I move forward, accompanied by Sepia.
As we get closer to Sena’s room, I can feel the air changing.
“This is… miasma? It’s making me feel sick.”
“It seems so. Is this what happens when the gates of hell open?”
It’s different from the time with Mastema. Back then, only a little miasma leaked from her invasion.
It was good that I moved the two slaves. Who knows what kind of effects would occur if they stayed here too long?
Not to mention, the zombie students nearby have been bathed in this miasma.
They’ve clearly been strengthened by it. The first zombie student we encountered could only walk, but now they leap at us with force.
I slice them in half with my flame sword.
They scatter into ashes.
I don’t even want to think about what would happen if I got bitten.
“How long will the barrier last?”
“It was designed for magical accidents, so it’s pretty strong… but at this rate, it might not hold for much longer.”
When I pressed for details, Sepia said that if the miasma covered the entire magic academy, the barrier would likely shatter. Right now, it’s just affecting this area, but if left alone, it’ll spread.
At the entrance to the dormitory connected to Sena’s room, a male instructor stands alone.
“He’s with the Hell Research Society too?”
“Yes, Instructor Balf. He was originally an experienced mage, but he retired from active duty due to an injury and started teaching.”
I see. If he’s an instructor, maybe we can talk this out.
“Sepia, go convince him.”
“…Got it. But I have a bad feeling. Help me if it gets dangerous.”
I send Sepia forward.
With her typical confidence as headmistress, Sepia approached Balf.
She called out to him, but there was no response.
Is he ignoring her?
She tried several times, but when she raised her voice in frustration, Balf’s body began to tremble and he suddenly transformed into a giant blue figure.
Sepia let out a scream and rushed back toward me.
Useless. I wonder if her actual age matches her appearance.
Her movements are clumsy, she’s always behind in everything.
“This is terrifying! I’m so scared!”
“Just give me some support.”
“Why is this happening? Well, I guess it’s my own lack of oversight… haaa.”
Sighing, Sepia hides behind me.
The now-blue giant Balf charges at me at full speed.
I ready my flame sword.
As clumsy as she is, Sepia does have a mage’s talent. She casts a support spell on me and uses ice magic to stop Balf’s legs.
Does his strength match his massive body? He forcefully shatters the ice and tries to break free.
But leaving such an opening isn’t wise.
I first sever his head with my flame sword.
Balf tries to grab his head and reattach it.
Next, I slice off his arms and then his torso.
Finally, his movements stop. But his lower body writhes, trying to regenerate.
Sepia quickly sets his lower half on fire, finishing him off.
“This feels awful.”
“I agree.”
After all, he used to be human. I don’t enjoy cutting down people.
When we enter the dormitory, the inside is completely transformed into another world.
Veins crawl across the surfaces as if alive, and the floor feels like flesh beneath our feet.
Sepia clings to me, walking cautiously. Her occasional shrieks are those of a frightened little girl.
She doesn’t seem like someone who also holds the position of the Minister of Magic.
She might be decent at handling routine affairs, but in times of crisis, she’s completely useless.
I suspect that the composed demeanor she showed in the headmaster’s office was just a facade. This is her real self.
“Let me ask you again—how old are you?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“Your reactions are way too naive.”
I can’t imagine a seasoned mage panicking like this in such a situation.
“…In terms of knowledge, I’m several hundred years old.”
“Interesting.”
“But my actual age is… well, you know.”
The age she finally revealed was exactly what I expected.
I recall hearing about a magic for inheriting knowledge.
Some prestigious mage families pass down their knowledge to their descendants, allowing them to inherit the experience.
Through this method, one can acquire vast knowledge from a young age, with unnecessary memories being removed.
Sepia comes from one of the most distinguished families.
In other words, this girl in front of me may have all the knowledge, but she’s still a child in every other way.
Her ‘mature’ demeanor is probably just her mimicking her ancestors’ behavior.
No wonder she gets outmaneuvered so easily. Being skilled as a mage isn’t enough.
I let out a sigh. At least she’s useful as a mage.
“Why are you sighing? Just because you’re from outside doesn’t mean you know everything about Ahavain. I wasn’t trying to deceive you about my age.”
So, the part about her seeing demons long ago must’ve been about one of her ancestors.
“Never mind. Let’s keep going.”
“O-Okay.”
We proceed further.
The space is distorted.
It’s dangerous from here on.
I cut off the magic flowing through my flame sword and sheath it.
The sheath absorbs the heat from the blade.
Then I draw my Heaven Sword.
“So that’s the famous Heaven Sword, with an angel’s core embedded in it?”
Sepia looks at the Heaven Sword with curious interest.
It should place much less strain on me now compared to before.
And with Sepia’s support magic, I should manage.
I shouldn’t have brought her along, but this is mostly her fault anyway. I won’t feel satisfied unless she helps.
I’ll make sure she stays alive, at least.
Fortunately, she has far more magic than I do. That part, I must admit, is impressive. With her here, we can hold off the miasma.
As we walk, the space around us narrows into a single path.
This is nothing like the dorm’s original layout.
Ahead, there’s a door.
“Sepia, do you sense anything?”
“Sorry, the miasma is too strong. I can’t detect anything.”
“Got it.”
It seems we have no choice but to open the door.
I channel magic into the Heaven Sword.
As always, it’s a magic drain. My magic is being consumed rapidly.
With the activation of the Heaven Sword, an angel materializes.
The magic increase and the way I handle it feels completely different now, even though the angel’s form is the same as before.
The angel has golden hair and wears a beautiful white garment, no less stunning than Mastema.
“Ah, you can finally summon me properly now.”
“I thought I was summoning you before.”
“With that pitiful magic? You barely summoned a fragment of me. I was asleep most of the time because of it.”
It seems this is the angel’s true form.
Sepia, for her part, is awestruck by the angel’s appearance.
No sense of urgency with these two. And I’m supposed to move forward with them?
The angel looks around.
After surveying the warped space, she looks at me.
“Still, you really have terrible luck, don’t you?”
“Shut up, angel. I should be the one complaining.”
“Now that you can summon me properly, call me by my name.”
“I don’t know your name.”
That’s true. Last time, I decided I couldn’t win and blasted her away with the Sacred King’s weapon before she could introduce herself.
“Oh, right. Then remember it now. I’m Victor. Call me Victor.”
“Victor! The angel who brings victory, right?”
Sepia’s eyes sparkle when she hears the name.
But this so-called angel of victory still lost to me.
Even now, she’s ranked lower than Mastema.
“Really, you’re as disrespectful as ever. Well, I’ll grant you my blessing.”
She must have sensed my thoughts.
Grumbling, she activates her angelic blessing.
It’s much smoother than before.
With this, I should be able to fight Mastema head-on.
Though I’ll probably still lose in the end. Well, I can live with that.
