Chapter 132
Chapter 132
The Howl of the Wolf (1)
The response had been fast. A massive wave of magic had begun from the Academic Department building. Then a huge wall of magic, surging like a tide, swept past us.
“The Director~ it’s magic~”
Canis, who immediately grasped its identity, quickly explained.
“For now, we go inside.”
Since I didn’t know exactly what kind of magic it was, we decided to head into the Academic Department building first. More than anything, we needed to properly understand the current situation.
“Wow.”
There were many people in the shelter inside the Academic Department building. Seeing the tightly packed crowd, Winter let out a quiet exclamation.
“Davide. Soloven.”
At the sound calling me, I turned my head. There, I saw the Academy Director sitting cross-legged, concentrating on magic, and in front of her stood Gorilla as if guarding her.
“Professor.”
“Come here for a moment.”
At Gorilla’s call, I pushed past the students rather roughly and approached. Since I had been quite far away, the walk took a bit of time.
“Ah! Damn it! Who is it!”
A student I had shoved roughly snapped in irritation. The guy, his face twisted in anger, glared at me.
“What.”
“……”
“This is an emergency. Stay seated.”
“Sorry.”
Knowing the situation was chaotic, I ended it at that. The student shut his mouth tightly.
Soloven, who had been following behind, offered a brief apology.
“……Your personality really doesn’t change.”
When I finally reached him, Gorilla let out a sigh. I simply shrugged.
“Do you know the current situation?”
“Not exactly.”
At Gorilla’s question, Soloven answered. I only knew roughly as well, not the full picture. Seeing me remain silent, Gorilla began to explain.
“The ancient barrier surrounding the Swamp of Gehenna has disappeared. Because of that, the poison fog that had been trapped in the swamp is spreading to the surroundings. Right now, the Director’s magic has isolated the space.”
I frowned. I had thought the Magus capable of causing abnormal weather in the game was impressive.
But I hadn’t expected them to be able to解除 even an ancient barrier. And to think they intended to release poison fog.
“The Academic Department building is also currently isolated. The other professors are searching the other academic buildings. They’ll bring back any students who were left behind.”
“Where is the Imperial Knight Order?”
At Soloven’s question, Gorilla’s face turned slightly serious.
“The Imperial Knight Order is currently fighting monsters.”
“What?”
“Monsters that inhabit the Swamp of Gehenna are breaking through the boundary and gathering here. The Imperial Knight Order is holding them off at that boundary.”
The situation had suddenly turned into a defense battle. What we had to do now was rescue the students and reactivate the ancient barrier.
“Won’t the guardian appear?”
Soloven asked cautiously. He was referring to the being connected to Museion Island itself—the sentinel that protected its ecosystem.
“No. That’ll probably be difficult.”
But I shook my head. Soloven frowned at my negative response.
“Your reasoning?”
Gorilla, with a calm expression, asked me for the reason. I quietly organized my thoughts.
“It’s simple. There’s no way an ancient barrier would suddenly disappear. Even if there were signs, the Academic Department conducts regular inspections, so they would have taken action in advance.”
At my words, Gorilla nodded. This island was filled with all sorts of dangers, so that level of management was necessary.
“In that case, we can assume a third party intervened to remove the barrier, but then the objective becomes strange.”
“The objective?”
I nodded at Gorilla’s question. I had to explain this well within what I knew.
Through the game, I had encountered and studied Magus countless times. Even if not in full detail, I needed to explain it in a way that fit the context.
“ If the goal were simple terrorism, there would be no need for poison fog. It is certainly a very dangerous toxin, but it doesn’t have an immediate impact. The buildings are intact as well. It would be far more effective to use grand-scale magic instead.”
As I began speaking in earnest, the surroundings grew quiet. And only after the word terrorism was mentioned did all sound in the shelter disappear completely.
“ There is another objective. Drawing attention through an act that appears to be terrorism. In other words, it’s a diversion tactic.”
Soloven, who had been listening quietly, nodded. It wasn’t something that could be dismissed lightly. In fact, given the current situation, my opinion was even more persuasive.
“ And that relates to the guardian?”
“ Yes. I believe the culprit behind this incident is likely the same one behind the previous attack.”
The atmosphere around us turned cold. The unprecedented attack on the Academy. Although it had ended without casualties, its significance was by no means light.
It was the only incident where Museion Academy, once considered an impregnable fortress, had been breached.
“ Certainly. They would need to be capable of breaking through the Academy’s security to even tamper with an ancient barrier. So their objective is the guardian?”
“ We can infer three major objectives. During the last attack, they stole an artifact from within the Academy. This time, they may also be targeting an artifact.”
The Academy had existed for a long time, and accordingly, countless artifacts lay dormant within it. Some even evaluated the Academy’s collection of artifacts to be on par with the Imperial House’s treasury.
“ And?”
“ The assassination of key figures. There are quite a few individuals of significant status within the Academy. The Academy Director, for one, and Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess, is also here.”
The Imperial Princess, in particular, was the sole heir. For terrorists, there could hardly be a more tempting situation. As both the Director and the Imperial Princess were mentioned, Gorilla’s previously composed face grew heavy.
