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HELHEIM SCANS
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The training camp at Avalon was also an opportunity to practice various tactical combinations.
It was a chance for people who had only heard of each other’s reputations but had never properly met to finally face each other.
During the free training time inserted between the Hero’s curriculum, an exciting arena of interaction unfolded.
Just like Luke was now facing Larze.
“Then, I look forward to working with you.”“Very well.”
Luke clearly understood his role in the upcoming battle.
While the Hero confronted the demon king, he had to hold back the onslaught of the demon king’s army.
Among them, the most troublesome enemy would likely be Theo.
‘I need to get used to fighting against a magician.’
His previous experience against the mysticism department at the school festival (Iron Arrow!) was far from sufficient.
Luke gripped his greatsword tightly.
“Here I come!”
He intended to go all out from the start.
Chaos Transformation.
As Luke activated his special move, his muscular body was instantly engulfed in a blue aura.
An artificially induced state of extreme stress was created.
It wasn’t just his physical abilities that were enhanced.
His eyes received visual information much more sensitively, and his hearing also became equally acute.
His survival instincts and reflexes were maximized.
On the other hand, pain and fatigue were reduced to almost zero.
It was a state where he could easily lose his sanity, but the Felson’s training method he had learned earlier calmed his rampaging mind, allowing for quick judgment and immediate responses.
“Ho… not bad.”
Larze’s expressionless eyes lit up with interest.
“At this level, you’re about as good as Ted from his school days?”
She slowly raised her staff.
Luke quickly closed the distance before her destructive magic could be unleashed.
However…
“Still crude.”
The expected bombardment did not occur.
Instead, a stone wall rose with a rumble.
Beyond it, Larze was already floating in the air.
Luke immediately reacted, climbing the stone wall… but was instantly seized by a strange sensation.
Buzzing-
A cold aura touched his skin.
His body stiffened, his vision wavered, and eerie whispers echoed in his ears.
Luke desperately shook his head, but his surroundings were already twisting and distorting.
‘Status ailment magic?’
He had been hit by this before by demons adept in magic.
Luke hurriedly focused his mind to shake it off.
But at that moment…
“Still foolish, my son.”
“!”
“Do you really believe an orphan like you can save the world?”
Ravias’ head was rolling on the ground.
His bloodied mouth twisted in a mocking smile as the headless body appeared, holding something up.
It was the executioner’s axe Ravias had thrust forward when he had demanded ‘execution’.
‘… It’s an illusion.’
Instinctively, he swung his sword and kicked.
Ravias’ body and head dissipated powerlessly. But it wasn’t over.
“Luke… it hurts.”
A voice came from the opposite side.
Luke froze even before he turned his head.
Evergreen, with half her body covered in burns, was crying.
Her green eyes, filled with pus, pinned Luke in place.
“If you had someone to protect, you should have just run away and lived! Why did you drag me into this hell!?”
“Hah.”
His hand stiffened in that moment.
Bang-!
Suddenly, bullets flew from all directions and hit him.
He tried to react urgently, but it was too late.
One bullet pierced his sword barrier and struck his abdomen.
“Ugh!”
With a sound like something bursting, Luke slid back.
Even as he clutched his stomach, he did not fall.
His crimson eyes still faced forward.
…The voices and hallucinations that tormented him vanished simultaneously.
“Hmm, you still keep your wits about you? Not bad.”
“… It’s terrible.”
Larze spoke languidly.
“Not all magicians prefer straightforward combat. Theo enjoys manifesting his magic this way.”
“I see.”
As Larze slowly approached and waved her hand, Luke’s mana, which he had gathered to defend his mind, wavered unstably.
“With your level of mana control, it’s difficult to resist Theo’s magic completely.”
Keeping one’s mind sharp was momentary.
During intense combat, if one was subtly hit by status ailment magic, they could be incapacitated helplessly.
“Illusions, weakness, despair, madness, decay… You’ll face all sorts of status ailment spells.”
“Then what should I do?”
“There’s no other way. You have to get as used to it as possible. Both mental and physical pain.”
Luke took a deep breath and gripped his sword again.
