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I blinked, and suddenly, as if nothing had ever happened, I found myself back in the original spot.

Just like I was sitting in the professor’s viewing area.

However, the scene before me was entirely different.

The floor looked as if it was a blanket, with both the professor and students sprawled out, fast asleep.

I couldn’t tell for sure, but it was obvious that the ones dozing off were still stuck in the situation.

So, it was just me and Riche, who was next to me, who had managed to get out.

Riche couldn’t fight since her arm was broken.

Just as I decided I had to take care of things alone and tried to get up—

“Umm…”

Someone next to me rustled and started to rise.

Slowly opening her eyes, she looked up at me.

“Luke?”

“No, it’s Ttoong.”

“…Hearing that makes me feel reassured that you’re back to normal.”

Luna, saying this, looked quite tired, and upon closer inspection, her body was covered in wounds.

“I’m a bit tired… I’m sorry, but I think I need to rest a little.”

Then, Luna closed her eyes and fainted.

It seemed like a lot had happened inside, but it looked like we somehow made it out.

Arthur still hadn’t appeared, though.

“But seriously, what’s that toilet guy doing?”

Even though Luna came out, I couldn’t understand why the protagonist, who was a reincarnation, was still stuck in an ongoing event.

It didn’t make sense.

“Tsk.”

Clicking my tongue, just as I was about to really leave, another person woke up.

“Hweee…?”

Blinking, she looked around with sparkling eyes, and upon spotting me, she opened her little lips.

“Luke! I won!”

Yui smiled brightly, as if she was overjoyed by something.

What on earth had she done? Her hair was wild, and there were scratch marks on her cheeks.

She had definitely been fighting, right…?

“I threw scissors, and the opponent threw rocks—”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Oh, oh. Our girl is doing great!

While others were engaged in life-or-death battles, Yui spoke as if she had just come back from some amusement park.

“Enough chit-chat; take Luna to the health room.”

“Huh?”

At my words, Yui finally peeked over, only to be startled by the sight of Luna’s body, drenched in blood and covered in wounds.

“Eek…”

Seeing Luna, who looked like she was about to die from excessive blood loss, Yui panicked and didn’t know what to do.

“W-What happened?”

I shrugged my shoulders and said.

“Beats me.”

If it were a typical scenario, she’d be dueling someone who looked just like her, but there’s a good chance Luna fought something different, like Hex, whom Riche just faced.

Luna seemed to have quite a severe trauma, too.

So, if she’s curious, she can just wake her up later and ask.

“But isn’t the professor in the health room sleeping like everyone else?”

Well, probably. They say the healer is usually the first to go down.

“I don’t know. You can either wrap a bandage on her or put some red ointment on. That’s up to you, Yui.”

“Ah, wait!”

As if something clicked in her mind, Yui clapped her hands.

Then, when Yui’s delicate arm touched Luna’s body, surprisingly, the flowing blood stopped.

The wounds still remained, but since blood no longer rushed from them, the excessive blood loss issue was resolved.

“Oh, what’s this?”

When I asked in amazement, Yui puffed out her cheeks and proudly declared.

“I told you I won, right? So now I can use that power without needing to suck blood!”

Since Yui came out herself, it seemed she gained a new technique inside.

But, getting sucked had felt quite nice.

I felt a bit disappointed.

“Well then, I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Huh? Where to?”

“Where else? Gotta go take care of some demons.”

I needed to test the newly acquired skill and also show some card magic that I couldn’t before.

“Do you know where the demons are?”

“Roughly.”

In the novel, it said they were sitting in the highest building of the empire, so it was probably the same this time.

Even if something had changed, there’s only a limited number of places they could do such things and observe.

So, to get to that place quickly, I decided to use my new skill, Shadow Fight.

Upon doing so, a shadow that looked just like me appeared right before my eyes.

However, unlike before, it didn’t show any signs of intelligence to speak or think on its own.

It simply became a puppet that moved as I thought and followed my commands.

“Hweee…?”

Yui reached out eagerly, amazed by the sight.

Using the opposite arm, which couldn’t move because it was touching Luna, she poked the shadow repeatedly.

“Isn’t it cool? Now I can really do a double lariat!”

“Wow… I can touch a shadow!”

With that, I took out a greatsword from my inventory, and soon the shadow held a greatsword made of shadow.

I summoned this shadow to quickly find the demons.

I commanded the shadow to sit and hold the sword horizontally, then climbed atop the shadow’s greatsword.

“Alright, I’m off.”

“Okay!”

I commanded the shadow to launch me with all its strength.

The devoted shadow, obeying my command, swung the sword with all its might, and I timed my leap to soar into the air.

-Bang!!

I hit my head on the ceiling above the viewing area, but I broke through and flew out.

When I finally came to my senses, I was soaring through the sky.

“Now, where could they be~?”

The first place I checked, of course, was the rooftop of the highest building in the empire, as stated in the original novel.

However, there wasn’t a demon in sight where they were supposed to be.

Next, I scanned buildings that offered a good view of the academy’s interior from afar.

While checking the buildings that should give a clear view of the academy from a distance, I came across one.

“I found it.”

On the rooftop of a large building not far from the academy, I spotted a demon wearing a hood.

I put the shadow I left below back into the inventory and summoned it next to me.

As I extended my arm, the shadow clasped my arm and made a big twist at the waist.

Then, with all its might, it launched me in the direction I had just been looking.

*

“Hrum~♪ Hooray~♬”

Someone was perched on the edge of a building made of stone walls, swinging their legs and humming.

The demon seemed to be in a good mood, feeling like things were going according to plan.

“It should be about time for the dean to break free, so should I get ready to escape?”

The demon did not overestimate its abilities.

It expected that at least one person would manage to escape its grasp, and that person would likely be the dean, Lucia.

