As he cut through the demonic beasts, Yoon Si-woo thought to himself.

The world was indeed a harsh place.

Scarlet Evande was a strong girl. Even though she knew she had little time left, she still smiled, striving to keep the promise she made to herself to be happy.

So strong that she would rather wish for death than harm others with her own hands.

The memory of her smiling beautifully, saying that he was a reliable person even as her breathing slowed, continuously haunted his mind.

Having endured considerable pain and anguish in her daily life, how could she still smile so brightly even in the face of death?

What kind of mindset was she living with that she could smile and express gratitude for something she had done to herself?

He couldn’t fathom it.

He could only be certain that her life was not merely filled with happiness.

He wished for her, a girl with such a tragic fate, to spend her remaining time peacefully and happily.

Why does the world always bestow trials and tribulations upon the good?

Clenching his teeth, he pierced the body of the demonic beast in front of him.

His hands trembled.

The sensation of piercing through the girl’s body with his own hands echoed in his mind like a lingering reverberation, causing him to wield his sword even more violently to erase it.

The red blood of the beasts splattered here and there.

Seeing the blood of that hue, he unconsciously gripped tighter.

It displeased him.

The fact that those creatures shared the same color of blood as her.

He had learned to control his emotions while wielding the sword, but today, he didn’t want to do that.

He swung at the demonic beasts, again and again, as if to vent his anger.

In doing so, he felt eyes on him from behind the barricades.

The students from the Academy who had come for the tour were watching him from afar.

He caught a glimpse of red hair that reminded him of Scarlet.

If this had been not long ago, just seeing her nearby would have made his heart race.

Now, however, he felt more a heavy sense of disappointment than a racing heartbeat.

Even while he was cleaning up after defeating all the beasts, that troubled feeling did not dissipate.

Still, he couldn’t help but direct his gaze towards her.

Not out of affection but out of worry and concern.

Imagining what kind of hardships were hidden behind her expressionless face, he kept watching Scarlet.

Then, unexpectedly, a strange person caught his eye.

Right next to Scarlet, where there had been no one just moments ago.

Someone wearing a hood appeared so naturally.

“Wow, impressive. I almost felt thrilled at the promise to protect.”

The voice of a slender, high-pitched woman.

Before he had time to question her identity, he was already charging towards Scarlet.

“…Who are you? Unauthorized persons shouldn’t be here.”

“Ah, don’t worry. I’m not a suspicious person.”

Yoon Si-woo observed as the woman answered Martina, who had questioned her with suspicion, while smiling gently at him.

A feeling of unease flowed down his back, urging him to move faster, but the distance to the battlefield and where the students were standing was too far.

The orb the woman pulled from her robes emitted a sinister light.

“She’s not a human, but a witch.”

With the voice of the Holy Sword revealing the truth,

[[[[■■■■■■■■■■!!!!!!!]]]]

The roar of the demonic beasts echoed all around, and

“NO!!!!!”

From within the barrier, Yoon Si-woo’s hollow shout rang out.

*

“This is insane! How did the beasts show up so suddenly?”

“That’s not the important thing right now! We need to save the students first…!”

“Damn it, the barrier! In order to go rescue the students, we must deal with the beasts that set up the barrier first! Eliminate all the beasts inside the barrier!”

The appearance of the woman who introduced herself as a witch.

And at the same time, the beasts pouring out from the air.

The cries of the team, a mixture of urgency and nervousness in an unprecedented crisis, filled the barrier.

They were not in danger.

It was extremely rare for intermediate-level beasts to pour out like this, but they weren’t a significant threat to the members.

The members of Astrape were quite strong enough to handle intermediate beasts with ease.

The problem lay with the students trapped in the same space as the beasts and the witch, whose power was unknown because of the barrier.

If even a little time was delayed, anything could happen, so the members began to intercept the beasts inside the barrier as quickly as possible.

Unless they used the barrier, the fighting abilities of the greedy beasts were considerably lower than those of others.

Now trapped by their own barriers, the beasts lost even their advantage of flight, and those inside the barrier were swiftly taken down by the members.

Meanwhile, Yoon Si-woo, who was attacking the beasts with a formidable force, felt something amiss.

‘…Why are there so few beasts?’

The number of beasts flying around inside the barrier was surprisingly low compared to the number that first emerged.

