“Everything is for the esteemed ‘Lilith.'”
Knock knock
Professor Cronia opened a massive dimensional gate.
From it emerged a legion of ancient golems she commanded.
Dozens of golems – model soldiers.
Cronia’s main golem, capable of taking on a Sword Expert class single-handedly.
A legion of golems that could truly be called an army.
Whoosh
Behind that horde of golems, the strongest golem controlled by Cronia—the model Golem appeared.
The ultimate golem she was ready to unleash when I had melted her golem and provoked her into a fury.
There’s only one of it, but it possesses overwhelming combat power, the strongest force of the war hero Cronia.
And bringing that out meant she was genuinely intent on facing Dia and me.
‘Lilith’—has Cronia fallen into ‘Chaos’?
Could it be that even Cronia would fall?
She was the dedicated educator who sacrificed herself to save her students in ‘Deus Ex Machina.’
Could such a Cronia…….
Is this even possible?
Is it because I provoked her and melted her golem during the first class orientation?
That’s absurd. No matter how much she appeared as a villain in the early parts of ‘Deus Ex Machina,’ it was due to elitism; she later reformed and even sacrificed herself for the protagonist.
“Professor……? Why? Why, Professor?”
Dia, still confused.
Since Dia regularly attended Cronia’s Magic Engineering class, seeing her transformed like this must feel even stranger.
No, but I probably wouldn’t be as confused as someone who doesn’t know Cronia’s true nature.
Whoosh
The first golem had now reached right in front of us.
Bang
Boom
With a shield deployed, I blocked the attack.
“Luke!”
“Step back, Dia. I don’t know what’s going on, but Cronia has fallen. She’s our enemy now.”
Because of me……?
Did my desire for attention from the academy students butterfly-effect into Cronia becoming like this?
“Fallen… that sounds a bit off. Perhaps a better term would be ‘awakened.’”
Cronia, perched atop the Golem’s arm, spoke up.
“Ha. Awakened? You’re willing to kill a student just because you lost a duel? How far have you fallen, Cronia!”
Though she was famously known among players for her petty character, this was beyond.
“Lost? You think I lost that time? No! My Magic Engineering didn’t lose! You only took down one of my golems! There’s no way I could lose to you! If it weren’t for the headmaster’s interference, I would’ve won!”
Boom
The Golem slammed its right arm violently into the ground.
“Let’s see once and for all, if you’re superior, or my power, my Magic Engineering is!”
How did it come to this?
This is trouble.
Cronia was a woman who single-handedly defended against the invasion of a foreign race.
When she truly puts her heart into it, she’s an extremely tricky opponent to face.
If she has truly fallen into ‘Chaos,’ it’ll be even harder to deal with her.
I’ve prepared various measures for situations like this.
The problem is most of those measures are useless against the Cronia of now.
Firstly, the ‘Demon King’s Realm’ I previously used effectively against Jevoub’s assassins is meaningless.
It won’t work on golems.
Secondly, Ignis.
This place, the ‘Barrier,’ is separated from the original dimension, but summoning spirits is still possible.
So while I could summon Ignis,….
However, a pure conceptual being like a spirit is extremely vulnerable to the power of ‘Chaos.’
If it were a normal Cronia, that might not matter, but facing a Cronia who has gained the power of ‘Chaos,’ I can’t bring out Ignis.
If Ignis were to be summoned and then corrupted by her ‘Chaos,’ it would be a total disaster.
Of course, since she has gained the ‘Divine,’ it might be different, but… I can’t take risks against such a powerful foe like Cronia.
Various combat methods using different artifacts flash through my mind, but… nothing comes to mind that will work.
No matter how I figure out how to deal with all those golems, I cannot think of a way to defeat that gigantic Golem.
What should I do?
Boom
Boom
Bang
Clang
“Ugh!”
After the initial golem, several others arrived, starting to batter my shield.
The shield couldn’t hold out and shattered.
Have I overthought this!
Whoosh
As the shield crumbled, the next golem’s punch followed.
I couldn’t dodge!
Swoosh
Water gathered in front of me and took the shape of a shield, binding the golem’s arm.
Dia?
“I’m still confused. The professor used to be strict and discriminated against commoner students, but she had a kind heart. She secretly helped hard-working students, even if they were commoners. I still can’t believe this is her attacking us.”
Turning to look at Dia, I saw her wielding the sword of the mermaid Huphnis, manipulating water.
“But since she’s trying to harm you, she’s no longer the professor I knew. I will fight.”
“In a place without water, such advanced water magic… Truly, it’s you, Dia. This will be more troublesome than I thought.”
