“Just who is Professor Ethan…”

Professor Denadis’ question filled the principal’s room. The two members of the academy watched Gladwin with expectant eyes as sipped his tea.

“What kind of power does he hold…?”

Gladwin took in a sharp breath. His eyes narrowed down, maybe in thought.

They watched him carefully, and that was why they could tell. They could see him.

Shivering.

Trembling.

Principal Kurt and Professor Denadis could not say a word. Slowly, Gladwin took another sip and placed the cup down. He met their eyes.

“Demons too, are thinking, feeling creatures.”

His voice was cold, foreboding. The sun started to set outside as Gladwin gazed at the two.

“Just like humans and the other races, they live together and help each other out. Vermin as they may be, they can be called people.”

Gladwin shook his head.

“No, they are people. The great war between the two sides of the world was a war between people.”

Gladwin’s words trailed off. A strange sense of terror filled every syllable he squeezed out of his mouth. As if he could see it, as if he was back in that time.

“It happened five years ago…”

The two listeners gulped.

“In a battle between people… a monster intervened.”

At the same time, a blare resounded throughout Glorenstein. A sharp influx of magical energy filled the air as the barrier around the academy activated. The three stood up in a fluster.

The door to the office broke open and the other civil servants streamed inside.

“T-trouble!” They screamed. “T-the city! The city is burning! There is a rebellion!”

***

Harrowing screams echoed all over the academy. The sound that filled the institution, strangely enough, did not originate anywhere close-by.

It was carried by the wind. Shrieks of fear, screams of pain, and evidence of terror. The unsuspecting students who had been living a normal day all this time were faced with a sudden turn of events.

In the distance, way beyond the walls of the academy, raging fires danced under the sunset sky. Now and then, streams of blood would fly up followed by screams.

The students of Black Rose were all pulled away by the knights of the Academy. All of them were dragged over to the dormitory without any warning.

They gathered in the lobby of the dorms, shocked at the sudden turn of events.

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“W-what is happening?” Marnie, one of the students who could not fight, panickedly asked.

“Is the city on fire… is it the demons?”

“N-no way!” Atlas screamed. His voice caught them all off-guard. No one expected the quiet friend to shout this loudly. Surprised by the sudden attention, Atlas shook his head. “I mean… the demons can never come here… it’s impossible.”

“He’s right,” said the saintess candidate.

“I agree too,” Prince Ier backed them all. “The Empire is not sleazy enough for anything like that to happen. Don’t worry, whatever it is, it will get sorted out—”

“Let me go!”

Another voice cut them all off. The students turned toward the door and found a black-haired girl with cat ears tussling with the knights.

”Lady Iaso, please!” The knights held her back and others blocked the door. “You can’t go out!”

“You don’t get it!” Iaso said, swinging the wooden sword in her hands. “That nosy bastard will definitely try to intervene! It’s a fight, right? We have to go help the professor!”

“The professor is not around?” Elara muttered. “Princess Iaso! You must calm down, this won’t help.”

Iaso looked to the side and found her classmates huddled around. It seemed to have distracted her which made the knights sigh a breath of relief.

“L-lady Elara is right…” said the knight holding her. “You have to stay here. The professor will be safe.”

“He’s out there! That guy will get stuck in between. I have to repay a debt—”

“—And will your going there help?” asked Elara. She sighed and placed a hand on her head. “Just calm down. I am sure the knights have already gone out in the city. Since we are weak, we are better off staying back here.”

Iaso bit her lips. The moment her weakness was brought forward, she couldn’t say a word.

But what was she supposed to do?

Wasn’t it just like this? On an unsuspecting day when her house was burned down and her only friend killed? Was she supposed to sit back and hide again?

Even if she hated it, the world presented no other option.

Strength left Iaso’s body as she lowered her weapon. She couldn’t do anything. Again.

Nothing, except hope that the professor is safe. It was a terrible day. She dragged herself to the other students and lowered her gaze.

The other students too ended up nervous. One of their own, their professor was not around. He was likely in the mess that continued outside.

A tense air filled the room. The situation seemed much worse than before.

Except for one person. Prince Ier alone remained puzzled through the interaction.

“If the professor is out there… doesn’t that mean everything is perfect?”

Only he knew how strong the professor was. Prince Ier did not have the chance to see many strong people, but even with his limited imagination.

He just couldn’t imagine the professor losing.

***

“I-it’s a behemoth…”

Shirley barely managed to let out her words. Her eyes were stuck on the monster in the distance.

“An entire dungeon… we were thrown in a dungeon, not a prison.”

I smiled and looked back. We originally thought that the rebels had thrown us into this cave. A mana vein.

The place was still filled with stones. It was a goldmine. Why would they store prisoners there? The place we were thrown at from the beginning was a magical terrain.

A place formed over the years, as the Earth changed and the wills of many and many, the will of the mana itself formed a different location in space. A separate dimension called a Dungeon.

It was this dungeon that made the Demonic Lands still exist. After all, where would people living in a barren world source their food from?

There was only so much smuggling could facilitate.

The mana concentration there gave rise to many such holes in space.

Rarer as it was, dungeons were not uncommon on this side of the world. Unless we defeated its core, escape was impossible.

What a twisted dungeon, it had started by throwing us in a mana vein. Something that humans would consider a reward room compared to the rest of the place.

But since we were in a dungeon. It also meant time here moved differently from the rest of the world.

As we stood here. It was possible that Mrs. Frock’s ‘son’ had already made a homecoming.

“Hey, Shirley,” I said. “I am sorry, but you’ll have to take a step back.”

“W-what do you mean…?” Shirley asked. “You mean, give up? There’s no way we can defeat a behemoth. It can flatten mountains—”

“I mean shut up and don’t get in my way.”

I lowered my stance.

Mana started to fill my body.

Slowly, it seeped out of my hand. A sea of mana.

An overflowing ocean.

My heart pumped, my muscles squeezed, my temperature soared.

“I am going to break through this place as fast as I can.”