"Entry is forbidden."

Outside the entrance to the academy auditorium where the opening ceremony was being held. The student council members opened their cold eyes and looked at the outsider in front of them.

"If you come any further, you will be considered an intruder."

It was clear he was not from the academy.

"..."

There was no one at the academy who would wear worn-out, old, gray rags.

In an academy full of rationality, people would wear more if anything, not shabby clothes.

In the first place, the outsider standing in front of them was not wearing a uniform.

The man in rags spoke to the student council member in a calm voice.

"I have come to the academy on business."

"If you have business, you can go to the academy office after the opening ceremony. Another student council member will guide you..."

The man, cutting off the student council member who was amicably refusing entry, continued to say what he had to say.

"I want to stand on the podium."

Making the absurd request of wanting to stand on the podium.

"What did you just... say?"

"I said I want to stand on the podium."

"Haa..."

The student council member, annoyed by the first troublemaker in a long time, frowned and clenched his fists. A few homeless people, drunk on past glories, had occasionally requested to give a lecture.

'I'm an academy graduate,' 'I used to run a large business in my day,' and other such rude requests had been made before, so the male student council member, thinking he had been assigned another troublesome task, hardened his expression and spoke in a more forceful voice.

"Are you aware that this kind of request is extremely rude?"

"I have brought good words."

"..."

"I have brought good words that would be best if many people heard them, and I am confident that if you give me a little time, we can have a meaningful conversation."

"Did I not say it's not allowed? Go back and follow the proper procedures."

"Are you trying to block the path of a clergyman now?"

"...Even if you were a high priest of the Goddess Church, you cannot enter the academy recklessly."

"Heh... I've never seen such an unreasonable person."

"..."

Rohan, who was on patrol, saw his junior standing with a troubled expression and slowly approached. He felt that the atmosphere between the two was unusual.

Rohan, carefully placing his hand on his sword, deliberately raised his voice and approached the two who were arguing.

"What's going on!"

"Senior...! This person is saying strange things..."

"Strange things...?"

"He wants to stand on the podium..."

Rohan did not let his guard down and stared at the man who had his robe pulled down deeply.

'He's hiding his face.'

Before the break, he would have approached the man and threatened him, but after the special class, he was always told to be careful of surprise attacks.

-Just because your opponent looks easy, you should never close the distance.

-Who would be that stupid...

-Rohan, you fought with your girlfriend three months ago, right?

-How did you...

-I saw her. Walking with a tanned 4th-year male student with blond hair...

-You son of a...! Tell me in detail!!!

-See.

To be frank, the man in front of him was not an opponent to be wary of.

The physique visible beyond the robe was nothing but emaciated, and the listless voice sounded like it would collapse with a single touch.

"..."

But there were more than one or two suspicious points, so Rohan erased his stern expression, placed his hand on his junior's shoulder, and said.

"Follow me for a moment."

"Senior...!"

"Could you wait a moment?"

He felt he had to get his junior to a safe place first.

"Of course."

Hearing the reply, Rohan moved to a distance where the man couldn't overhear and looked at his junior with a tense expression.

"I'll handle it, senior!"

"No."

"But you're busy... If you leave it to me"

Rohan whispered softly to his apologetic junior.

"What did he say."

"...Pardon?"

"I'm asking what that man said."

"He... said he prepared some good words... and wanted to give a speech on the podium."

"...Haa..."

Rohan whispered in his junior's ear in a low voice.

"I'll take care of this, so you go and get people."

"...Pardon?"

"Shh. Don't make it obvious and move quickly."

'Good words.'

'Rude request.'

'A place where many people are gathered'

Just looking at these three keywords, he could guess what purpose he had for standing here now.

He could guess what purpose this man had for walking here now.

A heretic.

He didn't know what business the empire's problem group had here.

The nervous Rohan forced a smile and approached the man in front of him, speaking casually.

"I heard the story. You want to stand on the podium."

"..."

