Chapter 57
Everyone was rendered speechless by the shocking sight before their eyes.
Even if those Monsters were only between F-rank and C-rank…
To think she handled hundreds of them in such a way.
The hundreds of Monsters had been compressed into cube-shaped slabs of flesh, each roughly the size of a human being.
“Uweeeeegh!”
I turned my gaze away from the cadet who vomited at the horrific scene and looked up toward the sky.
High above the Beast Ranch, a woman was slowly descending.
A tall, slender Western beauty with golden hair and blue eyes.
Landing gracefully on the ground, she struck an odd pose and shouted,
“Answering the call of the cadets—Hero Mabel has arrived!”
At once, the entire area fell silent.
Then, as if tension had melted away, several cadets slumped down to the ground.
“We’re saved…”
Relief that the civilians had been protected— and the sheer joy of surviving— softened the cadets’ faces at once.
Perhaps Instructor Mabel had made such a dramatic entrance precisely to bring them that sense of relief.
Just then, Helena staggered toward me.
Her appearance was remarkable in many ways— to put it kindly, she looked like a vampire drenched in blood.
Her white shirt was soaked red with Monster blood, and her face had gone deathly pale in such a short time.
“Was this your plan?”
“Yeah.”
“Honestly, what a ridiculous plan. No, can you even call relying on one person’s power a plan? We risked our lives fighting those Monsters, and she wiped them out with a single spell… Is that what they call a high-ranked Hero?”
Still dazed, as if she couldn’t fully grasp the situation, Helena’s gaze turned toward Mabel.
Instructor Mabel was moving among the cadets, checking their condition one by one.
“That spell just now—it wasn’t some grand magic. It was a simple barrier. She just raised the mana density to an insane level. And on top of that, her control allowed her to perfectly distinguish between friend and foe…”
Helena’s gaze at Mabel wasn’t admiration—it was as if she was staring at an insurmountable wall.
The battle hadn’t even truly begun, and yet she already looked so dejected.
I was about to say something but closed my mouth.
Instructor Mabel had noticed me and was waving her arm energetically as she ran over.
Honestly, if she just stayed still and silent, she’d have a cold, untouchable aura. But once you saw her like this, that illusion shattered completely.
“I saw a signal from one of the cadets who went on the field trip, so I came just in case. Good thing I did, huh?”
She winked at me.
Still such an overwhelming person to deal with.
“Thank you for coming. You saved us. There were no civilian casualties either.”
“No, that’s thanks to the cadets’ courage in holding the Beasts back. But where are the other instructors? Why are you all out here by yourselves?”
Having just teleported here, she didn’t yet know what was going on.
I quickly filled her in on the current situation.
Her expression hardened as she listened.
“So that’s what happened…”
The mana around Instructor Mabel began to thrum with heavy vibration.
For a moment, it felt hard to breathe.
“So, first Demons sneak into the Academy despite all the security, and now they’re targeting a field trip?”
Her aura was so intense that I quickly stepped in to calm her.
“Instructor, the other cadets are struggling.”
“Oh! Sorry! I got too worked up.”
At once, the mana that had been spreading around us dissipated completely.
As expected of one of the two strongest pillars of the Academy alongside Kang Jae-seok—Mabel’s power was overwhelming.
She struck the ground with her staff, which was taller than she was, and ripples of blue mana spread outward like waves.
“You’re right. These Beasts weren’t all of them. I can sense a massive mana source from that huge structure over there… The other instructors seem to be fighting, but it looks tough.”
That must have been some kind of detection spell she just used.
It was as though she could see the battle happening inside the Colosseum itself.
Instructor Mabel placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I’ll go support the other instructors. Stay here and keep calm. I don’t sense any more Beasts nearby, so it should be safe. If you see any cadets, gather them and keep things under control, alright?”
She began chanting a spell, clearly preparing to teleport to assist them.
But I caught her wrist, stopping the magic.
“Wait. The problem isn’t with the instructors.”
“What do you mean?”
She tilted her head in confusion.
There was a hint of impatience in her eyes—she was clearly worried about her fellow instructors. But I couldn’t let her go like this.
After all, the higher-tier Beasts in the Colosseum were nothing but a distraction.
“If every Beast in the Ranch has gone berserk… the real danger isn’t in the Colosseum.”
“…No way?”
Helena, who stood beside me, finally seemed to recall the existence of the Drake, and her face stiffened.
On her pale face spread a despair far deeper than shock.
I raised my hand and pointed toward the largest dome in the Beast Ranch.
“Inside that dome, an A-rank Monster—Drake—is being raised. If all the Monsters here have gone berserk, then the Drake inside must have as well.”
At the mention of “Drake,” the playful look on Mabel’s face hardened for the first time.
That was the weight carried by an A-rank Monster.
“There’s a Drake being raised inside that dome?”
