The Academy’s Weakest Became A Demon-Limited Hunter

In a far-off place, a swirling blood cloud gathered behind Ozma, revealing a floating altar in the distance.

Upon it, a dark blue creature of indeterminable size was bound in chains.

“There you are.”

It was immensely gigantic.

It seemed to be the source of the cold that filled the Icy Lake.

From it flowed a harmonious blend of ice and dark mana, a clear sign it was a demon.

It moved its many arms, bound by chains, and flashed countless eyes that covered its entire body. All of those eyes glowed mysteriously as they stared at me.

With its countless eyes, it bore a resemblance to Ozma.

That’s right. It’s the one I saw during the Trial of Sandstone…

A monster that revealed itself on South Korean soil when the Evil God was resurrected and the destruction of all worlds commenced.

A transcendent being that could turn back time.

Is that the creature Dorothy spoke of, the one that bled profusely and fell?

The Blackened Crimson chains binding the demon were formed by the mana of the Evil God Nephid.

Sssss.

The demon exuded a massive amount of dark blue cold, which coalesced into a small orb and hurtled through the air at incredible speed to reach me.

The chilling yet overwhelming chill seeped into me.

Boom.

My heart violently throbbed. As the ice mana regenerated, my mana circuits convulsed and surged within me.

I looked down at my hand.

Instinctively, I knew. At this moment, I had gained a new power.

[I am known as Lucifer the Morningstar. Through the contract with Veronica Aslius, I grant you this power.]

It wasn’t a voice. The will of the demon, Lucifer the Morningstar, was transmitted directly into my mind.

[This is [Ice Moon], the power to freeze anything in existence. Wherever your power reaches, nothing will remain that you cannot freeze.]

“Is that so?”

The power to freeze anything.

A rank beyond measure. The ultimate ice magic, [Ice Moon].

I could feel it. As expected, Veronica’s usage was not the limit of this spell.

I was confident that I could draw out more of this spell’s potential.

My gaze turned back to Ozma.

The chill of [Ice Sovereign] emanated from my entire body, and a host of stars rose coldly.

“I’m coming.”

A strange, whirling wind sound echoed above my head.

In the sky, the ice mana swirled and condensed in one place, as dazzling white stars rose all around, performing a fierce dance.

What was born was a majestic crescent moon of ice, wreathed in starlight. Its effect encompassed this area and its surroundings.

Behind me, several sacred pale blue rings, enshrouded in starlight, rose. It was the transcendental status I had received from Dorothy.

Hwaaaa!!

I unfurled three pairs of cold wings and flew toward Ozma.

Kwaaang!!!!

My starlight magic collided with Ozma’s, and my chill engulfed the area.

Instinctively, I figured out how to use [Ice Moon].

I froze time, leaving unfrozen anything that might hinder my movement.

I harnessed my ice mana and unleashed a 5-star [Frost Explosion] on Ozma.

Kwaaang!!

[───────!!]

Ozma let out a scream that was incomprehensible to human perception.

The closer [Ice Moon] got to being a full moon, the stronger its effects became.

Compared to Veronica, I was able to expand the size of the [Ice Moon] to a first-quarter moon. Thanks to this, I could still use up to 5-star ice magic even after freezing time.

Ozma swung a massive arm toward me, pouring down large-scale starlight magic.

I countered Ozma’s magic, which rivaled a star’s explosion, with [Cocytus] and magic beast, Diakan. My forces were all imbued with starlight magic and unleashed their power entirely on Ozma.

A flood of dazzling, multicolored starlight.

A beautiful explosion lit up the entire area.

Even with the power of the transcendent Dorothy, I knew I could easily die at Ozma’s hands.

But I could not die. I had to win, no matter what.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, endured Ozma’s attacks, and relentlessly released my mana at maximum output.

─ Please, become my Wizard of Oz.

To be the Wizard of Oz who fulfilled Dorothy Gale’s wish.

My thoughts became perfectly clear.

The suffocating heaviness was pierced through, and an aching emotion gave rise to unwavering resolve.

Through my love for you, I will become the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy.

Whoooosh!!

I created a cold sun above my right hand and condensed it to its limit with the power of the stars.

It became an unimaginably dense mass of cold, held firmly in my right hand.

It was no different from an extremely dangerous bomb, compressed under near-infinite gravity.

The magic circle of [Cocytus] followed behind me.

