How to Survive at the Academy
chapter-153

Crebin Raid (4)

TL: TangSanFan

ED/PR: Tanthus & secondrselaksa

—Kwakwang, Kwang! Kaang!

The earth began to shake. This wasn’t merely a few explosions within a building. The foundation of the underground research facility itself was trembling. Being located underground, the vibrations were directly felt. Dust and dirt began to trickle down from between the bricks surrounding the hall’s exterior, obscuring the view.

—Crack, thunk.

A few grains of sand fell and bounced off the pale cheeks of Arwen.

“It has begun.”

Arwen started to shudder here and there, accompanying her words with significant meaning as she bowed her head.

—Bang! Kwagagang! Pabababak!

—Whirlik! Whik!

“Kyaaak! What is that?!”

Yenika screamed in alarm. Something was breaking through and surfacing along the ground.

They were appendages, tentacles covered in unpleasantly sticky flesh. They were sizable and abundant.

Oozing mucus that was nauseating to even look at, tentacles burst forth from all directions, reaching out towards the ground above. Something was unfolding on the surface.

Without needing to see more, it was clear that the descent of the evil god Mebuler was taking place.

“Crazy….”

A curse involuntarily escaped. Coming to the Rothtaylor estate to exploit Crebin’s weakness, the thought of having to confront Mebuler directly had never crossed my mind. And for a good reason, at that moment when you witness the descent of an evil god, Crebin had crossed a point of no return.

It was the most blatant proof that under Crebin’s lead, the Rothtaylor estate’s underground chambers were conducting the experiments for Mebuler’s descent. The stacks of documents were unnecessary. The abhorrent tentacles of Mebuler, filling the land, served as the undeniable evidence.

It’s true that this madman sought to harness the power of disaster, offering up numerous guests and reputable scholars of Sylvania Academy as sacrifices. But as reckless as this person was, he was cautious when he needed to be. It was unbelievable that a human would recklessly draw upon the power of an evil god, no matter how adamantly the Steel Wall Lucy stood in their way.

There must have been other variables at play. According to the normal course of events, it wasn’t yet time for Crebin to attempt the descent of the evil god. As far as I knew, it wouldn’t be until next semester that Crebin would begin preparations in earnest to summon Mebuler.

The reason for that is…

“Princess Phoenia…?”

“… Ed!”

Suddenly, my head grew cold. Yenika, unable to keep her balance due to the trembling, called out to me with concern.

“Ed! It’s going to collapse soon! We need to get to the surface quickly!”

“…….”

As I turned my gaze towards Arwen, she looked back with a smile, her eyes cast down.

“You don’t have to worry about me. Escape quickly.”

“…What do you mean?”

“My father would never just leave me to die. It’s just not possible for him.”

As she spoke, Arwen smiled leisurely under the gradually crumbling ceiling. Her pale expression, juxtaposed with her demeanor, gave off the eerie impression of a ghost, raising the hairs on the observer’s neck.

Yenika hesitated at the sight. For a brief moment, I wavered too, but quickly gritted my teeth, grabbed Yenika’s hand, and ran.

We ran past the cells we had just come through when a laboratory filled with various research materials popped up once more. Here, too, unsightly tentacles were stretching toward the ground above. While running through the lab, I hastily grabbed at the documents, scanning over them without breaking stride.

The research seemed to be nearing its final stages. Crebin’s planned descent of the evil god on Acken was slated for just after the main characters’ second-year winter break. So, we had at least half a year before that was set to happen, at the earliest.

But as I glanced through the research materials, it was evident that much of the research was already in its final stages. The research concerning the magic formulae and flow of mana had been completed to a point where the descent of the evil god could be attempted immediately without any problems.

What remained was finding the appropriate sacrifices.

—And coincidentally, there was no better gathering of quality sacrifices than the social event being hosted at the Rothtaylor estate.

It was clear that Crebin’s research had progressed unnaturally fast compared to the official timeline. The completion date was nearly half a year ahead of schedule, so it wasn’t surprising that the descent was being attempted sooner.

When searching for the cause, one would have to look beyond the numerous incidents.

To put it simply, it was because Princess Phoenia did not run for student council president. That seemed to be the only discernible cause.

In the official story, Princess Phoenia became the student council president, utilizing both the academic and royal factions to consistently doubt and keep Crebin in check. However, the current student council president was somewhat sympathetic to the Rothtaylor house, Tanya Rothtaylor.

Tanya, though suspicious of Crebin’s actions, didn’t actively confront him, unlike her own family head. Her movements were a complete departure from the aggressive checks and balances conducted by Princess Phoenia.

