At the end of the day, Silbert’s room was peaceful.
The quiet interior.
Scratch, scratch—the sound of a pen nib moving over paper came softly.
Silbert’s hand moved at a steady pace.
It stopped for a moment, his brow furrowed slightly, and then his hand moved again, writing the letters down.
It was because of the exam scheduled for tomorrow.
Since he suspected Assistant Professor Hopfen was not in a normal state, he was preparing even for the work Hopfen might have to do, just in case.
That was the kind of person he was.
Silbert van Ernhem. Nam Taemin was that kind of person.
A man who took planning and preparing in advance as a matter of course, and who enjoyed research and inquiry.
Once tomorrow’s exam was over, he would have to resolve the Eyelights problem, whether by using Hopfen or by devising another plan.
‘Eyelights…….’
The pen nib that had been moving diligently came to another abrupt stop.
Once his thoughts reached Eyelights, he could no longer concentrate properly.
‘Why is that bastard with Black Fang…?’
According to his deductions, it was almost certain that Eyelights was moving together with Black Fang.
But for what purpose?
For a top-rank ranker like Eyelights, notoriety was undoubtedly poison.
Because he knew that better than anyone, Silbert had trusted him—no, her.
And yet, for that very Eyelights to have attached herself to Black Fang—how could he possibly make sense of it?
“……First, this.”
Silbert drew himself back to the desk and began looking over the documents again.
He moved the tip of his pen, filling out the papers.
The room grew quiet once more under that concentration.
While only the soft scratch of paper meeting pen nib spread through the silence.
Before long, his movements came to an abrupt halt again.
His gaze remained fixed on the documents, his hand still gripping the pen, and his expression hardened in that very posture.
It was not because another thought had occurred to him, nor because he had recalled Eyelights.
Simply—
“…….”
Because a wisp of black mist had slithered past the corner of his eye.
A phenomenon that could never happen.
A phenomenon that must never happen.
Silbert sprang up from his seat and turned around.
“……Hah.”
The sight visible through the large window was nothing short of pandemonium.
Black smoke soaring high into the sky from all over the academy.
Beneath the black smoke that was beginning to envelop the entire academy in the shape of a massive dome, people endlessly spewed smoke from their eyes, noses, ears, and mouths.
People beside them did not know what to do.
Some fled in panic.
The black fog grew darker by the moment.
Chaos erupted in an instant.
And Silbert knew all too well what this bizarre phenomenon had originated from.
“Black Fang.”
The appearance of the black mist, the symbol of Black Fang—of Ataolf.
“This… was not in the plan.”
Behind Silbert as he murmured, the black mist gradually thickened.
The mist continuing to seep in through the gap under the door slowly began to take form.
“……I don’t understand.”
Silbert muttered, still looking out the window.
“Why so suddenly?”
It was true that predicting the future had become meaningless due to the variables introduced by the ten thousand rankers, but even taking that into account, was this not far too abrupt an attack?
Black Fang’s uprising was originally an event that should have occurred several years later.
The black mist inside the room had already taken on the complete shape of people, and their number had exceeded ten.
And yet the fact that they made no sound and gave off no presence was rather grotesque.
“With a scale like this, they came determined to act.”
Silbert shook his head.
“I just don’t understand.”
Why had they suddenly appeared at a time like this?
What were they aiming for by attacking Imenia?
He could not understand that either, but the truly questionable point lay elsewhere.
“You think you can capture me with only the likes of you?”
As Silbert slowly turned around, more than ten black-clad figures came into view.
Each and every one of them was an executive-level force of Black Fang.
However—
“I don’t understand. I really don’t.”
They were still far too insufficient to reach him.
Silbert stretched out his hand toward them.
And then—
「Skill - ‘Advanced Telekinesis’ is activated.」
Kwaaaang—!
At the same time, the heads of the dozen or so executives slammed into the floor.
“I’ll drive you down so hard you’ll never crawl out again.”
Amid the scattering dust, Silbert’s eyes flashed.
* * *
The master of telekinesis, Silbert van Ernhem.
A full professor of the academy who had built up his fame throughout the empire.
In the outside world, he was called a savior, a hero, and had amassed tremendous renown as the first Awakened—an undeniable powerhouse.
Kwaang—!
