Alvit swung her longsword desperately at the figure climbing onto the truck. A dark elf student clad in enchanted armor hastily took a defensive stance.

Shiiing—!

The black gauntlet barely withstood the strike from the crimson blade.

The powerful blow caused the armored student to stagger backward, but Alvit's assault did not end there.

Now's my chance!

With determination in her eyes, Alvit launched another attack.

“[Flashing Sword Assault]—!”

“…!”

It was the power of understanding the world at the second stage.

A newly realized ether skill.

Unleashing a strike at the level of [Vibrating Ether].

Sssshhh—!

Countless slashes engraved themselves onto the armor.

A web of straight lines, like a spider’s web, appeared.

They converged with an explosive momentum as if the armor would burst at any moment.

“Ugh?!”

The armored girl was taken aback by the web-like strikes converging on her. Even after the attack ended, the web-like lines clung to her.

“…!”

But her surprise lasted only a moment.

The armored girl who had just climbed onto the truck activated the defensive capabilities of her enchanted armor. As expected of something issued to the disciplinary committee of <Svart Industries High School>, the golden runes lit up, and the ether shield that activated was remarkably solid.

Bzzzz—!

The dark elf student grinned widely and shouted, her voice full of unconcealed confidence.

“Did you think I’d go down that easily to a first-year?! I’m different from the ones you’ve faced so far—!”

“…”

“Take this!! Then the promotion and bounty are mine—!!”

Clang!

The golden blade collided with Alvit’s crimson one. The armored girl quickly pressed a button on the hilt of her single-handed sword.

Click—!

Whooosh—!

Simultaneously, an ether circuit deployed, and the golden sword glowed. Intense red light burst forth like a whirlwind.

Vwoooom—!

In a moment, an auxiliary function allowed an attack similar to that of a [Wave Ether] user. The only drawback… it required melting down very expensive, high-purity ether conductive ores, and could only be used once or twice.

The dark elf student boldly activated her sword and attacked.

“Now’s not the time to hold back—!!”

“Ugh?!”

Alvit hurriedly rotated her crimson blade to deflect the attack. It was an instinctive move born from her sparring sessions with Bell.

The blades clashed and parted.

But the assault continued.

“You think a first-year’s tricks will work!! Not yet—!!”

The armored girl swung her sword again at Alvit, the blade glowing like a red torch. The sword’s tip left a chilling trail of fire as it advanced.

Shwaaah—!

The shining magical weapon emitted a threatening light and a sound like the wheels of hell passing. Worth every penny, the magical weapon of <Svart Industries High School> proved its value.

“Take this—!”

With the attack, Alvit twisted her stance, switching from offense to defense. It was the flow of unity in offense and defense, the basics of ether swordsmanship.

Chaaang—!!

Two blades collided.

Deflecting once more.

The tides of battle shifted again.

In that moment, Alvit caught a subtle gap created by the repeated shifts in offense and defense. The armor’s defensive functions were automatically adjusting for user convenience.

The armor's defenses have weakened…! This is my chance!

Eyes gleaming in the darkness, Alvit spoke softly. But her voice rang clear, even over the wind rushing past the speeding truck.

“It seems you rely too much on your gear. Your openings are bigger than a real [Wave Ether] user’s.”

“What…?”

The armored girl’s face twisted in anger.

Simultaneously, the countless spider web-like lines on the armor glowed. The armored girl hastily touched her armor, startled.

“Huh…? What? What is this…?!”

“Goodbye. I hope we don’t meet again.”

“Wait, wait…!”

Poke—!

Alvit jabbed the armor with the tip of her crimson sword and turned away, as if she had no more business there. Since mastering the second stage of ether manipulation, she could fully control the explosion timing of the [Flashing Sword].

Simultaneously, the web-like patterns carved into the armor exploded.

Boom—!

A heavy thud echoed as the dark elf student fell beneath the truck.

With that, Alvit successfully stopped all the students who had climbed onto the truck.

A familiar playful voice reached her ears.

“Ooh~ You’re quite skilled~”

“…Bell, senior.”

Bell was giggling with a twinkle in her eye. Having already swiftly defeated the five <Svart Industries High School> disciplinary committee students, she had watched Alvit’s battle.

Clap—!

Bell turned dramatically, furrowing her eyebrows.

Her expression mimicked Alvit’s serious face.

Bell humorously reenacted the situation.

“Crushing enemies in an instant… Then showing your back with a line like ‘I hope we don’t meet again’… You’re getting into this kind of style, aren’t you?”

