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Chapter 156: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 156



As the construction of magic circles designed to disrupt teleportation across the entire boundary area was nearing completion.


Once the construction was finished, the teleportation gates that had served as the legs of the heroes in the boundary region would no longer be usable, prompting most heroes to move forward to the front lines to ensure that no gaps formed in the defense line.


Naturally, strengthening the front lines would inevitably create vacancies in the personnel guarding the city perimeter. To mitigate this, the Central Committee deployed their most reliable individual near the city to prepare for any potential emergencies.


The person entrusted with guarding the boundary area just outside the veil this time was Lucas Eloise, the deputy commander of the 3rd Squad of Astrape.


Occasionally, there were rumors suggesting he wasn't a squad leader because he was inferior to Natalia Eloise, the squad leader of the 3rd Squad and his wife. However, all active heroes knew the truth.


At least in the realm of "protecting something," Lucas possessed unparalleled abilities among the existing heroes.


The story of how the ice wall he created with his freezing powers had withstood the attacks of an attacking high-tier beast for hours had already spread like a legend.


Though he was a deputy commander, Lucas was still one of the most skilled individuals among the Golden Generation members, alongside current squad leaders Leon, Martina, and Natalia, making it not surprising if he ever became a squad leader himself.


As long as he was protecting the city, people firmly believed there would be no issues, allowing them to carry out this construction—which temporarily made reinforcement from the boundary area to the city impossible—without concern.


And now, Lucas, entrusted with such a crucial role, was currently...


“Ahh, I just want to leave work so badly... I want to go home and play with my daughter...”


He sighed deeply, repeatedly voicing his desire to go home.


Anyone could see that Lucas was lacking in motivation, and his aide, who was standing beside him, muttered with a look of exasperation.


“...Do you know how many times you’ve said you want to leave work today? Could you please stop already?”


“But it’s been a while since I last went home. They canceled my last holiday because of the construction, and now I have to stay here until the teleportation gates are reactivated. What if Marin forgets her dad’s face at this rate...?”


“Seriously, you’ve only been away for a few weeks... Marin’s not a baby anymore; she’s old enough to attend the Academy...”


“No matter how old Marin gets, she’s still my little girl who needs looking after. You wouldn’t understand since you don’t have a daughter. She’s so adorable, you know!”


The aide sighed deeply, staring at Lucas, who proudly spouted nonsense.


He wondered how he ended up serving under someone like this.


Due to his ice-manipulating abilities, Lucas’s hair was tinted light sky-blue, and his sharp features initially gave the impression of a cold city man. But in reality, he was the exact opposite.


Underneath it all, he was a hopeless doting father and a devoted husband who was firmly in Natalia’s grasp.


Who would have known that the man who once shocked the public with a premarital pregnancy scandal would be such a mild-mannered husband?


When the topic of his daughter came up, Lucas’s expression changed, and though the aide shook his head, Lucas’s mouth wouldn’t close now that he’d started.


“Did I show you the picture last time? Of Marin wearing a dress. She doesn’t usually dress up, so when she did, she looked so beautiful...”


“...You’ve told me that story a hundred times already. The one about the arranged date, right?”


“...Yeah. And that bastard rejected our beautiful daughter. I can’t forgive anyone who messes with my daughter, but rejecting her? I’ll have words with him someday.”


Lucas, expressing his petty fatherly jealousy toward Marin’s date, hung his head and sighed.


“Sigh... talking about my daughter just makes me want to go home even more.”


“...Alright, enough already. Besides, this whole job came about because your daughter was in danger, didn’t it?”


“...Right, if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have taken this role.”


Lucas muttered with a hardened expression.


He had been furious when he heard that his daughter Marin, along with other Aegis Academy students, had almost been killed by a witch while observing the front lines.


“That witch... Next time I see her, I’ll kill her.”


How dare she try to harm my precious daughter?


As Lucas muttered with a fierce expression, a chilling aura spread around him, and his aide involuntarily shuddered.


Even though he often seemed foolish, Lucas was one of the strongest heroes.


Realizing this anew, the aide steadied his trembling body and spoke to Lucas.


“...Commander, it’s about time.”


“...Is that so? Let’s go check.”


At his aide’s words, Lucas headed to the location where the final installation of the magic circle was underway.


Next to the installation site, the last remaining teleportation gate, still active, was allowing the remaining civilians in the boundary area to return inside the veil.


This gate was the last one left to evacuate civilians, as the safety of the boundary area couldn’t be guaranteed until the teleportation gates were reactivated.


When the final installation of the magic circle was complete, this gate would also shut down, and the entire boundary area would become an impenetrable fortress where teleportation was impossible for a while.


“We’ve confirmed that everyone who went out has returned, right?”


“Yes, there don’t seem to be any missing.”


“Alright then. We’ve finished the checks. Please proceed with the final work!”


After confirming that all the authorized personnel had returned from the boundary area, the aide nodded to Lucas after cross-checking the people and documents several times.


Upon receiving the nod, Lucas signaled the mage in charge of the magic circle installation, who then made several precise gestures with his fingers.


