“Alright. But if things get dangerous, step back immediately, okay?”
“Of course.”
Confirming Misha’s nod, I stood up and asked Maris to lead us to the scene.
“We’ll talk about the Grand Spirit Martial Festival another time.”
“……Yes.”
I thought I could use this chaos to dodge the issue, but no such luck.
The scene shifts slightly earlier than when Rourke and Misha received the report about the intruders.
When the alarm signaling intruders in the academy rang, Leia was in the study room working on her assignments. Confused and flustered at first, but after hearing through the spirits that there were intruders near the annex’s square, she immediately decided to head there, going against the flow of students evacuating to rush to the scene.
It was a sense of duty as a member of the Valhart family, and a desire to apprehend the intruders who dared to set foot in the academy.
“Haa, haa……”
Now, panting and on her knees, Leia found the situation both humiliating and unexpected.
“Impressive for a student of EEutrea Academy. You’ve got some backbone.”
“…………”
Facing the intruder, a spirit master clad in black robes with an expressionless girl who seemed to be his spirit by his side, Leia glared as he muttered with an impressed tone.
Looking behind her, she saw the members of the disciplinary committee who had fought before her arrival lying on the ground.
“You look like a first-year, but to hold your own against me at your age is quite something~”
“I’m not happy to be praised by an intruder.”
“You should take the words of your elders more seriously, you know?”
Feeling irritated by the black-robed spirit master’s condescending tone, Leia quickly calmed herself and assessed the situation.
Her initial attack with Salamander had successfully drawn the black-robed spirit master away from the fallen disciplinary committee members, and she confirmed that they were unharmed. Though unconscious, none had sustained serious injuries, and with treatment, they’d all recover.
The problem, however, was……
“Now, shall we resume?”
“……Tch. Salamander!”
As the black-robed spirit master closed the distance, Leia commanded her spirit. The red dragon spread its wings and interposed itself between its master and the intruder.
“Oooooh!!”
“Not a bad strike.”
With a fierce roar, the massive arm of the Salamander, as thick as a great tree, came crashing down. The black-clad spirit master caught it with his arm, smiling gleefully. The impact cracked the ground beneath him, but the spirit master’s arm didn’t budge an inch. Instead, as spiritual energy erupted from him, the Salamander’s arm was forced back.
“Kuh!!”
“But this much is still far from enough to defeat me—”
“Salamander, use your breath attack!”
Even as its arm was pushed back, the Salamander gathered its spiritual energy and unleashed a torrent of flames from its mouth toward the black-clad spirit master, who was still casually talking. Normally, such a close-range breath attack would be too dangerous to use against students, but this time, the intruder was clearly far superior in strength. There was no reason to hold back.
The black-clad spirit master disappeared into the dense spiritual energy and flames. A direct hit would have left him not just burned but completely charred. Yet, Leia felt no sense of impact.
—Just like when I fought Rourke-senpai.
The eerie lack of resistance. The unfathomable depth of his power. And his combat style, centered around swordsmanship, inevitably reminded her of her battle with Rourke.
“Hahaha! You’re merciless!!”
With a laugh, a fierce wind howled, extinguishing the flames. From within, the figure of a man in a black robe emerged, along with a girl who seemed to have shielded him from the fire.
“Thought I’d be charred to a crisp.”
The spirit master who emerged from the scorched black robe was a handsome man with light brown hair, his face calm and composed.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Leia froze slightly at the sight of the spirit master, who looked more like a refined young man than she had expected. Meanwhile, the second wave of disciplinary committee members, who had been delayed, arrived as reinforcements, spotting the Salamander.
“You there, we’ll back you up!”
“Go! Oannes!!”
The disciplinary committee members summoned their contracted spirits and launched attacks at the spirit master facing Leia. A hawk-like spirit spread its wings, a merman spat out a stream of water infused with spiritual energy, and from the rear, a wolf howled as it lunged at the spirit master.
“Quite the numbers… Vlad.”
But the spirit master, seemingly annoyed by the multiple spirits coming at him, exhaled softly and called out the name of his contracted spirit.
The girl’s form dissolved into particles, and in the next moment, she transformed into a crimson sword, now gripped in the spirit master’s hand.
“That’s… no way!?”
“Let me clarify, this isn’t a spirit weapon transformation. This is Vlad’s true form.”
The spirit master corrected Leia, who had misunderstood, as he prepared to counter the incoming spirits.
He deflected the hawk’s talons with the flat of his sword, then completely dissipated the water stream with a single swing. The wolf spirit lunging at him with its jaws wide open was bisected with an upward slash.
From the rear, a disciplinary committee member summoned a rhinoceros-like spirit, charging with its horn. The spirit master swung his sword to meet the horn, stopping the spirit’s attack.
“Burn!”
Taking advantage of the opening, Leia activated a spirit technique. As she placed her hand on the ground, the area beneath the spirit master turned red and began to heat up, followed by a pillar of fire erupting.
“Haha! Nice one!”
Once again engulfed in flames, the spirit master showed no sign of being affected, shattering the spirit technique with a single swing. He then re-adjusted his stance, a delighted smile on his face as he faced the students’ relentless onslaught.
“Vlad! Feast on my blood!”
In response, vine-like tendrils extended from the sword, wrapping around the spirit master’s hand. The crimson blade deepened into a richer red, and an immense amount of spiritual energy began to emanate from it.
“Salamander! Protect everyone!”
This is bad.
Instinctively realizing the danger of taking that attack head-on, Leia ordered the Salamander to shield the students. At the same time, she enhanced her body with spiritual energy and quickly prepared a defensive stance.
“Blood Blade – Divine Punishment.”
“!?”
Immediately, a wave of spiritual energy-infused slashes roared toward her, and Leia’s vision was engulfed in a crimson light.
The released attack sent up a cloud of dust, and the sounds of battle that had filled the area moments ago fell silent, replaced by an eerie stillness.
“…………?”
Leia, who had instinctively closed her eyes, felt no impact as she had expected. The overwhelming silence made her question what had happened, and she opened her eyes to see a familiar back.
“Rourke-senpai.”
“Haah, I made it in time.”
In Leia’s line of sight stood Rourke, his expression a mix of relief and fatigue.
Beside him floated a tiny wind spirit, and in his hand was a sword spirit.
It seemed he had protected her from that last attack.
“…Why?”
“Why? I heard there was a troublesome intruder, so I came with Misha.”
As he answered Leia’s surprised question, Rourke brushed the dust off his uniform. Upon closer inspection, his blazer was torn in several places, likely from shielding her from the attack.
“Is Misha-sama here too?”
“Yeah, the dust is blocking our vision right now, but I think she’s protecting the disciplinary committee members.”
“…I see.”
Leia felt a sense of relief at his words. She knew that alone, she wouldn’t have been able to defeat the spirit master, let alone protect the committee members. She was glad her seniors had come as reinforcements.
“Thank you, senpai. I’m sorry.”
“No, you did well—!?”
“Good reflexes.”
Rourke, sensing an approaching presence mid-conversation, swiftly swung his sword.
Two sword spirits clashed, sparks flying. Rourke used his right hand to parry while his left hand activated a spirit technique, compressing wind into a sphere and detonating it right in front of the spirit master.
A violent gust of wind erupted, sending the spirit master flying backward along with the dust.
“Hahaha! You’re skilled!”
“Leia! Take care of the wounded!”
Rourke kept his eyes fixed on the spirit master as he shouted and swung his sword. Each time their slashes collided, silver and red light sparkled with spiritual energy, accompanied by a high-pitched clang.
—This is bad.
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
