Chapter 332
The Forest of the Giants.
A mysterious place, one of the most renowned on the continent, where every living creature born within grows to three or four times its usual size.
It is the homeland of the giants, and now, a living hell teeming with the worst colossal monsters.
There hadn't been any major issues as long as humans refrained from entering the forest first, but at some point, the number of colossal monsters called "Plext", each with a danger rating of level 7, began to increase explosively.
These aggressive monsters didn't just attack villages outside the forest, they even invaded cities where lords resided, turning everything into rubble.
The onslaught of these high-risk colossal monsters was a "catastrophe" that seemed impossible for humanity to stop, and even the royal army dispatched by the kingdom was reduced to a mere midday snack for the Plexts.
Just when everyone was gripped by terror at this unstoppable disaster—
A woman suddenly appeared.
She rode upon violet butterflies and single-handedly invaded the Forest of the Giants, the enemy stronghold.
"...Am, amazing."
The administrator of the Carlos Kingdom was witnessing that historic sight firsthand.
The course of battle was simple. Butterflies clung to the necks of those fearsome colossal monsters, and the woman swung her scythe.
That was all.
The giants' heads were cleanly severed and fell heavily to the ground. The Forest of the Giants became shrouded in clouds of dust.
It was overwhelming.
This scene clearly showed how one organization, Keyzen, was able to rule over half of this vast continent.
"Well done."
The woman, who had shaken the Forest of the Giants in just a single day, approached the administrator.
"A mutant queen specimen was born, which caused the population to explode. I've eliminated the cause, so you can rest easy now."
With a flick of her hand, the scythe transformed into butterflies and flew away into the sky.
The administrator bowed his head with deep respect.
"The entire kingdom owes you a great debt, vice-chancellor."
Her name was Jane Olivia.
With casualties reaching a thousand, the situation had become extremely dire, so Neftis willingly sent her right-hand woman.
Keyzen's No.2 had come in person. What seemed like an unsolvable nightmare had been resolved in a single day.
Thus, the Carlos Kingdom once again found itself deeply indebted to Keyzen. Those in the Anti-Keyzen faction, who had been arguing for its dissolution, were silenced.
"T–To think the vice-chancellor herself would come…"
"'Professor' is title enough."
Jane spoke as she scribbled something in her notebook with a quill.
"And about the southern dam construction project led by Keyzen, I trust you'll handle it well."
As always, when something comes, something goes in return. The administrator quickly replied.
"O–Of course."
While bowing before Jane, the administrator felt it keenly.
In this insane world, unless you aligned yourself with one of the major groups, be it necromancers or priests, survival was impossible.
Jane slipped her notebook into the breast pocket of her suit and spoke.
"Ren."
Swoosh!
A man in a dark robe knelt on one knee.
"Give me your orders."
"Prepare a teleportation magic circle. Before we return to Roke Island, there's somewhere I'd like to visit while we're here."
"Where shall I take you?"
Jane paused for a moment in thought, then her lips parted.
"That dungeon Professor Sillage was dispatched to. I'd like to check on its progress."
* * *
Jane and the dark-robed agent entered the dungeon together.
The sky was black, and the ground was red.
Treading upon the crimson soil, Jane lifted her gaze.
"So that's the 'Ring of Blood'."
At the entrance of the dungeon, the only passage deeper inside was guarded by a crimson ring of blood, swirling and pulsing, reminiscent of a red moon hanging in the sky.
"I've heard it's a type of haematology curse. For those without permission, simply approaching it will cause their blood to boil until they die."
"Yes."
A curse so massive and sustained almost indefinitely, just watching it made the hairs on the back of Jane's neck stand up.
"It was much larger before."
The agent continued.
"Since Professor Sillage entered the core of that ring, its size has been shrinking day by day. At this rate, we estimate it will vanish completely in three to four months."
"And after that, the vile things inside the dungeon will reveal themselves."