“…”

“You timed the explosion with the turn. It was honestly for show, right? Come on, you’re into this style too, aren’t you~?”

She was probably referring to the penchant for showing off—displaying the dignity of the strong to strangers.

Alvit sighed deeply, realizing this. Her cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment.

“Phew… It’s not like that.”

“Oh, come on~! It feels so great, you know? Striking a pose in front of the weak is such a thrill~! You’ve tasted the true essence of it too…!”

“Okay, okay… Please stop teasing me…”

Bell laughed for a while.

Then, with an affectionate gesture, she patted Alvit’s shoulder and said.

“Hehe… Anyway, good job. The others couldn’t fight in such a tight space, but we could win because you were here.”

“I only took down one person.”

“That’s something, isn’t it? Hehe…!”

Bell laughed on the moving truck for a while, then walked to the driver’s seat. She knocked on the floor and shouted.

“We’ve taken them all down~! Keep going straight, we’re almost there!”

“Really? Oh my…”

Whirr!

The window of the driver’s seat rolled down, and Kara’s face popped out.

“Well done, Comrade Bell and Alvit! I never imagined they’d pursue us so tenaciously even after breaking through the encirclement…”

“Right~ Andrea, that golden ghost girl, was really persistent. We were unlucky. Even though [Purple Spindle] worked so hard to divert attention…”

Bell sighed deeply. In the passenger seat, Sigrun and Greta looked apologetic as they spoke.

“I’m sorry, Secretary Bell!! I lacked tenacity!! I should have fought even if it meant swinging my bow like a club—!!”

“Ugh, sorry. I can’t really fight well in such an open space…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine~ Just follow your cute secretary, and everything will be alright~! We’re almost there, so rest as much as you can!”

Bell squeezed herself through the open window of the passenger seat. But Alvit wasn’t small enough to squeeze back through the window, so she remained seated atop the truck.

Whooosh—

Feeling the wind of the wilderness atop the speeding truck.

“…”

Alvit gazed at the approaching walls of Golden Street, thinking of her pink-haired senior. Clara had assured them she was fine, but Alvit couldn’t help worrying.

“Senior… Are you really, really okay…?”

Her thoughts drifted back to the beginning of the semester.

The memory of underestimating Clara.

Recalling that time made her chest ache at her thoughtless words.

‘…I’m sorry.’

It was a guilt that would likely resurface often in the future.

“…”

Again…

Once more…

Was she failing to hear Clara’s sorrow and cries?

Was she unaware of the loneliness of the senior who burned herself out for them?

“If you’re hurting, please tell us, senior… I won’t pretend not to know anymore…”

Alvit still had such thoughts.

Clank—!

The sword at her waist clattered against the floor. Alvit stared blankly at the weapon she now treasured the most.

“…”

The crimson sword grew more familiar with each battle.

Holding the precious gift left by her senior close, Alvit prayed to resolve everything and meet again safely.

At that moment.

Vroooom—!

A new engine noise reached her ears.

Heading towards the grounds of <Aesir Girls’ High School>.

A sound that shouldn’t be heard in the deserted western wilderness.

“…!”

Alvit turned in surprise. There, a glittering golden cargo truck was chasing them.

[We thought you’d hide among the unremarkable louts, but you boldly jumped out… You’ve made our client very angry.]

A sly voice echoed.

An unknown announcer murmured through a loudspeaker.

[Hmph, it seems the disciplinary members we sent ahead were all taken out. Even if we receive a generous bonus for putting a tracker on you, I wonder if it’ll be worth it. But still… a deal’s a deal, and we have to work for what we’ve been paid.]

The low voice addressed them.

[Hey, you little rats. If you stop there, we’ll only charge the original damage compensation… Why not stop? From now on, the ruler of Academy City is about to change, so choose wisely.]

The high-performance loudspeaker carried the voice across hundreds of meters. Vehicles began approaching from a distance in response to the voice.

Vroom—!

Vroom, vroom—!

At least dozens of golden vehicles were coming.

The pursuers steadily closed the gap. Unlike their hastily stolen vehicle, these were clearly built for pursuit.

[Considering how much trouble you’ve caused us. Your lives aren’t even enough to cover the interest.]

The voice matched the opening of the vehicle’s cargo bay.

And slowly revealed what lay inside…

Bzzz—!

Bzzz—!

Bzzz—!

Dozens of enchanted armor puppets glowed with menacing light.

Bell hurriedly shouted through the passenger seat window.

“That, that’s Andrea, the student council president of <Svart Industries High School>! What are they thinking, attacking Golden Street?! We have to run—!!”

“Even if you say that, they’re getting closer and closer…!”

