The demon that could only be captured because of everyone’s strength.
The professor may not be one to fuss over achievements, but a first-year academy student accomplishing such a feat was surely unprecedented.
Knowing his students had grown this much would surely make him proud.
So, let’s take proof of the demon’s defeat as a trophy.
With that thought, Lucie crafted the demon’s shattered head into a bouquet-like arrangement.
‘Why is the professor making that face?’
‘Why indeed?’
She had expected him to proudly smile, say, “They’re my students, after all,” and give her a pat on the head. Yet, the professor only looked bewildered.
A cold sweat trickled down his face, now pale as if he were genuinely frightened.
If anyone saw him, they might think he was terrified.
‘There’s no way the professor would be scared of something like a demon!’
“Our professor stood his ground even before mythical monsters.”
“He wouldn’t be shaken by a mere corpse.”
“There must be another reason.”
“So, what exactly has startled the professor like this?”
The answer to her question arrived sooner than expected.
***
[Students have become quite fierce in my absence, it seems.]
A voice echoed suddenly from behind her.
Whirling around, Lucie was confronted with the demon’s face.
Due to her lack of magical sensitivity, she hadn’t sensed its approach, but surely the professor had noticed its presence long before.
Though they’d barely taken down one, here was another demon joining the fray.
The situation was dire, but none of the students, Lucie included, were intimidated.
The academy’s professors were here with them.
Moreover, they themselves were no force to be underestimated.
‘This time, we’ll protect the professor!’
The entire Class A ignited with fighting spirit.
They’d already slain one demon; a second shouldn’t be out of reach.
They silently agreed to pool their efforts once more and prepared for battle.
Lucie, after discarding the demon’s head, readied her sword once again.
She swung her blade immediately.
An onslaught of attacks followed in unison.
Even for a demon, blocking them all should’ve been impossible, and yet…
“…Huh?”
In that moment, her face contorted with surprise.
The demon, wearing only an unsettling smile, stood unfazed.
Not a single scratch marked its body.
“If that’s all you’ve got, then it’s my turn now.”
The demon didn’t attack them.
It neither cast magic nor drew a sword to strike.
Instead, it simply shed its skin, revealing its true form.
With just that, none of them could bear to look straight at it.
Their heads spun, nausea welled up.
Their bodies refused to respond.
Even standing upright became impossible.
One by one, they began to collapse helplessly.
Only then did Lucie realize her folly.
‘This was never a foe we could handle.’
She had been overconfident.
They’d taken down an opponent prepared by the professor for training and had placed too much faith in their own abilities.
There had to be a reason the professor was so disturbed.
Her reckless judgment had led them astray.
***
“Though I feel no particular kinship for my kind, I should avenge a fallen comrade who granted my request.”
“Justice demands punishment for wrongdoing.”
“And so, I shall take your heads as trophies.”
With that declaration, the demon slowly approached.
It reached out and touched her neck as she lay on the ground, its murderous intent causing tears to streak down Lucie’s cheeks.
Yet, it was already too late.
This was a being far beyond reason.
Even Professor Silphi, who tried to counterattack with her staff, fell helplessly.
The search for the one who destroyed her family.
Hiding her name, identity, and even gender to achieve that goal.
All of it amounted to nothing.
Everything was obliterated by the demon who called itself the Fourth Rank, Kamigin.
All she had was now in ruins.
That was the only end waiting for her.
But then…
Footsteps.
Footsteps that shouldn’t be heard reached her ears.
The professor had just exhausted himself casting advanced spells.
Moreover, he was a magician.
There was no way he could withstand the pressure that had crushed even the swordsmanship professor.
But still.
Despite it all.
The footsteps continued.
The professor walked alone, fearlessly, toward the demon.
Kamigin looked intrigued, smiling as if amused.
Faced with such an overwhelmingly powerful foe, the professor calmly opened his mouth and muttered, “You never cease to annoy me.”
***
“Are you truly choosing that?” [This opportunity will never come again. Please, reconsider once more…]
The reward bestowed by the imperial family.
When he was instructed to choose any item he wished from the treasury, the attendant had advised him as such.
