Nickel and Timur slowly revealed themselves from the empty space, and anyone could tell that they were not ordinary undead.
Especially Nickel, who had evolved once and awakened the power of lethargy, exuded a languid majesty that made it difficult to approach carelessly.
"Undead?"
"Dark magician!"
Glau and Mantos exclaimed one after another.
It seemed that they had only just realized my identity, indicating that they had come without knowing anything.
I didn't know why they had come, but since it didn't seem like they had good intentions, I immediately gave Timur an order.
"Keep one of them alive. We need to know at least what their purpose was and who hired them."
Upon my command, Timur let out a low growl and stepped forward, wagging his smooth tail.
"Just a couple of undead? Pathetic!"
"If we kill the sorcerer, that's enough!"
Mantos stepped forward to face Timur, and it seemed that Glau decided to aim for me since they thought my undead alone was sufficient.
Mantos took out a pair of axes from his back.
At the same time, Timur clenched his fists tightly and roared as he rushed forward.
Crash!
As I watched the scene unfold, an axe flew from somewhere.
I tilted my head slightly and avoided it, and it ended up embedding itself in a nearby tree.
"Oh? Your reflexes are good."
"I'm curious. How good are your reflexes?"
I pulled the lodged axe out of the tree and circulated mana.
The power of mana activated my body, and for a brief moment, an incomparable strength that an ordinary human could not reach resided in my arms.
Swish.
Slash!
"Ah!"
Glau, who had been watching me with a mocking expression, hurriedly evaded as I made my move.
However, the axe that flew unexpectedly severed the tip of Glau's ear and lodged itself in the tree behind him.
"Who, who are you?"
Thud!
Crack!
As Glau bewilderedly watched the scene, Mantos soared through the air.
Although my mana was limited and the power would not last long, Timur, who demonstrated monstrous strength as long as he had mana, was toying with Mantos.
"What on earth..."
I left Glau, who was staring in astonishment and walked forward, extending my hand to Nickel.
In response, Nickel instinctively handed me his sword.
"You're going to be my sparring partner."
Glau, who saw me approaching with a sword, couldn't comprehend everything that had happened and looked around in confusion.
"Is this a dream?"
"It's not a dream. It's a goblin."
I held the sword in front of me and spoke.
"Don't disappoint me and show me your skill."
Dienne did her best to save the students, but she couldn't rescue the first student who was attacked.
Despite her efforts to cleanse the blood-soaked hands and body, it was of no use.
However, she managed to save one student, so she sat by his side, waiting for rescue to arrive.
"Dienne Alben."
"Don't talk. Help is coming soon, so hold on."
"Is Taylor... dead?"
"...He's alive. Don't worry."
Dienne was worried not only about the student who was taken away but also about Adrias Cromwell.
It didn't seem like these attackers had good intentions.
'Who are they targeting Adrias, and why?'
I wish they had targeted me instead.
Just then, she heard a commotion nearby.
"They've arrived. Hold on a little longer."
However, instead of the expected help, figures in black robes with a somber atmosphere appeared.
"Dienne Alben, we found you."
"Hurry and report to Kidwell."
Upon hearing their conversation, Dienne cautiously stood up.
"Who are you?"
"You don't need to know. Dienne Alben."
"Are you in league with those guys from earlier?"
"Those guys?"
One of the robed figures, who had questioned Dienne's words for a moment, spoke as if he understood.
"It seems that the mixed breeds arrived first. I wonder how they're still alive."
"What's your purpose? Reveal your identity."
"Identity? Ask your father in the other world."
So they're after me?
Dienne's mind raced.
She erected a thorny ice barrier to protect the remaining students and took control of the surroundings.
Soon, a storm of immense magical power surged around Dienne.
"It's true that you're strong. But you're still young."
The man thought that her mana consumption was wasteful.
It would have been better if she had used minor offensive spells.
The robed individuals rushed towards her.
Some remained in place and deployed magic, but it was nothing more than insignificant attack magic.
'Of all times...'
Dienne couldn't leave her post to protect the remaining students.
Soon, the enemy's magic hammered at the barrier, trying to break through.
The power was weakened, but it was enough to shake the inexperienced Dienne's resolve.
'This won't do.'
She heated up her heart.
And enduring the excruciating pain, she bore the burden on her head.
Then, sharp ice fragments bloomed from all directions like flowers.
"Double casting?"
One of the robed men, who had been giving orders from behind, couldn't hide his astonishment at the sight.
To use such large-scale magic while double casting?
Could it be true that this woman had just turned 20?
The ice fragments suspended in the air poured down towards the approaching enemies.
Their speed and power were enough to pierce through the opponents and bury them in the ground.
Thud! Thud!
Although the attacks would have been blocked under normal circumstances, it was too much to handle within the violent snowstorm.
More than half of the robes, who numbered over ten, lost their lives or were seriously injured in a single blow.