Using that renown as a foundation, he had evolved his main skill, Telekinesis, to the very brink of the advanced tier, and he possessed numerous other skills suited to complement it.
Kwaang—!
When he unleashed his telekinesis in earnest, most beings could not even dare approach him before being crushed.
Kwaaaang—!
But it had already been dozens of minutes since he faced the executives of Black Fang.
And Silbert’s appearance was a mess.
His hair, which was always neatly combed back, was thoroughly disheveled, and though they were small, wounds were present as well.
It was a rare thing for Silbert once he had entered battle in earnest.
“These rotten bastards…….”
The relaxed expression he had worn at first was nowhere to be found, leaving only a face twisted in a deep frown.
The problem was their combination.
A formation composed solely with Silbert’s telekinesis in mind.
There was someone among them who possessed a skill capable of defending against telekinesis.
Telekinetic power was not omnipotent.
Those who had raised their physical specs to the limit could not be stopped easily, and beyond that, there were various ways to break through it: powerful attacks focused on a single point, weights so enormous they could not be lifted, and so on.
Of course, Silbert possessed various skills prepared against such things, but… his opponents dealt with even those with ease, as if they already knew them all.
Just like now.
Kwaaaang—!
Even though he had blocked their path by destroying the floor beneath them, they immediately shattered through the ceiling and surged upward.
Silbert cast telekinesis on himself, left his room, and leapt into the air.
His room had already been destroyed beyond recognition, and he had intended to create distance by taking to the sky, but—
“……They really came prepared.”
Seeing them float into the air and fly after him as though mocking even that, Silbert clicked his tongue.
The power of Black Fang.
No, should it be called the power of Ataolf?
Those who had been modified by Ataolf and had become his power—the black mist itself.
A power that grew stronger by feeding on the emotions of chaos, dread, and fear.
Everyone in Black Fang wielded Ataolf’s black mist.
Things like sacrificing themselves to open a passage.
Moving as mist.
Or making someone else take damage beyond their limit in their place.
Those who possessed the traits of that black mist along with the abilities they had held in life.
That was what the executives of Black Fang were.
“Stop chasing me, you leeches.”
He stretched out his hand toward the ones flying freely through the air, their black clothes fluttering.
Once again, he manipulated his telekinesis and tried to exert pressure on them.
“……Damn it.”
But when one of them waved a hand, the telekinesis scattered emptily.
On top of that, there was an ability user who could send the entire group flying through the sky.
In response, Silbert dragged stones and obstacles from the ground and hurled them at them, but this time, a massive barrier formed and blocked them all.
As if that were not enough, hundreds of small, sharp needles shot out from within it over a wide area.
Blocking them all with telekinesis would consume an extreme amount of mana.
「Skill - ‘Intermediate Iron Wall’ is activated.」
「Skill - ‘Intermediate Iron Wall’ is activated.」
He had no choice but to use another mid-tier skill several times to block them.
“These sons of bitches. They’re aiming for mana exhaustion.”
There was a skill user mixed in who could spread attacks over a wide area.
They truly were a group optimized to deal with Silbert.
“……Was it a mistake to leap into the air?”
「Skill - ‘Intermediate Iron Wall’ is activated.」
「Skill - ‘Intermediate Iron Wall’ is activated.」
He regretted it while blocking the densely fired needles once again, but there was no point.
It likely would not have changed much even if he had remained on the ground.
How should he act to break through this situation?
“Think…… Think.”
Support from others?
He lowered his head and looked down.
Through the hazy mist came screams and the sounds of all kinds of skills pouring out.
A scene where auras of every color were swung and then extinguished.
It was truly pandemonium.
「Skill - ‘Intermediate Iron Wall’ is activated.」
「Skill - ‘Intermediate Iron Wall’ is activated.」
He could not place his hopes on the security forces protecting the academy.
They were not particularly strong to begin with.
Support from outside?
That black mist encircling the academy would cut it off. It was a prison that prevented anyone from getting in from the outside, and anyone inside from getting out.
Only someone skilled enough to pierce through that barrier would constitute meaningful support, and it would be difficult to expect such a thing.
Nor could he expect anything from the students.
Frogs in a well who had never experienced real combat.
How many of them could maintain their composure in this situation and fully display their abilities?
