I Became the Savior of the Academy’s Villains

Chapter 172

'Why is that guy here?!'

Luca gaped at the masked swordsman in disbelief.

Though his face and build were concealed by a hat, mask, and cloak, it was obvious who he was.

'It's a little different from the original, since I can't quite recall the description...'

As far as Luca could remember, in the original work, the masked swordsman Wallu had long hair tied back and a masked face, but nothing else notable.

He usually carried a greatsword.

But now, he was awkwardly holding a rapier.

'Was the masked knight Z the one who wielded the rapier...'

Honestly, he might as well have been in cosplay.

-... Huh?

'Yikes.'

And as his inner self—the Luca Traverse within—saw his older brother cosplaying, he seemed to take quite a shock, as though hitting the wall of his whole life.

Luca himself struggled not to burst out laughing at the wave of incredulity he felt.

"You are... who exactly?"

Ferka looked quizzically at the masked swordsman.

In response, the masked swordsman spoke up.

"My name is the Masked Swordsman W, a nameless one who loves justice."

"...?"

For a moment, the air turned chilling, as though a cold snap had fallen.

Bella lowered her head, covering her mouth with both hands to stifle her laughter, and Luca desperately held back the sarcasm rising to his throat.

Ferka looked at them in confusion and asked,

"You just said your name is the Masked Swordsman W. Then why did you say you're nameless...?"

"?"

At Ferka's innocent question, the Masked Swordsman W paused.

He seemed to be searching for something to say.

At that moment, Ottbo spoke up.

"W is the will of justice. It's not a name, it's a symbol!"

"?"

Luca looked at Ottbo as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Ottbo sparkled with excitement as he whispered to Luca,

"I'm not sure who he is, but he must have seen the Masked Knight Z! The outfit and lines are identical!"

"... Ha."

Ottbo was incredibly excited.

And perhaps thanks to Ottbo's support, the Masked Swordsman W found his stride and called out again, more energetically,

"W is the will of justice. My name is the Masked Swordsman W. I am a nameless one who loves justice!"

"....."

"Kghh. Heuuk! Eeup!"

Bella was shaking with laughter, keeping her head down.

Feeling like he'd say something if things went on like this, Luca nudged Ottbo, who seemed to be looking forward to what happened next.

"Take out the Carivik."

"Uh...huh?"

Ottbo looked very disappointed at Luca's words, but Luca was indifferent.

"I'm leaving this place to whatever masked-what's-his-name. That person will probably clean things up nicely."

"R-right? If it's the Masked Knight— I mean, the Masked Swordsman W!"

Ottbo immediately took out Carivik and was about to get in the driver's seat.

At that moment, Ferka suddenly shouted.

"Ottbo!"

"?"

Ottbo froze for a moment and looked at Ferka.

Ferka glanced at the Masked Swordsman W, then undid a pouch from his belt and dropped it on the ground.

He nodded toward Ottbo.

"......!"

Ottbo used flight magic to grab it and peeked inside.

"!"

When he saw what was inside, Ottbo looked wide-eyed at Ferka.

Ferka managed a wry smile and nodded slowly.

"....."

"....."

The brothers were silent for a moment, but soon began to do what they each needed to do, content with their silent agreement.

"Luca, I'm heading out!"

"Understood."

Vrooom!

And with that, Ottbo left in the Carivik.

"Masked Swordsman W, I don't know who you really are, but if you get in my way, I won't forgive you!"

"For justice, my sword will never stop!"

Watching the Masked Swordsman W stand guard behind them, Ferka piloted the armored soldier.

For some reason, a smile appeared on both brothers' lips.

* * *

"Oh, man. What was that?"

A man watched in the darkness, recording the scene with his recording device.

He chuckled as he filmed the entrance and antics of the masked swordsman.

"He suddenly called me and asked if I could do a transfer spell, so I wondered what was going on."

Mages who can use spatial-type magic on this continent are extremely rare.

Among those, teleportation is only possible for a mage of 8th tier or higher, or by using a special secret spell.

And in the Hernan Empire, there was only one family in possession of a warp-type secret spell.

The ducal family of Kimberly.

Only the Kimberly family's 'Transfer' allowed spatial movement without reaching 8th tier.

"I hate using transfer spells because they're difficult... But, well, this was worth it for such an entertaining spectacle."

This was Hayes, Wylde's friend and a member of Busters.

His full name was Hayes Docker Kimberly.

He was the third son of the Kimberly family.

"Now, Wylde. Don't make me regret choosing you over the Kimberly ducal family...!"

His eyes gleamed with a twisted delight.

* * *

Thud! Thud! Thud!

'Is this a dream?'

Ferka slowly replayed today's events and wondered if, perhaps, it was all a dream.

Ottbo's great escape seemed like a dream; a masked lunatic appearing during that, also a dream; and that lunatic smashing the Gress family's finest armored giant with his fists—was that not a dream too?

'Was that machine always so fragile?'

In the case of light armored soldiers, the frame could deform or break under shock.

But for normal armored soldiers or armored giants, deformation or damage was exceedingly rare.

They were made of special metal, and most impacts were blocked by magic.

Draining all the magic from the drive magic–inscribed magic stones did happen, but seeing the frame destroyed was almost unheard of.