Piercing through the starlight magic, I flew toward Ozma once more.

***

Title: Fairytale of Brutality, Academy RPG, Magic Knight of Märchen] Developer Special Interview  

Channel Name: Higgs

Subscribers: 4.66 million

Views: 373,031,389

{Comments are disabled.}  

「Hello, we sincerely welcome you to Märchen Academy.」

「I am Allets, the lead developer at Higgs, the team behind the creation of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.」

「They say creation is merely another form of imitation.」

「❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, which we created, is no different.」

「❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ is a work of fiction, and the adventure of Ian Fairytale is a lie.」

「He is simply a pivotal character, which is why he is nothing more than the protagonist of the game.」

「❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ is a message.」

「A message created by imitating another world created by the Creator, in order to defeat the traitorous Evil God.」

「It is the best plan we can offer.」

「If the Evil God cannot be stopped, humanity will have no future.」

「Please defeat the Evil God.」

「And…」

「We sincerely hope you graduate safely from Märchen Academy.」

***

Kwaaaaaaaang!!!!!!!

A brilliant explosion forced Ozma back.

It devoured the blood clouds and even the auroras, and the massive gate that once parted the Icy Lake was brought down with a thunderous crash.

I silently watched the dazzling radiance.

Chalang!

Suddenly, the starlight magic of Ozma and I resonated, and a space filled with pure white light consumed my vision.

It became drastically silent. Even though I hadn’t used [Ice Moon], it felt as though time had stopped.

“…Huh?”

Soon, a long-forgotten ancient kingdom appeared before me.

There was a young princess trying to look pretty for the bearded king by acting charming. The king, with his full beard, laughed heartily and embraced her.

One day, the Demon Lord, Nephid appeared and threatened the world, and the princess, born with the power of starlight, was given the mission of a hero.

A sword of light was placed in the princess’ hand. The blessings of the gods were with her.

Although afraid, the princess set out on a journey, supported by the king, to protect her people.

She gathered strong comrades, defeated cursed demons, and eventually succeeded in sealing away the Demon Lord, Nephid.

But there was no happy ending.

Having overused her starlight magic, the princess became a transcendent being, and a great calamity descended upon the world.

The calamity consumed everything, her comrades, her kingdom, and the entire world.

That was why the records lost during the great calamity could not be found.

The princess, torn by guilt over the deaths of the people she had wanted to protect, wept tears of blood.

“…?”

Suddenly, I saw a young girl sitting with her knees hugged to her chest, head lowered, sobbing uncontrollably.

The child repeatedly wiped away her unending tears, crying sorrowfully.

Just now, I came to understand the life of that child.

I felt and accepted all the emotions and pain the child had carried throughout their life.

I walked slowly toward the child and stood in front of her.

“Ozma.”

The child, Ozma, lifted her head and looked up at me with a sorrowful face.

“It must have… been so hard for you.”

At my words, Ozma sniffled and nodded.

“Yes… it was hard. It was so hard… I couldn’t even die alone, it was just so hard…”

“…I see.”

That quiet response was the minimal sympathy I could offer to Ozma.

“Let me ask you one thing. Back when Dorothy was turning into a transcendent being… why did you stop her?”

During the「Alice Subjugation」, the Elemental Kings were wary of Dorothy’s rampage.

That rampage was a process fueled by her overuse of starlight magic, serving as a trigger for her transformation into a transcendent being.

But when I defeated the Abyss and returned, Dorothy’s rampaging mana had inexplicably calmed down.

It was clear that Ozma had helped.

“Isn’t it obvious…?”

Ozma’s next words were so clear that my eyes widened uncontrollably.

“Because ending up like this is too sorrowful…”

It was compassion.

Ozma had felt deep compassion for Dorothy, who was about to end up in the same state as her.

That was why Ozma subdued Dorothy’s mana. It was to prevent her from becoming like her.

Ozma stopped crying and lowered her head.

“I’m tired of this… I wanted to end it all.”

“…I see.”

“I’m sorry for having such ill feelings… I didn’t hold a grudge against you. You were just being used too… but I had no other way to quell my anger. I resented Stella so much for making me like this…”

“…”

“It’s okay now… I didn’t think you could defeat me. This kind of ending is alright.”

Ozma barely managed to smile, her face still showing traces of tears.

Her child form turned into beautiful starlight particles and quietly faded away.

