Chapter 38

EP.38 The Stench of Betrayal (3)

Aphria Academy is a place where talented mages gather. Although there may be differences in the magnitude of their talents, every student possesses their own unique ability.

It could be mana.

It could be the depth of magical knowledge.

Or, it could be an innate intuition.

Each of them has at least one outstanding trait.

And, their talents shine in times of crisis.

“This way.”

Lina, from the Combat Magic Department, points the direction. She, who was once a noble's hunting dog, has a remarkable talent for tracking.

“This is the way out.”

Even in the darkness, she accurately finds the path.

“Hmm, I understand.”

When she indicates the path, Rak pulls out his axe and charges through the monsters blocking the way. The students run along the path he clears.

“Belnoa?”

“Rak?”

Rak, who was weaving through the monsters, meets Belnoa. Belnoa, who had opened the door due to the commotion, surveys the surroundings.

“...”

In the slums, quick judgment often means survival. Belnoa, who grew up there, makes judgments swiftly.

Understanding the situation immediately, she draws her shadow.

She stands beside Rak, taking her stance.

No further conversation is needed between them.

“I'll clear the way.”

“I'll support you.”

Rak runs forward.

Belnoa extends her shadow thorns, chasing after Rak. The monsters fall quickly. The number of monsters occupying the Central Hall decreases.

From the third floor to the first, and then to the entrance.

Rak no longer needed to swing his axe.

“...”

There are no monsters left on the first floor.

More accurately, no living monsters.

The only things moving there are the familiars controlled by a single student. The mouth of the wolf-like familiar is stained with the flesh of a monster.

“Oh.”

She turns to look at Rak.

A girl with pale purple hair.

Summoner, Resty.

She points to the door.

“Let's go.”

They don't fight every monster. Some are too formidable for the students to handle.

Sometimes they hide. Sometimes they use Resty's summoned familiars to lure and clear the way.

When fleeing and hiding are impossible, Belnoa cracks her fingers. Rak charges forward with his hand axe. Resty's familiars provide support from behind.

That's how they make progress, bit by bit.

“Students have been found.”

“Support is needed.”

Eventually, the knights discover the students.

Having cut through the monsters, they guard the students and guide them to a safe zone.

“Is that Prince Rak?”

“Just Rak in Aphria.”

A knight recognizes Rak.

He had rushed over upon seeing the students engaged in battle from a distance.

He looks at the gathered students.

‘As expected, they are outstanding.’

Three of them stand out the most.

Battle-mage, Rak.

Shaman, Belnoa.

Summoner, Resty.

‘Is this really a party of just three mages?’

The party is so well-balanced that it raises doubts.

‘Their formation shifts fluidly between front and rear lines.’

In the knight's eyes, their party composition is on par with the knight order he belongs to.

‘Impressive.’

With a short exclamation, the knight takes the lead.

Eventually, they arrive at the Central Spell Training Room, where students and professors have gathered.

“...”

The moment they step into the Spell Training Room.

“Hmm.”

Rak mutters.

“A stench of betrayal.”

2.

Kelt, an associate professor in the Combat Magic Department.

He is a professor who was once a soldier.

Having been injured on the battlefield, he was discharged and stayed with the knight, Mackhart.

And, at some point, Kelt became a traitor.

Even Kelt doesn't clearly understand why he became a traitor.

Was it due to his inferiority complex towards geniuses?

Was it because of the injuries he sustained on the battlefield?

Or was it because Mackhart, who he served, never made him a full professor and left him as an associate professor for years?

‘Probably all of the above.’

Now, it's not a particularly important issue.

Kelt became a traitor following the Seer.

The Seer said that soon, his army would overrun the capital, and humans would not survive.

The only ones who could survive there.

Would be traitors like himself, who betrayed humans.

‘And, he offered a reward.’

Patience was exhausted, and corruption was sweet.

Having only tasted bitterness in life, Kelt had no reason to refuse the sweetness. Thus, he became a traitor.

‘A power far beyond what I had before.’

Now, he felt he could crush Mackhart's head with one hand. Kelt, with a sinister smile, gauged the monsters.

Many monsters were already dead.

They were dying at an unusually fast rate, but it didn't matter.

‘The goal is not that.’

His goal was to buy time for the Seer.

To draw attention so the Seer could act.

The monsters were just a smokescreen.

Although they were dying faster than expected, it wasn't a problem.

‘It's time.’

Kelt stroked the piece of the ‘Altar’ in his robe pocket. His mission would be complete once he detonated it in the room where the students had gathered.

‘Then, I can go to him.’

He could discard this human body and gain a completely new one.

Thinking this.

Just as Kelt was about to pull out the piece.

-Creak.

The door creaks open.

The smell of blood suddenly fills the air, mixed with a foul odor. But among it, Kelt senses a subtle fragrance.

