Chapter 122: Former Comrades

I checked the round clock placed above the auditorium entrance . Even though two hours had passed, it felt like the lecture didn't progress as much as I intended.

It was time to wrap things up.

However, my personal ambition got the better of me.

I didn't want to disrupt the current flow as I doubted if I would get to see the students concentrating like this again.

"To summarize once more, just as every human possesses mana, every soul also contains mana."

So, I decided to prolong this level of concentration with a brief summary before concluding the lecture.

Aware that I was about to bring the lecture to an end, both the students and the professors paid close attention to the final summary.

It was the time to highlight the important points that were discussed during the lecture.

"However, as I mentioned, what anchors the mana of the soul is not a physical body but rather a type of will."

That was where the difference arose.

"Thus, depending on their willpower, evil spirits often vary in strength. Although I used the term 'will', it can essentially be seen as 'resentment' or 'lingering attachment.'"

Gulp.

The students were so tense that even the sound of saliva being swallowed could be heard. It seemed like they were recalling the experiences they went through in the first semester.

"As you have experienced, conventional magic does not work on such entities."

This time, it was the professors who groaned in agreement. Having fought against the evil spirits that had overrun the academy several times, they could truly relate to this.

"Simple spells like fireballs, water bullets, lightning bolts. Even though these spells are also conjured using mana, they were developed for the purpose of causing physical damage.""

On the contrary.

I ignited a blue flame on the tip of my finger.

It was a special magic known as the Necromancer's Flame.

"Using this, Dark Mages have a means to harm intangible entities. However..."

The audience was taken aback as I placed my hand above the flame.

However, my hand only felt a sauna-like warmth; there was no burn.

"Harming tangible entities is more challenging."

Of course, this was an extremely rare spell among the arsenal of spells a Dark Mage possessed. After all, their primary opponents were humans. Therefore, there were far more spells that were geared towards human opponents.

I grasped the Necromancer's Flame as it dispersed and vanished.

"I have given you a brief explanation on the background and theory of Black Magic today. We will begin with practical exercises from the next session."

A momentary silence fell at my words.

As I was aware of their concerns, I decided to address them preemptively.

"I might be a Dark Mage, but I do not plan on teaching you Black Magic."

The students looked puzzled. Since they were attending my lecture, they had come prepared to learn about Black Magic.

However, this wasn't a discipline that could be learned with half-hearted determination.

Just like with Dante and the Dark Spiritualist, it was only possible to master if they had no hesitation in walking the disciple's path.

"What I intend to teach you is how to detect and respond to Black Magic, evil spirits, yokai, and much more. Furthermore, what I plan to focus on and teach you in our future lectures is how to protect yourselves from such entities."

That way, incidents like how the academy was easily taken over recently wouldn't be repeated.

Furthermore, by instilling this knowledge in young students, the teachings would spread throughout the Griffin Kingdom. This would enable the kingdom that was vulnerable to Dark Mages and spiritual phenomena to gradually be able to confront them on their own.

The Evil Ghost Griffin, who was a Dark Mage, had created this deformed kingdom structure. Thus being a Dark Mage myself, I had to restore the balance.

Just as I was about to conclude the lecture, a student swiftly raised their hand.

Although much time had passed, no other student seemed to object, so I gestured to him with my hand.

"Speak."

"Professor, I heard that you have solved several unsolved cases during this summer break."

"That is correct."

That statement was true.

After all, most of the unsolved cases in the Griffin Kingdom were either related to evil spirits or yokai.

"So, will the content related to them also be covered in class? For example, conducting lectures by applying the circumstances of that time."

It was quite a good question, and it was also something I was pondering over due to the advice given to me by Erica yesterday.

Instead of merely imparting knowledge, conducting lectures by associating them with the actual cases I encountered would not only improve the concentration of the students, but it would also make the lectures more engaging.

Of course, there were cases I would not be able to reveal out of consideration of the victims, but I thought of selecting some of the less severe ones.

"Yes. I plan to weave my next lecture around actual cases."

At that, the audience stirred once again.

To be precise, it must have felt like a seasoned detective showing his case notes.

It seemed like quite an interesting topic for them.

"Thank you!"

After the student who asked the question sat back down with a satisfied smile, I held the microphone one last time and announced.

"Any student who has discovered anything about the Dark Spiritualist can come to speak to me at any time. However, I hope you will be careful as each person will have only one opportunity to do so."

I made that announcement as they could come and waste my time with any random story. However, as if they had expected that much, the students didn't react strongly.

"Well then, I will conclude the lecture here."

And just like that, I left the auditorium.

* * *

The impact of Deus Verdi's Black Magic lectures didn't just stop at the Loberne Academy.

Until now, Black Magic had been completely opposed and suppressed by the kingdom.

The parents were quite uncomfortable with the idea of their children attending such lectures, and the bishops from the church were also wary.

They feared a student might get corrupted anytime, so they were ready to pounce at the slightest suspicion.

It was quite literal.

However, Deus Verdi was solely teaching methods to counter Black Magic.

