Chapter 329: Chapter CXXXIV - The Collapse (part 2)
There won't be any classes at all for the whole week. This is quite obvious, the academy just got attacked after all.
But, the canteen and the other facilities at the academy will still be active, so students can still challenge each other at the gymnasium, or maybe access the club's room for their own uses.
After getting beaten down by the demons, the students surely had a boost in motivation to become stronger.
But, that's not for us.
Me, Jericho and Manda decided to go and eat lunch at the canteen. Today, the canteen is quite crowded since everyone was quite hungry and all. And whilst eating, I get a lot of people coming to me, thanking me for healing them.
I simply nodded to each and every one of them and told them not to mind it. After all, it was my fault for getting lured into a trap. If only I didn't get lured, I would be able to save them before they even get wounded.
Come to think of it, where was that blue haired motherfucker, anyway?
Strong as the headmaster, they said… obviously he's simply a no show.
"Ah, he arrived this morning, looking quite messed up.
Apparently, he was lured outside the academy and got attacked by a ton of demon mages in an underground place. Somehow he won, but he still managed to return late to the academy."
Manda told me while eating her meal.
I see...
Holy shit, he is having it worse than me…
Being lured out like that and couldn't return to the academy when he was truly needed… he must be feeling a rather painful emotion from a failed responsibility.
As the son of the arch-mage, that must be truly painful to his pride.
"Speaking of which, there he is right now."
Jericho pointed, and I turned around. I saw Arfius walking down the hall into the canteen's stalls. He didn't even glance at anyone as he walked. He arrived at a shop stall and ordered a menu.
He looked… quite shaken.
"I wonder how things will go from now on. Surely fixing the buildings will take a while, but the class..."
Manda mutters as she looks down.
While everyone in the academy had quite the impact from the attack, class E had the worst. After all, we lost a friend.
Jericho patted Manda's shoulder, which surprised her a little bit.
"Well, I mean, it's not like fixing the building can take a long time. We have magic and all."
"R-Right. Magic."
Jericho grins as her friend slowly lifts her mood back up. She then cleaned up her mouth with the tissue next to her plate.
"What about the headmaster?"
I turned to Jericho and asked.
"Still no words from him. Even the teachers are confused as to why he suddenly disappears."
"Oh... I see."
Veneo… he wouldn't just leave the academy for nothing.
He knows that his students are in danger from the demons, and yet he still left things to me and Arfius and had to take a leave of absence for something else.
Whatever he is doing, whatever his reason is for leaving the academy, it must be something… much more important than the academy students…
Damn, Veneo… I hope you're doing well…
I tried lifting my spoon again and went for the meat on the chicken, but suddenly I dropped my spoon.
CLANK!!
The spoon fell to the floor, and everyone turned their confused gazes at me. Jericho and Manda stood up immediately when they saw my horrified expression, but my body simply could not move.
"R-Rize? Rize, what's up?"
Manda asked confusingly, but I simply couldn't reply.
This… power…
This pressure…
No, it's more like a wave... A very… powerful wave…
BRAK!!!!
All of the sudden, breathing became unbelievably difficult, and my body fell to the floor.
"R-Rize!"
Manda and Jericho quickly got up to help me, but another commotion from another spot took their attention.
BRUUKKK!!!!!!!!
Arfius is also on the floor. His food was scattered on the ground as he tried gasping for air. But, he wasn't any better than me at breathing, because he collapsed on the spot.
"Oi, oi. Arfius!"
"Arfius!"
The students around him who were his classmates came to aid him, but he is already unconscious.
Manda who is lifting me up watching Arfius from afar asked me.
"Rize!? What happened?"
"S-Something... power… ful…"
"Something powerful?"
After a little bit of trying, Manda and Jericho were able to put me back on the chair, and I was able to control my breathing more proficiently and go back to normal. Sweat can be seen all over my forehead as I closed my eyes to check my body for any abnormalities.
Turns out it was just an uncontrollable fear…
Everything is fine… nothing is wrong...
Everyone around us noticed how me and Arfius suddenly collapsed at the same time and got quite confused. Some people who recognized me came to me and asked some questions, but got stopped by Jericho until I am feeling any better.
Now that I am better, I can answer them.
"Rize? What happened?"
Manda stood next to me and asked while placing her hand on my right shoulder. I simply closed my eyes and remembered what I just felt.
"An extremely powerful wave just struck me... And most likely, it struck Arfius too."
"A powerful wave?"
I nodded. Everyone around me quickly looked confused, because they didn't feel anything at all when we suddenly collapsed.
"But, we don't feel anything..."
