The academy, which was in the midst of a festival, turned into chaos in an instant.
KYAAA-!!
KIEEEE-!!
Chimeras suddenly appeared from somewhere.
They began to rampage and destroy their surroundings.
“Save, help!!”
KYAAAAAAK-!!
UUUAAAAAANG-!!
Terrified people screamed and fled, while flames erupted everywhere, and the academy started to respond.
Guards, student council, and teachers.
Every available person was deployed to evacuate people and engage in battle with the chimeras.
In fact, some chimeras were subdued or killed under the teachers’ desperate efforts, but the problem was that the number of chimeras suddenly appearing was not just a few.
There were at least fifteen chimeras confirmed in the vicinity.
That number was far beyond what the academy’s own personnel could handle.
Meanwhile…
“Request for support from the southern tower!”
“Request for support from the western tower as well!”
Student council office.
To put it simply, it was complete chaos.
The student council and the academy’s guard couldn’t compose themselves due to the sudden chimera attacks.
“Have we contacted the Peacekeeping Force and the Capital Guard?!”
“The Peacekeeping Force 1st squad and the Capital Guard’s special unit have deployed! Estimated arrival time is 30 minutes!”
“What the hell is happening…!!”
Kaylee, who was observing the situation in the guard’s command room, bit her teeth with a crunch.
The scene of the academy displayed in real-time through the scout golem resembled a battlefield.
Fleeing people, teachers and guards engaged in battle, student council members.
The academy was burning everywhere.
This was unprecedented in the kingdom’s history.
“Buy us time, no matter what! If we can just buy time, the Peacekeeping Force and Capital Guard will take care of the chimeras!”
The best action the academy could take now was to prevent further damage.
If the elite Peacekeeping Force and the special unit of the Capital Guard were deployed, it shouldn’t be too difficult to subdue the chimeras…
What remained was a fight against time.
“Have we contacted the Lagrind team yet?!”
“Uh, well… It seems there’s some significant interference…!!”
“Damn it!!”
Forgetting that others were watching, Kaylee spat out curses.
It was unavoidable since what she had to prioritize in this situation was none other than Jade.
It was cruel to say, but if Jade could be safe, she could endure any other sacrifice.
However, Jade was currently out of contact.
Even if she tried to go looking, it was a situation where doing so was impossible due to the rampaging chimeras everywhere.
Just then…
[This is the southern tower. Chimeras have been subdued.]
[This is the western part of the main building. Chimeras have been subdued.]
[The auditorium has also completed the suppression of chimeras.]
“What, what…?”
Kaylee could only wear a surprised expression at the sudden reports of suppression.
It was indeed impossible for the academy’s guards and student council to subdue chimeras.
Just delaying even that level was a blessing.
Yet, news of chimeras being subdued was coming in from across the academy.
“What’s happening?”
[We’re also bewildered by this sudden occurrence, but… You should see it for yourself.]
“Show me the footage.”
As she spoke to the voice coming from the communicator, a student council member manipulating the golem switched the screen.
And…
“What on earth is that?”
What they saw was the sight of fallen chimeras sleeping and a mechanical device flying around them, releasing unknown gas.
*
[It really happened as you said…!!]
Silphier couldn’t hide her astonishment as she watched the scene unfold.
The chimeras hadn’t just appeared; they started attacking randomly.
It was exactly like the story she had heard earlier.
…
Time leaped back a few days to a sunny afternoon…
In the storage room and Silphier’s dormitory.
“Huh…”
With a short sigh, Rudell put down a large box.
“Is this it?”
[Yes, yes…!! Let me check it out.]
As Rudell wiped the sweat from his forehead with a short sigh and asked, Silphier nodded and noted something in her notebook.
Her room was now filled with all kinds of boxes.
Inside those boxes were none other than alchemy materials.
From herbs commonly found around to monster byproducts and even hard-to-get materials, they were piled high.
