Unexpected.

That was the emotion Alon felt the very moment he identified the true nature of the fireworks.

When the first firework exploded, he had not realized it.

However, when the second firework exploded, Alon understood.

They only looked like fireworks. In reality, they were attacks firing indiscriminately in all directions.

The moment he realized that, Alon used the Thunder God Form and reached the princess.

Because if a member of the imperial family died, it felt possible the sacred fortification formation could be affected.

“.......”

Alon looked at the ice formed before him.

He had blocked the attack, but seeing how unstable it had become—to the point where one more attack would completely shatter it—

“Are you all right?”

Alon turned around.

What he saw was Princess Airinna staring at him blankly.

She looked at him as though entranced for a brief moment.

“Run.”

“......!! Ah, y-yes!”

At Alon’s following words, Airinna immediately nodded and rose from her seat.

“Contanias, proceed as planned.”

When Alon turned his gaze toward Contanias and spoke, Contanias nodded despite his confusion.

“Everyone, follow me—!”

Immediately regaining his senses, he began resolving the situation and leading everyone out of the building.

After the escort knights, who stared at Alon as though they could not even begin to grasp his identity, finally left—

Alon looked down below.

The ground beneath him had become utter chaos.

Each time a firework exploded, blade-like attacks came flying down, and the buildings were already collapsing as though torn apart by the claws of a beast.

The students were running everywhere, trying to avoid both the attacks and the falling debris.

A true hellscape.

However, the one fortunate thing was—

Wooooooooong—!!!

Thanks to Penia’s magic, almost divine in its execution, which perfectly defended against the random attacks flying toward the plaza while minimizing mana loss and even suppressing the recoil, the students had not suffered casualties.

But the problem was—

“Kyaaaaah—!?”

—even though Penia was desperately blocking the attacks, damage was still occurring.

From the students themselves—

No.

“......Tsk.”

Because of the Church of War.

Alon looked at the students.

Certainly, most of them were trying desperately to escape this chaos.

However, among those fleeing students—

Stab—!

“Ghk—!”

—the Church of War existed.

Those smiling among the panicked crowd before beginning to attack their fellow students.

As the students fell deeper and deeper into confusion, members of the Church of War began revealing themselves from among them, and Alon’s expression hardened.

‘There are more than fifty of them at minimum.’

He briefly thought, There were this many? but soon shook his head.

Because he already knew that aside from the Apostles, the Church of War’s members normally showed no signs at all and merely moved as though brainwashed.

‘Tomorrow was supposed to be the day when even more people gathered. Why did they start now?’

Alon frowned.

As far as he knew, the Church of War’s ritual was supposed to happen tomorrow.

To begin with, not all the nobles had even gathered yet.

So why had the Church of War carried out the ritual now?

Had information leaked?

Or because of something else?

For an instant, his thoughts became tangled, but Alon quickly regained his focus.

The Church of War had moved faster than expected, reducing all plans involving the students’ safety to ashes, but right now, more important than that—

“Hoo—”

—was dealing with them.

“Arrangement of Thunder.”

Crackle—!

The moment he formed the spell phrase, the mana created before Alon instantly took on the aura of lightning.

“Reduction.”

Alon counted the Church of War members below who had revealed themselves.

Exactly fifty-seven.

“Arrangement.”

At the same time, the optimal paths were designated inside his head—

“Launch.”

The bullets of lightning formed before Alon’s eyes—

Tsst—!

—instantly shot out and began piercing through the bodies of the Church of War members attacking the students.

Up and down, or sideways.

The lightning bullets flew through the hellscape, weaving between countless students while targeting only the Church of War members, eliminating exactly fifty-seven before vanishing.

Crack—!

At the same time, violet threads burst forth among the fireworks still decorating the sunset sky.

Thousands—tens of thousands—of threads dragged down the fireworks trying to rise into the sky like tentacles, devouring them as though some enormous maw were swallowing them whole.

And then, as the students escaped—

“......Hoo.”

Alon let out a sigh and headed toward Penia, who looked utterly exhausted.

“Are you all right, Penia?”

“Yeees— I feel like I’m dying. If the headmaster hadn’t helped block them too, it would’ve been difficult.”

“......The headmaster?”

At Penia’s words, Alon turned toward where her gaze was directed.

There, just like Penia, the academy headmaster was approaching them while letting out an exhausted sigh.

“You two—”

The headmaster spoke while looking at them.

‘His name was...... Anderos, was it?’

Alon easily recalled the headmaster’s name, having heard it several times including during the entrance ceremony.

Anderos Makedania.

An eighth-tier mage of the Empire, and someone who had already reached a level approaching the ninth tier.

Recognizing him, Alon spoke to the headmaster, who had now arrived before him.

“......I apologize, but let us leave the detailed explanations for later.”

