Episode 28. Nakhwa

‘mina… . You said you would be on my side, right?’

‘Of course, Princess.’

On the way back after briefly meeting Princess Frill around the Paideia dormitory and talking about Sepia.

Princess Frill had told Mina about the discussion she had with Professor Ian.

‘As expected, Professor Ian… ! I knew you would help me!’

‘If the day comes when I fight with my sister, will you help me even then?’

‘Absolutely!’

Professor Ian also understands the sincerity of Princess Frill!

‘Maybe the three of us could do a lot together.’

Mina walked down the street with happy thoughts.

How happy he would be if he were with his shadow, beside him who removed the contradictions and absurdities of this school.

Professor Ian and Princess Frill, I would be very proud if I could help two great people.

A bit cold street.

The sky was clear blue, and it was a cloudless day, but it was strangely still.

Today, for some reason, there is no one around, and Mina tried to shake off the cold feeling with bright thoughts.

“found. is it you Was it properly taken by the princess?”

“… Who are you?”

A woman with a witchy appearance blocked the middle of the way back to the dormitory.

“Don’t you know who I am? Well, it’s E class. All right, it’s Princess Auril’s order. Follow me to the student council room.”

“Student Council… ?”

“yes. Wouldn’t your situation be a little better if you knelt down to the princess?”

The woman wearing the black witch’s hat snapped her hand.

“… !”

A lifelike flame wrapped around Mina and her in a large circle.

Haril continued the spell, deploying a complex magic formula as if he were dealing with his own limbs.

As soon as the opponent’s words were finished, the flames that appeared burned high enough to grow taller than trees, blocking the retreat.

The wall of fire, which neither burns up excessively nor loses its shape when blown by the wind, is as if reaching out to the sky. It didn’t spread anywhere else, only rising upwards.

The artistic flame control that even a child would recognize the value of, and the Dulle-gil, which had memories of Frill and Ian, quickly became an arena of inferno.

“Is this enough to understand the situation? Follow me, don’t bother me.”

Heril’s words resonated as if even the sound was blocked by a pillar of fire, and it was so hot that it was terrifying to see, let alone reach, to cross the flames.

“Hey. Do you really not know who I am? Seeing that you don’t give up even after watching this.”

Looking at Mina glaring at him without panicking inside, Haril smiled bitterly.

Beneath Haril’s flames, the two were dyed in an intense red light as if they had been caught in the twilight.

* * *

The cold of winter completely blew away in the flames that confined Mina and Haril in a circular shape, and the sharp eyes of the two clashed fervently.

Even with the wall of blazing flames behind her, Mina seemed unwilling to back down.

Haril clicked his tongue. I tried to bring him in without major injury by showing the difference in skill, but I thought there wouldn’t be this much eye for magic… .

‘Is it because you don’t know how difficult it is to achieve the current level of flame control without a chant?’

She warned Mina one last time.

“Just give up, I’m doing this on purpose so you don’t get hurt. Anyway, now that Princess Euryl has taken you on, it will be difficult for you to do well in school in the future.”

“I will never go. Do you know what Princess Euryl did? Are you still like this?”

“What can I do, if the princess wants it, even the professors are begging at this school. A student like me should listen carefully.”

“That is an excuse. Since Princess Frill decided to go against Princess Eurill, you have an option to save Sepia. Both of them are the same princess, but it is a pitiful rationalization that they had no choice but to bully Sepia out of fear of the imperial family!”

“I never rationalized it.”

Haril said, drawing a circle with her right foot on the floor.

“In the first place, I don’t think that what Princess Euryl is doing is wrong?”

“Yeah? what the hell… .”

“They go out and take pictures of the ignorant kids first, how good it is. On the outside, everyone pretended to be nice and sorry, but inside, everyone was hoping someone would do the job. That is the human heart.”

said Haril after focusing briefly on the circle beneath her feet.

“Princess Frill is too naive. stand in line for you It’s obvious without seeing who is in the real world, isn’t it?”

“Can you say that in front of Sepia?”

“you can do it. You don’t talk too cheap? Aren’t you in your second year now?”

While talking, Haril suddenly fired a spark at Mina, who was staring at him in a blue light, and fired a huge fireball three times the size of her own body.

“I don’t know, did I tell you that I could definitely get hurt?”

Ku-gu-gu-gu-!

The giant ball of flame moved toward Mina at high speed, melting the frozen floor and creating mud.

Due to her enormous size, Mina was not completely hidden from Heril’s view, but Haril watched the flames engulf Mina, narrowing her eyes.

An advanced fireball that even graduates struggle to cast within 3 minutes.

Originally, it was a killing magic that was forbidden to use on people.

‘I don’t have eyes to see here… . If I stop right in front of my eyes, I’ll die.’

