“What’s up? You’re moving pretty fast, huh?”
The girl with tiger ears turned her head and looked down at the Elgrid guards rushing towards them.
They used to be scum that could easily make backdoor deals, all corrupted before they were cleaned up completely after the royal palace inspector, Heini Rosales, caught them with connections to former pirate officers.
Thanks to that, the Tudogs completely ceased all drug deals with Elgrid.
“What should we do, Horan-nim?”
At another Tudog’s question calling for her, Horan stretched and pointed with her chin at the approaching guards.
“You guys handle them. I want to deal with that maid over there.”
“Understood.”
“Charlie and Hare, come with me. I’ve heard the Dean and other professors are quite skilled in magic.”
“Yes!”
“Alright!”
Charlie and Hare, a seemingly frivolous yet small man, followed Horan.
However, leaving them behind, Horan arrived in front of Aios Academy’s dormitory in just a few leaps, grinning as she pointed her finger at the maid.
“Come down, or should I come up?”
“……”
Adjusting her burning clothes, Bertia leapt from the crumbling wall to stand before Horan.
“Hmm, it seems you’re hurt. That’s a shame.”
Expressing concern for the enemy’s condition was a common provocation, but Horan didn’t strike Horan as one who would use such tricks.
She was genuinely sympathetic about Bertia’s injuries.
Bertia, the leader of the royal palace’s assassination unit.
She had to retire after being injured on a mission, and while her combat abilities no longer compared to her past, her sharp senses were still intact.
‘Strong.’
Even in her prime, she wouldn’t guarantee a win against someone like this.
The girl with the tiger ears held that kind of intimidation.
“Let’s get started.”
Horan smiled and clenched her fist.
With white bandages wrapped around her hand, her sleeve of the robe slipped down, revealing her injury-laden wrist.
A type that grows stronger at the cost of her own flesh.
Bertia, feeling tense, raised her dagger.
She needed to stall for time so the princess could escape or hide.
Bertia was ready to give her life, but unfortunately, the situation unfolded in a completely opposite manner to her wish.
“What do you think you’re doing, trying to sacrifice your life on your own?”
With her blonde hair flowing, Elise gracefully landed, gripping her beautifully twisted golden sword, joining the fray.
“E-Elise!”
Bertia was flustered, but Elise was already glaring at Horan.
“No need to sacrifice yourself. If we kill the enemy, won’t everything be over?”
“But Elise!”
Before she could shout something further, more girls landed beside Elise.
The eastern swordswoman Hayun, and the former member of the Chokugen Faction, Sen.
“This is good. It’s our chance to not just chase but wipe them out.”
“The Tudogs have finally shown up.”
The two took out their weapons, aiming at Horan, who also regarded the pair with interest.
“Hm, a swordsman using a straight sword… and that artificial white hair, Chokugen?”
“Former Chokugen.”
Sen confidently stated she was completely out of the Chokugen, and if Daniel were there, he would have cheered with applause, but she was disappointed by herself.
“That’s not a group you can just leave whenever you want.”
Though she said that, Horan’s expression looked incredibly satisfied, like a glutton sitting at a table full of food.
“Anyone else? If there are more, hurry up and come out. I believe in eating good food together.”
“You’re quite arrogant.”
Elise smiled brightly as she activated the magics within the ring on her hand. Numerous enhancement spells, even Daniel had acknowledged, were unleashed upon Elise.
“This is quite…”
For once, even Horan couldn’t help but be surprised.
Could there really be those kinds of spells lodged in the ring?
With Elise’s explosive growth, her priority had shifted from Bertia to Elise.
But at that moment.
“Horan, this is a mission.”
A light-hearted and carefree voice.
While Horan had arrived at the Aios Academy using her innate physical abilities, a green light burst forth from Charlie’s sleeve, coming in a bit late.
His concealed hand, adorned by the robe, waved around, attracting everyone’s attention.
“Huh?”
All the auxiliary magic enveloping Elise vanished.
And that’s not all.
The mana nearby started to dissipate, resulting in a situation where even simple magic could no longer be handled.
“Tsk, I wish this were a battle instead of a mission, but it can’t be helped. I can’t let my greed ruin things and disappoint the leader.”
Watching Elise weaken, Horan cheerfully hopped in place and charged forward.
“Alright! Let’s start!”
Bam!
Guh!
Naturally, blocking the way between Elise and Horan was Bertia.
Starting from her existing injuries, and having to block a fireball, she was already in tatters after getting knocked down with a single strike.
“Bertia!”
“Watch out!”
The wildly swung hand of Horan this time targeted Elise, who was right behind.
Though Elise hurriedly lifted her sword, in her current state, she couldn’t face Horan’s heavy blow head-on.