“Aaah~!! This is driving me crazy~!! We’re almost there~!!”

Bell clutched her head in despair, whimpering.

Alvit’s complexion gradually paled.

And yet, the pursuers’ vehicles drew ever closer.

＊

The first thing I saw upon entering Golden Street was chaos.

‘What a mess…’

Two groups, veins bulging in their necks, spewing ether filled with murderous intent. Numerous high school girls distorted their beautiful faces, spitting venomous curses and profanities laced with refined spite.

“You damn furry beasts—!! How dare you betray <Aesir Girls’ High School>?! I’ll skin you all and make rugs out of you!!”

“Ha! You pathetic savages wielding those iron scraps…! Since when was this Academy City yours?! The city will return to its rightful noble rulers!”

“Let’s see if you can keep spouting that nonsense with a sword down your throat!!”

“Those teeth spewing disrespect will be pulled out and turned into gravel for the school garden!!”

And they clashed without hesitation, creating a thunderous roar.

Sharp swords and threatening magic.

Weapons flying through the air.

Students rushing forward, covering dozens of meters in seconds.

Buildings collapsing, the city shattering.

Rumble—!!

Boom—!!

The ground shook as if giants were hammering from afar, with thunder and massive weapons colliding endlessly. Below, students in black and white uniforms clashed in groups.

If Go stones were replaced with people, would this not be the scene?

‘It’s cruel to say, but… the black and white division makes the situation easy to gauge.’

Contrary to the seemingly tense atmosphere.

The momentum of the battle at the gate leaned toward <Public Bana Boarding School>. One in ten students were beastkin, their neck and wrists glowing with serpent tattoos as they excelled.

“Weapons of gold, obey—!!”

“Obey—!!”

“Obey—!!”

An unruly swing with no incantation.

Yet countless weapons answered the call.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Dozens of weapons instantly flew toward the students in black uniforms, creating threatening explosions that decided the course of the fight.

Magic unleashed without incantation, recklessly.

No sign of personal ether skills or individuality…

Alien, childish barrages of power rained down mercilessly.

Watching this, I let out a silent groan.

‘A power that doesn’t follow the laws of Yggdrasil, a strength stolen by an ancient god… In the game, it was the setting for ‘cultists’ who appeared after the ending, so I didn’t pay much attention…’

The power bestowed by the [Serpent of Wisdom and Rebirth] was alien and bizarre. But the noble faction beastkin students wore satisfied smiles, their eyes gleaming.

“Hehehe…! This is the dignity of the noble faction!! Finally!! After 1000 years, the power given to the rightful rulers of Academy City—!!”

“…”

“…”

Freya and Lota watched from afar, their expressions grim.

It was a scene of a <Public Bana Boarding School> student, known as a magical prodigy, recklessly wielding a power that did not match their stature.

Amidst the chaotic scene.

Some noble faction students did not fully join the fray.

“Eek…!”

“I didn’t come to school for this…!”

“I don’t know anything about Bana noble’s old ambitions…!”

They trembled, hiding in alleyways, unable to believe reality… They were mostly first-year freshmen from <Public Bana Boarding School>.

We focused on those crouching helplessly.

Freya sighed in relief as she watched them.

“At least… it seems that idiot Frau didn’t force the freshmen into using that power…”

“Yeah…☆ Maybe she gave them a choice—♪”

“No, no… If they weren’t her direct subordinates, she wouldn’t share the power…”

“…Is that so~☆”

I remembered Frau’s petty nature, never gaining such great power in the game, disappearing as an early boss.

‘Well, she was the kind to casually discard people for her goals… A style like Cao Cao, using freshmen as cannon fodder instead of her main force…’

Lota cautiously tugged on my sleeve.

“Senior, those kids… Maybe they know something about what’s happening?”

“Well, well… We don’t have anyone else to ask, so… let’s just ask and leave if they’re not helpful…”

I was taken aback by Freya’s words.

“Hey―☆ Isn’t that a bit harsh~♪”

“What’s harsh… are the ones who burned my thesis and belongings… From the moment I saw those flames… distinctions and mercy on the battlefield vanished from my heart…”

“Phew…☆”

We were about to approach the trembling students hidden in the alley.

“…!”

“…!”

Freya and I sensed the presence of a group heading our way. Lota, seeing us move, quickly hid behind me.

Boom!

A group of students appeared swiftly from afar. They wore the uniforms of the <United Student Council>, central members. Leading them was a black wolf beastkin.

‘Oh? That’s…!’

It was Sieglinde, the second-year vice president of the <United Student Council>.