A Surprise

“Anna… is actually this strong?”

Watching the graceful, dancer-like figure in the air, Ewan couldn’t help but be captivated. Although he knew that Senior Anna was one of the top students in the fifth year, he had never imagined that the seemingly gentle girl was so powerful that she could easily suppress, and even defeat, the terrifyingly strong High Priest.

“Hmph. If I hadn’t been eating so poorly lately and couldn’t use my full strength, I could do that too,” Ariel pouted, seeing Ewan staring at Anna in a daze.

“…”

Ewan’s mouth twitched. No, no, you’re already terrifying enough as it is! You’re only in your second year! The other second-years are still cowering behind the crowd, and the brave ones are only managing to cast a spell or two. But you’re up here, face-tanking the boss! Have some pity on them!

“Speaking of which…” Ariel suddenly leaned in close, the domineering aura of a protagonist vanishing, replaced by a rare, girlish shyness. “Hey, beautiful. Can I get your communication stone frequency?”

“Huh?”

Ewan froze. Communication stone frequency? Is that something I can just give you? If I give it to you…

Ariel swung her greatsword, sending a muscular man who had been sneaking up on them flying, and asked with a sweet smile, “Can I?”

“Yes, yes, of course you can.”

Ewan nodded like a bobblehead and quickly took out his communication stone.

As the stones lightly touched and the frequency was connected, a blissful smile appeared on Ariel’s face.

“Let’s keep in touch!”

“…”

A chill ran down Ewan’s spine. He forced a smile, then quickly turned to his senior. “Anna, let’s go.”

Ariel was too scary. He had a feeling that if he stayed with her for too long, he would lose something important.

“Alright,” Anna replied. “Let me just finish him off.”

She held a strangely shaped dagger in her hand and quickly approached the heavily injured High Priest. It was a Holy Prayer Dagger, blessed by the Church of Life. It could inflict fatal damage even on those corrupted by Evil Gods.

As if sensing the threat from the dagger, the High Priest roared ferociously, his remaining left hand lashing out at Anna.

Anna’s eyes flickered.

Even at full strength, the High Priest couldn’t keep up with her speed. Let alone in his current, heavily injured state.

Without wasting any time, she became a fleeting black shadow, dodging his final struggle and plunging the Holy Prayer Dagger into his heart.

A direct hit.

The moment the dagger pierced his heart, as if in unbearable agony, the High Priest’s face twisted, his eyes rolled back, and after a series of violent convulsions, the life visibly drained from his body.

“It’s over.”

Confirming that his pulse and heartbeat had stopped, Anna let out a sigh of relief. She turned to Ewan, a charming smile on her face. “Well, Ewan? Your senior…”

She didn’t get to finish.

Something strange happened.

Before Ewan’s and Ariel’s stunned eyes, the flesh of the gruesome wound on the High Priest’s shoulder suddenly began to writhe violently.

“This is…”

Watching the disgusting scene, Ewan was suddenly reminded of some unpleasant, and deeply impressive, memories. A sense of foreboding filled his heart, and he couldn’t help but shout, “Anna, watch out!”

But the surprise came too quickly.

From the gruesome wound on the High Priest’s shoulder, a new, thick arm, covered in blood and a foul-smelling membrane, burst forth from the writhing flesh.

And then, it caught the greatsword that had fallen from the old, dead limb.

It gripped it tightly.

And swung.

Anna turned, but it was too late. No matter how agile she was, she couldn’t possibly dodge a blow this close without any preparation.

All she could do was instinctively raise her arm to block.

“Anna!”

Ewan gritted his teeth, his body moving on its own.

“Tsk.”

But with a heavy thud, Ariel pushed him back down.

“A delicate beauty like you shouldn’t move at a time like this. Leave it to me.”

Ariel once again coolly flicked back her bangs, brandished her greatsword, and charged forward without a backward glance.

Fast.

Very fast.

Ariel’s speed at that moment, to a certain extent, even surpassed Ewan’s Shadow Step.

But…

It was still too late.

Because the sword had already fallen.

The moment the blade made contact with Anna’s arm, Ewan could already see it cutting through her limb and then, without losing any momentum, leaving a gruesome gash on her delicate body.

His heart seemed to stop.

His breathing seemed to cease.

All he could see was the shadow of the blade, falling upon a young woman’s body of flesh and blood.

But.

The scene he had imagined did not happen.

The moment the blade made contact with Anna’s arm, Ewan thought he heard the sound of metal clashing against metal.

Huh? Metal clashing against metal?

Ewan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The light flickered.

And in the instant the sleeve of his senior’s uniform was torn by the blade, Ewan vaguely saw a faint glimmer of light reflecting off something smooth and dense on her arm.

They looked like scales.

A snake’s scales.

But the image was just a fleeting flash. Before Ewan could confirm what he had seen, Anna had already pulled back her hand and retreated.

And at that moment, Ariel finally arrived. Her flaming greatsword plunged into the High Priest’s body, the immense force sending him staggering back.

Anna came to Ewan’s side, took his arm with her other hand, and quickly moved in another direction.

“Let’s go.”

“Eh? We’re just leaving? What about Ariel?”

“It’s fine. Even if that monster is still alive, it’s heavily injured. Ariel can handle it. And…” Anna tilted her head, as if listening to something. “Didn’t you notice? Someone is coming up.”

“Really?”

Ewan frowned and also listened intently, but the surrounding noise was too chaotic. He couldn’t hear anything.

“Let’s go.”

Anna pulled Ewan and, from a shadowy part of the rooftop on the other side of the building, she leaped down. Her long whip unfurled, wrapped around the rooftop railing, and then, with a gentle swing, they crashed into someone’s dorm room.

With their skills, it was not a difficult move, and they landed smoothly.

After landing, without even a moment to survey his surroundings, Ewan asked anxiously, “Anna, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“Really? But your hand…”

Anna pulled down her sleeve, covering her arm, and smiled. “I’m really fine, Ewan. You don’t need to worry.”

“Is that so.”

Ewan looked at Anna’s face. She was indeed smiling, and her smile was as charming as ever. But he could almost read a cold, distant “keep out” in her beautiful face.

I can’t ask any more questions, Ewan thought.

“Then what do we do now?”

The vibrations from upstairs were becoming more and more obvious. It seemed that, just as Anna had said, new, powerful reinforcements had joined the battle.

“It looks like we don’t have to worry about what’s happening up there.” Anna rested her cheek in her hand and glanced up. “So, since my first objective of saving you has been achieved, it’s time to move on to my second objective.”

“Second… objective?”

Looking at Senior Anna’s increasingly brilliant smile, Ewan suddenly had a very bad feeling.