Playing [The Sylvania Swordsman of Failure], I had not realized that Phoenia’s actions served not only to politically pressure Crebin but also crippled his research efforts with various forms of obstruction.

Without Phoenia’s interference, Crebin’s research advanced rapidly, finishing unexpectedly early, and obviating the need for a laborious attack on the Sylvania Academy to secure sacrifices. The social gathering happening to coincide served his purpose well enough.

Reaching this point in my thoughts, even the reason he lured me to this estate, purportedly to discuss the Rothtaylor house’s reinstatement, became clear.

He intended to make me a sacrifice as well in the midst of attempting Mebuler’s descent, aiming to deal with me once and for all. With strength and reputation being restored, a royal reinstatement would restore honor, making me the perfect sacrifice.

—Bang!

I kicked open the door leading out of the research room. I sprinted along the bricked corridor. Yenika, gasping for breath, gritted her teeth and followed. Seeing her struggle, I just picked her up and ran. I would have liked to summon a spirit and fly away, but the corridor was too narrow.

“Woah, Ed?!”

Yenika, suddenly lifted, blushed in embarrassment, but this was no time for bashful reactions.

—Thud, bang! Kwakwang!

Tendrils burst from the corridor floor, stretching toward the surface. We dodged the tentacles and raced up the sloping staircase.

“Ed… I’m not heavy…?! You’re not struggling?!”

“You’re not heavy!”

“Thank goodness!”

I answered hastily and sped up. Bricks fell amidst the shaking foundation; a direct hit to the head could spell instant death.

Finally, after a long run, the exit to the surface came into view. I didn’t hesitate to kick open the door.

—Bang!

And before my eyes, the scene unfolded. I had not anticipated that conditions would be normal above ground. Nevertheless, the shocking state of destruction left both Yenika and me gasping.

The Rothtaylor estate, encircled by a large wall, comprised five buildings, arranged in a circle. The opulent central mansion, from where we emerged on the third floor, should have been hidden in a dark, secluded space created in secrecy next to the kitchen quarters. However, the view was surprisingly clear—half the wall of the central mansion had been blown away.

Thanks to this, the full view of the Rothtaylor estate unfolded before us. From the servants’ quarters to the spire, none of the buildings, including the central mansion and annex, were intact.

However, now was not the time to focus on the buildings.

—Whistling.

The wind caused my hair to flutter. Under the brightly shining moon, against the dark night sky, massive tentacles were growing rapidly. The tendrils, taller than the buildings, began to crush everything around them indiscriminately. And against the bright moon, a colossal mass of flesh floated in the air.

So vast it made even the building debris look like block toys. On it, there were eyes. While humans have two eyes, perhaps an evil god governing hatred and rage requires more. Dozens, hundreds of eyes squirmed in all directions, as if surveying the entire world. It was a revolting sight to behold, making one’s skin crawl.

Behind that scene in the sky, layers upon layers of magic circles spread out as if to cover the heavens. At first glance, it was difficult to discern the nature of those magic circles, but I had seen them several times before.

The fourth act of the final battle of [The Sylvania Swordsman of Failure].

Those were the same magic circles that covered the skies of Acken during the Crebin Subjugation War.

“Ed, Ed…”

“Listen carefully, Yenika.”

I placed my hands on Yenika’s shoulders and, looking directly into her eyes, I spoke.

“Those magic circles are designed to offer sacrifices to the evil god. They’re manifested by borrowing Mebuler’s power. The evil god Mebuler never grants human wishes without a price.”

“Then, then…”

“Right. The moment those magic circles activate, if you’re within their range… it’s very likely you’ll lose your life.”

Yenika’s eyes quivered slightly. While I had faced and endured countless life-and-death situations, death still seemed an abstract and distant concept to Yenika.

“We’re the only ones who have witnessed exactly what happened down there. So, one of us must survive.”

“If you tell me to run away now, I’ll get angry.”

But Yenika preemptively cut off whatever I was about to say next.

“Listen, Ed. I could die for you.”

And she grabbed my collar firmly, as if driving the point home with her determined statement—quite unlike the usually gentle Yenika.

“It’s not that one of us should survive; both of us must. If Ed dies, anyway…”

She stopped there, hiccupping. Upon seeing my expression, she suddenly realized what she was saying amidst the frantic situation.

“Th-that was just a figure of speech…”

“Your sentiment is appreciated, but it seems we don’t have the luxury of time for such an argument.”

