When the remnants of the Demon King’s army arrived near the Academy, Sertia’s barrier—which had once enveloped the school—was mostly torn down.
Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t have been able to step foot here. But now, it was possible. One of the Demon King’s executives waved a hand, and what little barrier remained was ripped apart like tissue paper.
At this point, the Demon King’s army could guess Sertia’s current state.
She was now so weakened that she couldn’t even maintain a single barrier.
The morale of the invading Demon King’s army surged. They already had more than enough strength to annihilate humanity. If only that damned Sertia weren’t around.
They thought this was their chance now that Sertia had weakened.
“Seir. Set up the barrier. Make sure not a single ant gets out.”
“Hah, isn’t that obvious? I’ve already set it up ages ago. Just move the monsters properly.”
“No problem. I made sure to bring them without leaking any magical energy.”
The use of shadows to store and summon monsters was the ability of Belial, one of the executives of the Demon King’s army.
Once the barrier was fully established, he unleashed the monsters throughout the Academy. The number far exceeded imagination.
In the vast space of the Academy, monsters were released anywhere and everywhere.
In the park, inside buildings, near the swordsmanship training ground, and even close to the cafeteria.
The unleashed monsters attacked humans indiscriminately. It didn’t take long for chaos to descend upon the once peaceful Academy.
The scene was filled with screams.
“Let’s retreat now.”
Lark, the actual leader of the current Demon King’s army, transformed a few of the monsters into seeds before giving the retreat order.
He had no intention of engaging in warfare just yet.
He planned to considerably decrease the Empire’s power with the seeds of the Demon King they had just released and prepare for a second war.
The war between humans and demons, which was thought to have ended with the Demon King’s death, was far from over.
“Retreat here?! Why?!”
But Seir protested.
“Isn’t now the chance? We’ve set everything up and are retreating? What’s the reason?”
The annihilation of humanity and the expansion of the demon realm had long been the wishes of the demon race. She couldn’t understand why they were giving the order to fall back now that it was so close.
Lark replied.
“I didn’t bring enough troops to engage in an immediate war. It’s too conspicuous. And this is the humans’ main base. I agree with your opinion that if we push now, we might be able to massacre them, but if the Knights show up, it’ll be disadvantageous for us.”
“………”
“Do you want to be wiped out right in front of your goal?”
“Not really, but………”
They hadn’t brought many troops for this Academy raid. If they moved a large force, they would be detected beforehand.
In that situation, an all-out war would be unfavorable. Monsters alone were enough to destroy the Academy.
“Let’s go.”
Lark turned on his heel and said. Some of the few demons who had followed him also heard his words.
Among them, there was one who didn’t listen. It was Seir.
She raised a long sword and curled the corners of her mouth. Demons had intellect unlike monsters, but their instincts were similar to monsters.
In such a situation, they would want to commit murder.
“I’ll return a bit later. Leaving it to these stupid monsters makes me uneasy.”
She didn’t fail to understand her feelings.
“Do as you wish.”
After all, there was no demon who would listen to reason. Lark didn’t mind as he walked away.
Seir, an executive of the Demon King’s army, was certainly not a being that ordinary humans could stand against.
Thus, one demon dashed into the Academy building.
*
Inside the Academy now looked like hell.
A massive number of monsters that suddenly appeared from somewhere began to attack the humans inside indiscriminately.
Whether they were students or professors, it didn’t matter.
Of course, the professors at the Academy were seasoned fighters. They were a bit flustered at first, but quickly entered combat mode and fought against the monsters.
After evacuating the students, they engaged in battle with the monsters.
However, it wasn’t enough. Regular monsters posed little issue, but there was something gigantic standing at the center of it all.
Some knew of this massive entity, while others did not.
“The Seed of the Demon King…!”
The strength of the Academy’s professors rivaled that of the top knights of the Knights Order. Indeed, there were professors like Eve, who was both an instructor at the Academy and a top knight.
There were slight differences among the professors, but their average level was still high.
And the Seed of the Demon King was an opponent that even three top knights would find difficult to defeat.
The professors could only retreat in the face of the gigantic entities rampaging through the Academy.
“Everyone, get outside! Quickly!”
“We can’t get out! Something is blocking the way!”
“Wahhh, Mommy!”
Something was blocking their path outside with a barrier. The students trapped inside could only panic collectively.
Even if they were trained in the continent’s top educational institution, most of the students had little actual combat experience.