"I'll go and talk to another department, so if you could just wait a little..."

"Where is the other brother going?"

"He said he urgently needed to use the restroom, so I sent him on his way. You can talk to me comfortably."

"You didn't send him to call others, did you?"

The moment a negative answer came from the man's mouth, a chilling feeling washed over him.

"...!!"

In that instant, Rohan saw the man's eyes hidden by the robe.

The flickering black eyes were staring at Rohan eerily. Rohan's heart pounded with a 'thump' and he instinctively placed his hand on his sword.

"I am a good clergyman."

He takes a step closer.

"Do not come closer."

Rohan took a step back.

"Why are you so frightened? I only came here to offer some good words to the green sprouts gathered here."

"This is your last warning."

"Give me the podium."

"The podium is a place that cannot be recklessly given to outsiders. It is a place that cannot be given to outsiders even if the headmaster comes."

"My... brother."

As the man's words were cut off, Rohan realized where the man's gaze, which was looking straight at him, was directed.

'Neck.'

Like a beast aiming for the nape of its prey's neck, Rohan, who had grasped the true intent of the gaze that was aiming for his neck without a single waver, squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists.

'Damn it..!'

-Swoosh!!!

He hears the sound of something cutting through the wind.

At the same time, he saw a blade, reflecting the sunlight, dance and miss in front of his eyes.

One second.

If he had been a little slower in his judgment.

No, if he hadn't even thought of creating distance in the first place, the sword that cut through the air would have surely cut his throat and ended his life.

"Kekeke..."

A creepy laugh mixed with sarcasm began to ring out, not waiting for Rohan's startled heart.

"You're quick on the uptake."

"...Prepare for battle!!"

"This is why I hate people who are quick-witted."

Even though the surprise attack had failed, the man's eyes were still on his neck.

"If it had gone a little further, it would have cut."

"..."

He feels it.

The man in front of him now is different from any other being he has ever faced.

It came to him instinctively that he was a more formidable enemy than Ricardo's test, which at least didn't kill, and stronger than the hundreds of spiders he had cut and slashed in the dungeon.

With a tension that felt like it would pierce his skin, the man lowered his robe and revealed his hidden face.

"I really can't do this kind of acting. What are 'good words'... so cringey..."

"You are...!"

"...Oh? Do you know me?"

Rohan searched his memory and carefully examined the man's face. The mantis-like face. The sarcastic eyes and the man's face that seemed like it could belong to an insect.

"...Mantis."

The adventurer hunter 'Pascal.'

Rohan's eyes widened at the appearance of the person who had caused a stir in the empire, and he drew the sword he had at his waist and stared at the man in front of him.

'Damn it...! Why is this monster here...!'

He had heard that the prisoners of the Black Sanctuary had escaped, but he thought it had nothing to do with him. There would be no criminal audacious enough to target the academy.

Of all people, the worst criminal is right in front of him, and he starts to feel impatient.

"Stay calm."

The fortunate thing is that he is not in a state of knowing nothing about his opponent.

-He has the ability to control people.

Rohan squeezed the words Ricardo had said from his mind and created distance, but.

"...What was that?"

His thoughts froze as if his head had turned to ice from the man's chilling killing intent.

'That bastard wasn't lying.'

Rohan bit his lip at the killing intent that was even stronger than the one Ricardo had shown at that time.

'I could only withstand Ricardo's killing intent up to the 'mantis' level...! A stronger monster...'

It felt as if every joint in his body was screaming as it felt the killing intent. It was warning him, sounding an alarm that he might die if he didn't run away right now.

"You bastard..."

"Everyone, get back!!"

"What did you hear from him..."

"Don't let his attacks touch you!!!"

"I'm asking you."

-Swoosh!!!

Rohan, watching Pascal's approaching dagger, urged his stiff body and dodged the dagger that came at him in an arc.

"Hoo...!"

He had to think.

He didn't know why the adventurer hunter was reacting so violently, but he had to quickly formulate a plan while he had lost his reason.