Yet, the lunatic before his eyes...

He was pounding the armored giant to pieces.

"Justice...justice...hmm..."

The defining mark of the Masked Swordsman W, wanting to carve a W into his foe just as the Masked Knight Z carved a Z.

But before he could perfectly carve the W, the armored giant's frame shattered.

'Not easy.'

As W mourned the gap between novel and reality, Ferka spoke.

"That's enough. I think it's been thoroughly destroyed—there's not even a black box left."

"......"

W hadn't even considered the black box, but as Ferka seemed willing to talk, he stopped.

Ferka looked at him blankly and said,

"You're Wylde Traverse, aren't you?"

"My name is—"

"Who else in this world uses swordsmanship like that, the way you do?"

Ferka spoke curtly.

Having fought Wylde at many school festivals, he was well-acquainted with his swordsmanship.

Though the rapier was new, that destructiveness and form definitely belonged to Wylde.

"......"

Wylde—no, W—was silent.

But Ferka, apparently not intending to press further, changed the subject.

"You came to protect your brother, right? You've got a strong bond."

"......"

At that, W's lips twitched in an odd way.

Ferka smirked at him.

"Don't worry. There won't be any evidence to get the Traverse family in trouble. And if there were, I'd take care of it."

In response, W spoke indifferently.

"Weren't you targeting them?"

"Ottbo is better at drive magic than me. I figured that if I pretended to fight and gave him an opening, he would hack this."

Ferka gestured to his armored controller.

"Then I'd naturally lose and Ottbo would escape. From this cursed family."

"......"

At the mention of 'cursed family,' W's eyes flickered ever so slightly.

Ferka smiled wryly.

"Want to know about our family?"

"......"

"Well, it's nothing special. Like other mage families, we had the tradition of using a restriction to protect our family's secrets. It was my great-grandfather who first didn't place a restriction."

Even though W didn't answer, Ferka continued his story to himself, as if he needed to get it off his chest.

"It was at Grandfather's request—he didn't want his younger brother to suffer the restriction. So, my great-grandfather didn't place one on Great-Uncle. But Great-Uncle betrayed him, stealing the family's technique. He was eventually caught. I heard he was punished by having his magic circuits destroyed, but who knows where he is now."

"......"

"My father, having seen this, realized the restriction is necessary for the family. Though, honestly, not everyone turns out like Great-Uncle."

Ferka chuckled.

"I don't think Ottbo would do that. And even if he did, I wouldn't blame him. Maybe Grandfather wasn't that angry at Great-Uncle either. Maybe the leak was a misunderstanding. The punishment about destroying his circuits—maybe that's a lie, and he was just exiled somewhere no one knows."

"......"

"That's why I want Ottbo not to be restricted. If it's miserable under Father, he can run. I'll handle what remains."

After listening silently, W asked indifferently,

"Do you need help?"

"......"

Ferka smiled faintly at him.

"No. If Ottbo can be so brave, I can't just sit still, right? Even if Father keeps going down the wrong path, I'll set it right. I'm the next successor anyway. He'll have to listen eventually."

"I see."

Ferka snorted with laughter at W's flat answer.

"If we'd been in the same year, would I have ended up like you and your friends? Maybe I'd have joined Busters with you all."

"I have nothing to do with that group, but if you wanted, I'm sure they'd welcome you."

At W's indifferent reply, Ferka slowly shook his head.

"No. It's too late. Too much time has passed."

"......"

"Tonight was fun, Wylde. Or should I say, Masked Swordsman W?"

With that, Ferka turned and disappeared into the night.

"I hope we meet again somewhere."

"... Likewise."

And as the Masked Swordsman W too vanished, the moonlight only shone eerily on the wreckage of the shattered armored giants.

* * *

"Today really was incredible! Wasn't it?"

"It was anything but ordinary."

"Haha! Not only this daring runaway, but we even met the Masked Knight—no, the Masked Swordsman W!"

"I'd rather you not bring that up..."

"Pfft! Kkhh!"

Bella burst into laughter again at the mention of the Masked Swordsman W.

Luca sighed deeply and glanced to the side.

Ottbo, gripping the steering wheel with sparkling eyes.

Unlike when they first met, seeing him so cheerful left Luca with complex feelings.

Sensing his gaze, Ottbo peeked over at him.

"Thanks for coming, Luca. Thanks to you, I'm free now!"

"This isn't over. Your family will try something, and things will be complicated at the academy too."

Luca spoke flatly.

But Ottbo's expression remained bright.

"It's okay! There are already lots of people to help me! And I have you too!"

Ottbo's tone radiated total trust.

Luca gave a cynical smile in response.

"That's right."

It was an answer without the slightest hesitation.

If Ottbo ever needed help, Luca would gladly help as many times as necessary.

At that moment.

Ding!

[You have completed Ottbo Gress's 'MAX likability' quest.]

[Ottbo Gress – MAX likability quest]

–Ottbo Gress has succeeded in escaping the Gress family. His future now shines brightly.

–You have successfully completed the mission.

Reward: Can view 'Ottbo Gress's location' on the Map; number of uses for the 'Treasure Hunt' system in the Map application increased by 1; special skill 'Bond' created.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Ferka is a good bro...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】