༺ Eyes of a Dragon and the Human Heart (41) ༻
Facing me were a group of anxious students.
My reflection in their frightened eyes mirrored a rather terrifying figure—hair and uniform stained with blood, and seemingly blazing golden eyes. To top it off, in my hand was a hatchet tainted with the blood of demonic beasts.
Their fear was understandable. I looked like the spitting image of a murderer.
Moreover, I had also knocked out the screaming young man, who appeared to be their leader, with a single strike of the hatchet mid-sentence.
Although the thought had crossed my mind, I had no intention of punishing them, nor did the situation allow it.
They were the bastards who had harassed Leto, but it wasn’t so severe as to inflict lasting damage on them. I also had to chase after the princess, and I simply didn’t have the time for them.
I decided to let them off.
Their recent brush with death was punishment enough. It was likely their first encounter with death, and their eyes were still glistening with tears, evidence of their fear and struggle. They were undoubtedly exhausted, both physically and mentally.
Further resorting to violence would only waste precious time, and a threat would be sufficient to ensure they don’t ever cross me again… Except, even without me saying anything, my presence seemed to be enough of a threat.
“P-Please spare us…”
A feminine voice emerged from the midst of the students, who were teetering on the brink of tears, and pleaded for mercy with a stammer. Her legs appeared to be on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
Just what did they think of me?
I suppressed a hollow chuckle with a bitter heart.
I had never taken an innocent life. The only person I had killed so far was Mr. Gilford, and he was a demonic human. At most, I had only cut off a few limbs, and while I do admit that was rather excessive, I wasn’t entirely in my right mind. Still, I seemed to have retained a semblance of self-control, considering I had severed them with clean, precise cuts. I had even heard that their recovery was going well.
Briefly aggrieved by the thoughts swirling in my mind, I swiftly calmed myself.
Yeah, there was room for them to misunderstand. In fact, it might even be better to utilize their misunderstanding in this situation.
“Uhkyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
Shrill screams battered against my ears as I tossed the hatchet into the air, but contrary to their fear, the hatchet merely shook after harmlessly digging into the ground beside the female student.
The anxiety in their eyes intensified along with their desperation to survive. After all, they had narrowly escaped death only to face it once again.
I had no intention of killing or even physically conversing with them, but I deliberately allowed them to cling to their fear.
My only concern was the princess’ whereabouts.
My expression turned serious, and my voice, grave.
“…Where is Her Imperial Highness?”
One of them gasped before stuttering out a question in response.
“Hieeeek! J-Just what do you plan on doing to Her Imperial Highness?”
-Pak!
The hatchet returned to my grasp.
It was a technique I frequently used, utilizing the ever-changing principle of ‘Movement Within Stillness’. This allowed me to abruptly alter the hatchet’s trajectory, but due to my incomplete mastery, I could only make a single change for now.
Nevertheless, just that was enough to extinguish the man’s fleeting courage.
“Answer me.”
I uttered only two words, and yet tears welled in his eyes out of sheer terror.
“S-She went ahead! Her knights were carving a path through the demonic beasts, so she should have reached the academy by now!”
A satisfied smile floated on my lips, pleased with what I heard. It appeared she had heeded my advice to increase her knights.
I was initially planning on threatening them a little further as a lesson for harassing Leto, but since they provided useful information, I figured I’d let them be.
As I readied myself to leave, their injuries drew my attention. While most were superficial, there were several that looked to be quite severe. As academy students, they were capable of administering emergency treatment and staunching the bleeding, but there was a risk of lingering aftereffects.
I hesitated.
Helping them didn’t align with my personality of thoroughly destroying anyone who crossed me or my people. Moreover, considering they had crossed the line with their harassments, worrying about them would only result in a loss for me. Despite this, I clicked my tongue and took out the last healing potion before tossing it onto the ground.
Their eyes became vacant as the sound of the bottle rolling across the ground broke the silence.
“Don’t do anything you might regret in the future. Use it to treat the severe injuries. If you guys sustain any lingering damage, you all will be the first ones to face expulsion next semester.”
Then, just as I was about to launch off the ground, I once again stopped in my tracks.
I had almost forgotten to warn them.
“And all of you better apologize to Leto properly… You guys know what’ll happen if you don’t, right?”
