Chapter 221: Demons [4]

Anna posture was steady, her expression completely composed despite the dozens of suspicious eyes surrounding us.

"This student is different from the Demons invading the Academy," Anna said firmly. "I will personally vouch for her."

The murmuring quieted, though the suspicion didn’t completely disappear.

Anna continued speaking, her tone measured but confident.

"Yes, horns have appeared on her head," she admitted. "But look carefully. Her body hasn’t turned black like the invading Demons, and her mind is clearly intact. She’s conscious and rational."

She gestured slightly toward Lisa.

"Does she truly look like the same kind of creature that’s attacking us?"

The crowd hesitated.

"Well... that’s true, but..." someone muttered uncertainly.

"That’s enough," Anna said, her voice leaving no room for argument. "If anyone is still concerned, we can assign someone to keep watch over her."

Her gaze shifted toward me.

"Louis."

"...Yes?"

"You’ll keep a close eye on her."

Ah.

I see what she’s doing.

By assigning me as Lisa’s monitor, Anna was giving the others a sense of control over the situation while still protecting Lisa from being treated as an enemy.

A clever compromise.

"Understood," I replied with a small nod.

The tension in the crowd eased slightly.

The hostile glares toward Lisa softened into cautious, uneasy looks.

It wasn’t trust—but it was better than outright hostility.

Lisa slowly lowered her hands from her head.

She looked like she wanted to say something, but the words never came.

Instead, she simply stood there quietly behind Anna, clearly shaken by what had just happened.

Just as things were beginning to calm down—

"Madam President!!"

A panicked voice suddenly rang out from the edge of the barricade.

One of the scouts came running toward us, his face drained of color.

"An enormous number of Demons are heading this way right now!"

The moment those words left his mouth, the fragile calm shattered.

"What?!"

"How many?!"

"From which direction?!"

----

Just when I thought we could finally catch our breath...

Of course, they wouldn’t leave us alone.

Then chaos erupted.

But before anyone could gather their thoughts, the answer arrived on its own.

From beyond the academy grounds came a low, dreadful rumble—like distant thunder rolling across the earth.

And then they appeared.

Dark silhouettes moved across the horizon, spreading out like a tide of shadows.

Demons.

Dozens of them... no, far more than that.

Within moments, they had surrounded the entire area.

The students who had rushed outside froze for a split second at the overwhelming sight. But the hesitation didn’t last long.

Weapons were drawn.

Steel scraped against sheaths, magic circles flickered to life, and the air grew thick with tension.

No one said it aloud, but everyone could feel it—

This felt less like an attack... and more like the beginning of a war.

"Everyone, fall back behind me."

The calm, steady voice cut through the panic like a blade.

I immediately recognized it.

Turning my head, I saw him walking forward through the crowd.

Signut.

Clad in full armor that gleamed faintly under the dim sky, he looked every bit the embodiment of the word knight. His massive frame and composed expression alone were enough to steady the trembling students around him.

Even the air seemed to grow calmer with him standing there.

"Signut," Anna called.

He stopped a few steps ahead of us and bowed his head slightly.

"Your Highness," he said respectfully. "May I step forward?"

Anna didn’t hesitate.

"I permit it."

"Thank you."

With that brief exchange, Signut stepped ahead of everyone else.

His movements were slow and composed, yet carried an undeniable weight—as if the battlefield itself acknowledged his presence.

Then he drew his sword.

Aura flared to life around the blade, swirling like a storm barely contained.

Even standing several meters behind him, I could feel the pressure pressing against my skin.

And then—

He swung.

BOOOOOOM!!!

It was nothing more than a simple downward slash.

No elaborate technique.

No complicated movements.

Just a single swing of the sword.

Yet the result was anything but simple.

A massive shockwave burst forward, tearing through the ranks of the approaching demons like a hurricane. The ground cracked, dust exploded into the air, and the monsters caught in its path were obliterated instantly.

When the dust settled...

Nearly a third of the demons surrounding us were gone.

Erased in a single strike.

"...Wow."

That was the only word that came to mind.

As expected of a Sword Master.

The difference in power was so overwhelming it almost felt unreal.

The students around me stared with wide eyes, completely speechless at the scene before them. Even the demons seemed momentarily shaken by the devastation.

Looking at the ruined battlefield, I suddenly remembered something from not long ago.

The time Signut had chased after me.

Back then, he had released his aura as well, his killing intent suffocating enough to make my legs feel like they might give out.

At the time, I had thought he was insane—attacking with such force even though Anna was nearby.

But now, watching this...

I realized something.

Back then...

He had been holding back.

A lot.

If he had used this level of power during that chase, I probably wouldn’t even be standing here right now.

"...That’s terrifying," I muttered under my breath.

Even now, the image of that attack lingered vividly in my mind.

When he pointed his sword at me earlier, the feeling had been unmistakable.

Like a grim reaper silently deciding whether I deserved to live or die.

But now... he was on our side.

And knowing that filled me with a strange sense of reassurance.

Around us, the battlefield had fallen quiet.

The ground was littered with the grotesque corpses of the Demons—twisted bodies scattered across the dirt like broken dolls. Their black blood soaked into the earth, filling the air with a heavy, metallic smell.

The sight was horrifying.

Yet strangely enough, it also brought hope.

People who had been trembling moments ago slowly began to lift their heads.

If those monsters could be killed...

Then maybe this nightmare could end after all.

But that fragile hope didn’t last long.

From the empty gap where the Demons had once surrounded us, something moved.

A large shadow stepped forward.

THUD.

The ground trembled beneath the weight of each step.

Everyone instinctively turned toward the sound.

Out of the darkness emerged a massive figure—broad shoulders, towering height, and a presence that pressed down on the air like a mountain.

Then he spoke.

"Still relying on such flashy techniques... wasting magical power like a fool."

His voice was low, calm, almost bored.

Yet it carried across the battlefield with chilling clarity.

My eyes widened.

"...Leonardo."

The name slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

The man standing before us was—or rather, had been—the Empire’s strongest knight.

A living legend.

A hero whose sword had protected the Empire countless times.

But the figure before us now was no longer human.

Dark veins pulsed across his skin like crawling shadows. His eyes glowed faintly crimson, and a thick, oppressive aura poured from his body like smoke.

He had been twisted.

Corrupted.

Transformed into something else entirely.

A Demon.

---

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