SRS 55

The relationship between mages and those with divine power had never been particularly good. Students got along well enough, forced to cooperate under their professors’ authority, but the professors themselves were another matter entirely.

Even on ordinary days, whenever those two professors crossed paths in the hallway, they never passed by quietly. They always had something disparaging to say about each other. And now, after just a week, it seemed their war of words had finally turned into an actual fight.

…Professors fighting each other physically inside an academy, of all places. What kind of teachers were they, mocking and brawling like children?

Disappointed all over again in the ‘professors’ who had abandoned every shred of dignity or responsibility, Yohan headed toward the next classroom with Mikael.

He peeked carefully through the narrow crack of the door. A shimmering blue barrier filled his sight. A translucent circular shield made of mana was protecting the room from the power of Professor Hegel and the angel professor.

Inside the barrier, the two were locked in a standoff, glaring at each other as objects flew through the air. Desks, chairs, pens, papers, everything was spinning around them. Even the windows were rattling every few seconds, a testament of the raw power surging inside that barrier.

Yohan gaped.

They were still professors, which meant their auras were overwhelming, but why were they using that power against each other?

It was three minutes before first period, when were they planning to actually teach?

“What do we do?”

“Shouldn’t we stop them?”

“Stop them?”

At first, the students had found the fight fascinating. But as the intensity inside the barrier escalated beyond anything they’d ever seen, their excitement turned to hesitation. Some thought they should intervene, others thought they should stay out of it.

Yohan on the other hand urged restraint.

“If we step in carelessly, we’ll get seriously hurt. Let’s wait and see.”

For now, the barrier kept the power contained, but if the students panicked and made noise, things could spiral out of control. The safest option was to stay quiet and observe.

Then Isaac stammered, “Sh-should we… call another professor?”

“Another professor…?”

Everyone’s expression turned uncertain.

“…If we call one, they’ll probably join the fight.”

“Right, definitely not the swordsmanship professor. He’d jump in instantly.”

“Not Professor Homern either.”

“Or Professor Menoua. He’d lose his mind.”

“Professor Will wouldn’t even come.”

“Professor Ariel would probably cry.”

“And Professor Shinbi would just say, ‘Ah, the professors are full of energy today,’ and walk away.”

“……”

Naming each teacher one by one, the students eventually looked at each other and smiled.

Let’s just give up.

Sharing silent agreement through their grins, they pressed themselves against the wall and continued watching the fight.

“At least if they’re fighting, we don’t have to have class. I wish they’d do this every day.”

“Don’t say that, you idiot. You don’t know Professor Gildestern’s personality? He might act like this now, but next time he’ll assign homework in advance so we’ll have something to do while he’s fighting!”

“No way!”

The magic students screamed in horror. Yohan’s eyes widened, the energy inside the barrier had turned even more violent.

“Everyone, step back.”

The barrier still seemed solid, but if the professors continued using their power, it could get dangerous. Yohan stepped forward, motioning for the others to retreat. Then he left the classroom, opened the door wider, and knelt on the ground.

“…Wait, are we seriously doing this?”

“It’s unbelievable. Why are we, students cleaning up after professors brawl?”

“Just shut up and pray.”

The priests understood Yohan’s intention and knelt beside him. It was absurd, students forced to handle the aftermath of their teachers’ chaos, but if they left things alone and the barrier broke, the first-years would be the ones suffering the worst.

So, with bitter reluctance, the divine students began to pray. Divine power wrapped around the barrier, reinforcing it.

“Hey, hey! Melek! Let’s help too!”

“Isaac, stop trembling and sit down!”

Seeing that, the magic students joined in, raising their staffs and channeling mana into the barrier. Layers of mana overlapped the divine power, forming a double shield around the classroom.

Yohan suddenly remembered the weekend incident, the crazed Professor Menoua and the fifth-year seniors who had to rush in afterward to clean up the disaster.

…That can’t be my future, right?

He was starting to understand why those seniors had made such choices, and that terrified him. It was something he never wanted to relate to.

Yohan forced himself to shut out the thought and stopped praying once he felt the barrier was stable enough. The professors inside must have sensed it too, because their powers began to surge even higher.

“Those maniacs!”

“We just strengthened the shield, and now they’re powering up again!”

“Ugh, my mana’s about to explode!”

