novelraw Chapter 117 : No Surrender (3)
Chapter 117 : No Surrender (3)
Chapter 117: No Surrender (3)
At Clina’s words, I stayed silent for a while before scratching my forehead and muttering.
‘…So that was the blind spot.’
A single ability’s name suddenly came to mind.
Even among the countless abilities implemented within MAGA, this one, in particular, lacked any real combat practicality.
Even for the famous guardian deities backed by massive followings, or the Four Major Religions whose believers were as numerous as a national church, it was extremely rare for faith itself to manifest as an ability.
Only those who had reached fanaticism like the elite believers of Dellowell, or the few chosen ones who inherited divine authority through succession, could achieve such feats.
Borrowing the power of divinity was, in that sense, never an easy task.
However—
That was only when the target was truly a god.
If, by some means, the target was elevated to godhood, the situation became entirely different.
Deification (神格化).
Literally, the ability to make someone a being with divinity.
From the description alone, it might sound like an outrageously overpowered ability—but reality was the opposite.
In MAGA, this “Deification” was considered one of the most useless, impractical powers.
‘It’s not like you can use it freely just because you have it.’
The greatest obstacle was, of course, deciding who to deify.
The core elements that determined the strength of a divinity were recognition and achievements.
Recognition spread through media, and achievements grew over time.
The shorter the period of fame, the weaker the divinity; the smaller the sphere of influence, the more disadvantageous.
That was why the targets for deification were usually legendary heroes or mystical creatures.
Even after somehow finding a suitable target, countless problems still remained.
For the bestowed divine authority to display its true power, it required overwhelming faith.
But most humans simply could not possess such devotion, even if they wanted to.
‘That kind of fanaticism is practically a form of mental corruption.’
Given what Rubia had suffered in the Forest of Delusion, she would surely be even more wary of such insanity.
For many reasons, then, the option of deification was not easily considered.
‘If Mallet had its own guardian deity, that might’ve been different…’
Even among those affiliated with Duel, the worship of guardian deities varied from tower to tower.
However, since Mallet was under the Empire’s jurisdiction, it was safe to say they likely did not serve one.
In the world of MAGA, Beasts were the strongest singular force.
Even in the tutorial mode designed for beginners, humanity never managed to exterminate them.
By the time one reached the Apocalypse Mode—a notorious high-difficulty setting—the situation grew far worse.
Far from exterminating Beasts, humanity was lucky if it wasn’t annihilated outright. The difference in power between the two sides was overwhelming.
In order to fight against Beasts, humanity had evolved to use every means possible.
The representative examples were Magic—symbolized by the Three Great Schools—and Martial Arts, cultivated by human strength alone.
Various mana stones, artifacts, and holy relics were also among the tools used.
Yet, even with all that, humanity still struggled to hold back the Beasts’ rampage.
Driven to desperation, they eventually turned to the primordial beings of this world for aid.
Those were the Guardian Deities—the Palladions.
The history of their descent stretched back nearly two thousand years, and even now, more than a hundred guardian statues stood as proof of their existence.
Each guardian deity possessed vastly different traits, making generalization difficult, but if there was a single commonality—
It was that they lent their power only in the fight against Beasts.
—Every guardian deity was bound by a Covenant: a sacred vow that forbade them from allowing humanity’s extinction.
Recalling that passage from the story, I asked Clina,
‘Even if Deification were actually an overpowered ability, Rubia probably hasn’t realized she possesses it. Without that awareness, she can’t use it.’
― Hmm… that does seem likely.
‘And even if, by some miracle, she could use it, guardian deities would never lend their power for mere human conflicts.’
― So unless Beasts intervene, she’ll never awaken the successor’s power, you’re saying?
‘At least, not according to what I know.’
At that, Clina spoke in a tone that carried a hint of irony.
― Then why did you tell her that at the time? If what you say is true, she’s not even a key force in this battle.
‘Well… that remains to be seen.’
― Hm?
‘Even without the successor’s power, she’s still a prodigy who can stand among the strongest.’
Even without undergoing Holy Descent, she could still fight while wielding divine magic.
The key lay in her mindset—
The sense of urgency that she must accomplish it here and now, and the self-belief that she can.
If Rubia Magnus combined those two, she could definitely rival Karen.
The others would never agree with that assessment, of course.
But at the very least, I believed it.
Smiling faintly, I added,
‘Well, if I end up on the verge of death… something will work out, right?’
― …Don’t people often tell you that you’re insane?
‘Who else but a madman could talk about something as absurd as world peace?’
― Kuhuhu, I suppose that’s true.
And with that—
Clina crossed her arms and added,
― Until you fulfill your promise, you can’t die. You won’t be allowed to retire from something as small as this battle.
‘…That’s actually terrifying in its own way.’
― Well, if that time ever comes, I’ll handle it somehow. So don’t worry too much.
‘How reassuring,’ I replied dryly.
Her smile, however, was far too devilish to be reassuring.
As expected, by Tuesday morning, crowds of people began leaving Karbenna.
Some who hadn’t yet grasped the situation had come for business, only to hurriedly rush back to Arpe after realizing the severity.
