It was an emergency.

The academy and the Imperial Knights never expected a terrorist attack, much less one orchestrated by students of the academy.

To be precise, all those students were undoubtedly on the side of the terrorists.

The Imperial Knights rode horses or their familiars toward Bartos Hall to stop the attack.

The Imperial Knights tensed up as their caution spiked. Some of them briefly exchanged words to calm their nerves.

"I don't know either. But from my experience, if it's a type of magic that no one has heard of and uses such a frightening amount of mana... it's definitely extremely dangerous."

Eventually, the Imperial Knights had to come to a halt as the Clover Paladin, Pierre Flanche, and numerous Trump soldiers blocked their path.

Pierre, in uniform, had the appearance of a mature adult man rather than a student.

It was the moment it was revealed that the students who carried out this terror had infiltrated the academy disguised as young-looking individuals.

The Imperial Knights drew their swords and charged toward their enemies without hesitation.

In another direction, Diamond Paladin Alexa led her own platoon of Trump soldiers. She confronted the combat forces of Märchen Academy approaching Bartos Hall.

The academy plaza was a cauldron of panic. To protect them, dozens of wizards set up barriers, and faculty, who had received prior instructions from the Headmistress, led the people in the plaza to shelters.

However, some students did not follow the directions of the faculty.

"Hey! What are you doing not evacuating quickly?!"

"Isaac, Isaac, where are you…?"

Luce Eltania pushed through the fleeing students and moved in the opposite direction.

Isaac had been missing for a while now. Despite her keen eyesight, she could not see him anywhere.

Isaac was always at the center of trouble. He was, after all, the Nameless Hero.

By now, he would be heading towards Bartos Hall where the terror had occurred. The timing was certain. He missed a mandatory academy event, suggesting he had likely foreseen this situation unfolding.

Luce inferred this and summoned Thunderbird - Gallia.

In an instant, thunderclouds covered the sky. With a loud crash, purple thunder rumbled, and from the black clouds, a massive black grouse revealed his majestic presence.

It was Thunderbird - Gallia, an 8-star lightning elemental magic beast.

Gallia landed near Luce, who was running past the students. The people around were startled and ran away from the magic beast.

"Student Luce!"

"What, what are you trying to do?! Stop right now…! Ack!"

When the faculty and Imperial Knights tried to stop Luce, she swung water magic around her to prevent anyone from approaching.

As Galia lowered his body, Luce climbed on top.

"Galia, over there! Isaac might be there!"

[Understood!]

Isaac's power might be conditional. If that assumption proved to be true, it was imperative to protect him.

Even if it wasn’t, Luce wanted to be by Isaac's side. She had to be. If Isaac were even slightly injured, she would feel as though her heart was being ripped to shreds.

It was an undeniable attachment. Luce cherished that feeling.

Galia, carrying Luce, flew towards Bartos Hall.

Whirrr!

"Ugh?!"

Luce and the Thunderbird, overly focused on Isaac amidst their worries, were slow to notice the bombardment.

A deep pink fireball flew at high speed, attacking Galia’s wing. With a fierce explosion, one of Galia’s wings caught on fire. It was a flame with a high density of mana.

Despite the searing pain, Galia remained unmoved and flapped his wings to disperse the flames.

Numerous forces appeared in the sky and on the ground, blocking Luce and Galia. They were Trump soldiers riding winged horses.

Then, a cute-looking woman, who had fired flames at the Thunderbird from the ground, mounted her familiar and took the lead, flying high into the sky.

A red horse clad in armor, striding through the air with deep pink flames at its hooves. The person mounted on the magic beast was none other than the Heart Paladin, Shera Hectolica.

As she reached the front of the Trump soldiers and deployed a fire magic circle, Luce set up a lightning magic circle and stood guard.

"We meet again?"

"..."

Luce scrutinized Shera. She was in a red uniform, unlike when she was a student. Although still youthful in appearance, she seemed more mature than during the joint practical evaluation.

"I'm sorry, what can I do? No one can pass through here!"

"Move aside."

"I said no."

Luce's gaze chilled.

Many people were converging in their direction. As per the emergency instructions, they were the quickly-formed combat forces and Imperial Knights.

Somehow, several students, including Ian Fairytale, Tristan Humphrey, and Mateo Jordana also formed a team and secretly followed the adults. They were students united by the single-minded intention to protect the academy

They all fought against the Trump soldiers.

