Chapter 99

“Haap!”

Chelsea moved swiftly, firing off spells.

“You’re fast.”

Haul from Class 1 deflected her raging wind magic with his spear, frowning.

Watching, Eliana threw up her arms and hopped in place.

“As expected of Chelsea! Small but strong!”

“Who are you calling small?!”

“Why aren’t you helping? Laden!”

Chelsea and Haul shouted at Eliana at the same time.

Eliana flinched and shrank her neck.

“[Wind Chain]!”

Chelsea conjured chains of wind and launched them.

Haul lightly stepped with [Aura Step], dodging Chelsea’s attack.

‘So she really is aiming to be a battle mage. No joke. To use magic while moving at this speed…’

Haul had already eliminated five students from the Magic Department, but Chelsea was on a different level.

‘And even if you close the gap, she’s good at close combat too.’

Unlike other magic students, Chelsea didn’t fall even if she let opponents get close.

Chelsea also found Haul troublesome.

‘He’s so annoying, moving like a snake!’

Haul’s [Poison Aura] was a nightmare for other mages, but Chelsea specialized in wind magic, so she had the upper hand in terms of type.

She could blow away his poison with wind.

Yet, despite the unfavorable match-up, Haul continued dodging Chelsea’s spells and closing the distance.

‘I’m faster.’

Haul was rated just below the Knights Department’s top three, so there was no sign of a quick conclusion.

“Good luck, both of you!”

“Stop just watching and help! Laden!”

“How long are you going to hang back? Hurry up and join in, Eliana!”

Both Haul and Chelsea yelled, and Eliana scratched her cheek.

“Even so, it’s kind of awkward to attack either of you.”

“What’s awkward about it? You’re from the Magic Department!”

“What are you talking about? You’re in the Knights Department!”

“No, I haven’t chosen yet.”

Leo wasn’t the only student who hadn’t picked a department.

In fact, a few dual-class students had ambiguous affiliations.

Eliana was one of them.

In prep for the Department Competition, the Magic Department focused on agility training, so Eliana leaned more toward Knights classes.

As a magic swordsman, she already had agility covered.

So, for the entire prep period, she trained with the Knights students.

“Then help me! Haul’s in Class 1!”

“Sorry, Chelsea. During Knights class, Haul helped me out a lot, even if he grumbled. So it feels mean to attack him just because he’s in Class 1.”

Haul had tried to draw Eliana into the Knights Department for the competition.

Chelsea pressed her temple.

“If you’re not helping either side, go away. Stop hanging around and getting in the way.”

“I agree with Chelsea Lewellin,” Haul sighed, and Eliana grinned playfully.

“But if you two keep fighting, eventually one of you will win, but the winner will be worn out! That’s when I’ll take out whichever one is left! Huhu! Good plan, right?”

Chelsea and Haul’s faces turned cold at the same time.

“Joking! Joking! I’ll help one of you once someone gets tired—”

“So, you’re planning to stab us in the back?”

“A wicked strategy.”

“Huh? N-No, it’s just a joke.”

“Chelsea Lewellin, I propose we take out Laden first.”

“I agree. I was just thinking the same thing.”

“Come on! I said it was a joke!”

Eliana screamed.

Whoosh! Crash—!

Something fell from the sky behind Eliana.

Gwoooooooh!

A massive, three-meter-tall monster appeared.

Its thick hands, capable of smashing a human with a touch, gripped a vicious battle axe.

Snort—snort—

It snorted fiercely from its bull-like head.

“A minotaur?!”

“Why is a demonic beast here?!”

Chelsea and Haul were aghast.

Gwoooooooh!

The minotaur swung its axe down at Eliana.

Crash—!

* * *

“So you are here, Sir Gis.”

“It’s been a while. Not since the entrance exam, Sir Rozes.”

Those around Gis scrambled to stand.

Rozes raised his hand to calm them.

“We hear news of your nephew at the palace every day. His Majesty himself marvels at the Zerdinger name.”

Rozes Lewellin smiled, and Gis responded with a faint smile.

“Abad and Chelsea also took first and second in the Magic Department midterms, didn’t they? I think His Majesty is even more pleased with that.”

Naturally, all eyes were on the powerful leaders of the Zerdinger and Lewellin houses, who supported Lordren, the greatest nation in the continent’s west.

Just then, the whole audience watching the Department Competition began to murmur.

“Is that… a demonic beast?”

“Why are demonic beasts appearing in the competition?”

“Was Neigrang a demonic beast habitat?”

While the spectators looked puzzled, the professors also sensed something was wrong.

“Why are demonic beasts suddenly appearing?”

Professor Sedgen’s eyes widened.

Harrid rose from his seat and hurried toward the control room.

