Chapter 37: Unveiled Conspiracy

“Ugh!”

Lee Hwi-seong’s skill was [Air Strike]. It was an advanced skill acquired by only a few of the third-year defensive tanks. As he thrust his shield forward after gathering air, a gust of wind slammed into Himari.

“Puhahaha! Fall!”

With Lee Hwi-seong’s villainous laughter, Himari was flung into the air. She crossed her arms to lessen the impact, but it wasn’t enough to block the wind.

“Hey, Hwi-seong, wait a second.”

“What?”

“The direction she’s flying… doesn’t it…”

“?”

—Whoosh…

Lee Hwi-seong and his teammates followed Himari’s trajectory with their eyes as she soared high in the air before falling. The spectators in the stands did the same.

—Thud.

After a brief flight, Himari landed on the other side of the ravine, bracing herself with one hand.

“…?”

Himari herself was momentarily stunned, looking around before realizing what had happened and starting to run up the hill. She was now the undisputed leader.

“Puhaha!”

“That helped her instead!”

“What an idiot!”

Laughter rippled through the stands.

<That’s right! If you launch her in that direction, she clears the course! This turned into a blessing in disguise for Hoshikawa Himari!>

“Kraaa! You idiot!”

Lee Hwi-seong pounded his head.

“Th-Thank you!”

Himari’s cheerful wave further fueled his anger. To make matters worse, while Lee Hwi-seong was consumed by regret, the other competitors caught up.

<Most of the remaining participants have now entered the second course, while Hoshikawa Himari, in the lead, has reached the third!>

A giant ice wall stood before Himari. It looked almost 10 meters high, and its width and thickness were equally impressive. It looked more like a giant cube than a wall.

<How will Hoshikawa Himari overcome this trial!>

Catching her breath after running, Himari approached the ice wall and touched it. Beyond the thick ice, she could see the blurry outline of Ruah.

“Teacher…”

Himari closed her eyes and took a step back, lowering her stance.

<Ah! She’s going to show us the [Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu]! She’s been saving it until now!>

She hadn’t been saving it. She hadn’t been able to use it.

But on stable ground like this, with a large, stationary target, Himari could cut it down without difficulty, even with the safety device.

“Hup!”

She lowered her stance and drew her sword.

—Swish!

With a sharp sound, a clean diagonal crack appeared on the giant ice wall. The thick ice held for a few seconds after Himari straightened up, but then it crumbled and collapsed with a loud rumble.

<Whoa…>

“…”

“…”

The audience and even the announcer were momentarily speechless at what they had just witnessed.

“Waaaaah!”

“Crazy! She cut it down in one go!”

“She sliced through it like tofu? Is she really a first-year?!”

A tremendous roar erupted. But Himari didn’t seem to care, not even turning her head. She simply stepped carefully over the shattered ice and approached Ruah, who was on the round platform.

“Teacher, I’ve come.”

“Himari…”

The huddled school nurse took Himari’s outstretched hand and stood up. The camera captured the two and displayed them on the big screen, and the audience applauded in encouragement.

<Hoshikawa Himari has retrieved the flag!>

“What just happened? Why is Teacher acting as the flag…?”

“I-I don’t know. Hehe.”

Even though many people were watching, Ruah was okay now. She was holding Himari’s hand tightly.

<But the race isn’t over yet! The real winner is the one who returns to the starting point with the flag!>

At those words, Himari suddenly looked back. The other competitors, whom she had expected to be right behind her, were nowhere to be seen.

“Where…?”

“Over there, Himari.”

Himari followed Ruah’s pointing finger.

At the second course, near the ravine, all the students were stopped, watching them. They clearly intended to snatch Ruah from Himari when she returned and cross the finish line themselves, since chasing after Himari directly was difficult.

“They’re trying to take Teacher…!”

Himari gritted her teeth.

“Well, the flag, to be precise.”

“Teacher, excuse me.”

Saying so, Himari scooped Ruah up and tucked her under her left arm like a sack of rice.

“This might be a little uncomfortable, but please bear with it.”

“Well… I’m used to this kind of thing…”

Carrying Ruah, who seemed strangely resigned, Himari began to run down the slope.

<Hoshikawa Himari is picking up speed! Is she planning to charge straight through the waiting survivors!>

“That’s right!”

Himari shouted, drawing her sword with her right hand.

“Teacher is mine!”

“Th-Those words…”

Ruah, tucked under Himari’s arm, scratched her cheek shyly.

“A-A little embarrassing…”

The competition was reaching its climax, and the excitement in the stands and the stadium was at its peak.

