SRS 98

“It is alright. It is not that serious.”

Yohan wiped away the blood. He had encountered such situations often back when he fought monsters as the High Priest. Compared to those days when every single monster was powerful and difficult to take down, the current creatures were numerous but pathetic in strength. This made them far easier to handle.

Look at them now. A single prayer had already knocked down a significant number of them, and they looked flustered because the cracks in the windows of the reinforced outer walls were already repaired.

Unless they possessed overwhelming numbers, they were enemies without any real threat.

“I am sorry about your clothes. …I have to conserve my divine power for now. Would it be alright if I purify them later?”

“What? You don’t have to do that!”

Isaac, pale with fright, shrieked in response. Yohan was startled for a moment by the shouting from his usually timid friend, but he soon held Isaac’s arm and took to the air.

“If you say so…. Let’s go for now. I will take you to a safe place.”

Yohan monitored the mana within the gem on his cravat by the second to estimate the duration of the magic. He hurried to move Isaac to the inner part of the Rose Garden. A large number of students had already gathered there, standing back-to-back as they prepared for an ambush.

It was a good formation.

“Stay here. The others will arrive soon to take refuge.”

Yohan spoke soothingly to Isaac, whose complexion was still too pale to be called healthy, and the student clutched Yohan’s forearm.

“What about you and the others?”

“We will head back out to help more students evacuate. Do not worry. Since the scale of the attack is large, the professors will arrive soon to resolve this.”

There was no time for further conversation. Yohan spoke quickly and left the spot. Fortunately, he met Mikael on his way back and was able to extend the duration of the magic stored within the gem.

“The outer walls seem to be reinforced.”

Mikael looked at his friend, perhaps he felt Yohan’s divine power in the strengthened walls of the West Tower. Yohan simply nodded.

“I reinforced them a bit with prayer. It will be difficult for the monsters to break into the dormitory.”

“Then we have no need to pull out the students who are still inside.”

“Right. Except for those in rooms with open windows.”

“Let’s go.”

They immediately reached a conclusion. For now, the priority was to save their friends who were in danger because their windows were already broken or left open, leaving them unprotected by the reinforced walls.

Suhyeok and Kylus also seemed to have grasped the situation, as they were already rescuing students from rooms with open windows. While one rescued a student, the other dealt with the attacking monsters.

Perhaps it was because they shared a room, but their methods were similar even without a strategy. Yohan, finding the work much easier thanks to their perfect coordination, paired up with Mikael to save the students.

“Th-thank you, Yohan!”

“It is alright, so let’s hurry and join the others inside the rose garden.”

“Alright…!”

Whenever Yohan rescued someone, Mikael fought the monsters, and then the two of them moved the student to the Rose Garden together. They repeated this task until they were nearly sick of it.

Just as he began to grow frustrated with professors’ late arrival…

Flash!

…Dozens of glowing arrows rained down from the sky like a deluge. Each one was like a giant’s spear; these massive arrows burned dozens of monsters into white ash just by grazing them.

The green monsters shrieked in agony, and many others fled to escape the arrows. The scene of absolute carnage, which had only been faced by the students until now, was finally being visited upon the enemies.

These were the arrows that signaled a turn in the tide.

Yohan looked up as he recognized the massive yet familiar divine power emanating from them. The angel professor stood atop the tower, looking down at the chaotic area with his characteristic indifferent face.

With another gesture of his hand, more arrows of light appeared and incinerated the monsters.

It was a marvelous ability.

So that was how one utilized divine power in combat.

It was not a simple explosion; the divine power became a weapon to be wielded.

Yohan’s eyes sparkled as he acquired new knowledge from the combat style of the angel professor.

“I suppose this settles things for the most part.”

The angel professor, who had incinerated half the monsters in mere seconds after his appearance, muttered as he brushed back his hair. He soon spotted Yohan and Mikael and approached them.

“Yohan Herse. Are you injured?”

His tone was as blunt as ever, but for that angel professor to mention worry was a massive improvement. Yohan looked at the professor with surprised eyes and then nodded.

“Yes. I am safe. However, the evacuation of the students is not yet finished….”

“It is enough that you are safe. At least I will not have to write a statement of apology.”

“……?”

“You responded well. Now go and gather with the other lambs like a flock. I will finish things here.”

…Did he not just say something that would normally be considered a disqualification for a professor?

Yohan glared at the professor, who continued speaking calmly, but he eventually sighed.

He was that kind of professor to begin with, there was no point in feeling disappointed now.

“I will leave it in your hands, then.”

