Presia, who had been barely surviving in the back alleys, had never learned magic.
At best, she had recently accepted a teaching position at the Academy and idly flipped through magic books in the library, self-studying on her own.
If one were to say that Presia had a magic mentor, would it be the tiny stars that shine brightly in the night sky?
Thus, Presia follows no particular magical system; she merely wishes. The girl’s talent allows her to cast her own unique magic simply by wishing upon a star.
Any mage who has witnessed her magic even once would never attempt to replicate it. It’s not that they can’t—it’s that they don’t, for there doesn’t seem to be any sort of system in how her spells are cast: no incantations, no magic circles, and no discernible flow of mana.
She merely wishes.
However, though her magic may appear chaotic to others, it follows its own order, its own rules in Presia’s mind.
If you wish to understand her order, you must catch up to her talent.
Can you indeed catch up?
Even as Balikan was shakily rising to his feet, Presia merely stood with a haughty posture, staring down at him.
To Balikan, this silence from Presia was more shameful than any insult.
“You little brat…”
True to his nickname of Arrogance, Balikan enjoyed looking down on others. Hence, the fact that this mere teenager was now looking down on him was an action he could never tolerate.
However, for all his arrogance, he was not foolish. He acknowledged that this teenager possessed something unexpected and dangerous.
He assessed the damage to his body, judged the possibility of continuing the fight, analyzed the degree of shock to determine the direction of the attack, and checked whether the boundary of the Demon World’s Erosion he had laid down here had broken.
Through all these processes, there was no hint of retreat in Balikan’s mind, and so he remained arrogantly Balikan.
While Balikan proceeded cautiously, Presia had merely extended her hand lightly to one side.
But at that moment, Balikan began to doubt his own eyes.
The small starlight hovering behind the mage seemed to be grasped in her hand.
But it was no illusion. One of the countless stars that adorned the sky was indeed now resting in the girl’s hand.
Whether this was realistic or surreal was irrelevant. What mattered most was the fact that Presia desired it.
Presia tightly held the starlight she had gathered with both hands.
Flash.
A blinding light spread out brightly and then vanished in an instant.
The light caressed Presia, healing the wounds on her forehead where she had hit a rock and repairing the bones she had broken when she had rolled across the ground.
Having thoroughly embraced Presia, the light now enveloped Alicia who lay unconscious. With this, the faint breathing and the increasingly pale complexion began to return.
Unlike the previous emergency treatment, this time the healing was complete. However, Alicia remained unconscious, having completely lost her strength.
Presia had not hoped for Alicia’s assistance in the first place. The demon standing before her was something she could handle alone. She merely wanted to alleviate Alicia’s suffering as quickly as possible.
Even after witnessing Presia’s magic once again, the arrogant Balikan began to sense that something was off.
Finally, in his mind, a line was drawn between maintaining his arrogance by standing his ground here or retreating disgracefully to fight another day.
Presia, however, decided to help Balikan avoid the agony of this decision.
“Well. I guess it’s about time to end this.”
As the girl spoke, the countless starlights that adorned the night sky began to take shape.
They were arrows of light. Each varying in brightness and size, but all the stars in the night sky had transformed into these beams of arrows now aimed at Balikan.
Zing!
The first arrow was fired.
Balikan swung his hand as he had before, attempting to swat away the arrow, but it was different this time.
Thud.
The arrow was unwavering in its function. It didn’t expand or shrink—just created a hole in his hand the exact size of the arrow.
Ordinarily, this kind of wound meant nothing to him. But—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Countless beams of light, as many as the stars in the night sky, rained down upon Balikan. There was no grandeur in this. Just the repetitive sound of slight wind and the soft noises of punctures as they repeatedly pierced his body.
“You’re still alive.”
The state of Balikan, having been struck by dozens, hundreds of arrows, was pitiful.
He looked like a porcupine, but Balikan could not even twitch, let alone counterattack.
“Since we need to take Alicia along quickly, I’ll finish you off now.”
