Volume 1: Enrollment at Magias Academy of Magical Arts
Chapter 16: I’ll Stop It, No Matter What
By the time Wilhelm noticed, a blade was already pressed to his throat.
“Don’t move.”
The voice was low and taut.
Even without turning to look, Wilhelm knew who it belonged to.
“Well, well. Professor Blanchard. It’s been a long time.”
Even with the point of a dagger aimed at a vital spot, Wilhelm remained perfectly calm. He knew she couldn’t hurt him yet.
That was the burden of those in authority: they had to begin with questions and follow the proper steps before resorting to force.
“You’re the one who did that to Yuriha, aren’t you?”
“You misunderstand. That little girl chose to shield the child on her own.”
“If you surrender right now, I won’t have to be rough with you.”
“My, how impatient. But is this really the time? Look over there.”
Blanchard understood what Wilhelm meant without looking. There was indeed something more urgent than this man.
“Is the tower… leaning?”
Someone murmured in disbelief.
The Central Tower that had just been bombed was tilting far enough to be visible from the spectator stands. The blast must have targeted its critical supports. Pulling that off required intimate knowledge of the Magias campus’s structural design.
“What did you do?”
“Which part are you asking about? How I managed to bomb the tower without anyone noticing? Why Magias’s vaunted protective barrier isn’t functioning correctly? Or perhaps—”
Wilhelm’s entire body blurred.
A sharp blow struck Blanchard in the abdomen and forced her back. Whether it was an elbow or a fist, the attack was too fast for her eyes to follow.
At the same instant, she grasped what felt wrong.
Wilhelm wasn’t moving too quickly.
“Why your own magical coefficient has fallen so drastically?”
“—!”
“And not only yours. I’ve neutralized almost every troublesome mage currently present.
“The answer is simple.
“I seized control of Magias’s protective barrier.
“Every privilege on the grounds is already in my hands.
“I’m so very glad I tampered with the core formula long ago♪”
It sounded difficult to believe, but it explained everything.
The Magias protective barrier was plainly not operating normally.
Wilhelm had remained enrolled as a repeat student until last year. He would have had the opportunity to perform his so-called tampering.
Of course, it would still have taken an enormous amount of ingenuity, time, and obsession.
Whatever his purpose, this was not the work of a sane man.
“I’d estimate the tower has about thirty minutes before it collapses. And furthermore—”
“M-Magical beasts!”
“Ah, it appears they’ve arrived as well.”
This time, even Blanchard couldn’t avoid looking. Numerous magical beasts had appeared throughout the grounds. Powerful-looking creatures poured down from multiple holes suspended in the air.
“Spatial transfer? On this scale? How…?”
“I’ll decline to comment on the transfer method, but I purchased these military magical beasts with research funds supplied by Magias. How very generous of my alma mater. I’m overcome with gratitude♪”
Wilhelm spoke as if singing, and even Blanchard could no longer hide her disgust.
This self-proclaimed patriot had embezzled tax-funded research money to assemble an illegal military force, then deployed it without hesitation in a terrorist attack against Magias, one of Griefia’s most important institutions.
She had been too lenient.
She should have beheaded him at once instead of asking him to surrender.
That would have been the only farewell Blanchard could offer a senior she had once respected.
“A towering structure on the verge of collapse. Spectators fleeing in terror. Military magical beasts in pursuit. A stolen barrier.
“Oh dear, what a disaster♪ Which problem will you address first?”
“I’ve heard enough. Die.”
Blanchard slashed at Wilhelm’s smug smile.
Three sword flashes shot toward his vital points in an instant, only to strike a translucent wall just before cutting into his flesh.
A magical barrier.
That hardness. That deployment speed.
He had honed his skill even further since his days at the academy.
“Correct. Defeat me, and every problem is solved. Though in your present state, you have absolutely no chance of winning.”
Before Blanchard could follow up, a spherical barrier enclosed her entire body. A prison—no. That wasn’t it.
“Crushing Barrier (Baron).”
With a sickening crunch, the membrane collapsed inward.
This magical barrier was designed to attack.
It was Wilhelm’s specialty, the technique that had made him an authority in barrier magic.
Pressure great enough to pulverize a block of iron closed around Blanchard.
She threw up a defense on instinct, but it was undeniably underpowered.
The damage was considerable.
“Goodbye, then. If you survive, perhaps we’ll meet again.”
“Wait—”
Unsteady on her feet, Blanchard reached for him.
Wilhelm gave her a pitying glance and flicked a magical projectile from his staff as if shooing her away.
