Chapter 88
"So now it's your turn to step forward?"
Serne gave a faint smile. Loraine ignored her lightly and turned to Simon.
"You okay, Simon?"
At Loraine's question, Simon quickly came to his senses and answered.
"Ah, yeah. Thanks to the protective suit…"
"Not your body, how about mentally?"
Loraine knew about Serne's innate ability.
"It just grazed me like a feather, so it's fine."
Loraine nodded, then fixed her cold gaze forward. There stood Serne, hand on her hip, leaning to one side.
"What the hell is all this, Serne?"
"What do you mean? I'm just taking an exam."
As Serne nonchalantly shrugged, Loraine’s expression turned grim.
"If you're just taking an exam, then why did you put up a barrier to block the observer's view?"
"Oh my—so rude, aren’t you."
Serne tilted her head back arrogantly.
"Are you interrogating me now? We’re both students, what right do you have? Or are you already the Keyzen student council president or something?"
"Stop deflecting and answer the question."
"And if I don’t want to?"
Loraine lowered her stance.
"Like you said, time to take the exam."
"Sounds fun."
"Back off, Simon."
Simon obediently did as he was told. He figured if he got caught between the two of them, no number of lives would be enough.
Loraine opened her hand. Darkness flowed from her palm, forming four magic circles in the air.
Moments later, darkness arrows fired from the circles, and Serne let out a gleeful laugh.
"Darkness Arrows? How cute~ No need to play coy between us…"
Serne’s pupils suddenly narrowed and flicked backward.
Before she realized it, Loraine had appeared behind her, pulling back her fist with all her might.
KWAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
A single punch unleashed a massive shockwave that spread in all directions.
A crater over dozens of meters formed in the radius where Loraine’s punch landed.
"Terrifying."
Serne smiled as she was launched into the air.
Then, shadows darkened around her. Loraine had hurled a boulder the size of a house.
"Hmph."
As Serne gestured, the feathers around her began to move.
Srrrrrrrrrk!
The feathers drew countless curves in the air and disintegrated the boulder into fragments, which scattered down.
With her hands behind her back, Serne weaved through the debris, flying effortlessly.
"Come down."
Loraine clenched and unclenched her fist as she spoke.
"Didn’t you say we’re taking an exam, you damned bitch."
"Such refined blood, such foul language."
Loraine glanced back at Simon.
"I guess I really need to teach her a lesson. Simon. Run far away."
He didn’t need to be told twice. As Simon turned and moved far off, Serne gave a disappointed smile.
"Why send him away? Shouldn’t you show him how cool you are?"
"That sarcastic tone…"
From Loraine's body, Darkness began to surge violently.
"Annoying."
"Hmph."
Serne crossed her arms.
"Maybe this is the reason? You don’t want to show your ugly side to a guy you’re interested in…?"
Loraine’s red eyes flared.
A long line slashed across the air, transforming into a jagged, beast-like mouth that gaped open with a wet rip.
Inside was a void of complete darkness. Within that darkness, countless red eyes appeared.
They were exactly like Loraine's. As if dozens of her eyes existed in that space.
"Chilling, really."
Serne said.
"The power to tear open the Demon Realm… If the world knew what you and your mother were trying to do, everything would turn upside down…"
Serne suddenly stopped talking and accelerated rapidly in the air. From the gaping maw, dozens of crimson beams fired out like a storm.
Serne stuck feathers to her body and flew, accelerating again and again.
"Haaah!"
Her body spun, twisted, shot upward at high speed, then came crashing down again.
The crimson beams painted the sky a destructive red.
Flap!
Loraine pulled out a Skeletal Horse from subspace. As she infused it with Darkness, it was cloaked in crimson-black magic and transformed in form.
Thud!
As Loraine mounted it, the Skeletal Horse immediately pounded the ground and launched into the sky. Soon, the two faced off mid-air.
"Don’t you think us fighting like this looks bad?"
As Serne spread her arms, the feathers began to dance in the air.
"We’re destined to fight one day, right? We’ll both be the rulers of Keyzen and the Ivory Tower."
"If that happens, tens or hundreds of thousands of innocent lives will be spilled."
Loraine yanked hard on the reins formed from Darkness.
"That’s why it might be best to end it now, while we’re still just students."
"You and your mother, really."
Serne raised and crossed both arms.
"So disgustingly pretentious."
Streaks of pure white and flashes of crimson crisscrossed madly in the sky.
To the regular students taking the exam on the central island, it felt like a natural disaster.
Everyone scrambled, desperately trying to avoid falling debris from the attacks raining from the sky.
Likewise, Simon, who was also staring up, let out a dry laugh.
'…What even is that fight supposed to be?'
Out-of-scale monsters.
This had already long surpassed anything to do with exams or evaluations.
[Khhk-hhkhkh! That’s nothing to gape at!]
Feer’s avatar laughed with its mouth wide open.
[Ruler of Keyzen? Master of the Ivory Tower? Meaningless titles! You are also a commander of the Legion! Before long, you too will reach that sky!]
"Still feels way out of reach for now."
Simon replied with a wry smile. Either way, having quickly left the battlefield, Simon focused his thoughts.