The bridges connecting the capital and Karbenna were clogged for over an hour, packed with people and carriages.
The northeastern gate leading toward Centre was no less crowded.
While the main gate was used mostly by adults, this side was dominated by students.
Overprotective parents, unable to trust their servants alone, even personally arrived with carriages.
“Did you come all the way here already?”
“As soon as Dellowell made their announcement. Do you even realize how worried your father is?”
“Worried about what…”
“Stop talking nonsense and get in! We’ve got a long way to go!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.”
Dozens of carriages waiting by the entrance then rolled out of Karbenna in unison.
“……”
I quietly observed the entire scene as I made my rounds through the area.
Nearly seventy percent of all faculty, students, and related personnel had already left the area.
And those who remained would soon be gone as well.
‘Not to evacuate—but to support.’
By the time I made my way near the Plaza of Glory again—
“Huff… huff… can’t you stop running around like that for once?”
A familiar voice cut sharply from beside me.
“…Me?”
“Yeah, you. Carter.”
Walter Clark, catching his breath, pointed toward the main building.
“The Special Task Force support unit’s here.”
We jogged lightly toward the main gate.
Even in the chaos, the members held their disciplined formation—their military bearing unmistakable.
Lieutenant Eric Belfor, who led the unit, grimaced the moment he saw Walter and me.
“Why are you so late?”
“Hey, don’t look at me! He’s the one running all over the place—”
“Alright, alright, let’s just get inside first.”
“Hey, Carter!”
The twenty-five Special Task Force members who had arrived as the advance team, along with about ten remaining staff members, worked together to carry the military supplies into Building O’s large storage hall.
“This is the last of it, Colonel.”
“Okay. Squad leaders, guide your men to the dorms first. Once that’s done, report straight to the Training Support Office.”
“Yes, sir!”
“We’ll take our leave, Professor Carter, Professor Walter.”
“Best of luck to you!”
In the end, only the three Special Task Force lieutenants were left standing idly by the warehouse entrance.
As we walked toward the main building, Belfor and Walter both began grumbling, trying not to fall behind each other.
“I get that you wanted to handle things alone because you didn’t want us getting involved, but come on, man—when it’s something this big, you can never have enough hands. You should’ve asked for help sooner.”
“Wait—don’t tell me your decision to head straight for Karbenna right after returning was part of this grand scheme? You planned this far ahead?”
“…Really?”
“If that’s true, then fine—I, Eric Belfor, will admit it! You’re not just the luckiest bastard alive, you’ve got the best insight too!”
“But honestly, I didn’t expect even the faculty to leave in droves like this. It is the Empire’s only Imperial Academy, for crying out loud!”
“That just shows how terrifying Dellowell is. And professors aren’t soldiers, you know? There’s no national mobilization order—they’re just doing whatever they want.”
“It’s humiliating! What’ll the people in Hallard or Kalte think if they see this?”
Watching those two bicker excitedly on either side of me, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“…What?”
“You losing it? What’s so funny all of a sudden?”
“Would I be?”
“Then what is it?”
“Just thinking… we’ve all changed a lot, haven’t we?”
“……”
Caught off guard, the two of them suddenly went quiet.
I glanced briefly at each of them and kept walking ahead.
Their footsteps hurried to follow.
The sunlight stretched our shadows long across the ground.
It was the peak of midday.
The Training Support Office was already filled with people.
Around thirty professors who wished to participate, twenty cadets, and the heads of each department were all gathered there.
The only one absent was the Director of Facility Management, who was currently rechecking the status of the barrier stones.
Soon after, the squad leaders from the Special Task Force arrived as well.
“Looks like everyone’s here. Shall we head inside?”
Director of Training Support, Nikolai Tennant, began leading everyone indoors.
While moving, he called me aside to ask,
“As you predicted, the number of applicants just passed fifty. So, what exactly do you plan to do in the training hall?”
“We’ll start with classification.”
Not every volunteer could be considered actual combat strength.
If we sent everyone out purely on enthusiasm, we’d only suffer needless casualties.
Some would crumble under the pressure of war before doing anything worthwhile.
Others would end up struggling in roles that didn’t suit their abilities, only to retire in frustration.
To prevent such outcomes, we needed to sort them in advance.
The goal was twenty infantry, twenty support, and ten logistics personnel.
But more important than those ratios was selecting by specialty combat aptitude.
That was what this test—and this training—was for.
Having raised countless characters in countless ways, this was something only I could manage.
The first-floor Grand Training Hall of the Training Support Office.
It was the largest training facility within Karbenna.
Even fifty people standing in a line couldn’t fill one percent of its running track.
“Since we’re short on time, I’ll keep this brief.”
Looking at everyone now properly lined up, I continued my explanation.
“Our opponents are the fanatics of Dellowell. We can’t send you to the front lines on determination alone.”
Therefore, we’ll be assigning positions according to each person’s specialty.
“You don’t have to agree with my assessment. But if you don’t, be sure to speak up before the classification ends. Understood?”
Each of them nodded slightly, faces firm with resolve.
I raised three fingers and shouted.
“Alright, we’ll begin three tests now. Line up again—three rows!”