Considering what he had heard from Ricardo, the adventurer hunter clearly had a huge advantage in a one-on-many fight.

"Student council members, get out of the battle right now and call the professors. Go!"

"Senior, we also...!"

"Don't get in the way!!!"

He had to get people away.

If Ricardo's words were true, then there had to be no one here for him to have the strength to do anything.

Even one more person...

"Where are you going..."

The student council members, who were leaving to call the professors according to Rohan's plan, started to get cuts with a 'thud' sound the moment Pascal's lips parted.

It was so fast that it couldn't be captured by the eye.

"...What."

By the time he came to his senses, small cuts had appeared on his juniors' hands and necks, and blood was flowing.

"When an adult is talking..."

The members who were running towards the auditorium stopped in their tracks and stood bizarrely. As if their joints were tied by strings, with bewildered expressions.

"Why is everyone standing still! Quickly, the teachers!!"

One of the members, trembling in fear, looked at Rohan and said in a trembling voice.

"Senior..."

"..."

"My body won't listen to me!"

Damn it...!

He thought he had prepared quickly, but Rohan bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut at the members who had been taken down in an instant.

"I asked you."

"..."

"The word 'mantis.' Where did you hear it?"

"..."

Pascal, who was walking towards Rohan exuding a chilly aura, held the dagger steeped in black magic in a reverse grip and waited for an answer.

"Tell me."

"..."

"About him. His location. The things he cares about. Say it with your mouth. If you tell me obediently, I will make you a beautiful work of art."

"...How is that different from saying you'll kill me."

"It means I'll kill you without pain, at the very least."

"..."

"So that you don't die at the hands of your precious juniors."

-Grind.

Swords are in the hands of his juniors.

Rohan clenched his fists at the trembling gazes of his juniors who were looking at him with eyes soaked in fear.

'I had to do it.'

Before bigger enemies came.

He had to make a resolution.

At least until the junior he had just sent brought people...!

"Shut up, mantis. How dare an insect try to sit at the same table as a human."

He had to protect this place.

One day during the special class.

-Black magic is not some great weapon.

As usual, Rohan was looking at Ricardo, focusing on the class.

-Just like any other field, it's a weapon where you can achieve greatness if you have talent, and if you don't, you can't grow no matter how hard you try.

Because if he were caught not paying attention, he surely wouldn't be able to return to his dorm in his right mind.

-Mr. Rohan.

-Yes.

-Mr. Rohan, what do you believe is the strong point of black magic?

-...Unexpected abilities?

-Correct.

It was the day he was first praised by Ricardo, so that particular content stuck in his memory.

-The strong point of black magic is its unexpected abilities.

-...

-Not only can it create powerful force relative to the effort put in, but it can also manifest abilities like reading people's minds or controlling their bodies.

-...

-I have a lot of experience fighting black mages. I've faced near-death crises against them, and though it's a cruel thing to say, I've actually killed them.

-...

-Black magic that can steal an opponent's magic, an ability that lets you control an opponent's body if you leave even a small wound.

-...

-Monsters that can be resurrected as long as their physical host doesn't die, and so on...

-...

-Now that I say it like this, I can confidently say I've met a more diverse range of black mages than any of you.

-...

-You're probably thinking this right now, aren't you?

-...

-How do I beat someone with abilities like that? If such powerful abilities exist, shouldn't I just forget studying and learn black magic instead?

-...

Ricardo said.

-Didn't I tell you? Black magic is an ability that relies on talent.

-...

-Black magic has a fatal flaw.

-...

-The method of recovering 'dark magic power,' which is like 'mana' to a mage, is different for each user.

-...

-Even the abilities that manifest according to one's awakening in black magic are different.

-...

-What good is high output if you have no ability to recover it? It's a useless weapon.

-...

-However, a black mage who has fulfilled both of those conditions is precisely the enemy we must face.

-Then...

-I will tell you.

