Episode 175. The Assault (1)

The walls surrounding the Reynaldo Hero School.

Built in the traditional imperial style, the 10-meter-high walls seemed more like they were designed for aesthetic purposes rather than to keep intruders out, boasting a beautiful appearance.

Well, to be precise.

Before they were covered in blood, as they are now.

“Kuaaaaaa!”

“Karur!”

“Hoooooooo!”

The echoing cries of monsters.

Thousands of monsters from the Monster Legion, baring their fangs, charged to breach the school walls.

“Dammit! Hold them back!”

“Where did these monsters come from…!”

“Not a single one can be allowed inside the school!”

The sudden appearance of the Monster Legion.

The professors were the first to move as the alarm echoed throughout the school.

“Huaaaaah!”

Professor Lucas, swinging a massive axe with both hands, let out a battle cry.

Like a “bloodthirsty hunting dog,” Professor Lucas moved through the monsters like a wolf among sheep.

“Kheeeer!”

“Karurruk!”

“Skull!”

He smashed the heads of the charging monsters with his axe, pushing forward.

Monsters swarmed from all sides.

Professor Lucas’s eyes turned red, and a crimson aura flared up.

“Krrrrrr!”

Using the Blood Warrior’s Blessing, Professor Lucas roared like a beast, wildly swinging his axe.

Thud! Crack! Splat!

Blood splattered. Brain matter poured like rain from the split skulls.

“Kuaaaaaaa!!!”

Even as the monsters’ claws and teeth tore into his body, Professor Lucas ignored the pain, crushing their heads and advancing.

“I can’t tell who’s the monster here.”

A blonde woman flying towards him on a staff.

She jumped off the staff mid-air.

Landing gracefully as if deploying a parachute.

“…Bianca?”

Professor Lucas, drenched in monster blood, turned to look.

The blonde woman who had dismounted the staff, Professor Bianca, elegantly flipped her wavy hair and spoke.

“I’ve evacuated the lower-year candidates to the Main Building Auditorium.”

“Good… Then all we need to do is stop the monsters from entering the school.”

Bianca nodded, looking at the endless tide of monsters.

She narrowed her eyes and gripped her staff.

“Annoyingly numerous.”

“It’s not just the numbers; there are mid-level monsters mixed in too.”

“Sigh.”

Bianca sighed and aimed her staff at the monsters.

“I’m going to cast a big one, so cover me while I charge it.”

“Hah. Why should I cover you?”

Professor Lucas snorted dismissively.

Bianca shrugged, looking at him.

“Oh~ Then just watch me get torn apart, huh?”

“Hmph. As you wish.”

Despite his words, Professor Lucas stood in front of Bianca, swinging his axe at the charging monsters.

As if determined not to let a single one touch her.

“Really… Such an honest man.”

Bianca smiled faintly and aimed her staff at the monsters.

Whoosh!

Blue flames gathered at the tip of her staff.

As the casting continued, a high-temperature heatstorm swirled around Professor Bianca.

“Krrrrruk!”

“Kyahaak!”

The monsters, sensing something ominous, surged towards Bianca like a tidal wave.

“Not on my watch!”

Professor Lucas, wrapped in a crimson aura, stomped his foot and swung his axe.

Thud! Crack! Splat!

Heads exploded.

Professor Lucas, intoxicated by the thrill of battle, shouted with a frenzied expression.

“Don’t you dare touch a single hair on Bianca, you bastards!”

The monsters flinched at his fierce roar.

And then.

“Burn.”

Kwaaaaaaah!!!

A massive blue flame swept through the monster horde.

The smell of burning flesh and horrific screams filled the air.

“Whew.”

Professor Bianca wiped the sweat from her brow and smirked.

“Hehe. ‘Don’t touch a single hair’… How touching, Lucas.”

“Sh-shut up!”

Professor Lucas barked, glaring at the Monster Legion.

Despite being directly hit by Bianca’s magic, new monsters quickly filled the void.

No, more than filled—their numbers had increased.

“Dammit.”

“…Looks like we don’t have the luxury to mess around.”

Professor Lucas and Bianca hardened their expressions as they faced the endless tide of monsters.

Looking around, other professors were also being pushed back by the relentless onslaught.

‘There are too many.’

No matter how many they killed, the numbers showed no sign of decreasing.

‘Where are they even coming from…?’

Professor Lucas bit his lip and gripped his axe.

Thoughts for later.

Right now, stopping the monsters from entering the school was the priority.

“Bianca! One more shot! Something stronger than before!”

“…You make it sound so easy. Sigh, fine.”

Professor Bianca took a deep breath and began casting.

Then.

“Drink this.”

An old man with a wrinkled face and rough beard handed her a glass bottle.

“…Professor Jade?”

Bianca stiffened as she looked at Professor Jade.

Jade Bastian, the “Student Slayer.”

That ominous title was well-known among the professors.

