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Violet struggled in the sea of sorrow. Painful memories rushed past her like a parade.

-It hurts…

On the day of the entrance ceremony, a mid-level monster suddenly appeared.

-I don’t want this! Please save me!

At the welcome party for freshmen, the seniors who had been kindly smiling suddenly turned and forced her to overeat.

-I’m full. I can’t eat anymore, hehehe…

-Hey, do you think our sincerity is a joke? Is the senior funny?

A dull thud echoed as she vomited what was in her stomach, and a rough hand shoved her head into the mess.

-Damn, this is really disgusting…

Violet cried.

In a certain place in the academy, Violet was surrounded by a group of girls in uniforms who reminded her of wheat fields. The hair of the girl tied back shimmered like a mane.

-I-I’m sorry, senior… I accidentally stepped on your foot…

Her cheeks burned. When she tried to escape, other students grabbed her shoulders. A heavy slap filled with magic power struck her.

-Uuaah!

-Ah, seriously. What a stupid girl. What are you crying about? Hey, am I funny?

-N-No! Absolutely not! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!

A kick flew at her face. As Violet fell back, she realized her nose was broken.

-Get a grip! Who would take in a loser like you? Hmm, yeah. You might fit right in as a whore. Hey. Lick.

-Hahahaha!

Amid sadness and fear, Violet mindlessly licked the shoe’s sole that a girl thrust at her. Her tongue felt gritty.

-I will actively cooperate with the management of Test Subjects. If we move under joint management, such unfortunate incidents as last time won’t happen.

-Haha, this was our mistake. We should have informed you in advance about the admission of the Test Subject, but the individual made a unilateral decision…

Once again, the scenery before her changed. People were chatting happily with Violet in the center. A young man with ash-colored hair looked at her.

-I-I don’t want to. I want to go home… Please let me go… I hate the academy…

The pressure of telekinesis tightening around her neck was fierce. Violet gasped as she flailed helplessly in midair. When a girl with orange hair beside her feigned to stop her, the telekinesis loosened.

-Calm down. There isn’t a big problem, right? So, you said your name was Violet? It would be nice if you could stay quietly until everything is over. We don’t have any personal feelings towards you.

The girl lifted her magic staff and poked her in the belly. As a brand was pressed into her, Violet cried once more.

-Uuah…

Then, the sky shook. Numerous magic circles appeared, and the screams of many people swarmed into her head.

-Kyaaaah!

Violet writhed.

It was then that she felt something strange as she clutched her head and trembled.

「Huh?」

Violet suddenly sat up in a white space. The black liquid that had soaked her body slowly washed away, flowing onto the floor.

What she had just seen felt extremely discordant.

Violet tilted her head.

「This isn’t my memory, is it?」

「Right, the ones we killed too…」

As her thoughts lingered, a black claw reached towards her again.

「That’s definitely… Uugyaaah!」

—

**

The secret to winning wars has remained unchanged throughout human history.

From the moment the first primitive man struck his brother’s head with a stone axe, through the medieval era when knights of the Kingdom of Arnor made great achievements, the golden age when riflemen trampled the Trist continent, and onto the industrial revolution and the so-called first and second dimensional invasions by monsters, the law of victory has always been the same.

Even the vassals of Aedos, who trampled and devoured countless civilizations beyond dimensions, and the grand monarch of the sublime Monad overseeing them could not escape this law.

The laws of war, written in the blood of countless intelligent beings, are firm.

Thus, the sub-apostles of Aedos decided to faithfully follow the laws of war.

While his companion conducted experiments on insignificant local creatures, he activated one of the secrets of war.

That is, cutting off enemy information exchange.

– Crackle!

An ether wave accompanied by electromagnetic pulses and various radiation covered the entire Asteria region all at once.

The federally protected vehicles, weapons, and electronic equipment managed to hold on, but the problem lay with the precision communication devices.

“Our communication devices are down. We’ve lost contact!”

The communication between the curtain and the outside was instantaneously cut off. Even the noise of directional laser communication devices became extremely severe.

Each mobile unit fell into chaos.

As the incapable parachute special operation commander did his best to calm the confusion, the apostle pulled out the second law of victory.

“Emergency! Emergency!”

Preemptive strike.

The mobile unit led by Major Klein faced a wave of monsters rushing in without warning.

“Emergency! Emergency! Multiple monster forces spotted at 12 o’clock! Code Alpha! Code Beta!”

“Fire!”

As insignificant four-legged monsters charged in, federal soldiers responded with medium-speed rounds. Each mobile unit’s response, having heeded the warning from the Ariel Group, slightly diminished the effectiveness of the ambush.

– Boom!

Mortars flew overhead, creating craters over the monsters. The machine gun of the armored vehicle rained down on the monster ranks.

