'Why are those two people...?!'

Martin also knew the true identities of Milia and Isella.

He knew that the two of them had some degree of acquaintance with Luca.

However, he hadn't known that, while he was away from the Academy, Luca had grown close enough to them that they would desperately come looking for him when he was in danger.

'And there should have been a barrier, but how... huh?'

It was only then that Martin realized the barrier was gone.

"Ottbo's... armored giant—if you set its magic power into a rampage... it's supposed to produce the might of an eighth-level spell."

"!"

The battered Luca in front of him stammered the words.

Martin ground his teeth and glared at Luca.

Even through his swollen, bruised face, Luca was smiling.

"I won, Martin Curves."

"Damn it!"

Flash!

Martin, in order to turn the tables, had no choice but to open his demonic eye.

A terrifying power of the devil flowed from his now bright red eyes.

At the same time, clouds gathered, and the sky darkened.

Rumble! Krackoom!

"Tsk, what a foolish act."

Though the moon was covered, Isella had already gathered enough moonlight and gathered it into her blade.

But Martin, too, was flustered by the sudden darkness in the sky.

"What are you trying to do?"

Of course, Martin believed Isella had done something.

But Isella just looked back at Martin with a look that said, 'What are you talking about?'

Because these things happened the moment his eyes turned red, she'd naturally thought Martin was the one responsible.

But the darkened sky was not because of either of them.

"You finally... used the devil's power."

"......?"

Martin turned, a perplexed look on his face at the faint voice.

Crackle!

"!"

And he saw it.

Luca's two eyes blazing with the light of lightning.

The power of the sky, raging to judge evil.

"Luca, just who in the world are you...!"

Martin tried to unleash the power of the devil in his agitation, but now, with Luca wreathed in lightning, he couldn't affect him at all.

Even with every bone in his body crushed, Luca steadied his sword and took a stance.

"Farewell, Martin Curves. Step down from the stage now."

"No, don't...!"

Shing.

Martin tried to cast a spell.

But at this distance, no matter how fast a mage may be, he cannot outpace a swordsman.

Before he could even blink, Luca swept past him.

Whoosh!

"!"

Appearing behind Martin, Luca flicked his sword.

THOOOOM-CRACKLE-CRASH!

Heaven's rage swallowed Martin.

A giant pillar of lightning even engulfed Martin's dying scream.

All that remained was dust and a red demonic eye.

Beep!

"?"

But suddenly, even that was snatched away by a bluebird that flew in from somewhere and disappeared.

"What the—what's that bird carrying off?"

As Milia looked on puzzled, Isella finally understood Kryphi's words.

—The bluebird took it away.

"It should be all right. That bird is also an ally of Luca Traverse."

"What? The bird is an ally?"

"More importantly, we should soon..."

Thud.

Just then, Luca collapsed.

Isella watched Milia for her response.

"We need to move Luca Traverse."

"It's fine. No matter how incompetent the teachers are, after such a flashy distress signal, they'll arrive quickly."

If they couldn't pinpoint the location even after such an enormous lightning strike, then all the supervisors for this practicum should be fired on the spot.

Milia scanned the surroundings and sighed.

"The problem is, how do we explain this situation?"

"Mi...lia..."

"?"

At that moment, Luca's faint voice was heard.Milia approached him with a reluctant expression.

"What?"

"Martin... Curves... killed... those three students... the culprit..."

"!"

That was as far as Luca managed before he fainted.

Milia looked down at him for a moment, then sighed once more.

"Honestly. Trying to help even in this state. Isn't there something wrong with his head?"

"... His injuries are severe enough that most of his body can't function, and yet he holds on with such willpower."

"This goes beyond willpower. It's almost like..."

Remembering something, Milia's face twisted into a strange expression.

"It's almost like... something is forcing him to move."

"Pardon?"

"... No, never mind."

Just then, the teachers approached.

After sprinkling Luca with a prepared emergency potion, Milia explained the circumstances to them.

"What? Why was that man here...?"

"Who knows? But the last thing I saw was a teacher trying to kill Luca and Ottbo doing everything he could to stop him."

"Ottbo Gress, the student?"

Milia pointed to the unconscious Ottbo and the broken armored giant at his side.

"If not for him, the Academy would have lost another precious student today."

"... I think we'd better bring this directly to the faculty board."

"Milia, please—keep this matter secret, or there will be a public uproar!"

Looking at the teachers' grave faces, Milia smiled sweetly.

"Anyway, shouldn't we quickly treat Luca? He looks to be in awful shape."

"!"

"Professor Cruise! Luca to the infirmary, quickly! Professor Nadok, check on the other students!"

At last, the teachers began to check on Luca and his group.

Milia whispered quietly to Isella, so only she could hear.

"Maybe the saying that Hernan Academy is the best on the continent... is just that—an old saying."

"......"

The teachers' abilities were lower than she'd expected.

* * *

"No, what on earth is this? Another accident involving a student!"

"And of all people, it has to be Luca Traverse again. Does this make any sense at all?"

The senior faculty had gathered again.

Senior faculty—Dean of Students Kirius Blavon, Head Teacher Bendia Moraco, and Vice headmaster Ethylen Basta.

They were racking their brains over the affair with Luca.

"We let it go up to now because of the Princess' recommendation, but isn't it time to take real action?"

"But what should we do? Luca Traverse has basically only been the victim so far."

"Just say that he's been through too much, suggest a short leave, return him to his territory for a while, and see what happens?"

