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” cough, cough!”

Amidst the dust obscuring my vision and filling my mouth, horrified screams echoed from every direction.

I managed to steady my bewildered mind and looked around, finding a surprisingly intact city considering it had just endured a meteor strike—well, at least compared to the chaos that would ensue if a meteor actually hit.

The quick-witted folks instinctively started running in every direction, which left those who hadn’t grasped the situation yet getting shoved left and right.

“Saint!”

Though I was worried about the people, my friends in particular, I decided to pray that everyone was safe, and turned to check on Mariel, who was coughing beside me. Luckily, she didn’t appear injured, but it seemed she had inhaled quite a bit of dust.

“Cough… What on earth is…”

“First, let’s clear our heads. We can figure out what’s going on afterwards…”

BANG!

In the midst of the swirling dust, a sword came slicing through the limited visibility. I quickly drew the Holy Sword at my waist to block it, but the force was considerable. At the very least, it was the work of someone competent, perhaps a knight-class warrior.

As the dust settled, the identity of the attacker was unexpectedly shocking.

A being that should never have existed in this city; it was a Demonic Race.

“How could there be Demonic Beings…!”

“Elisia! Saint!”

While I was shocked by the appearance of the Demonic Beings, another figure joined the fray, calling out to Mariel.

Fortunately, I was not alone. Our homeroom teacher Ferrent, along with Selian from Class 2, arrived after us and quickly assessed the situation.

“Elisia, be careful…!”

Ignoring Ferrent’s shouts of concern, I focused entirely on slaying the Demonic Being in front of me.

It was easy to tell the one before me was just a low-level Demonic Being. If this were the beginning of the semester, it would definitely have been a daunting opponent, but now it was little more than a weakling.

“GRAAAH! You damn girl!”

Without even needing to channel the power of a hero, the Demonic Being was cleaved in half by a single swing of my blade, falling to the ground lifelessly.

When had they gotten in? No, how had they even entered?

The Demonic Races, Demonic Beings, and Demonic Monsters were forming their forces and pouring into the city.

Normally, the barrier magic installed in the city would have repelled such intrusions, yet they moved about without a care inside the city walls.

Some Demonic Beings were rampaging among the civilians, while others faced off against the professors. Comparatively weaker students were either confronting the Demonic Beings or teaming up to take on the Demonic Races.

For now, things around Mariel seemed to be under control, but other thoughts suddenly flooded my mind.

Friends, of course, and Frecia, Lindy, along with several others I had acquainted with. But despite frequently questioning how I had been chosen as a Hero, my selfishness compelled me to prioritize the safety of my friends and Frecia.

As for my friends, we had the Sword Master Selian among us, and Anne’s skills surpassed those of her peers, well beyond the academy level. Even Yuli, who had previously been weak, had awakened as a necromancer through a contract with Linne, becoming strong enough not to fall behind Anne.

Moreover, Frecia had shown improvement as well, single-handedly dispatching a mid-level Demonic Being at the beginning of the semester, so my concern for her was almost unwarranted given her newfound prowess.

But being powerful doesn’t mean I wouldn’t worry, right?

With Ferrent and Selian present, Mariel’s safety felt assured. Those two were well-equipped, and with the assistance of Mariel’s divine magic—an entity practically the nemesis of Demonic Beings—it was hard to imagine them facing a proper challenge.

Thus, I thought it wouldn’t matter if I left my post.

“I’ll be fine, so please take care of the Saint!”

“Elisia! Elisia!”

Trying to ignore Ferrent’s calls behind me, I charged forward. The first place I headed was the area closest to my friends.

Swinging my sword indiscriminately at the Demonic Beings, Demonic Monsters, and Demonic Races blocking my path, I sprinted towards where I had last seen my friends.

Even if the number of Demonic Beings and Monsters was considerable, tearing through them was hardly a challenge for me. However, in the case of the Demonic Races, even low-level threats would slow my pace.

I hadn’t gotten far after dashing out, and I worried about what might’ve happened to my friends and Frecia. With an invasion of this magnitude, it was likely there were higher-tier Demonic Beings among them, perhaps even more than one. If something unfortunate had happened to my friends…

“Ugh!”

Was I distracted by those thoughts? I felt a slight scratch on my forearm from the claws of a mid-level Demonic Being that was in my way. I immediately became alert and stopped, taking a few steps back to create distance. Low-level Demonic Beings were easy enough to handle, but mid-level ones required my full focus.

However, I hadn’t even taken a proper stance when a couple of low-level Demonic Beings started creeping in and closing the distance. If I maintained my keen eye on the mid-level one, the low-level ones would envelop me, and if I diverted my focus to them, the mid-level beast would take advantage.