Could it be that all those numerous beasts went to where the students were?

Yoon Si-woo, imagining the students under attack from countless beasts in his mind, quickly defeated the last remaining beast and confirmed the disappearing barrier before charging ahead.

What he was met with was

“…What the?”

Another barrier, similar to the one they had just escaped.

Inside the barrier, there was a number of beasts much like before.

Something felt wrong.

The moment Yoon Si-woo sensed this, Martina unleashed a wave of magic that wiped out the beasts flying about in an instant.

As the beasts maintaining the barrier vanished, the barrier once again dissolved.

Beyond it, another barrier, just like the previous one, appeared anew.

His anxiety solidified into certainty.

“These guys are deliberately trying to buy time…!”

While the greedy beasts generally possessed lower combat abilities than other beasts, the complexity of their barrier power made them troublesome.

It was possible to break the barrier without killing the beasts, but it required an enormous amount of power, and if a certain number gathered and established a barrier together, breaking it by force became virtually impossible.

Generally, the greedy beasts exhibited selfish behavior, arguing among themselves for hunting grounds when trapping people inside the barrier.

But now, they were acting in a very coordinated manner, as if answering to someone’s command.

Gathered just enough to make breaking the barrier difficult, they were simultaneously casting their own barriers, causing time to delay for their escape.

Yoon Si-woo grimaced as he decapitated a beast.

[■■■■■■■■■■!!!!!!!]

Yet at that moment, even as the head rolled away, the beast howled in laughter.

As if they knew exactly what would bother them most.

As he continued to waste time, breaking down the barriers one by one, he wondered what on earth was happening outside.

If something were to happen to Scarlet…

Yoon Si-woo shook in dread at the worst scenarios that crossed his mind as he glared at the barriers.

He needed to penetrate those multiple layers of barriers; he couldn’t remain as he was.

If he couldn’t break them in a regular way, he would have to use an unconventional method…

The moment Yoon Si-woo thought that he should use what he had been training with Lucy recently, he heard Lucy murmur, as if reading his thoughts.

“Stop it. You’re not ready to wield that power, and there are too many eyes watching here.”

At her words, Yoon Si-woo looked around.

She was right; there were too many people around.

If he used the method he was considering, it was highly likely that something irreversible would occur.

But in that instant, something irreversible might happen beyond there.

Just as Yoon Si-woo was ready to ignore Lucy’s warning and reach for the Holy Sword of Humility…

From behind him, Martina called out to him.

“Yoon Si-woo, if that shining sword you showed last time is available, you can probably manage the beasts inside the barrier all at once, right?”

If she was referring to the Holy Sword of Liberation, then that was likely possible.

As Yoon Si-woo nodded, Martina asked once more.

“How many times can you use it?”

“I’ve never tried more than three, but probably up to five times…”

Remembering that it was a powerful attack capable of reaching even the clouds, it consumed a considerable amount of energy.

He answered while recalling that Lucy had said anything beyond five times would be too taxing on his body.

Upon hearing that, Martina nodded and murmured.

“Got it. Then pour everything you’ve got until you reach that limit. Among us, you and I are the only ones capable of that kind of area attack. It’ll take preparation time, so we’ll take turns. Got it?”

Yoon Si-woo realized her intention.

Rather than everyone taking down the beasts one by one, it was quicker to wipe them out with an area attack.

While it would put a burden on a few individuals, it assuredly would be faster.

Excluding the short-cut he had considered earlier without a backout plan, this was the only quickest way to navigate through the situation, so Yoon Si-woo nodded and drew the Holy Sword.

Martina gathered her magical power and shouted to the squad members intercepting the beasts.

“4th Squad! Gather behind me!”

All members quickly assembled behind her in response to that command.

The squad leader Kanna, hearing her plan, frowned and asked Martina.

“…Captain, we don’t know how many layers the barrier has. Is it really possible?”

“It doesn’t matter if it is possible; it has to be. If we want to go out fast, then this is the best method. Even if I collapse from exhausting all my magic power, I’ll erase every last barrier, so just make sure to save the kids.”

“…Understood.”

Martina’s scarlet magical energy flickered in the air.

Yoon Si-woo murmured quietly.

“Holy Sword, Open.”

Brilliant golden light exploded from the sword held by Yoon Si-woo.

Seeing him prepared, Martina directed her magic towards the beasts flying around inside the barrier.