“Please, something stronger.”
Larze’s eyes gleamed.
“Alright!”
.
.
.
…Meanwhile, on the other side of the training ground, Lucas and the noble knight squad were receiving the exact same training from Beatrice.
* * *
On the other hand, Leciel was inside a laboratory within Avalon, not at the training ground.
It was a place where the unique scent of old books, herbs, and various chemicals mixed.
Glass bottles containing liquids of various colors glowed under the dim lighting.
“Begin.”
At Yussi’s signal to start, Leciel gathered his concentration and reached out to touch the blade of the shapeshifter.
Whoosh-
The sword ignited.
The flames that initially flowed along the blade and sometimes flared up fiercely soon settled into a calm, steady pattern.
Yussi, who had been watching, spoke up.
“Even if elemental imbuing is a basic alchemy skill, you’re fast. You have talent.”
“…Thanks to you.”
“Hmm, most martial artists can’t even grasp it, but it’s intriguing.”
Over the past three years, Yussi had occasionally taught Leciel some alchemical formulas.
It was at Leciel’s request.
“Rather than converting the attributes of sword energy, it’s much more efficient to just imbue the element.”
A sword imbued with ‘fire’ was highly effective against monsters with strong regenerative abilities.
Of course, Leciel could also somewhat use Iira’s white sword, but the white sword consumed an extreme amount of mana, so it needed to be reserved for strong opponents.
In preparation for the upcoming large-scale battle, the more ways to deal with minor enemies, the better.
…It was then that grumbling voices were heard from a corner of the alchemy lab.
“Restrain Leciel!”
“…Unfair. It’s unfair. Being good at alchemy too.”
“First, confiscate that face!”
Evergreen and Karen were playfully jeering.
They were not focusing on elemental imbuing (having tried but lacked talent) but were learning from Pia the combinations and effects of various poisons to apply to their arrowheads.
However, as thoroughbred martial artists, they were making slow progress in mastering the complex chemical formulas.
Whine-
Karen’s rune wolf, Shadow, who had become her dedicated mount, whined in boredom and rolled on the floor.
Pia clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.
“Everyone~ let’s focus. It would be less tiring to teach this to Shadow.”
“Professor… that’s too much.”
“What’s too much is that you haven’t memorized even ten combinations in an hour~”
Faced with the stern instructor who had returned with a spicy attitude from the capital, the children, pulling faces, buried their heads back into their notes.
“Professor Pierre is pitiful!”
In the meantime, Karen made a bold statement and received an additional set of combinations to memorize.
As Leciel twitched her lips while watching them, Yussi casually commented.
“Doggie. Are you happy?”
Leciel’s face turned bright red as memories of confessing to the hero came flooding back.
“…Doggie? Master? Leciel… wait a minute.”
Seeing Leciel stammering, Yussi chuckled.
“Good for you.”
“…What about you, Principal? Did you have a good conversation?”
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HELHEIM SCANS
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“Who knows…”
Yussi answered indifferently, then tilted her head.
“But how do you know I talked to that person?”
Leciel froze like a statue.
“…You spied.”
“Uh, no, I didn’t?”
“… Didn’t?”
“It was a coincidence.”
Leciel confessed honestly.
In fact, she had been the first passenger to arrive in Avalon.
Even knowing the hero wasn’t there, she had been loitering near the captain’s quarters.
Then, by chance, she spotted Yussi waiting for the hero….
“I only watched from a distance… I’m sorry.”
“Never mind.”
Yussi shook her head.
Leciel stole a sideways glance at her.
After the conversation with the hero, the dangerous aura that had seemed ready to explode at any moment was gone.
However, for some reason, she looked more hollow and precarious.
Leciel asked cautiously.
“Are you okay, Principal?”
“It’s been a long time since I quit being the principal. Why do you still call me that?”
"……."
“Well, you kids still call that person a professor.”
Leciel silently nodded.
She didn’t want to call her by any other title.
Her friends probably felt the same way.
“It seems you’ve decided to accept it.”
“… There’s no reason not to.”
“Right, for you guys.”
Although their situations seemed similar, they were distinctly different.