“I do not suspect you. I also came under orders to assist you. However, your magic—”

The headmaster began to speak as though finding it strange, before closing his mouth again.

Alon considered it fortunate that unnecessary conversation seemed avoidable.

At that moment, Penia, who had reverted to blue hair now that her ring was removed and was breathing heavily as though drained, looked toward the fireworks and spoke.

“Still, that’s a relief. Looks like they moved immediately.”

“Indeed.”

The sound of fireworks could still be heard, but no more were rising into the sky, so Alon nodded for a moment.

Kwaaaaaaaang—!

Then, at the enormous explosion, Alon turned his gaze toward the shopping district.

Kwarurururuk—!

Soon, along with fragments scattering everywhere as something exploded once more, he saw Rine’s golden crowns shooting in all directions in chaotic formation, and let out a small sigh.

“......It seems things proceeded according to plan.”

“Looks like it.”

Penia nodded as though relieved.

“Still, let’s regroup.”

In truth, with Yutia and Rine already over there, Alon did not think they would particularly need help, but battle was unpredictable, so he turned to move.

At that moment.

“Ha.”

Together with a low exhalation—

a woman appeared before Alon.

Wearing the academy uniform with a deeply displeased frown, as though she found the current situation intolerable—

“What are you?”

She frowned and began releasing a strange power.

And Alon had little difficulty guessing her identity as one of the Church of War’s Apostles.

“An Apostle.”

“......Looks like information leaked somewhere.”

The Apostle spoke while letting out a disbelieving laugh.

The blue nameplate attached to her uniform showed that she had been acting as a third-year academy student all this time, yet she frowned as though something felt wrong.

An expression that seemed to say the very fact information had leaked made no sense.

However, only briefly.

After looking at the repeated explosions and scattering fragments erupting in the distance—

“I am curious where the leak came from, but asking now would be pointless.”

She muttered that and looked at Alon.

“Since things are already this ruined anyway.”

“.......”

Silently, Alon looked at her and deployed Reverse Heavens.

At the same time, as the sunset finally faded and the sky darkened, clusters of stars began forming overhead.

“.......”

The Apostle watching that sight also silently raised her aura.

At the same time, an explosive presence burst outward.

Not mana.

Not divine power.

Something Alon perceived as infinitely alien exploded outward around them.

Instinctively beginning to prepare for battle, Alon looked at the Apostle before him.

‘She’s dangerous.’

Of course, he had heard it from the Wanderer.

That Apostles who received the power of War would be even harder to deal with than Divine blood.

And Alon had interpreted those words this way.

That even if the Apostles were weaker than first-stage Divine blood, the abilities they wielded were troublesome.

But now, Alon realized.

That understanding had been wrong.

‘......Damn it.’

Alon cursed inwardly.

The aura the Apostle of War before him was releasing felt more threatening than any first-stage Divine blood he had encountered until now.

The sensation of facing a powerful enemy before whom every cell in his body screamed not to let down his guard caused Alon to think of Rine and Yutia—

and Deus.

‘How many Apostles did they say there were again?’

......It might not make sense to worry about Yutia and Rine.

At least as far as Alon knew, even if Apostles appeared, there was no way those two would be defeated easily.

But he was worried about Deus.

‘......I need to finish this as quickly as possible.’

Thinking that, Alon stared ahead and let out a sigh while maintaining the standoff.

A situation where neither side moved recklessly.

If the opponent had been within the realm of ordinary people, Alon would have moved without hesitation, but despite his impatience, he did not move.

Because what stood before him was not someone ordinary, but an Apostle of War.

And because he did not know what kind of ability she possessed.

As far as Alon knew, once they reached the second stage and were no longer called Divine blood but “Karma,” their abilities transcended the realm of ordinary powers.

In other words, even if the opponent was merely an Apostle, if the source of those abilities was similar, moving carelessly would be dangerous.

More than anything, the fact that the Apostle, who had seemed ready to charge at them at any moment, was instead maintaining the standoff as though waiting for them to attack first also felt suspicious.

And then, during that silence—

“Hup—!”

The headmaster, who until just now had remained silent.

Anderos Makedania made the first move.

A gigantic spear of ice formed so quickly that Penia and Alon unconsciously widened their eyes, and without hesitation, it shot toward the Apostle—

Tsst—

—but it did not reach her?

Alon and Penia perceived the headmaster vanish in an instant right before their eyes.

The man who had °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° clearly been chanting magic moments ago had disappeared as though swallowed into the earth.

No.

That was not it.

He had not disappeared.

Crunch—!

Only then did the sound reach their ears.

A simple sound like a watermelon bursting apart.

And after that, blood exploded in every direction.

Only then did Alon and Penia realize.

The headmaster had not disappeared—

“!”

—he had merely been compressed.

And then.

“Next.”

The Apostle’s voice, carrying a strangely delighted expression, quietly echoed out.