How to Teach a Hero at the Academy

Chapter 146 : Chapter 146

Chapter 146: Buried in the Black Sea, Countless Questions (3)

“No, wait a moment…….”

Ernst’s voice trembled faintly.

At the tip of the Tactical Controller, the point indicating the very center of the Black Sea—something was wrong there. The map was warping. The lines that composed it looked as though they were being dragged into a single point. As if the sea itself had opened its mouth and was swallowing the scenery whole.

“What in the world is this…….”

Mana, or divine power, or something else entirely.

Some kind of force seemed to be manifesting there.

What was the nature of this phenomenon? Ernst adjusted his glasses and pondered. It was not something he could identify on his own, and even the Tactical Controller was offering a curt explanation.

Unmeasurable.

Its nature could not be identified.

“What is going on, Er?”

At the same time, Demian’s voice reached Ernst’s ears.

Ernst turned around. Demian was standing there, supported by Eleanor. Because his broken bones had been forcibly set through magic, his movements were still awkward.

“What now? Do we have to lock ourselves in the temple again?”

Eleanor asked with a frown.

The Banshees that had invaded Portsmouth had all been exterminated. The evacuation order had been lifted, and the residents were just beginning to step outside the temple again. Eleanor and Demian had come to the camp where Ernst was stationed to assess the extent of the damage, and—

“I am here.”

Roberta stepped into the camp.

“Why does the air feel like this? We won, did we not?”

She asked while studying Ernst’s expression.

“Ah, well…….”

Ernst scratched his forehead with his index finger.

The point where the anomaly had been detected—Abel was surely there. Was he still fighting an Intelligent Species even now? That absurdly strong man? As he searched for words, Ernst thought it over.

It was not good. Whether the power detected by the Tactical Controller belonged to Abel or to the Intelligent Species, the conclusion was the same. If it was power the Intelligent Species could wield, then it meant it was that strong. And even if it was not, it merely served as proof of the Intelligent Species’ potential.

“I honestly do not know how to put this…….”

“I used healing magic on the militia members.”

“That was very well done…….”

“They were all badly hurt, so they will need to recuperate for quite some time.”

“That cannot be helped…….”

“So what is wrong with you, Ernst oppa?”

You look completely out of it, she muttered.

Roberta stepped forward as she spoke, passed straight by Ernst, and then stopped in front of the Tactical Controller.

“What is this?”

Her brow tightened.

“Is the Tactical Controller broken?”

“It is not broken.”

Everyone, listen.

Ernst whispered in a subdued voice.

“Perhaps…… no. Almost certainly, something very serious is happening.”

There was no proper way to explain it.

He had not grasped it clearly himself. And so he kept it brief. At the center of the Black Sea, at the point where Abel should be fighting his decisive battle, an indescribable power had manifested. It might have been mana, or divine power, but it was probably neither.

“It is old-fashioned, but…….”

Tap, tap.

Ernst lightly knocked on the Tactical Controller as he continued.

“This thing is functioning normally. If mana or divine power had been used, it would have detected it without fail. This is not a power that humans, or any other intelligent life-form, have ever used. This is probably…….”

Just as Ernst trailed off,

“Is it not Professor Argento’s aura?”

“That is right, Er. It must be Professor Argento’s aura. His aura is different from others. Above all, there has never been a case of an Intelligent Species using an unidentified power.”

Roberta and Demian spoke up,

“……Can we really believe that?”

Eleanor frowned,

“I do not know anything about mana or divine power. I do not even know what aura is. Is this Professor Argento really that strong? As you know, the monster these villagers worshiped has existed since a very long time ago…….”

“──There is no need to worry.”

Lizer arrived at the camp.

Perhaps because he had rushed there, his breathing was rough. Lizer strode forward and stopped in front of the Tactical Controller. Yes……, as expected……, perhaps that was it. He muttered as he stroked his chin. The gentle expression he always wore had hardened.

“Senior.”

And so Ernst spoke.

“Where did you leave Monika? Why did you come alone?”

“I laid her down on a bed. She fainted.”

Because she exhausted all of her aura.

Lizer muttered as much.

“Then at least tell us something. You look like you know what is going on.”

“I will not tell you.”

Lizer’s gaze tilted toward Ernst.

There was no vitality in it. Ernst thought as he stared at Lizer’s face. Still, it was only for a moment. Lizer broke into a faint smile and shrugged.

“No, it is not that I will not tell you. It is that I cannot. I do not know very well myself. The one thing I am certain of is…….”

That there is no need to worry.

And if asked for the reason, this was the only answer he could give.

“I just have a feeling.”

You have truly lost your mind.

Ernst thought as he avoided Lizer’s gaze.

Should they evacuate the residents again? Or would it be enough to remain in the camp and simply observe the situation? As Ernst chewed on his nails in contemplation,

‘This is clearly…….’

Lizer narrowed his eyes.

He nodded slowly as he looked down at the Tactical Controller. He could not make a definitive judgment, but he could at least hazard a guess as to the source of the power. He had never seen it with his own eyes, but he had heard the stories. If the map within the Tactical Controller had collapsed, that meant a portion of the world itself had been severed entirely. If there was an existence capable of mobilizing such power, then without a doubt……

‘……The Demon King.’