They had all been deceived by the shell of Ted, but the children had started their relationship with the ‘doppelganger’ from the beginning.
Therefore, as long as they could forgive the lies and deceit, they could return to how things were before.
Unfortunately, Yussi could not escape her hell… because Ted Redymer was already dead.
Her fate had been sealed since four years ago.
“The end of the journey…”
“Pardon?”
Yussi smiled at the questioning Leciel.
“This time, we will use a catalyst to increase the firepower.”
Leciel nodded reluctantly.
* * *
Thud-thud-thud-
Gerald wandered through the mobile fortress, sweat that hadn’t yet cooled dripping to the floor.
“Damn it….”
Anyone who knew his usual self would be shocked to see him now.
The cheerful Gerald’s face was twisted in a grimace.
It was because of the ‘victory’ he had just achieved in a sparring match.
Why was he upset after winning?
It was because his opponent had been his father.
“Haha, you’ve really improved.”
When they reunited after a long time, father and son, as martial artists, immediately started with a bout of spearmanship.
At first, Gerald hadn’t even considered the possibility of winning.
Roland Bryce.
His father had always been like a mountain to him.
Gerald vividly remembered the moment he first picked up a spear.
Late at night, mesmerized by his father’s formidable spear techniques in the training ground, he had toddled over and grabbed a wooden spear.
From then on, whether practising basic spear techniques, learning the family’s secret techniques, receiving the family spear when he entered the academy, or even during his time as a Lotus Knight, Gerald had never once thought he could defeat his father.
Clang-!
Yet, after a fierce battle, Roland Bryce dropped his spear.
Though the victory wasn’t easy, it wasn’t particularly difficult either.
Only then did Gerald notice the wrinkled face and weakened grip.
“How… why….”
His father patted his shoulder with a proud look.
“You’ve grown, and I’ve aged. That’s all, my son.”
Had this happened in his younger days, Gerald would have been overjoyed.
…But with the final battle approaching, his father’s aging brought sorrow and fear instead of joy and a sense of accomplishment.
“Why are you grinning like an idiot after losing?!”
Why did the son get angry at his weakened father?
Even as Gerald stormed out of the training ground, his father watched him with a fond smile.
‘Maybe I should ask the professor to exclude Father.’
…No, that would be a humiliation worse than death for a man who had lived his whole life as a warrior.
‘But he has to come back alive! The youngest is only three!’
Thinking of his little sister toddling around the garden and his mother watching warmly, Gerald could only hold his head in his hands.
He was stuck.
He felt like screaming his lungs out.
“…Ugh.”
It was then he noticed an empty water bottle discarded on the ground.
The fortress’s automatic cleaning system hadn’t picked it up yet.
Kicking it would be the natural thing to do.
Thunk-!
With a satisfying sound, the bottle soared in a perfect arc…
And hit someone on the head.
“Ah.”
Gerald forgot to apologize, eyes widening as he looked at the victim.
‘Was there such a passenger on Avalon?’
Calling her merely beautiful felt inadequate.
Her long, lush silver hair was tied up, and her harmonious features were enhanced by a sharp jawline, exuding an air of elegance and classical beauty.
What was more surprising was her bare face, free of makeup.
Dressed casually, she stared blankly at Gerald, seemingly as taken aback as he was.
Her slightly parted lips were adorable.
Without realizing it, Gerald blurted out,
“Oh, I’m sorry! If I’d known such a beautiful lady would be hit, I would have thrown my heart instead of the bottle…”
He thought it was a pretty good line.
But her reaction was tepid.
“…What?”
And why did her calm, subdued voice sound so familiar?
He’d definitely heard it somewhere before.
Gerald tilted his head in a mix of puzzlement and anxiety.
‘Wait a minute….’
Looking closely, one could see that her embroidered and high-quality clothes were not ordinary attire.
He turned his gaze back to her face.
‘…No way.’
No way.
The person sitting at the head of the conference table earlier flashed through his mind.
The face behind the elaborate, dignified makeup…
No!
“Your Majesty!”
Gerald dropped to his knees, bowing deeply.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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