Chapter 821
[Are those the ones who dared set foot on my domain.]
From within the helmet that hid her face, a dignified voice flowed out.
[This is but a trial of my patience, none shall leave this land alive. If you wish to live, then struggle with all your might. Otherwise, only a painful ruin awaits.]
Her arm was raised.
[I am the Volcanic Lord.]
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah—!
As if in answer to her words, the magma of the crater surged once more. The Volcanic Lord smiled in satisfaction.
And behind her stood another person.
‘……Isn’t she getting a little too into this?’
The assistant, who had followed along to restrain the Volcanic Lord’s sudden behavior, was sweating profusely. She too wore red armor, but it was the attire of an ordinary soldier.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
And behind them, another person was shedding streams of tears while giving a standing ovation.
“Splendid, simply splendid! Duke!”
It was Endolas Vaudeville.
The Volcanic Lord turned around.
[What foolishness is this, calling me Duke. Here, in this place, I am the Volcanic Lord.]
“Ah, haha! Of course, you are right!”
At first Endolas had been angry at Neftis’ sudden action, but his thoughts had since changed.
To seat a current Legion Commander as an examiner! Who could possibly be more fitting for this stage?
[I have sworn to Lady Neftis,]
She took a deep breath.
[That during this exam, I will pour forth all the power given, all the authority allowed, and stand against the challengers.]
As she slowly clenched her fist, her red glove creaked.
[This is a duel to the death. Since I have chosen the role of villain, I must give my all for those who come to challenge me. That is the only way not to bring shame upon their honor.]
The assistant forced a wry smile.
‘Well, I don’t think the students are going to see it that way…’
Jin Arskalt, who had become the Volcanic Lord, did not even know that failure meant expulsion for the students.
She only knew that Neftis had come to her personally with a request, and, as a soldier, she intended to carry it out thoroughly as ordered.
Thus was born the most terrifying Volcanic Lord.
Step, step.
Turning her back, she strode into the depths of the volcano, her red cape fluttering.
At the very top floor of the volcano, there stood a grand throne, and beside it lay a bow seemingly forged from molten lava, made of crimson rock.
Wooooooong—
The bow’s Darkness was charging.
[Then.]
She seized it and lifted it.
[I wonder, who shall be the first to reach me.]
It was her primary weapon as a Legion Commander, the Bow of Tempest.
Its form was almost identical.
* * *
The group examination at the Lehlon Archipelago had, since the appearance of the Volcanic Lord, grown even more difficult.
From the moment she appeared, magma began endlessly pouring from the crater.
In the sky, volcanic debris and fragments fell like comets, devastating forests and islands, while on the ground magma flowed like a flood, sweeping away everything it touched without a trace.
An environment of extreme survival.
And from within all this lava, lava monsters revealed themselves. The students not only had to avoid the natural disasters, but also endure the endless assaults of monsters constantly being reinforced across the test grounds.
—Don’t stop, keep running!
—Up! Look up! Watch your head!
To make matters worse, even the behavior of the volcanic monsters changed.
Before, monsters that spawned where lava fell merely attacked the students nearby, but now, they began moving with tactics.
They cut off the students’ retreat, lured them into the magma’s reach, or blocked the sea routes. Tactical maneuvers.
There was no easy way. The students had no choice but to grit their teeth and push through the crisis, and dropouts began to pile up.
[Milena Hartz has been eliminated.]
[Svera Matheus has been eliminated.]
The magma that flooded over the sea completely destroyed the starting islands. The students had no choice but to either take boats to the central island, or move toward farther, more remote islands.
“We made it, we’re alive!”
A duo heading toward a remote island raised their hands high, laughing.
But, though they did not yet know, attacks were also underway from the Volcano Castle. One of the two students turned his head.
“Enki, where should we go now?”
[Enki Daft has been eliminated.]
“Enki?”
Startled, he looked back, but the companion who had surely been on the same boat was gone.
Far away, with a splash! the seawater burst upward, announcing his end.
“N-no. What hit him……?”
With attacks from the Volcano Castle, students were disappearing one by one.
The terror of the test grounds was driving them ever deeper into extremity.
[Remaining Time: 22:10:54]
[Survivors: 288/370]
With the Volcanic Lord’s appearance and the exam’s difficulty skyrocketing, the students of Keyzen now faced two choices.
Would they cling desperately to survival until time ran out, or would they strike for the top of the volcano and defeat the Volcanic Lord to end this test?
“We need to go after the Volcanic Lord.”
Simon’s thought was the latter.
He was asking Dick and Cindy Vivace to lend him their strength.
“At this rate, too many people will be expelled. If we wait until a truly close friend drops out before we decide to act, it’ll be too late. We need to move now.”
The two of them hesitated for a moment.
It wasn’t an easy choice, but Dick quickly cast aside his doubts, grinning as he clasped Simon’s hand.
“Alright, what can’t I do when you’re around? Let’s give it a try!”
Having overcome many hardships alongside Simon, Dick was quick to decide.
Cindy, on the other hand, thought a while longer. After much hesitation, she finally spoke.
