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Blood gushed from a spot it shouldn’t be.

A hand shot out—no, no!

“You… you…”

Just as I was about to gather my magic to smash that guy to pieces—

“What have you done to my students, you filthy creature?”

BAM!

Our homeroom teacher, who had been flung away earlier, stood behind the guy and delivered a critical strike to his neck.

However, her strike barely grazed the guy’s neck.

Seeing Nova with his arm plunged into the opponent’s abdomen, the teacher spat—

“…You bastard.”

Cough!

Blood gushed from Nova like a fountain.

Even with a knife embedded in his neck, he ignored it and plunged his arm deeper into Nova’s stomach.

“Are you going to let this happen?”

Ssss…

From the sword lodged in his neck, icy energy burst forth like a chill wind.

Soon, with a crack, the guy began to freeze.

“Now!”

At the teacher’s shout, I compressed a piece of meteorite magic to its limit and shot it as a blade-shaped magical bullet.

Swish!

I swung his frozen arm against the wall of the sparring hall and instantly teleported to Nova to check his condition.

“He’s still alive.”

It’s okay; I can recover him quickly.

As I pulled out his arm, I simultaneously cast healing magic and began to stop the bleeding when a sound came from the ice statue in front of me.

Crack!

“This insane monster…”

The cold emanating from it was enough to freeze the flesh of those nearby.

The teacher probably poured all her magic into freezing that guy, yet he was attempting to escape in mere seconds.

“Damn… Nova…”

My eyes turned bloodshot, veins bulging.

I wanted to kill this bastard, and just as I was about to lose my sanity and rush him,

Shia shouted loudly at me.

“Stella! Nova is…”

Cough!

Nova’s face was pale.

His condition was critical.

Blood kept gushing from his mouth as if he were about to die at any moment.

“NO… NO…”

Realizing the severity of the situation, even the teacher shouted at me.

“Stella! Get Nova out of here!”

I wanted to rip that guy apart, but right now, what mattered most was Nova’s life.

I had to save him no matter what.

As I tried to carry Nova and escape, the ice statue exploded with a loud bang.

“Ugh!”

As I was hurled back by the explosion, I clutched Nova as tightly as I could to minimize the shock he received.

“…Don’t interfere…”

The mask that broke free from the ice walked toward us, glowing with a red light in its eyes.

“That bastard must die here; don’t get in my way.”

I stood in front of Nova, blocking the way of that guy.

Honestly, I didn’t know what to do. How could someone this strong appear?

Could this guy be the Demon King?

He looked like one of those rare beings from the past, but if he chose to wipe out the entire academy without sparing a thought for anyone else, I wouldn’t be able to handle him, no matter how strong I was.

It would’ve been better if it were just me.

But it seemed like his target wasn’t me, but Nova.

This was the worst.

As he lumbered closer, he suddenly stopped moving.

It was as if he had been hit with a bug, his body glitching.

“Good job… you’ve split me in two.”

When I turned to the direction of the voice, I saw a blood-soaked vampire walking toward us, looking quite furious.

“I thought I was going to die! Damn mask bastard!”

With a crackle, several blood thorns erupted from the ground, piercing the guy.

“I’ll never forgive you! I’ll drain every last drop of blood from your body!”

As the vampire reached out, threads of blood began to form loops over the mask.

Multiple strands emerged from the loops, piercing the mask’s body.

The vampire glanced at me and motioned with her chin.

“Hey, you! Take your boyfriend and get back!”

…There’s a lot I want to say, but this is the opportunity.

“Nova… just hang in there a little longer.”

I picked Nova up and fled the sparring hall as fast as I could.

I felt sorry for the remaining people, but to me, Nova’s life was the most precious.

BAM! BAM!

I ignored the tremendous noise coming from behind.

‘Firstly, I have to get Nova to the infirmary and then return quickly.’

BANG!

While running down the hallway, something burst through the ceiling, revealing a doll in the smoke.

I couldn’t hide my anger at the sight.

“What the hell… Why are you trying to kill Nova?!”

“That guy must die here.”

“Why are you so obsessed with him? Why are you only targeting him and leaving everyone else behind?!”

“If he dies, everything will go back to how it was.”

“…What the hell are you talking about, you bastard?”

“You wouldn’t understand. Step aside.”

