The stairs connecting the second floor of the cafeteria to the first floor.
What Shion saw as he hid behind the handrail of those stairs was a sight he had never expected.
He had thought that many excellent magic students, or adventurers, guards, and knights who had rushed to the scene after the commotion, would be engaged in fierce combat with the Black Annihilation Dragon of the End, Schwarzwaldius on the lower floor.
However, now, right before Shion’s eyes, the one engaged in an intense battle with the black dragon was just a single male student… Alphonse Fried.
[Aren’t you going to run away?]
[No, there are still injured people downstairs who haven’t managed to escape…]
When asked by Shion earlier, Alphonse had answered thus before heading back down to face the dragon again.
And now, on the first floor of the school cafeteria, not a single injured person can be found.
Although there are some bloodstains visible, no human corpses or anything similar can be seen.
According to records, the Black Annihilation Dragon never ate people even when it tried to burn them to death, so it’s unlikely that any students were devoured.
…Which means, in other words.
He protected them. He did. All by himself.
While covered in wounds, he fought alone against the Black Annihilation Dragon Schwarzwaldius, the harbinger of the end, and managed to help many students escape.
“…What an impressive guy.”
Faced with this feat that could only be described as heroic, and above all, the brave figure of someone the same age as himself, Shion unconsciously let these words slip out.
On the surface, it might sound condescending, but it was filled with the utmost respect from Shion.
And what surprised Shion about Alphonse wasn’t just the result of “helping the students escape.”
What shocked Shion the most was that Alphonse was holding his own against the legendary dragon, the Black Annihilation Dragon Schwarzwaldius, in what seemed to be an even battle.
When Shion first came to check the situation, Alphonse was only faintly glowing, but now a golden light flickering like a burning flame envelops his entire body.
As the light grows more dazzling, Alphonse’s power visibly increases, and the clash with the Black Annihilation Dragon intensifies even more.
The sight of him engaging in a cataclysmic battle while tracing golden trajectories was truly—
“…Siegfried…”
The scene from the stories he had read countless times as a child was unfolding before his eyes.
Due to his training in “Limit Acceleration,” Shion’s dynamic vision is extraordinary even under normal circumstances, but this battle is so fast and intense that even he can barely follow it with his eyes.
Alphonse uses not only the ground but also walls, pillars, and even the ceiling as footholds, maneuvering three-dimensionally against the massive Black Annihilation Dragon.
The aftermath of their battle is devastating, with buildings exploding, crumbling, and collapsing one after another.
Although the staircase area where Shion is hiding is miraculously intact, the second-floor seats where he was eating earlier have almost completely collapsed.
Even in this situation, he doesn’t feel scared thinking, “If I had continued eating leisurely…”
He is now solely focused on the miraculous battle unfolding before his eyes.
…And finally, that moment arrived.
“Sparkle of Glory”
In the midst of the fierce exchange, Alphonse unleashed a blade of light larger than himself, brilliantly shining, seizing the slightest opening of the Black Annihilation Dragon Schwarzwaldius.
A blinding flash and a tremendous shockwave spread throughout the area.
“Ugh!”
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Shion crouches in front of the stair railing, protecting himself from the shockwave and flying debris.
–Shion has an acquaintance who is an S-class magician. He has witnessed many of this acquaintance’s incredible S-class magic spells.
However, as far as he could tell, the technique Alphonse just released clearly transcended the S-class framework, undoubtedly the most powerful technique he had seen in his life.
The golden blade shining brilliantly to strike down great evil was truly the stuff of legends, just like the great hero of old.
Perhaps Alphonse Fried really could defeat the Black Annihilation Dragon Schwarzwaldius.
When the aftershocks of the “Sparkle of Glory” subsided, Shion raised his face to confirm the outcome.
What his eyes witnessed was a scene that seemed to recreate the legend.
It was indeed a legendary sight, but it was not the image of a defeated black dragon.
…Yes, the legend is not just about the great hero.
The Black Annihilation Dragon, which annihilated people’s hopes, light, and prayers with overwhelming violence, is also a legendary existence.
The sight of the Black Annihilation Dragon Schwarzwaldius, without a single scratch despite taking Alphonse Fried’s full-power strike head-on, and now even larger than before with its body imbued with powerful magical energy, was like the embodiment of despair.
And the black despair, as if to extinguish all hope, struck down Alphonse in an instant.
It seems the Black Annihilation Dragon slammed Alphonse into the ground so hard that he was embedded in it, at a speed that even Shion, watching from afar, couldn’t perceive.
Then, after a pause of barely a breath, the Black Annihilation Dragon began to gather a mass of black flames aimed at the immobilized Alphonse.
–He’s going to be killed. Alphonse Fried. In the blink of an eye, mercilessly, without mercy, he’s going to be killed.
…By the time Shion realized this, his body was already moving before he could think.
“Limit Acceleration–!!”
This was the highest-level magic Shion could use, accelerating the magician’s movements and all senses to an extraordinary degree, a highly advanced magic with only a handful of users throughout history.
Normally, Shion could only maintain Limit Acceleration for about ten seconds, and even then, he could barely manage to walk.
…But now. In a world where scattered sand and dust remained suspended, falling debris frozen in mid-air, a world that seemed as if time had stopped, he alone was running through it.
–Human consciousness can, on very rare occasions, enter a realm called the “Trance Zone.”
Those who enter this realm mostly do so in the midst of battle, and everyone who has experienced the “Trance Zone” says the same thing.
In the middle of a life-or-death sword fight, “it looked as if the opponent’s movements had stopped.”
The “Trance Zone” is a realm where consciousness accelerates to a degree incomparable to normal times, entered when concentration reaches its extreme limit.
And now, with the incredibly strong will to “save Alphonse Fried,” and having activated Limit Acceleration in an extreme situation without even a moment’s leeway, Shion’s consciousness had entered this “Trance Zone.”
“(Make it in time…!!)”
Normally, the higher the concentration, the more precise the magic becomes. However, this usually just allows for finer control, rarely affecting the power.
But when it comes to “Limit Acceleration,” it’s a different story.
“Limit Acceleration,” which requires high concentration to activate and which Shion usually can’t control well in its activated state, has explosively improved in ability now that he has entered the “Trance Zone.”
To the extent that Shion, who normally could barely walk while “Limit Acceleration” was active, can now run effortlessly while maintaining the spell.
And this magic that Shion had stubbornly honed, his strong will to “save Alphonse,” saved the descendant of the hero from the world’s strongest dragon.
Before the black flames that consume everything could engulf Alphonse, he rescued him from in front of the Black Annihilation Dragon Schwarzwaldius in the blink of an eye.
Some distance behind the Black Annihilation Dragon, Shion gently laid down Alphonse, whom he had been carrying.
…He had successfully rescued Alphonse from peril.
However, this is not the end.
The black dragon is still right behind them.
There’s no severe backlash like usual after using “Limit Acceleration,” and he still has a little magical power left.
But that doesn’t mean Shion has the power to defeat the Black Annihilation Dragon Schwarzwaldius.
In the face of the Black Annihilation Dragon’s overwhelming destructive power, he can’t possibly protect Alphonse.
“(–Then, there’s only one thing I can do…)”
Shion activated “Bright Eyes.”
“…uh”
At that moment, his eyes met with Alphonse, who seemed barely conscious.
Alphonse tried to say something, but he could no longer form words.
Facing such an Alphonse, Shion spoke to him gently.
“…You fought well.”
–Truly, he fought well.
–All alone, to protect everyone, until he was this battered.
–This man will surely save hundreds, thousands of people in the future.
…So,
“Leave the rest to me.”
–I can’t let him die here.
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