EP.22
At this moment, Altina von Rudel Seryas found herself forced to acknowledge her mistake.
“I was too careless.”
Indeed, careless. If she didn’t use this word, how could she possibly describe the situation in which she currently found herself?
Last night, Altina had finally managed to leap over the enormous wall that had obstructed her for years and awakened her aura.
Considering that countless martial geniuses had been unable to overcome the wall known as the aura and had faced countless frustrations before it, it would be an understatement to say that Altina’s talent for having awakened her aura at such a young age was truly extraordinary.
In the future, the name Altina von Rudel Seryas would surely be etched into the pages of the empire’s history, never to be forgotten until the empire fell.
Moreover, at the very moment she realized her aura, Altina became aware that her fundamental physical abilities had increased several folds compared to before.
The moment the aura, which could be considered the crystallization of vital energy, was activated within her body, her latent potential was unleashed.
Even without manifesting her aura, she now possessed enough strength to easily overpower her classmates with just her basic physical capabilities.
It was precisely for this reason that she became careless. Furthermore, the place she was in was Nineveh. Not only was she surrounded by students with exceptional talents, but there were also countless instructors guiding them.
Thus, she had no hesitation in demonstrating her aura to the man named Jin, fully extracting all her magical power, even while being well aware that a practical monster training session was to take place soon.
She was convinced that no matter what problems might arise, she would definitely be safe within the confines of Nineveh, even if she did not take action herself.
…That, in fact, was her critical mistake.
Altina knew this: Claire Delphine Mascarena was a woman born with tremendous talent as a mage, but at the same time, she was inherently very timid and fragile in nature.
The House of Mascarena was a well-established family of magic with a long history and tradition within the empire, but it was said that their power had considerably waned in recent times.
As a result, Claire Delphine Mascarena, the current heir of the House of Mascarena, was attending Nineveh on a scholarship despite her noble status.
Because of this, Claire was always under pressure to achieve excellent grades in every class.
If she didn’t perform well in this class, if she couldn’t stand out from others, if she couldn’t prove her excellence—
One day, it might happen that all the benefits of the scholarships she had been receiving without fail would be revoked.
The House of Mascarena, having lost its prestige, naturally could not afford the astronomical tuition fees of Nineveh, and if that were to occur, Claire would have to drop out.
To be forced into such a humiliating situation, simply because she could not cover her tuition despite being a descendant of the noblest bloodline—
…That could not happen. Claire had to graduate from Nineveh. She had to graduate and prove her superiority, using that as a stepping stone to restore the glory of the Mascarena name.
That was precisely why she had used the grand spell ‘Spear of Coquitous’ to catch a mere orc.
In today’s practical class, she was joined by Erekaya del Pendragon, regarded as the pinnacle of the Pendragon family’s masterpieces, and Altina von Rudel Seryas, known for her comparable talent.
In such a context, using ordinary magic and catching an orc in a conventional manner would never allow her to stand out. Thus, she displayed the grand magic she had desperately honed at such a young age.
Although she might fall short compared to Erekaya or Altina in overall student abilities, she aimed to demonstrate that, in terms of magic, she held the upper hand.
Altina also understood that Claire was in a precarious situation. She was well aware that Claire would use the grand magic she had polished over time today.
However, the power of the ‘Spear of Coquitous’ used by Claire far exceeded what Altina had anticipated.
If it had struck directly, even an aura user would have struggled to guarantee their life against such overwhelming force.
“Urgh, ah, ugh—”
If the only target she had to be concerned about was Altina herself, she could have easily dodged the aftermath of the Spear of Coquitous.
However, there were far too many students around her who were completely oblivious to the situation that was about to unfold just one second later.
To abandon everyone and retreat to safety on her own would totally violate the pride of someone who bore the Seryas bloodline.
So, she summoned all the aura from her body and spread up a barrier to protect the students around her as much as possible.
As a result, this was how things ended up. Everyone was safe thanks to her efforts to shield them from the shockwave, but Altina herself sustained severe internal injuries.
“Ugh—!”
Blood spilled from her mouth. A violent pain engulfed her, as if her internal organs were being pushed up. But this was not the time to be leisurely coughing up blood.
“Grrrrr!”
Somehow, an ogre that had been trapped in a cage managed to break free.
Though its movement was severely hindered, like having its Achilles’ heel cut off, the ogre still clearly recognized her as ‘prey’ and was slowly approaching the female student lying on the ground.
‘No!’