[H-how did you bring all this in…? Normally, these things can’t just be brought in…]
“Hmm… That’ll be a secret. Just to clarify, I didn’t abuse my student council power.”
Rudell, who was letting out low groans, replied with a slight smile.
Philsberg Academy was one of the most important facilities among national facilities.
As such, security was quite strict, and students had to go through a complicated process to bring anything into the school.
Naturally, most of the items right before them hadn’t passed that process.
However, for Rudell, bringing such items wasn’t that difficult.
Shadow Magic.
One of its abilities was to create a pocket dimension within one’s shadow to store items.
The reason why Shadow Magic had been overlooked in the original story was simply because it appeared too late.
[By the way… Is that story for real? That monsters will attack during the Sabbath Festival…?]
“I’m not certain, but the possibility is very high.”
At least, that’s what Rudell thought, considering from their perspective.
With everything ready, the objective is approaching right in front?
Who would be foolish enough to miss that opportunity?
[It’s hard to believe, but if Count Weinstein said so…]
“Thanks for believing me.”
[So… Can we make an anesthetic with this?]
“Yep, a massively powerful one.”
The plan Rudell devised to prepare for the attack during the Sabbath Festival was simple.
Create an extraordinarily powerful anesthetic to immobilize all the chimeras.
There might be slight variations depending on the individual characteristics, but chimeras have strong resistance to both physical and magical attacks.
So wouldn’t it be better to suppress them with another method?
No matter how dangerous and terrifying the chimera might be, it ultimately could never surpass the limits of being a living creature.
What if you slammed down anesthetics strong enough to put a dragon to sleep; how could they possibly endure?
And just at the right moment, there was a genius here who excelled in both magical engineering and alchemy.
A genius capable of creating anesthetics strong enough to immobilize even chimeras.
“Do you think you can manage?”
[I-I might need to do some research, but… it should be possible…]
Silphier nodded at Rudell’s question, and Rudell said to her.
“I’m counting on you; it’s something only you can do.”
[Yes, yes…!!]
…
Back to the present.
[What on earth is that person’s true identity…]
Looking at the scene unfolding before her eyes, Silphier thought.
Despite being the Count of Weinstein, he had fought the Marquis’ son to help her.
Then, suddenly appearing with serious injuries, fainting right away.
He even predicted the chimera attack happening before her eyes…
No matter how she thought about it, he didn’t seem like an ordinary person.
[What am I even thinking…]
Silphier shook her head vigorously.
It wasn’t the time to ponder that.
She needed to prevent further damage as she had prepared.
That was her task now.
Huh…
Steam gushed forth from her armor, reflecting the chaotic emotions she felt.
But that was only for a moment.
Soon, she turned her head and opened a box she had prepared in advance.
What was inside were metallic objects shaped like spheres.
These were none other than the golems she had created.
Golems armed with a powerful anesthetic capable of putting people to sleep in seconds.
After glancing at them for a moment, she carefully reached out toward the golems.
From her armor, a needle charged with electricity emerged, and she carefully brought it to the golems.
ZAP!
With a sharp sound, the electricity surged through the golems, powering them up…
And simultaneously, they began to move with mechanical whirring sounds.
Small rods sprouted from the tops of the golems, spreading out to create propellers, and the red lenses positioned in the middle of their bodies began to emit light.
Before long, the golems, having gained enough thrust, took to the sky and spread across the academy.
It’s something only you can do.
[I can only do this…]
As she watched the scene unfold, Silphier repeated those words in her mind, concentrating on the screen before her.
The views from countless golems were shared before her, capturing the chaotic situation at the academy, and as she watched the situation unfold, Silphier slowly took a breath.
The burning academy and people lying everywhere.
The teachers and guards, as well as student council members, struggling in battle.
In her normal state, she would have turned away from such a scene immediately, but she didn’t.
She would do what she could.
That was the only thought in her mind right now.
