As the leader of Shakuntala’s Class F, Timmy Lendarogue was deeply trusted by his classmates. But now, he felt his heart burning with distress. Their journey had begun with such promise, yet it seemed to be spiraling toward disaster. Looking at the situation, he couldn't help but blame his own complacency for their plight. After all, his rash decision to leave the Heins territory had placed the lives of seventeen trusting followers in danger.
Reality and theory could diverge, but in this case, the chasm seemed vast. Class F had been molded by Davey, a teacher who was considered a monster. They had become notorious for their reckless actions, earning the label of 'monsters' within the school. However, the real world was a different story; it was crawling with actual monsters.
Davey often referred to them as big fish in a small pond. He warned Timmy and his classmates against complacency and urged them to practice more. Had they listened to his advice, they might not have found themselves in this predicament. The vampires surrounding them were exhausted and tense, on the brink of a breaking point. The air was thick with tension, just a spark away from igniting a horrific bloodbath.
Despite the looming danger, Timmy had confidence in his magical prowess. He had even declared his intent to aid the war effort, even if it meant going alone. The group had thus split down the middle; about half, led by Josiah Frances, had decided to stay back within the safety of the territory, while those who shared Timmy's conviction had followed him out of the Heins territory.
Up to that point, everything had seemed fine.
Some might have seen it as a daring adventure, driven by the youthful ambition of the students. But from the outset, things began to unravel. Unforeseen by the students, the war had abruptly ended, and the last remaining vampires had scattered. The students had not anticipated these stragglers to have already reached the Heins territory.
In fact, it was likely that the vampires had their own objectives, although the specifics remained unclear. Eventually, this unexpected encounter led the students into a fierce battle. One particularly formidable vampire, towering in height and incredibly strong, had them cornered, pushing them to the verge of death.
The vampires were unrelenting, allowing no room for conversation. As the group grappled with their predicament, Timmy watched a lightning arrow streak in from the edge of the forest. It struck down the formidable vampire in a heartbeat. It resembled magic, yet it couldn't be traced back, indicating that it wasn't magical. But if not magic, then what was this lightning arrow?
While Timmy was preoccupied with analyzing the magic, two women, seemingly uninvolved in the battle, appeared before them. Timmy and his classmates were unaware that one of them was a familiar human they all knew too well.
* * *
The change in atmosphere was palpable and instant. The woman appeared petite, with a slim and small build. Her body seemed nearly devoid of mana, making her an unlikely candidate to instigate such chaos.
"Argh... Aaargh!"
"Hurts, doesn't it? Is it painful?"
"Yes, it hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
"Good, that's why I'm breaking it."
With a swift and harsh crack, Davey effortlessly broke the vampire's arm. He then cracked his knuckles, balled his hand into a fist, and met the oncoming vampires with a fierce glare.
[Demon Yigr’s Supression]
[Breaking Bones]
Davey thought, ‘Go on, try taking a hit… Hold on a sec! It struck your bone! You should have heard that.’
Crack!
"Ugh!"
Amid the eerie sound of splitting bones, one of the vampires fell to the ground, his eyes wide with shock. Davey thought, ‘I guess you guys aren't immortal anymore, huh?’
The rogue vampires, now horrifically mutated, had gone so far as to grant the power of immortality even to their lowliest ranks. It was evident that the presence or absence of certain entities from the abyss affected this situation. The vampire Davey had annihilated with his transcendent black magic exhibited a force that perfectly mirrored the subtle sensation marking every instance of the vampires deploying their immortality.
Naturally, once the entity providing them power through the rift disappeared, it was inevitable for the vampires' twisted immortality to vanish. A sense of foreboding had been there, but the confirmation was chilling nonetheless.
"Gulp...gulp..." The defeat of one vampire within a split second had a chilling effect on the rest. They instinctively recoiled from Davey, sensing that something had gone terribly wrong. One of them, desperate to survive, reached out toward a nearby girl, intending to take a hostage.
"Don't move, or this one dies."
Well, hostage situations were Davey's forte. Holding the subdued vampire by the back of his neck, Davey warned the others, "I was faster. Hands off! Or else."
