Chapter 34

Chapter 34. Last Words (3)

Thud. Crash. Thud!

A chilling, skeletal sound.

In an instant, the merchant’s swollen body transformed into the grotesque form of a monster.

“D-Dale! This isn’t the time to order chicken skewers!”

“I know.”

With Iris’s frantic scream, I quickly distanced myself from the merchant.

‘What the hell is this?’

No matter how you looked at it, this was an abnormal situation.

Frowning, I expanded my senses.

‘Mana?’

A sticky, unpleasant aura emanated from the merchant-turned-monster.

As his body swelled, the blackened Holy Mark of the Devil God burned through his torn clothes.

‘Why is a Mine inside the school…?’

No.

Could you even call that a “Mine”?

Though it was correct to call a human with the Holy Mark of the Devil God a Mine, the current form of this Mine was closer to a monster than a Mine.

‘Monsterization phenomenon.’

The tragic end of a human who received the Holy Mark from the Devil God.

When the power of the Holy Mark becomes uncontrollable and the mana explodes, the body undergoes a mutation.

‘This phenomenon rarely happens now that the Devil God is sealed, so why…?’

The monsterization phenomenon was closely tied to the Holy Mark of the Devil God.

With the Devil God’s seal still intact, the Holy Mark couldn’t exert its full power, making “rampages” almost nonexistent.

Yet, if the monsterization phenomenon occurred…

‘Someone intentionally caused the rampage.’

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the merchant-turned-monster.

“Grrrrrl!”

The merchant, now unable to speak human words, let out a gurgling roar and charged, smashing through the stall’s signboard.

“Dale, it’s dangerous!”

“Yeah, it is dangerous.”

Not for me.

“For him.”

Berald Martial Arts.

Sky Flip.

“Grrrl… Gah!”

I twisted the charging merchant’s arm.

The grotesquely swollen body of the merchant was slammed headfirst into the ground.

Thud!

Dust billowed up.

I picked up a skewer from the ground and threw it at the back of the fallen merchant’s head.

Whoosh! Crack!

The wooden skewer, imbued with magic power, pierced the merchant’s head and stuck into the ground.

“D-Dale, what is this…?”

“A Mine.”

To be precise, “what was once a Mine.”

But that wasn’t important right now.

“W-why is a Mine in the school?”

“I don’t know. But…”

Before I could finish.

Thud! Crash!

“Gaaaaah!”

“Kyaaaaah!”

“What, what is this?!”

“Monsters, monsters have appeared!”

The peaceful festival grounds were instantly filled with screams and roars.

“Damn it.”

As expected, the number of monsters that appeared in the school wasn’t just one.

Monsters roared and rampaged.

People who had been enjoying the festival fled in all directions, plunging the area into chaos.

Even so, this was a hero school, and some candidates fought back against the monsters with weapons, but that only added to the confusion.

Boom! Whoosh!

“Hey! What are you doing using fire magic here, you idiot?!”

“Dammit! This is all I can use, what do you want me to do?!”

“Hurry! Someone bring a sword! I left mine in the dorm!”

Clumsy heroism always brings pitiful results.

The candidates, who had left their weapons in the dorm and been drinking since early morning, couldn’t properly handle the sudden attack.

“Move aside, you drunks!”

“You’re in the way!”

Of course, some candidates fought fiercely against the monsters despite the unfavorable conditions, but it wasn’t enough to quell the chaos engulfing the school.

“R-run!”

“Waaaaah!”

People in chaos instinctively headed for the school’s main gate to escape.

The monsters, as if targeting the fleeing people, surged toward the main gate.

“Dale! The kids are at the main gate…!”

“Camila’s with them, so it should be fine.”

But you can’t expect Camila to protect the kids alone in this chaos.

“Let’s head to the main gate and join Camila.”

“Okay!”

I headed toward the main gate with Iris.

“Waaaaah!”

“C-Camila!”

“Everyone, calm down!”

“Gah! Where did these monsters come from…!”

As we approached the main gate, we saw crying children, Priest Antonio desperately trying to control them, and Camila swinging her sword against the oncoming monsters.

“Camila!”

“A-Ah, Iris…! No, Saintess!”

Camila’s face brightened when she saw Iris running toward her.

“Grrrrl!”

At that moment, a monster’s arm swung toward her.

The grotesquely swollen flesh swung like a mace toward Camila.

“Where do you think you’re aiming?!”

Camila deftly dodged the monster’s arm and slashed upward.

Slice.

The severed arm of the monster rolled on the ground.

“Gaaaaah!”

The monster, now missing an arm, roared and staggered back, but only for a moment.

The surrounding horde of monsters, smelling blood, surged forward.

Not toward Camila, but toward the frightened children.

“N-no!”

As Camila turned in panic.

“Leave this to me!”

Iris stepped forward and chanted an incantation.

“Seven gods, shine your merciful light upon your children!”

Her irises, now rainbow-colored, focused on the oncoming monsters.

With a cross drawn from top to bottom.

“Seven Stars’ Protection!”

Whoooosh!

A white curtain, dozens of meters long, enveloped Iris and the children in a circular barrier.

