153-175-Changing people




'Kawachi! Stay back!

Saeki released a spiraling, undulating fire.
The flames enveloped the demon tribe.
But the demon tribe shakes off the fire without chanting any magic and smiles.

This is a corner of the auditorium.
There, sixteen students are gathered into one and are engaged in a battle with the demon tribe.
Even though I say they are fighting, they are just retreating while releasing their magic.
Although Saeki's magic barely worked, most of the heroes were shaken up and couldn't do anything about it.
In an attempt to protect everyone, Kawachi tries to counter with Sorceress' magic.
It's mainly intermediate magic.
But they were played and only gave the demon race confidence.

''Gyahahahaha! This is what a mage looks like? Even my kids can do more decent magic than that, right?

The demon tribe ridicules the brave men.
Even Saeki, who participated in the match against the school, is like this.

''d*mn........''

Saeki thinks back to Nito's words and realizes how immature he is.
He realizes that Nito wasn't wrong about everything, but he realizes that Nito wasn't wrong.
He learns that this is real and that what he has learned so far doesn't seem to apply outside.

Then, the line of demons that had been invading the hall one after another was cut off.

The huge hole that appeared as a result of the penetration was further damaged by the demon tribe's pranks, and furthermore, the surrounding walls were engulfed, and the area was now rubble.
The outside and the venue were completely connected to each other.
It's good that the invading demons have stopped for now, but this means that they may invade again.
No matter how much you deal with it, there is no end to it.
I've been thinking about it while looking at the outside looking from there.

Fire was rising from the tavern and hotel that should have been peaceful yesterday.
Then, with a loud vibration, the one hotel they could see from there collapsed.
The demons were laughing at the scene with amusement.

Why is this happening?
What the hell are these people?
The brave men don't understand that.
All of them are just confused, unable to grasp the situation.
But they don't have the luxury of time to do so.
If you're not careful even a little bit, you might be killed the next moment, because that's the situation.

''Kawachi! Lead everyone away from the entrance!

Saeki-sama, I can help you, too.

Joanna stands next to Saeki.

"Heh ... that's reassuring.

Saeki was not as reassuring as his mouth.

'Hey Haruhiko! Don't be a scaredy-cat and get going!

Haruhiko and Jessica shrank into the gap in the auditorium.
They were holding hands and shaking.

'Come on you two, let's go!

Kawachi reaches out a hand and the two of them, along with the other students, leave the scene.
Saeki and Joanna check on them and release their magic while retreating.
But the magic is easily cut off by the sword.

'What's going on with these guys! It ain't working at all!

''They're demons, Saeki-sama. They are demons, Master Saeki. Our current strength is far beyond anything we can do.

Joanna replied calmly.
But sweat was running down her forehead.

The demon tribe is so amused that they don't try to kill him for the fun of it.
Saeki and the others were alive to their mood.

Then, at the back of the crowd of demons, a unit wearing gold armor appears and starts attacking.

''That's........''

"It's the Knight of Dahms-Ardan.

But the demons easily catch the knight's blade.
Even the gold armor turned into a decoration.

''Saeki!''

Then I heard a voice behind Saeki.
When he turned around, he saw Kawachi there, and the brave men who were supposed to have escaped were waiting for Saeki and Joanna.

'What are you doing? I told you to run! Leave it alone! Go ahead!

Why Saeki suddenly decided to protect everyone is anyone's guess.
Did something change in Saeki when he lost to Nito?

Saeki! We've got to get out of here!

Kawachi proposes to escape with him.
However, if you turn your back on him, he will definitely be in the wrong hands.
Saeki couldn't escape.
That is why the brave men are not running away, but waiting for Saeki.
That's why the brave men are waiting for Saeki instead of running away.

''Kawachi! Koizumi has been found!

Saeki asks.

It was right after Saeki and Nito's match was over.
Koizumi, accompanied by the usual two men, suddenly left the table, saying he had an errand to run.
Koizumi had said he would be back soon, but he still hasn't returned.

