Join us on Discord
Click Here

Chapter 206: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 206



"Now, let’s give a big round of applause to Mr. Tellos, who will be giving today's special lecture!"


With Ms. Eve’s introduction, a man walked forward, and the students burst into applause and cheers.


Tellos Dolos, who was said to have spent an extraordinarily long time on the frontlines among all the past heroes, responded to the students’ enthusiastic reception with a slight nod.


At first glance, it might have seemed like an insincere gesture, but it didn’t feel that way at all.


His hair, stark white, bore witness to the years he had endured.


However, his sturdy physique and the keen glimmer in his eyes showed no trace of old age.


Watching him, you couldn’t help but feel that even his smallest actions carried great weight, and unlike the other leaders like Martina or Leon, there was a sense of absolute reliability when looking at him, as if he could never lose.


Even I, who had seen his death at the hands of a demonic beast in the original story, felt that way, so the other students must have felt it even more.


This must be the kind of trust that comes from experience.


I had heard stories about him a few times, but seeing him in person was impressive.


While I was absentmindedly admiring this living legend of the hero world, Tellos began to speak.


“Nice to meet you all. Though an introduction is probably unnecessary, I’m Tellos Dolos, who was in charge of the 2nd Squad of Astrape until recently. They say you’re around the same age as my successor, Captain Yoon Si-woo, and I’m glad to see that there are so many outstanding students here. It’s good to know the future is in good hands.”


As he scanned the students’ faces with a satisfied smile, the children, trembling with excitement, were visibly thrilled to be recognized by someone they admired so much.


Tellos watched the students, who were happily chattering, with a gentle smile. Once they quieted down a bit, he continued.


“I heard you’ve been learning how to become stronger from the other captains. I was asked to do the same at first, but I’ve mostly just gotten through things with brute force, so I’m not very good at teaching others. So today, instead, I’d like to share a little about what I’ve experienced so far.”


Hearing that he would just be telling stories, the students looked relieved but also a bit disappointed.


The lessons they had received from the other captains who occasionally visited had been tough but extremely beneficial.


How often does one get the chance to be taught by those at the pinnacle?


Given how Ms. Eve had been pushing them to their limits lately, the students were relieved to hear that there wouldn’t be any strenuous training, but they still seemed a bit regretful about missing out on a chance to learn directly from a legendary figure like Tellos.


Sensing the atmosphere, Tellos gave us a slight smile and said.


“It seems like some of you wanted to train with me. But I’d appreciate it if you could just listen to what I have to say for now. It should be an interesting story for you all.”


With that, he began to share his stories right away.


“Do you know that the Gluttonous Demonic Beasts have a weakness? They might seem like they don’t have any particular vulnerabilities due to their annoying regenerative abilities, but surprisingly, they do have a core inside them that acts as a weak point. The problem is that it’s so small compared to their size that it’s faster to just crush their whole body than to find and destroy it. But after fighting them for so long, I found a way to roughly pinpoint where that core is. Each demonic beast has slightly different developed areas, and usually in such spots—”


Tellos shared with us the weaknesses of the demonic beasts and the strategies to handle them more easily.


“I remember a day long ago. A massive horde of demonic beasts appeared on the western frontline where the 2nd Squad was stationed. Unfortunately, no other squads could come to our aid, so we had to handle it on our own. Everyone fought desperately. Many were killed, and there was even a soldier who lost all but one of his limbs. Watching those soldiers fight, I—”


He continued to recount the experiences he had on the battlefield and the lessons he learned from them.


We couldn’t help but get engrossed in his stories.


His tales, spanning over fifty years on the battlefield, were intense, fascinating, and also informative.


Since these were stories you couldn’t hear even if you paid for them, some students even took out their notebooks to write down everything, not wanting to miss a single detail.


The only downside was that our image of Tellos had completely changed.


He had seemed like a reserved and stoic old warrior, but he turned out to be quite the talker, almost reminiscent of a retired baseball player from LA.


