Peace Hunter

In front of the academy's lobby building.

I am currently locked in combat with King Albert, who has transformed into a demon. He relentlessly attacks me with a sword wreathed in black flames. Although he presses the attack at close range, I easily parry his blows. At one point, I notice his attacks suddenly becoming faster and more powerful. I realize that this demon-transformed King Albert is far stronger than the demons who attacked the courthouse—the likes of Duke James and Duke Darwin. Even so, I manage to hold my ground by matching his speed and strength.

While fending off King Albert, I occasionally glance at Miss Violetta and Miss Karina. Miss Violetta appears to be still fighting Duchess Harriet, who wields a rapier enveloped in Dark Magic. Meanwhile, Miss Karina is still engaged with Duchess Claret. Duchess Claret fights using a small gun held in her left hand, while her right hand, unarmed is wreathed in Dark Magic and used to strike at Miss Karina. However, Miss Karina is able to block those strikes.

The three of us are now free to focus on the powerful demons facing us, having already defeated the demons that initially swarmed in from the academy gates.

~San Lucia Art: Freezing Air Slash~

I launch an attack at King Albert, but he blocks it with his sword. However, the sword begins to freeze slowly due to the effect of my strike. As the sword frosts over, King Albert intensifies the dark and fire magic enveloping it; the black flames coating the sword flare up more fiercely than before. The black hue of the flames deepened, and the ice that had begun to freeze the sword slowly started to melt.

King Albert then ramped up his power, attempting to knock me back. I countered by intensifying my own strength, holding my ground and aiming to send him flying instead. Our swords clashed as we pitted our might against one another. Moments later, I won the exchange, successfully forcing King Albert back several meters.

"It seems ordinary techniques and magic won't be enough to defeat him. I’ll have to use something more powerful," I said.

I prepared to unleash a technique against King Albert, but before I could strike, a tornado suddenly materialized right beside me. Tornadoes appeared near Miss Karina and Miss Violetta as well, catching them completely off guard.

"Violetta, dodge!" Miss Karina cried out.

They tried to evade the twisters, but the winds rapidly expanded in size, quickly ensnaring them. I, too, found myself trapped within the tornado that had appeared near me; it had also grown massive in an instant, locking me inside. The swirling winds began to slice at my body with razor-sharp gusts. Naturally, I refused to stand idly by and let myself be shredded. Mere seconds after being trapped, I unleashed a technique designed to cut through and shatter the vortex.

~Secret Sword Art: Wind Slayer Slash~

I sliced the tornado vertically in two. Once severed, the swirling winds slowly dissipated. After escaping the tornado that had trapped me, I immediately headed toward the one trapping Miss Karina and Miss Violetta to rescue them. Upon closing the distance, I prepared to strike and shatter the vortex. However, before I could launch my attack, King Albert, Duchess Harriet, and Duchess Claret, who had been outside the tornado suddenly lunged at me and attacked. I managed to evade their strikes, but they kept pressing the attack to prevent me from saving Miss Karina and Miss Violetta.

"It seems pointless to just keep dodging their attacks; they’ll keep coming at me to prevent me from striking that tornado and saving Miss Karina and Miss Violetta. I need to attack them first. Hang in there, Miss Violetta, Miss Karina, this won't take long," I thought.

I then darted rapidly toward King Albert, Duchess Harriet, and Duchess Claret, who were continuing their assault. I wove through their attacks, ensuring none of them landed a hit on me. Once I was close to the trio, I infused my right leg with powerful wind magic, enveloping it in a dense green aura.

~Great Wind Slash~

I unleashed a massive wind slash with my right leg, aiming it directly at the three of them. They had no time to react as the slash hurtled toward them at high speed. The attack struck them squarely, sending them flying and sweeping them away in the wake of the wind. They were blown a considerable distance back toward the academy gates. Having knocked them aside, I immediately attacked and shattered the tornadoes trapping Miss Karina and Miss Violetta with my sword.

~Secret Sword Art: Wind Slayer Slash~

I executed the move twice, as there were two tornadoes to cut down. I successfully sliced through both, and they began to dissipate. Miss Karina and Miss Violetta immediately darted out from the fading tornadoes and were soon standing right beside me.

"Thank you for saving us again, Rid," said Miss Violetta.

"Thank you, Rid," added Miss Karina.

"You're welcome, Miss," I replied.

I noticed that Miss Karina and Miss Violetta had sustained several injuries. I decided to immediately heal both of their wounds using healing magic, while also treating the injuries I had sustained from wind blades while trapped in the tornado earlier.

~Full Healing~

The wounds on our bodies slowly began to fade. Before long, they had vanished completely.

"Thank you again for healing us, Rid," said Miss Karina.

"Thank you, Rid," said Miss Violetta.

