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Chapter 305: Escaping The Gate And…

"Pant, pant... Hey, Eurelia."

With Frey on her back, Lenya struggled to keep up with the hastening Eurelia. She frowned and asked her a question.

"Why on earth are you insisting on taking Frey out of here?"

“...”

She asked bluntly, but Eurelia didn\'t respond, causing Lenya\'s frown to deepen.

"I’ll leave him here if you don’t tell me."

“...sigh.”

Hearing this, Eurelia finally stopped walking and glanced briefly at Lenya before speaking.

"We can\'t leave this place without him."

"...What?"

"We\'ve long figured out the structure inside the gate. The moment we entered, we were practically trapped inside."

Hearing that, Lenya\'s eyes widened in surprise.

"Didn\'t you see the massive energy barrier forming when we entered?"

"...Yeah."

As Lenya nodded quietly, Eurelia sighed and continued.

“I\'ve read several reports about this phenomenon, including accounts from those who have entered a gate in the past.”

"W-What do you mean? Do you know about this phenomenon?"

"...This phenomenon is already happening all over the world, though the Empire keeps it hushed up."

"How do you know about it if the Empire is keeping it… Ah."

Lenya asked with a puzzled look, but suddenly something came into her mind, and she spoke coldly.

"...Of course, your father being the Empire’s mastermind, it’s only natural for you to know.”

"Shut up."

Eurelia responded in a frightening tone.

“Don’t carelessly talk about my father.”

A chilling silence fell between them for a moment.

"Anyway, if we destroy the core, we can stop the onslaught of monsters early. But the one who destroys it will face a significant penalty."

"Penalty?"

"Yes, the penalties vary… but it\'s never good."

Eurelia then glanced at Frey, who was being carried by Lenya.

"His seizure earlier was probably due to that."

Lenya\'s eyes flickered slightly.

"The only chance to leave the gate is when someone with the authority obtained by destroying the core exits. That\'s why we need to get Frey out alive."

When Eurelia explained all of this with her usual calm demeanor, Lenya questioned her again.

"...How do you know all this in such detail?"

"I told you, I read the reports..."

“But it’s too detailed. It’s not like large-scale incidents like this occurred frequently.”

To those words, Eurelia responded with an irritated expression.

"Sometimes, the end justifies the means."

“You people… You haven’t changed at all.”

Lenya glared at Eurelia with a cold expression.

"How many people have you sacrificed for this?"

"...Because of that, you, and I, and everyone else are alive, aren\'t we?"

Eurelia simply responded.

A long silence fell once again.

"If what you say is true, what was the Hero\'s role in all this?"

Lenya glanced at the ground, looking somewhat dejected. And Eurelia replied in her usual composed manner.

"Speculation without adequate information is dangerous. I won\'t make any conclusions until everything is clear."

“...Tsk.”

Lenya clicked her tongue in frustration.

"...Let\'s rest for a bit."

Lenya suggested as she wiped off her sweat.

"As light as he is, it\'s still tough..."

"This place is collapsing in real-time. We need to get out as fast as we can."

Eurelia dismissed her suggestion and quickened her pace instead.

"Anyway, we\'re almost at the exit. So..."

- Booom…!

“...Damn it.”

Suddenly, an intermediate Dark Golem emerged from a distorted space right in front of them, causing Eurelia to curse under her breath.

"This is why I wanted to get out quickly."

"W-What is that thing!?"

"It\'s a Dark Golem. It lives inside the gate. Fighting in this state is difficult, we should slip through the side..."

Eventually, she laid out her countermeasure in a calm but much urgent tone.

- Booom!! Boom!!!

"Kyaa, Kyaaak!?"

“...”

Eurelia’s composed expression began to crack as another golem appeared right behind them.

"W-What do we do...? They look really strong..."

- Zing!!

“...Ack!!”

Lenya broke out in a cold sweat and dove to the side as the Dark Golem shot a black laser.

- Zing! Zing!!

Once more, a barrage of lasers was unleashed toward her.

- Zzzzng…!

