A black wall and a massive horde of monsters suddenly appeared at the academy.
A crisis that arrived without the slightest premonition—abruptly, and with utter irrationality. Many of the academy's students, teachers included, were plunged into panic in an instant.
Even so, the academy managed to respond. It evacuated as many people as it could into the school buildings, sent those who could fight to the front lines to meet the monsters' offensive, and succeeded—barely—in maintaining a stalemate.
The credit for that belonged to two young women.
First: Katia von Trackia. Wielding magic of unquestionably top-class performance even within the academy, and with her own outstanding command abilities placing combat-capable personnel in precisely the right positions, she was the anchor of the front lines—steadily holding back the vast monster army whose coordinated movements displayed an extraordinary degree of discipline.
And the second—
"—Injured students, get over here right now! Everyone else who can fight, I'm sorry but please deal with the monsters near the barrier! Just buy us as much time as you can!"
She immediately deployed a barrier that enveloped the entire school building to create a safe zone for people to retreat into. At the same time, she prepared a space for healing the wounded.
The rear anchor—the girl of dual aptitude who wielded two rare types of Bloodline Magic to hold the battle line: Sara von Hartmann.
Those who only knew her from school would have been stunned. The girl who was normally so gentle and kindhearted—the very type of person who seemed least suited for a place like this—was the first of all to face the monster horde, throwing herself without hesitation into a genuine death zone where there was no room for games or sparring.
And to her, a new wounded person arrived.
"...Ugh... Ah..."
"! ...You're..."
At the sight of a student she recognized, Sara's eyes widened slightly.
A student from Class A. Moreover, one who had actively aided in the prejudice against Class B centered on Clyde—in other words, someone who had continued to treat Class B as the enemy right up until just days ago.
—And what's more, this was someone who had, the very instant the battle began, rushed headlong against the monsters in overconfidence in their own power, and was now being driven back in defeat.
"..."
Naturally, the surrounding people's gaze toward such a student—especially from the Class B students fighting to protect Sara—was harsh.
But understanding that fully, Sara without a moment's hesitation extended aid to that student as well—
Star Corolla
"...Corolla." She activated it.
The effect was instantaneous. The wounds from being slashed and bitten by monsters healed completely. Sara met the gaze of the student, who was staring dumbfounded at his fully restored body, and asked.
"I've healed the visible wounds. ...Is there anywhere else that hurts?"
"N-No, there isn't."
"Good. Then... can you still fight?"
The moment those words reached his ears, the Class A student's face twisted.
"—N-No, I can't! Wh-What was that thing?! I don't know, but monsters — aren't they supposed to be easy to take down with Bloodline Magic?! I... I've never fought anything like that monster! I can't do this — I... I don't want to die!"
...This student, too.
A mage who had only ever trained for hunts, not battles. Because winning had always been a foregone conclusion, he couldn't see defeat — couldn't see crisis — as something real.
And that was precisely why his declaration was so pathetic.
Naturally, the Class B students who were still fighting heard this and seethed. Don't be ridiculous, they thought. After acting so high and mighty all this time.
However.
Just as the Class B students were about to voice their outrage, Sara apologetically held them back with her hand.
Once again looking the student straight in the eye, she spoke quietly.
"...I understand. Then please fall back."
"...What?"
What surprised the Class A student was not the content of her words.
It was her expression as she said them.
—She looked pained. And yet, there was tenderness in her gaze.
There was not the slightest hint of accusation in her manner. The only thing that surfaced on that beautiful face was genuine concern for the wounded before her.
"Get inside the school building so you don't get caught up in this. I'll do my best on your behalf, too. Please wait there — it would help me greatly."
"Wh—why?"
The Class A student couldn't help but call out as Sara turned to head back to the battlefield.
"Why — why aren't you blaming me? Why aren't you cursing someone like me?!"
"Because I understand."
Sara answered without softening the compassion in her voice.
"The feeling of being paralyzed when faced with cruelty beyond what you can handle, the desire to protect yourself — I know both of those feelings. I just happened to experience them before, so I'm used to it now. But if I hadn't... there's no guarantee I wouldn't be just like you are right now."
She does not abandon anyone.