With a shock that felt like a rock flying at her, Elise was hurled against the academy’s wall, which broke upon impact, trapping her beneath it.
In the blink of an eye, the two had suffered.
As Hayun drew her sword and executed a swift strike, Sen attempted to launch an ambush move learned from the Chokugen.
“Fast, but too light.”
Horan caught the blades from both girls with her hands and grinned.
But the girls weren’t done yet.
With chestnut bobbed hair fluttering, a girl dropped from the sky, landing a punch squarely on Horan’s head.
Even though she chose to hide her presence, intending to instill a sense of relaxation in those in front before ambushing, like a good alley fight.
“I told you, too light.”
Horan, despite being hit, smiled as she simply swung her hand.
It was not an advanced martial art based on any high-level theories or a master’s hidden technique.
Just a plain swing.
A straightforward strike with all her might, but the impact wasn’t simple.
Unable to withstand it, the three girls went flying.
It didn’t feel like battling a human.
It was like facing a beast.
A creature that suppresses and tears apart its opponents using only instinct and raw power.
At that moment, people were rushing from the direction of the academy. Hare, who was beside Charlie, pointed out the old woman running at the front.
“That woman is the Dean.”
“Ooh?”
“A mage, right? It doesn’t matter if she can’t use magic anyway.”
Charlie, whose hand was shrouded in green light, shook it about, hiding it in his robe.
Thanks to that, the professors well-versed in magic were at a loss, akin to a mute who had swallowed honey, while those teaching swordsmanship or practical skills rushed out alongside the guards.
“These ones look a bit entertaining, huh?”
Even if they hadn’t had a chance to showcase their power until now, they were all professors at the prestigious Aios Academy, no doubt about it.
Of course, no matter how exceptional they were, their level and experience far surpassed that of the female students, quickly assaulting Horan.
“Alright! Now this is a real fight!”
Surrounded by numerous professors, Horan stepped back but beamed and swung her hand.
At that moment, the professors felt an intense chill.
Though they were pressing her, it felt like a tiger was crouching down, preparing to leap.
“You mustn’t give her an opportunity!”
“If she gets even a slight gap, she’ll escape!”
Realizing this, the professors moved even more fiercely to avoid giving her any openings.
If there was even the slightest gap in their encirclement, it was clear this woman would turn into an enraged tiger, rampaging wildly.
AAAH!
From the skies of Elgrid, a woman’s scream echoed.
The piercing, eerie scream momentarily froze the professors, but it wasn’t magic or some other extraordinary ability.
Just pure fear.
Due to the terror reverberating from the scream’s owner, a fleeting opening appeared.
“I broke through!”
The furious tiger swiftly took down three professors, breaking free from the encirclement.
While Horan started to rampage, the girl with a massive tail, wings, and horn, visible against the round moon in the night sky.
Diana McLean soared above Elgrid, initiating indiscriminate destruction.
“Ugh! It’s over.”
And before they knew it, a guy with an ordinary appearance stood beside Hare and Charlie. Stretching like he’d just woken up, he wore a fatigued expression.
A simple action, but his presence alone overwhelmed the atmosphere.
“She’ll need to rampage for a while to calm down, so for now, it’s fine to take it easy.”
Moreover, only the Dean there could sense the depth of this man’s magic from that spot.
‘To use short-range warp so effortlessly without any sign of mana fluctuation or fatigue.’
On top of that, amidst this situation where no one could use magic, he calmly wielded it as if in another world.
‘This is dangerous.’
Feeling an unprecedented sense of crisis, the Dean started brainstorming ways to request support.
“Can’t run away.”
The chilling voice of a girl reverberated.
Looking down from the empty dormitory was a girl with black hair, Rin.
From her chest, black energy gushed out ominously, beginning to soak the ground, causing Horan to instinctively distance herself.
“That seems a bit dangerous, doesn’t it?”
“Rin…”
It wasn’t magic since they couldn’t handle mana.
Everyone felt tense as they looked at the unidentified black energy, especially Hare, who was shocked to see her old friend changed so drastically.
Only the leader of the Tudogs stared hard at Rin, his eyes wide open.
And with one statement.
“Found you.”
In an instant, the mana began to ripple.
In this situation where no one could manipulate mana, the leader of the Tudogs, being the only one able to do so, was preparing to showcase his full power.
“I’ve searched for you for the longest time, the Earliest Apocalypse.”
The leader began to levitate into the air.
At this moment, no one could move without his permission.
“I’ll tear you apart, ensuring you’ll never wield that cursed power again.”
His presence and pressure were powerful enough to threaten not just Aios but the whole of Elgrid.
But at that moment, a blue flash struck down towards the center of the city.
There, a male student, an elf, and an eccentric mage who had used warp magic broke in, shattering the tension.
