CH 121

I was standing on the sixth floor. The ceiling of the seventh and eighth floors had been shattered. I shot through the two, stopping on the eighth. Natalie stood on the dimly lit seventh floor below me, with her arms outstretched, glaring at me. I could feel the power of the Disaster crackling in her veins.

“You aren’t going anywhere.”

Mana wrapped around the tentacle and shot toward me. I dodged them gracefully, dancing around the debris with footholds made of magic. The tentacles swarmed the room, breaking everything in sight. Whenever a tentacle got close to me, I called upon my aura to crush it.

“My tentacles are sharper than a swordsman’s blade.”

I would’ve been in a difficult position if she knew how to control the tentacles better. I frowned at the physical pain I’d felt in quite some time. Natalie was right. It broke an aura-infused sword, and most knights couldn’t react to its speed.

“I wonder what lesson Professor can teach without a sword?”

The area around me was crumbling. I didn’t have an infinite pool of mana, either. If I linger any longer, those tentacles will grab my limbs and tear them off, or they’ll lash out, intent on impaling me like they are now.

Disengage. A fundamental skill when dealing with an overwhelming power. I could hear the voice of the Holy Sword in my ears. There is no need to subdue strength. I placed my foot lightly on the tip of the tentacle.

“Gotcha.”

“Never take your eyes off the target, Natalie. I’ve taught you that before.”

Natalie’s flashing eyes met my downward gaze. When I let out a light chuckle, her face colored with confusion, unaware I wasn’t caught. Bracing my knees, I spun around.

“Don’t let your guard down, don’t be so sure. Even if you knock them down, even if you pierce their heart, don’t make any judgments about the outcome until the fight is over.”

The wind whistled past my ears. I jumped off and landed against the wall on the eighth floor. The distance widened my vision. I buy myself time to think to formulate a plan of action.

“…I can only hope to make it to the tenth floor, buying time with hand-to-hand combat.”

‘The only thing I had to rely on was purely my body. I needed to retrieve the Holy Sword or Null on the tenth floor to resolve the situation. To do that, I needed to-.’

“Have you thought of something?”

Natalie slipped through the hole on the eighth floor. The way she slithered up, using her tentacles as legs, reminded me of a villain in a movie. Her body glowed, covered in ominous color. The ghostly body stared down at me as if to snap me up.

“It would be cowardly of you to attack like that from a distance.”

“I am a wizard, Professor. It’s natural for me to attack my enemies from a distance. Rule number one is for a wizard never to break when dealing with a knight. ‘Give them no space. You know that, right?”

The tentacles clumped together again. I cocked my head, staring at them. They looked like they were poised to lunge at me at any moment. They were probably waiting for me to make a move.

“So, Professor, you’d better close the distance, right?”

I take a step. At the same time, the tentacles fly out to block my movement. I expected it. Without hesitation, I grabbed onto it. The magic of the Disaster raged to erode me, but it had no effect. Natalie’s expression stiffened for a moment.

“-?!”

“There’s not just one right way to fight, Natalie.”

I planted my legs on another and jumped off. Natalie was dragged along, crashing through the wall. I kicked upward again, pulling her with me. I kicked off the center of the eighth floor and slammed her into the ceiling. It broke, and both of us flew to the ninth floor.

“…Why is it so hard?”

It felt like I’d hit steel. I staggered to my feet and smirked at Natalie as she got up on the other side. I tried to knock he unconscious, but she was pretty sturdy herself. She glared at me, shook her head, and returned to her usual expressionlessness.

“You’re a gentleman, Professor.”

I was unscathed, and so were the tentacles. Staring at them raise menacingly, I clicked my tongue.

“I’ve been trying to kill you with every attack, yet you aren’t doing the same.”

“Do you believe I’m not trying to kill you because I’m stupidly nice?”

Natalie flashed the faintest of smiles.

“Do you think teaching and putting me with other students will give me a heart? Do you still believe I can change?”

I frowned and looked at Natalie.

“No. I’m not sparing you because of that. While I can save a person’s life, I can’t change their minds.”

Natalie shook her head in confusion.

“Then why aren’t they trying to kill me now?”

