Chapter 50

Clearly, a woman with a different aura stood at the end of the dark corridor.

At the back of the stairs and the corridor, there were men and women dressed like nobles, cowering against the walls.

The thugs and men in black suits descending from the stairs, as well as the tall woman at the end of the corridor who was readying her sword, were approaching without hesitation, but they didn't seem to think they would lose.

Their presence was different from the others I had faced earlier.

They must be the executives of the Neviss family.

Ideally, when facing strong opponents, I would want to maintain a distance and continuously cast mid-level or higher magic.

However, if I did that in this narrow space, the building would surely collapse, burying everyone alive.

"Guess I have no choice. Let's go with close combat."

I muttered with a sigh and recast the body reinforcement spell.

There was no need to rush since I had set up a barrier to prevent anyone from leaving.

"...Hey, girl. If you don't want to get hurt, stick to the wall and tremble."

The men descended the stairs, saying that. Further up, a mage was chanting a spell.

They were trying to deal with me in the narrow stairs to avoid accidentally attacking their companions below. It was probably a binding spell or a spell that could attack from above.

As I watched with interest, the men who were approaching swung their swords.

I deflected the blade with the palm of my hand and punched the man's abdomen sideways.

"Ugh!?"

The man who had been embedded in the wall from the shoulder rolled his eyes and fainted. The violent vibration caused fragments and dust to fall from the ceiling.

The building shook slightly, and everyone stopped moving.

Then, a spell was cast from the mage at the top of the stairs. A black mist-like haze overflowed and spread to cover the ceiling.

I had never seen this spell before. What was it?

I was curious, but if it was a spell that could kill multiple people, it would be difficult to protect everyone here.

I decided to seal it.

"Invisible wall."

I whispered, infusing it with magic, and a thin, invisible plate appeared under the black haze. Since it covered the entire ceiling, the mysterious black haze wouldn't reach us.

"...I've seen your face. I'll ask you about the magic when I catch you."

I muttered softly and knocked out the man who was approaching by hitting his head sideways.

"Damn, what the hell is this guy...!?"

Someone shouted, and a voice came from the top of the stairs.

"Ah, Aoi-sensei...!?"

"Huh? No way!?"

It was a young voice. When I looked up, they had already hidden, but they were probably students from the academy.

They must have thought I would be scolded or expelled.

Calling out my name was a mistake, regardless.

"Teacher...?"

"Could it be... a teacher?"

The man in black blinked and looked at me.

Immediately after, the woman at the bottom of the stairs shouted.

"Bring the kids!"

The men at the top of the stairs were startled and ran off.

This was bad. If they took hostages, I couldn't act.

As soon as I made that judgment, I dashed out, breaking through the floorboards. I knocked away the obstacles on the stairs with the palm of my hand.

When I reached the second floor, a wide casino hall spread out before me. The dimly lit room had spotlights, and under them were rectangular tables with cards and small spheres.

Surprisingly, it had a high-class, elegant atmosphere typical of a casino.

However, the store was filled with a white haze like smoke, making it difficult to locate the students.

While I was looking around, the sound of someone running up the stairs from below reached my ears.

"Use the kids!"

The woman shouted and appeared. She spun two swords in her hands simultaneously and took a stance. Her ability to manipulate the two swords like extensions of her body was impressive.

As I paid slight attention to her, a voice came from the back.

"Ah, Aoi-sensei!"

"Don't attack!"

Two boys appeared, and behind them stood three men in black, pointing their swords at the boys' necks.

I felt a chill of anger, but moving would put the boys in danger.

Then, one of the men in black said something to the boys.

Immediately, their faces turned pale, and they looked at me with teary eyes, opening their mouths.

They were chanting a spell.

What had they been told? What spell were they trying to cast?

Questions flashed through my mind and disappeared, but one thought remained.

What should I do with that man?

I glared at the men in black without moving, and one of them grimaced and spoke.

"Hurry up! What's taking you so long!?"

The man shouted, and the boys were startled and trembled.

The spell was soon completed, and the boys, with tears in their eyes, cast it.

"Flame Arrow..."

"Flying Rock!"

The moment they cast it, a ball of flame and a rock appeared in front of the boys and were launched at me.

There was only one of each, but they were quite fast. I nodded slightly and swung my right hand from left to right, nullifying both spells.

"......Huh?"

"...W-What was that...?"

The boys, forgetting their fear, muttered in shock, comparing their hands to my face. It wasn't magic; it was just a palm strike.

Seeing the three men in black freeze in shock, I immediately moved.

"Binding Wind."

The moment the spell was cast, the men in black stiffened as if their bodies had iron rods in them.

"Wh-What the hell!?"

I glanced at the three men, who were wide-eyed in shock, and turned around.

Two sword blades were already close to my face. The speed, aim, and timing were perfect. Her ability to hide her presence was also impressive.

However, the slight leak of killing intent was fatal.

In mountains and forests where large magical beasts like dragons lived, there were often many medium-sized magical beasts that were exceptionally good at hunting. Dealing with such beasts made one sensitive to even the slightest anomaly or killing intent.

Still, it was the most advanced assassination technique I had ever encountered.

"...Impressive."

I muttered unconsciously and grabbed the two blades approaching my face with both hands, stopping them.

"...! Are you really not the Demon King...!?"

The tall woman, wide-eyed in shock, said something rude.

"What else do I look like besides a teacher?"

I sighed and broke the woman's dual swords in my hands.

"Wh-What teacher can do something like this... Ugh."

I punched the woman's chest with a backhand and knocked her to the ground.

"...Let's bind them, shall we?"

I confirmed that there were no more threats around and told Rox, who had come up the stairs.

"...Haha. I guess I can only laugh now."

Rox muttered and gave instructions to the two guards.

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