The reason was simple.
The item I chose was a hopeless failure, defective from its very conception.
A precious material called Dragon Heart.
If it had been used to craft a staff, a sword, or even refined into an elixir, it would have been an invaluable treasure.
But what was created was a mere auxiliary mana stone.
The vast magical power within the dragon’s heart had been wasted, converted in a way that threw away all efficiency to suit the user.
It could be used as a backup when mana ran low.
But a true genius, someone who reached the rank of Archmage, would never suffer from a shortage of mana.
For an average magician facing their limits, no amount of mana would help if they couldn’t properly wield it.
An enigmatic item, made for no apparent purpose, as if to throw the most precious material in the world to the ground.
Nevertheless.
I picked up the necklace without hesitation.
This strange, flawed item was the only means to fill the talent I so desperately craved.
“You never cease to annoy me.”
Muttering those words, I touched the necklace.
The nature of the mana I infused.
The mana stone replicated it, refining the immense power it contained to suit me.
I had to use my final trump card, which I’d hoped to keep hidden until the very end.
The fact that I could still smile was probably because I still hadn’t grown up.
***
As expected, I knew you’d bring me joy.
The demon grinned, exuding a menacing aura.
The pressure directed at me intensified even further.
Normally, this would have been a force I couldn’t even resist, but for now, it was manageable.
I had already analyzed the demon’s magical structure last time.
In fact, if I recalculated the formula swiftly enough, I could counter it even without the necklace.
Although I’d likely have died in less than a second, drained of all mana.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had a fight that feels like a real challenge.”
The demon muttered, looking at me.
But I had no intention of indulging its desire for battle.
“I’m not here to enjoy a fight; I’ll end this in a single move.”
The mana stone, in the end, was disposable.
Even with the unimaginable mana of the Dragon Heart, a prolonged fight was unwise due to the inefficiency of refining it.
So what I needed was a decisive strike.
I had no intention of prolonging this as a proper battle.
I would simply overpower it in one swift blow.
Once I made up my mind, hesitation vanished.
I dismantled each of its attacks while preparing a spell.
I didn’t need to wonder about what spell to use.
I’d thought about this one for over ten years.
‘Thinking about it now, it’s a little embarrassing.’
In my youth, I thought I was a genius.
When it came to magic, I could understand anything at a glance and wield it freely.
I never doubted that I could make my name known throughout the world.
Though reality eventually humbled me, it didn’t change the fact that I once aimed sincerely for the top.
A natural flaw was something I believed I could one day overcome.
Lack of mana could be solved with effort.
So, if there was a single out-of-reach spell that I’d created with that foolish notion, choosing it was a simple matter.
***
As the spell formation completed, the ground trembled.
The demon looked up at the presence descending from above.
Falling Star.
A star that responded to my will and fell.
It was an attack to obliterate the entire area, and the demon immediately leaped up, bracing itself.
The effort showed on its face, as even for it, this was overwhelming.
But its strength was greater than anticipated.
Although the demon masquerading as royalty had been unable to resist and was rendered powerless instantly, this one withstood—no, even blocked it.
Shadows spilled out from it, forming the massive shape of a beast.
The black wolf devoured the falling star in one greedy gulp.
“I’m a bit disappointed. I acknowledge your strength, but thinking you could defeat me in a single move is rather arrogant, don’t you think?”
The demon, having achieved an otherworldly feat, gave me a playful smile and a declaration, but…
There was no way I could feel intimidated.
Even foolishness has its limits.
Do not underestimate the foolishness of my younger self, the fool who once thought he could etch his name into history with all his heart and soul.
The pinnacle I envisioned in my most naive days.
There was no way it would end with just a single meteor.
I modified the prepared spell to copy and alter it.
Mental strain from deploying thousands of spell formations?
I’ll simply shift that burden to the target instead.
The massive mana required for each spell?
I’ll solve it with recycling.
I’ll shatter each cast spell immediately and use it as fuel for the next.
A wry smile naturally spread across my face.
I looked down upon the demon with supreme arrogance and declared.
[Unique Spell No. 1, Meteor Shower.]
This victory belongs to me.