Chapter 219 : Chapter 219
Chapter 219
The moment I swung the sword, a surge of mana more powerful than anything I'd ever produced flooded the entire laboratory.
Every scrap of residual mana drifting through the room was pulled through my body and condensed into Aura.
The Aura carved into the World Eater Fantasy.
FWAPAPAPAT!
It sounded like flipping rapidly through the pages of a thick book.
Fine hairline marks appeared across the surface of the World Eater Fantasy.
The mana drained from me in an instant, leaving a substantial feeling of exhaustion.
This much depletion from just this.
It wasn't on the level of fighting Sacer or the World Eater, but if I swung like this about ten times, I'd probably pass out.
"Oh, ohhh!"
The graduate students let out exclamations loaded with complicated emotions.
Sihan, too, had moved several steps closer to the World Eater Fantasy and was staring intently at it.
The Fantasy hummed once, vibrated, and dropped a few crumbs onto the floor.
That was it.
"......This seems to be the best I can do for now."
Despite a fairly strong-willed strike, the Fantasy was utterly unscathed.
If this thing truly became my sword, it would make the ultimate weapon—but not in this state.
I was clicking my tongue in disappointment when—
"EEEEEEK?!"
Hm?
"A-a mineral! A compressed mineral fragment fell off!"
"The cross-section! Give me the cross-section!"
"I called dibs on those crumbs first! Don't touch them!"
"Everyone freeze! Stop! I—I've studied compressed mineral formations before! If everyone just follows my instruct—"
"Shut up!"
The graduate students went berserk.
They looked like the soldiers in Rozalin's memories who'd gone wild at the sight of a Fantasy.
All this frenzy over mineral crumbs the size of fingernail clippings.
Sihan, who by rights should have been the most curious and highest-ranking person here, hadn't moved a single step.
As they say, the more skilled a person is, the more humble they become.
"Shouldn't we stop the......"
I turned to relay the thought to Sihan, but he gave no response.
Huh?
Looking more closely, Sihan wore a strange smile, arms folded, watching the graduate students with a manic gleam in his eyes.
"Foolish wretches. Go on, squabble. Every last one of your dissertations has to pass through my guidance anyway."
......So it wasn't humility.
If anything, he was regarding his students with the most power-drunk mindset of them all.
I took two steps back from Sihan.
I must never become a professor who treats his students like that.
Having just been nominated for a professorship, I should make a point of distancing myself from questionable role models.
Perhaps sensing my gaze, Sihan let out a deliberate cough.
"Don't be like that. Remember the bomb we shoved into the World Eater last time?"
I remembered.
In the past—that is, before the regressors had regressed—Sihan had reportedly crammed an entire artificial island into the World Eater's maw and detonated it.
To settle that old grudge, Sihan had synthesized an assortment of explosives and packed them into the World Eater's jaws.
He'd failed to destroy the World Eater, but he'd at least dealt a meaningful blow.
"Even when I poured in firepower on that scale, not a single crumb like this fell off."
"......Wow."
Was my Aura really that powerful?
No, that couldn't be it.
In terms of raw destructive force, Sihan's attacks were far superior.
"It's because of the Fantasy. You probably shaved it off because you used a Fantasy to cut a Fantasy."
"But it's barely anything. It doesn't seem like enough to forge a sword."
"True. At this level of output, even if you spent all day on it...... two years? Three? I can't say for sure."
I recalled the exhaustion I'd felt right after swinging the sword.
Saying I'd pass out after ten swings was generous—even a single swing left me substantially fatigued.
It felt like going all-out in a sparring match, a hunt, or an intense training session.
Two swings would drain my stamina entirely and make it impossible to teach classes.
"So you can manage one swing without it affecting your classes?"
"......I'll try my best."
At my words, the graduate students clasped their hands together and prayed at me, chanting please!
Not even Yuria had shown me this level of religious fervor and adoration.
We left their manic devotion behind and exited the building.
Well, to be precise, only I left—Sihan walked me to the entrance.
"I said what I said, but I'll be the one doing the most intensive research. Wouldn't you agree?"
After saying that, Sihan paused in thought for a moment, then looked at me again.
"How many regressors are left at our Academy right now?"
Regressors currently at our Academy......
Rozalin, Hati, Yuria, the Spear God.
All four of them.
And while they weren't here, the other regressors I knew of were the Wolf King, Ulf, Avril, and Ban.
Of the eight I was aware of, not a single one remained at Akarind Academy.
Sihan wore a look of regret.
"Damn. If even one of them were here, I'd ask about demon-related information."
"What information do you need?"
"We've established that a Fantasy can be used to carve another Fantasy. I wanted to ask if there's a Fantasy that could enhance cutting force, or failing that, one related to intense flames, forging, or weaponry."
Normally, when forging a sword, you'd heat a mineral to extreme temperatures and hammer it endlessly to refine it.
"The Iron Eater is closer to just manipulating metal directly, so I wanted to know if there's a Fantasy genuinely related to weapon crafting."
"Mm...... got it. I'll see what I can find out."
"Is that possible?"
"Probably."
***
I thought back to my last meeting with Ulf before leaving the Empire.