"U-Ugh..."

She hastily conjured a shield, but she was unable to block the overwhelming attack, and she was sent flying toward Eurelia.

- Screech…

Eurelia looked grave yet still managed to keep her composure. She quickly raised her hand and started to cast a spell.

- Whoosh…! Whoosh…!

Then, the two Dark Golem, which was turning its head towards her, was tightly bound by a rope and lifted into the air.

- Snap…

“...Ugh.”

However, the golems didn’t stay still and began to break the ropes with its immense strength.

"U-Ugh..."

- Ping! Ping!

As the ropes binding the golem in front of her began snapping one by one, cold sweat trickled down Eurelia’s pale face.

- Swish…!

Then, the golem behind her completely broke free and swung its massive arm at her.

"...Ah."

As Eurelia struggled to maintain her magic, her eyes began to waver.

- Zing…!

Suddenly, a burst of starlight filled the gate.

- Crackle…

It cut through the golem\'s arm like butter.

- Boom!!

"That was pathetic."

An arrogant voice emerged from the cloud of dust as the golem\'s arm hit the ground.

"...I could have handled it by myself."

Hearing that voice, Eurelia’s expression became composed once more and she responded.

"Knowing you, you should have already grasped my intention."

"I had already anticipated all of this, so I devised the most optimal plan, and even collaborated with others.”

Then, Frey emerged from the cloud of dust and continued speaking with his usual arrogant expression.

"Even then, you still failed."

“I can’t accept that. Give me a convincing reason.”

Eurelia turned to Frey, whose left arm was still so damaged that some of his bones were jutting out, but his panic from earlier had completely disappeared. Then, Eurelia asked Frey in an uncharacteristically intense voice.

"...It\'s simple."

Frey, lifting his sword, looked away and spoke.

“Your comrades aren’t tools.”

- Swing…!

Simultaneously, the golem that was trying to trample on Lenya, who had collapsed next to them, was cut in half.

"W-Wait... enhancement magic? You imbued magic into your sword…? How\'s that possible…!"

After trembling from the fear of death for a moment, Lenya cried out in shock as she realized the true nature of Frey’s attack. But he ignored her and instead looked straight at Eurelia.

"You weren’t collaborating. You just used the students and Lenya as tools."

"Is that wrong?"

"Completely wrong."

"How can you say that for sure? If so, why?"

Eurelia asked, glaring coldly at him, and Frey smiled.

"...Because I\'m stronger than you."

"Ack."

Frey whispered quietly as he pulled Eurelia into a hug, cutting down a golem who was about to shoot a laser at her.

\'Though there\'s more to it than that.\'

Frey, knowing the future and having memorized the Book of Prophecy, could only offer a wry smile.

"You\'re weird."

"I get that a lot."

"...Let go of me."

"I’d rather not."

Eurelia frowned slightly at Frey and tilted her head at his words..

"What if I pounce on you and assault you now? Could you resist?"

Frey asked, looking at her with sincere eyes.

"...Trash."

"I’m not joking. We\'re alone here, with no witnesses. I could easily cover up the evidence and say you died."

“...”

Eurelia looked at him with contempt at first, then she became visibly unsettled as he reached towards her.

- Swish, swish…

“I could put the stigma of slavery here right now.”

“S-Stop…”

“What a sight to behold, to see the haughty daughter of the Count with countless followers at her feet becomes my slave.

Frey gently lifted her clothes and stroked her lower abdomen, whispering softly in her ear.

"Of course, I could mark you with something even better..."

"Stop it...!"

She tried to kick Frey between his legs, but when he calmly blocked it with magic, Eurelia\'s eyes began to tremble again.

"You\'ve managed well on your own until now. That\'s why you\'ve become so careless"

"..."

“However, when an overwhelmingly powerful threat appears and puts you down like this… Will those you’ve treated as mere tools come to your aid?”

Saying this, Frey pressed gently on her lower abdomen with a soft smile.

"Heuk."

"Or will they turn against you?"