“Gah—”
Her whole body was dragged along by the point of impact.
One moment she saw sky, then the school buildings, then the stands. The tumbling view told her she’d been hurled away.
She finally came to rest after crashing into the center of the arena.
Her legs wouldn’t move.
It would take some time before she could stand.
“Professor!”
Brendan ran toward her, with Mercedes following silently behind him.
Blanchard forced her heavy eyelids open and brought them both into focus.
Then she sensed something strange.
The magical waves surrounding them were unchanged from normal.
“Professor! Stay with us!”
That was Amae’s voice.
Gary, Luluk, and Filiestra were there too.
They must have come down from the stands.
None of the six showed any sign of being affected by the barrier.
“I’ve neutralized almost every troublesome mage currently present.”
Almost?
Perhaps limited resources meant he couldn’t weaken everyone.
If so, they had been fortunate. There was no time to hesitate.
Issuing an order to first-year Emperor Faculty students this early in the year was unprecedented, but she had no other choice.
“Everyone… this is an emergency. Listen carefully.”
Still on the ground, Blanchard began to speak.
She spat out the blood caught in her throat and continued with deliberate calm.
“The academy is currently under armed attack by a mage calling himself Wilhelm. The campus protective barrier’s defensive functions have been disabled and repurposed to disrupt the magical control of casters inside the grounds.”
Bloody breath escaped her with every word.
“As a result, parts of the command structure for the faculty and security forces have collapsed. At present, we cannot expect a coordinated evacuation or defensive response.”
“Professor, you shouldn’t—”
“I’m all right. Let me do this.”
Filiestra hurried to her side and covered her in a pale light. The pain began to fade, but Blanchard still couldn’t move.
“The disruption appears to prioritize faculty, security personnel, upperclassmen, and other high-output mages. While affected, they will likely be capable of little more than eliminating the magical beasts.”
Breathing shallowly, she looked around.
Just as she said, several staff members were already occupied with the beasts. Thanks to them, there appeared to be no casualties among the spectators yet.
There was no telling how long they could maintain that situation.
“For now, the interference affecting you first-year Emperor Faculty students is minimal. The number of people who can still fight properly is limited.”
Filiestra’s hands seemed to tremble ever so slightly as she continued healing.
“Therefore, effective immediately, I’m assigning everyone present to an emergency field mission. Your objectives are to protect civilians, aid the injured, and eliminate hostile forces. Respond as circumstances require.”
The six students listened in silence.
With unfocused eyes, Blanchard looked at Brendan, their representative.
Not a bad expression.
It seemed he had steeled himself.
“Brendan Walker. I appoint you field commander. Everyone else is to follow his orders.”
Her consciousness began to cloud.
“Civilians come first. But if your lives are in danger, don’t hesitate to run… I’ll take responsibility…”
◇
After saying that much, Professor Blanchard lost consciousness.
Silence fell over us.
The uproar in the arena seemed strangely distant.
To be honest, none of this felt real.
Everyone else appeared to be concentrating on processing what we’d just been told. No one had imagined anything like this could happen.
“Lady Filiestra… how is the professor?”
“She’ll be all right, Luluk. She’s only unconscious. I can heal her quickly.”
Filiestra stated it firmly to dispel Luluk’s fears. Her confidence was incredible. We could safely leave the professor with her for now.
“Attacked right after we enrolled. This academy is unbelievable.”
Even Mercedes looked taken aback.
We really had come to an unbelievable school in the most literal sense.
Aunt Coffey could probably solve everything in five seconds if she were here, but unfortunately, she was away on business and nowhere near the royal capital.
Still, complaining wouldn’t help.
“For now, we have to do what we can.”
“Agreed. So what do we do?”
Mercedes looked straight at me.
Apparently, she wasn’t selfish enough to argue at a time like this.
I had been given command, so the decisions were mine.
This was different from our field trip.
Back then, I’d only needed to get everyone to our destination.
Now there were people we had to protect.
We didn’t know the enemy’s location, numbers, or goal.
If we stayed together, the area we could help would be too small.
I organized the situation in my mind.
Thousands of civilians.
The damaged Central Tower.
Magical beasts flooding the grounds, and the professors fighting them.
The stolen barrier.
Wilhelm’s unknown whereabouts.
The materials at hand.
The broken pieces.
The order in which repairs had to be made.
The relationships between each event.
“First, we’ll divide evacuation and pursuit duties. Luluk.”
“Yes!”
“Survey the whole situation from the air and use telepathy to direct as many people as possible toward safety. Keep sharing and broadcasting every important piece of information.”
