Chapter 95: The Saint Bird’s Door [2]
Aint straightened his half-bent waist. He slowly drew his sword with a smooth sound.
A strong stench assaulted his nose.
His skin bristled at the blatant killing intent.
And then.
His aura responded to the intensely unpleasant energy.
<...A magic beast.>
No, that was wrong. Not a magic beast. Magic ’beasts.’
Red pupils emerged one by one from the darkness. Aint put aside his question of ’when did they get here?’ for now.
<They’re Scolds.>
They were 7th-grade magic beasts in the form of giant 3-meter scorpions. And there were dozens of them.
Each one was a formidable opponent that could take on an average knight. These 7th-grade beasts were not to be taken lightly.
"...Why are magic beasts here?"
<Save that thought for after you’ve dealt with all of them.>
If the opponent hadn’t been Aint Armian.
If it hadn’t been the Armian family’s swordsmanship, which bore the attribute of light and was the natural enemy of magic beasts, anyone would have lost their life in this situation.
Pure white aura of light surged through his sword.
The Scolds instinctively hesitated at the power that was their natural enemy, and Aint didn’t miss that opening.
—!
The leg of the Scold at the front was cut off. It screamed and swung its tail.
Clang—
As the poisonous stinger slid along the flat of the blade, Aint thrust his sword into the glaringly obvious opening.
The body of the Scold, its head destroyed, couldn’t withstand the power of light and vanished.
That was just the beginning. The hesitating Scolds let out angry roars at the death of their kin.
But Aint didn’t back down. He activated his aura hole, emitting an even stronger light.
He was no longer the weak person from when he first enrolled.
Now there was only the natural enemy of magic beasts, who had received Gardner’s teachings, eaten the heart of a Saint Bird, and experienced countless real battles.
—!
——!
A white flash illuminated the darkness.
The light weakened the magic beasts, and whenever a white trajectory was drawn, a beast’s body was invariably split.
Screams and howls abounded, with death and purification repeated.
After a long while, all that remained at the site of the storm were the remains of what had once been magic beasts and Aint Armian.
"Huff... huff...!"
<You’ve improved a lot. Compared to when we first met, it’s a tremendous advancement.>
Aint smiled faintly at Gardner’s praise.
His breath had risen to the tip of his chin, and he still wondered why magic beasts were here, but joy at his victory and a deep sense of accomplishment filled him with exhilaration.
"...I never thought I could defeat dozens of 7th-grade beasts. It was unimaginable just a few months ago."
<Don’t be satisfied with just this much.>
<You are an Armian, destined to exterminate all demons.>
"Honestly, at first, I doubted if I could do it. But now I think it might not be impossible..."
That was the moment.
<Dodge!>
At Gardner’s shout, Aint threw himself to the side.
The ground where he had just been standing shattered. It was a black flash. Nothing special, just a simple mass of magic energy.
Dozens of such masses chased after Aint like beams of light.
—!
He barely managed to deflect them with his sword, but the powerful impact pushed his body back.
Aint swallowed a groan.
"I had no intention of intervening originally."
A voice like nails scratching a blackboard came from the darkness. Aint frowned.
"Now that I see you directly, I understand. You are a great obstacle to our grand plan. Truly a cursed bloodline."
"...A demon species?"
The creature was in human form. But there was no vitality in its eyes, and its skin was extremely pale. It couldn’t be considered an ordinary human.
"His Excellency ordered us not to touch you within the academy, but I’ve realized from what I just saw. If I don’t kill you here and now, I’ll regret it forever."
So even if our existence becomes known to the world,
"I must kill you."
Thick killing intent exploded outward.
Aint swallowed hard.
"What’s there to regret about sacrificing this worm-like life for our grand plan!"
The demon species snapped its fingers. Ten masses of magic energy shot out all at once.
They were much larger and faster than before.
"...Ugh!"
Aint desperately threw himself aside. The place where he had been was shredded, and in an instant, the demon species was upon him.
Long-grown fingernails drew a long trajectory.
—!
Despite the magic energy being partially weakened by the power of light, Aint felt suffocated.
<Where did such a creature come from!>
In a brief moment, they exchanged dozens of moves.
It was a one-sided battle. The opponent was faster, stronger, and more destructive than Aint. All Aint could do was block, dodge, and block again.
Small wounds accumulated all over his body. As his breathing grew rougher, his earlier confidence rapidly disappeared.
<Above!>
<Next is below left!>
Without Gardner’s help, he wouldn’t have been able to endure these dozens of exchanges.
There was absolutely no hope in sight. The touch of death was gradually tightening around his neck.
Rip! Aint’s grip was torn. His sword, having lost its support, flew through the air.
"Die, Aint Armian! Cursed bloodline!"
The demon species didn’t miss that opening.
Huge nails rushed toward Aint. With the force to split his body in half.
<Aint!>
At that moment.
—!
A rock that rose between them interfered with the nails’ path. Another rock shot from the side struck the demon species in the ribs.
The demon species was sent flying far away, tumbling on the ground.
Aint, who had narrowly escaped death, sat down, breathing heavily.
"I-I’m alive...? Senior?"
"...I came just in case, and it’s good that I did."
Gerhard, who had appeared from somewhere, stood in front of Aint.
"Aint. Are you alright?"
"...Yes, thanks to you. But how did you get here?"
"I told you. I came just in case."
Thanks to that, the worst-case scenario was avoided.
"Gerhard Goldenheim?"
"You know me?"
The fallen demon species got up.
"Yes, you were also there. Whether it’s one or two of you, what difference does it make? Today, this place will be your grave."
"That’s my line."
How dare you try to kill the one my future depends on.
"Sorry, but I don’t have any condolence money for you."
At Gerhard’s gesture, the earth rumbled.