Fortunately, he was good at storytelling; otherwise, this might have been a difficult time to endure. Just as I was thinking this, another voice interrupted Tellos's speech.


“…Captain, you’re still quite the talker, aren’t you? Isn’t it about time to wrap things up?”


The voice belonged to our history teacher, who had an artificial arm and leg, excluding his right leg.


It seemed there was some history between the two, as Tellos greeted the teacher warmly when he entered the classroom.


“Ah, it’s you... How long has it been? You work here now? Are your limbs holding up?”


“Twenty-five years. I’m a teacher here now. As for my limbs, well, as you can see.”


“Wow, I see. It’s strange. Seeing you like this makes me realize it’s probably time for me to retire too. Anyway, it’s good to see you again. We should catch up sometime—”


“I’m glad to see you too, but let’s save that for later. Please finish your talk first. There are other students waiting for you.”


“Understood. Then let me say one last thing before I go.”


At the history teacher’s firm words, Tellos chuckled and then looked straight at us before speaking.


"Up until now, I’ve been able to keep fighting without rest because I firmly believed it was for the happiness of humanity. Everyone has the right to be happy. And I’ve just been doing what I should to let people enjoy that right. I hope you all can become people who do what you have to do as well. And one last thing.”


Didn’t he say he would only say one thing?


We all smiled as we listened, thinking the same thing, while Tellos looked at us with warm eyes and said:


“You all have the right to be happy as well, so don’t die. That’s all I wanted to tell you.”


His words, which conveyed genuine sincerity, made everyone smile and nod in agreement.


Just as we were about to say our goodbyes to end this heartwarming conclusion—


WEEEEEEEEEENG—


The siren blared loudly.


A sound signaling that something serious had happened.


Amid the sudden commotion in the classroom, one student looked out the window and said:


“...Huh?”


Everyone naturally turned their gaze in the direction the student was looking, and there—


A beast was standing.


It looked like a wolf or a dog, a four-legged canine-like creature.


It was clear that this was no ordinary beast, as where its eyes should have been was covered in scars, and its entire body was sprouting writhing tentacle-like things.


The grotesque appearance made it evident to everyone that this was a demonic beast.


If it had only been that, we wouldn’t have been so surprised.


We had seen plenty of grotesque demonic beasts before.


However, the reason everyone who saw the beast froze as if broken was because we were able to visually identify its appearance.


It wasn’t supposed to be possible.


Because that beast was standing outside the barrier.


Even though the academy was close to the barrier, it was still a considerable distance from where that beast was standing.


Yet, we could see the beast.


Although it was slightly small, we could clearly make out its shape.


Which meant, for it to be visible from that distance—


How big was that beast, exactly?


I remembered once hearing about how to distinguish between intermediate and advanced demonic beasts.


Unlike intermediate ones, they said you could immediately tell an advanced demonic beast just by looking at it.


And according to my instincts, that creature was at least advanced-level.


It meant it was a demonic beast that only a hero of at least squad leader level could face.


Still, if it was just that one beast...


Perhaps Yoon Si-woo and the other captains could combine their strength and defeat it.


As I was thinking this, the beast suddenly lifted its head and opened its mouth.


[■■■■■■■■■■!!!]


A long, powerful roar that we could hear clearly even from here.


Some students, terrified by the sound, stumbled and fell on their butts.


Many managed to hold their ground despite this, but the sound that followed was enough to instill despair in most of us who were present.


We heard it.


[■■■■■■■■■■!!!]


A sound similar to the one we had just heard.


[■■■■■■■■■■!!!]


Faintly.


[■■■■■■■■■■!!!]


One after another, one after another.


Hearing that, we couldn’t help but realize.


It wasn’t just a beast.


It was 'beasts'.


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


Read ahead by supporting me on Patreon. Tiers starting at $5 per month and you can access upto 50 Chapters.


Rate/Review this Novel on NOVEL UPDATES .


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


PREVIOUS | TOC | NEXT

Comments

Post a Comment

Join us on Discord
Click Here