The massive incident that took place overnight was only reported to the capital the next morning.
The Royal Knight Order was able to receive the information quickly through emergency communications, but by the time they teleported to the Academy, everything had already been settled, which is why the report came after daylight.
The demon that attacked the Academy in the dead of night was vanquished by Shadow.
Up to this point, such events had been happening frequently; however, what shocked everyone was the identity of the demon.
The demon eradicated at the Academy was none other than Leviathan, who had ruled the deepest seas for thousands of years and wreaked havoc on the Empire’s maritime ambitions.
Throughout history, there had been several attempts to subdue Leviathan, but it always submerged into the depths, leading to the conclusion that it was an unstoppable natural disaster, and until now, they had avoided it. Yet that nightmare had been defeated.
Upon hearing the news, the scholars in the capital could hardly believe their ears.
Could it be that they had subjugated another monster resembling Leviathan?
There were indeed monsters in the sea, like Scylla, with features similar to Leviathan.
Some speculated that they mistook a rather large Scylla for Leviathan after defeating it.
Considering that the one who carried out the defeat was none other than Master Shadow, one could wonder if he truly made such a mistake. However, they mentioned it took place during a battle in the dark sea, where moonlight was scarce.
Scylla possesses a large practical mouth on its lower body, so it’s impossible to confuse it in daylight; yet, in the dark of night, confusion could occur, according to their opinions.
The head of the Royal Knight Order and Master Linda, who received the report first, asserted that if Shadow said it was Leviathan, then it likely was Leviathan. Still, “bending the arm inwards” was at play.
While they were cautious of the Empire’s top blade, it was natural for the scholars to harbor doubts.
How could Leviathan, which had only roamed the deepest parts of the ocean, suddenly come to the relatively shallow waters off the Academy?
In any case, they decided to dispatch an investigative team to the Academy.
Hearing the report that Leviathan had rampaged in the sea, they noted that the massive amounts of blood and flesh from its wounds would pollute the waters significantly.
If it truly was Leviathan that was defeated, they would earn the prestigious opportunity to examine the corpse of a Great Demon with a “physical” form for the first time in history.
—————————
Unaware of the events unfolding outside, the one responsible for defeating Leviathan woke up, staring at the familiar ceiling.
“Ugh… uncomfortable.”
As soon as I got up, my whole body ached.
It seemed a day had passed since Leviathan’s demise.
Currently, I was hospitalized in a private room.
The issue was that both my insides and outsides became a mess as a result of allowing the unidentified power beneath the Academy to invade.
Nonetheless, thanks to the blessing of the Wolf God, my shattered body was recovering rapidly, allowing me to move without issue, but the real problem was what was happening inside.
It appeared I tried to absorb a tremendous amount of power that my body couldn’t contain, almost leading to the complete destruction of my blood vessels.
“The recovery speed is astonishing. Considering how you were when you were brought in, you should have been bedridden for about six months,” said the Professor Praha, who was also in the hospital room.
His internal injuries were worse than external ones, so the expert in that field, Professor Praha, had taken over as my physician again.
I was receiving considerable help from traditional Elven medicine.
“Do you have a religion you believe in?”
“Not particularly.”
Professor Praha, checking my condition, asked while placing a device on various parts of my body to observe the color changes. It seemed progress was good.
“How about giving belief a shot this time? The rate of recovery can only be described as a miracle of God.”
I had some thoughts on that.
While I didn’t believe in God, I was experiencing God’s miracle, after all.
Although now it was a long-forgotten Ancient God with fewer than ten believers, a god was still a god.
After completing the examination, Professor Praha suddenly sighed.
“Sigh… you intended to attend the Magical Biology lecture today, but you missed it again.”
“Is that really something to say to a person on the verge of death while trying to protect the Academy?”
I had explained that I collapsed while assisting Shadow in fighting Leviathan.
“Of course, that was a joke.”
Professor Praha laughed as if it were obvious he was joking. This Elf sometimes left me wondering if he was joking or serious.
