NOVEL NEXT Chapter 136
How many times in life does one get to witness a person die right before their eyes?
Violet de Crescent, who was raised as a precious only daughter, had witnessed the death of a comrade for the first time during the last Pitbit Jae hunt.
Of course, she was greatly shocked at that time.
There hadn’t been any casualties in the practices or missions she had participated in before.
But she was a student aspiring to become a hero.
To move forward, she had neither the time nor the luxury to be shaken anymore.
Gyaaaah!
…!
As Melissa’s scream echoed, there stood the man who had been Claris’s guardian.
He no longer maintained the form of a human.
Violet quickly assessed the situation.
This was dangerous.
This wasn’t the time to question how the man had died.
And, if the chairman judged it an emergency, fighting among students would be acceptable.
Thud.
…!
She swiftly distanced herself from Caeran and unleashed a barrage of arrows at him.
Papapapat!
Her actions flowed flawlessly without a hint of hesitation.
The archer’s gloves she had used since childhood caressed her hands.
And the sealing arrows she had constantly honed in the de Crescent household surged toward Caeran.
Chichicheng!
!
Caeran deflected all the thick projectiles with a sword he drew with one hand.
Cha-cheng!
However,
Pook! Pooook!
“Oh.”
His brief admiration.
The small arrows that had been caught between the gaps were now lodged in his side.
Soon after, the arrows activated their effects.
Chijijik!
Even one shot would inhibit the target’s movements, isolating them—this was the boon of de Crescent.
This had always reminded everyone that de Crescent was forever the hunter, and the target merely prey.
But…
“How interesting.”
Drip drip…
As poison spread throughout his body, Caeran felt his nerves being cut off one by one. He had no choice but to throw off the cloak he was wearing.
Whoosh!
!
As his cloak fluttered like waves, a thick mist mingled with dark magic began to engulf the area,
And when the black wind wrapping around Caeran finally disappeared,
Thud. Drip drip.
The arrows that had been stuck in him lost their power and fell to the ground.
…
Thus, the two faced each other in a standoff.
Violet maintained tension on her bowstring and spoke to Caeran.
“You… were a demon.”
“Hm~. I’m busy here, aren’t I? This is annoying, isn’t it?”
“For now, both of you, step away from him.”
Having shown the power of a demon twice, there was no way that anyone would be so foolish as to miss it.
Of course, the man in front of them was far from an ordinary demon.
If the usual demon would lose control and rampage under the influence of dark magic, this one was controlling that power as easily as handling mana.
He could even converse while maintaining his rationality.
“Ca-Caeran isn’t a demon…”
“Caeran, a demon? What does that mean?!”
The two women, still unable to accept reality, approached Caeran cautiously and asked.
“Melissa, kill that girl.”
“Huh? Kill her…?”
A panic spread across Melissa’s face at Caeran’s resolute command.
“What are you saying right now…?”
…
“Oh, Caeran didn’t realize… Violet-senpai is the chairman of the marksman department. It seems there’s a problem with the selection test, so you should follow senpai’s orders…”
“Hah. Please, Melissa!!”
…!
Still, Melissa hadn’t become Caeran’s subordinate yet.
As they only had a connection through the magic circuit, the only thing she could do was drain her life force.
She couldn’t give orders as effectively as a subordinate or a curse of obedience.
“Caeran…? No? Violet-senpai, you’re joking too much… Caeran is a demon…”
…I’ll say it again. Step away from him.
While Melissa was in confusion,
Something within Caeran’s mind snapped.
Everything felt bothersome.
He was so disgusted that he felt like vomiting at the idea of talking it out.
‘Well, Melissa was a naïve princess, after all.’
Snap!
As he snapped his fingers,
“Hehehe? Oh, huh?”
Extreme pain began coursing through Melissa’s body.
“Hee… Aaaah!”
Conversely, Caeran’s mana began to overflow and heal him.
Seeing this, Violet exclaimed at him.
“What did you do to her? Stop it immediately…!”
“Shut up. I’m training her.”
“Ughh… Aaah, stop… please!!”
As Melissa kneeled on the ground, groaning repeatedly, Caeran looked down at her without an ounce of sympathy in his gaze.
“Stop whimpering…”
At that moment, Caeran’s magical item received an urgent communication.