「Skill - ‘Intermediate Iron Wall’ is activated.」
“Behind me…! Everyone gather behind me!”
Amid all that, one person caught his eye.
A man calling the students together in a resounding voice.
It was Alkmion, a professor of the Knight Faculty.
His height and build had grown twice as large as an ordinary person’s.
His upper body resembled not that of a human, but of a tiger.
With that distinctive skill of his, he had once gained fame as the Beastman Knight, but……
“Aaaaagh!”
He was too old to sustain this kind of battle for long.
Black Fang pounced from every direction like ghosts.
They held no fear, only the objective of killing their opponent.
Moreover, monsters and demons even larger than the enlarged Alkmion were attacking from all over the place, were they not?
Facing all of them while protecting terrified students was already nearly his limit.
Most of the academy’s professors were like that.
People whose primes had already passed.
Those who had displayed their strength in another era, in another place, and were left now with only experience.
But now was not the time to quibble over such things.
“I need to join them first.”
Alkmion was fighting desperately, roaring as if in a last struggle.
And the professors who had once been knights, including him, along with several students who had regained their senses, were putting forth their strength, but the number of monsters glimpsed through the black smoke overwhelmed them.
They were thundering across the ground toward them.
“Alkmion!”
Boom, boom, the earth shook as they charged.
“Fall back!”
Silbert descended at high speed and seized control of the area with the remaining power of his telekinesis.
Mana drained out of him in a rush, but in return, every monster surrounding Alkmion and the others was lifted into the air.
“Professor Silbert!”
Only then did a faint smile bloom on Alkmion’s tiger-like face.
Even though a streak of blood hung at the corner of his mouth.
He believed a reliable ally had appeared.
As if meeting his expectations, Silbert landed on the ground and clenched his fist without hesitation.
「Skill - ‘Advanced Telekinesis: Pressure’ is activated.」
The monsters and the beings of Black Fang burst apart in midair.
At that, not only the many students gathered behind him, but even the professors who had barely been holding on looked at Silbert.
Their eyes were like those gazing upon a hero.
“Wahahaha! Professor Silbert! This is the first time I’ve ever seen you so disheveled! Still, now that you’re here, I feel reassured!”
Alkmion laughed heartily despite the wounds scattered across his body and the blood pooling at his mouth.
However, the smile vanished from his face in an instant.
“……What in the world are those, my friend? What have you brought with you?”
He had seen the executives who had followed Silbert, their black clothes fluttering.
At that, Silbert swept his hair back and spoke briefly.
“They are executives of Black Fang. Each and every one of their abilities was arranged to counter me. So……”
His words trailed off, unlike him.
Even if this was the correct answer, he could not bring himself to say it easily.
“So… please… take care of them.”
It meant that he would protect this place and the students, while Alkmion and the other professors who had once been knights should step forward and deal with them.
He judged that to be the best decision in the current situation, and the closest thing to the correct answer.
Silbert's ability was effective when facing multiple opponents weaker than himself, and since it didn't work on them, he made this request.
Depending on how one took it, these could be words that sounded like asking them to die in his stead, but.
"Kuh...."
Alchemion let out a loud laugh.
"Kwahahaha! Why such hesitation over a request like that! It's not like you!"
Clenching a fist as large as Silbert's face, Alchemion moved his massive frame and walked out.
"Though I have grown old, am I not still a tiger in name?"
And behind him, as if it were only natural, the other professors followed.
Long before they were ever professors, they were comrades who had entrusted their backs to one another for half their lives.
"We can't lose to some specter that's neither living nor dead!"
Alchemion kicked off the ground and charged out with all his might.
Those very needles were fired densely toward him.
"Not so fast!"
Alchemion wrapped his body in aura and broke through hundreds of needles with a shout, while the professors—no, former knights—skillfully stuck close behind him, using him as a shield.
Silbert surreptitiously activated his telekinesis to see if he could help them, but it invariably dispersed before reaching the executives.
Having cleanly given up, Silbert looked around.
Before he knew it, the area behind him was filled with students who had fled from all around.
Fear, despair, and terror clouded most of their eyes.
Having read that, Silbert fixed his hair and straightened his clothes with as much nonchalance as possible.
Looking at the students impassively, he spoke.