The way to deal with a black mage.

"Don't you dare, you mere insect, try to share a table with a human."

It's the fighting spirit to not succumb to black magic.

"Come on!"

And the method of not getting hit by it.

Rohan, gripping his sword tightly, glared and shouted at Pascal.

'I absolutely cannot let that guy's sword touch me.'

No sooner were the words out than Pascal's sword, steeped in fierce anger, grazed past Rohan's forearm.

"...!!"

Rohan frowned at the unavoidable strike.

He had tried to dodge it somehow, but in a situation where he had barely escaped with his life, he almost lost his will to fight.

"How dare you... call me by the name of a lowly insect."

He couldn't give up just because he'd been hit.

"Look at your own face and seriously consider if those words should be coming out of it."

If he gave up over a small graze, all the effort he had put in until now would be for nothing.

"You young brat..."

"The average lifespan of a praying mantis is 8 months. It seems you can't comprehend that your ability to not have died sooner is all the more astonishing."

"...Ha."

Pascal's killing intent flared as he licked the traces of Rohan's blood from his dagger.

"You will not die a peaceful death."

It's coming.

The aura of black magic suppressing his body.

He could feel an ominous energy encroaching on his body, as if the joints of his fingers were stiffening.

"I wanted to ask you insolent whelp about him, but..."

I have to overcome it.

"The sin your mouth has committed is too great, so I will refrain from asking."

I have to stop this monster from getting to where the students are, no matter what.

Pascal, holding a dagger, slowly approached, a full smile on his lips as he began to cast a dark shadow over Rohan.

-Step.

-Step.

-Step.

Along with him, the juniors who had been struck down by Pascal were also approaching Rohan, weapons in their own hands.

I'm angry.

I was so angry at my own weakness, at being unable to do anything, that I could barely stand it, wanting to shatter my own teeth.

Of course.

"I can't just stand here and take it."

"...What are you talking about!"

"Exactly what I said. You can't just take it either. If you've drawn your sword, you must kill your beloved juniors with your own hands."

Pascal was urging him to move, as if he couldn't even permit him a pure death.

The hand holding the sword moves.

"You son of a bitch..."

Even though he's using all his strength to resist moving as commanded, the hand holding the sword loses its will and moves to commit slaughter.

"Kuhahaha!!!"

"..."

"Mantis? Insect? You talk a big game, but how great are you, killing the people you hold dear...? Aren't you?"

"..."

"Kill them! Kill them! Kill your friends! The people you hold dear! Kill them!"

Rohan's sword moves, little by little.

"Senior...!!"

"I'm scared...!"

"Don't come any closer!!!"

Towards the juniors he cherished.

The sword, filled with another's will, moves towards the very reason he had strived so desperately to always show a cool and composed front.

"Kuhahaha!! This is it! This is the art I've always wanted!"

Just as a crazed smile bloomed on Pascal's face, Rohan, with a cold expression, let out a quiet sigh and closed his eyes.

-Slice.

Pascal's eyes widened at the blade that had passed by him.

"What...?"

He was cut.

Himself, admiring his art from right in front of them.

This handsome face of his.

There was a small scratch.

A panicked Pascal raised a trembling hand to touch his face. He revealed his inability to accept the current situation without reservation, muttering that this couldn't be happening.

Not even once.

"Now this is getting interesting."

No, just once. It was an ability that only failed against him.

"Isn't that right, mantis."

Why...?

Why....!?

How in the world?

"My name is Rohan."

Is that guy perfectly fine?

"A berserker who has abandoned the path of a knight."

Rohan stood there, a small smile on his face.

Ricardo had told him.

-Mr. Rohan, what is your dream?

-To be the captain of the knights.

-You're hopeless.

That his elegant fighting style didn't suit the talent he possessed.

-You have to get hit.

-...I don't want to.

-You're still seeing that girlfriend who cheated on you, so what's the issue....

-...

So.

"Come on...!"

