I Became the Savior of the Academy’s Villains

"All you need is an energy source, then?"

"For now... yes?"

Just before Luca Traverse offered the heart inlaid with golden gears, he had closed his eyes for a moment when Srettle Magus spoke.

In that brief instant, he had entered the inner mindscape.

Not his own mindscape, but Luca's mindscape.

'He must have really loved this place.'

It mirrored the academy's setting. One could see just how precious life at the academy had been to him.

Luca Traverse could immediately sense where Luca was in this place.

The dormitory.

Luca Traverse headed towards Luca's room in the dormitory. There—

"Skybird."

Luca lay on the bed, with Skybird Whistle sitting on his belly.

So that's where she went—it turned out she had remained within Luca's mindscape.

"Have you been guarding him so he doesn't disappear?"

Lying on the bed, Luca was looking quite faded.

With the Magic of Ideals and Ravinia's transcendence, Luca had defeated Agreas, the Devil of Wisdom.

Immediately afterward, as a price for using the Magic of Ideals, he was forced to use transcendence of the spirit, and then the power of the sun, to save Herote, who was dying.

As a result, Herote was saved, but there was certainly a cost for forcing something that should have been impossible.

A spiritual death.

Luca's spirit could be said to be virtually dead.

"Fortunately, because a bit of Waypoint's power remained, I was able to protect him."

At least, Ravinia's transcendence was still active at the time, and the power of the sun was mostly devoted to protecting its user, so Whistle had been able to catch hold of him just before complete death.

"But we can't hold on for long."

"I figured."

Luca Traverse spoke bitterly, then reached out his hand.

"I need the purified divine relic that's stored in space. I can't use the power of space, so you'll have to open it for me."

"If we have that, can you save my master?"

"No. But at least this won't happen to your master as easily again."

At his words, Whistle fell silent for a moment, then shook her beak.

"All right."

Srrrk.

When Luca Traverse opened his eyes again, the heart of gold—originally the devil stone of the Devil of Hunger—was in his hand.

"With this, even the Grandmaster's body should be able to move easily."

"Wow... this is...."

For a mage of Srettle Magus's level, it was obvious at a glance what value this held.

She could immediately tell she could use it for the purpose she wanted—if handled well.

However—

"I've seen things like this before. Only those with the proper qualifications can use them. Is there anyone here who qualifies to use it?"

A divine relic could only be used by someone qualified. Unless one forced its use with devilish power, it would be meaningless otherwise.

"Qualification, you say."

At that, Luca Traverse gazed down at the golden heart. He knew how one could gain qualification.

'The mind...'

Luca Traverse, who had experienced the Transcended Mind, at least indirectly, infused his spirit into the golden heart with a sensation similar to entering the mindscape.

There, he encountered a fragment of divinity.

—You are like the one who saved me from the devil.

A blond youth in a white tunic. He gazed at Luca Traverse deeply.

—But since you are not that person, I cannot lend you my power...

"Shut it and hand over your power. Or I'll smash you to pieces."

—Wha—what...?

The divine fragment was flustered. But Luca Traverse was cold as ice.

"There are plenty of other ways besides you. Time is tight, so if you're going to talk nonsense, I'll break you and move to the next candidate."

—N-next candidate? What do you mean...?

"I mean move on to the next one."

As Luca Traverse spoke, he willed a sword into existence—a blade glowing dark green.

With a murderous air as if he'd swing it any moment, the divine fragment hastily cried out.

—W-wait! Well, since you and he seem hardly any different, I'll acknowledge you! Fine, so stop!

"Tsk."

Wearing a faintly disappointed expression, Luca Traverse made the sword of will vanish.

Then, stepping out of the divine relic, he spoke.

"My goal is to destroy devils anyway. Don't try any tricks—just do your job."

—A-a divine fragment such as myself would never betray you. Don't worry.

With a sour expression, the divine fragment faded, and Luca Traverse opened his eyes.

"What... what did you do?"

As he looked, Srettle Magus's astonished face met his gaze.

Luca Traverse casually looked down at the golden heart in his hand.

Thud!

The heart pulsed, radiating strong vitality. Luca Traverse spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I was recognized."

* * *

Things proceeded quickly after that.

The divine power within the golden heart made the body Srettle Magus had constructed truly perfect.

Any issues that would have caused trouble otherwise were smoothly resolved thanks to the blessing of divinity.

"A-amazing. So this is the power of a god...?"

Srettle Magus watched as divinity completed the body, making mental notes to incorporate what she learned into her next work.

Waiting for her, Ottbo and Luca Traverse sat side by side, chatting.

"Luca. You're not your usual self these days, are you?"

"..."

Ottbo had suspected for some time but was now sure. He, too, seemed to know that Luca and Luca Traverse were different people.

Luca Traverse answered indifferently.

"And what difference does knowing make?"

"... What happened to the usual Luca?"

His greatest concern, after all, was Luca's safety. Luca Traverse remained nonchalant.

