Chapter 58

“Haahhh….”

I let out a long breath, as if expelling the heat that had filled my body.

Then, gritting my teeth again, I took a deep breath.

It wasn’t time to collapse yet. This was just the beginning.

My forehead hurt like it was going to shatter.

I ignored it. It hadn’t shattered yet.

I wiped away the blood streaming down my forehead as if shaking it off.

My shoulders felt like they were going to fall off.

I ignored it. They were still moving.

I yanked out the wolf’s jaw that had been stuck in me and tossed it aside.

One step. Then another.

My muscles and bones ached as if they were about to break.

This much? It’s nothing.

I looked down at the longsword in my hand. Beyond the blurry focus, the inscription on the blade burned into my vision like a brand.

*The Twelve Swords that Protect Humanity.*

The longsword I gripped trembled slightly, emitting a strange light, as if scolding me, as if urging me on.

Yeah, the sword hasn’t broken yet, so I can’t break first.

I gripped the longsword and ran.

Spraying blood from my limbs, I charged toward the knight who was stabbing a spear into the black wolf.

“Ivanovuuu!”

I spat out blood, howled like a beast, and charged.

—

Boris’s eyes narrowed.

It made sense.

After all, I had killed everyone who had come with him.

I didn’t know if the explosion in the special ward was Asha’s doing or, perhaps, Ferne’s…

But judging by the silence over there, they must all be dead.

The result was only three seriously injured. They could be treated later.

“Kroooar!”

Boris roared and swung his greatsword toward me.

– Clang!

I deflected it with my longsword. My body was thrown to the ground.

Blood surged up my throat.

As expected, I’m outmatched.

I couldn’t put enough strength into the blade.

Nigel’s spear, aiming for the opening, was blocked by Boris’s claws.

Get up.

I got up and swung my sword again.

Boris, who had been about to bite Nigel with his fangs, hastily raised his greatsword to block.

I can still fight.

Even if my strength is lacking, this sword is still sharp.

The longsword bit into the greatsword’s blade, sending shards of metal flying.

Following that, Nigel’s dagger embedded itself in Boris’s thigh.

“Grrrrk!”

Boris gnashed his teeth.

The wounds were piling up as we pressed our combined assault from both sides.

His movements, filled with rage, became more violent.

Like a wounded beast, his mouth twisted, and his eyes flashed.

“You bitches dare—!”

As if trying to shake us off, Boris wildly swung his arms.

Everything within reach was about to be torn to shreds.

Rough arcs slashed through the air, and the greatsword and claws tore through everything around them.

Piles of dirt flew up from the gouged ground.

I should have retreated.

So I didn’t.

One more step forward.

I stepped forward, burning with rising passion.

Again, I swung my sword.

“Kyaaaah!”

A cracking sound echoed.

The slender longsword blocked the massive greatsword and bit into it.

It was something unbelievable even to see with your own eyes.

Under the pressure, blood gushed like a fountain from all the wounds on my body.

The movement of the greatsword caught on my longsword jerked to a halt.

“Nigel—!”

I shouted, frothing at the mouth.

She wouldn’t miss this perfect opportunity.

Nigel responded.

Gripping her spear firmly with both hands, she poured strength into her severed muscles.

The blood-soaked spear shot forward like an arrow.

“Haaaaaaah!”

The knight’s will, the body honed through relentless training, the achievements built on the battlefield.

All of it gathered and exploded in a master’s strike.

A blue whirlwind tore toward the black wolf.

“Oooooooh!”

Boris, having dropped his greatsword, thrust both arms toward Nigel.

His sharp claws gleamed.

Though he reacted a step late, his movements were even faster than hers.

If she charged in like this, she’d be torn to pieces by those claws before she could thrust her spear.

Nigel’s eyes showed she knew this too.

*But.*

*The essence of a knight is not retreating.*

Without a moment’s hesitation, Nigel thrust her spear.

Along with a spray of blood,

her severed left arm flew into the air.

A red flash pierced Boris’s eye.

—

“Nigel!”

I hurriedly caught Nigel as she collapsed, spurting blood.

Nigel’s face was pale, and she trembled, groaning.

She had lost consciousness.

Blood streamed from her severed arm.

The warmth in my hands was gradually fading.

No. The blood. Her arm. Too much.

My mind felt completely empty.

I couldn’t think of what to do.

Her left arm. Right, stop the bleeding first…!

I tightly gripped the severed part of her arm.

“Grrrrk…!”

Nigel groaned in pain.

The flow of blood gradually lessened.

Did the bleeding stop?

Or…

Was there just no more blood left to flow……

“No. Nigel, wake up! Nigel—!”

“Don’t shake her, stay still!”

Freide urgently grabbed me.

Somehow, she had picked up Nigel’s severed left arm and was holding it.

“Freide…?”

She pressed the severed arm against Nigel’s wound and pulled out a glass bottle, biting off the cap.

Inside was a grayish liquid.

Freide poured the contents of the bottle onto Nigel’s wound.

With a hissing sound, thick smoke rose.

“Use something to bind her arm!”

“Uh, ah… right…!”

I tore off a piece of my clothing and tied Nigel’s arm.

Freide kept pulling out new bottles, pouring them into Nigel’s wound and even into her mouth.