It was truly a dilemma. Accepting the risk of injury, I tightened my grip on the Holy Sword, ready to find a way through the chaos.

Then, a single blow changed everything.

Whoosh!

The sound of the sword slicing through flesh and the sickening crack of a neck split open weren’t audible; it wasn’t a grand technique but rather, a simple slash that went right through the mid-level Demonic Being’s neck. Even the being itself failed to comprehend what had occurred.

As the severed head slowly skidded to the ground, the mid-level Demonic Being stumbled past me, comically oblivious to its fate until the very last moment.

Only nine beings capable of effortlessly cleaving a mid-level Demonic Being existed on the human side. Of course, only eight were known to the public, but I knew one more.

“Selian!”

It was my friend Selian, suddenly close in front of me.

“El! El! Are you hurt?”

While the low-level Demonic Beings were momentarily stunned by Selian’s sudden appearance, she wasn’t concerned about them at all. Instead, she scrambled to check my arms, legs, and all over as if I were an injured puppy.

Before I had the chance to insist I was fine, she quickly spotted the slight scratch on my forearm from the mid-level beast.

“Y-your wound…”

“It’s nothing. As you can see, it’s just this scratch, nothing else….”

It really was just a mishap from a glance; it wasn’t even sore, and even the claw scratches held no poison. So I sought to assure Selian, but it seemed my words didn’t reach her. Instead, she buzzed about my little scratch like it was the end of the world.

Then she suddenly bowed her head and let her hands drop. Grabbing her blade which had just severed the mid-level Demonic Being’s neck, she prepared for a second attack.

“How dare…”

“Sel…?”

She mumbled something so faintly I could hardly hear.

“How dare… How dare… How dare…”

But the more she repeated it, the louder her voice became.

“How DARE you touch El!”

Even though I knew her fury wasn’t directed at me, I flinched at her righteous anger. In the blink of an eye, she vanished from my sight.

When she reappeared, it was right in front of a low-level Demonic Being, one of the very things surrounding us.

How could a low-level Demonic Being hope to defend itself against someone who had just cleaved a mid-level specimen without a second thought?

With no chance to escape, Selian proceeded to slice through low-level Demonic Beings one after the other, she even severed their limbs. The fact their severed limbs lay unceremoniously scattered on the ground, particularly matching the position of my scratched arm, was simply a coincidence, right?

Unlike me, who was caught up in a struggle, Selian swiftly cleared her surroundings and returned to my side.

“El, are you alright?!”

She finally appeared calm now.

“It’s just a scratch. But are you okay? What about the others?”

“Oh…!”

Her response was a gasp of surprise, but she quickly spoke up in a hurried tone.

“I’m fine, but we need to get to Anne and Yuli as quickly as possible….”

“Cough, cough! Ugh, what kind of flames….”

Yet before she could finish her sentence, someone was kicking the corpses of the Demonic Beings as they approached.

A familiar voice and a familiar face. It was the magic department professor, a former front desk clerk whom I had some rapport with.

“Professor!”

Clearly, this magic professor had successfully fought through the attacks of Demonic Monsters, Demonic Beings, and Demonic Races, as aside from looking disheveled, he didn’t seem to be in bad shape.

“Oh, Elisia. So you were here. It seems being a Hero really suits you, considering you look safe.”

“Thanks to the other professors and my friends. But how are you, professor? There seem to be a lot of Demonic beings around…”

“Ah, don’t worry about me. It’s not like I’d get caught by those Demonic Beings.”

His confident voice, so different from how he had been rushing about earlier in the day, gave me a sense of security.

In these dire circumstances, just the presence of a single professor felt incredibly important.

“I’m not sure what’s happening, but it seems the Demonic Beings have invaded. I’ll head south with a friend, so I need you to handle another area.”

If Selian was right, Yuli and Anne should still be where they started. So I decided to continue heading south.

“Oh! Just a moment, Elisia.”

“Yes?”

“Before you go, I have something for you. Take this.”

As a magic department professor, it made sense he’d have something helpful to offer in the current situation. Whatever it was, if it came from him, it would surely aid us in the upcoming battles.

I stepped closer as he rummaged through his pockets to find something to hand over.

But what he gave me was completely unexpected.

“El!”

An abrupt tug at the back of my neck. It was entirely a shocking moment.

Yet it wasn’t just Selian’s sudden pull that startled me, nor was it the fabric of my shirt snagging my collarbone.

What truly shook me was a dark, pointy something zooming over my face as I stumbled backward.

It was something that had jumped out from the professor’s possession.

 

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