When we first met, I was so tense I thought I might lose my funding for saying something wrong, but it felt like I’d become much more relaxed lately.
“Your expression looks fierce. Something good also came up during the examination, so please lighten up upon hearing it.”
“What kind of good news is it?”
I seemed to have stiffened unconsciously.
Just hearing that my recovery was going well was already enough good news, but there was better news?
“When I checked just now… it appears you’ve grown a bit taller?”
“…Really?”
As soon as I heard it, I couldn’t believe it and propped myself up.
I grew taller?
Could it be because of what happened that night?
“Of course I’m not going to lie about this!”
“I can’t quite feel it myself. How much?”
I knew I had grown, but how much exactly?
“You’ve grown significantly. About 0.5.”
Before, I could barely manage a growth of 0.1 at a time, and now it was five times that?!
It felt like fireworks were going off right in front of me.
Feeling joy without saying a word while tightly clenching my fist, Professor Praha took out another drug.
“Perhaps something changed while crossing the battle line yesterday. If the effect of what you took before the break was ineffective, I would’ve prescribed this, but I think it’s best to wait and see a bit longer.”
“You believe you should follow what you think is right, Professor.”
I had nothing to say to Professor Praha about my height.
While nobody else could grow even 0.1, Professor Praha had managed to help me grow 1.5.
I had met a few people whom I could call benefactors in this new life, but if I considered the emotions welling up inside me now, Professor Praha seemed to be the greatest benefactor.
The most overwhelming benefactors were my teacher and Commander, who directly helped me become a Master, but if I were to exceed 180 with Professor Praha’s help, wouldn’t he become the greatest benefactor of my life?
If they found out I thought this way, they would surely feel hurt, but what could I do?
I still sincerely valued my height.
.
.
.
There were no visitations.
Since I still needed stability, they prohibited anyone from entering for three days.
No visitations and unable to move properly, I had nothing to do but stare at the ceiling, organizing the events that had transpired so far.
The Atlas from the original story, who looked like me, had been taken away by demons, and Leviathan had appeared to kill it in order to save him.
Was it worth sacrificing the life of a Great Demon just to take him back?
What happens when a Great Demon dies?
So far, in the original story, no Great Demon who left its true body in Hell had ever died, so I couldn’t know what would happen, but it was unsettling to think they so easily cast away the lives of a Great Demon.
Originally, the Demon Bishop who contracted the Great Demon would also take a few years to freshly select a replacement, but they appointed a new Demon Bishop right after death.
Could it be the same this time?
Even if Leviathan died, could another Leviathan be born in Hell?
Or does only the Leviathan that existed here perish while the Great Demon Leviathan reincarnates in Hell?
And I was also concerned about the massive entity that lay dormant beneath the Academy.
When putting together various clues, that thing was definitely…
“I’m glad to see you’re alright, my disciple.”
Suddenly, I sensed a presence beside me.
No matter how lost I was in thought, I shouldn’t overlook something like this, yet a woman seemed to appear out of nowhere and sat down in the chair next to me.
I should have been ready to get up and fight immediately, but I relaxed my guard once I recognized who the intruder was.
“… Master? How did you get here?”
“How did I get in? Well, I came in through the front door like a proper guest.”
It was my Master who had suddenly visited me in the hospital room.
She was rarely seen in the Knight Order’s uniform.
Normally, she wore adventurer’s clothes as she’d been out and about as Shadow.
Wearing the uniform meant that she came to the Academy as part of the Royal Knight Order instead of infiltrating as Shadow.
“Did the Order decide to check on my condition?”
“Are you seriously going to say that right after seeing me? I came to tell you something far more important than that.”
“What is it?”
“Well, that is…”
An important matter? What could it be?
My Master leaned close, whispering softly into my ear.
“…I’m not coming.”
“Kuh?!”
I suddenly coughed unexpectedly.
Was she joking?
She looked like she was joking, but my heart was racing.