As he finished his speech, Frey began to gather black mana in his right hand. Tears slowly formed in the corners of Eurelia’s eyes as she looked up at him

"S-Stop... Please stop!"

At that moment, a voice behind them interrupted him.

"L-Let her go!"

Lenya staggered to her feet, standing firmly as spirits swirled around her, and pointed a magic circle at Frey.

"...?"

"Ohhh."

Eurelia watched the scene with wide eyes, while Frey looked at the spirits with interest.

"This is why \'comrades’ are important, not ‘tools.’"

He said, looking directly at Eurelia.

"...Take this as a lesson."

“Ugh.”

Frey pressed firmly on her stomach and pushed her away.

"Then, let’s go."

Frey spoke, watching the two dazed girls with a calm expression.

"We need to hurry and get out... Cough, cough."

Suddenly, Frey began to cough.

- Swish...

He reached for a handkerchief and started wiping the corners of his mouth.

"..."

The two girls caught a glimpse of blood on the corner of Frey\'s mouth.

- Swish...

After a few glances at them, Frey quietly put the handkerchief back.

- Step, step…

He turned and began to make his way toward the exit.

"Hey, did you see that... Huh?"

Lenya, who had been blankly staring at Frey, began to speak to Eurelia next to her, but Eurelia was nowhere to be seen.

"I-I... saved you."

Lenya looked around in a daze for a moment and stared at Eurelia ahead of her in disbelief. Then she put her head down and followed after Frey without a word.

"By the way..."

She started to mutter quietly as she stared at Frey’s back.

“What I just saw… No matter how I look at it, it was his cloak, wasn’t it?”

Lenya\'s eyes narrowed.

"I need to investigate."

Muttering this, she quietly began to walk.

"What exactly is Frey\'s relationship with the Hero of Money?"

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- Step, step…

They were getting closer to the gate\'s exit.

"Hey, who\'s that coming over there?"

"Another monster? Ugh... I\'ve had enough!"

The voices of children could be heard in the distance.

They apparently were unable to escape the gate and were still near the exit.

- Fizz, fizz...!

"It\'s hard enough dealing with Alice..."

As they quietly approached, they heard sighs amidst the sound of clashing weapons.

"I follow… my master\'s orders."

As I had commanded, Alice was engaging in guerrilla warfare against the children.

Though it was a battle where neither side intended to inflict harm, it firmly imprinted in the first-year students\' minds that \'Alice is dangerous’.

That was right.

In this election, Alice would completely lose the support of the first-year A class.

It was slightly underhanded, but I couldn’t let the Demon King benefit from this.

"That’s enough, Alice."

"...Yes, master."

At my quiet command, Alice ceased her attack and quickly came over to me.

"Well done."

"Thank you..."

She knelt down on one knee and I patted her head. Then, she staggered back with an awkward expression.

"...?"

The students, who were staring blankly at us, cocked their heads in suspicion.

They were all elites, so they were pretty quick-witted. They\'d already noticed the unnaturalness between me and her.

"Excuse me, Professor, I have a question..."

Even Lenya, who had been glancing at me from the side and giving signals that she wanted to ask something, finally couldn’t hold back and approached me with a question.

"Hmm..."

We can’t go on like this. It might derail the plan.

"...You\'ve seen what Kania usually does to me, right? Try to naturally mimic what you\'ve seen and heard from her."

I quickly whispered this to Alice, and her expression turned businesslike, just like Kania\'s.

- Swish, swish...

Then she closed her eyes and started rubbing her cheek on my upper leg.

What?

I had told her to imitate Kania, not Lulu.

- Ziiiip...

To my surprise, she gently bit the zipper of my pants and started pulling it down slowly.

"S-Stop that."

I hastily commanded her to stop and took a step back. And she quietly licked her lips.

I had forgotten that Alice had lived under my lectern for a week.

How did she know it was Kania who attacked her when her eyes were covered the whole time?

"..."

Nevertheless, it seemed I had successfully made the children hate me, or at least distrust me.

"Uh..."