“Isaac, thank you for ending me… Make sure you find happiness.”

At last, Ozma’s form disappeared entirely, leaving only a beautiful star core, the very center of her being, starkly alone.

I walked forward and picked it up. It was Ozma’s power.

I wasn’t suited for starlight magic, so I couldn’t fully wield Ozma’s power, but I could claim the parts of it unrelated to starlight.

But I couldn’t feel joy.

I lowered my head, my shoulders trembling slightly.

After staring at the star core in silence for a while, I finally clenched it tightly and shattered it, absorbing Ozma’s power.

“…Ugh!”

An overwhelming wave of pain surged through me.

Having already absorbed Dorothy’s power, adding Ozma’s was too much for my body to endure.

I felt as though my entire body was shattering, and I might lose consciousness at any moment. The starlight magic swirling around me violently tore into my body, bursting my flesh and causing crimson blood to gush forth.

I screamed as I endured it. If I gave up and let my strength fail, my body would collapse completely.

Just a little longer, just a little longer, I told myself. I only needed to hold on until this power stabilized.

“Aaaaah…!!”

And with that, I returned to reality.

The final clash of powerful magic with Ozma had created a small black hole.

The Icy Lake distorted, and a massive amount of water was instantly sucked into the black hole before cold mana surged in and devoured it.

It all happened in a fleeting moment.

The aftermath caused the water that had risen high from the Icy Lake to fall back, creating powerful waves, followed by a brief downpour of clear rain.

With three pairs of outstretched wings, I hovered in midair and let the rain fall upon me.

I reverse-summoned the iron gate holding Diakan, descended to the ground, and retracted my wings.

“Ahh… Ugh!! Gaaaah!!”

Screaming, I collapsed onto the lake. My entire body was breaking apart, and fresh blood splattered everywhere.

But I endured it. This kind of pain was something I could withstand.

How much time had passed since then, I didn’t know. Slowly, the starlight magic began to calm.

Before I knew it, my entire body was completely drenched in blood.

“Haah, haah…”

Catching my breath, I slowly lifted myself up. Blood dripped from my eyes, nostrils, and mouth, falling into the Icy Lake below.

Inside me, Dorothy’s and Ozma’s starlight magic quietly orbited in harmony.

A single misstep could lead to my body collapsing at any moment, but I had to maintain this state until I escaped the Nether.

To get out, I’d have to confront the Nether King and unleash Dorothy’s power at the rift.

As my breathing steadied, a heavy silence settled. Though parts of my body had burst, causing pain, it was bearable.

Swish, swish.

I was wiping the blood from my face with my sleeve.

Step.

Step.

I heard the sound of someone stepping across the Icy Lake, approaching me.

I turned my head to look at the person approaching.

A woman in a black suit that seemed out of place here.

Her face was familiar.

[Hello.]

She greeted me politely.

I realized it was a human mask. From a seemingly ordinary face, I felt a strong sense of discord and alienation.

[I’m Allets, the lead developer of Higgs, the game company]

“Ah… it’s you.”

The lead developer of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, Allets.

No, she was Stella, the Star Fairy.

[I ask for your understanding for appearing in this form. It is because I wish to speak with you.]

My chest boiled with emotion. I had no idea how to describe the feeling.

My legs moved on their own, and before I realized it, I had already kicked off the ground.

KWAANG!!!

I grabbed Stella’s head and unleashed a [Frost Explosion] imbued with starlight magic.

The cold shockwave smashed through Stella’s head with precision, radiating outward in a linear path.

Fwaaah!!

The Icy Lake split apart, and water surged upward on both sides.

“What face do you have to show up here?”

I asked coldly, and Stella, whose head had been blown apart, stepped back.

Starlight flared up, and Stella’s head regenerated. Naturally, I didn’t expect her to die from just that.

The attack was merely a threat.

She bowed politely.

[I apologize—for using you and for not being able to help you.]

“…”

[Absolute divine laws are established in the Nether, preventing me from doing anything for you. These laws are particularly strict and sensitive for beings like me. I could even die if I overstep.]

The Nether King and Stella seemed to share an unyielding adherence to the law.

Stella straightened up.

Her eyes didn’t smile at all, but the corners of her lips curled up. It was an unnervingly incongruous smile.

[Then, Mr. Han Seong Ho, would you care to have a conversation with me?]

I exhaled deeply and silently, calming my mana.

I want to hear the entire truth.