Chapter 9 — So I Immediately Become a Student Here? I Do Not Mind in the Least!
The UEG was unnaturally frozen. Not a single strand of her hair moved.
“Huh? Does this mean we won?” Lynel asked the Divine King, unable to follow what had happened.
Rick felt it was a little anticlimactic. He had expected a ritual designed to seal away a god to be a bit more impressive, but the UEG had stopped moving and that was all.
“Yes. I was able to seal the so-called UEG in a localized temporal freeze,” she replied.
The UEG seemed to be covered in something like a thin film. Apparently, she alone was frozen. Rick couldn’t help but wonder if such a restricted area was sufficient, but it may have been because of a lack of magical energy the Divine King had to work with.
“That means everything is over, right?!” An expression of relief crossed Lynel’s face.
“Not quite. We have managed to trap her for now, but we do not have the magical energy required to maintain it for long.” They hadn’t been properly prepared. The previous battle had also destroyed a number of the storage towers. “Furthermore, there is insufficient time to acquire more energy. At most, the seal will only last a few minutes.”
If they’d had more time, the Divine King could have called more of her followers, reconstructed the towers, and created a supply of magical energy. But no matter how overwhelming her charisma was, there was nothing she could accomplish in only a few minutes.
“Then what do we do?!” Lynel began to panic. At this rate, all they had accomplished was slightly delaying their defeat. He must have felt his efforts to buy time for them were all for nothing.
“Swordmaster Richard, deliver the finishing blow.”
“You want me to?” Rick replied reflexively. He hadn’t expected to be called out individually in a situation like this.
“You are a swordsman who has killed gods, and you possess a holy sword designed for such. That combination should reinforce your god-slaying capability on a conceptual level.”
Rick had once used the Holy Sword Orz to kill the goddess Vahanato. That fact lent him a conceptual advantage in killing gods. Truthfully, Rick didn’t really understand how it worked, but if the Divine King said that was the case, he could do nothing but believe her.
Rick turned to face the UEG, who lay frozen on her back in the middle of speaking. She hadn’t moved a hair. Would he be able to kill a god like that? Rick looked closely at the UEG as he thought the situation over.
When he had killed Vahanato, he had stabbed her where she was already wounded. Mere coincidence had revealed that weak point. If she had been in perfect condition, his attack likely would have failed to harm her.
So what about the UEG? She was wounded in that she had lost her right leg, but that could hardly be called a weak point. Her leg wasn’t core to her being. The Holy Sword gave off a faint heat, trying to move of its own accord. It was wanting to aim for the center of the UEG’s chest. It seemed like it was trying to tell him to attack there.
“Certainly, it seems there is a possibility I can do something. However, I am not confident I will be able to attack her while she is trapped.”
“Do not worry. As long as I am outside the barrier, I can manipulate it to some degree. Come now, we have no time. If we fail to defeat her here, all our sacrifices will be for nothing.”
“Very well.”
Rick stepped over to the UEG’s side. Taking his sword in both hands, he pointed it at the center of her chest. That should have been where her divine core resided. If he could pierce it, she should die.
Rick carefully stabbed down. The Holy Sword passed through the barrier and reached the UEG’s chest. It pierced through her clothes and split apart her flesh. Any ordinary attack would have failed to reach the core that resided underneath, but the god-slaying Holy Sword found it without issue.
Feeling the resistance from the core, he plunged the sword deeper in. The Holy Sword pierced through her core and unleashed an explosive power. The explosion tore apart her divine core, scattering the body that it had sustained, the pieces dissolving into light and disappearing.
“I’m still not sure what’s going on since I was summoned so suddenly, but it’s all over now, right?” Lynel asked hesitantly.
“Yes. The UEG has been erased.” Rick had felt the attack succeed. As if satisfied with the result, the sword in his hands vibrated happily.
“Uhh, there is one thing I’m wondering about.”
“What is it?”
“The other Knights still seem to be stuck on the ground. If the UEG died, shouldn’t they be free now?”
Rick looked at the higher-level Knights Lynel had pointed out. They were still lying on the ground. Perhaps they had lost all strength to fight back, as they were motionless, barely breathing.
“What is going on?!” the Divine King cried out.
