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Chapter 159: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 159



As soon as I saw the demonic beast flying toward the orphanage, I kicked off the ground and sprinted without thinking.


Faces of those I had met during my time at the orphanage flashed through my mind.


The smiles of the other kids I had gotten close to while volunteering there, and the kind expression of Director Maria, who always watched over them with a gentle smile.


Ah, and then there was Rion.


The kid who would always run up to me with a bright smile whenever she saw me.


The kid who, the last time I saw her, asked if we could go to the zoo together again.


The thought of her becoming a cold corpse was an utterly terrifying image that kept popping into my mind.


I clenched my teeth and violently shook my head, desperately trying to deny the awful thoughts that filled my head.


No, it couldn’t be true.


They must have already evacuated to a safe place.


But still, the anxiety refused to subside.


“If you survive, I’ll take you to the zoo or anywhere you want, so please, just be alive...”


All I could do was pray desperately as I ran with all my strength.


Because that was all I could do right now.


However, as if mocking my prayers,


The place where the orphanage once stood was already covered in a dark, solid barrier.


There’s only one reason why a demonic beast of greed would create a barrier.


“No...”


To prevent the prey inside from escaping.


“No!!!!”


With a frantic shout, I dashed into the barrier.


Praying that I wasn’t too late.


*


“Ugh...”


As soon as I broke into the barrier, I let out a groan at the sight of the orphanage.


The once cozy and warm-looking orphanage was now shattered and broken, a scene of desolation as if it had never been welcoming at all.


But what truly made my mind go blank were the splatters of blood scattered all around the orphanage.


I didn’t even want to imagine whose blood it might be, but faced with the scene before me, I couldn’t stop my mind from conjuring horrible images, and I felt nausea rise uncontrollably.


While I was lost in such a horrifying state,


“Ugh...!”


A sound of groaning, almost like a scream, snapped me back to my senses, and I immediately ran toward the source of the sound.


And when I got there,


“...!!! Director Maria!!”


Director Maria was lying on the ground, bleeding.


“Director! Are you okay?!”


“...Ugh.”


I rushed over and called out to her, but she only let out pained groans, as if she had lost consciousness.


When I got closer and saw her condition, I couldn’t help but be shocked.


“Director... your eyes...”


Her left eye socket was empty as if something had gouged it out, and blood was flowing from the large wounds that covered her entire body.


Noticing that her legs were uninjured despite her upper body being covered in wounds, I realized why blood was splattered all over the orphanage.


“That bastard...”


One of the habits of the demonic beasts of greed that I learned about at the academy was their sadistic enjoyment of toying with their prey inside their barriers rather than killing them immediately.


Knowing their prey couldn’t escape, they would leave the legs unharmed, letting the prey cling to a shred of hope and continue to flee until it could no longer run. The demonic beast would capture and release the prey repeatedly in this cruel game.


And Director Maria’s horrific condition before my eyes was the result of that monstrous game.


I felt anger well up from the depths of my heart at this wretched situation.


Director Maria was a good person who had devoted her entire life to helping children with nowhere else to go.


The fact that such a kind person had been treated like a toy by a demonic beast and ended up like this was infuriating beyond words.


I wanted to rush out and kill the beast that had done this to her immediately, but—


“Ugh, cough...”


“!! Director, are you awake?!”


I jumped in surprise as the director coughed painfully, regaining consciousness.


Though struggling to breathe, she shouted urgently at me.


“Haah... b-behind you-!”


[■■■■■■■■!!!!]


And with her shout, a monstrous roar echoed from behind me.


Agonizing pain shot up my back, as if I had been struck by the beast’s claws.


The beast, knowing I had entered the barrier, had used the director as bait to ambush me from behind.


But—


“You think you can catch me, you bastard?!”


Thanks to the director’s warning and the reflection of the beast in her eyes, I was able to brace myself in advance and avoid a fatal wound.


As I twisted around and reached out, the beast tried to leap away in surprise, but I had already grabbed its leg.


[■■■■■■?!!]


Flames erupted from my hand, engulfing the beast’s body in an instant.


The beast let out a death cry, and the barrier covering the orphanage dissolved. I immediately checked on Director Maria’s condition.


Having forced herself to shout to warn me, she was now groaning in pain from the strain.


“Ugh...”


“Please hang in there! I’ll get you to the hospital right away!”


I hurriedly hoisted the director onto my back.


She had already lost so much blood; there wasn’t a moment to spare.


If I didn’t get her to someone who could treat her quickly, I couldn’t guarantee she’d survive.


I started to dash toward the hospital, but even in this desperate situation, Director Maria, instead of worrying about herself, pointed shakily toward the inside of the orphanage, muttering.


“Hic... inside, Rion is still inside...”


I wondered why she hadn’t evacuated and stayed behind in such a dangerous place, but it seemed she stayed because Rion hadn’t managed to escape.


Time was of the essence, and taking Rion with us would put her in more danger, yet she kept mumbling Rion’s name insistently, as if telling me to save her first.


As if she were her own child, not just someone else’s.


Seeing her devotion, selfless to the point of foolishness, my tightly clenched lips began to bleed.


However, knowing all too well how a child feels when their parents sacrifice themselves like that, I couldn’t turn away, no matter how much she urged me.


So, gritting my teeth, I ran forward.


Save her life first, then come back and rescue Rion. That’s what I told myself in that moment.