Though Presia’s tone sounded like she was offering mercy, the magic power that blossomed at her fingertips was immense, violent, and cruel.
The magic power that blossomed at her fingertips called upon the brightest star high in the night sky.
“Heaven’s Punishment”
The punishment from the heavens.
BANG!
The brightest star high in the sky, the greatest meteor, descended upon the motionless Balikan.
After that, there was no longer any sign of Balikan, the arrogant demon, in that place.
“This way! You report the situation upstairs, and the rest follow me!”
At the tremendous noise from the outskirts of the city near the slums, guards stationed at the main gate, those patrolling nearby, and those who were taking a short rest all rushed to the slums.
Though most of the guards were unable to fully grasp what had happened as they lacked magical abilities, the tremendous noise gave them a sense that something serious had occurred.
As the guards advanced with organized formation into the slums, they discovered two girls: a fainted teenage girl being carried in the arms of a smaller girl. The position was akin to the “princess carry,” but the smaller girl carrying the taller girl created an interesting, almost dissonant picture.
“Halt!”
One of the guards at the forefront pointed his spear at Presia as a warning.
But Presia had no time to heed the warning of Guard A. Her attention was focused solely on Alicia.
Even though she had already personally healed Alicia’s wounds, knowing full well that Alicia was no longer in danger, she still carried her gently as if she were a patient.
“Oh, oh, lower the spear! That’s the lady who’s been repairing the boundary for days.”
Fortunately, a few of the guards recognized Presia, so Guard A raised his spear back toward the sky.
The most senior guard, Guard B, approached Presia and spoke.
“Ma’am, can you tell us what happened here?”
As the words reached her, Presia finally noticed him, but she had no intention of complying with his request.
“Come to the academy later.”
She took a gentle step, moving past the guards in front of her and the reinforcements behind them, with no intention of turning around.
Thud, thud
Walking in the air as though ascending a staircase.
Presia took step by step across the night sky, returning to the academy beyond the city walls with Alicia in her arms.
*
Naturally, Pelches and the high-ranking members of the academy were in an uproar.
There were several reasons for this. The first was that an academy student was injured. The second and third were the breach in the boundary and the infiltration of a demon through that gap. The fourth was the overwhelmingly powerful magic presence emanating from the crater in the slums.
Though each of these issues differed in importance, there was no doubt that they collectively caused headaches for the administration.
Alicia was admitted to the academy infirmary. Thanks to Presia’s magic, she had no significant injuries, but since she hadn’t regained consciousness, it was decided to have her stay until she had recuperated fully.
The gap in the boundary where the demon infiltrated was examined by the elderly professors of the magic department who had woken up in the middle of the night. Although no suspicious traces were found, they decided to punish the previous boundary repairman, though a sense of unease lingered.
Then there was the intermediate demon and its defeat at the hands of Presia.
According to Presia’s testimony, the demon was an Intermediate Demon known as “Arrogance.” Unlike Lower Demons, who were relatively numerous and acted without much discipline, Intermediate Demons and above operated under the Demon King’s rule with a certain level of organization. Therefore, the infiltration of an Intermediate Demon suggested that the Demon King’s Army had begun its significant movement. This was by no means a trivial matter.
The defeat of such an Intermediate Demon by Presia startled the professors of the magic department. In fact, they had known little about her true capabilities and strength, only that she had received a noble title from the Emperor.
Her magic was slightly peculiar, but that’s as far as they knew. Thus, it was natural to assume that the still young Presia might possess some level of ability, but the offer of a noble title and her position in the academy were likely due to her potential rather than her current abilities. However, the Emperor’s seal of approval was not something to be taken lightly.
The fact that she had annihilated an Intermediate Demon without leaving a trace, combined with the remnants of magic power in the slums, was enough for them to realize their erroneous judgment.
Meanwhile, as the high-ranking members were troubled by various issues, Alicia, who had been sleeping peacefully in the academy infirmary, awoke unaware of such turmoil.