“The answer is obvious. Until I give the order, they will remain restrained.”
The answer came from behind them. They turned to see the UEG standing there. She looked no different from before, staring at the group with an exasperated expression.
“I thought she was dead!”
“Unbelievable. I definitely felt her core being destroyed...”
“Surely those other weaklings who call themselves gods would be killed once their core is destroyed. But a true god has no weaknesses. Even the concept of death does not apply to us.”
He had definitely felt her destruction. Her body had been erased, and her presence had vanished. Rick was absolutely certain she had been defeated. Yet even so, she stood before them like nothing had happened. He found it incomprehensible. Before such an absurdly powerful enemy, he had no idea how to proceed.
“Now then, it appears you have no further ploys. I suppose that marks the end of our encounter.”
The UEG casually swung her sword. Rick leaped forward to defend the Divine King, and both were neatly sliced in two.
His Holy Sword had been useless.
◇ ◇ ◇
“No way...” Lynel could only watch. Unlike Rick, who had thrown himself forward to protect the Divine King, he stood frozen in place.
“I went ahead and disabled your ability to sacrifice your believers to prolong your own life. While they will die soon enough, you would die immediately after them, so there would be no meaning to it. I wish for the people of this world to fully comprehend the sin they have committed and beg for my forgiveness as they die.”
Neither Rick nor the Divine King could hear a word she said.
“Now then. I guess I should deal with the leftovers.” The UEG looked at Lynel, who instinctively raised his hands. He didn’t imagine that would help him, but it was a reflex. “I have no particular reason to spare you here. However, I did end up improving your luck to a drastic degree. If I were to kill you now, that would feel odd, like my own power had failed. As such, I shall spare you and your lover here. I shall return to take your lives someday, but I shall leave you for last. That is extremely lucky for you, is it not?”
“Y-Yes, extremely!” Surviving this encounter was nothing if not great luck. However, the area around Lynel had been devastated. Countless people had died. Even the head of the Axis Church, the Divine King, and the guardian of humanity, the Swordmaster, lay dead. He had no idea what he was supposed to do, even if he did survive.
“Ah, I almost forgot about the others. They should die as well.”
With a crunch, the Knights restrained on the ground were crushed.
“Weren’t you going to spare them?!”
“Why would you say that? I only said I would spare you and your companion in deference to your extreme luck. Otherwise, you would have no way of realizing how great your luck is. This really is a lucky situation for you, is it not?”
“Ha ha ha ha... I’m not sure about that...” Lynel found it difficult to celebrate.
◇ ◇ ◇
Hiruko had been transported to the Slow Life League, an organization situated in the bottom right corner of the Belm continent. She had appeared in the center of a magic circle drawn in a clearing in a forest filled with bright sunlight. The circle itself held no power, serving only as a marker.
“Oh, you’re here.” Standing in front of Hiruko was a young, shady looking guy in loose-fitting clothes. He was sitting on the bare earth, as if not worried about getting dirty.
“Who’re you?”
“I’m Yuuri. I’m here to welcome you. You’re probably confused after showing up here so suddenly, right? I figured I’d explain things to you.”
“Gotcha. But I only care about one thing. Where’s Himeln?” Hiruko recalled the events immediately before she was teleported away. Hanakawa had been sent to Suudoria Academy, Enju to Momurus, and Luu to Himeln. That was what the mysterious voices had said.
“Himeln? I guess that would be north of here.” Yuuri pointed.
“Awesome. That’s all I needed. Thanks.” Hiruko jumped up into the air. For now she would fly off to the north.
Instead, she hit something and fell back to the ground.
“What the heck?!” she shouted angrily as she got to her feet.
“Umm...if you could just leave whenever you wanted, there’d be no point to the Conference splitting people up, would there?”
“Then say that first!” Apparently, the same barrier that surrounded the continent also covered the forest.
“I was going to tell you, but you jumped up without listening to me, didn’t you?”
“Then how do I get out of here?!”
“I guess you need permission from one of the bosses. Though if they decide you’re useless, they’ll throw you out right away.”
“That probably won’t work. I’m just too darned strong. Well, whatever. Take me to these boss people. I’ll talk to them.”
“That was my intention from the start,” Yuuri mumbled as he stood up.