However, whether it was due to exhaustion or not, Dienne couldn't continue her follow-up attacks as she gasped for breath.
"Haah, haah..."
Five of the remaining robed individuals approached her as she kneeled.
One of them, holding a sword, crossed the barrier first.
"You really seized the opportunity well. If you had grown a little more or had more experience, it would have been us who were defeated."
"Even if I don't know who hired you, you guys won't come out of this unscathed."
"Haha. Are you worried about us? Right now, miss, you should be worried about yourself..."
Swish—thud.
Whoosh!
Someone flew from above the speaking-robed individual, stepping on his shoulder, and landed with a hole in the head of the one they had stepped on, falling to the ground.
The robed individual, bleeding from the head, collapsed to the ground in agony.
"Who are you...?"
The sudden savior who appeared and saved Dienne was a masked swordsman.
After briefly glancing at Dienne, he faced the approaching enemies.
"W-who are you?"
"Kill them for now!"
The robed individuals tried to combine their attacks, but the approaching figures, braving the snowstorm, couldn't defeat the masked swordsman.
The masked swordsman moved as if predicting the enemy's movements, swiftly striking vital points or slashing them.
Slash.
"Kyaah!"
In an instant, the masked swordsman killed the five enemies, then stared at the robed wizards who were far away.
At that moment, the robed wizards who had been observing him panicked and were at a loss for what to do.
"W-who is he? Weren't the Knight Academy's teaching assistants supposed to be incapacitated?"
"Kidwell! When is Kidwell coming?"
Then someone approached the robed individuals from behind, holding a bag dripping with blood.
"Kidwell? Are you talking about this guy?"
Ivy Claire approached with a smile.
Originally, I didn't intend to intervene, but when I saw Dienne in danger, I couldn't help but step in.
She is one of the seeds that can prevent the destruction of the world.
I couldn't let her die in a place like this.
"It seems I wasn't the only target. Was she the target from the beginning?"
The only question was that this event was unheard of in the game.
An event of this scale should have been mentioned at the start of the game.
"Did I change the future?"
If that's the case, I have to take care of it.
I watched from the nearby forest, handed the mask and sword I obtained from Bloody Dan to Nickel and summoned him.
After putting on the mask and letting the mana flow, my appearance changed.
Although I couldn't change it drastically, I changed it enough to make it difficult to guess my true identity. I then emerged from the forest and broke through the snowstorm.
Activating mana, I easily leaped over the ice barrier created by Dienne with my exceptional athletic abilities and landed above the head of one of the enemies who intended to harm her.
As I descended, I created a hole in the enemy's head with a light stomp and observed Dienne's condition.
"Did she use double casting?"
At some point, she would become a monster capable of not only double-casting but also triple and quadruple casting.
But in my memories, she didn't achieve double casting until at least next year.
Regardless of whether this growth is a good thing or a misfortune, I focused on the approaching enemies.
Sweesh.
Although my athletic talent was indeed an athletic talent, based on what I felt, I would say that my talent for combat was at an extraordinary level.
If athleticism is A-grade, then combat should be S-grade.
Whoosh!
The opponent's sword grazed the tip of my mask.
Calculating the opponent's angle, speed, and breath, I anticipated their attacks and blocked them in succession, then cut the enemy's wrist.
Slash.
"Screaaaam!"
Severing his throat, he let out a scream, and I wiped the blood off the sword.
After killing all five of them, I glanced at the robed wizards who were casting attack magic from a distance.
I realized that I had to deal with them as well.
"Ivy Claire."
As soon as I thought that, Ivy appeared behind them.
I turned around, facing Ivy.
I had done enough, so now I had to hide my identity before it was exposed.
There was no need to worry about the remaining guys; Ivy would take care of them.
"Just a moment!"
Dienne called out to me urgently as I tried to return to the forest.
I hope I didn't hide my identity for nothing.
If my true identity is exposed, not only the origin of the mask and sword, but it would also become a hassle in various ways.
Therefore, I ignored her shout and passed by.
"Name! Just give me your name! Our family will reward you!"
"No need. Take care of yourself."
Luckily, my voice was also distorted.
I quietly disappeared into the forest.
Ivy killed all the remaining robed individuals and kept two of them alive as evidence.
"If it were in the past, I would have killed them all, but..."
Adrias Cromwell.
The audacious magician fearlessly confronted her, spewing hatred towards dark magicians.
Thanks to him, she realized that witnesses were needed.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. Thank you."
Ivy approached Dienne, whose bleeding from the nose had stopped.
However, Dienne gestured towards the fallen student.
"This student is in a more urgent condition than me. I managed to stop the bleeding, but there was so much blood..."
"I see. I'll check on him."
While Ivy examined the condition of the fallen student, she couldn't help but think about the masked swordsman who had disappeared when she appeared.
"The masked... swordsman."
The events that seemed to belong in a fairy tale but actually happened.
Once again, she glanced back at the forest where he had disappeared, letting out an excited sigh.