“I know what you all think of me.”

Professor Jade smiled bitterly and continued.

“But right now… isn’t it more important to protect the students from this Monster Legion?”

“……”

It was an undeniable truth, even coming from the so-called “Student Slayer.”

Professor Bianca looked at the bottle and asked.

“What is this?”

“A potion called the Holy Mark Amplifier. It has some side effects, but it will greatly increase your magic power temporarily.”

“…How much is ‘some’ side effects?”

“This is diluted, so you’ll lose consciousness for a few days.”

“……”

If the diluted version causes days of unconsciousness…

“Then does the undiluted version kill you if you drink it?”

“Exactly. Your internal organs would melt, and you’d die instantly.”

“That’s reassuring.”

Sigh.

Professor Bianca took a deep breath and downed the Holy Mark Amplifier without hesitation.

Whoooosh!

The magic power flowing from her Holy Mark exploded.

“Haha… As expected from the descendant of the Great Sage. The effect is incredible.”

Professor Bianca struggled to control the overflowing magic power and chuckled.

Professor Lucas turned to her, wide-eyed.

“Bianca, you…!”

“Lucas… I’m preparing a big one… A really big one…”

“……”

Professor Lucas clenched his teeth with a heavy expression.

He shot a sharp look at Professor Jade.

“If anything happens to Bianca, I won’t let it slide.”

“Then you can chop off my head with your axe.”

“……”

Professor Lucas let out a short sigh and raised his axe.

He roared at the charging Monster Legion.

“Bring it on, you bastards!”

And so, Professor Lucas and Professor Jade bought time, holding back the tidal wave of monsters.

How much time had passed?

Whoooosh!

A massive blue fireball rose into the sky.

Not just one, but dozens of them.

“Burn…!!!”

Kwaaaaaaah!!!

The high-flying blue fireballs rained down on the Monster Legion like meteors.

Thick smoke filled the air.

Hundreds of monsters were reduced to ashes by the blue flames.

“Haah, haah, haah!”

Professor Bianca collapsed, clutching her chest.

Professor Lucas quickly moved to support her.

“Are you okay?”

“No… I’m, I’m fine…”

Professor Bianca gasped for breath, looking at the thick smoke.

“…The monsters?”

“The monsters…”

As the smoke cleared, the Monster Legion came into view.

“…This is insane.”

A curse slipped out.

Trampling over the ashes of the monsters, new ones endlessly poured in.

“How many… are there?”

It wasn’t just hundreds or thousands of monsters assaulting the school.

At least ten thousand.

A Monster Legion capable of wiping out a nation was descending upon the Reynaldo Hero School.

“Kuaaaaaa!”

“Krrrrruk!”

“Kuh…! No more…!”

As the professors were pushed back by the relentless tide of monsters.

“Earth Quaaaaaake!!!”

Kuuuuuuh!

The ground split as if the earth itself was shaking.

A candidate with a build comparable to Professor Lucas—no, even larger—charged at the monsters.

“Hraaaah!”

The large candidate hurled a massive sack towards the monsters.

Clang!

The glass bottles inside shattered, scattering magical reagents everywhere.

“Now, Senior Sophia!”

With a resounding shout.

“Explode.”

Kwaaaaaaah!!!

The flammable magical reagents ignited, causing a massive chain explosion.

The flesh of the monsters caught in the explosion splattered everywhere like rain.

“Haha! That was an amazing ‘Hell Player’ magic, Senior!”

“It’s ‘Hell Flare,’ not ‘Hell Player.’ And where did you get those magical reagents?”

“I borrowed them from Professor Jade’s lab!”

“Wait, those were the reagents I collected over ten years!!!”

“…You did borrow them, right?”

The red-haired candidate looked at the screaming Professor Jade with a blank expression.

“That candidate is…”

“Berald Ryu?”

“Sophia is here too.”

It wasn’t just Berald and Sophia.

“We’re here to help!”

“Anyone injured, come over here!”

“Saintess! It’s dangerous to go too far ahead!”

“Eeek! M-m-monsters everywhere…!”

Yuren, Iris, Camila, Lanes.

And the candidates who followed them.

“Why are you all…?”

Professor Lucas’s eyes trembled.

A meek-looking candidate approached him.

“I, as the representative of Class C! I gathered volunteers to help the professors!”

Albert, trembling, took a step forward.

“W-we may be candidates, but we’re heroes too!”

“Albert, you…”

Professor Lucas’s eyes reddened as he placed a hand on Albert’s shoulder.

“…Thank you.”

“Professor Lucas…”

“I promise. When this is over, I’ll give you a lifetime supply of my special health juice.”

“Huh?”

Wait, what…?

“Alright, brats… no, ‘heroes’! Don’t let a single monster into the school!”

“Yes, Professor!”

“Charge! Bring it on, you bastards!”

The war between the Monster Legion and the Reynaldo Hero School had begun.