"You're welcome, Miss. That aside, I'm curious about who created the tornado that trapped us just now. You two were also caught in a massive tornado earlier, but I still don't know who conjured it; from what I saw, King Albert, Duchess Harriet, and Duchess Claret didn't use wind-based magic when fighting the three of us," I said.

"It wasn't those three who created that tornado, but rather *him*," Miss Karina said, glancing toward the academy gates.

I looked in the same direction as Miss Karina. I saw three people walking slowly toward us. I was slightly startled to see them, as they were people I knew.

"Senior Florian, Commander Marshall, formerly the commander of Duke San Minerva's knights and Princess Amelia?!" I exclaimed in surprise.

"No wonder I sensed a familiar aura earlier; it turned out to be coming from Senior Florian, Commander Marshall, and Princess Amelia," I thought.

"Yes. Florian was the one who created the tornado that trapped us," Miss Karina said.

"I see, so Senior Florian was the one who conjured it. That aside, I never expected Senior Florian and Commander Marshall to have turned into demons. The last news about them was when they were abducted from San Sabaneta Prison; after that, there was no news on them at all,"

"But what surprised me even more was finding out that Princess Amelia had also become a demon. There hadn't been a single report about her all this time, yet suddenly she appears, transformed into a demon," I said.

"Yes, I was shocked when I saw her, too. Then I wondered if perhaps Amelia had turned into a demon because her father was the one who transformed her. I thought this because there had been absolutely no news about Amelia all this time; Lord Remy hadn't shared a news about her. Usually, a lack of news implies safety. If something had happened to her, like a kidnapping—news would surely have spread, given that she is a Duke's daughter. Yet, she suddenly appeared as a demon, and Duke Remy hasn't said a thing about it. Don't you find that strange, Rid?" Miss Karina asked.

"So, you think..." I began.

"Yes, I believe Lord Remy is the one who turned Amelia into a demon. Not just her, but all the demons attacking the academy. It seems Lord Remy is the mastermind behind the plot to assassinate Her Majesty the Queen and the entire San Lucia family," Miss Karina said.

I was startled by Miss Karina's words. I turned to look back at the academy's lobby building.

"Your explanation makes a lot of sense, Miss. If Lord Remy is indeed the mastermind behind the assassination plot, then Her Majesty the Queen, Lord Louis, and Miss Arlet are in grave danger, as they are currently in the same location as him. I have to help them," I said.

With that, I immediately rushed toward the academy's lobby building.

"Wait, Rid!" Miss Karina called out, trying to stop me.

But I didn't stop; I kept running toward the lobby. However, I had only taken a few steps when a massive slash of black fire suddenly descended from above. It wasn't just fire; slashes and projectiles made of Dark Magic were also raining down on me from overhead. I sensed the incoming attacks and swiftly dodged them by leaping backward, moving back toward Miss Karina and Miss Violetta. Since I had successfully evaded them, the attacks struck the ground instead.

*BOOM* *BOOM*

Explosions rang out as the attacks impacted the earth. Following the impact, three figures descended from above and landed on the ground right in front of me: King Albert, Duchess Harriet, and Duchess Claret. I had previously knocked them back with my own attack, but seeing them return now, it seemed my earlier strike had been ineffective.

"They're back," I said.

At this moment, the three of us—I, Miss Karina, and Miss Violetta—were surrounded by the six of them. King Albert, Duchess Harriet, and Duchess Claret hemmed us in from the direction of the academy lobby, while Senior Florian, Commander Marshall, and Princess Amelia closed in from the direction of the academy gate.

"I know you're worried about the safety of Her Majesty the Queen, Lord Louis, and Miss Arlet. But they won't let you leave this place. So, it would be best if the three of us defeated them first; then, we can head to the central building to assist Her Majesty and the other Dukes and Duchesses," said Miss Karina, preparing to attack with her sword.

"Understood, Miss Karina. In that case, I'll finish this quickly," I replied, also readying my sword for the attack.

-

Meanwhile, at the academy's tournament arena.

Duke Remy stood in the center of the arena. He appeared to be doing something, as both his hands were touching the arena floor.

"~Oh, plants, foliage, and trees. Fill this place with towering trees possessing trunks as hard as steel. Transform this area into a forest that misleads and ensnares those within it.~"

~Plant Magic: Great Sacred Forest – Labyrinthus Silva Mortis~

Moments later, a massive tremor shook the entire academy. The violent shaking startled everyone inside; even those near the academy's outer perimeter walls felt the vibrations.

"What is this tremor?!"

"An earthquake?!"

"Everyone, get to safety!" cried those who felt the shaking.

Shortly after the tremor, numerous towering trees erupted from the ground. They continued to shoot up from the earth across the academy grounds and the surrounding area, until the entire academy was filled with these soaring trees.

-To be continued

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