Though she wanted to find Luu as soon as possible, it seemed she’d have to do things the way these people wanted for now. Reluctantly, she followed Yuuri.
◇ ◇ ◇
Luu was teleported to Himeln, the nation in the top right corner of the Belm continent. She appeared in a white room. Though the room had no windows, extravagant lamps positioned around the space filled it with light.
She was sitting on the floor in the middle of a magic circle. A girl in a white dress and a boy in armor stood looking at her.
“Miss Luu, was it?”
“Y-Yeah...”
“My, how adorable!” The girl stepped closer, her eyes shining. Luu shuffled back on the floor at the intensity of them, a little scared. “I am the queen of this country, Elisabelle. This boy here is Prince Gerhardt.”
“Elisabelle, we had first pick, so why did you choose this girl over Hiruko? She would have been much stronger,” the boy grumbled.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted Luu or Enju...but Luu here is so much cuter, isn’t she?”
“What about Hanakawa? The rule was supposed to be that we prioritized humans.”
“Out of the question! A pig like that is more like an orc than a human! He’d fit in better in Momurus! He should be squealing, surrounded by monsters!”
Though Luu didn’t care about Hanakawa in the least, she couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him.
◇ ◇ ◇
The mechanical doll modeled after Enju appeared in Momurus, the nation in the top left corner of the Belm continent. She had appeared in a ritual room. Around her stood a minotaur, a skeleton, an orc, a harpy, and a lamia, all of them confused.
Enju hadn’t moved an inch. She didn’t react to them calling out to her or to them touching her.
“Is she dead? I suppose she would join the zombie faculty, then...” the minotaur said, not sure what to do with her.
“No...it looks more like she is a puppet. Don’t you think the golem faculty is more appropriate?” the orc said after looking her over.
“But she was moving fine before she came here, right? What happened? Did she run out of energy?” the harpy asked, confused.
They had only been left with the choices of Hanakawa and Enju. They had thought Enju appeared more useful, but if she couldn’t move and fight under her own power, then she was useless to them.
“We’re not hurting for fighters, so if she’s useless, just toss her.” The skeleton didn’t seem to care.
“Let’s at least call someone from the golem faculty to take a look,” the lamia suggested as she left the room.
Frozen from Yogiri’s orders, Enju was nothing but a puppet without Mokomoko’s controlling influence.
◇ ◇ ◇
“So I immediately become a student there? I do not mind in the least!”
Hanakawa was standing bathed in light. He figured he had been teleported somewhere. He had planned to stick with Yogiri no matter what, but that plan had clearly hit a snag.
However, he couldn’t complain about things not going his way. Avoiding this situation seemed more or less impossible. So instead of getting frustrated, it was better to try and find a way to survive.
“Actually, this may not be so bad. If I were assigned to some kingdom, I would likely be used as an expendable hero yet again, and I have no good memories of my time leading a slow life. In that case, the Academy may actually be one of the better results? On top of that, I was already a high school student, so do I not fit in perfectly in a school environment? And as a school in another world, it may be something like a school for magic. Hmm. If it is indeed a magic school, I cannot help but be curious about the uniform. Would we be given something like robes? Though I would not be the least bit upset if we ignored the setting entirely and had ordinary Japanese school uniforms! That said, if this truly is a magic school, do I not have a considerable advantage? I am already a healer at the maximum level of ninety-nine, after all! Will I not become a highly valued student immediately?! Perhaps I will even find a huge-breasted loli underclassman who might come to rely on me!”
Putting aside all the matters that left him uneasy, Hanakawa focused on having a positive outlook. The light surrounding him soon dimmed, revealing his new location. It was a cramped, dark room. And someone was standing in front of him.
“Level...only ninety-nine? Useless trash...” a girl in a military-style uniform said.
“Ahh. So the Academy is like a military academy, then...”
The girl looked at him with a frigid glare. “But you can relax. No matter how pathetic you are, our Academy won’t abandon you. We’ll beat the training into you until you’re fit for the front lines!”
“Ugh...this is one of those situations where we are fighting an ineffable, overwhelming foe with people dying all around us, isn’t it?”
Hanakawa’s future prospects were starting to look rather dim.
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