"Before it's too late, I hope those ladies can find some way to save him."

His words carried deep meaning.

Luca was still alive.

But he was precarious.

If Milia and Herote were late, Luca might die.

Understanding this, Ottbo bit his lip.

"You overdid it again."

"..."

Luca Traverse was silent. He knew Ottbo Gress all too well.

Comrade and second son.

Best driver. The talent second to none on the continent when it came to drive magic.

They had overcome many crises together and helped each other in countless ways.

And—

Luca's best friend.

"Once again, I couldn't help."

Ottbo looked frustrated. He always hated being unable to help Luca when it mattered most.

"Pointless talk."

"?"

At that moment, Luca Traverse flatly spoke. A sour look crossed Ottbo's face. Luca Traverse met his eyes with a cold gaze.

"Instead of pointless chatter, do something useful."

"..."

Luca Traverse didn't know how to offer comfort. Harsh words were all he could provide.

Yet, for some reason, those words made Ottbo feel at ease.

"You are Luca, after all."

Ottbo gave a wry smile, and Luca Traverse replied bluntly.

"I'm Luca Traverse."

Whatever the case, he was definitely Luca Traverse.

"All right! Then I'll help Professor Srettle Magus too...!"

Energized, Ottbo jumped to his feet, ready to help Srettle Magus.

—Perfect Control

Whoosh!

"!"

Suddenly, both of them were transported to the underground laboratory beneath the academy.

There, they found a weary-faced Milia and Herote, who was holding something.

"I finally found it!"

In her hand was a vial of refined spirit. Beside her, Milia, looking very tired, snapped irritably.

"This is really going to save Luca, right?"

"We'll see. I can't promise anything until we try."

"What? After all that effort, all you can say is 'we'll see'?"

Milia glared, but it couldn't be helped.

Luca's spirit was in even weaker condition than when Luca Traverse had last checked.

Whistle was barely able to hold on—things were truly dire.

Moreover, refined spirit is risky if used improperly, so certainty wasn't possible.

Herote turned to Luca Traverse, her expression grave.

"How similar are you to Luca?"

"?"

Milia, thinking the question odd, glanced at her with a disgruntled expression, to which Isella replied coolly.

"Young lady. The person before us isn't Luca Traverse."

"What? Then who is he?"

"Something... similar to him."

Isella understood.

Luca Traverse was different from the Luca she knew. She realized this through their duel.

"What are you...?"

"... I'm Luca Traverse."

Luca Traverse gruffly replied, offering no further explanation.

He wasn't very talkative to begin with, and saw no need for more.

"You could say I'm just about the same as that guy."

When the minds of Myunghyun Lee and Luca Traverse first fused, their spirits also blended to some degree.

The one called "Luca" affirmed Luca Traverse's memories and respected him, so they ended up as two separate spirits—otherwise, they would probably have merged into one.

Thus, it wasn't a lie to say he was similar.

"... Yeah. So while some details are different, the big picture is about the same?"

At his words, Herote's eyes sparked.

While looking for refined spirit, she'd been pondering ways to address its issues.

She'd reached one conclusion.

"So if we imprint your individuality onto this refined spirit, it'll become close enough to Luca's?"

Refined spirit, stripped of all traits.

If they put it into the weakened Luca as is, his mind would become similar to the refined spirit—meaning he might become a completely different person.

But if they first infused the refined spirit with the individuality of someone very similar to him—Luca Traverse—then put it into Luca...?

There was a high chance Luca's spirit would recover perfectly.

"How do I do it?"

"You've used this before, right? Do it the same way, but don't absorb it—spit it back out. Technically, it's a little tricky, but..."

Herote began to explain, but Luca Traverse ignored her and simply snatched the refined spirit from her hand.

"W-wait. At least listen—!"

Zzzzzz—

In an instant, the refined spirit changed to his color.

Luca Traverse's mastery over his spirit had grown to the point where he could move it elsewhere at will.

This was an easy task for him.

'That fast?'

Herote's eyes widened at his control.

Normally, using refined spirit could make one's mind blur.

He handled it so swiftly, she couldn't help but be astonished.

"So, I just give this to that guy?"

"Y-yeah. That's all."

"..."

Luca Traverse closed his eyes again. Soon, the refined spirit, now his color, vanished from his hand.

"... The rest is up to that guy."

He spoke calmly, his eyes serene.

"..."

"..."

Just then, as everyone fell silent, a device in a corner of the laboratory began to ring.

Beep beep beep!

"?"

"This is... Lady Eltima's emergency news!"

Herote hurried to the device. She began to channel magic power, then hesitated.

"S-someone, do it with magic power for me...."

"I'll do it!"

Ottbo rushed over, inspected it, and provided the needed magic. Instantly, a hologram appeared.

—Herote... Could you help me...?

"Lady Eltima?!"

In the hologram, Eltima appeared, missing one arm and one leg.