Everyone still doesn't know that the three of them were killed by Nito.
And I can't go looking for them.
Under these circumstances.....

Shit. What's he doing?

Saeki is irritated, wondering why Koizumi isn't there at a time like this.
If Koizumi's magic had been there, he might have been able to at least stall her.

'Is it time to go? We're tired of it too, you know?

The demons giggle and laugh.
Then Saeki decided to prepare himself and unleashed more fire.
It's a good idea to use wind magic to counteract Saeki's fire.

''If they're this weak, even killing them is going to be a hassle~''

And when the voice was heard, the demon tribe came towards them with their swords at the ready, even as they received the magic of Saeki and Joanna.
Then, a spear of fire appeared above their heads and fired it at Saeki and the two of them.

''Nah!''

A relentless spear of fire flew at him.

Saeki's small recoil after firing the magic in rapid succession created an opening for a moment.
His legs didn't move.

And just before the spear of fire hit Saeki.

-- right in front of Saeki's eyes, the spear was suddenly flicked off lightly.

Then the spear bounced back and flew straight at the person who fired it, successfully piercing his head.

''Saeki, step back.''

So, the first thing Saeki saw was a golden sword.

''Ichijo........''

And there he was, Ichijo.

'I'll hold them back, you two, get behind me and unleash the maximum magic you can hold.

Saeki paused for a moment and thought about what to do, but he immediately accepted the words.

'....Okay.

We'll have to leave this to Ichijo.
Saeki decided that.

''Explosions!

The moment Ichijou shouted that, a huge explosion occurred in front of him.
There was no magic circle.
It happened all of a sudden, without leaving any senses unattended.

The demons caught up in the explosion turned into pieces of flesh and scattered with their cries.

Saeki's eyes widened at the power of the magic.

''The Hammer of Fire (Devolcade)!

But there's no time to be surprised.

''The Hammer of the Gale (Divolwind)!

And immediately, a giant ball of fire and wind passes over Ichijou's head.
This is Saeki and Joanna's advanced magic.

You can find a number of different types of magic in the market.

''Ichijo-kun!''

Kawachi saw this and rushed over right away.

"Kawachi, it's been a while.

Why.........is Ichijo-kun here.......

The students followed Kawachi.
Behind them were also Majima and Kihara, who were also stuck with Ichijou.
Normally they were the two with a handsome senior student beside them, but now they were gone.
In other words, they had been left behind.

'Someone I know was going to be at the game, so I stopped by for a bit.

So....

Kawachi was confused by Ichijo after a long time.
Because there was a clear difference from the previous Ichijo.

''Ichijo-kun.......that arm.......''

Oh, this one I lost it in a lot of ways.

Ichijo answers that simply.

'Lost it? .....

Saeki was a little confused, as if he hadn't noticed it the last time they'd met at the tavern.

'It's no big deal,'

Ichijou didn't seem to care anymore.
But that wasn't the only thing that had changed in Ichijou.
It was this enlarged muscle.
I don't know what kind of training would make his arm like this, maybe I'm exaggerating, but his right arm had swelled up to twice its previous size.

'You've just made an exit,'

Ichijo replied as he looked past the rubble where the demon tribe had entered.

'Guys! Let's get out of there!

Then Saeki immediately gave his support and the students walked away.
While watching them, Ichijou was peering at Nito on the field.

''He........killed Kyogoku........''

Then Saeki approached Ichijo.

''........''

I don't understand. Why would I kill him? I don't know what he would have wanted. But...

It was Kyogoku who wanted to fight.
But Saeki couldn't take it all in.

'Wasn't it enough to stun him?

Well yes.

Ichijo scowled a question mark at Nito in the field from there.
Next to him were three people Ichijou didn't know.

(Could those be Nito's traveling companions?)

I didn't feel that way before.
But now it's different.
I'm not sure what happened to Nito, but Ichijo was confused.

"Don't tell me........you mean that guy you know?

“Yes. It happened to Nito-san twice. That man is a strong mage.

