Chapter 260
Time flows once more.
Cardinal Gamigin’s forces received the command to gather on the battlefield once again.
This time, it was not recruitment but conscription.
Not only from the Hero Training Academy and Rikeion,
but also the heirs of nobles with combat skills, as well as heroes who had retired from active duty were included in the call.
It was a desperate and crucial moment.
The Cardinal. A massive enemy that had steadfastly held its ground until now.
It was a great journey toward its stronghold.
—First, I would like to sincerely apologize to all the students.
The deployment ceremony at the Academia.
An auditorium filled with first-year students to fourth-year students, the last year of the Academia.
And there, in front of the professors and staff members, a legendary magician bowed deeply.
The unexpected apology left everyone bewildered.
A murmur washed over the crowd, and people rushed to stop him.
The old chancellor lifted his head and spoke to everyone using a magically amplified device.
—I’m truly sorry for passing down this tragedy. This chain of events should have been cut off in my old generation… It is due to my weakness that this heavy burden has fallen upon your generation.
The long war between Altife and humanity.
His wish to end it all.
But ultimately, it was not fulfilled, leading us to this moment.
—About 100 years of time… This seemingly peaceful era was indeed like a building built on sand. It wouldn’t have been strange for it to collapse at any moment… Those were the days.
In the time when Gulemashia and other heroes stood firm.
Altife saved up his strength.
Waiting for the right moment to come.
However, before the balance shattered.
This time, it was humanity that moved first, and finally, the glorious tip of the sword reached near the Cardinal.
—I’ve been called by names that don’t suit this old body that has lived through those times. But I am merely an old man. Now I’ve become a mere hunk of scrap metal that struggles to walk without a cane. Ho ho ho…
The rusty throat of Gulemashia croaked repeatedly.
The audience focused entirely on him, not wanting to miss a single word he uttered.
—Students, I am truly sorry. I should have moved at least a few more steps while this body was still able… My clumsy bravado and choices made you advance to the battlefield.
Gulemashia blamed himself.
Had he listened to the Central Church and the voices around him a little less,
perhaps he could have at least toppled one of those four pillars by taking a proactive stance against the eradication of Altife.
“Was death really something to be feared?”
“It’s all going to turn into a handful of sand anyway, so why were you so reluctant to think and act?”
He scolded his past self.
—”It’s ridiculous for a coward like me to tell you all to fight bravely. No matter how I think about it, it just doesn’t add up…”
In that instant, Vargan met his gaze.
It didn’t feel like just a trick of the mind.
Even though the eyes of the old pumpkin were almost obscured by his white eyebrows.
While he scanned the students around him, there was undoubtedly a moment of exchanged glances.
—”But you see… there are so many new lives being born in this land right now. The lives that have already grown are countless.”
He said.
Among all those lives, only a few can fight against Altife.
Those with great power have the duty to protect the weak.
—”Ultimately, it’s not my place to say this, having lingered too long here… Yet still, I urge you. For your families… for your friends… for someone you love…”
Please fight to protect humanity.
And return safely.
—”This old man will also do his best not to have regrets in his remaining days, so please join me.”
Upon hearing those words, Vargan smiled slightly.
It was the moment Gulemashia had officially accepted Vargan’s proposal.
The Chancellor does not board the high-speed airship alongside students or teachers.
However, one thing is clear: he will shine magnificently on the battlefield from his position.
He eagerly looked forward to the “wonderous moment” that the great magician would display, smiling at the thought.
*
Dududududu—.
A giant airship that could hold almost all the members of Academia.
Yet, it was one of the fastest among the existing airships.
The departure ceremony proceeded as briefly as possible, and tasks were quickly moved along.
In war, time is a resource more precious than gold and cannot be wasted.
“Ah… I’m a bit nervous.”
The Arbol Frutal members were on the deck of the airship alongside Vargan.
Perhaps due to the sharp wind, Emily wrapped her arms around herself.
“It’s clear you’re a coward. Everyone else is fine, and you’re the only one acting like this?”
“Seriously, are you looking for a fight even in this situation?”
Emily couldn’t think of a good retort to Kaiman’s remark and stared at him with wide eyes.
Kaiman then pointed with his chin to a freshman girl who had recently joined Arbol Frutal.
“Even this new girl, Adalhyde, who’s younger than you, is just standing there. Why are you so scared?”
“That’s…”
Emily couldn’t reply.
In reality, Adalhyde showed no signs of being nervous at all as the one heading to meet Altife for the first time.
It seemed like she was quite anxious when they went to the Nest for the end of the first semester exam.
“Hm. If this is how it is, then the dignity of a senior is certainly dying.”
“That seems non-existent in the first place… but it’s better than just cowering.”
“……”
“By the way, Adalhyde, why has that Kamen guy been hovering around you since earlier? Isn’t he your brother?”
At Kaiman’s pointing, Machenia came into view.
Standing at a distance, he tried to act indifferent but kept glancing at Adalhyde. Whenever their eyes met, he’d gasp in shock and quickly turn away.
Adalhyde shook her head in denial of Kaiman’s words.
“He’s not my brother. We’re just listed under the same household.”
“That basically means he’s family, right?”
“Ah?”
“Not family.”
“…What kind of mysterious nonsense is this? The captain really has taken in a strange girl as his disciple. Liam bro! Instead of dawdling here, let’s go down and have a spar.”
“Sounds good. I was thinking of warming up anyway.”
“Ooh, these days, Liam bro is so pumped about swordsmanship. Let’s hurry then.”
Though not a member of Arbol Frutal, Liam was there too.
He greeted the research members and went down with Kaiman. Emily, after pondering what to do, decided to stay behind.