The ether protection cloaking them was torn apart by overwhelming physical force. The monsters that rushed through the beams of light became ragged before the soldiers’ electromagnetic rifles.

While ghouls sniped at them and the monsters unleashed magical beams into the air, sturdy monsters persistently advanced through the barrage to close the distance.

“Assault squad! Prepare for close combat!”

As regular soldiers hurriedly fell back, awakened soldiers wielding large riot shields and square sabers stepped forward. The clash of claws and blades against shields sparked.

– Slash! Crack!

The great sword ruthlessly shredded the monsters.

As the enemy wave faltered, a torrential downpour of grenades and bullets from the sides weakened their density.

“Retreat!”

As the awakened fighters fell back, lightning struck, and the ground turned into a swamp.

After the attacks and disruptions from the battle mages continued, another barrage poured in to block the enemies.

“Enemy monsters approaching from the 7 o’clock direction!”

Upon detecting monsters circumventing inside the building, Major Klein immediately issued orders.

“Unit 3! Open fire!”

– Boom! Ka-boom!

More than ten barrels attached to the heavy armored vehicle fired simultaneously.

With the price of an average middle-class salary in unleashed magical shells bombarding the building walls, blood gusted through the windows and cracks.

The heavy armored vehicle, designed for urban combat instead of tanks, showcased overwhelming power in this devastated battlefield.

– Boom!

In the wide ruins, the apostle manipulating the monsters split consciousness felt the initial offensive falter and ordered a flanking maneuver.

“Towards the monastery! Movement detected! Monsters!”

“Just as expected. Blow it up!”

– Bang!

Starting with Klein, each commander activated the traps they had prepared in advance.

As the advice from the Ariel Group combined with the soldiers’ suggestions, the monsters moving along the underground passage found themselves trapped in the ruins of the monastery.

A series of successive assaults followed. The federal task force successfully thwarted the monster’s forces.

As they blew up the first defense line and retreated to the second, a messenger appeared in the Major’s sight.

“When will the passage be opened??”

“Ten minutes should be enough!”

Feeling a sense of relief, Klein joined his subordinates at the second defense line.

What awaited there were the ranks of hunters wielding swords and spears. The rescue team and volunteers from the exhibition hall.

“Hey, great job! From here on out, we’ll take over!”

– Crackle!

Countless sword strikes once again halted the tide of monsters.

As bolts and magical bombardments rained down, even the monsters that had withstood the artillery crumbled helplessly.

– Crash!

“What’s this? These are nothing!”

A hunter shouted while swinging his spear.

As soldiers seasoned the battlefield with bullets, all they had to do was swing their swords from behind the barricade to gather the remnants.

The apostle watched all of this emotionlessly.

「How’s the offensive?」

「It’s fine. The knights of Restraid have yet to appear, but they will come out soon if we apply a little more pressure.」

Though the human resistance faltered, the apostle was unbothered.

The vassals created from local creatures were weak, and the humans had become relatively stronger than before.

After all, the important thing wasn’t to annihilate them. The goal was to lure the knights into a trap.

「Then we’ll initiate the disruption operation.」

The apostle activated a decision for operation. The range and members were random. The symptoms were also random.

It was time to activate the infectious curse that had been planted.

Immediately, a splash of cold water poured over the federal soldiers and hunters, who had been filled with the anticipation of victory.

“Monsters have appeared at the exhibition hall!”

“What?!”

—

Ariel was still dizzy. The whispers tormenting her head grew worse than before.

「…Become me.」

The whispers more violently urged her to follow their words.

The heat was intense. Her body was drenched in cold sweat.

「Open your eyes. Come to us.」

They promised relief, insisting everything is meaningless and that she must follow them.

Ariel thought she somehow had to comply with it.

‘No!’

The girl shook her head vigorously.

‘I will enroll in Aegis Academy. I’m not going anywhere else.’

「If you come to us, you can become a student.」

Ariel instinctively felt that this was a lie.

‘Lies!’

Once again, blood trickled from her nose. Just as the dizziness intensified, screams began to echo from the exhibition hall one by one.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Aaah!”

Ariel quickly saw the source of the noise. People writhing in pain. Someone foaming at the mouth and fainting, convulsing.

And then, one person’s body began to twist. The skin peeled off, and their head and arms grotesquely deformed.

“Aaah! Let’s become one!”

With a final desperate cry, the transformed humans began attacking others.

“Run away!”

“Uuaah!”

Feeling fear, Ariel tried to lead her heavy legs and escape immediately.

“Mom! Dad!”

Seeing her parents rushing towards her, Ariel struggled to smile. Perhaps feeling a little comfort. But the moment she saw them, her smile vanished.

“Uh, mom?”

Ariel wanted to close her eyes. Her parents began to approach her, bodies twisting and contorting.

“Ariel! Our daughter! Come here!”

“Let’s become one!”