“I don’t like water, so I’ll burn it all with fire.”

At her words, the sky inside the barrier ignited.

As the flying demonic beasts fell ablaze, the barrier disintegrated, and

“HAH!!!!!”

Immediately afterward, the sword of light Yoon Si-woo had prepared swallowed the beasts inside the next barrier.

As if there was no time to rest, as soon as Yoon Si-woo’s attack ended, Martina’s magic unfolded once more.

Every time waves of flame and light sparked in the interior of the barrier, the barriers dissolved, and new ones emerged.

They rapidly repeated the process, destroying a total of ten barriers, yet still, the barriers remained.

“Ugh… Hah… I’m sorry… I’m exhausted now…”

Yoon Si-woo, worn from repeated attacks, slumped to the ground gasping for breath.

The brilliant golden light shining in his hand slowly lost its brilliance.

Seeing this, Martina lightly tapped Yoon Si-woo’s shoulder.

“Good job. Thanks to you, we’ve bought a lot of time. Leave the rest to me.”

“…Yes.”

Martina drew upon her magic once again.

Her scarlet magical power scattered as flames painted the sky.

It continued without a pause, leading to a momentous stop.

“…Ugh.”

Martina stammered briefly, her pallor signaling the signs of magic exhaustion.

No matter how great a sorceress she was touted to be, it was impossible to unleash such a large-scale area spell without pausing.

Yet, even as blood trickled from her mouth, Martina raised her magical power once more.

Desperate to rescue the students as soon as possible, she was squeezing out her magic to its limit, casting spells.

Despite her face looking like she was at her limit, she continued to weave magic with trembling hands.

Watching her, Yoon Si-woo suddenly felt a deep sense of inadequacy wash over him.

“What am I doing right now?”

His strength waned, his hands trembled, yet his arms still moved fine.

His legs were shaky, but they were sturdy enough to hold him up.

Yet, while his captain was straining herself, putting forth all her effort…

Given that someone precious to him was facing crisis outside, what on earth was he doing huddled on the ground?

Why was he moaning like a pitiful being at his own limits?

If there were limits, this was precisely the place to surpass them.

Yoon Si-woo bit his lip and murmured once more.

“…Holy Sword, Open…!”

Light regained its luster once more from his hand.

While his body screamed from the weight of the opening, he forced himself to stand.

“…Are you okay?”

Then he asked Martina, who despite appearing more exhausted than him, looked at him.

With a smile at her concern, Yoon Si-woo responded, reminiscent of the girl he liked.

“I despise doing nothing and just relying on others…”

“…Ha, is that so?”

At his words, Martina chuckled softly, murmuring.

“Then, stop whining and follow me.”

At those words, Yoon Si-woo grinned and swung his sword.

A bright light filled his vision.

Flames blazed fiercely, as if refusing to be outdone.

Once more, a burst of light sliced through the sky.

His joints creaked, as if screaming that it was at its limit.

Yet,

Fueled purely by his mental fortitude, he swung his sword.

In the end, he cleaved through his limits.

Beyond the pitch-black barrier, the sky was revealed.

Under the world that had regained its sky, Yoon Si-woo saw the students gathered just as they were before.

With most appearing unscathed, relief surged within him.

However, then, he realized something was wrong.

Yoon Si-woo scanned the area where the students were gathered once more.

But he could not see her.

Everyone was there, yet one person who should have been there was missing.

Yoon Si-woo stared dazedly at the children’s faces.

Although they appeared uninjured, their expressions were extremely dark.

Some were even shedding tears.

Most among them were students who had been close to Scarlet.

‘No way.’

Please tell him it wasn’t true.

While feeling such thoughts, he asked Sylvia, who was sobbing pitifully, with a trembling voice.

“Where is Scarlet… where is Scarlet?”

At that question, Sylvia broke into tears.

Yoon Si-woo felt a cold sensation wash over his body.

In that instant, he recalled how desperately he hoped.

No, please don’t let it happen.

Just that one thing, he desperately wished it would not happen.

But Sylvia, with a trembling voice, informed Yoon Si-woo of the harsh reality.

“…Ugh… In exchange for saving us…”

“…Ah-”

“…Instead, Lady Scarlet… to the witch…”

In that moment,

Yoon Si-woo thought.

The world was indeed a cruel place.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!”