Chapter 26: A Trip to Disaster XIV
Aetheris-Veston Border—Awakened Camp.
The entire charade was slowly coming to an end, its climax reaching a conclusion that only moments ago had seemed impossible.
The threats that would have caused a dungeon break—being the monsters—had been completely eliminated.
For higher-level monsters like those, were they to have escaped the gate, it would have spelt nothing but more disaster.
Having cleared the other half of the battlefield, they had gone over to Damain's other half, only to find him, nonchalantly, sitting atop a horde that had piled up while casually commenting:
"What's this? You lot were rather slow," as if it were the most natural thing to ever happen.
Even an instructor like Celeste couldn't help but widen her eyes; she also could have tried conquering this dungeon were it not for her deficiency.
'What a hell of a student had Yosen applied.'
It wasn't only the Creed; the rest of the A-class, in their own way, had helped. Obviously, she had thought they'd have been overwhelmed, but surprisingly, they did better than she expected.
No. To say only they had done this well would be nothing short of one-sidedness on her part.
B and C class too had also done their very best, heck, even surpassing expectations.
Most of the terrorists who had blended in were apprehended by the Class Rep, especially with Arianna there, who, with her [performance], had read every situation and taken precautions in case one plan or the other failed.
While D to F class barely had any participation, Celeste didn't blame them; if anything, she was happy that they were safe.
Surely, with this experience today, they would grow stronger.
"Haah, but still, what a trip to disaster this has been."
"If anything, it all feels like a badly written plot put together."
In front of the administrative building at the administrative sector, Celeste had yawned, her cigarette in her mouth as she looked over the distance to the residential area, which was now in ruins.
Beside her was Shane and some of the other instructors.
Luckily, since the barrier had been shattered, they were able to reach over to the HQ at Central Helia, and currently, reinforcements were being assembled.
However, regardless, the attack had already been carried out.
The affiliates, though they could fix the damages easily if they wished to, however, will no doubt make them contemplate their next move now.
Possible betrayers working for the Anti-Order even amongst their employees.
Naturally, Yosen had also heard of this, and they, alongside the affiliates, had begun a board meeting, even currently as they were lounging here.
"Disaster, huh? But well, because of this stunt they pulled here, no doubt the affiliate would be on their ass."
It was Damian that said that, who still looked dissatisfied with how things turned out. And for those who knew, Damian was certainly whining deep down.
"They stole something called a React...?" He paused, tilting his head to the sides. "Or… was it a Script?"
"Definitely not THAT!"
A few heads turned toward him with exasperated looks.
Well, not that he cared, and besides, it wasn't his fault anyways; by the time he'd have gotten to the lab, what had been done had been done.
The last he had heard from the researcher sprawled on the ground was the word "react—" and Enma before the man had died.
"Yeah, it's probably the mana reactor they were working on."
Celeste, on the other hand, looked far too exhausted to care about state secrets had spoke casually, barely glancing up as she dangled her cigarette between her lips.
However, her fellow instructors hearing her say that had given her weird stares.
"Are you sure you're supposed to say that… in front of students…?"
"What? Even after everything, you still consider the Creeds as mere students? I pity your sanity."
She had said that with a dry scoff.
Next, after flicker some ash off her cigarette, she had landed a pitying gaze landing on the instructor who spoke.
After everything that had happened, Celeste had seen enough to know how to treat the Creeds.
Perhaps the only ones who could match their monstrosity were perhaps people like Eira, the student president, the one who they call Ice Queen in the literal sense.
And of course, the Guardian God of Yosen, or so they called, and those other three…
"Instructor… you're being rude to us…"
"Is that so? Learn to deal with it."
In response to Enma's comment, she had brushed it off.
Surely, whatever would happen from now, concerning the Creed, she would consider it as a force of nature, something she can't stop, something that's expected.
Like air.
She would treat them as such, in literal terms.
And just as they spoke—
"Yo, Shane, I have something you'd love. I made sure to preserve it just for you."
Kaiden, who had been absent from the group, suddenly appeared, casually strolling toward them.
Hearing his name, Shane turned back to look at Kaiden with a raised eyebrow.
"Apparently, the barriers that had been cast were procured from the Other Side, and yes, it's legit."
As Kaiden said that, for a second, Shane had frozen.
Then, in the next second, Shane's eyes had slowly widened. If you looked closer, you'd definitely see the unmistakable sparkle in them.
However—
"Hold on right there, young man. You still have a lot to do—a casualty report, a student status report, amongst many others. Don't think you can just walk away like that—"
Celeste had grabbed the corner of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks just as he was about to lunge at Kaiden.
Of course. What did he expect?
With a tear that threatened to drop, he turned to face Celeste, only to find the woman smiling like the devil as their gazes met.
"Misfortune."
On the other hand—
"Damian! Are you okay?"
Ayaka, along with some other class representatives and Lucas, walked over to where Damian was resting.
"Oh my, you all really did keep your word."
Arianna spoke, her voice laced with amusement as she flicked open her elegant fan, using it to partially hide her expression.
Truthfully, she and the rest had struggled to believe what Ayaka and the A-class had told them.
It sounded all to ridiculous.
Heck, if the A-class themselves hadn't been there to witness it, they wouldn't have believed it either.
But they had been there.
They might not have personally watched him fight, but the battlefield had been divided into two by him alone.