Yohan decided to be grateful that the professor had arrived at a timely moment. He bowed politely and went to call Suhyeok and Kylus. Mikael looked exhausted from maintaining the flight magic for all four of them, so Yohan was relieved that they could withdraw from the front lines at the right time.

“Suhyeok. Let’s head to the Rose Garden.”

When Yohan tapped the student’s shoulder and spoke, Suhyeok stared at the angel professor with a suspicious gaze.

“Are you sure it is alright to leave things to that professor?”

Judging by his attitude, Suhyeok must have heard about the angel professor’s notoriety, even though he took different classes.

After all, the incident where he blew up a classroom building was quite a hot topic among the first-years.

“It will be fine. He is still a professor, despite how he looks. Besides, him swinging his hand once is much more effective than us staying here doing this.”

“I suppose that is true.”

Suhyeok accepted the bitter reality and headed toward the Rose Garden.

As Yohan’s group walked into the garden, the faces of their friends, who had been keeping watch in all directions, instantly brightened.

“Kylus!”

“Yohan!”

“Im Suhyeok!”

“Mikael!”

The West Tower had more students remaining who had not dropped out compared to the other dormitories. Since nearly half of the current first-year class belonged to the West Tower, it was a significant number. The names of Yohan’s group erupted from the mouths of many students. Yohan gave a small smile to the friends who welcomed them so loudly.

Seeing those bright faces made the rescue feel worthwhile.

“The angel professor is here. The situation should be resolved quickly.”

“Eek…! The Divine Studies professor?”

“He is certainly powerful!”

“Exactly. He even blew up a building.”

“Well, strictly speaking, it was the Magic Studies professor’s meteor that blew up the building….”

The students regained their energy at the news of the professor’s arrival. They began to relax and chatter. Yohan felt relieved to see his friends’ complexions improving, but then he flinched. A gloom so thick it made his skin crawl began to radiate from nearby.

“…I am worthless. I am weak and unlucky. Perhaps even this misfortune is something I…, perhaps I brought this misfortune upon us myself!”

Melek, whom Mikael had dropped off earlier, seemed to have recovered from the silence spell. He was muttering self-deprecating words with a face paralyzed by panic. Yohan looked at Suhyeok with a weary expression.

“Has the potion’s effect not worn off for Melek yet?”

“Eh? You’re right. It should have ended by now. I guess the potion really suits Melek? The effects are lasting a long time.”

“…….”

“It is me…! It is my fault! No matter how I think about it, I am the one who attracted these monsters…!”

“Haa….”

The timid effect seemed to have diluted over time, but the negative side effect had only grown stronger. Yohan sighed at the sight of his friend and hit the back of Melek’s neck with the edge of his hand.

“Argh!”

Melek groaned and fell forward. Yohan caught him with both hands to support his body and looked at Suhyeok.

“There. I calmed him down, so he should be fine now.”

“Yohan. That didn’t look like calming down; it looked like a knockout.”

Yohan ignored his friend’s correction and looked up at the sky. The rift that had opened above the tower still remained unclosed.

“Oh? You guys were here too!”

“Lisa! I am glad you are safe!”

“Welcome!”

A short while later, students from the other towers finished their evacuation and regrouped in the Rose Garden.

Unlike the West Tower, which Yohan had reinforced, the outer wall defenses of the other towers had collapsed, forcing all residents to evacuate.

The garden, now crowded with about eighty students, became noisy. As the arrival of the professor made them less anxious, complaints began to bubble up among the friends.

Many students joined in a chorus of grumbles, asking what kind of commotion this was when they were just trying to get some sleep.

“What on earth is this mess! Is the school even allowed to be like this? Shouldn’t we file a formal complaint?”

“Exactly!”

“But there isn’t even an institution to complain to here in the Nameless Realm.”

“…….”

“…By the way, why did so many monsters swarm us all of a sudden?”

The students, who had been venting their anger, suddenly became solemn and tried to change the subject. Yohan tilted his head.

What do they mean, where did they come from? Obviously….

“They came out of that rift over there.”

“A rift?”

“What rift?”

When Yohan pointed toward the top of the tower, his friends wore confused expressions.

“That thing. Right above the tower.”

Suhyeok added as he pointed his finger toward the top of the tower in frustration, but the reaction remained the same.

“Eh?”

“Where are you pointing?”

“The West Tower? I don’t see anything.”

“……?”

At their friends’ reactions, the students of Room 304 looked at one another and exchanged glances.

‘…You can’t see the rift?’

‘No, I can see it clearly.’

‘My eyes are perfectly fine.’

‘I am looking at it too.’

After exchanging silent opinions, Yohan and his friends realized that the rift in question was visible only to their eyes.