Right before reaching Mina, I was thinking of burning the fireball.

If other professors saw it, it would be dangerous enough to slap them for crazy, but Harrill was confident in his skills.

If you turn one student into ashes, it will be difficult to make it a thing of the past, no matter how much you say you are Princess Euryl… .

‘… is not it? I wonder if it’s possible.’

Haril, who had erased her thoughts, counted in her mind.

‘5 seconds ago, 4 seconds ago, 3 seconds ago.’

Pew-!!

“Wow!?”

However, the fireball that had been extending while maintaining its straight shape suddenly exploded in the middle.

It was unimaginable, so Haril did not even think to put out the flames and threw herself to the side to avoid the flames that were attacking her in reverse.

After being distracted by the aftermath, Harril got up quickly with a strong feeling and took a posture.

‘Wait a minute, if I’m not mistaken… .’

“Hey, was that a low-level fireball just now…? ?”

The opponent didn’t answer, but Haril was sure.

The fireball that just offset the higher-level fireball, unlike his own, was extremely unstable and distorted in shape.

If I threw a fireball made up like that, it wouldn’t be able to maintain its shape for even 2 seconds and exploded in the middle… .

“You dumped mana into a low-level fireball to inflate its firepower enough to block my own fireball? What would you do such a reckless thing if it exploded on the spot-”

“I do anything. No matter who my opponent is or what I encounter, I will never give up. I will never tolerate bullying Sepia, no matter what explanation you put on it… !”

Haril’s composure evaporated in an instant. It was hot inside the flaming prison, and my hands started to sweat.

The reason why Haril’s smile changed from composure to bravado wasn’t because of Mina’s bold judgment.

If you unleash the magic that forcibly increased firepower by beating mana in such an unstable way, it would disappear or explode in the middle without reaching it.

However, dealing with a large amount of mana in an instant is not an easy task.

In fact, it’s surprising that the E class deployed magic without any chanting or preparation.

Even if such a small child somehow reached the level where he could feel mana, the sensitivity was very weak at first. If the sense of mana is weak, the amount of mana that can be operated should be small.

‘In order to raise this sense to the current level, I tried endlessly by casting the same magic over and over until I almost fainted.’

Mina felt that much mana in that brief moment, and poured it all into the fireball.

I don’t know anything else, but one mana response is genius… . that it is

‘This crazy… . Aren’t you really a unique magic user?’

Contrary to Haril’s complex mind, Mina was only focusing on the smell of grass around her.

To her, mana was peppermint.

A deep and bright forest, the scent of stepping alone into a mysterious garden unknown to anyone.

As Mina tries to revive her senses from the first time she unleashed her native magic, Mina is completely engulfed in the dizzyingly intense scent of the forest.

Watching Mina prepare for a counterattack, Harril nervously pressed the button on the magic engineering contact device.

‘Felix, let the person who finds Mina contact you first. When they contact me, I reply immediately and join them.’

‘I will.’

“I should have contacted you sooner.”

Haril bit his lip as he looked at the receiver, which didn’t answer for some reason.

* * *

“This beggar’s oyster doesn’t turn on the lights even in the evening.”

“Wouldn’t it be a beggar’s oyster for nothing?”

Felix and the leading members who came to Agoge 6-dong, where Mina lives, searched for No. 2-17.

Maybe it’s because it’s vacation, but it’s quiet, dark, and dreary agoge dormitory.

In the corridor, spiders silently built their houses, as if watching them, and in the woods behind them, the night birds were singing as if warning them of something.

Even the window sill full of dead insects.

‘This is where the vomit comes out. I’m going to grab my cheeky mint hair and go out.’

“Felix. Found it. Room 2-17 is over there.”

“after… . There is nothing to unwind. Let’s go right in… . yes?”

A straight hallway immersed in dark gray shadows, as if the light had been bitten by the darkness.

In front of the door to room 2-17 on the corner of the hallway that makes me nervous just by looking at it, there was a woman who fell asleep hugging my lap.

As I got closer, I could smell the strong, strong alcohol. Besides, he’s not even a kid, rabbit-shaped slippers and gloves… .

‘Crazy X. How drunk are you?’

Felix frowned even more.

‘Look at your hair. Also… . Agoge is where these vagabonds live.’

“I will kick you out.”

“yes. Kick it.”

After reading Felix’s mood, one of the leading members quickly approached her.

“Wake up. is the leader If you’ve been drinking, stretch out in your room.”

“Hmm? who? Mina friend?”

“… This is real!”

At that time, Felix almost instinctively tried to stop him.

Poo-!

sigh- sigh-

With a chilling sound, red blood splattered from Felix’s helmet.

‘I’m late… .’

“ah… . wouldn’t it be dead? Will you guys take me to the health room?”

