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Chapter 28

***

A square-faced man with a reddish-brown beard and a stocky body.

"Snore... snore..."

Despite his appearance, he was the owner of a perfect physique that was far from comical.

Barundel Damascus.

"Cough!"

As usual, after finishing his intense training, he was sprawled out in the training hall when he suddenly woke up, choking on his own breath.

"Urgh... this damn snoring."

Barundel sat up with a languid expression and reflexively checked the time.

3 AM. When everyone should be in deep sleep.

"I guess it\'s better to sleep in a soft, cozy bed after all."

He hurriedly put on his clothes, thinking that he would go home and get some more rest, when he suddenly became lost in thought.

"Come to think of it..."

It had been two months since he started this grueling training regimen.

It was also the same amount of time since he\'d last seen that monstrous black-haired mage visitor.

\'...Isn\'t it past the time he should have come?\'

The promised deadline had surely passed. So why hadn\'t he shown up?

Barundel suddenly had an ominous thought.

\'...Could it be because of me?\'

The unsettling idea that perhaps he had been too harsh crossed his mind.

That absolutely shouldn\'t be the case.

He had resumed training after ten years with the sole intention of making him stronger. Would it all be for nothing?

Fortunately, this anxiety was quickly dispelled.

Thinking back carefully, it wasn\'t him pushing too hard, but rather the mage who often overexerted himself.

Barundel couldn\'t forget the intense look in his eyes.

\'Hmm, he\'s not the type to burn out on his own...\'

So why hasn\'t he come back yet?

After pondering for a while, Barundel came to this conclusion:

\'Something must have come up.\'

On the last day before leaving, he had clearly said.

That he would be staying in the magic tower for a while.

Perhaps some unavoidable circumstances were keeping him from visiting the training hall.

The magic tower was known for frequent incidents, so it was understandable.

Just as he was thinking this...

"Kyaaak!"

"W-What...?"

Barundel was startled by a sudden scream.

A loud scream at 3 AM?

Sensing something was amiss, he hurriedly opened the window of the training hall.

Creeeeak!

At 3 AM, a time when no one except the night patrol should be out.

Yet the streets were filled with people. All of them in their nightclothes.

People were looking in the same direction with pale, frightened faces.

Barundel naturally followed their gaze and immediately understood why they looked so shocked.

"...What in the world?"

Swoosh—!

A towering ash-gray tower that seemed to pierce the sky. Black storm clouds were swirling and gathering around it.

Boom! Flash!

A thunderous roar, presumably the cause of the screams, a crimson lightning cutting through the darkness.

And then.

Thud thud thud thud!

"Hey! Get out of the way!"

"Clear the path!"

"What are you doing? Don\'t hesitate, run!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

The city guards rushed towards the scene with mounted knights.

This was clearly no ordinary situation.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, Barundel pondered the reason and suddenly realized what this all meant.

A chill ran down his spine.

"..."

He had seen this before. That same crimson lightning.

This was undoubtedly...

"...Demons?"

It was the omen that demons would appear. And not just a few—this was the sign of a massive demonic incursion.

Barundel\'s expression, which had been filled with confusion, became cold.

"...It seems the good ol’ days are returning."

It has been a while since he\'d fully geared up like this, but experience never fades.

Click, clank, click!

In an instant, Barundel donned his dwarf-specific equipment and headed straight for Aldeon without a moment\'s pause.

There was only one reason for his desperation.

The faint possibility that his precious disciple, who might become a big shot someday, could be there.

\'Please, let that brat not be there...!\'

Barundel\'s fervent wish resonated through the hammer he gripped tightly.

***

Tzzzt tzzzt!

Honestly, my mind went blank when I saw the fully opened rift.

I never imagined I\'d face something like this before even learning a proper skill.

Is this a dream?

\'...Get a grip.\'

I bit my lip, trying to snap out of my daze. Panicking and doing nothing won\'t improve the situation at all.

Right, stay calm.

And do what I can.

I turned to the chestnut-haired mage and said.

"Hey, Rief."

"...Yeah."

"This is the moment you\'ve been waiting for."

"Kuku... To say such things in this situation, you really are crazy."

Despite his words, determination filled Rief\'s eyes.

He who had lost his family in Aldeon.

"I didn\'t expect to carry out my resolve so soon..."

While his ultimate goal was Aldeon, demons were also targets of his revenge.

"This time... I won\'t back down."

Swoosh.

A gray light emanated from Rief\'s eyes.

Though hot-tempered, he was a mage with proven skills who had survived a competition with odds of one in a thousand.

The mana he released with his firm resolve was incredibly sharp.

This should be enough for him to handle the upcoming battle on his own.

I turned my attention elsewhere.

"What about you all?"

There stood eight noble mages with whom I had bonded over the past two months.

"...Are demons appearing again?"

"Yes."

And they had all experienced the same tragedy.

"Then we can\'t sit this out either."

"Finally, it\'s time to show off my skills."