The magic students cursed. Yohan couldn’t really blame them. He’d only taken one of Hegel’s classes, Basic Applied Magic, but that month had been memorable enough for him to understand why his friends’ personalities had started to erode.

If the angel professor was the type to ignore students and fill time with half-hearted repetition, then Hegel was the opposite: regardless of his temperament, he at least tried to make his students grow and pushed them as hard as he could to do it.

Because of that difference in attitude, the angel professor simply tossed out rings and let the students handle divine energy on their own, while Professor Hegel filled every minute of his class by throwing summoned creatures at them. Yohan figured the man’s “dedication” in Magic Studies probably wasn’t any lighter and continued watching the fight.

Mana and divine power—similar in appearance, yet fundamentally opposing forces—clashed and swirled around the two professors. Their hair gravitated as if caught in a storm, and the ground trembled beneath them. Cuts began to appear on their clothes and faces.

The angel professor’s lips moved. They couldn’t hear anything through the barrier, so Yohan didn’t catch what he said.

“‘Such foolish behavior, burning lamb. I’ll fix that insolent attitude of yours today,’.”

“……”

More precisely, Yohan wouldn’t have known, if not for the girl lying flat on the floor near the door, whispering as she read the angel’s lips for everyone.

What was her name again?

They weren’t in the same dorm or department, and even their morning exercise lines were different, so Yohan had never spoken to her before.

“Tina, did you just figure out what he said by lip-reading?”

Ah, Tina. Yohan picked up her name from the girl’s friend beside her. Embarrassed by all the stares from both divine and magic students, Tina hid her face behind her hair.

“Yes… I had to use lip-reading a lot when I was at the Magic Tower.”

“Wow.”

“That’s amazing!”

The priests murmured in awe.

“Ah… I guess things like that are the same across worlds.”

“Right. I’m not that good at it, but I learned a bit of lip-reading too, to figure out when my senior was cursing under his breath.”

“Yes, whenever the mages had meetings, they’d always cast a sound-blocking spell so we couldn’t hear anything. Lip-reading was the only way to know what they were saying. Cowards.”

The mages exchanged weary looks and sighed together.

Life as a mage sounded hard too.

While Yohan was silently sympathizing, the two professors continued arguing inside the barrier, and Tina, still blushing, continued translating for them.

“‘You despise humans so much, that’s why gods are vanishing. Allow me to teach you something for once.’”

“‘Teach me? Very well, come then, little lamb. You’ll soon learn why you are called that.’”

“‘I was planning to, even if you hadn’t said it. Stars, lend me your mana, let your light…’ huh? Wait..wait, this isn’t right!’”

“What the hell?!”

“Everyone out! Get out now!”

“Run if you want to live!”

Tina’s face drained of color. The mages went pale too and immediately ran for the stairs.

“That lunatic! Open the window!”

“Jump!”

Students flung the windows open and started diving out. Yohan blinked, frozen in place, not understanding what was happening, until someone grabbed his wrist.

“Come on.”

It was Mikael.

He climbed onto the window frame first and pulled Yohan after him. Out of reflex, Yohan stepped up and was pulled forward by the man’s hand.

“……!”

Yohan’s eyes went wide as he clung to him.

“I’m not good at physical things!”

He yelled, face drained of blood. A soft laugh came from ahead.

“I know.”

And with that, Mikael jumped.

A calm gust of wind gathered beneath them, slowing their fall. The air seemed to cradle them as they descended safely to the ground. Mikael landed, almost like a winged creature.

Then..

Booom!

A massive meteor slammed into the classroom building. The explosion and shockwave ripped through the area, blasting everyone back over thirty paces.

Fwooosh!

Flames roared across the wreckage, consuming what remained of the building.

“……”

The students stared wide eyed and mouths hanging open.

“…Hey, is this even real?”

Someone whispered, but no one could answer.

[…Hegel Gildestern. Joel. Come out immediately.]

A divine voice descended from above, echoing directly inside their heads. It was the kind of voice you could never forget once you heard it. Looking up, Yohan saw the headmaster descending in a burst of radiant light.

“Headmaster…!”

The students called out to him as if they’d seen a savior. Yohan, however, tensed.

Knowing this headmaster, “handling the situation” might mean ordering every nearby student to rebuild the destroyed building.

Just in case, Yohan grabbed Mikael and started dragging him back. If the headmaster tried to dump any work on them, he was ready to take his friend and run without looking back.