Even Lenya, who was about to ask me something, now looked at me with a cold expression.

"...Everyone, attention."

As I patted the head of Alice, who had become more affectionate towards me after mimicking Kania, I started to talk to the students.

"This concludes the practical exercise."

"Practical my ass...!"

"Get us out of here!!"

"Are you trying to kill us all!?"

Then, complaints erupted from all sides, their dissatisfaction reaching its peak.

"Everything you did outside and inside the gate has been recorded. It will be reflected in your evaluation and will be discussed in our next lesson."

I spoke calmly to them and started heading towards the gate\'s exit.

True to my word, Lulu took care of the recording outside, while Alice, who had a hidden magical recording device on her, took care of the recording inside.

I was glad to have good material to make them stronger.

"Hmm..."

With that in mind, I was about to leave the gate, but then I opened the system window with a puzzled expression on my face.

I was curious about the sudden recovery of my mental state.

[Passive Status: Terminally Ill/Fatal Injury/Lost Left Arm/Curse of Mental Weakness MAX (Paused)]

"Hmm..."

Looking at the system window, I was even more confused.

The depression, suicidal thoughts, and other mental illnesses caused by the Curse of Mental Weakness had all disappeared.

Not only that, but the curse was \'paused’.

If it wasn’t over, what does \'paused\' mean?

"Hmm..."

Meanwhile, my body was overflowing with life force and mana, but my fatal injuries were not healed at all.

It felt like I was only half-healed.

- Twitch...

Puzzled, I glanced back and saw Eurelia, who had been intently observing me. She flinched when our eyes met.

\'What did she do to my body...?\'

Both Lenya and Eurelia had been observing me closely. Could one of them have done something to me?

"... Well then, let\'s go."

Lost in thought, I muttered to myself and stepped out of the gate.

The gate might close if it collapsed any further.

"...Ah."

Also, I grabbed Ruby’s arm, who was quietly pretending to look worried next to me, to prevent her from pulling any stunts.

Then I move to the exit.

"E-Everyone, get out! Frey is leaving, and the barrier is temporarily neutralized! It will close soon, so hurry!!"

Lenya\'s voice echoed from behind.

How did she figure that out? I expected Eurelia to say it, but this was a surprise.

It seems Lenya was gradually showing the qualities of being a loving focal point for her comrades.

That made me, as a professor, slightly happy...

"T-they’re coming out out!!"

"S-Surround him!"

As I stepped out with a smile, all the students and the faculty outside had their weapons and magic circles aimed at me.

"...?"

What\'s this all about?

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"Frey, release the Hero peacefully!"

"Did you think you could get away with this?!"

As accusations poured in from all directions, Frey looked confused and tilted his head.

"C-Calm down, everyone! Everyone’s safe now, so let\'s just calm down!"

Ruby, who was held by Frey, broke free and shouted with a panicked look on her face.

- I knew your plan would fail, and I already told everyone beforehand that you were the one behind it.

Ruby\'s voice echoed in Frey\'s ear.

- How do you like my gift, Frey?

Cold stares from the whole school and faculty members were on Frey.

"...Ugh."

Frey began to sweat profusely.

"Haa, haa..."

He started to breathe heavily and showed signs of anxiety. Fiddling with his treasured handkerchief, he began to contemplate silently.

If my mental strength hadn\'t been temporarily restored, I would have been in serious trouble.

Even when the curse had been lifted, he still felt rather anxious. Frey gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen if the curse had not been lifted.

"...He saved us."

“T-To say that Frey was behind all of this is…”

Eurelia and Lenya muttered in a low voice as they looked at Frey, who was trembling under the cold stare of the whole school.

"...What?"

Ruby looked at Frey with a slightly puzzled expression when things didn\'t go as she planned.

Sudden Quest: Corruption

Reward: Everything

Do You Accept: Y/N

A quest window with a black glow appeared before Frey.

"So this was your plan from the start, Ruby. You aimed for my corruption instead of a huge amount of points.”

Frey stared at the system window with a cold expression and then extended his hand toward Ruby.