Soon, with a sound like a soft hum, the last active teleportation gate ceased operation.


Now, the boundary area had become a fortress that could not be breached via teleportation from the outside.


Feeling a strange sense of relief that his daughter would no longer face the same dangers, Lucas was watching the people enter the city when—


“...Huh?”


Lucas turned to look at his aide, who had just made a sound.


The aide had an unmistakably bewildered expression.


“What’s wrong? Did you miscount the people? It’s a big deal if anyone hasn’t returned.”


“No... No, it’s not that. I just confirmed that everyone who needed to return had done so...”


The aide, tilting his head, muttered in a puzzled voice.


“There’s one more person than the number we just checked...”


At those words, Lucas quickly turned his head to look at the crowd returning to the city.


And there he saw a hooded figure, whose presence had gone unnoticed until now.


“...Fuck, damn it, damn it…”


Lucas’s expression hardened as he approached the suspicious figure, who had their head down, muttering something incomprehensible.


“...Excuse me. Please show me your ID and remove your hood for a moment.”


The hooded figure hesitated at Lucas’s request, then slowly raised their head and muttered in response.


“...Orders? Humans... things lower than insects... even scum like you dare to ignore me...? Damn it... damn it...”


“...I asked for your ID.”


“...To me, to me—!!”


And then Lucas saw them.


The furious, beast-like eyes gleaming from beneath the hood.


“—Don’t you dare order me!!!!!”


With a roar, the figure's claw swiped through the air, tearing it apart.


In the blink of an eye, the attack was launched toward Lucas, causing those nearby to scream and flee inside the city beyond the veil.


As the hooded figure’s gaze was about to shift toward the fleeing crowd,


With a sharp whoosh, a spear made of ice flew straight at them.


With a loud clang, the spear collided with the claw.


Although the figure wasn’t injured, the impact caused their hood to flutter and fall away.


Revealing a mane of black hair like that of a lion, and the ears of a beast atop their head.


A look that resembled that of a beastkin.


Lucas, who had just launched the attack to divert her attention, was startled and turned to his approaching aide, shouting instructions.


“...Alert the city of an emergency! Evacuate everyone!”


“Y-Yes, sir!”


As his aide hurriedly began evacuating the people, Lucas swallowed hard as he faced the beast-like woman.


Beads of blood trickled down his neck, evidence of how narrowly he had avoided her earlier attack.


He had intended to halt her movements completely with his ability, but she had only been slowed slightly.


Had he not met her eyes and activated his power to delay her assault, her attack would have sliced through his neck.


Beastkin were supposed to be extinct; what the hell was she?


He didn’t know how she got in or who she was, but Lucas could tell from the intense aura she exuded that she was no ordinary foe.


The pressure felt similar to, if not greater than, what he had experienced when facing high-tier beasts in the past.


However, Lucas didn’t think she was unbeatable.


Judging by her use of claws to attack, the woman seemed to specialize in close combat.


Such physical attacks would never penetrate the ice walls he created.


As he was calculating his chances of victory, the woman stared at him with her glinting eyes and screamed hysterically.


“...You, a mere human, don’t you dare order me!!! I’m already annoyed to death by that bitch’s voice whispering in my head!!”


With that scream, the woman charged at Lucas.


The terrifying speed with which she closed the distance was staggering.


But Lucas, who had anticipated the attack, raised his power to its peak and conjured a wall of ice before him.


The strongest shield, which had withstood even the assault of high-tier beasts.


Confident that it would also repel her attack, Lucas prepared a counterstrike from behind the wall.


And then—


That confidence was his downfall.


With the sound of something being sliced and a sickening crack, blood foamed from Lucas’s half-severed throat.


Then came a heavy thud.


The sound of his collapsing body and the impact of the shattered shield he had trusted so much hitting the ground like a torn sheet of paper.


As Lucas lay on the ground, his gaze slowly shifted to the woman.


How... could it be so easy...


The woman, meeting his resentful eyes, burst into laughter.


“Ahaha... Ahahahaha!!! You stupid human! Trying to block the attack of a witch like me! I’m a witch! Witch Freede! There’s nothing my attack can’t cut through!”


Laughing heartily, her gaze gradually turned toward the city.


She looked toward the veil, which, though invisible, had protected humans from witches and beasts until now.


She raised her arm high and shouted.


“That pathetic magic you all put your faith in—!”


And as she swung her arm, the last thing Lucas’s fading vision captured was:


“This flimsy spell!”


The final bastion that had always protected them was being torn apart.


---------------------


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Comments

  1. Whelp, things have started to hit the fan with the appearance of Arrogance. And I'm sure that Lust as well as Greed aren't far behind.
    Not to add that if Sloth senses that her toy is in danger, she may also join the party.
    Can't wait lol.
    The best situation is Arrogance being the solo villain for the arc but even then, seeing how she dealt with a top hero, it's not going to be easy regardless.

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    Replies
    1. It's even worse than that, it sounds like she's about to break the barrier that protects the city. That barrier has been standing for hundreds of years, so if it's broken it probably won't be easy to remake, and that would mean that monsters, and the miasma, can easily get into the city

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