If it could take out a foe so easily, it wouldn’t have to resort to being a traitor or assassination; it would engage in a direct conflict.

Just as the demon rose from its spot, preparing to leave—

-Bang!!

“What, what the?!”

Something zipped in from behind and crashed onto the rooftop.

It was so fast that dust and debris mixed with smoke scattered everywhere.

“Ugh… my back…”

Amidst the smoke, a voice echoed, along with a figure emerging from the haze.

While it anticipated someone slipping out, having someone emerge before the dean was unexpected.

The demon quickly jumped off the rooftop, looking to escape.

However—

-Swoosh!

“Hehe, not going anywhere.”

“…?!”

A hand suddenly lunged out, grabbing the hood that the demon had been wearing, yanking it back.

“Let me go!!”

“Hey, looks like you’re a brat after all.”

“I’m not a brat! I’m Mamon!!”

“By casually revealing your name to strangers, you must be a brat, huh?”

The diminutive-looking demon, Mamon, was surprisingly older than he appeared, much like Yui.

Though among the demons, he was young, the concept of age was quite different for a race that typically lived for hundreds of years.

Mamon had lived far longer than Luke but was childish in mental age.

“Let go of me!!”

“Why would I?”

“Of course I need to run away!”

“That’s exactly why I’m not letting you go.”

Luke swung his arm widely, slamming Mamon down to the ground.

-Bang!

“Ack!!”

“Did you know?”

He grinned eerily, looking satisfied with himself.

“I won’t let a brat slide. Especially a juvenile delinquent.”

Having endured much in his past life, he found the thought of a brat and a juvenile delinquent repulsive.

As long as laws existed, society would favor children over him, and thus, Luke wouldn’t mingle with brats unless he was behind a monitor.

But ever since reincarnating, the situation had changed drastically.

Though the medieval times had laws too, there were none that favored children.

This was a setting where children were abandoned from birth, abused, and starved to death in alleyways.

Whether a child was five or six, the responsibility for any trouble fell solely on them, not their parents.

If a commoner child disrespected a noble, it was entirely legal for the noble to take that child’s life on the spot.

For that reason, Luke rejoiced.

In a world without ridiculous laws favoring children and devoid of anonymous trolls behind a monitor, he could dish out punishment to those who crossed the line.

If someone acted up without knowing their place, he planned to give them a taste of “correction,” just as he had in the past.

Since he hadn’t had the opportunity to deal with brats since his reincarnation, this moment was perfect for discipline.

Since Mamon was a demon, any action he took wouldn’t be criticized as child abuse. And to Luke, Mamon was clearly a brat, so he could safely let loose.

“Hehe… where on earth did this treasure come from? Huh? Such a cute little thing.”

Luke pinched Mamon’s cheeks, stretching them as he grinned like a crescent moon, his mouth stretching in a smile.

“Eek! Eek!”

Mamon trembled in fear at that terrifying face.

But of course, the situation couldn’t favor Mamon.

Luke intended to take out all his past frustrations here.

“Right. Your name is Mamon, right? Let me show you some cool magic, okay?”

“Stop saying weird things and let me go!!”

“Oh? Look at your manners when speaking to an adult.”

The reasons to teach him a lesson kept stacking up.

Luke activated the Manly Man skill.

Instantly, Mamon found himself collapsing to his knees, unable to resist even a little.

“Ack?!”

“I’ll show you a magic trick that even kids can easily replicate.”

Immediately, he performed the disappearing thumb trick.

Luke took out a card-like object made from monster scales, which was sharper and tougher than steel.

This meant—

-Swish!

“Um…?”

It was sharp enough to slice through fingers.

“Aaaah!!!!”

Blood burst forth from Mamon’s severed thumb.

“Tada! The thumb has disappeared! Oh my, how amazing!”

“My thumb!! My thumb!!”

Come on, what are you whining about over just your thumb?

You’ve killed countless people.

In an event where few managed to emerge like Luke, the ones who didn’t escape must have either been lingering or dead.

The ongoing event had seen quite a number of casualties.

In this story, aside from the protagonist, there are no obligations to spare lives.

So, if you don’t get stronger, extras like you will have their opportunities snatched away.

Mamon was one of those who had killed extras.

“Mamon, didn’t your parents teach you what happens when you take someone’s life? Oh, but I guess demons have no parents, huh?”

“I do have parents!! My mom is alive!!”

“No dad, huh? A single-parent household? What a shame; this isn’t Korea, and there’s no financial aid for single-parent families here.”

“You… you!!”

Mamon, resembling a little brat, trembled easily.

“Don’t worry. You’re dying here. And a few months later, I’ll send your mother to hell too.”

“F*ck you!!!”

Mamon, rising in anger, swung his fists aimlessly.

“Not a chance! Trap card activated! Magic Cylinder! This card nullifies the opponent’s attack and deals damage equal to the power of that attack!”

As the card Luke playfully threw struck Mamon’s eyes, he cried out in pain, bleeding from his eyes.

“Gahhh! Gaaaaah!!”

“Brat cut!”

*

“Uwaaaaah!!!!”

-Splatter…

Mamon cried as if the world was ending, suddenly turning to dust from his legs up.

“What the heck?”

Is it really possible to die just from losing a thumb and bleeding a bit?

I had planned to have a little more fun with him.

What a shame…

[ Level Up! Please check your status! ]

[ Level Up! Please check your status! ]

[ Level Up! Please check your status! ]

[ Level Up! Please… ]

Originally, killing a demon was supposed to grant skills, but since I had already used Shadow Fight, it seems I got nothing in return.

“Tsk. That’s a bit disappointing.”

Feeling a sense of emptiness, I turned my steps back to the academy.

 

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