“Their level has increased so much lately that I can’t keep up…. Ah, Finn, you can totally join them, right? You’ve gotten so strong.”
“Hmm…. But I’m still not good at adjusting, so I shouldn’t spar with others yet.”
“Oh, that… that place called Soul Forge Hall? You said it was still hard for you to handle the training there, right?”
“I need more time to manage it properly. Even now, I have to brace myself quite a bit to swing a sword.”
“That’s awkward then. It’s rare to find someone as diligent as you.”
Why is getting stronger this complicated and hard?
Emily shook her head while sticking out her tongue, then looked around for someone.
“By the way, where did our effort genius Young Master go?”
“Barghan is over there.”
Finn pointed to the head of the airship.
Barghan was standing there, gazing ahead, surrounded by Erica and Alicia.
Emily glanced at the scene and said, “Can you call that a date?”
“Not sure…. I don’t think they’re having that kind of conversation…. Should we check it out for a bit?”
“No, that’s okay. It might be a nuisance for us… Wait, where did he go?”
“…Excuse me.”
Adalhyde pointed at where Barghan had been.
Finn had gone to talk to him after traveling on a ‘cloud.’
—Tap.
Before Finn could ask anything upon reaching Barghan, Barghan spoke first.
He kept his gaze straight ahead.
“You’ve gotten quite skilled at handling clouds.”
“Ah…. I guess so. I need to return it to Kanilisk-sama, but I haven’t had the chance….”
“You will be able to use it effectively on the battlefield. Delay returning it as much as possible and practice fighting the enemy while using the clouds.”
“Yes, if I’m going to use it as you say, it seems I can use it infinitely. I’ll think it through deeply.”
Finn opened the pocket of his uniform.
A white cloud slipped right inside.
It was so subtle that no one would notice something had entered the pocket.
If Kanilisk, the original owner of the cloud, heard about it, he would be unable to contain his lament, but Finn brushed it off lightly.
“By the way, Finn. Is there something you need?”
“I was just curious about what you’re doing. Were you preparing something?”
“If we call it preparation, I guess you could say that. It’s not a big deal. I was just telling Erica and Alicia about possible emergency situations that could arise on the battlefield.”
“Is that so?”
“Additionally, I was keeping an eye out as a lookout tower.”
Barghan deliberately spread his mana broadly as he spoke.
Finn hadn’t noticed, but upon closer inspection, his mana was flowing throughout the entire airship from where he stood.
What kind of effort and talent is required to conceal the total amount of mana after ascending to transcendence?
Finn was internally amazed and continued his questioning.
“Watching…. Do you think Altife will target the airship at Academia?”
“Are you seeing this?”
“Absolutely. However, we can’t confirm the time, so we’re just waiting.”
“…I admire how busy you always are.”
“That doesn’t seem like something you should say to me. Well, whatever.”
Vargan briefly turned to scan Finn’s body.
Finn was enduring a grueling training regimen every single day to manifest the accomplishments etched into his soul.
In this process, his muscles were torn and regenerated repeatedly, making them far sturdier than before.
“Even with all this, I’ve only swung a sword properly three times… I guess I really have no talent at all.”
“Wasn’t that already an obvious fact? The 30,000 years of the Soul Forge Hall proved that perfectly.”
Vargan chuckled and asked, “But Finn, aren’t you scared? A big war is about to break out.”
“Um… if you’re asking whether I’m afraid… I’m not really sure.”
“Looks like 30,000 years of time isn’t just for show. You’ve certainly become quite insensitive to emotions compared to before, so in that sense, it’s convenient.”
“Is that so…? But… Vargan?”
“Shh.”
Vargan detected something and quieted Finn down.
His mana, enveloping the entire airship, acted like a giant eye, revealing the approaching group.
Enemies are approaching.
Six bishops.
Two thousand airborne special entities.
From their appearance…. they appear to be monsters that cling and self-destruct.
Having assessed the situation, Vargan shouted loudly.
“Adalhyde! Unleash the prepared spells!”
“Yes!”
Adalhyde immediately began to mobilize her mana, like a well-trained soldier at Vargan’s command.
—Beep beep beep!
—Front. Altife swarm detected. Front. Altife swarm detected!
—Everyone on the deck, get inside quickly! We’re about to activate the magic constructs placed on the airship!
The professors, who discovered the Altife swarm a little later than Vargan, were quick to react, with Paula swiftly issuing evacuation orders.
Then, students on the deck, including those from Arbol Frutal, quickly moved inside.
Bam—!
In the midst of it all, Vargan remained still, halting another student trying to go inside by grabbing the back of their neck.
He slowly observed as Adalhyde’s spells unfolded.
“The output and the method are stable… It seems you’ve successfully improved it as I told you. At this level, it should hold up without any issues.”
Buzzing—
Adalhyde’s spell enveloped the entire airship.
The layer of magical energy, which clung to everything like a coating, soon swelled up like a balloon filled with air.
Adalhyde’s defensive magic combined with elemental spells.
—Kieeeek!
—Kreeeek!
Self-destructing Altife had already approached nearby.
The group gliding over the airship folded their wings and rapidly descended to attempt an explosion.
—Crackle!
—Kaboom! Kabababoom!
An electromagnetic field burst forth from the magical barrier.
The special entities hit by it exploded before they could even touch the airship, let alone the barrier.
The bishops, keeping a distance and watching the situation play out, were hesitant to approach due to the unexpected phenomenon.
Taking advantage of this moment, Vargan instructed the student he had grabbed.
“Go tell Paula! We’ll handle the defense, so just focus on moving forward with all your might!”
Vargan was set on taking them into the battlefield with the minimum flight time possible.