"The more powerful a wave of energy, the harder it is to detect. For example if I unleash an extremely powerful energy right now, a baby won't be able to feel it because it is not strong enough to sense it."
Everyone around me somehow understood what I meant, but that means...
"Then, that means... We are too weak to sense the wave?"
"... Yes. It's hard to say, but since Arfius felt it too, that must be the case."
Manda and Jericho looked at each other while everyone else started to leave.
The two then sat back down in front of me and continued with the questioning.
"What do you think… caused the powerful wave?"
"I... I'm not sure… But it's extremely far away. I don't pick it up on my senses at all, so it must be extremely far away..."
"It was far away, and yet it is already that powerful?"
"... Yes... Whatever is causing that wave, must be insanely strong. I'm talking about the level of... A god."
"... I see... That is nuts, you know? For you and Arfius to be able to detect a wave as powerful as that."
"It is nuts. But, that thing... is still totally beyond our comprehension."
I ended it there and stood back up. I don't feel like eating anymore, so I simply made my way towards the balcony.
Manda and Jericho followed me, and we arrived on the balcony.
I stood at the side of the balcony and placed my hands on the railings. My eyes are facing the direction where the wave comes from, which is the south east.
What…
What exactly is happening over there…?
.
.
.
A few kilometres north of Mazino, on a small ruin hidden under the ground.
The room was dark. There are a few torches on the walls as the only sources of light, but that is it. Aside from that, the room is quite difficult to see.
A single man is writhing on the wall on the other side of the entrance as he tries to gasp for air. His long golden hair is messed up, and his whole body is covered in wounds. Blood seemed to be puddling on the floor below his lost right arm.
From the room, it was heard that a single person had entered the room. That person is certainly in a much better condition, but he is also covered in quite the slash wounds.
And… that person had just lost his right eye.
"It's clear now, Veneo."
The tall blue haired person wearing the blue and white robes called to his friend, and he sat down next to him, also leaning his body on the wall.
The two have seen quite the horrors of the battle just a few hours prior to now, and they are extremely tired.
"Oh god... My back hurts."
The blue haired man said as he leaned his back to the wall next to the headmaster, and Veneo chuckled.
"What the hell, Julius… All those wounds, and you are complaining about your sore old back."
"Yeah well… there's no use crying over a lost eye… Hey, you aren't any better with that one arm."
"Hahah… Right. We probably need to find an Emperor tier healer for these wounds..."
"Huh... Is there even a living person with that tier?"
"Probably not. The highest one in any kingdom was in my academy, and she is merely a King tier... and it probably took her whole life for it. Maybe in the future she can grow into a powerful healer mage… who knows."
The arch-mage laughed, and it echoed inside the whole room.
"What about that bastard?"
"Ah... He got the sword. It was quite expected anyways, he is too powerful for the both of us..."
"Damn... To think the demon king himself would come and grab the sword by himself... I totally wasn't expecting that--Ghahakkk!!!"
Veneo was not able to complete his sentence because he coughed a large amount of blood. The blood landed on the ground, but Julius wasn't surprised at all.
After all, he was definitely in a much worse condition with the wounds around his body.
"... We aren't going to die down here, are we?"
"Nope. Help is coming. I just lit the beacon outside so our backup army can come and save us."
"... Right… How many… did we lose…?"
"... Majority. Around five thousand..."
"Fuck..."
"Bhahahah!!--"
Hearing the headmaster's cursing, the magic king Julius quickly burst into laughter again. But because of his laugh, the wound on his right eye became opened again and quickly spurted blood.
SPRRT!!
"--Oh shit!!!"
"... Be careful with that, Julius…"
"Ah... Maybe I… should just retire. Maybe let Arfius be the arch-mage…"
"Yeah, that sounds like a terrible idea. His ego is not something you can fix by becoming the magic king."
"Well, I'm not exactly sure what to do. He will probably do better than me, right? After all, I'm a huge failure…
What about you? Found someone who could be a… successor?"
"... There is a candidate, I guess."
"Really? Who is he?"
"… More like a she."
Veneo and Julius… the headmaster of the academy as well as the greatest magician, and the arch-mage of the kingdom who is the most powerful mage in the continent. Two highly known mages, as well as the two most capable ones from Xyphon.
The two kept on talking like the two besties they are, all while being heavily wounded inside a dark underground ruin that belonged to the gods. One armed, and one eyed… All while waiting for what is left of their six thousand men army to come and save them.
The two and their army of six thousand just faced the demon king himself... and lost miserably.
Not even the greatest magician and the magic king combined can defeat the demon king…
The future… is looking grim.