District 3 has been breached. There’s no time to waste, move now. Activating the magic tower takes priority.
Breached…?
The three-headed dog, Cerberus, should have been guarding the bridge leading from District 2 to District 3.
Did Yellody deal with that monster already?
“P-please… Ca…e-ran… huuhh!”
Snap.
As Caeran snapped his fingers while watching Melissa writhe in unbearable pain, the pain began to subside.
“Hah… Ack…”
Sweat beaded on her forehead, sticking her bangs flat against her skin.
“Cough, huff. Huff.”
“Melissa-san, are you alright?! Calm down!”
Unfortunately, not a trace of noble style remained in Melissa.
It was simply the instinct to survive.
As her breath became constricted, she started to hyperventilate in search of even a little oxygen,
Ugh…!
Perhaps due to the nausea, she began to vomit on the ground.
“That’s gross.”
Caeran remarked with a deeply furrowed brow.
“Melissa, from now on, stop that girl. If you don’t follow my orders, I’ll give you a more painful punishment. Something worse than this.”
“C-Ca… ugh…!”
Then he walked over to Aveline.
“C-Caeran, I’m nothing but innocent…!”
“Blockhead.”
“Why are you doing this…!”
“Blockhead. You’re just…”
“Caeran…?”
Slash!
“Cough!”
Caeran raised his sword and cut straight through her abdomen.
In that instant, Aveline’s sacred power tried to block the dark magic of the sword, but it was not enough.
With Caeran’s clear, jet-black strike, her white abdomen was completely revealed to the world.
And crimson blood seeped along that trajectory.
“Indeed… the demonic sword prefers the blood of a virgin…”
Wuuuh…!
As Caeran’s sword began to absorb Aveline’s blood as if it was craving it.
“Aveline!”
“C-Caeran…!”
“Though you’re a virgin, you can’t even take this without tasting it… Well, you’re an eyesore of a woman with a brain filled with foolishness.”
Watching this unfold, Violet could no longer stand idly by.
Pibibibit!
Her arrows surged again toward Caeran.
She had to eliminate that madman and treat the injured.
However,
Chaechaechaechaechae-ching!
His movements were swifter than the arrows.
This time, Caeran didn’t allow a single valid hit.
‘…This is going to be tough.’
Defeating that monster was, quite literally, impossible.
At best, she would only be able to buy a little more time.
If she bought time, who would come to rescue them?
That was also uncertain.
But if she ran away, she would die.
That much was certain.
As Violet readied another arrow, Caeran merely lowered his hand and displayed a relaxed smile.
“Senpai, I’m a busy guy. The kid will play in my stead.”
“?”
At his words, Melissa immediately stood up.
Her face was a mix of tears and snot…
It was hard to say she was in her right mind.
“Melissa, keep our senpai properly captured until I return. I intend to shape her into a wax figure for display.”
“Shut your mouth.”
“Let’s meet again soon~.”
Leaving only that remark, Caeran vanished from her sight.
*
At the front of the bridge in District 2, where chaos had evidently erupted.
“…This is serious.”
“Indeed.”
Retired Professor McClone.
Former instructor Sylvester.
Lev, please help.
The two had arrived at Mystic Island, having been asked by Professor Sinatis.
When they had received an emergency alert from Bella and arrived on site, the situation had already concluded.
“The presence of the magical beasts has vanished.”
“In that case?”
“Someone must have dealt with them.”
…
At that moment, from within the far-off, eerie darkness, Sylvester spotted a party of students that appeared to be students.
Don’t tell me…
.
.
.
“Sorry for making you wait.”
After finishing her conversation with Liris, Aria stepped forward without sparing a glance at me.
Just as we were about to step onto the wilds of District 3, Sylvester and Professor McClone approached us.
Originally, Professor McClone was supposed to have been killed by Bunea while protecting the students during Chapter 3, Claris’s festival, but…
My intervention had resulted in the demise of Bunea, allowing him to survive thus far.
“Could it be that you students are the ones who took down the magical beasts…?”
…
McClone had an almost dazed expression as he looked over our faces.
“Ahem! This Lily has helped a lot!”
Lily chimed in for our response.
As Sylvester and McClone remained in shock, Lily added one more comment.
“By the way, didn’t you quit being a professor, grandpa?”
“True. Now, I’m just an old man, no longer a professor.”
