70 – Pursuit (3)
Sirius’ eyes narrowed as the silver-haired girl entered Melissa’s field of vision.
The enemy’s salvation arrived faster than expected.
Even if they prevented noise and magic from leaking out with barriers, they foresaw that someday they would be found out.
But even so, this speed far exceeded his expectations.
The academy has yet to be distracted by the explosion in the main building and cannot afford to focus on anything else.
‘What is it?’
Sirius quickly shook his head as he reached his destination.
The explosion that occurred in the main building was intentionally decorated as an accidental incident while the cadets were studying reagents.
It was for this purpose that I used a female student to obtain her male student as well.
Considering that, it is difficult to even guess that the opponent is already an enemy.
Nonetheless, it is one of two things that we were able to afford to send aid this far.
That the two cadets Melissa was dealing with had a way to get in touch with the outside world, or that there was a way to be aware of this infiltration.
The former seemed unlikely to Sirius.
There’s no way a freshman cadet can use communication magic that can be used even when breaking through that barrier.
In that case, the possibility is focused on the latter, but in this case, there is one thing to point out.
‘No way… ?’
Sirius had doubts as he remembered the couple he had met on stage.
It bothers me because one of the two is the man I met in the Wizard’s Forest.
However, the reason this is considered unlikely is that they have never seen Sirius in person.
That means there is no reason to infer that he is a member of the Followers and to know the target on this side in advance.
‘Even if you saw through the hallucination, you wouldn’t have been able to figure it out in advance if you didn’t know the identity. How?’
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I wondered if his head would spin harder the busier he walked down the stairs.
‘No, there is no need to worry. It’s faster this way anyway.’
Shaking his head and brushing off his thoughts, he quickly ran down the road he had reached before he knew it.
If there is only one cadet sent in hastily, all you have to do is take the target and run away while wasting time.
Anyway, after that, you’ll be able to leave this place to the phantom’s hallucinations and get out of here leisurely.
That’s why Sirius, recognizing that he still had the advantage, took a quick step.
It was an abandoned building that was not even managed properly, so acrid air enveloped the respiratory system, but there was no time to care.
Kiki.
When I opened the creaking iron door and entered the place where the workshop used to be, I saw a lot of unprocessed items around me.
According to Professor Melissa’s memory, there is Astesia’s blessing that is carefully kept on the other side.
It’s a bit strange that it can’t even be detected, but thinking that it’s because the security was so thorough, Sirius took a step forward without a doubt.
Wedge liquid!
“…… !?”
That was the moment.
Tearing through the air, a red long spear flew in to pierce his heart.
Sirius realized in that instant that he did not even have time to take out the catalyst.
I had no choice but to use the 5 star Reflect, which is the highest level of defense magic that can be cast with Shadowless Spear.
Great.
“What… !?”
The blue barrier covering the front of the body began to crack, screaming from the tip where the red long spear touched.
No matter how hurriedly the magic was cast while giving up even the chant, it was a high-grade defense magic ranked 5th.
As it began to split so feebly, Sirius realized something was very wrong and hurriedly fled.
Fortunately, the time the Reflect Magic had earned was not in vain, so he was not seriously injured.
“… Too bad. I just tried to kill you.”
As he looked at his shattered magic with a shocked expression, he heard a voice mixed with regret in his ears.
Like a child forcibly pretending to be an adult, his voice is thin and delicate, but his tone is very old-fashioned.
Sirius intuitively noticed that it belonged to a cadet, not a professor, and widened his eyes.
That’s also true, because the magic a while ago was too destructive to be considered a mediocre cadet no matter who saw it.
“Still, this is the end of the tag game, so you should think positively.”
Soon, with a voice full of ridicule, the two beings that had been hiding in the darkness appeared.
That was none other than the man and woman Sirius had met on stage earlier.
Among them, the man looked at Sirius with eyes as if he were looking at prey caught in a trap, then clenched his fists and smiled.
“I let it bounce back then, but not this time.”
“… Damn.”
From the familiar face he had seen in the Wizard’s Forest, Sirius realized that the culprit was this man.
Even if he knew that, there wasn’t much he could do about the current situation.
* * * *
Lorne joined in and was able to breathe a sigh of relief, but that doesn’t mean things started to turn in his favor.
Although he cannot use all of his natural powers because his opponent is manipulated, he is a person who holds the position of a professor at the academy.
At least, it was too much of an opponent for the three first-year students who had just reached their peak.
It was a gap that Aden could not easily fill, even if she had slightly superior strength to her peers.
“Ha ha ha….”
Jiing.
