Forbidden Words
“Back then… Khuuuhhh… The Evil Eye is going rampant… Kyaaaahhhh!”
“Are you alright, Trixie?”
Evangeline approaches Beatrice and pats her on the back.
Her Evil Eye is a danger predictor.
It informs you of certain upcoming peril.
The enemy hasn’t arrived yet.
That means there’s still time.
I don’t know how much time is left, but I’ve secured the Association’s support in advance for situations like this, so it should be fine.
Thinking like that, I stand up and head out into the hallway to call Ichiro.
[What’s going on?]
Ichiro’s indifferent voice is heard.
“It seems like the League has shown up.”
[Really? Then right now… yeah…]
Ichiro was about to reply as I finished my sentence.
Right.
I don’t know who the enemy is, but with Ichiro and the Association’s forces, we can handle it well enough.
Still, I need to do what I can first.
[Association President. Right now… Crackle…]
[They’re attacking… Crackle…]
[What? Crackle…]
Just then.
The call disconnects with a burst of noise.
Thud.
All the blood in my body turns cold.
I’m not clueless like a Light Novel Protagonist.
I understand what the call meant.
Something has happened to Ichiro.
It’s highly likely this was the enemy’s doing.
No, it’s not just likely—it’s certain.
Messiah.
He has cut off our reinforcements.
“Damn it.”
The big picture has completely fallen apart.
The support I had planned is gone.
That means I have to stop them with just the forces at this ryokan.
Against an unknown EX-rank villain.
This is the worst.
Objectively speaking, we can’t win.
Even tying is close to a miracle.
The gap in power between an EX-rank ability user and those below that rank is that vast.
‘Running away now would be…’
Impossible.
Thanks to the unexpected incident of the Seoul terror, I know an uncomfortable truth: Messiah has made me his main target.
So even if I run away from here, he would chase me until he kills me.
With the Association’s support cut off by the enemy’s attack, the only safe place in Japan is the academy.
But the physical distance between Beppu and Tokyo is considerable.
Reaching the academy in just a few hours is unrealistic, and thinking that Messiah won’t have another plan prepared is downright foolish.
Moreover, with Beatrice’s Evil Eye having manifested, it’s reasonable to assume that he is nearby.
There’s only one choice left.
There is only one choice.
If I have to fight, I must win.
Defeat means death.
“Damn it.”
Gambling isn’t exactly my area of expertise.
*
Gooooooooo!
In the skies over Beppu.
The night view of the onsen city, shrouded in darkness, filled his vision.
As Japan’s largest hot spring city, steam rose from onsens all around.
The streets were lit up by tourists in yukata.
With so many ryokans, it’s no surprise this onsen tourism city was bustling.
The target for today was staying at a resort-type large ryokan.
A ryokan where Shuo Hero Academy students congregated, right under Berserk’s feet.
“It’s D-Day tomorrow, but…”
The original operation time was set for midnight, transitioning from today to tomorrow.
But things got complicated when the Undertaker couldn’t control her temper and ambushed Association President Ichiro’s group, which was secretly waiting nearby.
“Anyway…”
Berserk’s brow twitched.
Although the Undertaker was the strongest among the Four Horsemen, she was too unpredictable.
Muttering his dissatisfaction, he said, “Just a bit early for D-Day.”
With that short incantation, Berserk’s new form dove straight down to the ryokan.
Bright flash!
Boom! An explosion erupted with a dazzling light.
Beatrice.
It was the moment when the threat she had foreseen became a reality.
*
Not long before the attack by Berserk.
In the ryokan’s backyard.
A beautifully arranged Japanese garden saw pink-haired beauty, Mayuzumi Mayu, strolling through.
Dressed in a yukata, Mayuzumi cradled her cheeks, which were flushed the same pink as her hair, and twisted her body in embarrassment.
“Teacher, I saw something terrible. What should I do?”
There was no one around.
It was mealtime, and in the empty, quiet backyard, there were no students to be found.
It was the perfect situation for a walk alone.
