hotmtlnovel Chapter 205
Chapter 205
[■■■■■!!]
The sound of demonic beasts crying could be heard from a short distance away.
It felt as though the creature might burst into the alley where I was waiting at any moment, but there was no need to rush.
If I waited calmly, the right moment would surely arrive.
And as if that moment was now, Mei sprinted past where I was hiding and shouted.
“Scarlet! Now!”
At that moment, I leaned out of the alley, took aim, and fired.
Flames erupted from my prosthetic arm, which was prepared to unleash fire at any moment, and the beast that Mei had lured was struck directly by the flames, bursting into flames with a pitiful scream right before my eyes.
This must have been the last one.
I mumbled internally, and the urban illusion that surrounded us dissipated, revealing the gymnasium.
Eve, who had been observing us after our training, nodded her head and said.
“Yes, passed! Remember that it’s always wise to choose a safer method, even if you could take down an opponent head-on!”
“Got it,” Mei and I answered Eve, who then looked at the children with a proud expression, muttering under her breath.
“Wow, everyone has become quite skilled at dealing with demonic beasts! Compared to when you first entered the Academy, this is remarkable growth!”
“... Well, if you keep rolling around, you can’t help but get good at it.”
Many kids smiled wryly as if they empathized with someone’s seemingly enlightened murmuring.
After all, in the last few weeks since Yoon Si-woo’s appointment ceremony, Eve had been pushing the kids so hard in training at the Academy that it felt like everything prior was just a game.
But everyone followed the training without complaint, likely due to the experience of the previous incident.
They had learned that unimaginable things could happen, like demonic beasts invading the city they believed was safe.
The kids must have felt a sense of crisis that they could not continue as they were if they wanted to protect themselves and those around them in such situations.
Fortunately, first-year students had been assigned to areas that were only relatively unsafe during the demonic beast invasion, so no fatalities had occurred.
However, there were several students in the second and third grades, who were in more dangerous areas, that had died fighting against the beasts.
So it was inevitable that they wouldn’t complain about the intensified training.@@@@
Even if Eve didn’t show it, we all knew how much responsibility weighed on her from that incident.
Of course, that didn’t diminish the difficulty, so when the kids showed signs of fatigue, Eve smiled and said.
“Hehe, is that so? Well, anyway, everyone did a great job in today’s training! There’s a special lecture scheduled for the afternoon, so you won’t have to do any physical training! So don’t worry and enjoy your lunch!”
At her words, several kids brightened up.
Recently, training had been so grueling that some might accidentally throw up what they’d eaten at lunch.
With the promise that there wouldn’t be any enforced dieting today, everyone left the gym with smiles on their faces, heading to the cafeteria.
After grabbing some food and sitting down to eat with the kids, Jessie, who was seated across from me, opened her mouth.
“Oh! By the way, did everyone see that broadcast with Yoon Si-woo yesterday?”
A broadcast featuring Yoon Si-woo, I hadn’t seen it, but apparently, he had been on TV again.
As I thought that, it seemed quite a few children had watched the broadcast Jessie mentioned as they began to chat about it.
“I saw that! He was so cool, that guy!”
“He wiped out the demonic beasts in one go; I can’t believe he was in the same class as us!”
Honestly, I wouldn’t have noticed before, but these days, it was only natural for the kids to talk about Yoon Si-woo like this.
It was a little ridiculous, but the interview aired had become a turning point that sent his popularity skyrocketing.
It seemed Yoon Si-woo’s words had greatly encouraged those who were struggling.
“What the... Is this an earthquake?”
Joseph tried to stay calm despite feeling a bit tense.
Since the place where he worked was important, it had the best seismic equipment in the city.
Just as he was about to order the staff to hold their ground according to the manual, he discovered a crack appearing in the floor with a loud crack.
“What the hell... If the seismic equipment is perfect... then...?”
Muttering about possibly inferior construction, Joseph cursed, but then he quickly donned the protective suit nearby.
Being an expert in this field, he could instantly recognize what was leaking from the crack in the floor.
It was magical energy.
“Oh no... I have to quickly contain this...!”
Had the magic he had been processing leaked out?
Regardless, it was a major incident, but the amount of magic that had yet to be processed today wasn’t that large.
So Joseph thought he could manage the situation with the equipment inside the facility.
“Ah...?”
He saw the magical energy that was leaking from the crack go from slithering out to suddenly gushing out in a violent spray.
In an instant, the space where he stood became filled with magical energy, making it nearly impossible to see ahead.
Looking at that scene, Joseph thought to himself.
This makes no sense.
Even if he combined all the magic in the facility, or even all that had been brought in today, it would not be enough for this level.
Where the heck was all this magic coming from......?
As he pondered this, Joseph suddenly remembered the words of a boy who had come to tour the facility previously.
“If so, the calculations do not add up.”
“I calculated roughly based on that magic circle, and it seems that around 10% of the magic remains...”
Joseph thought.
Could it be that this is the very 10%?
When did this 10% start accumulating?
He recalled the studies he had engaged in to become the facility’s manager.
The history of this facility, which had continued for nearly 300 years.
The unfathomable amount of magic that the facility had processed during that time.
Even if it was merely 10%, with that amount...
Unfortunately, Joseph’s thoughts couldn’t linger long.
There’s a law everyone knows in this world.
In places where magical energy is dense, demonic beasts are born.
Joseph saw it.
He witnessed the emergence of a beast as colossal as the giant facility he had worked in.
Joseph saw it.
When the beast lifted its head, he saw the city where his children were, just beyond the rubble of the collapsed buildings.
Joseph saw it.
The place where the head of that beast was pointing.
“...Kids...”