In such a situation, they couldn’t possibly know how to respond.
The reactions of the students in this unprecedented emergency were as follows.
“Ahhh! Please let me out!”
“Wah, wahhh…”
“It’s over. We’re all going to die here…”
Some banged on windows recklessly, while others cried quietly or turned pale and resigned themselves.
However.
“Imperial Sword Style.”
Despite everything, second-year swordsmanship professor Arenis gripped his sword.
It was to fulfill his responsibility as both an instructor and a protector of the Academy.
Then, he leapt forward.
Before him was a tentacled monster. Countless black tentacles twisted around a single body.
As the tentacles flew toward Arenis just before they touched him, he changed the direction of his sword.
“Third Style.”
This technique involves a splitting strike between two large sword strikes.
He put weight on the sword to create the largest possible trajectory, aiming to cut through the relatively thin-looking tentacles.
With a swish, the black tentacles were sliced off. Black blood splattered everywhere, and the remains of the severed tentacles sprawled on the ground.
The severed tentacles didn’t lose their nerve and continued writhing. They crawlingly lunged towards the students, an unnerving sight.
“I’ll hold this place! Escape! There’s an emergency exit on the second floor of building C! Sertia personally manages that place, so it can’t be covered in a barrier!”
Stepping back to slice through the remnants of the tentacles once more, Arenis shouted.
Even though the area was covered in a barrier preventing them from leaving, there was somewhere that couldn’t be covered. Mentioning that place, he stood firm against the monsters.
That was likely the only place they could escape from in this situation.
“Ugh, ugh…”
Following the despair came a flicker of hopeful news.
Students who had been frozen in fear stood up. Those whose legs wouldn’t move leaned on their friends, and those who had been crying wiped their tears with their sleeves.
“Run! Run!”
The students fled, and the professors who had mixed in with them stood beside Arenis.
When about four professors had gathered, it happened.
“So that’s the Seed of the Demon King?”
“Can we capture it?”
“….We’ll have to try.”
Wiping the blood off his face, Arenis readied his sword.
If he were alone, it would have been impossible, but with this level of manpower, it was worth a shot.
Yet, the risk of losing their lives remained unchanged.
Come to think of it, one of the professors, Albert, had said he single-handedly took down a creature that size.
He had always known, but he was even more impressive than he had imagined.
After the students had disappeared, the professors drew their swords in the relatively quiet corridors of the Academy. Some began to chant spells.
What had once seemed like hell engulfed the Academy.
*
After the crisis began, Rena, who couldn’t escape outside in time, trembled in fear.
Huddled in a corner, the horrific sounds bursting around her echoed in her ears. Someone’s screams or cries. The trembling ground and the roar of monsters.
Differing from strong-willed Ariel and Sera, Rena was closer to an ordinary student.
Being scared was natural. The monsters swarming here were incomparably more terrifying than those she had faced in practicums, with some even absurdly monstrous mixed in.
The term “chaos” fit well. It was a sight she couldn’t bear to look at.
But Rena wasn’t just hiding in that spot. While she was undoubtedly scared, there were those around her who were even more frightened.
“Ugh…”
Rena steadied her trembling legs. There were still plenty of students who hadn’t evacuated outside.
She had experience fighting monsters. With Iria’s help, she had survived close calls.
That experience helped her now. She wasn’t ruled by fear.
“Everyone, get up! Staying here is just going to make things worse!”
Against low-tier monsters, even the students could sufficiently combat them.
After all, she had taken down several of them during practicums. Rena ignited flames in both hands.
“Bloom!”
As she charged at the low-tier monsters, flames consumed them.
In response to her little struggle, the fallen students stood up. She slowly took a combat stance and began to drive back the monsters.
After rallying her classmates, she believed without a doubt that there had to be an exit somewhere.
Even amidst the overwhelming magical energy that veiled her vision, Rena spread her mana around, trying to find that exit.
And her efforts bore fruit.
“I think there’s a hole nearby that leads out!”
Using the response of her mana, Rena detected that there was a space suitable for exiting nearby.
She hurried forward in joy. She might have focused too much on the hope that they could get out soon.
And then.
“Hm~ so this was open? No wonder I kept feeling something leaving the barrier.”
“Ah…”
“Hello? Are you all here to get out too?”
In front of the exit she had finally found stood a being that wasn’t human.
Holding golden fragments and a blade.