Shera thought that she was just buying time anyway.

It was okay. All she needed to do was hold on just a tiny bit longer. Until Alice revived the Evil God. Then it would be their victory.

It wouldn't take much time.

Even if I die in the process... it doesn't matter.

For Alice, Shera was ready to lay down her life.

From the moment she was saved by Alice in Wonderland…

The other paladins felt the same. Amidst their somber mood, only Shera made an effort to appear cheerful. She thought they had come too far to let their spirits fall.

But now, she had to kill her emotions.

For the kingdom... no, to protect Alice Carroll, who had saved her.

"Who gave the order?"

"Our Queen."

"So you enrolled with this purpose from the beginning."

"Yes, we too have something to protect."

Luce did not hide her disgust.

Bzzzzzz!

She figured it would be fine to suppress an enemy of the academy.

Thinking this, Luce extended her left arm forward and unleashed lightning mana.

"...?"

Shera was surprised. The mana she felt from Luce was much stronger than during the joint practical evaluation.

Luce's lightning mana surged. The magic weapon on her left ring finger, the Ring of the Abyssal Queen, amplified her power.

Did she not use her full strength when we fought last time?

Amused by the thought, Shera scoffed.

At the same time, her heart faced in anticipation. If this was to be her final battlefield, how thrilling would it be to face such an unreasonably powerful genius with all her might?

"I don't care about your circumstances."

Luce's sarcastic voice settled.

Whatever their reasons might be, it all came at the expense of others.

"It wouldn't be worth listening to.

"What matters is that you stood in my way. That... I cannot forgive."

"Then try to kill me, Luce Eltania!"

Excited, Shera summoned the red knight minion “Heart Jack”, who was entrusted to her by Alice, along with deep pink flames.

Boom!!

Massive flames and lightning collided, causing a series of explosions.

Luce and Shera, riding their familiars, flew around casting elemental magic at each other.

Kooooh!!

Shera's flames spread in every direction. Fireballs fell like rain on the academy's combat forces, Imperial Knights, and Ian Fairytale's group, who were advancing toward Bartos Hall.

They were just debris tossed about in the battle. Though getting hit would cause injuries, dealing with it was straightforward. The academy's combat forces and Imperial Knights dodged, cut through, or eliminated the falling fireballs even as they fought against the Trump soldiers.

Mateo Jordana raised a [Rock Wall] to block the fireballs.

The vain blond noble, Tristan Humphrey, sent fireballs flying with a kick infused with wind mana and surveyed the battlefield.

One person, unable to dodge a fireball, was hit and thrown back. Tristan saw him, widened his eyes, and made faces.

"That fool!!"

"Ian!!"

Ian Fairytale, a student with the light element and unparalleled destructive force laid unconscious, steam rising from his body.

Meanwhile, in Bartos Hall.

[Status] Name: Isaac Lv: (159)

Currently, [vs. Human Combat Power] was at 76. For every 10 stat points invested, my level temporarily increased by 5. This meant my level would increase by 35 whenever I fought against a human.

My view constantly flickered from the disunfunctioning chandelier.

Whoosh!

A tachi infused with cold mana tore through the air in a moment of darkness.

Isaac, while casting a spell, twisted his body and narrowly dodged the sword strike aimed at his chest.

Frost encroached on his body as he urgently kicked off the ground to put distance between himself and Zenon.

"...This is crazy."

A piercing chill that exceeded Isaac’s ice resistance enveloped his chest. He narrowly avoided freezing.

He shouldn’t have relied solely on instinct to evade the blade. He needed to deliberately widen the gap.

He absolutely could not let it graze him. The chill was at a level where even a close pass could freeze parts of his body.

Moreover, because it was a tachi, its blade was long, making it much more difficult than anything Isaac had experienced in the game.

"Weren't you the Nameless Hero?"

Zenon sheathed his tachi.

If Isaac had been the Nameless Hero, Zenon was determined to risk his life just to inflict even a minor wound on him.

Perhaps even that was a pipe dream, for the Nameless Hero was a champion among champions, beyond any norm.

But now, there was no need to even consider that assumption.

Though Isaac's mana density had increased sharply, it was merely the effect of his magic staff.

"The Queen has harbored vain suspicions all along."

