Whaaaaaaa!
Cain, who’d abandoned all semblance of humanity and was now just a floating ember, unleashed a torrent of flames with reckless abandon.
‘Oh bother.’
Without warning, a fiery wave lunged toward Cynthia, who had suddenly popped up.
The kicker? The speed at which this fiery wave was traveling was in an entirely different league compared to what we had seen so far. It was like the ember had been biding its time, waiting eagerly for someone to step into its trap so it could release an über-powerful, super-fast attack.
Whoooom!
Even Professor Amillion, hovering nearby, was in no position to stop this chaos. Swiftly wielding my sword, I slashed through the air, tearing open a spatial rift and landing right in front of Cynthia.
Pwoooosh!
“Eeekk!”
I only barely managed to slice through the flames, but not without triggering a massive explosion. BOOM!
Whoooom!
As the explosion rumbled, I hastily opened up a pocket dimension to s*ck in all the fiery debris before pulling Cynthia into my arms and stumbling backward.
“Wha… wha?”
“Stay here.”
Whoooom!
“Where am I…?!”
Before Cynthia could finish her bewildered question, I teleported again—faster than the blink of an eye—and whisked her away to safety, depositing her at my dormitory.
‘Phew, that was close.’
Though I’d never normally do something so reckless, given the life-or-d*ath situation we were in, I didn’t have much of a choice. Keeping Cynthia in harm’s way might’ve led to disaster. Not to mention, Ryu, for reasons unknown, had charged in with what seemed like inexplicable confidence.
“Wait, what happened?! Where’s Cynthia?!”
Amillion, just like the rest of us, seemed as confused about the lightning-fast sequence of events as the rest of us.
But right now, explaining wasn’t the priority.
“So, what do we do about… THAT?!”
At my cry, Amillion quickly shifted their focus back to the infernal little ember, which wasn’t weakening with time but rather growing stronger.
I had been right to want to slice it down as soon as possible. Hoping there might be a method to stop it, I had held back—but it only got worse.
“Normally, to stabilize someone who’s gone berserk, you either exhaust their mana or suppress it with stronger mana… but…”
“Can we do that?”
“…I’ll try my best.”
“What can I do?”
“While I channel my mana to cover him… you’ve got to keep him pinned.”
“Got it.”
Amillion wasn’t called a professor for nothing. Despite the chaos, they immediately formulated a plan and began casting a spell without hesitation. As Amillion started pooling mana, I sprang into action.
With Cain Hover’s erratic mana making it difficult to sense others around me, I still detected faint signs of approaching students. Somewhere in the mix was Elaine, who stood out like a beacon with her unmistakable magical aura.
We had to resolve this pronto so no one else went through what Cynthia did.
Whoooom!
There was no point hiding my strength anymore. With Professor Amillion watching, I charged right toward the floating ember without a second thought.
Pwoooosh!
I swung my blade straight at the core of the fiery orb. As the sword clashed with the flames, an inevitable explosion rang out. The force of the flames tried to push my sword back, but I braced myself against the pressure.
KABLOOOOOM!
Then an even greater power erupted from within the flames, shoving me backward with surprising force.
‘What the heck is this?!’
There was no way I could withstand this level of power purely with brute strength. I began channeling mana into my blade.
As the dark mana infused my Black Shadow Sword, the blade shuddered and reacted to the infusion, growing even darker and wrapping itself in a shadowy aura.
Hwaak!
A wave of black mana erupted from the sword and began to suppress the flames.
Now the real showdown began.
The red energy of the fire clashed fiercely with the black energy of my blade, each force straining against the other.
Ziiiiiiip!
The friction of clashing energies created eerie sounds, punctuated by an unexpected voice cutting through the melee.
“…Please… save me…”
I nearly stumbled back in shock. The voice—it was Cain Hover’s—was faint, almost inaudible, like the dying breaths of a defeated foe.
A tone of sheer desperation hung heavy in his voice.
Ziiiiiiip!