“Now’s the time.”

Watching the race on the big screen, Park Haengsin smiled. He held a walkie-talkie in his hand.

<Hoshikawa Himari! Charging straight through!>

Seeing Himari, with a determined expression, running towards the ravine where the other competitors were waiting, he brought the walkie-talkie to his mouth.

“Release it.”

—Splash!

The moment Himari landed on a log in the air, something strange happened.

A torrent of water, like a waterfall, poured down from the crane that had been dropping the styrofoam balls.

<Oh! What… what is this! Now it’s water? Th-There’s more than one obstacle!>

The announcer’s voice was clearly different from before. Although he tried to maintain his professional tone, his flustered state was evident.

“Tsk! Fall back!”

“They should have at least told us! I almost fell!”

The students waiting on the logs complained. Himari’s hair was also wet from being grazed by the water.

“Teacher, are you alright?”

Himari looked at Ruah, who she was carrying.

For some reason, Ruah had a dazed expression.

“It’s different from the original…”

“Huh?”

“There wasn’t a water obstacle in this course originally…!”

—Rumble…

That was when it happened. The entire hill began to shake.

“?!”

“What’s happening?”

Although they couldn’t feel it directly from the floating logs, everyone could sense that something dangerous was happening.

As everyone looked around, their eyes stopped—

“—Below…”

At Ruah’s words, Himari looked down below the log she was standing on.

The styrofoam balls that had been pouring down had piled up, filling the ravine, and were now soaked with water.
The vibrations were coming from the waterlogged styrofoam balls.

—Rumble rumble…

As the countless balls vibrated simultaneously, the hill shook violently. Murmurs arose from the stands.

“What is it? What’s happening?”

“Another new obstacle?”

“They really put a lot of effort into it this year…!”

<Uh… yes, for now, the competition will continue—>

Just as the announcer spoke, the first styrofoam ball split open.

—Crack!

What emerged was a monster that looked like a giant wasp, hundreds of times larger than a normal one.

“C-rank… ‘Mega Wasp’.”

—Crack! Crack!

—Crack! Crack!

Countless styrofoam balls—no, Mega Wasp eggs—hatched.

“Monsters!”

“Damn it! They even released monsters? What kind of competition is this?”

“Those aren’t obstacles! Run away! Quickly!”

As the wasps flew up from the ravine, the students waiting on the logs panicked and struggled to cross. Some fell in the process.

“Kyaaa! Monsters!”

“Evacuate! Evacuate!”

Chaos erupted in the stands as soon as the situation was grasped. Spectators rushed towards the exits, pushing and shoving, some falling and getting trampled.

<Everyone! Please calm down! All competitions at the Academy are conducted safely, and—>

—Crackle!

A Mega Wasp gnawed through a speaker, causing an explosion. The announcer’s voice was no longer audible.

‘Damn it.’

Ruah bit her lip.

‘I should have known when they said the styrofoam balls were heavy.’

It was definitely Park Haengsin’s doing. He must have replaced the styrofoam balls with Mega Wasp eggs. Since they wouldn’t hatch until they came into contact with water, they would have been easy to conceal.

—Buzz!

Amidst the Mega Wasps swarming from all directions, Ruah brought the High-Performance Telescope to her eye. Park Haengsin would surely be watching this chaos from somewhere nearby.

“Found him.”

She spotted Hunter Park Haengsin calmly sitting in the corner of the first floor, in the seats near the entrance.

“Himari, we have to catch him!”

“Teacher, r-right now, escaping is our priority…!”

—Thump!

“Whoa!”

As wasps flew past the log they were on, the platform shook violently. Barely managing to keep her balance, Himari tried to move to the next log, but a swarm of Mega Wasps was blocking the way, flying between the logs.

“Hey! Swat them away!”

“Argh! These damn monsters!”

The students on other logs were using their weapons to drive away the wasps and escape the ravine. Lee Hwi-seong also tried to repel the wasps with [Air Strike], but—

—Buzz!

“Aaah!”

As if receiving punishment for his actions, a swarm of wasps stung Lee Hwi-seong. Judging by the depth of the stings, he wouldn’t die, but it would probably hurt a lot. A lot.

“G-Get off!”

Lee Hwi-seong thrashed on the log before finally falling.

But now wasn’t the time to worry about others.

“Ugh!”

Several wasps flew past Himari, stinging her. The faculty members were rushing out from below, trying to subdue the monsters, but there were too many.

There was only one option left.

“Himari.”

“Yes, Teacher?”

Ruah pointed at a swarm of wasps circling in the air before approaching them.

“Draw your sword…!”