NOVPUB“Rohan!!! It looks like the evacuation of civilians will be finished before the guards arrive!!!”
“Thankfully, most of the guests today are cadets!”
Nicholas, who had come up with the Gilbert couple, was shocked when he saw the women present.
‘Ichinose Yui and Noah Frozenheart...?!’
While he wasn't sure about the other women, those two were among the most influential figures.
He had only visited the Academy City briefly with his friends. He never expected to run into them like this.
But his shock was short-lived.
Nicholas grew curious as he felt sharp gazes directed at him.
Everyone, except for Rohan, was glaring at him. Though there were some soft, curious stares, they were still uncomfortable.
Before he could greet anyone, his mouth naturally shut.
‘Could it be that they’re wary of me because we’ve never met?’
He thought it would be fine since Gilbert and Emily were both from the Academy, but it seemed like these Orion Academy cadets were different. The fierceness in their eyes was unlike any he’d seen before.
Boom!
Shion, who had been watching Nicholas, harshly pulled the trigger and fired an explosive round.
It swept through the Morbid Frame monsters caught in the rift.
“Brother... here!”
“Thanks.”
Rohan accepted the extra magazines from Clara and then began a brief explanation for everyone.
“Those things will pour out like a swarm of bees soon. Protect the civilians first, and take out any monsters within reach.”
“Got it!”
Gilbert nodded, acknowledging Rohan’s words. Nicholas and Emily had no choice but to listen to Rohan’s instructions.
All the girls present listened intently to Rohan, as if it was the most natural thing to do.
“They’re not high-intelligence monsters, so there’s no need to dig in deep. Focus on taking down the ones that approach us while circling around. We’ll reach the end soon.”
Rohan warned them not to dig in too deep while excited, and to distribute their magical energy properly. He immediately leaped up onto the railing.
Shion fired another explosive round, emptied the chamber, and then prepared to follow Clara and Rohan.
“Once the hands attached to the frame melt away, the Morbid Frame is dead. Got it? Don’t get careless and be dragged in.”
“Of course!!! We’ve all learned this at Orion Academy!!!”
Rohan ignited his sword, Flame Judgment, and it blazed brightly.
Nicholas stepped forward with a smile. Only then did he speak.
“Rohan, cadet. Now that we’ve reunited like this, I’d like to exchange greetings once we’re done.”
“Sounds good.”
The girls, who heard Nicholas’s low voice, widened their eyes. They quickly scanned his body, looking for visible signs of his gender.
And things that had been obscured by the pressure of their hearts began to reveal themselves.
“Brother! Move freely! I’ll adjust and assist you...!”
“Rohan, it’s time to work.”
The girls’ voices and movements, now recognizing Nicholas’s gender, were filled with energy and life.
The dimensional rift had grown wide enough for monsters to begin spilling out.
Without hesitation, Rohan leaped into the air and twisted his body.
The Flame Severance wrapped in blazing heat, and the magically imbued bullets tore through the monsters pouring from the rift.
— Crrrack!
Kicking away the frames clinging to his legs, he spun his body, and Clara timed it perfectly to lay down her thread.
“Hah!”
Rohan landed on the sturdy thread as a foothold and spun in midair. Shion followed him and shot down the monsters straying from the path.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Clara’s pistol quietly severed the monsters' lifelines.
Rohan threw himself back into the oncoming Morbid Frames, and with each pass, the monsters were split apart and crushed, falling to the ground. Civilians fleeing to the shelters stopped in their tracks to watch the spectacle.
“Hahaha!!! You told us not to go to the center because it’s dangerous, yet you’re going yourself! As expected of Rohan!”
“Wow...”
Emily and Nicholas, though knowing they needed to act quickly, froze for a moment, watching the teamwork between Rohan and the two girls.
Their movements were beautiful. Like gears perfectly meshing together.
Inside the shopping mall, many people were fighting, but those three were certainly special.
“Emily! Nicholas! We need to move too!”
Gilbert’s voice snapped Emily and Nicholas back to reality as the air turned cold.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how much Gilbert and Emily have grown at the Academy.”
“Let’s go.”
Grabbing their gear, they looked back.
A sight that stole their words. The cause of the sudden chill entered their field of view.
Noah Frozenheart was holding an ice axe on his shoulder.