The scene she had just witnessed replayed in her mind.
Kim Deok-Sung.
And the countless beautiful girls surrounding him, all bathing together in the outdoor hot spring.
As a homeroom teacher, Mayuzumi cared greatly about each student in her class, and it was natural for her to know the rumors about Kim Deok-Sung.
The Black Beast, Harem King, swapping out women every night, and so on.
Embarrassing rumors to even utter.
She thought most of them were just baseless gossip.
But not all of it was a lie.
From her perspective as their instructor, it was clear that the attention of the heroines, who were called harem members, was indeed focused on Kim Deok-Sung.
At least the nickname Harem King felt partially true.
“Could the Black Beast not just be a rumor after all?”
Blush.
Mayuzumi’s face turned crimson.
For someone who wasn’t even married yet—no, who had never even held a man’s hand—seeing Kim Deok-Sung and the harem members bathing together was far too provocative.
But after witnessing the mixed bathing, her thoughts began to shift a little.
Perhaps not all of the scandalous rumors were untrue.
Thump, thump.
Mayuzumi’s heart raced.
It was her first time.
Seeing an unfamiliar man’s naked body.
His firm physique and his heavy lower region kept flashing before her eyes.
‘W-What if I never get married because of this…?’
Mayuzumi’s face turned even redder.
She recalled a conversation from earlier.
In her struggles with her old maid complex, Kim Deok-Sung had told her.
He, while calling her the Black Beast, had kindly replied that she wasn’t actually a middle-aged woman.
As if to kindly respond to his earlier rudeness, she let him know that she was not a spinster.
His words echoed in her ears.
Thump, thump.
A vision of the open-air hot spring floated before her eyes.
There she was, soaking in the water, completely naked, alongside Kim Deok-Sung.
Shake, shake.
Mayuzumi shook her head vigorously.
“No, no!”
Kim Deok-Sung was a student, and she was an instructor.
While it might be acceptable for students to date each other, a relationship between a student and an instructor was socially taboo.
It was literally forbidden.
Forbidden.
Thump.
Her heart raced at the thought of the word “forbidden.”
Forbidden, prohibited, taboo.
Words that delicately stimulated human nature made Mayuzumi’s face turn red.
Too provocative for a 24-year-old spinster.
‘Maybe…’
Mayuzumi swallowed her thoughts.
She recalled what Han Seo-Jin had said to her.
It was in the large bathhouse, after witnessing a calamity, when Han Seo-Jin approached her and said something while they were alone.
Just then, in the midst of recalling those words…
Flash!
A red flash sparkled in the night sky of Beppu.
To ordinary people, it would have looked like fireworks.
Chill.
A shiver ran down Mayuzumi’s spine as she saw the light.
She understood because she was an S-rank hero, not an ordinary citizen.
The red light soaring in the night sky was not fireworks.
“Teacher’s Miracle Sense has detected hostile magical energy!”
Hostile magical response.
At least S-rank or higher.
In the worst case, possibly EX-rank.
The pink delusions that floated in her mind vanished in an instant.
With a swift motion, she pulled out her cane-like magic weapon, the Moon Staff, from her waist.
Clack.
Crossing her arms, Mayuzumi Mayu struck a magical girl pose and shouted.
“Magical Girl Magical☆Miracle★Mayu-Ring, transform!”
Flash.
A pink magical light burst forth, wrapping around her entire body.
Ding-dong~♪
With an inappropriate childish sound effect, the magical girl outfit adorned Mayuzumi-sensei.
At that moment, sporting a magical girl outfit that accentuated her ample bosom while holding a pink staff…
Whoosh–!!
With a bang, the red light that had been hanging in the sky fell to the ground, leaving a glowing trail.
Shiver, shiver.
Just before the light reached the ground.
In that fleeting moment.
Mayuzumi Mayu’s eyes trembled.
She realized.
The master of the hostile magical energy before her was not an S-rank but a monster of EX-rank.