"They feed on fear and terror to grow stronger. So."
Turning on the spot, he activated telekinesis once more.
[Skill - 'Advanced Telekinesis' activates.]
The Heuka swarming the surroundings and the demons who had turned into monsters all rose into the air at once.
"Don't be afraid."
[Skill - 'Advanced Telekinesis: Pressure' activates.]
The monsters were crushed in one fell swoop.
A marvelous spectacle: things that hadn't fallen no matter how they were cut, stabbed, or struck with skills were compressed with such ease.
"Stay calm and hold your ground."
Hope began to fill the students' eyes.
Of course, for them, it was a hope possible only because they could see nothing but Silbert's back.
Contrary to the words he uttered, Silbert's expression was heavily contorted.
Unlike the endless number of enemies, his mana had already fallen below half; how long could he endure...
"It will end soon."
He could not guarantee it.
* * *
"Uuaaaack!"
He snapped to attention at a sound he couldn't tell was a scream or a battle cry.
"You half-baked scum dare! Dare!"
A cry akin to a scream from Alchemion.
Around him were the corpses of several professors who had been his comrades and brothers-in-arms.
'...How much... time has passed.'
One hour? Two?
He had no time to keep track of such things as time, so he didn't know exactly.
He had fought fiercely while conserving his mana at every turn, yet enemies still lay all around him.
At some point, the range he could hold had narrowed, and on the opposite side, students were gathered, barely managing to hold out.
They were clumsy and terrified, so casualties continued to occur inevitably.
'...Is this the end.'
Now, he truly had little mana left.
Just moments ago, hadn't he nearly lost consciousness from the slightest mistake?
Symptoms of mana exhaustion were beginning to set in.
'From the start, there's no way we could stop the Heuka charging in determined to overwhelm the Academy...'
They were the worst group and a massive force that even the Empire couldn't handle.
It was just that after a major clash with the Sword Saint over a decade ago, their forces had shrunk and they had been lying low.
Yet that power was this overwhelming.
No, the fact that they had lain low for over a decade meant they had been stockpiling power all that time.
Blocking such military might of the Heuka with nothing but Academy professors, security guards, and students was absurd in itself.
Hadn't they truly done their best by now?
"Kuaaaaack!"
"P-please spare me!"
The students' screams coming from behind.
Sobbing steeped in terror.
But there was nothing to be done.
'I really... did my best.'
What more could he do here?
With depleted mana, he could do nothing; he would simply fall meaninglessly.
"I am! Ulbert Alchemion!"
The final struggle of a knight who had once been glorious.
Alchemion and his order of knights had endured for hours against more than a dozen executives assembled to eliminate Silbert.
"By my name, I shall take at least one of you as my companion to the grave!"
But even that was nearing its end now.
His comrades who had shared his glory were already sprawled on the ground, eyes wide open; only Alchemion remained standing.
So there was truly nothing to be done.
'Logout...'
There was simply no other way.
He would plan for another day.
"Come! Come at me, you ghosts! Don't hide cowardly, come at me one by one!"
Needles densely lodged in Alchemion's body.
A mangled left fist.
"U-uuaaaaah!"
"Block! Block!"
"P-Professor...!"
The voices of students wailing from behind.
[Will you use the Logout Ticket (72 hours)?]
There was truly nothing to be done.
[Yes] [No]
After logging out and recovering, he would gather the guild members in Korea. He would call every Ranker and without fail take revenge for today.
"S-spare me!"
"Please... please!"
Silbert's finger slowly moved toward 'Yes.'
Slowly. Very slowly.
Slowly, as if weighed down by something.
That finger suddenly stopped dead. It was neither because of the students' screams, nor because of Alchemion's cry spitting blood.
"..."
It was because light had suddenly appeared above his head.
Light that had suddenly appeared in the sky shrouded by black mist.
Silbert's gaze naturally turned skyward, and soon his eyes widened in shock.
"...What is that."
A golden giant standing alone, looking down at the ground.
A marvelous being that reduced a life-or-death human war to a mere trivial scuffle. Something beyond human.
Its massive mouth slowly opened.
"I am the great mage."
A low voice resounded greatly within the black fog.
"Hio Pavlenko."
All gazes on the ground turned toward the sky.