidst the swarm of pollen particles.
As Beris pulls the sword embedded in her face and creates distance, she clutches her torn face in pain.
『My, my face… my beautiful face… the most beautiful face in the world…!!』
Though Beris’s skin was like a shell.
Inside, she is a creature of flesh, muscle, and blood.
Crimson blood flows from the wide hole created by Alicia.
Her blood stains the flowers that envelop her body crimson.
Beris stumbles.
Like a dazed person, she sways, gripping the thick stem of the flower she emerged from to maintain her posture.
『How cruel… How could this happen? Aren’t you sorry to all the creatures in this world? My face has a value that can’t even be exchanged for something substandard…』
Beris murmurs.
Alicia and Paula, through wind magic and neutralization magic, begin to eliminate the surrounding pollen.
Gradually, Beris’s form becomes visible.
Hanging beside her is a student who had become a mummy when the flowers had appeared.
Beris’s voice trembles with pain and disbelief.
『It’s tearing me apart… It hurts so much… It feels like my whole body is burning away… Am I going to die like this… like this….』
As Beris continues to speak, she approaches the mummy student.
A small plant grows around the student’s chest, with a red fruit resembling a heart dangling from the end.
Beris bites into the fruit.
『What did I do so wrong? I barely squeezed into the Academia, and now I have to die horrifically as soon as I come out. This is too harsh….』
Gulp.
Beris chews and swallows the fruit.
Still sniffling like a delicate woman.
However, Alicia and Paula sensed it.
Even with Beris’s eyes pierced and empty, it was clear.
Although her voice oozes with sadness and pain, she is precisely.
『Did you think I’d just say that?』
Laughing.
To prove it, the eye that Naias pierced immediately regenerates.
The flowers stained in red surrounding her bloom in wide smiles.
『Puhp⎯. There’s no way something like this could take me down. Do you know who I am? I’m the Archbishop!』
Archbishop Beris, her wounds fully healed.
Alicia raises her sword, and Paula prepares her spell.
In response,
Ziiing⎯.
The space where Beris stands ripples.
A familiar chill inexplicably emanates from that distorted point.
*
“Hey, could you just move aside?”
The female servant of Schugenharz, Riel, spat out in a commanding tone.
The group of outsiders, being protected by Riel, Rina, and Belo, stopped moving.
It was because of a large figure blocking the way.
“Can that thing not talk? Or is it just deaf?”
Riel asked Rina, but Rina was too overwhelmed to respond to her sister’s words.
The giant stood there, blocking their path.
The giant blocking the way.
That ominous creature, adorned with dangling skulls that looked human, seemed anything but human, and its power was anything but ordinary.
Riel shot a disapproving glance at the giant as her younger sister showed no reaction.
“Hey, can’t you hear me? Move over.”
Since it resembled a human on the outside, Riel refrained from attacking.
However, if it continued to obstruct their path, she’d have no choice but to command her familiars to sweep it away.
“That thing has to go. We definitely need to show it who’s boss… Belo, big brother?”
As Riel stepped forward to confront the giant, her second brother, Belo, blocked her way.
Belo, like Rina, wore a solemn and tense expression. Worrying about his sisters’ safety, he said,
“Everyone, stay back.”
“What? What are you talking about, big brother?”
“…That’s not just a simple monster.”
Belo had a rough idea of its identity.
The giant, quietly bowing its head, raised its face.
Its visible pupils were unmistakably those of a monster.
And judging by the pressure it was giving off…
“It feels like it’s a notably strong entity, even among bishops. Riel… together with Rina….”
“No way!”
Riel brushed aside Belo’s hand that was trying to stop her.
She didn’t intend to back down on this stage, representing Schugenhartz.
“What’s so scary about that thing? Come on, we’re Schugenhartz! Are you telling us to run away like scared little rats?”
“Riel, that’s not what I mean….”
“I clearly said I don’t want to. I don’t want you fighting alone, and I certainly don’t want to hide here like some coward.”
Riel continued forward.
She declared confidently, without any hesitation. Her voice shot through the air like an arrow, reaching the giant’s ears.
“Hey! You oversized monster standing there for no reason.”
The giant, which had been still without a hint of movement, began to show a strange reaction as Riel approached, nodding slightly.
Riel paused momentarily but kept moving forward. Rina tried to dissuade her from the side, while Belo prepared a protective spell to ensure she wouldn’t get hurt.
“Can’t you hear me? Move it already!”
Seeing that the giant had no intention of stepping aside, Riel gathered her mana. Blue particles shone in the air, and her familiars growled in response.
As it looked like Riel was about to attack, the giant exhibited an even stranger reaction. It began to hop in place, making a clattering sound as if performing some kind of ritual.
The monster’s pupils were now focused on tiny Riel.
『What’s that?』
Then, they turned elsewhere.
Just then, a man appeared out of nowhere and placed his hand lightly on Riel’s head.
The black-haired man shared the same sharp gaze as Riel.
Trying to figure out who had the audacity to place a hand on the daughter of Schugenhartz, Riel looked up.
She mixed feelings of joy and surprise poured out in her words.
“Rheincarven, big brother…?”
She was sure the third and fourth years had gone outside.
Riel’s inquiry went unanswered by Rheincarven, the Student Council President of Academia, who directed his noble gaze towards the giant.
But his lips spoke of someone else.
“…Vargan. Is this why you provided us with the familiars’ eyes?”
For securing vision and utilizing his fiancée Erica’s warp magic to travel.
Considering the distance and the Academy’s defense system, this shouldn’t have been possible. Yet, it seemed he had orchestrated something while taking advantage of the unusual circumstances.
With Rheincarven’s appearance, the giant began to move even more energetically than before.
Its legs pounded against the ground faster, and the clattering of its teeth grew fierce.
“Assessing the situation is our top priority, but first…”
The first son of Schugenhartz, Rheincarven.
“I suppose I’ll need to deal with you.”
His magic was activated.
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