Such an attack should have drained a considerable amount of his mana, yet he had still possessed enough strength to contend with upper-class monsters.
Hearing all this from Ayaka and the rest of Class A, they had no choice but to believe, especially after Lucas had said—
"Hahaha… I more or less pity the monsters that had faced him in the last moments of their lives. I'm sure the last thing they saw was a crazy person slaughtering them with a grin on his face."
Lucas had spoken with a nervous expression, clutching his head as if reliving the memories—no, the torture—he had been put through.
With that, none of them could doubt it any longer.
Additionally, according to a certain witness—
"AND! You won't believe it! That musclehead is one thing—but it's the other lazy one that bothers me! And no, not the sleeping one—I mean the other lazy one! He definitely lied about his abilities! There's no way that ability was HEAL! You cannot deceive my eyes! I am—!"
She fumed, clearly being bias towards a certain Creed, with her complaints continuing on and on till she was, eventually ignored.
And, having heard all this hype, a certain fire had lit the fuse of two particular muscleheads.
"Hey, Creed, can I have the honour of fighting you once?"
"Same! Same! I'd love to experience the power of a Creed firsthand."
"Ms. Chitose, are you sure you should be saying that? And you, Mr. C-class, you have no right to ask someone like Sir Damian to a fight; it's extremely rude."
At some point, Arianna had stepped in front of Damian, her fan raised elegantly as she tilted her head ever so slightly, looking down on the class representatives with an air of unmistakable superiority.
Additionally, as if responding to her silent command, the other B-class students instinctively formed a barrier around Damian, standing protectively in front of him.
The man in question, however, was entirely lost on what was happening.
"Ms. Arianna's orders, please step back, Sir Damian."
"Huh?"
Damian blinked, unsure why he suddenly needed protection.
Then, in response to that—
"Are you threatening us, B-class heathens!? How dare you!"
The vice representative of C-class, a shorter student than Alfonso with black hair and piercing grey eyes, stepped forward, standing firmly beside Alfonso.
Following his lead, the entirety of C-class quickly took their position, aligning themselves on Alfonso's side.
"Hehehe, a mere mutt dares to bark back at me?"
Arianna giggled, hiding the lower half of her face behind her fan, her voice laced with veiled amusement and condescension.
"Hey, hey, this is between me and Damian. Butt off."
"No, it is not. Don't you understand? Sir Damian has just finished an extreme battle, and for you to request another so soon is completely out of line."
"Hah!? Of course, I'm not that much of an idiot to ask for a battle right now."
Suddenly, the whole situation was suddenly headed towards an unknown territory when…
A familiar presence suddenly appeared beside him, standing casually with hands in his pockets.
It was Enma.
He turned his head slightly, looking at Damian with a smug smile.
No, it wasn't just a smile—it was a look. One that practically seemed to say, "It's tough being popular, isn't it?"
But— Bro, just put the fries in the bag already and help him. And, so he did.
"...You two… Stop it this instant… as part of the student council… I order both parties to stop at once…"
But he didn't tease his helpless brother much.
Instead, he had ordered from his position for them to halt whatever arguments they were having.
"Oh, Sir Enma?"
It was in a very noble-like manner that she had been using to address him.
Having turned to Enma, who had now made his way between the two classes, Arianna then sighed a little, then, holding the hem of her skirt gracefully.
"Fine then, in respect for the Creeds, I shall end it here today."
She gave a curt bow at Enma before dismissing the members of her class.
Alfonso too had also patted the head of his vice while signaling for them to step back, and as they did, he stepped forward.
"It doesn't change the fact that after all this, I still want a fight with Damian; it's out of respect; I'm not trying to pick a fight."
Arianna had clicked her tongue, folding her fan, obviously not satisfied, but this time, it was Damian that finally spoke while walking up towards Alfonso with a stretched hand for a handshake.
"If you insist that you want to see the power of a Creed, then I shall show them to you when the time's right; is that okay?"
"I'd expect nothing less."
Alfonso had shaken Damian's hand as they both let out a smile. As expected, both were the same in the end.
However, at the same time, while that was happening, Ayaka, who may or may not have been forgotten, had stood some meters away from there.
Obviously close, but not too close—just enough to observe what was happening in front.
A girl with platinum white hair, with a face that depicted her to be someone from the East, holding a katana by her side.
She was silent, lost in thought as she looked at the crowd of students in front.
Ayaka had obviously been beside Damian, but when B-class had surrounded him, she had been unceremoniously shoved to the side.
And then—
"Psst. If you keep watching like this from afar, that woman will steal Damian from right under your nose."
A voice intruded on her thoughts, speaking nonchalantly while pointing toward a certain golden-blonde-haired woman in front.
But to this, the girl's grip on her sword tightened.
"Shane… In a way, you're sort of immortal, right?"
"Eh? Why did you ask?"
Shane, genuinely clueless, tilted his head in slight confusion. But by then, Ayaka had already cornered him.
"Finally…" She trembled, her voice laced with something almost… eager. "Finally… I can finally kill you!"
She held her sword close to her face as she slowly sheathed it, her entire stance shifting.
"The heck—!"
"Come back here, you deceiving devil in disguise! I shall banish you to meet your kind this instant!"
Obviously, there has been some sort of shady deals between the two concerning Damian over the past month, and now Shane was obviously receiving karma.