Chapter 235

TL: TangSanFan

ED/PR: Tanthus

***Bellbrook Subjugation Battle (3)***

― Kieeeeeeek!

There's no defeating sheer numbers.

The pattern of demon summons by Bellbrook wasn't designed to be broken from the get-go.

Stripped of scales by the sword saint Taely McLore and with skin ripped open, a desperate pattern emerged in an attempt to stop him as he climbed the body trying to puncture the heart.

There's only one way to break this pattern.

Not slaying all the demon-kind, but taking down Bellbrook's main body so the summoned demons return as well.

In other words, felling all the marauding demons won't end this calamity.

Ultimately, the disaster won't be over until Bellbrook, yanking on those massive chains high in the air, is defeated.

― Whooosh!

A rising blade of wind swept over the demons on the path to the Trissiana Hall.

The consumption of magic power was greater than anticipated, forcing a grimace, but clearing the way was a priority.

The path to Trissiana Hall, swarming with gremlins was now clear, as the school uniform was stained deep red with demonic blood.

Yet, my own body remained largely unscathed. So long as my combat abilities weren't hindered, I could recover.

After the gradual hill, I dismounted from Merilda and ran up the wooden stairs, soon laying eyes on Trissiana Hall.

『 ... Looks like a big commotion took place here, huh? 』

Human-formed Merilda commented on the sight of Trissiana Hall after landing on the ground.

Trissiana Hall, usually pristine, was partially destroyed on the right outskirts and near the rooftop.

Moreover, the path leading to the lobby was already covered with demonic blood and corpses.

Regardless of the demon hordes, it's unlikely they could have breached Trissiana Hall, where the core staff of Sylvania Academy was working.

I stepped over corpses and entered through the grand glass doors.

The vast lobby of Trissiana Hall, familiar from past visits, unfolded before me on the first floor, but the usual hustle and bustle of faculty and visitors was replaced by destruction.

Shattered glass and broken furniture lay scattered about, creating a scene akin to ruins.

A few faculties were unconscious near the counters and seats, some having bled out already.

They couldn't escape when the demons swept through. Even with executive staff on guard, some lives were still tragically lost due to the sudden onslaught.

『 It's quiet. 』

"Aila and Taely might be looking for the Sage's Tome, so they're probably higher up."

I continued briskly, observing the traces of battle.

The marks of sword strikes adorning the walls were unmistakably from Taely's hand. Taely must have fought the demons here.

Strange. Where had all the faculty gone?

It was odd that not a single one of the Trissiana Hall executives was in sight, only a few bodies strewn about after encountering the demons.

I proceeded up the stairs. Crossing the second-floor corridor, then hastily continuing to the third, there were barely any living humans in sight.

For this central building of Sylvania Academy's administration, the absence of everyone was bizarre.

Then, reaching the fourth floor...

― BANG!

Finally, there was a human figure.

In Trissiana Hall's fourth floor, concentrated with offices and meeting rooms, someone had just kicked open a door from the main conference room.

They seemed gravely injured, clutching their flank and staggering. Based on the hand gripping the side, the bleeding was severe.

A casualty of Bellbrook's magic or the demons? I immediately approached to help them, needing to understand what had happened here.

"Keu, keuhack... A student, what are you doing here? In such... times..."

Upon closer inspection, I recognized the survivor.

White hair tied neatly back, forehead wrinkles and parentheses lines showing the passage of time, and sharp, hawkish eyes.

Vice-Principal Rachel Teslyn.

"Vice-Principal, how did you sustain such injuries?"

"You are... Ed Rothtaylor, the senior class's top student... kuh..."

Having recognized me, Rachel Vice-Principal looked back furtively as if being pursued.

"How... is the situation outside? Can you report?"

"There's no need for detailed explanation; it's as bad as you likely anticipated. For now, the students and a few influential figures are holding up."

"That's good... First, we need to get to the storage room... We must go there now...!"

Urgently, Vice-Principal Rachel quickened my pace. Given the dire circumstances, I assisted her towards the storeroom, located at a corner on the fourth floor.

The storeroom wasn't far.

"What's happening in Trissiana Hall? There are no directives coming from leadership, causing chaos among the students and external faculty."

"We immediately convened in the grand conference room to establish a course of action. But... during the meeting... they invaded..."

"Invaded? What are you talking about?"

"I still... can't believe what my eyes saw..."

Demons invaded?

Yet, no matter how powerful a demon, dropping into the center of a meeting filled with executive staff would instantly lead to a fatal outcome.

The teachers of Sylvania Academy, all prominent figures, filled that room.

A surprise attack would hardly yield significant results, they'd think.

"They all fell victim. Chief Dean McDowell, combat Dean Stan, Alchemy Dean Edelweiss, senior Professor of Monstrology Flurban, senior Swordsmanship Instructor Ploun, and Senior Professor of Spirit Studies Melina... all incapacitated now. And likely Dean Obel was the first..."

"Even Dean Obel... has fallen?"

That instant a vast magical force erupted from the meeting room I had just fled.

The tremendous magical presence looming behind me wasn't just powerful but also unique in nature.

The intense volume of red-hued magic was not of the kind used in typical spells; it was 'Divine Magic,' a rare breed.

The magnitude was alarming.

Even Professor Glast, reputed to have reached the deep end of divine magic amongst the living, couldn't wield such density and quantity of imperial magic. This energy was far beyond the sort used in high-level spells, now threatening to engulf the hallway of Trissiana Hall's fourth floor.

Before I could react, Rachel Vice-Principal, whom I was assisting, pulled me by the arm.

