Chapter 26 : Magic Tower City (3)

I was organizing documents in the faculty office.

Just a few days ago, the routine felt unfamiliar, but now it had become second nature. Of course, most of the paperwork was handed over to Serena.

The swordsmanship tutoring for the hero is expensive, after all, this is the payment.

“Isn’t it wrong to make a student do this?” Serena asked, grumbling.

“That’s why I’m paying back with tutoring,” I replied.

“Are you still a teacher after all this?” she retorted, raising the corner of her mouth.

“If I get buried in paperwork, the swordsmanship tutoring will be delayed every time,” I said.

“Alright, I’ll do it all!” she said, rushing out with the documents in her arms. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her back. It’s always a pleasure to teach a diligent student.

For a while, I idly spent time watching Serena’s swordsmanship. It was a peaceful daily life after a long time.

“Teacher, did you hear?” One of the academy teachers approached one day. What’s this? I thought they only knew me as the principal’s parachute instructor, not the hero. I had heard whispers that I charmed Principal Lucy to get in.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Something’s not right in the city these days. There have been repeated attacks…”

His voice trembled.

“At first, the street thugs disappeared, but now they say they’re targeting our magic school students too. Some students have already been injured…”

I looked out the window and saw the sun setting. The magic lamps on the spires were starting to light up one by one.

“Attacks…” Something felt off. If it was a crime targeting academy students, it wouldn’t be ordinary.

“How’s the investigation going?” I asked.

“Well… I heard the Ministry of Magic sent someone, but they haven’t found any clues,” he replied.

I frowned. A case that even the investigators from the Ministry of Magic can’t solve?

“Is there any commonality among the victims?”

Just then, urgent footsteps echoed from the hallway.

“Teacher! Something’s wrong!” A student came running, out of breath.

“Serena, it’s Serena…” My heart sank.

“Where?” I asked.

“In the west alley…”

I jumped up from my chair. The west alley… It’s a different place from the one before.

As I ran, my mind was racing. This is strange. Why is it always Serena who gets attacked?

‘Something’s wrong…’

Even as I ran toward the west alley, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling, as if I were missing something important.

Turning the corner, a familiar sight unfolded. Serena was surrounded by thugs.

“Heh heh… A student shouldn’t be in a place like this.”

“Why’s your skirt so short? Are you trying to tempt us?”

“You… you’re carrying a sword. Are you planning to resist?”

Do these thugs have a thing for model students? But these days, the skirt is a bit short for that.

“Please, let me go,” Serena’s voice trembled. She sounded scared, but… something was different. There was an emotion behind her trembling voice that didn’t seem like fear.

“Everyone, step back.”

Her hand reached for her sword.

“Oh ho, this is a little different…”

In an instant, the sword flashed. It was the exact posture I taught her. A natural movement, like flowing water.

“Ugh!” One of the men collapsed.

It was a perfect technique.

“Well done. But you’re still lacking,” I said, grabbing her sword from behind.

“Teacher!” she exclaimed.

“I’ll take care of the rest.”

I quickly dealt with the remaining men. But something felt off. There was a sense of real combat in her movements, something that couldn’t just be filled with practice.

“Serena.”

“Yes?”

“How many times has this happened?”

She lowered her head.

“Twelve… twelve times.”

“What?” I couldn’t believe it.

“I’m sorry, Teacher. I’ve caused you trouble…” She started apologizing, but I interrupted her. Something was suspicious.

“Could it be…”

Why is it always Serena who gets attacked?

Why at almost the same time, in the same place?

And why is she always carrying a sword?

The pieces started to fit together in my mind. But the conclusion was frightening.

The streets suddenly felt darker. The magic lamps on the spires glowed coldly.

“Please solve the missing persons case.”

The voice echoed through the floating magic circles in the highest office of the crystal tower.

Lucy, the principal of the Ether Academy, with her sky-blue eyes, gazed at me.

I looked at her sitting across from me and smiled. Finally, the opportunity has come.

“So, will you let me use the Arcana Archives? This time, for real?”

“Of course. I’ll immediately grant you permission to access them,” she replied.

“Until now, you said I could only access them if I accepted the position of Magic Tower Assistant, right?”

“The situation has changed,” she said, tapping her fingers on the desk. Tap, tap, an uneasy rhythm.

“The city has become very unstable. There have been disappearances, attacks… complaints from influential families keep coming.”

Lucy’s sky-blue eyes locked onto mine.

“This time, I’m serious. I’ll grant you access immediately.”

My fingertips tingled. Finally… could this be the clue to dimension travel?

The clue I’ve been searching for since I first fell into this world. The key to return.

“Understood.”

“Please resolve it quickly,” Lucy said, and I nodded. But inside, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

‘I already know who the culprit is…’

That night.

“Help me!”