A potion, maybe?

But the color was different from what I knew.

After a while, Nigel’s complexion had slightly returned.

“Phew… That should take care of the immediate crisis.”

Freide sighed and wiped her forehead.

I was still holding Nigel, looking up at her.

“What did you pour on her? A healing potion…?”

“Painkillers, sedatives, and…”

“It’s a drug mixed with recovery fluid. It’s just first aid, but you should drink one too.”

Freide handed over a glass bottle.

“I’m the kind of person recovery fluid doesn’t work on…?”

“…Maybe you have some anti-magic resistance? But the other ingredients should still work, so drink it.”

I popped the cap off the bottle and chugged it.

A horrible taste lingered on my tongue.

My head spun.

The pain I had been ignoring in my haste had lessened somewhat.

My consciousness felt unnervingly sluggish.

“What the heck is this…?”

“Snap out of it. It’s because of the narcotic成分. First, we need to get to the main building for proper treatment. It would’ve been easier if Lacey were here, but of course…”

Right. The main building.

We had to stop the regular students from being sent out.

My mind sharpened. This wasn’t the time.

How much time had passed?

“We need to get to the main building and warn them! The enemies are beastmen—if they send out the regular students…!”

“Yeah, so get up and get on a horse already!”

Freide staggered to her feet and ran toward the stables.

She was also half-exhausted from her injuries.

Though she was holding on thanks to the drug, her momentum had clearly waned compared to before.

There was no time to hesitate.

I hoisted Nigel onto my back and ran to the stables, climbing onto a horse.

Putting a severely injured person on a horse and riding off was insane, but there was no other choice.

There were no healing priests in the special building right now.

I was worried about Asha’s condition, but… there was nothing I could do. Unless I had three bodies, I had to deal with the most urgent matters first.

“Nigel… hang in there. I’ll get you to the priests soon.”

No response came.

It didn’t matter.

At least I could still hear his breathing and heartbeat.

Even though my senses were half-gone, that much was clear.

I tugged on the reins and looked toward the garden.

The garden, torn up and shattered into a mess, had three corpses lying in it.

……Three?

My eyes widened.

One was missing.

What? Where did it go?

Where’s Boris’s body?!

“Grrrrrr….”

From afar, the howl of a beast echoed.

I quickly turned my gaze.

A black wolf was staggering along.

Blood streaming from one eye, clutching its face, heading toward the wall.

“Freide! Over there!”

“Tch…! He’s still alive?! You, savage, head to the main building! I’ll handle him!”

Freide bit her lip and urgently steered her horse toward Boris.

Once he crossed the wall, we couldn’t chase him.

The horse couldn’t jump over that wall, and without a horse, it would be hard to pursue with our exhausted bodies.

“Bo-o-o-oost Chaaaaaaarge!”

At that moment, the special building’s entrance shattered, and a silver flash burst forth.

A streak of light crossed the garden like a meteor.

Asha’s spear lodged itself in Boris’s back.

“Gah, aah…!”

The wolf, its spine shattered, let out a single scream before collapsing against the wall, impaled.

Freide severed its neck.

“Asha…?”

“Ha-shal-leur!”

Asha, who had let go of her lance, flew toward me.

“Are you okay? I’m so late! I was busy silver-plating the lance!”

Though a bit sooty, she didn’t seem visibly injured.

Asha was horrified when she saw the state of me and Nigel.

“Good heavens, these wounds…!”

“I’m still okay, but Nigel…! We need to get to the main building fast!”

“Got it! Hand him over, I’ll do better than the horse!”

I carefully handed Nigel over to her.

Asha, holding Nigel, turned a lever on her shoulder.

The jetpack’s flames dimmed slightly.

“Ready! Let’s go!”

Freide took the lead, urging her horse forward.

Leaving the half-destroyed special building behind, we headed toward the main building.

Looking back, the capital was still burning.

—

The main building was in chaos.

Hundreds of blankets were spread across the training ground, with injured civilians lying on them, groaning in pain.

Healing priests hurriedly moved about, tending to the wounded.

Shouts, screams, and urgent voices echoed without order.

It was a scene reminiscent of a battlefield infirmary.

If it was like this here, they probably hadn’t noticed the state of the special building.

I rushed to the nearest healing priest.

Hearing the sound of hooves approaching, the priest turned toward us.

It was a priestess of Shaullite.

Recognizing us, she was shocked.

“Special admission students…? Good heavens, what happened…! Over here!”

The priestess urgently pointed to an empty blanket.

Asha set Nigel down, and the priestess began casting healing blessings on him.

An orange holy light enveloped Nigel.

Thinking one priest wasn’t enough, the priestess called over others.

Several priests gathered around.

“You two, lie down immediately! How did you get so injured…!”

I stopped the priest trying to make me lie down.

This wasn’t the time to rest. In this vast training ground, only priests and the wounded were visible.

A dreadful预感 ran down my spine.

“Where are the professors? The other students?”

Don’t tell me. Did they already send out all the students?

Just 10 minutes after the imperial palace was attacked?

That quickly?

“Of course they went out to suppress the rioters! The knights have already headed to the imperial palace!”

The answer that came back was filled with despair.