‘If I don’t alert anyone soon…’
Mayuzumi Mayu, the S-rank hero known as the Destructive Magical Girl, was aware she couldn’t take on an EX-rank villain alone.
She needed backup.
Desperately, she tried to contact reinforcements through her magic weapon network, but…
[Static. Buzz.]
There were no replies.
The communication had already been cut off.
“Miracle☆Magical★Barrier!”
Ding-dong.
Mayuzumi quickly deployed her shield.
A pink magic circle appeared atop her staff, enveloping the entire ryokan in a translucent protective barrier.
Miracle Magical Barrier.
Just as her ultimate defense skill activated…
Flash.
The red light collided with the pink barrier.
Ka-pow-pow!!!
With a thunderous noise, the barrier shattered like glass.
Boom!
Soon after, an explosion echoed in the backyard as the red light descended.
“Ahhh! Guh!”
Mayuzumi gritted her teeth and shielded her body from the explosion.
He gritted his teeth and braced himself against the explosion.
Sssssss.
The smoke cleared.
Under the bright moonlit night sky, a massive man revealed himself.
His long red hair billowed wildly like a lion’s mane.
With squirming scars etched all over his body, he looked like the legendary Goliath returned to life—a muscle-bound monster surpassing two meters.
He held a great sword in his hand, his eyes glinting.
White vapor was rising from his entire body.
“The Destruction Magical Girl…”
Sssssss.
White vapor leaked from the mouth of the massive man, Berserk.
The crimson great sword, Hrunting—his unique cursed weapon—gleamed spectral in the moonlight.
“That defensive skill from just now was quite impressive.”
He grinned.
Thump.
He slung Hrunting over his shoulder.
“Believe it or not, I’m quite the gentleman. I don’t particularly feel like slaying a woman, especially not one who’s not worth the fight.”
There was an eerily palpable aura emanating from Berserk.
Yet, Mayuzumi was on high alert, every nerve in her body tensed.
She knew.
The notorious name and rank of the man before her.
EX Rank Villain: Berserk.
Once a renowned mercenary on the battlefield, he fell from grace into villainy after his excessive brutality and thirst for power led him to an accident.
As an S Rank Hero, she knew all too well that fighting Berserk would lead to a preordained defeat, just as he boasted.
“A fight with a predetermined outcome is neither interesting nor worth my time. You’re not my target. So if you don’t intend to fight me, I’ll graciously ignore you.”
“…What is your target?”
“Kim Deok-Sung, Kurosawa Yuji.”
Berserk said confidently.
The moment she heard his target, Mayuzumi bit her lip.
She had just thought something scoundrel-like.
“I am Mayuzumi Mayu, the instructor of Shuo Hero Academy, an S Rank Hero. The Destruction Magical Girl, Miracle Magical Mayuzumi Mayu.”
Snap.
Mayuzumi raised her magic wand.
“As an instructor and a magical girl, I will absolutely protect my students. Therefore, I must decline your offer!”
Mayuzumi bit her lip.
It wouldn’t matter if she died.
Denying her duty as an instructor was not an option; dying would be preferable.
That was the belief Mayuzumi Mayu held as a hero, a magical girl, and an instructor.
Berserk laughed as he saw the unwavering look in her eyes.
Berserk aimed Hrunting at her.
“If your wish is to throw away your precious life meaninglessly…”
Sssssssss.
As red steam poured from the Hrunting in his hand, he said, “Though I’m not inclined, I’ll oblige.”
Boom-BA-BOOM!!
In a flash.
A red flash erupted from Hrunting.
Whoosh.
Berserk swung Hrunting.
With his final words and the deafening blast, the ground shook.
The night sky turned crimson in an instant.
A simple swing, void of skills.
Mayuzumi, struck by the blow, felt blood spill from her mouth as her armored gloves shattered haphazardly.
Boom!
Buildings crumbled, ornate decorations scattered chaotically, and the neatly arranged tatami mats were destroyed as Mayuzumi’s body was thrown to the ground like garbage.
“Oh, no…”
Mayuzumi extended her trembling hand.
The moment the battle began.
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