The spokesperson of all malice.

It could only be that.

***

“I have seen it.”

Whirr—

The sound of a saw blade slicing through empty air.

Nodens swung his right arm.

“At the very center of this place, I saw the land where you dwell. I saw the time you spent building structures, remaining there, seeking sustenance, sharing it, and mingling with one another.”

Most of Nodens’ outer shell had been destroyed.

When the carapace-like armor shattered, inner flesh resembling that of a created being was exposed. Lifeless, gray skin formed Nodens’ interior, like a knight clad in armor.

“I have heard it.”

Slice—

The sound of the saw blade being thrust straight ahead.

Nodens extended his right arm.

“At the very center of this place, I heard your language. I saw the time you lived vividly, rejoicing and grieving, unaware that you were layering your lives upon countless sins.”

Nodens’ face resembled Abel’s.

It must have been the result of evolution. Abel had been Nodens’ lifelong rival, the most powerful human he had ever faced. Nodens now stood there, having imitated not only Abel’s aura but even his appearance.

“Therefore, I declare this.”

Of course.

It could only be so.

Abel silently accepted it with a calm expression.

“……I am a knight.”

He was a knight.

As a knight, Abel had arrived here. Though he had led the children under the title of a professor of CIAR, in the end, the Abel who crossed the Black Sea to exterminate an Intelligent Species was nothing more than a knight. He took up his sword to protect Portsmouth as a knight, and the children merely followed behind a knight who only pretended to be a professor.

“As a knight, I will oppose you.”

And so, he was a knight.

Nodens, too, faced Abel as a knight.

It was the result of having replicated everything about Abel. The fleshy wall that rose behind Nodens was vivid, and the gazes of the children who formed that wall were directed toward Nodens. To Nodens, the Black Sea was simply a homeland like Portsmouth. Even if the beings who followed him had become one with monsters, they were still children in the end.

“……Look. And listen.”

Please, look.

Carve it into your ears.

Nodens muttered as though squeezing the words out.

“Are they not alive?”

They are all alive.

Are these children not alive?

“Can you not understand? Because they were too young, because they wanted to live too much, they could not be killed. Even monsters, who ought to hate created beings, did not kill the children. And you…….”

“……I know.”

Abel spoke.

He opened Subspace and looked up at the fleshy wall.

“I understand everything.”

It was only right to mobilize every armament.

Abel drew forth the arms of his fallen companions.

-We were here for a very long time.

-The sea was cold. It should have been, but at some point it became warm.

-Humans. Humans are disgusting. We should devour them all!

-Tell me. Is my mother alive? I hope she is. My mother is an elf.

In his right hand, Ion Blanche’s Bastard Sword.

In his left, Vanessa Bernstein’s repeating crossbow.

-Do not hurt Nodens.

-P-please, save me! Take me out of here!

-Shut up. You were prepared for this. I did not think I would survive.

-This is not being alive. I was clearly a Miko…… so why am I like this…….

At his feet, Maurice de Olfrange’s Sword Breaker.

And finally, holding Leon Baibars’ magic staff,

“I have seen everything, and I have heard everything.”

Abel looked around.

Black fog lay heavy in all directions, while pitch darkness poured down through gaps in the storm clouds. A thin strand of blackness dyed Nodens’ entire body black. An utterly indescribable presence was supporting Nodens.

“Therefore, I will ask you, Nodens.”

It was not difficult to realize its identity.

It was the gaze of the Demon King. The presence shining down upon Nodens was the Demon King’s gaze. Just as one of the Main Gods would single out a created being and bestow authority upon it, the Demon King was fixing his gaze upon a single monster and granting it power.

“This sea is far too dark. Did you see that clearly?”

“Yes.”

Nodens answered.

“Now I can see it. My sea cannot be transparent. It must be so dark that nothing ahead can be seen.”

“Those children are not smiling. Did you hear that clearly?”

“Yes.”

Nodens answered again.

“Now I can hear it. My children can never smile. Even if they live forever, they will remain sorrowful.”

“Very well.”

Abel lowered his head.

There was no room for compromise. The distorted bodies of the children were clear to see, and Banshee eggs were being expelled from the fleshy wall. That was a monster’s nest, and together with Nodens, the progenitor of the Banshees. Abel had to eliminate that monster.

“You, who have cared for those children all this time…….”

You are……

Without a doubt, noble.

Abel muttered as he bit his lower lip.

“Without question, you are a noble knight.”

Very well, then.

You may say it to me, he thought.

Gripping his beloved sword properly, Abel whispered.

“That I am irreverent.”

An irreverent knight.

You, of all people, should be the one to say it to me.

“I will shatter your world into pieces, and…….”

I will destroy everything you wish to protect.

As a knight, as an irreverent knight…….

“So come to me.”

Sssss—!

Margin-White aura engulfed Abel’s body.

“Let us see you try.”

From me, protect everything of yours……,

“──Starting now!”