'Teacher. Take this with you.'
What Ulf had offered was a small wooden figurine carved in the shape of a bird.
It was sculpted to resemble a parrot sitting with its wings folded, and red gemstones set in its eyes gave it an oddly lifelike quality.
'When the time comes, give that little one your care.'
And now was the time this bird sculpture was needed.
More precisely, it was Ulf I needed.
When I placed my hand on the figurine's head, it vibrated with a soft hum.
It began absorbing ambient mana on its own, gradually taking on color.
And when the entire sculpture was finally awash in vivid hues—
— You called?
The bird spoke in Ulf's voice and wore a languid, easy smile, as if Ulf herself were standing before me.
"Ulf?"
— Call me Bird. I'm in bird form at the moment, after all.
The stale joke dripping with experience confirmed it was Ulf.
— You're not having some violent thought, are you?
"No. I was just...... thinking about a few things."
— I see. So you needed me. What did you want to ask?
The bird sculpture struck a pose like a fortune-telling astrologer peering into the future.
It felt very much like Ulf.
I relaxed and laid out the problem we were currently facing.
— Ho ho. Coveting that Fantasy again, I see.
"Again?"
— Didn't you already know? The one who defeated the World Eater back then was Sihan. He processed that Fantasy into a weapon and gave it to Pan.
"To Pan? Pan used that weapon?"
— Indeed. It was the weapon Pan wielded even in the final battle.
The weapon Pan carried—that must have been the enormous sword.
Pan's height had been around two meters, and that greatsword had looked even taller than he was.
Pan had wielded it freely and even fought Baphomet, the final demon, with it.
But that sword—
"Its appearance was surprisingly plain. A bit rough, maybe."
— It was a Fantasy that could be shaped into such things. A Doppelgänger.
......Excuse me? What Fantasy did you say?
If the Doppelgänger was the demon the students had gone to hunt—
An utterly unexpected demon name.
How disconcerting.
"Wasn't the Doppelgänger a parasitic creature that uses humans as hosts?"
— Oh my. So you've encountered the Doppelgänger demon. Whose form is it wearing now?
"It's parasitizing the head of Dark Moon. And it's chosen Blue Light, the head of Blue Moon, as its next target."
— Heh heh. Same as last time.
"The Doppelgänger appeared in the past too? The students and everyone else said it was their first time encountering one."
— Naturally. They never saw it. I eliminated the Doppelgänger before it ever reached the world.
Beyond the sculpture, Ulf chuckled.
Somehow, that laugh carried a faint note of wistfulness.
— It won't be easy. But looked at another way, it's a remarkably simple demon.
"......"
— You said you know who it's targeting next. Blue Light, was it?
"Yes."
— Is he under protection?
"Yes."
— Then draw it into his body.
"Draw it in?"
— The best method is to lure it into the body, then sever the body before it can fully consume the host. That leaves the creature stranded—neither human nor inhuman, stuck in between.
Kill it before it reaches the brain.
I could roughly grasp the meaning.
But that was too......
"Is there no way to resolve this without cutting off his arm?"
— Ho ho ho ho. A kind child as always. Choosing the harder path when an easy one's right there. Did you take that Blue Light fellow on as a graduate student too?
"No, I didn't."
Hmm, a new graduate student.
If I offered to reattach his arm in exchange for enrolling as a graduate student, that might actually be a decent proposition......
— Then there is one method. Give it a new host.
Blue Light had said the Doppelgänger progressively sought out stronger hosts to transfer into.
That was why it had moved to Dark Moon and then come after Blue Light.
Plenty of people at the Academy were stronger than Blue Light, but...... in the end, wouldn't that mean sacrificing someone else?
And I couldn't let myself be the sacrifice either, not after the students had talked me out of going.
— Heh heh heh. That Academy of yours has one being who isn't human—making it ineligible as a host for the Doppelgänger—but is exceptionally powerful, does it not?
"......Ah."
— It parasitizes 'living creatures' exclusively. Artificial or constructed life forms are not valid targets.
Could she mean—
— I lured it into a curse doll used in shamanic rites.
In traditional sorcery, a curse doll was crafted so that the doll became the subject itself.
Break the doll's arm and the person's arm would break; drive a nail through the doll's chest and the person would feel agony in their chest.
— Heh heh heh. The surest method would be to craft a doll in your likeness to serve as the host, but...... that carries risks. If the timing slips, the parasite could use the host as a conduit and reach you directly.
"But on our end, we have the perfect host without needing any of that."
Bonnie.
A being born from a dragon's fang—stronger than most students, teaching assistants, or even instructors.
— You also have a 6th-circle Alchemist there. When it comes to artificial life forms, none surpass the combined knowledge of a Necromancer and an Alchemist. Persuade them well. Especially Sihan—if he hears that his past self once solved this very problem, his competitive fire will ignite.
Ulf left behind a soft chuckle and faded away.
The vibrantly colored bird sculpture returned to its original wooden form.
Hmm. I'd need to start preparing immediately.
But there was one thing nagging at me......
'The kids went out to catch the demon, but if I deal with it here, what happens to their assignment?'
Well...... it should be fine.
They sent experienced people along, after all.