Scholars had concluded that the Ring of Blood was a special phenomenon that manifested only in this dungeon.
But someone who entered the dungeon had discovered how to control the ring, and instead of destroying the dungeon's master, they used it to claim the space for themselves.
It had now become something like an extraterritorial zone, beyond the reach of Keyzen or the kingdom. No one knew what horrors were unfolding within.
The problem was, a dangerous first-class fugitive pursued by Keyzen had entered that place.
To capture that fugitive, who had committed an unforgivable crime, Keyzen had mobilized. Even Professor Sillage, the current Haematology professor, had been dispatched. Though progress was slow, the Ring of Blood was indeed shrinking.
Jane nodded.
"I've seen enough. Let's go back. There's nothing we can do for now."
* * *
That morning.
An empty lecture room in the Keyzen learning hall.
"Ha ha! Everyone's here, right?"
Dick stood before the blackboard, speaking with a cocky grin.
"Welcome to Dick's siege warfare lecture!"
Simon, seated in the audience, gave a half-hearted "Waa—" in response. Sitting next to him, Maelyn rested her chin on her hand with a bored look, picking up a potato chip to eat.
"…It's just one of Endolas Vaudeville's games. I'd rather solve another problem in this time."
"You don't get it!"
Bang!
Dick slammed his palm onto the desk.
Startled, Maelyn dropped her potato chip on the floor.
"Ah! What the hell?!"
"The siege warfare theme is the essence, the soul, of Endolas Vaudeville! Do you think you'll ever get another chance to do this in your life? Huh?"
"Alright, Dick, calm down."
Simon soothed the heated mood.
After the next BMAT after school, Simon and Maelyn were set to join Dick in the siege warfare theme. Kamibarez's strategy from the start was an all-in on the blue cards, so she couldn't participate in siege warfare.
"Then let's wrap it up quick and go eat something good!"
Grabbing a piece of chalk, Dick began to explain.
"As you know, the siege warfare theme is a game of thirty students—fifteen attackers, fifteen defenders. We'll be joining the defenders."
"Why?"
Maelyn asked.
"Because I like defending more."
Dodging the potato chip she tossed, Dick quickly added,
"And, obviously, I've done way more defending, so I've got more intel. Which means it's an advantage! Anyway! Here's the castle's layout."
Dick drew a square on the blackboard.
Then, on the outer edges, he drew gate symbols—the castle gates: east, west, south, and north.
"This is the outer castle."
Inside the square, he drew a smaller square.
"And this is the inner castle. If even one gate falls, our allied troops in the outer castle will retreat into the inner castle. That's when our role as necromancers becomes important, making sure the soldiers can retreat safely!"
"Alright, then how many entrances does the inner castle have?"
Even Maelyn, who had been grumbling earlier, began to focus once the lecture started.
"North Gate and South Gate."
Dick drew two gates on the smaller square.
"Unless the attacking team is really incompetent, the outer castle getting breached is inevitable. Of course, the inner castle has higher walls and fewer sections to defend, so it's much easier to hold."
This time, Simon asked,
"What if they break through to the inner castle?"
"From then on, it's urban warfare!"
Dick began sketching countless houses inside the small square.
"The stage for this game, 'Aoun Castle', starts on low hills and gradually rises toward high ground. Once the enemy breaks through the inner castle, they'll climb the stairs and push upward, and then finally—"
Dick drew a crown in the very center.
"At the top of the castle is the royal palace, and of course, the king lives there."
Simon crossed his arms, listening quietly.
"So the defenders' objective is to protect the king."
"Correct! Conversely, the attackers' goal is to kill the king! Got it? Nothing complicated, right?"
Maelyn tilted her head.
"Then wouldn't it be better to just hide the king somewhere other than the royal palace?"
"Ah-ah! If the king leaves the throne for too long, his location gets marked for the attacking team. This world was created by Endolas Vaudeville, do you think such tricks would work?"