"...Damn, why am I shaking so much?"

"Don\'t be afraid. We\'re not the same as we were two months ago."

While their reactions varied subtly, all their eyes showed a determination not to back down.

The way they encouraged each other was completely different from before when they were paralyzed with fear.

I felt a sense of pride as if looking at well-raised children.

\'...Two left.\'

Finally, I looked to the opposite side.

The large middle-aged man and the blonde were already looking my way as if they had been expecting this.

"You\'ll help us again, right? Uncle."

"Of course, Mr, First Place. I\'ll follow you wherever you go."

"...Are you not even going to ask me anymore?"

"You do as you please."

And so, a group of 12 was formed.

It was reassuring, but realistically, this was far from enough.

I turned to the elder who was still wavering indecisively and made one last appeal.

"This is your last chance, Elder."

"I..."

Unfortunately, there was no time to hear the 2nd Elder\'s answer.

Screech—!

Growl—!

Demons began pouring through the rift, accompanied by pressure that made our bodies tingle.

"...Prepare for battle!"

I shouted, looking at the rift.

More precisely, beyond the rift. I saw the endless parade of demon armys pouring in.

No one could tell who would live and who would die in this.

***

It had been about an hour, no, maybe two hours since the battle began.

To cut to the chase, we were holding up better than expected.

Our group of 12 was already skilled, and after two months of intense lessons and light magic practice, everyone had improved by about half a level.

"Die—!"

"This is for Alen!"

Zing! Bang! Zing! Bang...!

Orbs and lasers of light attribute were fired incessantly.

Combined with the power of artifacts prepared in Aldeon, the demons were helpless against our assault.

Of course, the Aldeon elders had an even greater impact on the battle.

Led by Dercion, the Second Elder, Third Elder... up to the Seventh Elder, Ollie Didan.

The Magic Tower Elder Party was formed by the most influential figures in the tower.

[Swarm forth.]

Thud thud thud thud!

They proved why they were elders, using even high-level magic to attack the demons.

Illusions created by bending light tore through the demon army, and invisible spheres made by [Invisibility] magic exploded mercilessly.

Screech—!

Gurgle...

Demons caught in the crossfire spewed purple blood into the air before they could even properly advance.

Yes, we were holding up better than expected.

To others, it might even look like we had the upper hand.

...At least for now.

"Ugh! How long will these bastards keep coming...!"

"...Damn it! My mana is almost depleted!"

Starting with the disciples, one by one, they began to show signs of fatigue.

And if you looked closely, the demon army\'s line had inched closer.

Without anyone noticing, we were being pushed back little by little.

This was already anticipated.

The truly terrifying aspect of the demon race wasn\'t the power of each individual, but their sheer numbers.

"Get down!"

Boom!

"...Thanks, Blondie."

Roan returned to his position without a word after Thompson\'s thanks, once again firing ice spears.

He and the elders seemed to be the only ones still holding up well.

\'His mana capacity must be enormous.\'

I wondered who had beaten me in the mana capacity evaluation, and it must have been Roan.

Well, with his wealth, he could easily increase his mana capacity by constantly consuming elixirs.

However, neither the elders\' nor Roan\'s mana was infinite.

A defense game with endless waves would ultimately lead only to defeat.

Moreover,

\'Baal might come.\'

He must have heard it too.

The spell that Dercion had chanted, was clearly a provocation.

Fortunately, as he didn\'t want to destroy the human realm, he hadn\'t shown himself yet... but who knew when he might change his mind.

The best course of action now was to close the rift.

But that wasn\'t as easy as it sounded.

\'We need time.\'

Closing an opened rift required an understanding of the spell formula and a lot of time.

Of course, with my [Prodigy of Magic] trait boosting my learning ability, understanding the formula was possible for me.

The problem was time.

More precisely, we needed someone who could hold out until I analyzed and understood the formula inscribed in the hexagram.

Someone strong enough to fill my place in battle.

Just as I came to this conclusion.

"Well, this is quite a sight."

A graceful silver aura shot past me.

Slash!

With one sweep of the aura, dozens of demon heads flew off.

I turned towards the source of the aura, and there stood a familiar face.

Brilliant silver hair, gleaming silver armor, eyes clouded with something indescribable.

A man born with both genius and the incurable disease of mana deficiency.

The very person who had kept me on edge since I entered the 6th district.

\'Shuharn...?\'

It was Shuharn Philedia.

And then.

"Phew... I finally caught up."

"Why do you keep following me, shorty?"

"What\'s the harm in going together? I almost got lost in the magic tower and became a lost child!"

The true hidden powerhouse of Sector 6, a dwarf who was no less formidable than the silver-haired man, as I had experienced firsthand.

Barundel Damascus.

"More importantly, all these demons... No, Yuhan? Were you really here?"

With their appearance, a chance to turn the tide emerged.

"Yu...han? That guy?"

I wasn\'t sure if I could control this monster of a knight who was now eyeing my heart area intently.

But it was worth a try.

***