That female student had lost consciousness due to the aftermath of the magic. As soon as the ogre reached her, it was obvious it would strike down with its massive fist without a second thought.
…She had to stop it. She didn’t care who that female student was, nor what advantages might come to her if she saved her.
The only thing on Altina’s mind was the undeniable fact that a person might die right before her eyes, and she couldn’t just stand by and let it happen.
“Gwaaaaah!”
She couldn’t use her aura… Even the slightest movement caused waves of excruciating pain throughout her body. Thus, there was only one thing she could do.
To use her own body as a shield and save that girl.
Summoning every ounce of strength remaining, she threw herself to cover the girl.
Fortunately, she wasn’t too late. It was something she could manage to do with ease. Altina clenched her eyes shut and braced herself for the ogre’s fist—
Boom—!
“…Huh?”
The death that had been expected to befall her did not come. No, it just didn’t happen.
“…..”
The ogre’s fist that had been flying toward Altina vanished. Not metaphorically or anything; it literally, and completely, “vanished” from the ogre’s right arm that had been extended toward Altina.
“You’re lucky.”
A voice that sounded hoarse, as if its throat were completely shattered. Because of that, Altina couldn’t tell who the owner of that voice was while her eyes were shut.
She sensed a smell akin to cooking flesh coming from somewhere. Unconsciously, she cracked her eyes open just a little—
“I was gonna rip your head off, but I miscalculated and only took an arm.”
Before her stood Jin’s back.
“…You, you—”
However, Jin’s current appearance could hardly be called normal, even as a compliment.
His entire body was red as if he had suffered burns, emanating tremendous heat and steam.
His skin was cracked open like that of a drought-stricken field, and blood flowed continuously from the gashes.
…But, in contrast, Jin’s eyes sparkled with an intensity unlike anything else.
From this point, there was a strong determination reflected in his eyes, vowing not to take a single step back.
“Gwaaaah!”
It was at that moment that the ogre realized its arm was gone and let out a howl. The intense pain began to flood in, as the realization came only now, moments after the event had transpired.
However, this was a distinctly different kind of scream from before. It was no longer a howl of exhilaration from showcasing its power and intent to kill its prey, but rather a cry steeped in fear and the terror of impending death.
“Shut your mouth; you’re being annoying.”
At the same time that Jin spoke those words, the ogre swung its remaining arm widely. This was not an attempt to smash an enemy but a primal act of violence, a desperate flailing to escape the terror that stood before it.
Rumble—!
Jin blocked the ogre’s strike with just one hand, a blow that could crush even a massive boulder if it connected.
And then—
Boom—!
The veins in Jin’s arm burst forth from the sheer force of the impact he had just absorbed. It was a gruesome sight, as if a bomb had exploded within his arm.
This was not a reaction from blocking the ogre’s strength; it was the costly price of using power that should never have been wielded with an incomplete body.
On the surface, it appeared as though Jin was on the brink of death after stopping the ogre’s strike, while the ogre still had plenty of strength left to attack.
But in that instant, a warning shot through the ogre’s mind, driven by instinct: Get away from that human. Leave as quickly as you can. If you stay close to that human any longer—
You will die. Absolutely.
“It’s too late.”
In the next moment, the ogre’s hand, clutched by Jin, began to twist unnaturally. Its arm contorted in ways that should have been impossible, breaking and fracturing, being destroyed.
There was no pain. However, the absence of pain only intensified the fear. The ogre could only watch in horror as its body was being ruined before its very eyes.
Destruction breeds destruction. What began at its fingertips rapidly spread like a plague throughout the ogre’s entire body. The arm, the first to be destroyed, soon turned to dust, scattering everywhere—
“…..”
There were no screams.
Only after the ogre had vanished into dust did Jin finally resume the breath he had been holding.
Simultaneously—
“Ha, ugh—”
As time resumed in his entire body, the expected backlash hit him all at once.
“Ah… ha, ah—”
His consciousness began to fade. A horrific pain surged through him, as if thousands of insects were gnawing at him from the inside out. His body was pleading with him to stop.
“…Damn it. This is why I didn’t want to use it.”
He no longer had the strength to stand. The backlash of using that cursed power had finally come. It seemed he needed to let his body rest for a bit.
But before that—
“Altina—”
Jin turned to look at Altina. Thankfully, it appeared that she was unharmed.
Thank goodness; I could get hurt in her place.
A sense of satisfaction filled Jin as he gazed at Altina, knowing she was safe and unscathed, and he slowly closed his eyes.
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