Chapter 54

The young man's house has the first floor partially and the entire second floor dedicated to accommodation, while the remaining space on the first floor is occupied by a large hall and dining room, spacious enough to accommodate all the students participating in the recreational activities.

"Ugh, I'm so sleepy."

It was 7:00 AM. After sluggishly finishing his morning preparations, he gathered in the hall for the morning assembly, where he noticed Auru and Juna glancing at the class president.

"Good morning, class president. Is something wrong?"

"Good morning, Yuki. I don't know what it's about... When I asked the two of them for a reason, they wouldn't tell me anything."

The class president answered with a troubled expression.

From the look of it, it seems more like admiration, so I don't think they're fighting.

For now, it's probably fine to leave them be.

"Good morning, everyone."

Starting with the greeting to the class president, he exchanged greetings with everyone, listened to the teachers' speeches in the hall, and the second day of the overnight recreational activities began.

The second day continues with the survival recreation from the afternoon of the previous day, but before that, there is a breakfast time for each group.

After the morning assembly, they moved to the dining room and ate breakfast while yawning widely.

"I'm so sleepy..."

In the end, he hardly slept last night. He was cautious of the teacher's rounds and played board games brought by Tak川 until late at night.

Well, my head is a bit fuzzy, but there's nothing wrong with my body. This must be the effect of the body I received from the god.

Thank you, thank you.

"By the way, have you all heard? A black-glowing giant appeared in the parking lot last night!"

During breakfast, Tak川 spoke excitedly.

"A black-glowing giant?"

"Yeah, some people were looking out the window at night. They casually glanced at the parking lot and saw a black-glowing giant cleaning up the gravel and stuff!"

What is that? It sounds like an incomprehensible urban legend.

"You must have been dreaming. It's too absurd."

"Sure, sure, Tak川 is energetic in the morning."

"But, you know, where there's smoke, there's fire, right? Let's go check out the parking lot later!"

Ishida and Aihara tried to dismiss the conversation, but Tak川's excitement showed no signs of cooling down.

"Giants are just a misunderstanding! It's better to focus on the recreation than to go check the parking lot!"

"That's right! There's no way a giant exists!"

"Oh, a, yes..."

Overwhelmed by the intense denial of Juna and Auru, Tak川 quietly began eating breakfast.

◇

An unoccupied mountain lodge near the young man's house.

In one of the rooms, a seductive long-haired woman and a girl in a black robe were having a serious conversation.

"Ferm. I never thought you would be defeated as well..."

Io was disappointed by Ferm's failure after taking a bold approach and was astonished by the skill of the mage who defeated her.

"I didn't expect the next head of the Mizukawa family to be so skilled... I completely underestimated them. I thought the Mizukawa family was one of the five major yin-yang families that were poor at combat, but I was wrong."

"I don't know about the other mages of the Mizukawa family... but, Mizukawa Juna... she is a monster."

Ferm shuddered as she recalled the scene of last night's attack.

In the end, she was defeated without even seeing Mizukawa Juna's form. In terms of combat power, Ferm, who possesses top-tier skills among the mages in the UK, was thoroughly defeated.

"My magic was broken by Yuki Shingo, and Mizukawa Juna has the combat power to defeat you... We are at a dead end."

Io organized the current situation and realized the complete defeat.

Taking a student who is close to Yuki Shingo as a hostage might change the situation, but it's unclear how Mizukawa Juna and Auru would be involved. Additionally, it would violate the unwritten rule among mages to avoid being known by ordinary people as much as possible.

"Our hardline faction has been defeated. If Yuki Shingo possesses the 'Fairy Seed,' he will return to the moderate faction through Auru. Security will be tightened for a while, but there will be another opportunity to seize it."

"No, no, giving up means the game is over. We should challenge Yuki Shingo immediately!"

"!!?"

The sudden appearance of Chrom shocked both of them.

"Chrom, where did you come from... More importantly, where have you been all this time!?"

"Calm down, calm down."

While Io was shocked, Chrom pressed a black sphere against her chest.

"History of Ironmaking!"

Ferm immediately activated "History of Ironmaking" and bound Chrom with iron sand chains.

"Guh, ah...!"

"What did you do to Io!?"

Ferm, seeing Io being constricted by black, vein-like structures extending from the black sphere, questioned Chrom with urgency.

"Explain yourself... Depending on your answer..."

The magical power laced with murderous intent tightened the iron sand chains around Chrom.

"Ugh, it's painful. I'll explain properly. I just implanted the heart of an evil god I found yesterday. This will allow me to perform more powerful magic. However..."

"However...?"

"I will die from the evil god's influence in about a day."

"Kill!"

Ferm tightened the iron sand chains and tore Chrom apart. However, Chrom's dismembered body turned into soil.

"A fake...!?"

Ferm, who had never seen Chrom's magic except for the shape-shifting, was shocked by the phenomenon.

'Correct. It's a clone! By the way, shouldn't you be more concerned about Io now?'

Feeling irritated by Chrom's voice coming from nowhere, Ferm turned to Io. The black, vein-like structures from the evil god's heart had wrapped around Io, forming a pitch-black dress-like appearance.

"Revenge... against the god..."

"Io...?"

Ferm felt a slight fear as Io muttered ominous words like a delirium. She also sensed that the contained magical power was transforming into something abnormal.

'Good. You've successfully made her lose control.'

"History of Ironmaking!"

Unable to pinpoint Chrom's location, Ferm manipulated the iron sand to blow up the entire lodge without harming Io.

'It's useless. I'm not nearby anymore. Shouldn't you do something about Io?'

"Ugh... Io! Stop!"

Ferm called out to Io, who was walking towards the young man's house, stepping on the debris of the lodge.

"Don't interfere, Ferm... 'You should stand by.'"

"!?"

Immediately after Io's words, Ferm realized she couldn't move.

"This feeling... 'Army of Fools'?"

Ferm, understanding the magic cast on her, was confused.

Normally, "Army of Fools" only affects targets with low cognitive abilities and has a weaker effect on those with a large amount of magical power.

Ferm, who has high cognitive abilities and a large amount of magical power, should not be affected by "Army of Fools."

"How... why...?"

'Oh, wonderful.'

Chrom continued in a cheerful tone, as if answering Ferm's question.

'"Army of Fools" has evolved to a higher dimension. I didn't expect it to become this powerful!'

"Silence."

'Guh...'

Chrom, who had been speaking cheerfully, was forced to be silent by Io's command.

"Now there's no interference."

Influenced by the evil god's heart, Io, who had lost her purpose, walked towards the young man's house, drawn by something.