Above us, the visage of Mebuler floated in the sky. The evil god was ready to move at any moment. The tentacles of the evil god had already begun destroying buildings and subduing people. Once the contract with the evil god concluded, Crebin would wield powers that could defy the laws of nature itself.

Should this come to pass, in [The Sylvania Swordsman of Failure] it would mean game over, the story ending with Crebin advancing to strike at the Clorel Empire. With the lives of the nobility now at stake and the taboo breached, the world knew.

It was a swift turn to make enemies of the entire empire, and if he planned to use this power to attain more, he’d inevitably have to seize control himself. Crossing that line to advance…

In the end, we have no choice but to press on.

“The Evil God has already started attacking people. The banquet hall, where all the guests are gathered, must be in chaos by now.”

If I had resolutely stated that I would not run away, there was nothing more I could do to persuade Yenika. Then, all that remained was to quickly assess the situation and distribute priorities for action. As we always had.

“We need to find out if there are any casualties. If there are, to what extent… and rescue anyone that we can. Yenika, since you possess many spirits, you should be able to cover a broad area at once.”

“Then… What about you, Ed?”

“I am going after Crebin Rothtaylor.”

At my words, Yenika trembled slightly around the eyes. It seemed that my expression must have been quite grave. Now, I was off to conclude all the loose ends.

To put an end to the miserable connection with the Rothtaylor family that had flown here to the Sylvania Academy and plagued us for the past few years… I was off to put an end to it all.

“But then… what about that disgusting Evil God floating in the sky?”

“That is…”

― Boom, crash!

Before I could answer, someone flew into the side of the kitchen we were standing next to, crashing into it.

― Cr-r-rack!

― Clatter.

Some building debris fell and crashed down on it, but with a wave of my hand and a burst sound, they were repelled.

― Bang, crack!

Amidst the rising dust, slowly, the form of the person smashed against the wall became visible.

“Cough, cough…”

A slight figure, holding onto her witch’s hat as if it might fly off, sneezing repeatedly.

Lucy Mayrill sat there, smashed against the wall, looking up at the sky with a vacant stare and then she began to frown.

“Lucy!”

Without hesitation, I turned and ran toward Lucy. I bent down to check on Lucy’s condition, and she quickly grabbed my forearm with both hands and pulled herself up.

Her small size meant the entire sequence of movements happened in an instant.

“That one is definitely not going to be easy.”

She had been smashed from a great height but seemed unmarred except for the dust on her body. However, her expression was one of irritation, as if she had bruised her ego somehow.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“The magic operation system is so unique that defensive spells simply don’t work. It seems to use gravity-based magic, but sometimes it’s just physical force… It’s certainly not a typical form of magic.”

Lucy usually wasn’t this talkative. That meant the opponent was exceptional.

“With typical forms of magic operation, you can’t even begin to defend against it.”

Lucy was someone who thought she could handle virtually any form of magic. A stranger not just to Lucy but also to humanity. The Evil God Mebuler far surpassed human comprehension. I gritted my teeth in contemplation, then reached into my pocket and spoke.

“Lucy. If it gets any more dangerous…”

“I will win.”

But Lucy cut off my words with certainty.

“It’ll be close to a simple mana consumption battle, so it might take some time.”

Then Lucy casually threw off her witch’s hat onto the kitchen floor. She also took off her oversized coat and tossed it near the hat, then rolled up the sleeves of her dirt-covered shirt.

The sleepy look in her eyes vanished. Looking up at the sky with eyes wide open, Lucy’s magic began to bloom around her.

― Whooosh!

A surge of magical energy. It wasn’t just filling the surroundings. The entire area was starting to be engulfed by Lucy’s magic. Even the amount of magic that leaked made the atmosphere tremble. A small calamity was on the move. With the power to devastate the region at will.

“……”

Lucy then reached out towards the sky. With outstretched fingers, Mebuler floated in the sky as if it could be grasped with one hand. To manifest even one high-level magic formation takes all day for a typical mage. Dozens of those formations began to be implemented around Mebuler.

Then, even a much larger magical formation began to cover above Mebuler. In that moment, all of Mebuler’s eyes turned towards Lucy. Even the Evil God contemplating the world had to focus on this source of calamity.

A grand defensive magic formation, layer upon layer, was created around Mebuler. It was the highest order of defensive magic, ‘Essence Wall.’ It seemed as if it was manifesting to protect Mebuler, but it was the opposite. It was a formation Lucy had invoked to protect the surroundings from an internal explosion.

Soon, Lucy clenched her hand.

Then, a sun bloomed in the night sky.