“Gaaaaah!”

The flesh of the monsters that touched the barrier sizzled and burned.

The monsters hesitated and backed away from the barrier.

“Grrrr.”

The monsters, giving up on entering the barrier, looked around for their next prey.

“Who are you looking for?”

As I approached, the monsters’ attention focused on me.

They roared fiercely and charged at me, as if they had found their next target.

I smirked and drew my sword.

“D-Dale, it’s dangerous!”

“Brother, come inside quickly!”

The children inside the barrier shouted urgently at me.

I shrugged and took a step toward the horde of monsters.

“Grrrrl!”

“Gah, gaaaaah!”

“Groooar!”

The ferocious monsters charged from all directions.

Camila hurriedly moved to my side, pointing her sword at the monsters.

“Gah! I’ll handle this side! You take the other…!”

“No need for that.”

“Huh?”

Before Camila could frown and turn to me.

I kicked off toward the charging monsters.

“Grrrrl… Gah!”

I jumped onto the arm of a fiercely swinging monster and drove my sword into its head.

“One down.”

I twisted the sword and pulled it out, slashing at another monster charging from the side.

I spun around and kicked the jaw of a monster lunging from behind.

Crack!

With the sound of its jaw shattering, the monster collapsed like a broken doll.

“Three down.”

I kicked off the fallen monster and leaped high, pouncing on the monsters.

‘My body feels light.’

Perhaps because my magic power had nearly tripled compared to a few weeks ago.

It felt like I had wings on my back.

“Five, six, seven.”

I twisted my lips into a fierce grin and slaughtered the monsters like a wolf among sheep.

It took barely a minute for the dozen or so monsters to become cold corpses.

“W-wow.”

“That’s… insane.”

Low exclamations escaped the mouths of the children watching the massacre from inside the barrier.

“…What are you?”

Camila also stared in disbelief.

“No time to be amazed, right?”

The main gate was still crowded with people trying to escape and the monsters chasing them.

We didn’t know how long Iris’s “barrier” would last, so we had to get out of here as soon as possible.

“Over here! This way! Evacuate here!”

Then.

From a distance, Professor Morpheus came running urgently.

“Don’t head to the main gate! Come to the annex restaurant! We’ve set up a temporary shelter there!”

It seemed the professors had pooled their efforts to create a safe zone.

I turned to Iris.

“Let’s head to the restaurant.”

“Ah, okay!”

As Iris gathered the children and headed toward Professor Morpheus.

“N-no! Leo isn’t here yet!”

One child shouted urgently.

Hearing that, I looked around and didn’t see Leo.

“Wasn’t he with you?”

“H-he went to the bathroom earlier, and then the monsters appeared…”

“…Damn it.”

The nearest bathroom was quite a distance from here.

“I’ll go get him.”

“I-I’ll come too!”

“No. Iris, take the kids and follow Professor Morpheus first.”

Moving as a group in this situation would only cause more trouble.

“But…”

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry. Camila, take care of Iris and the kids.”

“…Got it.”

Camila nodded with a heavy expression.

After sending Iris and Camila off with Professor Morpheus, I quickly ran toward the bathroom.

“B-brother!”

A small mercy.

As I arrived at the bathroom, squeezing out every bit of magic power, Leo, who had been hiding in a corner, spotted me and ran out.

“Sniff…! T-the monsters suddenly…!”

“Calm down and pull yourself together.”

“W-what about the others?”

“Iris and Camila took them to a safe place.”

“Ah…”

Leo’s expression brightened upon hearing the others were safe.

“Let’s head to the restaurant. The professors will protect us there.”

“Y-yeah!”

With that, Leo and I headed toward the annex restaurant.

“Waaaaah!”

There, Professor Lucas, emitting a red aura, was fiercely battling the oncoming monsters.

Behind him, Professors Bianca, Jade, and others were also fighting the monsters.

“Professor!”

“Dale! You’re safe!”

Professor Lucas, spotting me, smashed a monster’s head with an axe and approached.

“I’m fine. Where’s Professor Morpheus?”

“Professor Morpheus?”

“Yes, Professor Morpheus should have brought Iris and the kids here.”

“…What are you talking about?”

Professor Lucas frowned and shook his head.

“Professor Morpheus hasn’t been here.”

“…What?”

He hasn’t been here?

“In this situation, I don’t know where he is or what he’s doing, but I haven’t seen him since earlier.”

“……”

He hasn’t been seen while monsters are rampaging in the school?

The guy in charge of the Sealing Festival?

“…Wait.”

Suddenly.

A memory flashed through my mind.

-Anyway, I’ve been too busy preparing for the Sealing Festival to pay attention to anything else.

-Ah, now that I think about it, you’re in charge of this year’s Sealing Festival.

-Yes. From issuing permits for merchant stalls to scheduling events… Ugh, it’s killing me.

Professor Morpheus was the one who issued permits to the merchants for the Sealing Festival.

And.

The “merchant” who entered the school became a monster and caused this chaos.

“Damn it.”

I gritted my teeth and stomped my foot.

‘It was you.’

The Grand Archbishop of Dreaming, Ashtaroth.