SRS 79

“Mikael, do you know what that thing is?”

“No, it’s my first time seeing it.”

“Then… let’s try increasing the output first.”

Yohan immediately increased the amount of divine power he was releasing. Since Aquador had lost consciousness, if he wanted to get him to the infirmary quickly, it would be better to subdue the creature properly than to waste time with a fight.

He had to end it quickly, so he threw a large burst of divine power at the monster.

But the creature didn’t take the attack this time. The moment Yohan sent a sphere of divine power flying toward it, the monster nimbly jumped up, ran along the ceiling, and crawled toward Yohan and Mikael.

“Yohan!”

Mikael swung the staff and fired a lightning spell at it. Crack! The lightning struck down, hitting the oncoming enemy.

For a moment the light flashed so brightly that their vision turned white. By the time Yohan’s eyes focused again, the creature was already right in front of them.

“……!”

Even Mikael’s magic didn’t work?

Seeing that the monster took almost no damage, Yohan was shocked and pulled Mikael back by his collar.

“Ugh!”

Catching the stumbling student, Yohan fell back with him. Thanks to that, they narrowly avoided the attack from the creature that dropped from the ceiling.

Thud thud thud thud!

A moment ago it had been walking on two legs like a human, but now it charged at them on all fours. Its speed on four legs was much faster than before, which told Yohan what kind of movement the creature was originally adapted for.

But knowing that didn’t help in the fight.

Yohan quickly tried to strike with divine power, but the creature dodged again with incredible agility. This time it ran along the wall, its movement frighteningly fast.

Feeling a chill, Yohan grabbed Mikael tightly. Mikael finally began his incantation.

To protect him while he prepared to cast his spell, Yohan cast a large barrier, but he watched it shatter far too easily and hurried to his feet.

“Bind!”

At Mikael’s shout, light shot from his staff and vines grew out. But before they could catch it, the creature dodged like an arrow and climbed back up the ceiling.

The vines chased after it. Yohan stepped back until he reached the stairs and clenched his teeth.

Not the stairs.

The monster was faster than they were. If they tried to run down the stairs, they’d get caught immediately. And if they were attacked there, it would be too dangerous. Knowing it was reckless, Yohan still set a barrier at the top of the stairs to block the path and prevent them from falling, then looked at the creature’s movements.

Thanks to Mikael’s vines chasing it relentlessly, the creature was momentarily caught in a standoff, but it didn’t look like that would last long.

“Restrain it! Hold it! Control it!”

Mikael shouted, casting one binding spell after another. Something suddenly clicked in Yohan’s mind as he watched him.

Mages used incantations to control the movement of mana more easily and to direct its flow clearly. But that wasn’t the only reason why mages shouted with all their might every time they cast a spell.

Words have power, and as they come out of your mouth, they carry a certain amount of energy with them, so you can maximize their effect by shouting them out.

And the way these mages used mana and the way those with divine power used their divine power were somewhat similar. The difference was that mages borrowed mana from nature, while the others sought power from the gods.

If that was the only difference, then couldn’t a person with divine power also control their power through incantations?

The biggest difficulty in handling divine power lay in shaping that invisible force into form. It required both concentration and imagination, which many students struggled with.

Especially for someone like Yohan, who didn’t spend much time imagining things, the lack of imagination made it harder.

But the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

Why do those with divine powers insist on visualizing their powers? Why don’t they use incantations?

Then, suddenly, he remembered the angel professor who hated mages.

…Could it be that they deliberately avoided it just because it resembled magic?

It was a conjecture that seemed improbable, but the very possibility was utterly despairing. Yohan felt the urge to massage his forehead, but he steeled himself as he watched the monster pierce through all of Mikael’s binding spells and charge forward.

There was no need to confine himself to outdated, old-fashioned methods. A student’s role was to absorb and recreate everything they learned, so even if the angel professor heard this later, he wouldn’t be too concerned.

With that hope, Yohan opened his mouth as he looked at the monster standing right in front of him.

