Anti-demon factions were a group of people who had strong hatred against demon kinds. This group had been existing since the Holy War. Although the war was over with the victory of humans, the threat of demons still existed. After losing their land, many demons scattered all over the world, and they had strong hatred against humans. Demons would harm humans when they had a chance, and humans would do the same thing, so Jake didn't blame these anti-demon people.
Jake didn't blame them as they paralyzed him with magic and took him and Misael somewhere. He didn't hate them either for assaulting him.
As someone who was born from a human and a demon, receiving hatred from both races was normal for him. He didn't blame or hate them. At some points, he stopped looking at the races or nationalities and only judged someone from their actions.
It was true Jake didn't hate these assaulters, but he would make them pay for their actions. It was just a fair action according to the law of action and reaction.
At the moment, Jake waited patiently while one of the seniors was shooting [Magic Bullet] at him over and over. The male senior controlled their mana output and only unleashed a little bit to their spell. Still, the spell was supposed to hurt someone under level ten, yet Jake only felt like a toddler threw a pebble at him. The attack didn't hurt thanks to his [Greater Mana Bullet Resistance].
"I think that's enough, Lord Baron. This person seems to have resistance against arcane magic," the second senior said.
Jake only chuckled calmly as the senior found his secret. "Yeah, senior. Maybe stop using magic. It is forbidden to use magic to harm someone in the academy. You can be expelled, you know?" Jake provoked.
"You arrogant punk! You seem to have no idea what sort of situation you are in. We don't care about being expelled. If you don't watch your mouth, we are going to kill you."
Jake mocked them inwardly. If they wanted to kill him, they would have done it instead of taking him here. They wanted to use him as a hostage.
"Sure. So, why are you taking us hostages? My friend here isn't even a demon, and I am also a human."
The reply he got was a slap to his face and a loud voice. "You are a descendant of a demon, and your friend has demon-like ability. Demons are evil creatures, so we don't need another reason to punish you!"
Jake thought it was a stupid reason, but he was sure they were lying. They were taking him and Misael as hostages because they wanted something from the empire. It made him think if these seniors had a group behind them that told him to do this thing. Well, it wasn't his business.
If they wanted to gain something by using him, Jake could do the same thing. In fact, he already gained profit from their abuse because the system window appeared in front of him and gave him joyous information.
[Congratulations! You have learned Greater Slap Resistance!]
[Congratulations! Your Pain Resistance has reached grade D!]
Jake couldn't help but laugh when he saw the messages, which irritated the seniors. One of them slapped Jake again, but it felt ticklish to his face. Of course, if they used their real powers, he would die, so he had to keep in mind to not provoke them too much.
'I need them to assault me more, but I can't have them do it with too much force or I will die.'
"Okay but what is your real purpose? If you really want to punish us you won't take us as hostages."
"Why should we tell you?" The senior who was in charge of punishment shouted.
"The reason doesn't matter, does it? At least, I will feel despair if my existence actually hurts people."
The senior suddenly punched Jake in the gut and whispered, "I don't like you. You act like you are in control when you are not. However, since I am a cultured human, we will tell you our grand purpose...."
The senior smiled proudly as he continued his speech, "The Empress is protecting a dangerous demon, so we—the Pro Democrats—want her to execute the demon in public!"
"Huh?" Jake put on a confused expression. First, he was confused because he didn't gain [Greater Pain Resistance] after enduring a powerful punch from a high level person. That meant he was lucky to awaken [Greater Slap Resistance] in one try. Secondly, he didn't know what they talked about.
A dangerous demon? An empress was protecting a dangerous demon? Who? His mother? If so, his mother was stronger than Aunt Mercedes. Or was he talking about him? But he was a human, and if he was the target, they wouldn't use him as a hostage.
"What demon? Who is this demon?" Jake asked.
