Within the Silent Heart Academy—
At the heart of the Sea of Deathblossom.
"You want me to go to the battlefield?"
"Absolutely not!"
"The payment is three thousand monster souls per day?"
"Still no. You can't insult my demon dignity like that!"
Seeing Orsaga reject his offer with such righteous conviction, Hawthorne was a bit confused. "Why not? I thought you wouldn't be the type to turn this down."
He could clearly sense the overwhelming scent of blood that Orsaga gave off—there was no mistaking it. This was a guy who had clearly bathed in the blood of countless battles. For someone like that, as long as the price was right, there shouldn't be any battlefield he'd refuse. Yet Orsaga hadn't even paused to consider the offer before flat-out rejecting him, which left Hawthorne puzzled.
"Working a job? That's never going to happen. Not in this lifetime."
Orsaga waved his hand solemnly. "My race is naturally cautious. A weak, wild demon like me—alone, unsupported—should never involve himself in large-scale warfare. Jobs like gatekeeping or night watch are more suited to my racial traits. After all, I'm just that stable."
After hearing this, Hawthorne immediately felt like he was being played, but Orsaga's serious expression left him without any proof.
After all, he didn't really understand much about demons.
A few minutes later, after watching Hawthorne walk away, Orsaga casually scratched his ear and let out a low whistle, utterly unfazed.
While he didn't mind getting involved in wars—and even found fighting somewhat entertaining—those who entered the battlefield first in high-intensity conflicts usually didn't have good endings. He'd have to be out of his mind to go be a temp worker in that kind of bloodbath.
Besides, if he could reap the benefits for free, why risk his life for them?
—
Meanwhile, glancing at the time, Charles realized he still had a bit of breathing room. Feeling a bit hungry, he left the wizard tower to grab some food.
But as soon as he opened the door, he was met with a strange sight—a red-haired man was riding around leisurely on some odd two-wheeled contraption, humming a tune without a care in the world.
Charles was baffled.
'Isn't everyone supposed to be preparing for battle?
What the hell is this guy doing?'
Though puzzled, Charles didn't feel like meddling. The man wasn't bothering anyone, after all. So after watching for a moment, he turned and walked away.
As for being watched, Orsaga didn't care one bit. He continued riding his makeshift bicycle around at his own pace, completely unfazed.
For others, infiltrating this place might be a monumental challenge, but for him, it was as easy as walking through the front door. With Hawthorne's soul imprint and his own innate soul-based talents, slipping in was effortless. Whether Hawthorne had any objections was none of his business. The contract hadn't said he couldn't multitask with one soul imprint, so technically, he wasn't breaking any rules.
Bored after sneaking in, he used alchemy to craft a bicycle out of mud and rode it around while getting familiar with the terrain.
Just like he told Hawthorne—working? Not happening. If he could loot battlefield spoils instead, why bust his ass for it? His Avtar only required mana to summon. As long as he had the energy, he could make as many as he needed. Once the battle started, he could simply sit back and cast them remotely to harvest souls—fast and efficient.
—
The countdown above had already hit zero.
Charles furrowed his brow, confused as to why they hadn't encountered the enemy yet. Even scanning through the wizard tower's surveillance, he saw no trace of hostile forces.
But before he could dwell on it, a space rift suddenly tore open next to the Aelthorpe Star: Mobile Annihilator. From within burst a blinding pale-white beam of energy, several dozen meters thick. It lanced forward with terrifying force, lighting up the entire space and aiming directly at the Mobile Annihilator's core.
Yet the Aelthorpe Star didn't even pause. It kept advancing at a steady pace.
With a flash of black light from its outer barriers, the attack was banished—flung into some unknown void. Aside from expending a small amount of energy, the colossal war machine didn't suffer even a scratch.
Seeing this, Orsaga remained utterly unbothered, still pedaling around on his bicycle without a care.
Even though he knew that beam could've vaporized his true body in an instant, he didn't feel a thing.
He was well aware of just how terrifying a high-magic civilization was—especially one whose legacy had survived millions of years. Their war machines had undoubtedly withstood countless tests. Unless the enemy had overwhelming power, it was impossible to take them down so easily.
And even if it was taken down? So what? It was just an Avtar. Watching a big explosion was still fun. He'd already locked onto this pocket dimension's coordinates and could just project another body over anytime.
As for the enemy's sudden strike, the commander of the Aelthorpe Star didn't take it seriously either. He knew this was just a harmless probing move. Still, not wanting to appear weak, he casually drew a gesture through the air, activating the power of several thousand wizard towers all at once. A massive composite spell formation began to take shape.
The counterattack had begun.
Feeling the surge of power being called forth, Charles swallowed hard. Even a millionth of that force could wipe him out like crushing a bug.
Only now did he truly realize—the countdown wasn't to the start of close-quarters battle, but rather to the moment both sides entered each other's attack range. Their real bodies were probably still worlds apart.
At this distance, even with the wizard tower's assistance, he felt blind. He hadn't even registered when that first attack appeared.
'Forget it. I really am just a support guy—maintenance work, that sort of thing is more my speed…'
Once again, Charles was reminded of just how useless he was in this war.
But he wasn't discouraged. He knew he was still young, with a long road ahead. This was only the beginning of his journey. As long as he didn't die in this war...
—
And so, as both sides continued to provoke one another and the distance between them narrowed, direct contact finally began.
At that moment, Charles could clearly see the enemy forces through the wizard tower.
They were massive floating mechanical fleets, each one shaped like a giant metallic spindle, glinting with a cold sheen like warships from the stars. Each vessel was several kilometers long—sleek and imposing.
Though none were as colossal as the Aelthorpe Star, their numbers were staggering—enough to overwhelm ten or more Aelthorpe Star. The fleet was made up of hundreds of ships, and a translucent blue energy shield enveloped the entire formation, exuding a terrifying sense of power.
_____
T/N:
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