“To be honest, I don’t care that much about the Volcanic Lord. My own survival comes first.”
“I understand.”
“Still, sticking close to the overall number one does make survival easier.”
Cindy clasped Simon’s hand.
“As a comrade, I’ll help as much as I can. But, if it gets too dangerous, I’ll survive even if it means abandoning you two.”
Simon grinned.
“That’s more than enough.”
So Simon, together with Dick and Cindy, moved on, avoiding the magma flowing down.
He wanted to storm the volcano right away and enter the ‘Volcano Castle’ floating above the crater, but the endless streams of lava rolling down the mountainside where they stood made climbing impossible.
“Let’s look for another way around.”
Dick suggested.
“This whole mountain can’t be completely covered in flowing lava, right? There’s got to be some route up.”
Simon agreed with Dick’s words, and they decided to move again.
But before long, the group had to halt once more.
“What is it, Cindy?”
Cindy, who had been leading the way, was deeply focused on something.
Twitch, twitch.
Her ears twitched several times, then she spoke.
“I hear people. About seven or eight of them? Sounds like a battle broke out nearby.”
“!”
She was the most skilled in detection among them. The two widened their eyes.
“Any other details?”
“Mm, judging from the sounds, it seems like they’re fighting the lava monsters that spawned here. But, there are a lot of them, it sounds dangerous.”
Hearing that, Simon spoke without hesitation.
“Let’s go save them.”
Dick flinched.
“Hey, are you sure about this? What if we help them only for them to turn on us afterward?”
Having once lost a fortress due to the students’ factional strife, Dick’s concern was understandable, but Simon shook his head.
“The situation’s changed. Now all Keyzen students have to unite if we want to end this test in victory. We need as much fighting strength as possible.”
“Uuugh… Well, you’re not wrong. Fine, let’s go. But if they’re Meridiana’s people, we run without looking back.”
They started running in the direction Cindy had heard the voices.
Before long, even Simon could hear the sound of black magic exploding.
“There!”
Lava monsters rising from the magma were attacking a group of students. The situation didn’t look good.
Perhaps they had fought all the way here already. Their clothes and equipment were battered, and their focus had dropped so badly that the magic circles they tried to cast were collapsing mid-formation.
“Kh!”
A girl stumbled and fell, and a lava monster opened its mouth wide as it lunged toward her. Seeing this, Simon stomped the ground and dashed forward without delay.
“Open Gate!”
Chwaaaaaaarrrrk!
From the ground surged a colossal blade drawn in a straight line. With a sharp sreung! sound, the lava monsters all froze, then split clean in two and toppled.
At the same time, Simon spread his palm, then struck down with his fist.
“Royal Guard!”
From the air, an emerald flash descended, coating the long body of Overlord. Its silver blade transformed into a vivid turquoise glow.
<Simon’s Original – Terror Blade>
“It’s a slash!”
Fwoooooosh!
Overlord’s blade, doubled in length, cut through the air in the direction Simon swung his arm.
At once, the sword energy gathered at the tip flew out in a crescent shape, cleaving through dozens of lava monsters all at once.
“Wh-who?”
The besieged students turned their heads to Simon.
“We’re in too!”
Dick and Cindy followed right after.
Dick grabbed a handful of potion bottles from subspace and hurled them.
By dispelling the enchantments on them, the potion bottles instantly froze solid, shattered, and released a cloud of blue vapor.
Paaaaaasssshh!
The lava monsters rapidly cooled and stiffened, then collapsed one after another.
Tadak! Tat! Tat! Tat!
Cindy rushed in with feline agility, striking the lava monsters on their heads as she leapt across them.
<Huella>
Then, with a wave of her hand—Bang!—the lava monsters all crumpled down.
Each of their crushed bodies bore a massive footprint.
“They came to help us!”
“We—we’re saved.”
The besieged students sighed in relief.
“It’s not the time to relax! Counterattack with us!”
Immediately, the embattled students switched to offense, and together they managed to finish off the remaining lava monsters without a single loss.
When the battle was over, they all collapsed to the ground or sat heavily, utterly exhausted.
Simon walked among them, greeting each.
“Overlord. So you’re the one using that annoying summon.”
Among them was a familiar face.
A blond boy, his long bangs covering one eye, hands stuffed into his pockets, stepped forward.
“Malcolm!”
It was Malcolm Randolph, once the special admission No. 10 and last semester’s disciplinary committee leader. He gave a crooked grin.
“Thanks for coming to help.”
“Of course I’d help.”
The two clasped hands lightly.
“You were leading this group?”
At Simon’s question, Malcolm gave a short laugh and shook his head.
“No, I’m just another subordinate.”
He jerked his chin to the side.
A girl walked toward them.
“Thank you for saving us.”
Simon’s eyes widened.
‘This one…’
“It took a while for my strength to return. I almost didn’t make it.”
A girl with two large ears sticking up from her head.
It was none other than the representative of Haematology, ranked 9th overall.
The eccentric known to all—
“My name is Elishia Rosenfeld.”
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