But then—


[■■■■■■■■!!!!]


Another demonic beast was flying toward the orphanage from where I had just come.


Hoping that the beast wouldn’t harm Rion was nothing more than wishful thinking.


Forced into an impossible choice, despair washed over me.


Even in that situation, Director Maria, who was lying on my back, gently patted my shoulder.


As if to say the right choice was obvious.


Just as I was about to set her down, tears welling in my eyes—


“Ah...?”


The demonic beast flying toward the orphanage was struck by a starlight that shot across the sky, crashing into the ground.


And following the starlight that had shot down the beast, a girl riding a cluster of shining stars swooped down in a circle above my head, her brilliant silver hair fluttering as she landed in front of me.


“Sylvia...? How did you...?”


“I was intercepting the beasts flying nearby and helping Alice locate and treat the injured who couldn’t evacuate.”


Hearing Sylvia’s response, I looked up and saw Alice stepping down from the starlight beside her, and tears sprang from my eyes.


Alice, a fellow first-year student from Class A like Sylvia and me, specialized in healing magic.


At this moment, she looked like a savior.


“But wait, Scarlet, the person you’re carrying... Oh my god, Director Maria?! Alice! Quick, administer first aid!”


“O-okay!!”


As Alice frantically poured healing magic to stop the director’s bleeding, I saw her color improve and let out a sigh of relief. I turned to go rescue Rion.


Just then, Alice, who was treating the director, called out to me.


“Scarlet! Your back—isn’t that an injury?”


“...It’s just stained with blood, don’t worry! Take care of the director! There’s still someone in the orphanage who hasn’t evacuated—I’ll be right back!”


The wound I’d received from the beast earlier had already healed, so I brushed it off as Director Maria’s blood and left quickly.


It was a nerve-wracking moment where my physical abnormality almost got exposed, but it didn’t matter.


After all, with this body, it was fine to take some abuse. I reassured myself as I dashed toward the orphanage.


Inside the orphanage, I found Rion in a secluded room, and I finally understood why she hadn’t been able to evacuate.


“...Of all times, why now?”


Even with all the chaos outside, Rion was obviously absorbed in his drawing, her eyes vacant.


With so many children to take care of, Director Maria must have had no choice but to leave Rion in her current state and evacuate the others first.


She probably returned to get Rion afterward and encountered the beast.


In some ways, Rion was the reason Director Maria had been severely injured, but blaming her wasn’t right.


Rion’s ability seemed to activate unpredictably, and once triggered, she would lose himself in his drawing until it was complete.


For now, I was just thankful that Rion was unharmed.


Soon enough, Rion finished her drawing and, as usual, fell into a deep sleep as if she had fainted.


The drawing Rion completed depicted a scene that looked like a dark, ominous cave.


I pondered what the drawing could mean, but with no clear insight, I decided to evacuate Rion to a safe place.


After carrying Rion to the nearby shelter, I set her down. As I did, Rion mumbled in his sleep.


Cave, danger.


*


On my way out after evacuating Rion, I overheard the voices of the kids resting in the shelter.


“...Is everyone okay?”


“...From what I’ve heard, none of the kids have died yet. There are a few injuries from fighting the beasts, but nothing too serious. Seriously, if it weren’t for Instructor Eve’s training, we’d probably have a lot of casualties.”


“Yeah, when Dwight said there was no way the beasts would invade the city, I believed it too. But look at what’s happened.”


“At least this area hasn’t seen too many beasts flying in, but the outskirts, where the beasts broke loose, are apparently a mess. The witch who supposedly unleashed the beasts is nowhere to be found, so it’s just been chaos with all the beasts running wild.”


“It’s a relief that the witch isn’t rampaging, but... what did she come here for?”


“I don’t even care why; I just hope she stays quiet. The beasts are enough trouble; if she starts causing havoc too, we’re in deep shit.”


As their conversation ended, I exited the shelter and continued running through the streets, mulling over their words.


It did raise a question.


What exactly was the witch’s goal in invading the city?


But no matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.


Let’s consider the worst-case scenario.


If the witch’s aim was to destroy the city, the most effective method would be to dismantle the barrier surrounding it.


In the original story, after the barrier suddenly disappeared one day, the city was utterly destroyed.


But as Dwight mentioned before, as long as the magic circle at the city’s center remained intact, the barrier would automatically restore itself even if damaged, as it had earlier.


In short, to remove the barrier, you’d have to reach the city center.


However, with heroes spread throughout the city dealing with the beasts, it would have been impossible for the witch to reach the city center without being noticed.


Unless the witch could completely conceal herself, she would have stirred up some commotion by now.


Although I kept thinking, I couldn’t figure out the witch’s objective, so I continued assisting with the evacuation.


Still, the thought I had earlier kept lingering in my mind, refusing to fade.


What if the witch had a way to reach the city center without being seen by anyone?


What if that’s why no one had spotted her?


But, could such a method even exist?


As I sighed and looked down, I suddenly recalled Rion’s sleep-talking earlier.


“Cave, danger.”


And at that moment, something on the road caught my eye.


I realized it.


There was a way to reach the city center without anyone noticing.


Opening the manhole cover on the road and descending into the sewers, I found myself shaking at the sight before me.


Because to someone, the inside of the sewer could look just like a dark, ominous cave.


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


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