Chapter 14: For now, worry about staying alive

“There’s a demon subordinate that has slipped into the academy.” Ulysses paused, took another drag of his cigarette, and continued, “So I have to stay here and catch it, to prevent it from harming more students.”

Lila could no longer maintain her usual arrogant facade and looked genuinely shocked.

“Why not notify the students to evacuate?”

If any students were harmed, the academy’s inaction would be the root cause.

“This demon subordinate is a bit special. It has the ability to control and absorb emotions. If the academy issues a warning, it will only create anxiety and fear, which will strengthen it, leading to an even greater disaster.”

Ulysses was deeply troubled by this. This demon subordinate possessed a certain level of intelligence and even knew how to conceal its presence.

That made his search extremely difficult.

If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in this mess. I might’ve been enjoying a romantic evening somewhere instead.

“I’m telling you this simply because I think you’ll keep the secret and won’t leak it.”

Lila nodded, pretending to stay calm.

“The good news is that no students have been harmed so far.”

Ulysses flicked away the finished cigarette and continued.

“That means the demon subordinate is brewing some kind of larger scheme.”

Lila understood immediately. For a demon subordinate to risk infiltrating the academy, protected by Luche, the only continent-level mage, it must be aiming for something extremely sinister.

And if even Ulysses, a Sword Saint, couldn’t track it, then its intelligence was clearly not low.

So-called demon subordinates were essentially magical beasts personally empowered by demons. After the demon was driven out of the world fifty years ago, it was these stronger subordinates that led the beasts in battle.

To date, humanity had eliminated no fewer than thirty such subordinates, yet no one knew their total number.

Most of them resided in the unclaimed dark regions and weren’t particularly intelligent.

That was precisely why Lila felt uneasy.

This one, hiding within human territory, within the academy itself, combined with its connection to demons…

Did it signal that the demon might attempt to descend again?

Lila didn’t dare think further. Perhaps it simply wanted to kill as many untrained human talents as possible.

Either way, it was terrible.

“Now you get it, right? I’m a good teacher. So stop calling me a perverted old man.”

Ulysses said lightly.

“If you’re such a good teacher, then hurry up and catch that thing and execute it!”

****

Today was the day of the freshmen’s combat training exercise.

The instructor leading Simon’s class was Miss Kuroko, a young archmage skilled in plant and water magic.

“Everyone, step into the magic circle. Quickly.”

She gestured to her students.

The ground of the circle was inscribed with thousands of elemental symbols. Before activation, they lay quietly on the surface, but now they shimmered into radiant streams of light.

They formed strange patterns in the air, constantly shifting. To Simon, it looked like a colorful starry sky swirling and converging.

He couldn’t help but marvel at the wonder of teleportation magic.

“I heard we’re going to the Twilight Forest near the border of the Principality of Norslan,” Siegfried whispered.

“How do you know that?”

“My special intel source. Don’t worry about it, just trust me.”

Siegfried said confidently.

“Isn’t that the country where Lila’s family is from?”

Alice thought for a moment, then seemed to realize something.

“We’re only going to the border,” Vigus said calmly, instantly easing their concerns.

“Simon, you’d better be careful. It’s within that wicked Lila’s family’s sphere of influence.”

Alice frowned, worried.

“Don’t worry.”

Simon shook his head, trying to reassure her.

For some reason, Simon felt that Lila never truly intended to kill him. She was more like a malicious child who enjoyed tormenting others.

Whether that was true or not, he couldn’t prove.

Even so, he still hated her deeply.

“Students, we’re about to begin teleportation. You may feel dizzy, that’s normal.”

Kuroko’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Only then did Simon realize he had been clenching his fists so tightly that deep marks were etched into his palms.

He lacked power now, so all he could do was endure and wait with determination.

The teleportation array began operating in earnest. The floating patterns surged toward the edges, then started spinning around the center.

As the speed increased, Simon could no longer distinguish the shapes.

This array had been created by Headmaster Luche, and only he could make such a thing, infused with his own magic. The activation merely guided that power.

Once Luche’s magic was exhausted, the array would cease to function.

The symbols spun faster and faster—then suddenly froze for an instant.

Everything vanished.

The surroundings turned into a blank void.

He felt as if he had entered a nameless mist, no direction, no beginning, no end, his body spinning endlessly.

Then, in a blink, the world reformed.

His classmates began appearing one by one.

A wave of dizziness hit him.

Just as his vision tilted and nearly flipped, his body was caught.

“Simon, what’s wrong with you?”

He found himself leaning against Siegfried’s shoulder.

“A bit dizzy…”

“That’s normal. Some people are more sensitive to teleportation. Help each other out.”

Kuroko explained.

After resting for a while, they began heading toward the camp.

The academy naturally had cooperative arrangements with the Principality of Norslan, such as this camp where students could stay. Every year, countless students came here.

After settling into his room, Simon originally planned to rest, still feeling lightheaded.

But thinking of Lila’s command, and wanting to avoid giving her an excuse to punish him, he decided to go find her.

“You’re a bit late, Simon.”

Lila stood watching the sunset. Without turning, she spoke in an impatient tone.

The wind lifted her crimson hair, like drifting flames in the sky.

In truth, she had been uneasy earlier, especially after hearing about the demon subordinate. She feared Simon might run into danger.

He was her lifeline. If he died, her own life would no longer continue.

Only when he arrived did the tension in her chest finally ease.