“…I won’t let you!”

I’ll protect that boy even if it costs me my life.

At that moment, threads of golden light burst from the ceiling, wrapping around him.

“Now!”

Looking up, I saw Shia, covered in blood, reaching her hand toward the mask.

“Don’t screw this up.”

“I know!”

From the ceiling, a girl with red hair and another with sky-blue hair jumped down, holding a rapier and a spear respectively.

Icicle Vortex!

Flame Strike!

The spear of flame was engulfed by an ice storm as a powerful blow struck the mask’s head directly.

Fwoooosh!

CRASH!!

“…Is this even possible?”

“…”

Despite the joint attack of fire and ice, the guy still wobbled his head as if he hadn’t taken any damage.

Even the children from the noble houses looked astonished, yet they both held their weapons, ready for confrontation.

No, this opponent was still far too strong.

At this rate, using magic powerful enough to blow up the academy…

Thud!

In that moment, I thought Nova had only lost consciousness.

He grabbed my shoulder.

“Uh…? Nova, are you okay?”

In response to my words, Nova didn’t speak but pushed me off with his body.

“Nova..?”

Nova’s eyes looked strange; they were clearly open, but there was no consciousness. Yet despite that, his pupils glowed red.

His Unique Ability is supposed to be influenced by emotion, but why is it activating now when he’s unconscious?

BOOM!

As I looked ahead, I saw two figures pinned against the wall, the mask looking our way, softly saying—

“…Am I a second too late?”

“Nova! What are you doing?! Run… tsk!”

Just as I thought it was dangerous and approached Nova to grab his shoulder,

Something started growing larger in front of my eyes.

‘Is that… a fist?’

I reflexively crossed my arms to block the punch coming at me.

BOOM!

CRASH!

“Khuh!”

Though I successfully blocked the attack, my body was sent flying into the wall.

“Cough cough… why…?”

I was utterly confused.

That’s because it wasn’t the mask that sent me flying; it was Nova!

Nova glanced at my face once before turning his head back toward the mask.

“Are you trying to interfere with me now…?”

“…”

Despite the mask’s question, Nova simply stared at him silently without responding.

Both the mask’s pupils and Nova’s glowed a bloody red as they stared each other down.

However, unlike usual, there was now a platinum cross-pattern appearing in Nova’s eyes.

“Aren’t you afraid of me?”

As the mask said this, he swiftly closed the distance, placing a finger on Nova’s head.

“NO! Don’t do it!”

I thought his head would explode.

By the time I dashed to stop it, I was already too late.

At that moment—

BANG!

“Guh…”

The one shocked wasn’t Nova; it was the mask.

Nova’s left hand caught the mask’s fist while his right pierced into its abdomen.

Then, without any preparation, Nova’s front kick struck the mask under its chin, sending it airborne.

The speed of the blow was so fast it was hard to track with the eye.

“Did you replicate my recoil-less kick?”

Even if Nova’s ability is Copy, it shouldn’t be possible to recreate my technique.

By no means would he be at that level, and his body probably couldn’t endure it.

Even I couldn’t use my skills several times in a row without straining my body.

POP! POP! POP!

Immediately, a flurry of blows struck the airborne mask so rapidly that one could barely see them.

Each punch was heavy and sharp.

Each aimed at critical points like the nose, solar plexus, and groin—areas recognized as life-threatening.

It certainly seemed like he wanted to cut off their breath.

Ghaaa cough cough!

For the first time, the mask groaned in pain as it received my attack.

By the time the barrage of strikes stopped, Nova suddenly leaped up and kicked with his heel directly on the mask’s head.

“…Kuhuh…”

CRASH!

Nova’s kick struck down mercilessly, burying the mask deep into the ground.

“Cough… cough… what in the world is happening…”

The impact from the strike devastated the surroundings.

When the smoke from the shockwave cleared, what caught my eye was Nova standing tall and the mask, now on its knees, barely holding itself together.

“Looks like… I underestimated how much you could intervene.”

Saying that, he created a portal behind himself.

“This time, I’ll withdraw. However, remember this.”

The guy continued, emanating a tremendous killing intent.

“I’ll destroy this world.

And I’ll feast on your neck from a higher position while you watch.

I will ensure it.”

With that, he disappeared into the portal, concealing his existence.

 

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