She does not give up on weakness or foolishness. ...Because that is surely what aligns with her wish.
"So there's no need to be ashamed of not being able to fight right now. Everyone — everyone surely has the right and the opportunity to grow stronger. I want to believe that."
So she was saying: *survive for now.* And: *I will protect you until then.*
With those words, she finally turned away.
...The B-rank students following her said nothing either. After all, they too had once been saved by the very way she chose to be.
"The rest of you who are wounded — please, don't hold back. Whether you can fight or not, I will heal every one of you as much as I can. I will prioritize those who can return to the fight, of course, but I will never abandon anyone!"
With that declaration, she swept back onto the battlefield once more.
...The Class A student watched her go in stunned silence, the healing magic still lingering warm in his chest.
That said, the situation left no room for complacency.
The barrier enveloping the entire school building was not something even she could maintain for long. The moment her magic power ran dry would be the instant Monsters descended upon the sheltered humans.
But she knows.
Only two people in their entire grade had the power to flip this situation on its head in an instant.
And then, before long. From inside the school building, with tremendous force—
She definitely witnessed a single boy tearing across the sky and plung into the battlefield.
Almost simultaneously, at the front line.
"No... way...!"
Katia, who was directing the mages, wore an expression as close to despair as one could imagine.
Led by Albert, the B-class students put up a valiant fight.
Just as they had declared from the start, the army of Monsters that had initially tried to coordinate an assault on the school building — among those, the Monsters in their immediate vicinity had been cut down one after another by their efforts.
—But who could have imagined.
That the vast Monster army, already a formidable enough threat on its own, was somehow—
merely
the advance guard,
and nothing more.
To think that was all it was.
"Wh—!"
After the front line had cut down the cluster of Monsters.
As if to trample over the space that had just been emptied by their defeat—large-type Monsters emerged one after another from the rear.
Their numbers were fewer, certainly. But every person who caught sight of the immense magic power cloaking their bodies knew instantly: these creatures possessed abilities on an entirely different level from any Monster encountered so far.
And that premonition was not only correct—it was betrayed in the worst possible way.
"This... can't be real."
The one who spoke was the student who had landed the first direct magical hit on one of the monsters.
"This—
Bloodline Magic...
...doesn't work...
—doesn't work?!"
It was an impossible situation.
Until now, Monsters had been nothing more than trivially easy prey for nobles—for Bloodline Magic users.
Hunting them solo was a breeze; the only thing worth worrying about was
the Great Flood
and similar swarm-based rampages that overwhelmed through sheer numbers.
In fact, even the army on the front lines this time had only been a threat because they worked in coordination—individually, they could have been brought down with a reasonably strong Bloodline Magic attack.
Monsters could be defeated with Bloodline Magic. That had been the universal understanding among the nobility, and while exceptions existed, they were limited to the very rare cases—the powerful Dungeon bosses and mutant species.
But this—
Those rare exceptions—at least several dozen of them.
Monsters of the aberrant kind that "outmatched a Bloodline Magic user in single combat"—an occurrence that should have been virtually impossible—were swarming toward them in a horde.
This was the monster force that Clyde had prepared—his main army.
After using the smaller Monsters as a vanguard to clear the way, this was the main force: powerful enough to annihilate the academy and crush every Bloodline Magic user in its path.
"This is insane—!"
And with that, Katia was certain.
No single Bloodline Magic user could ever have caused destruction on this scale.
Perhaps some kind of magical tool, or a special technique. He was clearly receiving some form of support—something far beyond what Clyde alone could possibly manage.
But noticing that wouldn't change the situation—if anything, they needed to act, or things would only keep deteriorating.
"Damn it—! Everyone, stay calm! Don't take on one alone! Work together in groups and take them down one at a time! This is where we use teamwork!"
Albert's orders rang out. They never panicked, even when facing a situation beyond their control. The experience of continuous defeat, the abilities they had honed—all of it made flexible response possible.
That in itself was very reassuring. But having multiple people fight a single monster meant letting many others slip through to the rear.
(This is bad—!)
If that happened, the burden on Sara and the others holding the rear would double. No—worse, they were already stretched to the breaking point. A complete breach of the barrier was entirely possible.