A feeble light dwells in Aden’s body, which earned time by enduring and blocking most of the attacks in the battlefield.
Recognizing that it was a healing magic passed down through Lone’s hands, Aden smiled bitterly and handed over an apology.
“I’m sorry, Lone. I came to help, but it only bothered me….”
“I apologize. If you want to make it right, do it right with Bell later.”
Aden averted his gaze at the cold tone that was not like Lone.
She couldn’t bear to look at her because she knew what she meant.
“… Okay. If that’s what you mean.”
Aden stood up from her seat, feeling that her recovery magic would keep her alive, albeit a little.
Up until now, I had at least some time to evade, but at some point, the opponent is shooting only magic indiscriminately.
Like a slaughter doll moving to destroy the existence in front of its eyes.
“It’s clear that the caster gave up control and focused on fighting. It has become more difficult to deal with than before.”
“What does that mean? Miss Mary.”
Aden’s eyes widened as Marie, who had been peeking at her gaps with the Familiar in the last room, said something suspicious.
What does Professor Melissa mean by saying that she knows that she is being controlled by someone, but she has given up control?
Her theories about her magic aren’t very clear, so she couldn’t understand even half of what she said.
“I’ve seen it in books. Among the magic that controls others in this way, those belonging to the higher ranks can be made to fight according to the memories in the subject’s head.”
“It’s a bit difficult to understand. Can you summarize?”
Even though she explained it in an easy-to-understand manner, when Aden expressed her disapproval, Marie frowned at her.
He couldn’t understand why, like that man, all the men around him had only those with less hair.
“To put it simply, it was in a state where the magician behind it was manipulating it. Right now, it means that we are fighting only based on the experience in that professor’s head.”
“Does that mean it has become more demanding?”
“You can interpret it that way.”
Instead, it is a move that can be used when relying solely on combat since conversation or other actions are impossible.
I don’t know, but it could also mean that the magician who controlled Melissa is now in a difficult situation to concentrate on controlling.
Anyway, it wasn’t very good news for the three of them.
As expected, the mana and stamina have run out due to the long battle, but the level of difficulty has risen here.
“Miss Marie, how many times can you use magic?”
“Twice is the limit. You only need to use it once to properly feed it.”
“It’s the worst.”
Even if it were to work together with Lone, it would be too much to take down with just one blow.
Besides, in case someone isn’t a professor at the academy, he seems to have a lot of experience, so even in a situation where he’s almost unconscious, he doesn’t fall for halfway tricks.
In the end, as her last resort, Aden decided to take her own strand to evacuate the two people in the meantime, taking the time to step in.
Rather, it would be better to prepare for an unexpected chase by keeping a lively Lorne next to Marie.
“Miss Marie.”
“Focus on what’s in front of you when you have time to talk nonsense.”
Just as Arden was about to speak out of her heart, Marie’s cold reply came back.
Aden inadvertently smiled bitterly at her ruthless attitude, as if he would not listen to her words.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Your eyes are stupid, so I know even if you don’t say anything. My father was like that Men often have stupid thoughts in strange places, so be careful.”
“Uh…. Um.”
She wants to refute that statement, but it’s something she can’t bring up, so Aden shuts her mouth.
That was the moment.
Lorne, who was treating Aden, got up from her seat and stepped forward, narrowing the distance in front of Melissa.
“Okay, you guys get out of here and go to the basement of the building. Leave this to me.”
Putting aside why the basement of the building was suddenly talking about it, when she told her to take over as Professor Melissa, the pupils of the two opened without saying anything first.
“Rone, that is impossible.”
“Right. And didn’t you hear what I just said to that guy? I told you not to talk nonsense.”
The two of them opened their mouths at the same time, as if they had no idea.
No matter how out of the two, Lone is the most sane person, but that doesn’t mean that he can survive even one-on-one.
At least, what Aden tried to do was only possible because he objectively grasped that he was the most superior in terms of power.
However, as if he would not even accept a refutation, Lone took a step forward, ignoring the two people’s dissuades.
Soon Professor Melissa’s gaze turned to her, and Lorne, who noticed it, turned her head behind her and spoke out with her somewhat lonely smile.
“… Go because it’s okay If you really want to think of me.”
With that look in her eyes, neither Arden nor her Marie could stop thinking that they should hold her back.
Although she didn’t have a deep relationship with her, the look in her eyes that was the first time she’d seen her in her life didn’t at all feel like that of a woman who would sacrifice herself for her comrades.
If I had to compare it, she seemed like a timid girl who somehow didn’t want to reveal her secrets.