Moreover, he himself was acting as their practice opponent.

"Hwup!"

Eleanor roused her mana and formed a green barrier, hiding her entire body behind it.

Flames from the Dark Spiritualist poured onto it.

"Ugh!"

Her hand trembled violently, her head throbbed with pain. But thanks to the Dark Spiritualist adjusting her power, Eleanor managed to fend it off with much difficulty.

"Gasp! Gasp!"

Sweat flowed profusely.

Although she had wielded magic that only used mana before, this was her first time using both mana and mental strength together.

Since it was quite vague, Deus didn't expect her to be able to grasp the concept of mental strength firmly.

The approach Deus used was that to confront the thoughts of your opponent, one had to understand their perspective and put an equal amount of determination into it.

"Well done, next."

"Th-thank you."

Eleanor wiped her sweat and smiled sheepishly on hearing Deus' praise before taking her place in line again.

The next student stepped forward.

"I'm a first-year, Leorus."

He was a handsome boy with striking blue hair known for his expertise in spear techniques and he was an important figure who was destined to be a tanker in Aria's future party.

[Aghhh! I don't want to do this anymore!]

The Dark Spiritualist, who had taken the role of their opponent all this while, grumbled about not liking this arrangement, but Deus chose not to respond.

Eventually, the Dark Spiritualist unleashed the flames once again.

"Keargh!"

Leorus fell backward. It seemed that he was still struggling with the concept of using mana and mental strength at the same time.

"That is enough, next."

Truthfully speaking, the defense Leorus put up was quite good. However, unlike Eleanor or Aria, who were praised by Deus, most students didn't receive any positive feedback.

Thus, while the theory was explained based on Deus' experiences, most of the lectures were conducted through practical exercises.

Both aspects were popular among students. Furthermore, Loberne Academy, which was overrun by evil spirits in the first semester, had already designated it as a mandatory subject.

"Sob."

Once again, unable to withstand the Dark Spiritualist's flame, another student retreated while being visibly upset.

The next student.

"I look forward to your cooperation."

The protagonist of the game, Aria Rias, fixed her gaze on me with a confident posture.

[......]

The Dark Spiritualist's expression turned cold. She unleashed a slightly stronger flame towards Aria.

Aria calmly defended herself while striking the barrier as if nothing had happened.

It showed how stable her mental strength was.

"...Well done."

"Yes!"

Even such light praise made her really happy. Aria spun around with a bright smile.

Aria stood at the back of the line, ready for the next training session. In front of her, her peers who had been defeated by the Dark Spiritualist were already lined up.

"Aria, how do you do that so well?"

"Wow, you're really amazing."

"Could you teach me later?"

"She's quite something."

Leorus, Happy, Florensia, Jin— they were her friends with unique yet significant appearances.

"...."

Her comrades from the first round.

As mentioned before, Leorus excelled as a spear master and was active at the forefront. His water-attribute magic was also top-notch, making him an excellent choice to act as a barrier.

Happy was a female archer who used bows. She always provided additional firepower from the rear alongside Florensia and had an advantage against the items from the Clark Republic.

Florensia was a Mage.

She played a central role in the party by supporting their recovery and making up for Happy's lack of firepower. If she were to fall, it would be like breaking the backbone of the party.

Lastly, Jin was an assassin skilled in dual-wielding. Currently, he was posing as a reserved student, but his household had been involved in an assassin organization for quite some time.

Jin was supposed to be the next head of that assassin organization, but he decided to join the party.

He had various skills such as reconnaissance, dismantling traps, and surprise attacks.

Suddenly, memories of the friendly chatter around the bonfire resurfaced in Aria's mind.

- Ugh, it's tough.

Leorus,, groaned from the frontlines while wiping his sweat off with water magic.

- Seeing this kind of thing makes me miss our academy days.

Happy, grilling meat by the bonfire, missed her academy days.

- We're still students, you know.

Florensia, handling the meat, replied with a sour face.

- You fool, you burnt the meat.

Even Jin sighed irritatedly, asking Happy not to cook.

It was a scene that Aria had seen many times before.

After a day of adventure, they would gather around the bonfire, chatting away.

The most commonly discussed topic during those times were obviously stories from their days at the academy.

Even though they weren't able to return to the academy in the previous round, they had now returned.

Was it really okay to have returned like this?

All of a sudden, Aria couldn't help but feel doubtful.

Throb!

She immediately grimaced in response to the throbbing pain in her head and took a sharp breath.

"Why, what's wrong Aria?"

"Huh? Do you feel unwell somewhere?"

"Sh-should we call the professor?"

"Take deep breaths."

Cold sweat dampened her forehead as the other students worried about her sudden condition.

However, Aria gritted her teeth and spat at her former comrades.

"Get lost! Go enjoy the academy life you all loved so much!"

With fierce hostility, Aria clenched her fists.

She didn't need any of them.

She would only protect the Professor. Never again would she hesitate between them and the Professor.

Even if she were to arrive at that crossroad again...

"I will definitely choose Professor."

Aria turned around swiftly. She didn't feel like being with them anymore.