Something had to be done. But she was already giving everything she had to support the entire battlefield.
The situation was closing in from every angle, and in that very moment—as she desperately racked her brain for any solution—
The monsters—
all at once—
turned toward
the sky
.
It was as though they had been drawn by something pulling at their consciousness.
As if the sheer threat of it made it impossible to ignore.
As though they had spotted a natural predator—one that demanded more attention than any enemy moving right before their eyes.
Drawn by the strange sight, the other students also looked skyward in unison.
Katia was no exception—she followed suit, and then—
"...Oh, there it is...!"
And in that very moment, she found the figure of the silver-haired boy she had been longing for more than anyone else.
With a voice that trembled slightly on the verge of tears, she told him with a smile.
◆
The monsters noticed Ermes, who was about to attack from the sky, and all turned their gaze towards him at once.
—I would have preferred to strike by surprise, but I suppose it’s not that easy after all.
Confirming this, Ermes shifted his thoughts and scanned the scene below.
...Just as he had hoped, they were holding out. However, the strength of the monsters far exceeded not only the students’ expectations but even Ermes’s own. The battle line was on the verge of collapse.
Especially that horde Albert and the others were currently fighting. Each one possessed the power of a powerful Dungeon Boss, on a level where ordinary Bloodline Magic wouldn’t faze them in the slightest.
Having recognized that… Ermes finally turned his gaze to his master.
Looking up, his eyes met Katia’s. She was slightly teary, and though she reproached him a bit with her gaze for his late entry to the battle, she understood what he meant and nodded.
In other words—she granted her permission as his master, to go all out.
“Understood.”
That was a relief. There was no room for holding back against those monsters.
Since he had her permission, he would show them his full power, the true strength of his ‘current self’.
Once again, he took in the battlefield below. If he had the luxury, he would eliminate them one by one with certainty… but in this moment, with collapse imminent, such luxury was gone.
Then,
all of
them,
at once,
he would blow them away.
In an instant, he made his decision, and—
Seamless Great Eagle
—he released. As freefall commenced, he raised his right hand and began his chant.
"Formula Replay—'
Magic Bullet Archer
'"
First, he activated the Bloodline Magic he was most familiar with.
And then—
"......
Technique Composite
—'
Fire heaven judgment
'"
At the same time, with his left hand.
He activated the second pre-chanted spell... or rather, in accordance with his declaration, he wove one Bloodline Magic's technique into the other.
He stripped away what was unnecessary, combined only the essential elements, and incorporated new components to compensate for the resulting flaws—sculpting the magic into shape.
The result: the magic bullets arrayed behind him—erupted into flame.
It wasn't simply a fire attribute tacked onto them. Each one burned with a ferocity, an intensity, a staggering amount of heat incomparably beyond that—every bullet blazing like a sun.
And then, Ermes swung his right hand downward.
The hellfire magic bullets surged toward the Monsters all at once.
"————!!"
The result was devastating.
The small Monsters that remained were annihilated without any chance to resist, and even among the large Monsters that had been pressuring Albert and the others, those with weaker resistance were burned to nothing, while those that managed to withstand the blast were sent flying by the resulting explosions.
Its power was far beyond what could ever be contained within the simple framework of mere Bloodline Magic.
And naturally, the control was perfect—none of the shots were aimed at the students fighting on the front lines.
He could do this. No—this was something he had *trained* himself to do.
Since enrolling at the academy, Ermes had observed and studied a great many Bloodline Magic.
He had observed, analyzed, and internalized countless varieties, properties, and Techniques.
If so, then naturally. For him, whose very purpose was to create magic—
—he would never be satisfied with simply reproducing those magics as they were.
And so now was the time to show the results. The culmination of the training he had never once neglected since transferring—training that he could never have displayed within the confines of a normal academy.
But still—he couldn't let his guard down yet. A massive number of powerful Monsters remained lurking deeper within.
And besides...
Of course
—
the fruits of his training
were not
limited to
just this
.
Having resolved the immediate crisis, he stoked his fighting spirit even further.
To reunite with his Boss and his companions, he descended to the ground.
Next time — even more mayhem! Stay tuned!