He seemed to find Lily adorable, gently ruffling her hair while looking around.
“We arrived a step too late again. I’m embarrassed… But thanks to you, it seems we’ve avoided greater damage.”
McClone took off his hat and bowed to us.
“Professor!”
When not joking around, he was originally quite the gentleman.
Even to those much younger than him, he remained polite.
Thus, Sylvester slightly bowed his head in acknowledgment before continuing.
“Lev Denec. Do you remember what I told you, about proving yourself through results?”
Back during positioning.
If you can prove it through results, then it’s more convincing, considering you do well.
I had indeed heard something like that before.
“You’ve proven yourself in the previous raid practice as well. I apologize for my hasty judgment.”
“No, now isn’t the time for such discussions…”
“Hmm! As expected, a man recognized by Lily, Lev!”
At Lily’s compliment directed at me, everyone’s gaze gathered upon me.
Sylvester watched me with his signature half-squint.
“But, I still believe your abilities may require a few verifications. So let’s return now. Professor Sinatis asked for you to return.”
“Are you all alright? Dustin and Scarlet said they’d come and help with the aftermath as well, so let’s go together.”
While I didn’t know what Sylvester’s verification meant, I could at least feel that they were genuinely worried about us.
It seemed like adults trying to take some responsibility.
But it was already too late. The tide was about to turn in favor of the demons.
“I refuse.”
“?!”
Sylvester’s eyes widened in astonishment as I declared my refusal, just like that day when I insisted on being a marksman.
Cautiously, I opened my mouth.
“Our party will be heading to District 4.”
“Lev Denec, that’s dangerous. It’s better to return to Claris as soon as possible…!”
“Is there a reason not to?”
…
Breaking Sylvester’s words, McClone asked me.
Lacking time for a lengthy explanation, I presented a suitable reason.
“I believe that the chairman of the marksman department, Violet de Crescent, is stationed in District 4. We plan to rescue her.”
“Hm. I see.”
“Lev, I understand your heart, but it’s far too dangerous to save her. The demonic presence is growing…!”
At that moment,
Even though it was night, the surroundings began to brighten slightly.
A translucent violet veil began to gnaw at the sky in the area.
“This is…?”
“What is this?”
And it felt like the seasons had changed as the surrounding temperature began to drop.
‘Has it started?’
Caeran was activating the magic tower after all.
“We have no time. If this continues, everyone will die.”
…
Upon my resolute statement, McClone and Sylvester fell silent.
They too would surely understand the implications—the fact that the demonic barrier was spreading across the entire island.
“Thus, I have two requests for you two.”
“Go ahead.”
“The first is to take Lily to a safe place.”
“Eh?”
While it would have been nice to take Sylvester and Professor McClone along to deal with Caeran, that wasn’t an option.
‘There could be variables…’
Now that the magical beast’s barrier was activated, beasts would soon start pouring out, and someone had to ensure the safety of the students who couldn’t escape the island.
“Lev! You said Lily would go with you! I’m not scared!”
She said that, but her bare legs were trembling.
It was probably due to the magical pressure and cold.
Sylvester nodded and accepted.
“That request shouldn’t be difficult. So what do you plan to do from now on, students? You don’t mean to push through with just the four of you… do you?”
“Partly correct, partly wrong. Though it’s difficult to explain, I know where to stop the activation of the magic tower. And Professor McClone, you are said to be the one closest to reaching the realm of the great magician, right?”
…What does that have to do with it?
“Then, please send us to District 4.”
At my words, Professor McClone’s face turned serious.
“It seems you know more than I expected.”
Indeed, I know.
Professor McClone, according to lore, was a master of illusion magic. However, due to a long-standing grudge with Bunea, he had secretly researched the ability of dimensional movement.
And currently, he had acquired the spell to open dimensional gates even in demon territory rather than the sanctuary.
Now that the war had ended, there was no longer any need for him to venture into the demon territory, hence he kept it hidden all this time.
Finally, after a heavy pause, McClone opened his mouth.
“Understood.”
“Professor McClone?! The students’ safety should be prioritized…”
“Be quiet.”
He lightly ignored Sylvester’s protest.
“If that’s what you wish for, then let me try.”
That’s it.
This way, we won’t be too late.
All that remained was to give Caeran a surprise party.