"Mr. Nito"? .....

Saeki was uncomfortable with Ichijou's tone.

''Don't tell me.......he's not the 'Heart of the Dragon' too, is he?!

Ichijo is surprised by Saeki's sharpness.
But he doesn't show it on his face.

''........It has nothing to do with the organization.

....

Saeki tries to read Ichijo's mind in that answer.

"I see, which means you don't know much either, right?

Well I've only spoken to him twice now.

Just then, I heard another explosion from outside.

'Let's get out of here instead. And get as far away from here as we can.

'Yeah, we'll do that. That's what we're going to do now.

Saeki agreed with Ichijo and both left the scene.





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 When I went outside, it was no longer a battlefield.
This is now war.
The town had been burned and there was a stench in the air.
Rolling corpses and pieces of flesh. There was even a charred corpse inside.

'Saeki, what are we going to do?

Kida asks, looking upset.

'It's on the other side for now. Didn't they say on the air that there was something coming from the hills too? Then let's run the other way.

Before they know it, Saeki becomes the leader.
But they all had to rely on him now.

I'll cover you.

And it's all supported by one article.

The town surrounds the venue.
And the hill is already in the opposite direction from where Saeki and the others are.
This means that we can just go straight through the town.
Thinking of this, Saeki gave instructions to everyone.

He told them to keep an eye on the front, back and left, and they entered the town.


Then, after walking uneventfully for a while, a breathing Oswald figure suddenly popped up in front of Saeki and the others.
Following that, demonic figures appeared one after another.

''Teacher!''

Saeki called out to him.
And Oswald also noticed Saeki and the others.

'We'll join them!'

No! Stay back!

Oswald wielded a spear with a sword tip that was as clear as a sapphire.
Oswald was surrounded by more than a dozen demons, and the situation was imminent.

''Saeki, I'll go.''

Then Ichijou summoned his sword.

''【The Sword of the Brave (Excalibur)!

A golden sword appears in Ichijo's right hand.
And Ichijou immediately joined in.

''Explosions!

At that moment, a huge explosion occurs in front of Oswald's eyes.
Oswald's eyes widened at the magic.

'You don't think it's explosive magic? .....

Ichijo left a surprised Oswald behind and cut down the rest of the demon race.

In an instant, Ichijo ended the fight.

''Sensei!''

The students check out the situation and run to Oswald's side.

''Quite a feat, Ichijou-kun!

Kawachi praises Ichijou as soon as he rushes over.

'Ichijou? ........I see.......



'A brave man from Greberg...'

There are a total of 21 brave men summoned by Grayberg.
Two of them are missing and their names are public.

Twenty brave souls but how reassuring.

Oswald is unusually weak.

'Sir?'

Saeki was concerned for Oswald, who was sitting up very heavily.

'Indeed, you do not want to grow old.

Oswald stood up, using his spear as his staff.

The town had been almost completely cleared.
Each one of them was looking at the situation.
And here and there a battle was taking place.
Teachers from both schools and ordinary customers.
But most of them were unable to fight the demons and died.

"Sir, what in the world happened?

Saeki asks for more details about the situation.

''I don't know.......all I know is that a demon tribe has appeared that should not normally be seen in the human world.

In this case, the demon tribe means the demon tribe living in the demon country.
And because demons are not interested in other countries and races, most of them live their entire lives at home.

"I don't understand why I've ended up like this...

Then the ground began to shake slightly.
The sound, like a rumbling of the earth, grew stronger and stronger, and then it drowned his feet.

'Oswald!'

Then a man appears with a few knights in tow.
It's a knight in gold armor.

''Your Majesty! Why did you come here?!

I can't run away from the fight you're waging.

Then Schneizel appeared.
Then, behind her, two strange figures.

"Your Majesty, who is this gentleman?

Hmm? .........Oh, this man.......

Then the two men took off their hoods and stepped forward as if to explain themselves.

There was one with long silvery wavy hair and a long beard and a woman with shining golden hair and pointed ears.

