I saw the headmaster and Gawein being controlled, so I immediately drew my Aura Blade and charged in. Individually, they weren’t particularly scary opponents.
One was a retired knight unable to exert full power due to war injuries, and the other was an old magician whose reactions had dulled with age, making him unable to fight properly.
However, facing both simultaneously changes the situation completely. Sir Gawein was once a legendary knight who dominated eras, and the headmaster was a master who had honed his magic for decades.
“Hrrmph-!”
“Kail-!”
The Aura Blades clashed. The light-infused sword that cuts through everything even slices through the kinetic energy touching its blade.
Thus, even an aged knight could withstand heavy blows without issue, and simple differences in strength offered no advantage in a battle between Masters.
“[Stop.]”
As Gawein’s and my swords met, intense magical power constricted my entire body. For a moment, my body froze, and in this clash of blades, even the slightest hesitation could lead to fatal injury.
At this moment, the best way to minimize injury was to charge directly into the blade. I rushed straight towards Sir Gawein’s chest, offering my shoulder and colliding with his solar plexus.
An Aura Master can emit aura from their entire body, but its intensity is weaker than an Aura Blade. This meant an aura-infused punch could sufficiently shock Sir Gawein.
“Ugh-! You damn brat…!”
Sir Gawein groaned in pain after taking the hit to his solar plexus and swung his fist at me. I knew that if I fought him in close combat, I would be inevitably outclassed by his accumulated martial arts skills.
Therefore, instead of clashing fists with him, I slid right between his legs.
Sliding across the floor and moving behind him, I immediately launched myself towards the headmaster.
“W-wait─!”
The flustered headmaster quickly cast several spells, but effective spells against an Aura Master naturally take time.
The Aura Blade neatly sliced through the headmaster’s spells, severing their source, causing the magic to dissipate back into nature.
With the headmaster now defenseless, I struck his jaw to knock him unconscious, then turned to look at Sir Gawein.
“…?”
Strangely, Gawein didn’t immediately rush at me as he should have. Despite what I thought was a significant opening just now, sensing something amiss, I looked at him. Gawein sighed deeply and began to speak.
“Boy. We weren’t being controlled by this person.”
“Then why did you stop us?”
“If we attack this person, all the cadets under their control will die.”
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
I looked at Ariah in disbelief. Ariah, who had been watching our fight, stared at me with her mouth agape in astonishment.
“Kail… you.”
“What?”
“You’re a Master?”
Now that almost everyone around knew I was a Master, the reaction to realizing it felt quite fresh.
Belatedly recalling my Aura Blade, I sheathed my sword. If the two weren’t being controlled, there was no need to fight.
“…Ah, Headmaster.”
Swiveling my head, I realigned the headmaster’s jaw and carefully laid him on the desk. Considering his advanced age, I worried about serious consequences.
Gawein also arrived late to check on the headmaster’s condition and sighed in relief.
“This level of injury is fine.”
“Really?”
“At worst, he’ll live the rest of his life wearing dentures.”
“Isn’t that a big deal?”
“That’s why I told you not to recklessly throw punches.”
Hearing his words, I awkwardly scratched my cheek. He wasn’t wrong, but that had been the most reasonable choice given the situation.
‘No wonder they couldn’t fight seriously.’
If it had been a fight where each side intended to kill the other, it wouldn’t have ended so blandly. They hadn’t aimed to hurt us at all, and I only intended to knock them out, so it ended quickly.
Sighing deeply, I stood up and approached Ariah. She still watched me with a broad smile.
“Ariah.”
“Why?”
“Release your powers and surrender.”
“And if I refuse?”
“You might die.”
“Try it.”
Ariah smirked as she spoke. She seemed confident in the cadets she claimed were hostages.
But I knew her actions were a bluff. Gawein and the headmaster, lacking detailed information about her, might believe her words, but I didn’t.
‘If she had such an ability, Sera would have told me.’