“I need to keep doomsday cultists alive as long as possible, especially those who are part of their core. I have my reasons for taking you alive.”

At my words, Natalie’s smile deepened slightly.

“Liar.”

***

Again.

Daphne bit her lip as she dismissed the monsters pounding on the door. The noise was intensifying. The materials to stop the Meteor were kept safe while the tower was gutted and crumbling. But what was more worrying was that she was unaware of what was happening.

“Nella….”

Daphne wondered if Nella was safe, where Elroy was now, if the monsters were only rampaging inside the tower, or if the entire kingdom had fallen into this mess.

It was a familiar situation.

Daphne glared out the door. She’d been in a similar situation before; When Elroy had disappeared into the fog, and Marianne followed. Daphne had watched and waited.

Now she had the strength to move alone. What the hell was she afraid of that would keep her still?

Daphne rose to her feet. The magic would remain. She could still fight while focusing on the protection spell on the room. At the very least, she could fight as well as Nella.

“…Think, Daphne, think.”

Daphne chastised herself, trying to compose herself. Even if the room was protected by magic, the mana supply might become unstable if Daphne was far away. But she couldn’t sit still.

Daphne dug through her materials and pulled out a sheet of paper—the result of a sleepless night of formulas. It was covered with circles representing the circulation of magic and letters and symbols to create the structure.

“The calculations don’t have to be simple.”

Simplifying equations was done for people below the Third Circle. For Daphne, it was better to perfect her magic with more complex and advanced calculations. Magic came from the heart. Like a spider weaving a web, the threads of mana tied together at her feet to form the formula.

“Listen to my will…”

The transformation of space. Expansion, contraction, and containment. The mana in her heart burned as she began to bend the world’s laws. Daphne didn’t bat an eye at the pain, completing the ritual. A magical circle of blue mana began to glow, enveloping the entire room.

“I make this entire room a world of its own.”

Daphne mouthed the concept of binding. Saying it out loud helped to realize the magic. With her six Circles, she could stop the unnecessary drain on her magic. Fiercely, the energy coursing through her veins created a small vortex. Her violet eyes opened again, a blue glint in them.

“This is what I want you to do.”

The entire lab was bathed in an intense light, and when it subsided, Daphne stood in a deserted hallway. Daphne blinked, clenched her fists a few times, and smiled.

And then, the monsters poured in from the other side of the hallway. She’s faced at least ten so far. All of them were doomsday worshippers who the Disaster had marked. Daphne reached out again, fending them off.

“…How many are there?”

Daphne extended her powers to survey the tenth floor once more. Dozens of creeps wandered the halls, but that wasn’t the point. Daphne’s pupils fluttered open and found a familiar presence.

“Elroy?”

Only Elroy could have such a powerful, unflinching aura. And it was tangling with something, clashing violently—something not quite as powerful as him but with just as much ominous mana. Daphne’s eyes widened in confusion.

‘When did he return to the tower, and what was he fighting?’

It came from below her. Without pausing to think, Daphne took off running. She could tell Elroy was in a difficult situation. It should’ve been a fight he won easily, yet he didn’t.

“…What is he doing?”

Daphne was getting closer and closer. She could hear the sounds of destruction. It was gradually coming closer.

“-!!”

And the floor caved in.

Daphne reflexively summoned a gust of magical wind to lift her body into the air. After breaking through the floor, Elroy looked at Daphne with a surprised expression. His clothes were in tatters, but he didn’t seem injured.

“Isn’t it time to stop running?”

A girl’s voice rose from the dust. Daphne turned to face a grotesque-looking girl with a somewhat familiar face. Daphne remembered her name and realized why Elroy was being pushed back.

“Since when have I done that.”

Elroy replied to Natalie and turned to Daphne. A mischievous grin crossed his face, and Daphne immediately realized what Elroy wanted.

“Here you go.”

Daphne smiled, casting a spell. Elroy’s eyes widened at the sudden rift in the air, then narrowed again as a familiar sword fell from beyond it.

“A gift.”

Elroy chuckled, catching the Holy sword as it dropped into his hands.

“Thank you.”

Then, the tenth floor was bathed in light.