Zenon grabbed the brim of the military cap, pulled it over his eyes, and murmured a monologue.

This concludes it. Alice had suspected that Isaac was the Nameless Hero, but unfortunately, that suspicion turned out to be false.

The silver-blue-haired boy was simply the result of great talent and rigorous training.

Shhhck!

Brandishing his blade, Zenon lunged at Isaac once more. The tachi struck like a bolt of cold lightning.

Clash!

Boom!!

Isaac scrambled backward as he casted an ice spell, Zenon clashed with the same kind of magic. Ice collided with ice, and cold grappled with cold, neutralizing each other.

As cold wind whirled about, two men exchanged blows in the flickering scenery.

The power of elemental magic, mana mastery, and combat experience—all favored Zenon. However, precisely for that reason, the longer the fight continued, the more Zenon couldn’t help but admire Isaac's talent.

As if reading his attack, Isaac consistently made rational decisions, effectively evading and retaliating whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Moreover, his magic casting speed was extremely fast. His brain must be working at a terrifying speed.

This wasn’t the level of a mere student.

Even if this silver-haired man wasn’t the Nameless Hero, it was clear he was a genius born with extraordinary talent.

But... I'm sorry.

Surely, you would have blossomed into a great wizard in the future.

But I must kill you.

I must snuff your future.

For Queen Alice, for the kingdom I must protect,

Zenon thought this as he unleashed a fierce onslaught on Isaac.

Isaac's movements slowed. The frost of Zenon’s blade was overwhelming Isaac's body.

Crackle!

Zenon dodged Isaac's elemental magic attack, infiltrated his defense, and swung his tachi.

Isaac, in an effort to avoid the first sword strike, forcibly widened the distance by jerking himself backward, inevitably making his movements larger.

The second sword strike sharply cut through the air.

Isaac’s eyes widened; he desperately drew a dagger from his robes.

Immediately, he braced the hand holding the hilt of the dagger with Zhonya's Staff and guarded against Zenon’s blade.

Clang!

Sparks flew from the friction of metal but were quickly swallowed by the surging cold.

Neither yielded. Both men continued their struggle, putting their weight into their blades.

Simultaneously, the cold unleashed by them kept each other at bay. Their mana intertwined, each trying to freeze the other.

"Ugh!"

Isaac groaned.

Isaac realized that his dagger was gradually freezing.

As a result, the struggle increasingly turned against Isaac as his body gradually faltered.

Isaac gritted his teeth and strained his body as he tried to withstand being pushed back.

Zenon, without even breathing heavily, calmly narrowed his eyes and watched.

"...Impressive."

"What?"

Isaac furrowed his brow.

"You have remarkable qualities. It would be a pity for you to die here. But... it's unfortunate."

"..."

"Curse me, Isaac."

Then, the Sheath of Disaster slid down the leg of his trousers and fell at Isaac's feet.

Immediately, he kicked it with the tip of his shoe, activating the stored ice spell.

"...!"

Taken aback by the unexpected turn of events, Zenon kicked the ground and fled backward.

However, the Sheath of Disaster had already detonated a blast of ice at him.

Kwaaaaa!!

A five-star ice spell, [Frost Explosion].

Ice boulders erupted with the explosion. Zenon wailed in pain from his severely frozen leg. Although he had avoided a direct blow, he couldn’t completely evade the icy explosion.

Whoosh!

In an instant, Isaac dashed through the dense cold. Zenon's eyes widened at the tremendous speed.

Zenon's judgment was delayed.

Despite his unstable posture, Zenon hastily tried to swing his tachi.

Thump!!

However, Isaac's fist was faster.

"Oof!!"

The fierce punch slugged Zenon squarely in the face with the force of a cannonball.

Whoom!

With that, Isaac's punch sent Zenon flying.

Zenon's body sliced through the air and bounced twice off the ground. He conjured a block of ice, stepped on it, and halted his momentum.

Zenon gasped for air. Blood streamed from his mouth and nose. He was constantly surrounded by a solid [Basic Protection Magic], but even that was negligible against the formidable and fierce punch from Isaac.

Zenon lifted his head with a shocked expression.

Blood dripped from Isaac's fist.

"For a student, how could...?"

His voice fell silent and heavy.

In the swirling cold, Isaac's chilling red eyes glinted ominously.

Contained within those eyes was a suppressed rage.