Sera’s information was accurate. Variables emerging as reality changed the ‘future’ she knew, but the information itself remained unchanged.
Moreover, befriending Ariah allowed me to discern when she lied. She was lying now.
She tended to smile boldly when telling lies.
“If you touch me, the cadets will─ Huh!?”
I knew her words were a bluff.
Thus, though I could have knocked her out, doing so would invite interference from Gawein glaring sharply at me from behind.
I needed a way to prevent Gawein’s interference. Fortunately, knowing just the method, I forcibly kissed Ariah.
Our lips met, and the aura emitted from my mouth immediately penetrated her body, severing the mysterious strings I’d felt the previous day at the club leaders’ party, much like with Princess Hela.
I forcefully severed the strings connected within her mind.
“Mmm, mmm!?”
The sensation of aura roaming her mind and severing connections likely caused shock akin to bursting blood vessels, as Ariah soon began bleeding from her nose and rolling her eyes.
Still, I didn’t let go until I severed all strings connecting her, then slowly released her.
Looking down at her collapsed form on the table, I faced Gawein, who stared at me blankly, and asked,
“What? Never seen anyone kiss before?”
“No… Suddenly, what are you…”
Realizing belatedly that Ariah had collapsed, Gawein dashed to the window to check on the cadets outside.
The cadets freed from Ariah’s control stood dazed, looking around with no memory of what they had done.
Only then did Gawein sigh in relief, gazing fixedly at the unconscious Ariah.
* * *
After Ariah fell, the headmaster, waking up late, took her away. After imprisoning her in the Academy’s secret prison, the headmaster immediately began cleaning up this mess.
Thankfully, no one died in this incident. Though some were injured, dozens or hundreds of clergy cadets dispatched from the Holy Kingdom were present at the Academy.
After healing all injuries with their power, Kail realized how formidable the headmaster was.
[La, lalala─]
“…I thought it was a crazy idea.”
“─If I can avoid any responsibility, then this method is the best.”
Ariah, brainwashed by the headmaster, sang. Her song spread throughout the Academy via magical speakers.
Everyone remaining at the Academy to inquire about the rampage heard her song, and those controlled by it lost all memory of today’s events.
They would remember only that today’s Academy Cultural Festival was the best, unable to recall specific details of what happened.
Watching the headmaster manipulate people’s memories and erase the event entirely, Kail realized what fearful elders might do when gripped by fear.
“That’s it. If we keep quiet, today’s events become a perfect crime.”
“Headmaster. Crime? What do you mean?”
“Hmph, I misspoke. This year’s cultural festival was wonderful too.”
The headmaster said this and disappeared, implying more work remained for Ariah. I wondered about her future, but it wouldn’t be bright.
How many nobles had she offended, and how many nearly died because of her?
From the headmaster’s perspective, she was an annoying minefield worth eliminating completely.
‘Will I never see her again?’
Though regret lingered, Kail couldn’t demand the release of a bomb like Ariah. Had Ariah been his fiancée, things might have differed, but strictly speaking, Ariah was a stranger to him.
The day after the Academy Cultural Festival ended.
Kail chuckled wryly upon seeing Ariah visit him.
“Hello, Kail-.”
“You, what are you?”
“Aha, here we are.”
Ariah started laughing awkwardly, showing the black choker around her neck. Beyond the choker, a tattoo encircling her nape was visible, and detecting the magical power emanating from it, Kail realized it was a kind of curse.
She rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a small remote control.
“Here, this.”
“…And this is?”
“The headmaster said to give it to you.”
Handing over the remote, Ariah explained its nature.
“Pressing it causes me pain through this spell.”
“What?”
“It might even kill me. So, it’s like a slave collar, right?”
Handing over the device controlling her leash, Ariah smiled brightly.
“Now Kail is my master.”
Hearing this, Kail’s expression hardened.
He realized the headmaster had thrown a massive mine his way.