Felix managed to recall the name of the woman who regretted that the rabbit glove that had pierced the iron helmet was stained with blood.

The reason for the resignation of the former head of department.

A senior who boasted that he would annihilate all evil in Agoge, but lost the knight’s soul forever.

The name he repeated over and over again as if he was lost.

Felix asked the white devil in front of him.

“Are you Lethe?”

White and red, she grinned at the heavily armed knights as if they were children’s toys.

“Ah, it was you who were bothering Mina, right?”

In the middle of the hallway, where the blood was cooling on the floor, Lethe stood there, dyeing her bunny slippers red.

“If you’re here to harass Mina, I can’t just let you go… .”

“Were the two of you a team?”

In order to quickly evacuate the leader, who may be alive or dead, Felix had to defeat Lethe.

However, after facing that woman, strange thoughts kept running through Felix’s head.

A bizarre, incomprehensible premonition that if this place is completely filled with darkness, you won’t be able to get out of here alive.

As a leader, it is not right to show nervousness, so Felix pointed his sword at Lethe, who was carefree even in the face of so many knights, and said,

“As expected, Mina Spearmint was not an ordinary commoner. Was it a meticulous approach to join hands with the demon of Agoge and lead Princess Frill down the evil path… ?”

“Yes? princess? What are you talking about?”

“Shameless. Lethe, are you still acting after doing this? It looks like he’s been extremely conceited after defeating the former leader.”

Felix warned.

“The situation is different from the time when I recklessly attacked as the lead manager alone. Even the number of knights behind me was over twenty. All of these are veterans who have gone through hellish training, scions from aristocratic families.”

“Leading manager? Have I ever made such a person into an X-God? There were so many people who attacked me, I remember it well… .”

“What… !”

“Oh, but I get that.”

Lethe put her bloody bunny gloves back on, tilted her head towards Felix and whispered with a small smile.

“If you’re that confident, you should be able to attack right away, seeing how they talk for a long time, it’s true… . Were you scared too?”

“Come on, if you wish to die, I will kill you right away. All assault-!!”

The dark hallway of the early evening agoge where even the sword is now hidden in the shadows.

The knights of Princess Auril threw a gauntlet to the demons living in the darkness.

* * *

“I… . I said it would be different, Lethe… .”

“all. Is that so? Surely it’s a bit different from the gangsters’ gathering?”

After the brutal and intense battle that just took place, five knights fainted.

But Felix was sure. Actively using the anti-beast tactics learned in knight class, I’m destroying that demon right now!

Besides, there were still more than 10 knights left behind.

Lethe rejoiced, licking the blood from the cut on her cheek.

Truly a beast. Even if his clothes and flesh were torn by the blade, that smile did not disappear from his face.

It wasn’t for nothing that they had a camp against the Witchbeast. I remembered the face of the former lead manager who tried to deal with such a woman alone.

‘I didn’t come back because I was crazy. Still, we can finally catch this notorious woman… !’

Felix shouted, raising his gasping voice.

“It ends at once. Everyone, prepare for ‘Nosh’… !”

Nosh.

miracles of knights.

A symbol of knights who give their will to their swords and weapons and manifest their fighting spirit in pure white.

In a short moment, the driving force that allows knights to achieve feats that ordinary humans cannot achieve in the moment of oxidization to white.

At the current level, once activated, walking for two days was difficult, so it was truly a last resort.

Lethe was an enemy worth giving their all to.

“Clarify your will-! Drive out the darkness!!”

As their fighting spirit, burning white, lit up the dark hallway, Lethe covered her face with both hands as if dazzled.

“… he!”

At that time, Felix saw clearly the gap between her hands covering her face.

She was laughing at them.

As if trying hard, with eyes filled with expectations and sympathy.

“Then I don’t have to hide it either.”

As she said those words, cotton began to grow from her head.

Deed deed deed-

As Som grew up, he screamed. I felt pain as if my flesh had been ripped off.

It swelled and appeared like a newborn baby, squeezing Lethe’s head and swallowing it, taking its place.

The knights stared at the scene where reality was distorted.

Deed deed deed-

The vibration that pierced the armor and resonated inside the body made their hamstrings numb.

The pure white cotton, round cotton gradually grows and takes its place… . Felix felt that cool feeling he had just forgotten.

If darkness fills this place, we would not be able to survive, until a little while ago, I had doubts… . A feeling of foreboding that has now become a strong conviction.

Like water, she was sucking up all the light around her. Even the reddest sunlight and twilight have completely forgotten them.

The hallway, which had been illuminated by the will of the knights, was now a space that only they could see.

The window, the door, and the place to escape were all consumed by the darkness and disappeared.

“Ahhh… .”

‘Is this the devil of Agoge?’

Felix was devastated, the rabbit in front of him… . I looked at the girl in the giant rabbit mask.