- Fizz, fizz...!

"...!?"

Suddenly, cracks began to appear in Frey\'s system window.

- Crack, crack...

"W-What\'s this...?"

Frey stepped back in confusion at this unprecedented situation.

- Whirring…

“...!”

Tentacles and spinning orbs emerged from the cracked crevices.

"Is this... an eyeball…?"

Frey\'s face turned pale at the sight.

- Fizzle…

Suddenly, Frey\'s system started to fizzle.

[You’ve@%?@accepted%₩...]

"...!"

As the system window displayed that message.

[The Fourth Ordeal]

A bright red message appeared below.

"W-What\'s this!?"

Frey exclaimed in panic.

"The Fourth Ordeal... isn\'t that supposed to happen during the second year!!"

[Beginning the Fourth Ordeal...]

Despite his protests, the system mercilessly continued to display messages.

"...Huh."

Frey, who had been watching blankly, met the eyes of the youngest paladin who had blended in with the crowd of students.

"Ah."

A short exclamation escaped his mouth.

"Damn it."

Her eyes turned pitch black, just like when she was possessed by the Demon God.

"Then, enjoy your Ordeal."

"You...!"

The Youngest Paladin bowed respectfully and extended an arm in a gesture. Frey reached out to her.

"It\'s too late..."

The dark-eyed paladin looked at Frey with a mocking look and touched the sword at her waist.

- Fizzzzz...

"Uh?"

Suddenly, her pupils dilated, and a dazed sound escaped her lips.

- Whoosh...

Then, in a split second, her pitch-black eyes began to glow golden again.

- Swish...

And with that, she swung her sword.

- Sizzling...

A golden sword aura sliced through the system, splitting the wide-open eyeball in half before it closed.

"..."

Then, a brief silence engulfed the area.

[An unknown error occurred]

[System rebooting]

[Time remaining until reboot: 0 minutes 53 seconds...]

"Phew..."

As the Fourth Ordeal, which had started so abruptly, ended successfully, Frey collapsed with a pale face.

"...Ugh."

He felt dizzy due to the blood loss from his completely shattered left arm.

"Uh, hmm..."

Meanwhile, the golden-eyed paladin was staring at him blankly.

"T-This incident... is not Frey\'s doing!"

She declared loudly with an awkward expression, looking around at everyone.

"This erosion phenomenon... it\'s the work of the Church!!"

As she finished, a silence spread throughout the Academy.

"S-Such ungratefulness! Those people! I… No, they\'ve angered the Sun God, definitely!"

She added, sweating profusely.

"Young Master!?"

"Frey!!"

"Damn it..."

"Quickly, we must..."

Frey watched quietly as the scene unfolded before him. Before long, he turned his head at the murmurs of Kania, Clana, and Irina, all of whom were staring at his shattered left arm in horror.

"...I need to finish the girls ‘vaccination’."

Frey lost consciousness after finishing his statement.

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Meanwhile, in the snowy mountains of the Western Continent

[Lunar: Sister! Declare it with more authority!! Don’t add weird remarks!!]

[Stellar: The Outer God must be pretty desperate to do such a crazy act. It must be a heavy burden for them.]

"Hmm..."

As she swung her legs atop the shattered Ice Dragon’s head, Glare stared at the peculiar conversation before her. The system window appeared when she activated the ‘guide function’ of her helper system.

"What\'s this...?"

She tilted her head in curiosity, fidgeting with her tiny fingers.

And then, after a while.

[Glare: Hallo?]

A message popped up in the system window.

"Wow, amazing!"

Glare\'s eyes sparkled as she saw her message appear on the system window, and she started to shake her legs excitedly.

[Lunar:?]

[Stellar:?]

[Solar:?]

Question marks started appearing in succession in her system window.

[Lunar: How did you access this?]

[Stellar: What???]

[Solar: Greetings, may I ask who you are…?]

"But... who are these people?"

As questions poured in, Glare simply tilted her head with an amused expression, murmuring /genesisforsaken