“Understood!”
Luluk mounted her trademark broom and immediately soared into the sky. After circling the Central Tower, her voice echoed directly in our minds.
“Everyone on the grounds! Please remain calm and listen!”
Her voice was pleasant and carried clearly without traveling through the air.
“The academy is currently under attack by an unknown armed force! Please evacuate immediately! The confirmed safe routes are the eastern and southern exits!
“Faculty members and anyone qualified for combat, please prioritize eliminating magical beasts and obstacles along those routes! Clear the way first!”
“Whoa, Lulu’s really good at telepathy.”
“She’s versatile…”
Amae and Gary sounded genuinely surprised.
They probably hadn’t had a chance to partner with her in class.
Honestly, even I hadn’t expected this much. Luluk’s telepathy was exceptional in both precision and the number of people she could contact at once.
Her combat ability was high enough to act as a mobile fighter too.
It was best to leave information control to her.
“Gary, search the interiors we can’t see from the air and find Wilhelm. He has to be somewhere on the grounds. Just locate him first. If we leave him alone, there’s no telling what he’ll do.”
“Hell yeah! Leave it to me!”
I had expected Gary to agree enthusiastically. I hadn’t expected lightning to wrap around him in the next instant. Magic burst from his body, and he shot away at an extraordinary speed.
Fast.
So this was what Gary meant by going all out.
It might not have been a hundred times faster, but his mobility was still abnormal.
“B-But Bren, what about the tower? At this rate, no matter what we do…”
Amae, usually so sleepy, watched me with a tense expression. Professor Blanchard hadn’t addressed that problem.
She hadn’t known what to do about it either.
This was one answer we had to find ourselves.
“I’ll repair the structure.”
There was a good chance I was the only person who could.
To minimize the damage, I had to go now.
“C-Can you really do that? Something that big? If you fail…”
“I can.”
I spoke clearly, both to reassure the trembling Amae and to convince myself.
“I’ll stop it, no matter what.”
A voice answered from behind me.
“Then come with me, Walker.”
I turned and saw Gerald.
I hadn’t noticed him earlier, but apparently he’d come to the arena.
Even in this situation, he stood with his arms folded, as proud as ever.
“I also have business in the Central Tower. The barrier’s control core should be there. I’ll attempt to reclaim control.”
“Can you do it?”
“Leave it to me.”
I had no idea what he intended to do to the fundamental systems of Magias, or how. But if he was this confident, I could trust him with it. If he succeeded, the benefits would be enormous.
As for the remaining assignments—
That was when Gary contacted us.
“Hey, everyone! I found Wilhelm! He’s running around the tower basement!”
“That was fast.”
Amae muttered, sounding slightly appalled.
He really was too fast.
Assigning the search to Gary had clearly been the right choice.
“Don’t pursue too deeply yet. Keep sharing his location. I’ll send Mercedes and Amae to join you.”
“Got it!”
“Once all three of you are together, coordinate and corner him. Mercedes will command the fight against Wilhelm.”
I glanced toward Mercedes.
She seemed to understand what was coming and closed her eyes in resignation.
“Mercedes, can I leave it to you?”
“I suppose. I’m the most suitable person here. I accept.”
That settled almost every part of the plan.
Only Filiestra remained.
“I’ll stay and continue treating the professor. I should have her mobile enough in about five minutes. I don’t need anyone to defend me while I work. I can protect myself.”
“Understood. Once you’re finished, join the nearest professor or Emperor Faculty student.”
“I will. Please be careful, Walker. You too, Gerald.”
Filiestra’s counterattack magic was devastating against living creatures.
I was still a little worried, but she could surely manage on her own for a short time.
We would have to leave the magical beasts to everyone else.
Since our output appeared unaffected, it was most efficient for us to strike at the root of the crisis and turn the situation in our favor.
One last thing.
“Luluk, did you hear Gary’s report?”
“Attention, faculty members! The culprit is currently moving through the basement! The culprit is in the basement! Anyone who can assist, please proceed there and restrain him!”
That was all the information we could distribute for now.
She would have to repeat the announcement until the crisis ended.
“Everyone, begin your assignments. Share anything important through Luluk.”
They all nodded.
Every face showed resolve.
A great deal had happened in our first month, but I realized how strongly I wanted to continue academy life with everyone here.
Then we had no choice but to end this.
This absurd attack.
“We’re flying.”
Gerald activated a formula, and my body rose into the air.
Defying gravity, we accelerated toward the Central Tower.
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