A familiar scream. A familiar place. A familiar situation.

Serena was surrounded by thugs again.

But this time, it was different.

I decided to hide in the shadows and watch.

“It’s over now, young lady.”

The thugs approached. The moonlight partially illuminated Serena’s face.

The corner of her red lips was turned up. It wasn’t the usual neat and polite smile.

“Yes, it’s over.”

Her hand reached for her sword.

“Shall we have some fun again today?”

With the cold sound of metal, the sword was drawn. It wasn’t a training sword but a real blade, properly sharpened.

“What… what is this?”

The thugs were confused. But it was already too late.

“Hehe…”

The sword sliced through the air. Under the cold moonlight, a red streak appeared. A man’s arm fell off.

“AAAH!”

A scream echoed. But Serena’s smile only deepened. It was no longer just a smile, but an expression of rapture.

“Does it hurt? How much does it hurt?”

Her voice was sweet, like a lover’s whisper. But the madness hidden within it sent chills down my spine.

The sword moved again. Blood splattered.

The sword moved once more. The blood stained her white uniform. A vivid red flower bloomed under the moonlight.

“Ha… ha…”

Serena’s breathing became heavy. Her eyes gleamed with ecstasy. The look in her eyes, mixed with madness and pleasure, was no longer the one of a model student.

“More… more…”

“Are you enjoying it?”

I stepped out from the shadows.

“Te… Teacher?”

Serena’s face turned pale in an instant. The sword in her hand trembled.

“You’ve been enjoying this every time, haven’t you?”

“No… no…”

Serena’s eyes widened.

“How…”

“It’s too suspicious. The same situation, the same timing, every time.”

The sword fell from her hand.

“I’m curious. Why are you doing this…”

“I… I…”

“No. I think I know.”

She slowly turned her head. The usual neat, model student appearance was gone. Her uniform was stained with blood, and her eyes gleamed with madness.

The look in Serena’s eyes that I’d felt familiar during training.

I’d seen it before, on the battlefield. The look of someone who had tasted the thrill of killing and now craved more blood.

“I get why you wanted to learn swordsmanship. Murderers like you hate magic because it doesn’t give them the same thrill.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Serena smiled. It was a pure joy-filled smile.

“I wanted to cut more exquisitely, more beautifully. Your swordsmanship is truly an art. Each movement is perfect, more so than anything…”

Her sword gleamed under the moonlight.

The usual model student appearance was a mask, and now, at this moment, the real Serena was showing.

“Teacher, do you know?”

Her voice was sweet.

“I lured these trash here on purpose.”

She slightly lifted her skirt. The moonlight illuminated her pale legs.

“If I walk around like this, wearing such a short skirt late at night…”

A lifeless smile spread beneath the moonlight.

“They stare at me with filthy eyes… and eventually, they pounce, like starving beasts.”

Her eyes gleamed with ecstasy.

“And then I kill them. These trash… no one will look for them after they disappear.”

Her voice was filled with pure enjoyment. Her eyes, mixed with madness and pleasure.

“But lately, since you’ve been around, I haven’t been able to enjoy this kind of fun. So…”

Serena’s sword sliced through the air.

“I had to find a new kind of fun.”

“Hobbies should stay as hobbies. Attacking students makes things too big, don’t you think? Are you frustrated?”

“The thugs are getting a bit boring now. But the reactions of academy students are something else…”

A smile spread across Serena’s lips. It was a smile filled with pure pleasure.

“Still, I was able to torment these trash until the end… but with students, that’s a problem. So, I spared them. I did well, didn’t I, Teacher?”

“You really…”

I looked into Serena’s eyes. For a murderer like her, even her death would be a source of pleasure.

“You’re beyond saving.”

“Yes… That’s right.”

Serena smiled. A sweet, pure smile, like a confession of love.

“I need this. Someone’s pain, their screams, the blood flowing down…”

Serena raised her sword.

“How do you feel, Teacher? About my real self?”

Under the cold moonlight, her smile twisted even more grotesquely.

“Is it disgusting? But I…”

Serena’s eyes flickered. Her gaze mixed with madness and pleasure.

“I like this. This feeling, this thrill, this pleasure… slaughter.”

A sigh escaped me. I finally understood.

Serena was a thorough psychopath. A bloodthirsty murderer.

The lecherous looks she’d been giving me weren’t just infatuation or obsession. No, she probably liked me, but to her, I must have seemed like the perfect prey.

“Teacher… will you stop me?”

Her voice trembled.

“I want to kill more people with the swordsmanship you taught me…”

It dawned on me then. The real reason she wanted to learn swordsmanship was to enjoy the slaughter more beautifully, more artistically.

“Serena.”

“Yes, Teacher?”

Her eyes sparkled, like a child waiting for praise.

“I’ve taught you all wrong. You need discipline.”