“Rise, Sarik!”
Dia, holding the sword over her head, whispered to it.
Then, from beneath her, water erupted explosively, forming dozens of purple tentacles.
“Pierce through, Kaleido!”
The tentacles shot through the golems that lined up ahead.
“What! How can a first-year student have this kind of power!”
That was the strengthened protagonist created by the many opportunities given to Dia.
If it weren’t within ‘Deus Ex Machina,’ she wouldn’t be able to wield such power at this point.
However, Dia’s momentum was short-lived.
Boom
The Golem emerged and pushed her back again.
No matter how much she tried to pierce it, she couldn’t penetrate the Golem’s exterior.
The tentacles tried to bind the Golem’s limbs but were torn apart instead.
Dia can’t win.
The difference in power is clear.
sigh
Oh, you foolish lad.
What are you doing, being so boastful about being a high-ranking player.
What? You’re saying you’ll defeat ‘Chaos’ and save the characters I like?
Have the clones been riding high calling themselves ‘Son of Deus’ lately?
Didn’t I clearly vow not to get overly confident again?
Relying on the immature Dia for support.
Without Dia, I might’ve indeed been overwhelmed by the golems.
Now is not the time to discriminate against ‘Chaos’ or anything else.
This crisis is mine to bear.
It’s a future I’ve altered.
I need to resolve this.
“Sarik! Sarik!”
Dia continued to call out, summoning tentacles, but they were all destroyed one by one.
At some point, no more water could be summoned.
She had reached her limit.
“This is it. No more tentacles left to protect you.”
As one by one she destroyed the tentacles, Cronia announced from atop the Golem advancing toward us.
“Sarik… Sarik… why aren’t you coming out anymore…”
“I don’t bear any ill will toward you, Dia. I apologize. But the master’s will is absolute.”
Swish
“…Luke?”
“Pulsreino!”
Once again, I stood protectively in front of Dia, facing the Golem.
“Ha. So now you want to come out after everything? You’ve been hiding this whole time?”
“Yeah. I realized I’ve been a dummy living too comfortably. Ignis!”
I pulled out a potion from the dimensional space, preparing myself while shouting for Ignis.
Whoosh
A massive pillar of flames erupted before me.
From within it came into being Ignis, resembling an adult woman made of flames.
“You’ve come back! The fire from that time!”
Seeing Ignis appear like this, Cronia showed excitement unlike before.
-Luke. You called.
-Ignis. I need your help.
-You poor child who has fallen victim to the schemes of the wicked harbinger of Chaos.
Whoosh
“Alright, then let’s test it! Who’s fire is superior, or if my Magic Engineering is superior!”
Whizz
The Golem raised its arms, generating the sound of gears turning furiously, prepared to counter Ignis’ flames.
The flames, which felt like they could melt anything, began to soften the ground around the Golem.
The heat was so intense it warped the space.
It has grown rapidly stronger. At this level, it wouldn’t be out of place to call it a spirit king.
Is it because of the faith that arose from the Nova Empire?
Ugh! But! Only! With this! This little flame! Am I to lose to your Magic Engineering?!
Ching
Ching
Boom!
From the Golem, strange sounds started to emanate as something burst forth.
Boom!
The massive explosion.
Crack
The very barrier trembled and began to crack.
The external walls of the gymnasium shattered, revealing the outside.
Beyond the dimensional rift lay the chaotic view of the original continent and the academy intertwined.
The collapse of the ‘Barrier’ was imminent.
That explosion was powerful enough to engulf Dia and me, but Ignis absorbed all the heat before us.
It was as if all flames and heat were under her control… such was her movement.
“Phew. Thanks, Ignis.”
I never expected Ignis to easily subdue Cronia like this.
Compared to before, she had grown overwhelmingly powerful against the monster army.
Such a big explosion.
Cronia, being weak physically, would certainly…
Unlike in ‘Deus Ex Machina,’ I promised not to let her die by my hands…
“What the heck happened? The woman made of flames?”
At that moment, Dia murmured.
“What! You see her?”
“I see her! What do you mean? There’s a giant flaming figure right in front of us!”
Wait! Is it because we are in a separate dimension that normally wouldn’t be visible to ordinary people? It seems that Dia can see the spirit after all!
How do I explain this?
Should I bring up the existence of spirits?
-Luke.
-Sorry, Ignis. So…
-No. It’s not over yet.
What?
Suddenly, from the ground, dark energy began to slither up and gather.
Then it formed into a massive… female figure that easily towered over a hundred meters.
“Pulsreino!”
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