“—–?”

Let it open its mouth.

Only the sound of the violin echoed in the agoge dormitory.

* * *

“hahahaha… . Can’t you reach me?”

Mina’s counterattack began through the cracks seen by the embarrassed Herril.

Giving up Felix’s support, Heryl focused on fighting again and noticed Mina’s magic just by the mana around him.

‘Intermediate discharge. I think it was chosen because it was difficult to block lightning with flames.’

“That was over 100 times by Rize… !”

So, I knew the answer to that.

Haril threw a small fireball faster than Mina. Although the killing power is low, this kind of anti-personnel magic can break the wizard’s concentration.

“… ?”

It must have been, but Mina kept her eyes closed. Gradually, the mana around Mina was strangely distorted like a sewer.

‘It’s the first time I’ve seen something like that… .’

“This crazy… !”

Haril quickly gave up control of the fireball and deployed his mana shield. The fireball passed through Mina’s hair.

Kwaaang-!!!

A white lightning strikes Haril.

Mina’s sleeves, which had cast magic close to the high-level discharge magic with the intermediate discharge magic formula, were burnt by lightning and turned black.

Seeing the terrible burns on both of Mina’s arms, Haril started to look at Mina with a real crazy X.

“You, you don’t even have the capacity, so you keep remodeling magic like that, and then you really die.”

“Because I’m not strong enough, I’m fighting even at the risk of my life… !”

Haril conceded.

If Mina burned herself like that and bumped into me, I could lose if I did something wrong.

One thing that draws and collects mana from the surroundings is showing a really monstrous performance, so if you keep fighting while thinking about that child’s life, you will be defeated in reverse.

If so, there are two paths.

Should I give up and go back, or show all of myself without thinking about Mina’s life?

A normal person would of course give up and aim for the next opportunity.

“Okay, let’s go all the way to this… ? I’m trying to look at it moderately. this… !”

Heril, who was proud of himself, turned into a flame.

‘I learned a lot more than you, and I tried that much harder. Why should I bow down to you?’

“Are you going as is?”

Haril cast two advanced fireballs at the same time.

Mina flinched and tried to prepare for it. Then, I realized that something was different from the previous fireball that I managed to block… . Mina froze.

A size that swells up to almost twice the normal size.

Condensation of heat set to such a high temperature that it would make it difficult to breathe just by approaching it, and melt even steel.

Like two suns rising, the fireballs that Haril had pushed to their limit settled down.

Haril was fully ripe for the masterpiece of his life.

“If you attack with the thought of killing… !”

And, he immediately fired the remodeled advanced fireballs at Mina.

“You should have been prepared to die for me too!!”

Mina hurriedly prepared an intermediate fireball, but Haril laughed.

‘Do you think that will offset it?’

“… !”

“One flame control, no one can beat me in this school… !”

Haril controlled her fireball, pushed to the limit.

I let one run straight up towards Mina at a high speed, and the other drew a big curve and turned to aim for Mina’s back.

Heat enough to burn down a mountain completely enveloped Mina. Not a person, but a girl with weak magic who should cover the monsters on the battlefield.

The thought that the other person might really die at this time disappeared from the already excited mind of Herrill.

Haril smiled as he imagined Mina’s end to be clear to anyone.

“die-!!! What do you do if you ignorantly crave mana? So, you usually study hard, who wants to study under such an eccentric professor!?”

“What did you say?”

“Hey you now-”

The thought that something was wrong was the first thing I heard as my eyes went blue.

Founded- !!

After that, there was a roar, a deafening explosion.

“uh… ?”

Life was born before my eyes. Beside Mina, a huge blue flame spread its wings.

When the fireball hit the dark blue butterfly, a flower bloomed from the flame.

From death comes life. The flowers moved to the flames, sucked up the heat, and burst their buds.

Life gradually spread out of control, and in the end bright red roses fluttered in the sky. A rain of red, fragrant flowers fell.

“this… . Unique magic?”

The blue-black butterflies gradually grew in size, and the blue flames touched the wall of flame that had imprisoned Mina and collapsed into marigolds.

As if spring had arrived too early, yellow and red flowers swayed in the winter wind and covered Haril and Mina.

The petals, which were too intense to see in the winter when everything was asleep, kissed the snowflakes that melted in Haril’s heat.

Nakhwa.

Flowers that bloom in midwinter.

Mina staggered towards Haril, bleeding like green jewels while being greeted by flowers falling endlessly like snow.

“Seniors… .”

“Oh, don’t come… .”

“Professor, swearing a little… . That’s what I hear.”

Mina smiled and placed a rose on Haril’s head, who was sitting in the middle of a field of red and yellow flowers.

“Did I win?”

“Yes… .”

A blood-red rose fell on Haril’s head.