Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 110

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 110
‘Milo has Holy Power.’
I murmured to myself, watching Milo chase Kuga.
It was the opposite approach from Karel, but in any case, Milo could fill a similar role.
Moreover, Milo still had unrefined Aura left to cultivate.
That meant—
‘He’s worth training.’
Milo was someone I’d be keeping around anyway.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to develop him properly while I was at it.
‘And there’s still one Dark Mage left over.’
I’d kept it because it was small fry, but it would do for Milo.
“Milo.”
“…Yes?”
Milo, who’d been on the verge of catching Kuga, stopped dead. His eyes remained fixed on Kuga.
Kuga seized the opportunity to wag his rear at Milo again.
Even watching from the side, I found it rather aggravating, but Milo held himself in check and looked at me.
Whatever else you could say about him, he was genuinely loyal.
That was a rather important virtue in a subordinate.
Most of the ones I’d trained tended to strut around and get full of themselves.
“Ever caught a Demon before?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“So this would be your first.”
“First? What do you mean—”
“Come on, let’s go catch a Demon. The more you catch, the better. They feed on fear, after all.”
“…You’re telling me to catch a Demon?”
Milo blinked, asking the question.
For a Knight, a Demon was quite literally a natural predator.
Of course, Magic, Black Magic, and Holy Power each had their weaknesses, but the relationship between Knight and Demon was particularly severe.
A Demon itself had been mankind’s ancient predator for ages.
When you told a Knight to catch a Demon, most of them would convulse and seize up.
Since Milo was a Knight too, I’d expect him to be somewhat bewildered—
“Sure, let’s catch it.”
…But he wasn’t.
Milo grinned and nodded, and I let out a low laugh.
Milo really was remarkably simple-minded.
By all accounts, simplicity is the greatest virtue in a Knight and a Priest.
* * *
‘Hmm, it’s quiet today.’
Gramel muttered to himself, pressing his eyebrows down hard.
Gramel was a Dark Mage belonging to the Circle of Truth. Among the Circle of Truth personnel who’d infiltrated Elysium Academy, he was the lowest rank.
So Gramel had been assigned the smallest territory.
Even the supplies—the good ones—had all been taken by the higher-ups.
Black Magic’s power depends on the quality of materials.
To be given rotten blood and bone for such an important mission as an assault on Elysium Academy…
It was their way of saying they expected nothing from him beyond a minor distraction.
‘That won’t do.’
Gramel, like any Dark Mage, was full of ambition. He was planning to demonstrate his true abilities this time and get promoted.
‘Heh, I’ll be the one to open the Gate.’
He meant to deliver a stinging blow to those arrogant bastards who looked down on him.
Knock-knock.
Just then, someone rapped on the door.
Gramel strode confidently toward it.
As he opened the Chapel door, a tall man looked down at him. The moment their eyes met, Gramel started.
‘What kind of gaze is that—’
It was like locking eyes with a wolf. But then he checked the man’s uniform and felt relieved.
‘Oh, Security Corps.’
The Security Corps were treated like menial workers at Elysium Academy. He probably just stopped by on his patrol.
“May I help you?”
“We received a report that a Dark Mage is summoning Demons here.”
At the man’s words, Gramel was startled inside, but he quickly maintained his composure.
‘I haven’t done anything yet.’
As a low-ranking Dark Mage, Gramel hadn’t even used a Curse, let alone a Reverse Gate. Even if the inspector came, there’d be nothing to find.
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean. This is a Chapel. Unholy entities like Demons cannot exist here.”
Gramel recited his prepared explanation. That was the whole reason he’d set up here in the Chapel.
“I see. But since the report came in, a search of the interior is procedure.”
The man pushed the door. With such force that Gramel, holding it, was shoved back helplessly.
The man stepped inside casually.
‘They won’t find anything anyway.’
Gramel had hidden everything related to Black Magic when he’d set up in the Chapel. It was absolutely impossible to find.
“Kuga, deploy.”
“Kuga ready. Kuga go.”
A small creature on the man’s shoulder descended to the floor. It was a quite adorable-looking beast, sniffing the air like a dog.
But he’d already finished scent processing perfectly. There’s no way it could—
“Found it, Kuga!”
“Oh, quick.”
The creature tapped precisely at the spot where Gramel had hidden his Black Magic materials.
Without the slightest hesitation, the man tapped the floor with his Security Staff.
“Wait—”
There was no time for Gramel to stop him. The man’s Security Staff flipped the floor open.
Then what Gramel had hidden was revealed. Blood and bone.
Gramel frantically waved his hand. Following his motion, black Curse poured down on the man. The man didn’t manage to dodge and was engulfed in the Curse. “Poor bastard! Consider yourself unlucky!”

Gramel spat with a wet pop.
There’d be no problem disposing of one security guard. He’d dissolve him with the Curse and scatter him on the ground.
“It’s the other way around.”
Pure white light poured from the man’s eyes. The Curse melted away effortlessly.
“You’re a Priest!”
The situation had taken a bad turn. Gramel was a low-ranking Dark Mage.
He couldn’t stand against a Priest.
‘Run.’
Gramel spun around urgently. Two other men were blocking the door. Both had very stern expressions.
They’d already cut off his escape.
They’d clearly laid this trap for him from the start.
Gramel bit his lip hard.
“Well, we have undeniable evidence now.”
“I—I haven’t done anything!”
Gramel cried out desperately. He meant it. All Gramel had done since coming here was sweep the Chapel floor and dust.
He really hadn’t done anything.
“I see. But possession of illegal Black Magic materials is still a serious crime. If you’re caught like this, wouldn’t that feel unfair?”
The man asked in a quiet, suggestive tone.
Gramel looked at the man.