The senior grinned. "It seems the Empress is hiding this from you, even though you are her nephew. Fine, I will tell you. The identity of the demon is—"
Before he could finish his words, the door of the dark room was slammed open. A pink-haired girl stood in front of the room and assessed the situation with her bright blue eyes. She touched her ear and said, "Hello! I have confirmed the hostages. One is unconscious and the other is injured. The perpetrators are seniors of class 3."
"Report confirmed. Take the perpetrators down without killing them," said a voice from the magic circle floating over her ear.
The girl pouted. "Do you think I am a killer?"
While the girl was having a conversation, one of the seniors pointed a finger at her and put on a panicked expression. "Y-you... the Dog of the Student Council!"
"Who did you call a dog?" the girl berated, but she suddenly fixed her composure and looked at him with a cold smile. "That's such a rude remark to a lady. A rude person should be punished."
"Don't move! Or we will kill them!" the third senior shouted while signaling his friends to hold the hostages.
The pink-haired girl didn't listen to the threat. She put on a calm expression as she entered the room.
When she approached, the seniors were sweating furiously. Curious, Jake asked the senior who was placing his hand on his neck, "Who is she?"
"S-she is... The Dog of the Student Council, Ayla Harvey. The Lord of Stagnation."
"Student Council member? Isn't she just a second year student? Why are you scared of her?" Jake asked in confusion.
These three seniors were third year students, and yet they were afraid of a second year student. In this academy, to be promoted to the upper class, one needed to reach a certain level. To reach the second year, the minimum level was 16. Finally, the minimum level to reach the third year was level 31. So, it didn't make sense for these third year seniors to be afraid of a second year student.
Jake took a good look at her. Her pink hair fell to her waist. She had an innocent face that people wouldn't think she could harm anyone. In fact, she emitted an aura that made someone want to protect her. Her charm didn't stop at that. From her neck down to her feet, her curve was perfect. She had the mix of cute face and killer body, making her one of the most charming women he had seen. Yet, these seniors feared her.
"Y-you don't understand anything. She is the greatest genius in the entire history of Beryl Academy. S-she has reached level 31."
Jake felt a chill in his spine when he heard that. He knew geniuses could reach level 30 in their second year, but this was still the early semester.
"Seniors, please don't feed nonsense to my juniors. It seems you really need to be educated," Ayla Harvey said as she unsheathed the sword on her waist.
"Don't make a mov—"
Before the third senior could move, Ayla suddenly vanished. At the same time, the second senior—who was in charge of Misael—crashed against the wall, and Ayla Harvey was standing beside the first senior who was in charge of Jake.
Everyone was alarmed when they saw Ayla. No one could see her movement. It was as if she suddenly teleported there.
The first senior let Jake go and charged at Ayla, but the girl hit his face with the pommel of her sword. After that, she spun her body and launched a roundhouse kick at his head, taking him down.
Jake couldn't help but feel impressed by her. Not only did she reach a high level as a second year student, she was proficient in martial arts too. When attacking, she only aimed at her opponent's vital spots to take them down quickly.
Jake was curious about her power, so he activated his [Akashic Eyes] and took a peek at her status window. As he read her information, he widened her eyes. "Ah, no wonder she is so strong. With her talent, she has the potential to become one of the strongest people in the world."
While Jake was impressed by her, the last senior was having a panic attack. He waved his wand and summoned several magic circles in the air.
"Die! Harvey!" the senior shouted. At the same time, the magic circles in the air shot several spells at her from [Magic Bullet], [Magic Chain], [Magic Blast], etc.
Jake was amazed by the senior. "Multicast. He is a talented wizard... But it isn't enough to defeat her."
Ayla put on a serious expression. She pulled Misael and grabbed Jake's hand. After that, her body spread out invisible waves, and the surroundings lost all colors and became gray. In this gray world, everything froze aside from her and Jake.
She looked at Jake and winked, "Please don't reveal my ability to anyone, okay?"
This was one of her abilities, one of the most powerful abilities in the entire universe, [Time Manipulation]!