Maelyn wasn't listening to that. She covered her forehead as if in shock and muttered,
"…I just got called out for cheap tricks by a commoner."
"Kahaha! I'm not always the one getting scolded by you, you know!"
Dick's cheerful lecture continued.
"Alright! Also, beneath the royal palace there's something called a 'Guardian Stone'. If this gets destroyed, the barrier surrounding both the inner and outer castles breaks, allowing the attackers to enter from the air."
Simon slightly opened his mouth, this was a big deal.
"If a necromancer with flight capability were there, they could just fly straight into the royal palace."
"Exactly! There are also other buildings that give bonuses to the attackers if destroyed, but you don't need to memorize them. Just remember the Guardian Stone is the most important. End of explanation!"
Maelyn shoved aside her now-empty bag of potato chips.
"Alright, so what's the record so far?"
"The first game was won by the defenders, the second game by those bastards on the attacking team."
Grinding his teeth, Dick's eyes blazed with fighting spirit.
"That's why I've been working so hard to gather aces like you! Those siege bastards, we're absolutely taking revenge in the next game!"
He looked at the two of them with a smirk.
"You two can do it, right?"
"Of course."
Simon answered with a faint smile.
"If we're doing this, we're going to win thoroughly, so don't worry."
Maelyn brushed her hair back from her ear and added,
"How about we crush them so hard they can't even breach the outer castle?"
"That's a great idea! That's the biggest humiliation we could give those attackers!"
The three of them continued discussing the siege warfare theme, completely losing track of time.
* * *
At the same time.
In an empty classroom on the second floor, just below the study hall where Simon's group was—
"Welcome, Jule~!"
A twin-tailed girl, draped in a uniform adorned with numerous medals, clapped her hands and smiled prettily.
"To the siege team's strategy meeting for the attackers!"
She was Special Admission No.7, Elisa, who piloted the ghost ship.
"I'm not sure this is necessary, but…"
The one who had come at her call was a boy with an eyepatch over one eye, a longsword as tall as himself strapped to his waist.
Though his condition fluctuated, at his peak he was considered the strongest pure combatant among Keyzen's first-years—Special Admission No.5, Jule Vincere.
"So what? Don't you want to get revenge on Simon too?"
"Not really. The only one who wants revenge is you, I imagine."
A vein popped on Elisa's temple.
"Of course! I'm definitely taking revenge!"
In the third BMAT, on what could be called her home turf—the sea theme—Elisa had been robbed of first place by Simon.
It was bad enough to infuriate her, but recently in the after-school BMAT she had suffered an utterly humiliating loss to Simon's strategy without even being able to respond.
"I, Elisa, am a woman who only feels satisfied when I repay a debt tenfold."
Jule, looking disinterested, simply brushed his fingers over the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"As long as I get to face Simon Follentia, I'm fine with anything."
Jule had first seen Simon in an after-school BMAT.
When he saw Simon use the Blood Arrow then, he'd wanted to test his own skills against him at least once.
"But is it true that Simon Follentia will be participating in the siege warfare theme?"
"It's certain."
Elisa chuckled quietly.
"I heard it from a reliable source. That guy Dick, who's Simon's close friend, only ever plays siege warfare. He's trying to gather skilled people to make the defenders win, and of course he's persuading his friend Simon to join, and Simon seems to be responding positively."
"Then I'll be able to see him at least in this next match, if not the last siege warfare."
"With that in mind—"
Elisa's gaze turned toward the door. Heavy footsteps could be heard approaching.
"I've recruited the final piece for the attackers' guaranteed victory."
"?"
Bang!
The door burst open and a large-built male student entered.
"Information says I can fight Simon Follentia."
Step, step.
The pressure radiating from his whole body made even Elisa, a Special Admission student, tense up. Jule silently gripped the hilt of his longsword.
"If that's a lie—"
Thud!
Bang! Bang!
Hector Moore sat down on a chair, throwing both legs up onto the desk, and muttered,
"I'll kill you both right here and now."