“ And lastly. The body of a powerful entity like the guardian.”
At my words, those around me looked puzzled. Many couldn’t immediately understand what I meant.
But I knew the objective of the Magus. Only the method had changed—from abnormal weather to poison fog—but their intent remained the same.
“ They have created Chimera called Fiendbeasts. There were some during the previous attack, and also in the Ulla Desert. However, the Fiendbeasts always had different forms each time.”
“ They need to collect samples for their experiments?”
“ Yes. They are gradually being upgraded. Or modified to suit specific purposes. In my opinion, they likely need a sample of the guardian.”
The reason the guardian appeared as a boss in Episode 6 was because of what the Magus had done in Episode 4.
At that time, the Magus attacked the guardian and stole part of its body. And within just a few months, they created a Fiendbeast based on the guardian’s body.
Correct.
The moment I finished speaking, a massive voice echoed through the shelter. The students hurriedly turned their heads toward the entrance.
Two figures clad entirely in armor appeared as they opened the door. The overwhelming pressure radiating from them caused the students to part instinctively.
“ I greet Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess.”
Recognizing the armor, I immediately dropped to one knee and bowed my head. Seeing that, the members of the Anaye Order quickly followed my lead.
“ I greet Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess!”
The students who had been watching us began to follow suit one by one.
Clad in sleek armor covering the entire body, adorned with dark red gemstones embedded at the joints, the figure slowly approached me.
“ Rise.”
“ Yes.”
As the helmet portion disappeared, the Imperial Princess’s voice was clearly heard. At her command, I promptly stood up.
“ It has been a while, Professor.”
“ Have you been well, Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess.”
The Imperial Princess patted my shoulder and then greeted Gorilla. Gorilla bowed deeply and asked after her well-being.
Having suddenly been patted by the Imperial Princess, I made a puzzled expression. I couldn’t understand why she would do such a thing in this situation.
“I will get straight to the point. Davide’s deduction is correct. We have confirmed that those presumed to be behind this are heading toward the central guardian’s stronghold on Museion Island.”
“Then…….”
“Yes. It is clear that their objective is the guardian.”
The tall woman following behind the Imperial Princess removed her helmet. Unlike the Princess’s, it did not disengage automatically.
The Vice-Commander, revealing her face, gave a gentle smile and greeted with her eyes. Seeing her act like that in this situation was absurd.
“The Academic Department must prioritize the safety of students and residents above all else. Our Imperial Knight Order will focus on pursuing those behind this.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“And. From what we have learned, the ancient barrier has been completely destroyed. Therefore, if we wish to eliminate this poison fog, we must eliminate the Swamp of Gehenna itself.”
At the Imperial Princess’s words, I reacted skeptically. Saying to eliminate it was one thing, but the Swamp of Gehenna was vast.
To erase something of that scale in a single strike would require destruction on the level of Astral, otherwise it would be impossible. And on this Museion Island, only the guardian could accomplish something like that.
“Beloved Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess. I cannot express my disloyalty in receiving you under such circumstances.”
“That is enough. I am aware of your efforts, Director.”
The Academy Director, who had been sweating profusely, finally spoke. She was still concentrating with her eyes closed.
At her words, the Imperial Princess readily forgave her.
“We do not possess the capability to destroy the Swamp of Gehenna.”
“No. I can do it.”
“I see.”
At the Imperial Princess’s words, I raised one eyebrow. Since she possessed all kinds of artifacts, I could understand that she might have such an ability.
Even so, it certainly wouldn’t be something ordinary, and there would be a price to pay. More than anything, she had never used such an artifact in the game.
“You, Director. I have come to obtain your permission.”
“Of course.”
At the Imperial Princess’s words, the Director responded as such and resumed her concentration. The Imperial Princess then shifted her gaze and looked at me.
“You, Davide. You will follow me. In the Swamp of Gehenna, you can move freely. Open the path for us.”
“Of course.”
At the Imperial Princess’s command, I bowed deeply in response. I briefly asked for her understanding and then turned around.
I saw the members of the Religious Order staring blankly at me.
“I will follow Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess. Canis.”
“Mm~”
“You should be able to use the Holy Relic in the chapel.”
“Ah~ right~ purification~”
By Holy Relic, I meant the greatsword I had half broken. As expected of someone sharp, Canis immediately understood my intent.
“Canis and Winter will head to the chapel first. Secure as many Holy Relics and gas masks as possible and return through the portal. Then distribute them to the necessary personnel and begin full-scale rescue operations. Soloven, Aro sunbae, and Winter will handle rescue, while Worden and Canis will assist the Imperial Knight Order and track down those behind this.”
At my continued instructions, Canis tilted her head. We had already heard that those behind this were heading toward the guardian’s central stronghold.
“There may be a traitor within the Academy. Find the traces.”
“Ah~ got it~”
After giving the orders, I turned back to the Imperial Princess and bowed my head.
“You, Canis.”
“Yes~ Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess.”
“For identifying the traitor, inform the Imperial Knight Order and cooperate with them.”
“Understood~ I will follow your command.”
After finishing her final order, the Imperial Princess headed toward the entrance. The Vice-Commander and I followed behind her.