‘The scent of the Altar.’

The magical aura emanating from the Altar.

He raises his head to look at the door.

There stands a girl.

“Oh.”

She pulls something out of her robe.

Kelt's eyes widen. It's the Altar. The Altar he had hidden deep, now in her hands.

She grips it.

With a crack, the Altar begins to twist.

Kelt instinctively reaches out to her. How valuable it is, and she's doing this to it...

And.

“Ha.”

She bursts into laughter.

“I found it.”

3.

She found it.

At those words, Kelt gasps.

The distance is far. Between her and him, there is a barrier set up by the professors. It will take time for the professors to adjust the barrier to let her through.

‘Enough time to escape.’

But, the moment he sees her blue eyes.

Kelt feels his body freeze.

‘I can't escape.’

His intuition warns him.

Instinctively, he takes a step back.

And, that gives Lania confidence.

Crack.

The girl stomps the ground.

Cracks form on the floor of the Spell Training Room, designed to withstand high-level spells. The distance closes in an instant. The barrier blocks her, but it's useless.

-Snap.

Something flashes.

The barrier set up by the professors crumbles helplessly.

Shattered fragments scatter.

The girl takes another step through the fragments.

‘She's fast!’

Kelt thinks.

Is there a way to escape this situation? Running away on his own is impossible.

He makes a decision.

‘As long as he recovers my soul, that's all that matters.’

This body can be discarded.

With that conclusion, Kelt reaches out. He tries to grab a nearby student.

‘Take a hostage and buy time.’

He plans to hold the student hostage until his soul is recovered. With that intention, Kelt reaches for the student.

Kelt's movements as a traitor are quick. The student doesn't even realize Kelt's hand is reaching out.

‘I'm faster.’

Based on the approaching speed and distance, he would grab the student's neck first.

And, his calculation is accurate.

The girl, who is close, reaches out. But, Kelt's hand is slightly faster.

‘I'm faster!’

But.

“Oh?”

Kelt is mistaken.

Smite.

Crack!

The fingers that were about to grab the student's neck are bent. His arm is flung upwards by an invisible shockwave, making a sickening sound.

Spell.

So fast that Kelt doesn't even have time to groan in pain.

The fingers that were in front of his eyes.

Crack!

Grip Kelt's head.

“Gah, gahaaaaaah!”

Kelt screams in agony as his head is squeezed. The girl doesn't care. She stamps her foot, which had been floating in the air.

Boom!

The floor of the Spell Training Room is indented.

Even then, she doesn't completely stop. Her shoes scrape against the floor with a screeching sound.

Whirl.

Driven by momentum, her body spins once. Kelt, whose neck is gripped, spins along with her.

“Hey.”

A voice only he can hear.

“Bite down, scumbag.”

Kelt looks at the girl's face.

Through the gaps in her fingers, he sees her eyes.

Blue eyes.

Those blue eyes stare straight at him.

They are chilling, the naked hostility in them tightening Kelt's throat.

The encounter is brief.

His body seems to float in the air.

He feels a sense of weightlessness. His balance is lost, and with it, his sense of direction.

Lost direction.

The girl's grip gives it a direction.

She slams him from above to below.

‘How?’

While his skull is held.

‘Where?’

To the floor.

Even knowing this, there is no way to resist. Kelt's eyes widen. All his senses, sensing death, are pushed to their limits.

Snap, snap.

Sparks fly from her fingers.

Tiny sparks. Her five fingers glow.

Eventually, the spell is cast.

Even Kelt, who is close, cannot determine exactly what spell, how, or how many were cast.

A flash of light.

Multiple Casting.

Spell Reinforce.

Spell Boost.

Kelt instinctively draws up his magical aura.

He surrounds his body with magical aura for protection.

Anti-Spell.

Anti-Shield.

But, it's useless.

As if waiting for it, a series of light bursts strip away the barriers. Everything happens in an instant.

And, the girl's palm touches Kelt's forehead.

Smash.

The grip on his head glows.

The reinforced spell emits light.

Crunch, crunch.

Kelt's skull meets the ground.

Though it happens in an instant, to Kelt, it feels infinitely slow.

His neck bones snap.

Cracks form in his skull.

And.

A beat later, ashen mana assaults him.

BOOM!

A deafening sound and a shockwave occur. The professors are knocked over by the rushing wind pressure. The knights rush in, shaken by the impact.

“What, what happened!”

Dust rises.

“What is this...”

When the dust settles, the first thing that comes into view is the floor of the Spell Training Room.

A specially designed place for spell testing.

The floor is indented.

Shattered fragments roll around.

Next, they see a man pinned into the indented floor. Black blood flows from him, evidence of a traitor who cultivated magical aura.

“Oh.”

Finally, what comes into view.

“...”

Is the girl standing at the center.

Wind blows through the open door.