“Yes. It hasn’t yet reached adulthood. I was told it’s around twenty years old—basically in its adolescent growth stage, if we compare it to humans.”
“Well, that’s at least some good news.”
Her tone was no longer light or playful.
The bright sparkle in her eyes had stilled, and her expression turned cold.
“You all need to get as far away from the Beast Ranch as possible.”
With that, she drew out a magic loudspeaker and held it near her mouth.
Her voice echoed directly inside my head.
[Attention, all guests currently inside the Beast Ranch. Due to the ongoing rampage of the Beasts, we ask that everyone immediately evacuate the premises. Once again, a major battle is expected to break out, so please do not remain in the shelters. Evacuate as far away from the Beast Ranch as possible.]
Judging by everyone’s reactions, it seemed her voice was reaching directly into their minds as well.
To think she could project her voice into the minds of countless people across such a vast area— her mana output was beyond comprehension.
Her announcement was certainly effective.
An A-rank Monster was, by its very existence, a natural disaster.
In the face of that overwhelming power, even sturdy shelters might as well have been made of straw.
That was why Instructor Mabel had told everyone not to head to the shelters, but to run as far as they could.
Before long, screams began echoing throughout the area as people started fleeing toward the Beast Ranch’s entrance.
Then, her voice echoed in my head once more.
[Instructor Kang Jae-seok! If you can hear this, come immediately to the large dome at the far end of the Beast Ranch! The Drake! Hurry!]
Now, the high-ranked Heroes involved in this scenario had increased to two—Instructor Kang Jae-seok and Mabel.
But that still wasn’t enough.
To take down a Drake, at least three high-ranked Heroes were required.
That meant we had to help.
However, seeing that we hadn’t yet left, Instructor Mabel drew a firm line.
“You all need to get out of here immediately. Once the battle begins, everything nearby will be destroyed.”
With those words, her body was engulfed in light and disappeared toward the great dome.
Helena looked at me and spoke.
“We should hurry and run before that thing escapes.”
“No. We can’t just let the instructors go like that.”
This was an incident that shouldn’t have happened until half a year later—
an enemy that was supposed to be fought much further in the future.
Since Berid’s underlings had kept me from acting freely, the actions of the rest of my party were crucial now.
Of course, those two instructors were both exceptional high-ranked Heroes, and they might be able to subdue the Drake. But in the worst case… we could lose both of them.
I didn’t want to lose or see any more of my people get hurt.
“It’s too much for just the two of them to handle the Drake. We have to help.”
“What kind of nonsense is that! Do you think those two are the only instructors here? The others may not be high-ranked, but they’re still active mid-to-high-ranked Heroes!”
“The other instructors can’t move.”
“What do you mean…?”
Then Helena seemed to realize something.
Her gaze turned toward the Colosseum.
There was still fierce fighting going on over there.
“Besides, if two high-ranked Heroes and an A-rank Monster are clashing, do you really think the surroundings will stay intact? There’ll be countless casualties.”
“Then what are you suggesting! Do you even have a plan?”
I slowly nodded and unfastened the sword at my waist.
“Don’t tell me that rusty sword is your plan?”
“It is. With this sword—and with you—we can finish this without any casualties.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“The instructor said it herself. The Drake is extremely vulnerable to the power of higher races.”
I looked straight at Helena.
Understanding the meaning behind my gaze, she fell silent for a moment, thinking, before speaking again.
“True, with my power, I could weaken the Drake. But how exactly do you plan to minimize the damage?”
“With this sword.”
“And what even is that sword? That guy’s been obsessed with it too.”
At that moment, the man who had been silent all along—Dan Chun-woo—finally spoke.
“That sword contains a fragment of the power of the White Wing.”
“What?!”
Helena’s eyes widened as if they might tear apart.
“How in the world do you have that sword!”
“That’s not important. This sword has the power to create a space completely separate from reality— a realm that doesn’t affect the outside world at all. We’ll trap the Drake inside that space.”
“That would prevent any damage to the Beast Ranch and the civilians.”
At that moment, a deafening explosion rang out, far greater than before. The massive dome began to shatter.
From the ruptured opening, the enormous creature emerged.
Even from this distance, I could clearly make out the size of each individual scale. Its immense form cast a shadow stretching far across the ground.
Krrrraaaaagh!
Its roar engulfed the entire area.
The shockwave from its howl alone made every hair on my body stand on end.
Then, countless magic circles appeared in the air, firing spells that struck the Drake.
It was Instructor Mabel, who had reached the Drake first.
Kwaaaang!
Krrrraaaaagh!
The deafening crash was followed by the Drake’s scream, a mix of pain and fury, that filled the sky.
I shouted to Helena, who was trembling as she watched the battle unfold.
“Choose. Are you going to sit here and watch— or are you going to help the instructors right now?”