At Senior faculty—Dean of Students Kirius Blavon's words, vice headmaster Ethylen Basta shook her head.

"That would be a violation of the Academy's responsibility to protect students. If the security of the so-called best academy is that poor, we'll never escape the criticism."

"Just say Luca Traverse acts too recklessly! If he took basic precautions, this wouldn't keep happening!"

"Now, now, professor Kirius, that's too much."

Kirius Blavon's face was red with agitation.

"How many incidents have occurred around this student? Three on leave, three dead, three now injured! Do you think that's a coincidence?"

"That's..."

"At this rate, who knows what will happen next! We need to find a solution right now!"

Despite Kirius Blavon's concern, Ethylen Basta still looked doubtful.

"Are we going to blame the student? The priority should be to review the Academy's internal security."

"Are you suspecting your fellow teachers?"

At Ethylen's statement, Kirius' eyes sharpened. But Ethylen was firm.

"That's better than suspecting a student."

"... Understood. But my job is to doubt the students."

"Senior faculty—Dean of Students Kirius, please—your job is to guide students onto a correct path, not suspect them."

While the senior teachers seemed on equal footing, Ethylen, as vice headmaster, carried more authority.

Kirius hesitated, then stood up with a hardened expression.

"Understood. I'll now go and 'guide' the student."

"Oh dear..."

Kirius left the boardroom without waiting for a reply.Ethylen looked bitter, and the usually reserved Head of Faculty Bendia Moraco cautiously offered,

"He's not usually like this... There have just been too many incidents, even though it's still early in the term."

"I've worked with Professor Kirius for over a decade, so I know he normally puts students first. However..."

Ethylen left the rest unsaid.Bendia nervously fidgeted with her fingers and spoke.

"Then for now we'll inspect the Academy as you said?"

"Yes. Please start by checking the credentials of the newly hired staff, and investigate what actions they have taken in the Academy."

"Understood. And about Senior faculty—Dean of Students Kirius..."

At Bendia's words, Ethylen looked conflicted, then shook her head.

"Let's give him some leeway for now. He's an adult who can take responsibility for his decisions."

"Yes."

While their conversation wrapped up, Kirius was pacing the empty corridor, huffing.

"They just want to leave those two alone because the Princess cares about them! Damn it! Since when has the great Hernan Academy bowed its head to power?!"

Huffing and muttering, someone stood behind him.

Yet Kirius seemed unaware. Or perhaps he couldn't possibly notice.

On the back of his neck, a peculiar square magic circle was inscribed.

"Of course, of course. Senior faculty—Dean of Students Kirius is right. When did the great Hernan Academy ever bow to power? There are things more important than power, aren't there!"

The figure behind him whispered, encouragingly.

And at the whisper, Kirius became even more agitated.

"That's right! Raise outstanding students and contribute to the empire's advancement! That's Hernan Academy's goal!"

"Exactly. That's Hernan's guiding principle!"

The whispering voice was smooth.

"So who is standing in the way of that?"

"Who else! Luca Traverse! Like his brother, he thinks he can make this place his playground!"

"Wow, is that so? Then what should you do?"

At the question of "what should you do", Kirius fell silent for a moment.

And then, as if repeating it to himself, he muttered,

"He must... be expelled from this Academy..."

"That's right! The mudfish that stirs up the Academy must be caught and thrown out! And you, supervisor Kirius, are the one who can do it!"

"Only me...!"

Kirius stopped, repeating those words, then with wild eyes, took off somewhere.

And the boy with violet eyes who had been watching him giggled.

"How fun. Just as father said, life at the Academy is really entertaining!"

The shadow over the Academy deepened.

* * *

'I'm going to die.'

Lying in his hospital bed, Luca looked utterly exhausted.

'I really almost died this time.'

In the fight against Martin, he had genuinely gone to the very threshold of death.

'If I weren't Luca Traverse, I'd be dead by now.'

As someone who used to be just an ordinary young man from Korea, it would have been impossible to endure the pain of his whole body being crushed; it was only because Luca Traverse inside him intervened that he managed to bear it.

Normally, Luca Traverse's instincts would emerge from odd places, but during battle, he would bear the pain on Luca's behalf, enduring what current Luca could not.

'I'm in this much pain even now—just how bad would it have been if I'd been completely conscious then?'

Fully regenerating the bones of his broken body was a difficult task.

Not impossible, but it requires some time in order to recover without sequelae.

Luckily, the damage to his magic power circuits wasn't severe and would heal quickly.

"Mm... young master..."

"... Tsk."

At Luca's bedside sat Bella.

She was dozing off, having apparently watched over him all night.

Seeing her, Luca's lips curled into a weak smile, but soon grew serious.

'Getting the power of the sky made me complacent.'

Whether it was with Milia or just now with Martin, without the help of others, Luca would have died.

He'd gotten the sky's power before the original protagonist's actual appearance, and thought that alone would be enough.

But thanks to his actions since entering the Academy, much more had changed than he expected.

The reach of the Demon's influence within the Academy had been blunted multiple times; people who should have become villains in the original story had become friends or even mentors.

Now, he didn't know how much longer things would keep following the original plot.

'I need more power. Even greater strength.'

Once the protagonist showed up, things would get even more complicated.

He had to get stronger while he had the chance.

At that moment, someone quietly entered the hospital room.

"So you're awake. How do you feel, Luca?"

"I'm managing, master."

It was Kryphi.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=A professor as an enemy...Also, there's a student manipulating that teacher?【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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