She opened up the storeroom door, thrust me inside, and slammed it shut. She then inscribed a fixed magic circle on the handle, locking it, and covered it up with an illusion spell to make the door disappear into the wall from the outside.

The storeroom had a small window, allowing views from inside. Vice-Principal Rachel was concentrating, gathering her magic. However, from the outside, this storeroom door would remain unseen.

Initially, I thought she had locked me inside. But that made no sense, and it was irrelevant — I could easily break down such a door if I wished.

Still, watching her cast the illusion spell, I realized I had been wrong.

Vice-Principal Rachel hadn't locked me in the storeroom. She had hidden me... inside it.

Hidden? But from what?

"What exactly is..."

"Shush...!"

Unbeknownst to me, we weren't alone in the storeroom.

As my eyes adjusted to the dark, and the storeroom's interior came into view, I caught my breath.

Hidden among dusty shelves and academic supplies, students in uniform crouched out of sight.

They were students assisting with administrative tasks at Trissiana Hall, now hidden in this storeroom by faculty.

Approximately fifteen students huddled in fear or sobbed. One of them, lifting a finger to her lips, motioned for me to be quiet...

"Aila...!"

"We need to hide, senior Ed!"

Aila, pulling me toward a corner, held the coveted Sage's Tome in her arms. However she managed it amidst the chaos, she had somehow secured the Tome from Trissiana Hall.

And at the far end of the storeroom... there was Taely, leaned against the wall sitting down.

Ah, here you were.

The calamity must now come to an end.

The Core Key to Construction. Sword Saint Taely McLaure.

"Taely McLaure."

"Ed Rothtaylor... Why are you... here..."

Taely, leaning against the wall and gasping for breath, seemed to be gravely injured at a glance.

Had he been wounded in a fight with the demon clan after joining the executives? Aila was tending to him, her face crinkled in concern as she clutched at his wounds.

"You're hurt..."

This was not good.

Taely, who was supposed to strike down Bellbrook's heart from now, being severely wounded was an unexpected and troubling twist.

"These wounds... I'll manage... Just..."

― BANG!

Another explosion sounded.

The continued detonations throughout Acken Island were the doing of Bellbrook's restless frenzy.

However, this explosion sounded perilously close. It was coming from the same building, the same floor.

"There's a monster in this Tricks Hall. It's different from demon kin... A real... undefeatable... monster..."

"A monster?"

"Senior Ed."

Before Taely could finish what he was saying, Aila, lifting the sage's seal, called out to me.

"I have something to ask."

Out in front of the supply room, Vice-Headmaster Rachel finishes casting all the disguise spells, gasping for breath.

Checking the door of the storage room enchanted with disguise magic, Vice-Headmaster Rachel closed her eyes tightly and then opened them.

A monster, walking the shape of a man but no deeper than a beast incapable of reason to communicate or explain its behavior, emerged from the conference room.

It was terrifyingly strong.

Rachel prayed to God, hoping that this monster would not notice the illusion cast upon the supply room door.

The situation had unfolded too swiftly.

The sudden revival of Bellbrook, the collapse of the Mekses Bridge—amidst this unprecedented catastrophe in Sylvania history, the academy's high-ranking officials swiftly gathered in the conference room to decide their course of action.

But then, a vast congregation of light blossomed in the center of the hall, blinding everyone momentarily with its dazzling flare.

In the midst of that brilliance, a person landed elegantly in the center of the conference room.

Their face was not visible, shrouded under a robe embroidered with brilliant patterns, torn and soiled with age.

Despite the small stature and the giant wooden staff nearly as tall as their body held diagonally, glimpses of pale skin peeking under the robe hat, and slender hands gripping the staff, suggested it was none other than a young girl.

The appearance of this girl, appearing like a fairy in the middle of the conference room, left the executives momentarily stunned.

Her voice was elegant and refined as she spoke.

― 'Oh my.'

It was as if she had found an insect that needed extermination.

― 'Here, there are many 'variables'.'

The ominous tone in her voice instilled an inexplicable fear.

With a light flick of her hand as if chasing away a mosquito, half of the executives gathered spilled blood. It was so sudden, without any warning, rendering them unable to respond.

They realized too late that they had been hit by a curse spell, with half of their core personnel rendered combat-incapable.

The girl rose to her feet from the center of the conference room.

Then, stepping out of the shadows, her eyes seemed deep-set and empty.

When Rachel locked eyes with this girl, she felt it instinctively—these were the eyes of a 'madwoman.'

A gaze that screamed of a mind crazed from being submerged in one place too long, ultimately consumed by insanity.

Rachel stood abruptly, demanding to know the identity of this person.

― A piercing screech of Bellbrook tore once more through the skies above Acken Island.

Hearing that, the girl in the center of the conference room briefly turned to look out the window. She saw sights akin to the arrival of a calamity.

The roar of the Sky Piercing Dragon tearing through the heavens, hordes of demon kin invading the earth, people dying, forests ablaze, academic buildings collapsing.

Upon witnessing such devastation, the girl voiced out.

― Cack.

― Cack, cack, cackcackcack! Cack! Cackcackcack!

A series of bizarre and chilling laughter followed.

Her laughter, as she slumped forward with jerky, contorted movements, was enough to make one's skin crawl just by looking at it.

Rachel furrowed her brows, gathering her magic.

The other professors, still in good condition, rose as well, attempting to subdue the girl at that moment.

─Closing and opening her eyes briefly, she saw the bloodied scene in the conference room.

The girl had obliterated the empire's top-ranked professors in less than ten seconds.

* * *

Aila opens the last page of the Sage's Seal.

She lifts the book to show Ed.

Winner Assistant