'Elves? .........?

Yes, my name is Fiora.

The blonde elf bowed politely.

'I am Brahms. I am Brahms, an adventurer who travels with Fiora here.

The students all admired the elf.
His clear skin and well-defined face.
Even the women admired his presence.

''Brahms?''

At that moment, Oswald reacted to the name as if he had an idea of what it was.

'Hmm? Do you know someone like me? Oswald Saberhaagen, sir.

Oswald was taken aback by this and bowed to Brahms, "I did not expect you to know the name of an old mage like me.

"I didn't expect you to know the name of an old mage like me...

Oswald gives me a look that says he's honored.
And apparently, Schneizel also knows Oswald.

''Um~? Are you acquainted with the principal?

Then Kouchi asked curiously.
Behind him, the other students were also wondering.

''Such acquaintances, I'm afraid. It's the SSS (Triple S) rank adventurer. He is Brahms Hermit-sama.

SSS?

Saeki's words brought a question mark to mind.
Ichijo peeked for a moment and then immediately looked away.

''By the way, ladies and gentlemen, I think the next one is already here.

Ichijo, alone, calmly informed the scene.

This great tremor that had been going on for a while now.
The true nature of it now appeared in front of him.

--a horde of demons.

All the people there, including the students, were speechless at the sight.
Killing and killing, more soldiers were added.
What in the world were the demon tribe thinking?
Why did they attack this venue?
But there was no way to know.

No one could possibly know that this was an assault aimed at a single girl.

"Master Brahms....

Fiora, an attendant.

"Hmm, I haven't seen anything like this in a long time. Let's have a little fun with it.

Brahms doesn't change his expression at all.

I'll join you.

Oswald tightens his grip on his spear.

If it is as it appears, Oswald seems to be much older than he is.
If that's the case, why is Oswald so low on Brahms?

It's been a pleasure. "I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be fighting alongside the Guardian Alchemist.

Then Oswald gave Brahms' words a somewhat pensive air.

'....It's an old name. I'd already forgotten it.'

Brahms doesn't go too deep in his response.
"There's something about 'once an adventurer' that's not a little.
Brahms knows that.

Brahms knows this, "It's a burden even to me," he says, "and I can't deal with them all. "I can't deal with everyone. I look forward to working with you.

Oswald bowed at his words.

"You have a very unusual sword, my lord?

It was Ichijo who was asked that.

''Ah, is this........the Sword of the Brave?''

Yes.

Since it's an SSS rank, he must know at least the Sword of the Brave.
Ichijou was not surprised.

''Yes.''

I'm asking you to join me.

I don't mind, but my priority is to protect everyone.

Brahms willingly takes the word
There was no rebuttal.

"Then we shall be on our way.

While they were talking, the battle had begun.

When the walls of the hall exploded, the investors, except for Dames Aldan, turned tail and ran away as soon as they saw the demon tribe.
Those who were lucky enough to get out of the hall without being killed by the demons invading the hall were protected by the "guardians" and took refuge in the surroundings.

The "protectors" are adventurers and mages who are a little more confident in their skills.
Most of them are skilled, but they don't bother to get involved in this fight.
All of them thought only of their own lives and fled.

But it seems that there were some of these men.

When they saw the horde of demons, they made eye contact with each other, left their refugees there, and ran towards the horde.
Evacuees left sparsely everywhere.

Saeki's eyes widened in amazement at the sight of them.
Gradually he realizes.

--This is war.

This is a war, he thought, and the war is about to begin.

He is not elated.
I'm genuinely respectful.
When I go there, I'm just a liability.
Saeki knew that.

And Ichijo started to go with Oswald and Brahms.
Saeki could only watch their backs.

There, Saeki felt an obvious power barrier.

Just then, behind the remaining brave men, there was the sound of shoes stomping on gravel.

Saeki turned back towards the direction of the sound and his expression became cloudy.

''You........''

Red-black robes and masks.

''........''

And there was Nito.