A massive amount of magical energy and cold air /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ swirled around him.
The beastman girl, whose tail had been swishing, took a few steps forward, following Ichinose Yui in the direction she was heading.
“Noah, we should move quickly. There’s a high possibility of a special entity appearing.”
“Yeah! It’s our responsibility!”
Ichinose didn’t ask Noah what responsibility he meant, instead smiling.
She understood.
She had inherited talents from great parents and been placed in the ideal environment to grow stronger. She had been provided everything.
Having lived a life more prosperous than anyone, the girls carried with them a moral duty and responsibility to step forward in situations like this.
***
To supplement the books they were reading, Juyeon, who had been at the bookstore.
Carrot, who had gotten a little free time and was in line to buy the carrot tart she had been eyeing.
Ed, who was on a long-awaited date with his wife.
All moved without hesitation when they sensed the sudden appearance of a terrifying presence.
Inside the Academy City, instructors and security guards with the necessary abilities to protect it were supposed to guard it.
Those who stepped outside identified the threat. Once confirmed as enemies, they focused solely on combat.
Among them was Juyeon.
She quickly closed the distance to Pandora, who was moving cautiously.
Even though Pandora had recognized her, she didn't stop fleeing, so Juyeon threw her great sword.
Thanks to that, she managed to stop Pandora's movements.
However, the one raising their hands didn’t surrender. Instead, Pandora began to channel her magical power with confidence.
“Even though the Academy City inside is likely chaotic, do you think there’s time to waste just to catch me?”
Pandora added artificial magical power under specific conditions and confirmed the forceful opening of the rift.
The rift she created was not just one. Pandora felt that multiple rifts had opened simultaneously.
By opening just one door, small rifts had likely appeared both inside and outside the Academy City.
Though not large enough to be considered a major threat, they would be a disaster for civilians.
“Hmph! Looks like you don’t have any reliable allies, huh? Do you think the Academy City is a joke?”
Carrot threw a sarcastic remark, irritated.
She wasn’t in a good mood.
The extreme sense of foreboding she felt from Pandora, along with the carrot tart she had just missed, lingered in her mind.
Having skipped her turn to run after Pandora, she was now burning with the desire to capture her.
“You...?! Ha!”
Pandora’s forehead bulged with veins.
The sunglasses she was holding shattered with a loud crack.
As her malicious magical power surged, dark, mysterious monsters began to pour out of Pandora’s shadow.
— Ssssk! Ssss!
— Oh, oh...! The smell of a human, a living human...!
The pitch-black monsters let out eerie sounds as the air shook like a strong wind.
“Oh my, looks like you’re really sensitive to the word ‘aunt,’ huh?”
“Does Instructor Ed not know? That’s the kind of aunt who piles on makeup like a cake to look younger!”
Ed chuckled at Carrot’s words, threw his hand axe, caught it, and continued to observe.
‘All of them are black. Are these shadow monsters? This is the first time I’ve seen this kind of power.’
The pressure emanating from each unknown monster was anything but ordinary.
If they had this much power, they would have made a name for themselves either in the light or the shadows, so the fact that he was seeing them for the first time was an important issue.
‘I should’ve done the math first.’
Ed scratched his neck at the chill running down his spine.
With enemies of this level, there was a real possibility that neither he nor Carrot would make it back alive today.
While he was always prepared and received the treatment for his position, he couldn’t help but think of his wife waiting in the restaurant.
“If we can’t handle this level of power, the casualties will only increase. Reinforcements should withdraw and support from within,”
Juyeon requested, and the middle-aged security officer immediately sent out a radio message.
The four of them slowly moved into position to surround Pandora from all sides.
“I’ll fix your bad habits, so just wait, okay?”
Pandora glared only at Carrot, continuing to point her finger.
Her voice was full of intent to kill, not grace.
Carrot, shaking off the murderous intent that ran through her entire body, posed as if she were teasing, perking her ears up and smiling slyly.
“Anyway, jealous aunts who get jealous when they’re pretty are the most tiring...”
“Sure, sure. Before fixing your bad habits, I’ll have to cut off your ears and legs first. I’ve been curious to hear how a rabbit screams, but this works out.”
“Go ahead and try if you can!”
As though Carrot’s words were the trigger, everyone present moved simultaneously.