“What’s going on?”

“P-Professor Harrid! There’s trouble! We’ve lost contact with the Neigrang control room!”

“What?”

Harrid’s face hardened.

“Stop the Department Competition and recall the students immediately.”

“Sir? What do you mean…?”

The staff looked confused by Harrid’s sudden command.

“You’re not suggesting we leave students in a danger zone when we can’t even control things!?”

“But Professor Harrid, the upper management will—”

“I’ll take responsibility! Just get the students out!”

“Y-Yes!”

Intimidated by Harrid’s fierce energy, the staff activated teleportation.

“It’s not working! Teleportation isn’t activating!”

A staff member shouted, panicked, and Harrid’s eyes widened.

“What’s going on, Harrid?”

“It’s an emergency. All contact with Neigrang is cut off!”

“What?!”

Sedgen’s face went pale.

Hours had passed since the Department Competition began, but there were still a hundred students left in Neigrang.

“You take command here. I’ll report to the principal.”

“Understood.”

Harrid left the control room, scowling at the broadcast magic screen.

‘What on earth is happening?!’

—

The surviving students in the Department Competition also began to notice something was off.

“Haap!”

“Urgh!”

A Knights Department student was driving a Magic Department student hard.

“You moved so fast it was tough, but this is it! Don’t blame me for eliminating you! I’ll treat you to something later!”

The two students had been close friends.

They had agreed in advance not to resent each other if they ended up fighting in the competition.

The Knights student grinned as he created an opening and stabbed at the other’s abdomen.

The students wore magic bracelets that triggered teleportation at the slightest sign of danger.

It was a magical safeguard for student safety.

So even a real attack to the abdomen wouldn’t seriously injure anyone.

Stab!

“Gah?”

“Huh…?”

But what happened next left both students wide-eyed.

“W-What… Gah?”

Blood gushed from the friend’s mouth, and the Knights student’s hand trembled.

“W-What is this. Hey! Wake up! Come on!”

Pale, he hugged his friend and cried out.

“Someone! Help! My friend’s hurt!”

Meanwhile, outside the fortress walls, monsters began gathering en masse toward the stronghold.

The students guarding the gates looked flustered.

“What’s going on?”

A Summoning Department student stared in shock at the situation outside.

In the midst of fierce fighting between departments, a horde of monsters suddenly attacked.

It was chaos at the gate.

“Monsters?”

“T-There’s way too many!”

There were a lot.

Normally they would have joined forces, but in the middle of the Department Competition, no one could cooperate.

“Lucky break!”

A Summoning student cheered.

It was perfect timing for those defending the gate, since the monsters were now helping hold off the Knights and Magic students.

At that moment, Walden Thaiden, sitting atop the gate wall, narrowed his eyes.

He’d never joined the fight.

He’d just sat and watched the competition, as if waiting for something.

He’d ignored the Summoning Department’s pleas for help.

Suddenly, Walden stood up.

“What? You’re finally going to help?”

The student leading the Summoning Department clicked his tongue, as if to say, “About time.”

But Walden just stared at the monsters.

‘Strange. Why are they suddenly acting as a group?’

As a summoner, Walden sensed something unnatural in the monsters’ movements.

‘They’re being controlled by something.’

With that thought, Walden looked up.

High above the stronghold, he spotted the black wyvern he’d seen during the midterms and gathered [Spirit Power].

“Huh? Walden?”

Whooooom—!

A red glow enveloped Walden’s body.

Fwoosh! Boom!

A massive explosion erupted in the midst of the monsters attacking the Knights and Magic students.

“What was that?!”

“Walden? Why’s he helping us?”

For a student from another department—especially one who didn’t get along with his own department—to help, the others were stunned.

“Open the gate.”

“What? Are you crazy? Why are you suddenly helping them?”

“Stop talking and open the gate. This isn’t the time for the competition.”

“What nonsense! And why should we listen to you— Gah!”

Walden grabbed the leader’s throat.

“No time to explain. Sleep.”

“Guh—!”

The student fainted, eyes rolled back.

Amid shocked stares, Walden spoke coldly.

“From now on, I’m in command. Open the gate.”

Walden shoved the unconscious student aside.

“From now on, our enemies are demonic beasts and monsters. Anyone who keeps fighting between departments—I’ll deal with them first. Spread the word.”

“G-Got it!”

“I’ll tell the others!”

“And you.”

“Eek? Y-Yes?”

A girl jumped at Walden’s call.

“You made a contract with a wind familiar, right?”

“Y-Yeah!”

“Then go tell the other gates.”

Walden looked skyward and summoned [Spirit Power].

Fafnir began to dive at terrifying speed.

“Tell them an emergency has occurred, and the Department Competition is over.”