Chapter 77

In the midst of cherry blossom petals dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

The Green Academy, where a large crowd had gathered to watch the tournament, had turned into a street of chaos due to the sudden appearance of a giant slime.

Moreover, the mages, who seemed to have considerable skill, were trying to repel it with attack magic, but it appeared to have no effect on the slime.

Some were even captured by the slime's tentacles and became its prey.

"Get out of here quickly!"

"Leave this to us and evacuate!"

At that moment, a new group arrived.

"Oh, it's the headmaster of the Red Academy!?"

"The headmaster of the Blue Academy is here too!"

"No, all the headmasters are heading this way...!"

They were the headmasters of the magic academies who had gathered for the tournament.

To be precise, all except the headmaster of the Black Academy.

All of them were top-tier mages.

People who knew this were confident that they could defeat the slime.

"Damn slime! Don't mess with the tournament!"

The first to arrive at the scene was Reda Ackerman, the headmaster of the Red Academy.

"Prominence!"

He unleashed a full-force strike—a top-tier red magic.

The giant slime's body was engulfed in crimson flames, and a scorching wind blew through the area.

Despite the intense heat, people who were fleeing stopped in their tracks and cheered in amazement.

Prominence was known to damage even dragons protected by heat-resistant scales.

No matter how resistant the slime was to magic, everyone was certain that this would have an effect.

However, the next moment, the flames suddenly disappeared, and the slime reappeared as if nothing had happened.

"W-What? Even Prominence... doesn't work...?"

Beside the stunned Reda, a woman with an intellectual appearance stood.

"It seems this is the time for blue magic."

It was Bluna Aoline, the headmaster of the Blue Academy.

She cast a spell with the speed befitting a "Sorceress."

"Permafrost!"

Immediately, the giant slime's body froze.

A fierce cold swept through the area, turning it into a frigid zone.

However,

"!?! The ice is melting..."

The slime thawed at an unbelievable speed.

Before they knew it, the giant slime had regained its viscosity and was firing tentacles at Reda and Bluna.

Faced with the approaching, slimy tentacles, the two were unable to move.

"Grand Wall"

A thick wall suddenly emerged from the ground, blocking them.

"Hehe, that was a close one."

Yellowa Kiretti, the headmaster of the Yellow Academy, had arrived with incredible speed for someone her age.

"Indeed, the white magic of the 'Holy Maiden' is impressive. It's as if she's returned to her twenties."

It seemed she had cast a body enhancement spell.

Behind her was the headmaster of the White Academy, White Alciron.

Furthermore, an elderly man descended from the sky.

It was Grin Ermidori, the headmaster of the Green Academy.

After giving evacuation orders to his subordinates, he had rushed here.

Yellowa then created multiple walls to surround the giant slime.

"Now it's a rat in a bag."

"Tornado!"

While flying in the air, Grin cast green magic at the immobilized slime.

Reda and Bluna also cast attack spells from inside the walls.

"Wow..."

"The headmasters are fighting together!"

People who were fleeing stopped and were captivated by their battle.

"Haha, with this, even that big slime won't stand a chance—"

Just as someone was about to declare victory,

"! The walls...!?"

Grin was the first to notice and shout.

The earth walls created by Yellowa were being melted from the inside at an incredible speed.

The thinning walls could not withstand the giant slime and crumbled easily.

"...Hey, is it really immune to all magic?"

Reda's stunned words were refuted by Bluna.

"No... it's not that it's ineffective..."

Her thoughts, which had trailed off due to the worst-case scenario, were continued by White.

"...Is it absorbing the magic?"

A shiver ran through the battle-hardened headmasters.

It was well known that slimes had the ability to absorb matter.

They absorbed plants and animals for nutrition.

But absorbing magic was unheard of.

However, the slime before them was clearly growing larger with each magical attack.

Compared to when they first saw it, it had probably doubled in size.

If their magic not only had no effect but was also being absorbed to increase its power—

"...There's no way we can win..."

Reda, the most combative of the five, let out a weak sigh.

After all, this was a magic city.

They all knew only how to fight using magic.

Without it, they were completely helpless.

"Whoa!?"

"!?"

Taking advantage of their moment of vulnerability, the slime extended its tentacles again.

There were five in total, targeting all the headmasters.

Grin dodged it instantly and fled into the air.

Yellowa and White, thanks to their enhanced physical abilities, narrowly avoided it.

But Reda and Bluna were caught.

The tentacles wrapped around their bodies and pulled them in.

"Damn it! Let go! Fire Lance! Fire Lance!"

"Ice Edge! Ice Edge!"

They cast spells in a frenzy, but to no avail.

Grin also tried to cut the tentacles with wind magic but couldn't even scratch it.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it!?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!?"

Faced with their impending fate, they screamed in despair, when—

Whoosh!

Grin saw something brush past him and dive straight at the slime.

It was a person.

And in their hand was a sword.

"Alar!?"

The moment Grin recognized him, the sword he swung cut through the slime's tentacle with unbelievable ease.