"Ugh... You vile human!"
"Who tried to snatch a hostage first?"
"This despicable woman..."
Crack!!
One particularly angry vampire was suddenly flung backward by an unexpected impact, and he splattered against a solid rock. Concurrently, a pure, brilliant light began to form in Davey's hand.
[6th Level]
[Holy Fire Ball]
Zwoosh!!
The vampires, sensing the impending danger, started to distance themselves from Davey. Unfazed, he pointed his radiant hand toward one of them and released the amassed light. "Didn't I tell you not to move?"
A massive column of light, tens of centimeters in radius, shot toward them. The vampires, realizing the imminent danger, tried to flee.
"Argh, aaaaargh!"
But before they could make their escape, they were engulfed by the sacred flame, reduced to nothing more than ashes.
‘Quite the spectacle,’ Davey admitted.
Lower-ranking vampires, who were not blessed with the true power of immortality, had no choice but to accept their demise when inflicted with a fatal wound.
"No, you can't be-!" one vampire cried out in realization of the attacker's identity.
But even before his cry could fully escape his lips, Davey swept his legs from beneath him. As he fell, Davey pressed his hand against the vampire's forehead, grinning like a madman.
"Don't call a perfectly fine man a woman."
[8th Level Holy Magic]
[Large Holy Fire Ball]
Boom!!!!
An enormous shockwave accompanied by a concentrated holy flame swallowed him whole, resembling a dragon's breath. As another comrade turned to nothing but ashes, the remaining vampires scattered in a desperate attempt to escape.
"They're getting away!" several students exclaimed, yet Davey made no move to chase the fleeing vampires.
"Go on, Illyna. It's up to you now."
"You... just you wait and see." She displayed a sly grin that swiftly hardened into an icy mask of determination. Then, she drew her silver greatsword, Caldeiras.
Suddenly, a blue aura erupted from her, and a sharp energy blade formed at the tip of her sword.
Thump!!!!
The agility of a sword master was an asset, a strategic weapon even. The wrath she felt facing the bane of her existence was immense, further augmented by the prank Davey had pulled on her.
She vanished in a flash of her sword, leaving the students to bear the brunt of the shockwave. They collapsed to the ground, staring blankly ahead.
"What in the world... What just happened…?" they murmured in disbelief and shock.
Davey approached them, scanning the fallen students bleeding on the ground. Even though they had undergone intensive training in a short period, they were still not ready for actual combat.
"You're fearless, aren't you? Running headfirst into battle, do you even know where you are?"
The students fell silent, unable to respond. Davey glanced at them once more before reaching into the void again, retrieving several bottles of potion. Davey sprayed the concoction over those who were critically injured. The students looked at the potion with curiosity, wondering what it could be.
It was commonly known that there was no such thing as a miracle cure-all potion that could heal everything simply by being consumed or sprayed on.
"Shaira Minsti, come here."
Upon hearing Davey's somewhat lighter voice, a girl with her hair tied in a ponytail looked at him startled.
"H-how do you know my name..."
"Molly Saelyn, Alyssa Yosefov, come out and stop hiding."
The students whose names Davey called were visibly surprised and slowly approached him with widened eyes. It seemed they still had not figured out who Davey was. Undeniably, it was not a matter of facial recognition; the issue was that Davey's stature had significantly diminished, making it hard for them to recognize him.
"Um... Who are you? How do you know our names..." Alyssa Yosefov questioned the woman before her with a cautious look on her face. It was inevitable that she would be confused, as it was unusual for a stranger to suddenly know them so well, despite having saved them.
In response to Alyssa's cautious approach, Davey gently rolled up her sleeve.
"Eek…"
Her swollen, reddened arm came into view. It was a clear fracture, and a nasty one at that.
"It's a complete fracture. It needs to be set correctly, so grit your teeth."
Snap!
"Aaaaah!!!"
Alyssa Yosefov collapsed, screaming in pain, causing the other students to stand up abruptly. They looked at Davey warily.
"Why are you doing this? Who are you?"
‘I'm your teacher,’ Davey thought.