“Summoning a Demon or illegal possession of Black Magic materials—both are serious crimes. If you’d at least summoned a Demon and done it decisively, you wouldn’t feel so cheated. Wouldn’t you say?”
“Th—that’s true. I really haven’t done anything.”
“Well, there’s nothing to be done about it now, is there? You should have summoned a Demon from the start.”
“It’s not something I can do on my own! The organization has to—”
“Hanging back and ending up with nothing. Wait, hold on. I need to collect more evidence.”
The man bound Gramel to the floor and stood up.
Then he and the other men began searching the Chapel.
“Check over there.”
He seemed confident now that he’d restrained Gramel.
‘Idiots!’
Black Magic, unlike Magic, is invoked by desire, not with the hands. And the Reverse Gate could be drawn without looking.
‘If things go like this, I’m finished anyway. It might be worth trying to summon a Demon and dispose of these bastards.’
Gramel watched the men carefully and moved his bound hands. He rapidly positioned the materials that lay on the floor.
Just then, his hand slipped.
Thud—one of the bones fell to the floor.
Gramel quickly raised his head.
“Milo, stop breaking wind.”
“What? I didn’t—”
Fortunately, they’d attributed it to the sound of flatulence.
Gramel continued moving his hands. But tied up and tense, his hands kept slipping, and it dragged on.
The men were still searching. Wait, why were they opening that drawer again that they’d looked at before?
Something felt off, but he didn’t have the mental capacity to worry about it.
Soon Gramel completed the Reverse Gate.
“You morons! You gave me time! Gate Opening!!!”
Following Gramel’s hands, blood gushed out. The blood flowed sluggishly along the Reverse Gate.
He’d forced open the realm, straining his cultivation.
The amount of life force he’d poured into it was so great that his mind reeled.
Gramel grasped the last shred of consciousness and turned his gaze.
He wanted to see the fear on those bastards’ faces.
“Oh, it’s finally here. Milo.”
“Yes! Ready!”
“Ludrik, you stand guard at the door just in case.”
“…Got it.”
The men stared at the Demon eagerly, as if they’d been waiting for Gramel to summon one.
“What is—”
Gramel felt something had gone terribly wrong.
The Reverse Gate tore open, and a grotesque tongue emerged. A Demon. It radiated its horrifying presence with brutal clarity.
Even Gramel, who’d summoned it, was seized by dreadful hostility.
“Milo!”
“Yes! Let’s go one-on-one, Demon!”
The man shouted. At that, a shorter figure burst forward. He moved just like a hunting hound.
The small man threw a punch straight at the Demon. His fist shone with pure white light, luminous and brilliant.
Holy Power.
But this was a Demon. No matter how much Holy Power was the natural enemy of Black Magic, it only worked when the ranks were comparable.
Holy Power wrapped around just a fist couldn’t possibly affect a Demon—
‘…It does work?’
The Demon’s tongue was driven upward with a loud noise. The man seized the gap and rained down fists in succession.
The Demon’s tongue writhed as if in pain.
“Demons have cores that exist separately. Finding the core is most important.”
The man behind calmly dispensed advice.
“Yes, where is the core located?”
“Usually in the deepest part. From what I can see now—”
It looked exactly like practical instruction.
The practice subject was the Demon Gramel had summoned.
‘These bastards! You dare toy with me?!’
As a Dark Mage, this was unbearable mockery. Gramel grabbed the Reverse Gate and poured all his remaining life force into it.
The Reverse Gate suddenly seized Gramel and began devouring him ravenously.
In a state of forced opening with him straining beyond his limits, the Demon had swallowed Gramel instead.
‘No, this can’t—’
Gramel desperately tried to cut off the flow of life force, but the Reverse Gate wouldn’t stop.
It was already too late.
The Reverse Gate couldn’t be stopped.
‘Because of you bastards—!!’
Though the overextension was Gramel’s own doing, he directed his rage elsewhere.
If it weren’t for those insolent fools, he wouldn’t have had to strain himself.
‘Let’s die together.’
Gramel pointed at them with his last remaining finger.
Now that the Demon had manifested, those bastards were finished too.
Just then, the man looked at Gramel.
“Oh, it’s fully charged.”
Fully charged? What did that even—
The man moved his Security Staff.
Brilliant pure white light traveled along the staff and poured down on the Demon.
The Demon touched by Holy Power scattered away with pathetic ease.
Its overwhelming presence from moments before seemed laughable in contrast.
‘Holy Power of a High Priest?’
Gramel was dumbfounded.
A High Priest was strong enough to become a Cardinal.
Why was such a formidable being wearing Security Corps uniform?
And why was he conducting a check on Gramel, who hadn’t even summoned a Demon, much less used a Curse?
The most bewildering question was—
‘Why didn’t he finish the Demon?’
The Demon Gramel had summoned was a Mid-rank Demon.
A High Priest should have disposed of it instantly, yet he’d only cut it apart somewhat and left it incomplete.
“Milo, when facing a Demon, the most important thing is not to be afraid. Hmm, this Demon’s too weak though—”
That was when Gramel understood.
The man was lecturing on anti-Demon combat methods.
‘Worse than any Demon.’
Gramel squeezed his eyes shut.
* * *
To prevent any unforeseen incidents, Elysium Academy thoroughly sealed the Exam Hall until the test began.
No students, professors, or even the headmaster could enter.
In the center of the empty Exam Hall, a faint shimmer began to rise.
Dark Mage attack has been neutralized.
Abnormal intrusion detected.
Error. Difficulty has dropped excessively.
Readjusting difficulty to Hard Mode.
Correcting difficulty through external Chasm connection.
Competitive element added.
Preventing abnormal intrusion.
The shimmer grew larger and larger—
A Chasm opens.
It transformed into a massive distortion.
Very quietly.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————