“Bind.”

—……!

At Yohan’s muttering, divine power wrapped around the monster’s four legs like shackles, pulling it from all sides. The monster was forced to stop jumping and float into the air.

It let out a strained growl, shaking its head violently. As it struggled, trying to tear off the divine bonds at its feet, Yohan glared at it.

“Bind it.”

Then, the form of the divine power changed into a chain and wrapped around the monster.

Plop.

At that moment, something flowed from under Yohan’s nose.

“Yohan!”

Mikael, who had been blankly watching Yohan for a moment, belatedly realized and quickly covered Yohan’s nose with his sleeve.

Only then did Yohan realize he was bleeding from the nose and stumbled. Mikael caught his off-balance body.

Kyaang!

The black figure, seemingly human or quadruped, began to weep pitifully. Undeterred, Yohan, using his divine power even more intensely, felt all the strength drain from him. He knew it was embarrassing, but he could only lean obediently against Mikael.

Mikael, who was supporting Yohan, watched the monster, which was unable to move, unlike when he had used magic.

“…That thing must be a dark attribute. Divine power is working twice as strong as magic. No, it even looks like it has resistance against magic.”

“…A monster with magic resistance?”

“…Not one we’ve studied.”

“Then that means…”

“Yes. It’s probably a creature that crossed dimensions.”

Mikael sighed as he explained. Yohan closed his eyes.

This school again…

He didn’t understand what kind of school would let dimensional rifts open. What are the headmaster and vice headmaster doing?

Yohan asked Mikael to help him up as he watched the enemy frantically trying to break free from his restraints by force.

“Will you be alright?”

“Yes. …Keeping it like that drains even more divine power. Every time it struggles, my head starts hurting. I’d better just knock it out.”

Since it possessed magic resistance, it was difficult to get help from Mikael. Yohan asked Mikael to hold him tight and then unleashed his divine power again.

“Don’t use incantations. That method drains your divine power faster.”

“…Yes.”

Somehow, no matter how much divine power he unleashed, it wasn’t as bad as when during a descent, but he still felt like he was bleeding from the nose. It seemed that using divine power through words increased the burden on the body.

Thanks to Mikael’s kind explanation, Yohan, who was about to open his mouth, closed it and he waved his hand.

Boom!

Condensed divine power struck the monster’s head.

Just in case, he reminded himself he couldn’t kill it.

Just enough to make it faint…

Yohan struck the monster three more times, mindful of his strength.

Finally, the creature squealed and went limp. To be sure, Yohan slowly released the bindings one by one, and when he confirmed it didn’t wake up, he relaxed.

“…What now?”

Still leaning heavily on Mikael, he asked. Realizing Yohan didn’t even have the strength to walk, Mikael lifted him up and looked down at Aquador.

“Float.”

Mana wrapped around Aquador and lifted him into the air.

“We’ve subdued it, so let’s head to the infirmary first.”

“Will it be fine if we leave it like this?”

“Hmm…”

Mikael thought for a moment, then brushed his hand over Yohan’s arm. As he tugged at the pink hair wound around Yohan’s wrist, the strand glowed brightly and released a puff of smoke in the air.

“Ugh! Who is it! I was watching something fun….oh? Fantasiademia students?”

A familiar face appeared out of the smoke.

The Witch of Space.

The owner of the hair tied around Yohan’s wrist, and the one who had a contract with the headmaster to serve as the school’s repairer.

Mikael smiled politely and bowed once to her, then turned to look at the corridor full of shattered windows and claw marks left by the monster.

“…Good heavens!”

The witch gasped and pulled out her brush.

“Oh, really! Why doesn’t that Nameless One ever call me before things get this bad? I told him so many times, it’s easier to fix when the damage is small!”

Grumbling as she began repairing the building, Mikael watched her for a moment, then turned back to Yohan.

The smile on his face seemed to ask if this solution was good enough.

Yohan nodded quietly.

Mikael sometimes seemed to be quite clever.