I pumped more mana into my Black Shadow Sword, which began enveloping the fiery orb in black energy. The pressure pushing me back wasn’t intensifying, giving me hope.
“Is this done yet?!”
After hearing Cain’s plea, my patience was wearing thin. I found myself unconsciously urging Amillion to hurry. I could hold out indefinitely, but the urgency to resolve Cain’s predicament was growing.
Sure, he was no particular friend of mine, but he wasn’t detestable enough to leave to d*e either.
“Almost! Keep going!”
In response to my shout, Amillion’s voice came immediately, followed by a surge of immense mana arriving from behind. The mana manifested as a net-like structure that closed in on both Cain and me.
Seeing the net coming, Cain’s desperate movements changed. Having struggled to shove me aside only moments ago, he now tried to flee.
“Ha! Where do you think you’re going?”
I expanded the sphere of black mana further, squeezing the fiery orb, making it impossible for Cain to escape. Just then, Amillion’s mana-net engulfed both of us in its grasp.
“Done! Pull out now!”
With the reassurance of Amillion’s command, I released my stance and teleported backward. Though still pumped full of mana, I slashed at the ground to steady myself and glanced ahead.
Amillion’s mana had successfully trapped Cain. The blue mana wove a cocoon around the ember, compressing it tightly.
‘Is it over?’
“Was it… successful?”
Amillion didn’t respond immediately but closed their eyes, focusing intently. Apparently, there was more to stabilizing Cain than just wrapping him in mana. After casting the spell, there seemed to be additional work involved.
As I watched Amillion concentrate, I turned my eyes to the struggling ember wrapped in mana.
Ziiiiiiip!
Intermittently, the same ear-splitting energy collision sounds rang out.
I stayed vigilant, my attention shifting between Amillion and the trapped Cain.
Time passed, and then—
Ziiiiiiiiik!
A new sound emerged. Not the crash of energies, but something softer, closer to steam hissing.
The flames that had enshrouded Cain began shrinking, clearly fading under the influence of Amillion’s containment spell.
The surrounding wildfire, seemingly connected, began to dissipate simultaneously.
‘Is it over?’
Ziiiiiiiiik!
Finally, Amillion opened their eyes to survey the diminishing ember.
Cain, who had been caught in a maelstrom of fire, collapsed onto the ground. Surprisingly intact.
As the fire and flames surrounding him vanished, Amillion rushed to Cain’s side.
“Cain!”
Gently lifting Cain’s torso, Amillion frantically checked his condition. Shaking his body, even slapping his cheeks, but Cain wouldn’t wake.
‘Thankfully, he’s not dead.’
My heightened senses, sharpened from the battle, confirmed as much. Cain was alive but not unscathed.
‘His internal mana is a complete mess…’
On closer inspection, the extent to which the rogue mana had ravaged his body became apparent. There wasn’t a single untouched part inside him.
Even Amillion, with their heightened awareness, must have observed the same. No doubt this explained their worried demeanor.
‘If he doesn’t wake up now…’
Cain’s current state was critical. This was the golden time frame. If he didn’t regain consciousness soon enough to stabilize his internal mana, he might never be able to use it again.
“Wake up!”
Amillion pleaded desperately. But for someone as young as an Academy freshman to overcome this trauma and summon the inner fortitude to wake up—well, that might just be asking too much.
“Cain!!”
Amillion practically slapped Cain to rouse him, but the boy remained motionless.
“Ryu-sama… What happened?”
“Huh?”
Just then, Elaine arrived, her bewildered gaze darting around.
“Professor? Is that… Cain Hover?”
Amillion, despite the arrival of another student, stayed focused on Cain.
‘Sigh.’
“Professor.”
Amillion, who had been furiously shaking Cain, stopped momentarily upon hearing my voice. Cain, limp in their arms, appeared completely powerless.
“Perhaps we should move him to the infirmary.”
“Ah…”
Amillion must have realized now. The golden time had slipped through our fingers.
—