Just as Davey was about to respond to the question, a boy with an annoying look on his face appeared from behind and blocked Davey's path.
"You idiots! Is it right to be wary of the person who just saved your lives?! Such poor manners, even in front of a lady! Are all royalty and nobles like you? Did you think she is our crazy teacher?"
‘Crazy teacher?’ Davey thought.
In contrast to Davey's surprise, the other students nodded in apparent agreement. Satisfied with their response, the boy named Celvice turned to Davey and smiled brightly, despite his broken ribs. It was impressive how cheerful he could be despite his injury.
"Haha, sir, I don't even know how to express my gratitude! Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I'm Celvi..."
Mid-sentence, Davey's small hand landed on Celvice's baby face. Normally, Davey could have grabbed his entire face with one hand, but due to his shrunken size, he could only grab Celvice's cheek and jaw.
"I do remember telling you to think carefully first when assessing an opponent."
"Arghhhhhhhh!!!"
"Celvice, do my words amuse you?"
"Uh... Aaargh!! This... this touch!! Could it be, Mr. Davey?!"
As he screamed in surprise, Davey instinctively pulled his hand back and stepped away. His clear embarrassment was evident, a slip-up he couldn't recover from.
‘What's with this kid? Scary,’ Davey remarked inwardly.
* * *
The students' gaze keenly followed Davey's movements, their eyes reflecting confusion.
"Um... Mr. Davey?"
"Yes?"
"Are you really... I mean, you're the Saint of the continent and also..."
"A psychopath teacher!"
"Who called me a psychopath?"
One student cringed and hid at Davey's question. However, he was soon dragged out in front of Davey due to the relentless heckling of his peers. Such was the warmth of their camaraderie.
"You traitors!"
"If you want to die, die alone."
"Don't drag us into this."
‘So heartwarming indeed.’ Davey was amused.
"So, a psychopath, huh?"
"Ahahah..."
The boy let out an awkward laugh as he observed Davey's smile.
"But are you really our teacher? You’re a woman... Aargh!!"
The punishment was swift.
"Te-Teacher! I'm sorry! I was wrong!"
Watching the boy scream, Davey wore a sinister smile as he increased the pressure.
Thud!! Thump!!
While Illyna's mana raged wildly, indicating that she had started dealing with the vampires, Davey's focus remained solely on the students.
"Just one more time," Davey said quietly, his gaze fixed on him, "If you make another uncalled-for comment about me being a 'lady' or 'woman'..."
Davey fell silent, causing those around him to nervously swallow. He ran a finger across his throat and smiled coldly. He said, "I trust you can figure out what would happen. Do I truly appear to be a woman to you? Are your eyes merely for show?"
Davey thought, ‘Currently, I'm genderless. My appearance has changed accordingly, but the only elements that could possibly make me look feminine are my hair and facial features.’
"Well... Your physique does seem more masculine than feminine."
"Honestly, it's easy to get confused. These days, who judges someone based on their body? They look at the face first. The great alchemist Bleeping, who studies humans, said that when people meet, they first focus on the face. And your voice seems to have become more neutral than before, Teacher."
Davey shifted his gaze to the protesting student, who immediately backed off, trembling as if he had seen a ghost. What was the point of having a conversation with these students?
Meanwhile, another student clapped his hands and said, "That's right. The silver-haired lady asked us to bring you to her if we ever saw you, Mr. Davey."
"Silver-haired? Oh... That incredibly beautiful person..."
"Really?"
"What's with you guys? Didn't you guys only met her once by chance?"
"How can we forget such a beautiful person?"
Upon hearing one boy's comment, the other boys agreed, and the female students couldn't help but display jealous expressions.
She would definitely be looking for Davey. It would be polite to go to her quickly if she was throwing such cute tantrums.
"Oh! Speaking of which, representatives from the alliance came to our territory! They said you disappeared!"
"That's right! That's right!"
Davey thought, ‘Is the war not completely over yet? And I'm being accused of desertion for not going back?’
"Who can stop me when I say I'm knocking off work?"
‘I've done enough,’ Davey thought.
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