'Time to focus on my task. With sound and vibrations this intense…'
Simon arrived at the canyon’s edge.
From that vantage point, he could clearly see the open island landscape. He began releasing Darkness in all directions.
'If Viccrum reacted to this and came nearby…'
Kugugugugugu!
Simon smirked.
'Just as I thought!'
KWAKWAKWAKWANG!
Simon twisted his body. The ground rose up and a monster's arm, wrapped in bandages, shot out.
—Uwoooooooooh!
Then the rest of the monster revealed itself.
Its entire body was covered in organic bandages, but its eye sockets were clearly exposed.
'Smaller than the first time I saw it.'
It was said that Viccrum grew in size with its rage. Back when he fought Maelyn, he was so huge he could press his face into the canyon while standing, but now he barely clung to the cliffside.
Thud!
Viccrum placed a knee on the canyon edge and started climbing up.
—Uoooooooh!
He had to move first before another attack came. Simon threw the object in his hand as hard as he could toward Viccrum’s head.
[Viccrum!!!]
Clang! Clang!
The object Simon threw was Feer’s avatar. Viccrum paused and stared at it.
[It’s me! Feer, master of the Legion!]
—Fee… er?
It understands!
Simon quickly turned his gaze upward. Off in the distance, an Observer drone could be seen. At this distance, they were still safe.
'Looks like we’ve got 1 to 2 minutes!'
[I’m going out!]
As Simon opened subspace, Feer shot out immediately.
Feer hid his body at an angle behind a tree, just out of the observer’s view, and spoke.
[What are you doing here, Viccrum! The Legion has been reborn! Hurry and rejoin the Legion!]
—Le… gion?
Viccrum tilted his massive head in confusion.
—Le… gion.
As Viccrum tilted his head, it started to grow.
—Le… gion! Le… gion! Le… gion!
Soon, not only his head but his entire body began to swell like a balloon.
[Damn it!]
As Viccrum grew larger and larger, Feer’s avatar was pushed away from him. Simon quickly caught it and ran.
—Legion! It hurts! Legion! It hurts! Legion! It hurts!
"Why is it doing that, Feer?!"
[Now I’m sure of it! That’s not Viccrum!]
Feer said in a serious tone.
[That thing is a fake! A replica of Viccrum, crafted in detail!]
As Viccrum continued to swell endlessly, the airborne observers drew closer to get a better look at the situation.
"Feer! Get back inside for now!"
—It huuuuuuuuuuuurts!
Viccrum, now greatly enlarged, craned his neck down and stared at Simon.
Simon felt a chill run down his spine.
—Legion! Legion hurts! I don’t like pain!
Vvvvvvvvvvvmmm!
The giant slammed the ground with his massive fist. With a thunderous boom, the entire cliff terrain caved in.
Simon hurried into the forest and got out of Viccrum’s line of sight.
"But why is the replica attacking me?!"
[How should I know?!]
Viccrum looked around, searching for Simon.
—Uwooooooooooooh!
Not seeing Simon, Viccrum began smashing the ground with his massive fists.
"Kyahhhhh!"
"W-What was that?"
Screams echoed from all directions as students cried out.
Viccrum turned toward the sound, raised one enormous leg, and kicked.
BANG!
The entire terrain caved in and collapsed, and two students were seen flying through the air.
Fortunately, their companions quickly used ‘Dark Thread’ to tether and evacuate the two.
—Uwooooooooooooooh!
Viccrum’s size was continuing to increase.
[It’s gone berserk!]
Feer’s avatar shouted.
[If we leave it like this, it’ll keep growing!]
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Viccrum began moving away from the canyon, in the opposite direction.
That thing was already beyond control. And the entire island was in the middle of an exam.
At this rate, an even more serious problem could arise.
‘Damn it!’
Simon turned and ran. He had to come up with a solution immediately.
Waiting for the professors to call off the exam would take too long. He’d felt it during the Cyclops evaluation too, Keyzen had a policy of not intervening in student matters unless the disruption was truly massive.
[Where are you going, boy! That’s the opposite direction of the creature!]
"I need to persuade someone who can stop it!"
Simon sprinted toward the battlefield.
The place where no one dared to step foot, where Loraine and Serne were fighting.
The two were so absorbed in their fight that they had no idea what was happening.
"Loraine!!"
Simon shouted.
"There’s a problem!!"
He worried whether his voice would carry from the ground, but Loraine immediately stopped fighting and directed her skeletal horse downward toward Simon.
"Simon! What’s wrong?"
"A giant monster has gone berserk and is heading toward the students! We have to stop it now!"
Loraine’s expression hardened.
"Which direction?"
"Judging by the direction, it’s headed for the southern island. I’ll lead the way."
"How funny."
Serne, arms crossed, descended from the sky.
"Did someone say you could leave?"
She held a feather in her hand.
"Berserk or not, that’s the organizer’s responsibility. I won’t allow our fight to end this halfheartedly…"
"Oh, right. You’re here too, Serne."
Simon smiled as if this worked out perfectly.
"Sorry, but can you help us out?"
"What?"
Serne gave a look of utter disbelief.
Superb.