Rohan abandoned the path of a knight and changed his movements to that of a berserker who believes that offense is the best defense.

A red haze began to flow from Rohan's body like threads from a spool. At the sight of Rohan, who looked like he might explode at any moment, Pascal took a step back and gritted his teeth.

His pride was wounded that his ability, which had killed so many, had no effect.

"You insolent bastard..."

"Don't treat me the same as an insect."

"..."

"The title of 'specimen' suits you better."

Rohan, gripping his sword firmly, overcame Pascal's black magic and began to push off the ground, charging forward.

"First this one, now that one..."

"Don't dodge the fly swatter, mantis."

"They see me as a scarecrow."

Pascal moved his body quickly.

He lightly dodged Rohan's approaching sword and moved to pierce his abdomen, far faster than he had during his battle with Ricardo.

If black magic didn't work, he just had to kill him directly. Tearing out his entrails and killing him painfully would remain as art.

He wanted to avoid killing directly because he hated getting blood on his hands, but this, too, was art.

"Kraaaaaah!!!"

He moved to silence that clown who was screaming and fueling his fighting spirit.

"Receive the mace of justice!!!"

"Shut up."

"Mantis...!"

The moment Pascal's sharp sword was about to pierce Rohan's abdomen.

"Enough."

A hand was placed on Pascal's shoulder along with a pale voice.

"You've dragged this on too long, Archbishop of Madness."

"...How dare you interrupt my art?"

"Don't get drunk on madness and forget your objective."

Rohan looked with trembling eyes at Pascal's dagger, stopped right before him.

"...Heok..."

It was a hair's breadth.

The dagger that would have surely pierced his body had it been a moment later.

Rohan, who had succeeded in overcoming the black magic but failed to overcome Pascal in terms of skill, held his trembling breath and admonished his frightened self.

'Move... Move...!'

Rohan's body couldn't move. The tip of Pascal's sword was pointed at his abdomen.

The man who had stopped Pascal spoke in a calm voice.

"Leave this place to the believers and let's move."

Pascal, answering in a voice mixed with anger, replied to the man, his hostility flaring.

"...Why are you stopping me."

"The Master of the Mage Tower might come. We must achieve our goal before then."

"Are you giving orders to a fellow Archbishop? What kind of messed-up hierarchy creates a situation like this?"

"Are you talking back after being stopped by a mere student?"

As the deadly words were exchanged, Rohan could see dark shadows swarming in beyond them.

Dozens.

No, hundreds.

Rohan's eyes began to tremble at the sight of the overwhelming number of figures flocking towards them.

The man said.

"If you die now, how do you plan to command these people?"

"Do you think I would die to a brat like this?"

"One must always prepare for contingencies. If you will not comply, I will abort this operation."

"Haa..."

"We're moving."

That he would send the army before him into the place where the opening ceremony was being held.

As Rohan listened to this entire conversation with trembling eyes, Pascal's eerie voice reached his ears.

"Stay alive."

"..."

"Until I'm the one to kill you."

Rohan, nearly swallowed by a fear that made his legs feel like they would give out, watched the backs of the departing figures and clenched his fists.

He had to stop them.

"Hoo..."

Even if it was just by one step.

-Saaaaaaaaa.

The man who had turned back spoke to Rohan.

"Stay still."

"..."

"You have your own job to do."

*

Inside the academy's auditorium.

"Everyone, prepare for battle."

Thanks to Rohan buying them time, those who had finished their preparations were waiting for the Archbishop, aiming to buy time for the other students to evacuate.

Mikhail.

"I can't use the holy sword until Ricardo allows it..."

Yuria.

"I'll take the front line."

And.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Histania Hanna was waiting for the Archbishop.

Seeing Hanna, Pascal greeted her with a smile that reached his ears.

"Kuhaha!!! You're that girl from back then...!!"

Hanna replied with a smile.

"Shut up, Mr. Mantis."

"..."

"You're disgusting to look at."