Leaving them with that warning, I resumed my steps without expecting a reply. I just assumed that they would understand. However, as the space around me contracted, rendering the landscape into thin, colorful lines, their voices reached my ears.
“…Y-Yes!”
Hearing their voices filled with both fear and relief, a sigh escaped my lips.
That potion was the one I received from Senior Delphine… It seemed that I would have to ask for more next time.
**
The upheaval in the city swiftly reached the academy.
It wasn’t merely the news of the ambush that reached the academy. Rather, the academy found itself besieged by demonic beasts.
With the majority of the academy’s forces participating in the Homecoming procession, the academy was left in disarray, grappling with the demonic beasts in their vulnerable state.
Demonic crows descended from the sky, releasing demonic cats upon the academy’s expansive, open grounds. Soon, these grounds proved to be liabilities as the beasts infiltrated the academy perimeters, cunningly disguised as stray cats.
In response, non-combatants within the academy hastily sought refuge inside the buildings, and the remaining combatants, consisting of professors and others who stayed behind for various reasons, rallied together to defend those buildings. Meanwhile, the academy’s security forces mobilized, chasing down the scattered beasts within the academy while guiding panicked students towards secure buildings.
It marked an unprecedented event in the long history of the academy. Not even the Great Conquering Emperor Aedalus had dared to forcefully breach the academy with his troops. Yet now, hundreds of demonic beasts ran rampant within the academy walls.
Even beyond the academy, such a large-scale assault of demonic beasts was unheard of in recent times. The last recorded case of an attack on a comparable scale dated back to the War of the Gods and Demons.
Several professors, aware of this fact, felt some ominous anxiety creeping in. However, the immediate threat of demonic beasts left no room for any contemplation, leaving their thoughts to wait until after overcoming the crisis.
And I stood at the epicenter of this war within the academy.
Several beasts running amok within the premises lunged towards me, only to be swiftly slain with a few sword strokes.
As numerous as they were, they were relatively weak. The strongest among them were mid-grade, with the majority being low-grade beasts that even first-year students would be able to defeat with some resolve.
Yet, even these feeble demonic beasts posed a significant threat in large numbers. No matter how weak low-grade beasts were, they were still dangerous for non-combatants and the injured, which was was precisely why the academy security guards were frantically running about.
I didn’t know that they would also launch an offensive against the academy.
My head quickly became entangled by the unexpected invasion.
Emma.
Emma’s face was the first thing that came to my mind. I had heard that she regularly moved between her workshop, the dorm, and the temple, burdened by a sense of responsibility for the injuries of Young Lady Lupesia and her entourage.
I had repeatedly told her that even if someone had to be held accountable, it would be me, but in the end, her stubbornness prevailed.
“I’m not going to let it become your fault, Ian. I refuse to be a burden to you.”
Recollections of her warm voice and faint smile surfaced as my feet instinctively pushed my body forward.
At this moment, nothing else mattered—not the letter and not even the princess.
Only the thought of keeping Emma safe echoed within me.
Emma. I had to save Emma.
I had vowed to protect her—to not let her get hurt ever again.
I had sworn to do so ever since I saw her lying unconscious atop the hospital bed with a pallid complexion after I had withheld the information regarding the danger in the forest that was mentioned in the first letter.
I didn’t want to see the herbalist cry again.
I didn’t want to see her pale and silent again.
My steps, which had accelerated into a sprint at some point, relentlessly carried me forward.
The first stop was the dormitory.
“Emma? She hasn’t returned yet… W-What should we do?”
Then, the workshop.
“She’s not in her workshop. She wasn’t at her dorm, either?”
With each passing moment, anxiety tightened my heart, pushing me to the brink of insanity.
Ignoring the attacking beasts, my steps quickened, and my breath grew ragged.
Only the temple remained.
I silently prayed to the Heavenly God.
‘Please. Please let Emma be there. Please, let me not be too late.’
As if my plea was heard, Emma soon entered my sight.
Surrounded by several cats, Emma stood with torn and dirtied clothes, arms spread open against two demonic cats.
Behind her, a woman with golden hair trembled helplessly on the ground.
‘Who was she again? Young Lady Lupesia?’
I couldn’t give a damn. The only things registering in my mind were the two cats leaping into the air towards Emma.
Time seemed to freeze, and within that suspended moment, my hatchet swiftly shot out like a beam of light, tracing a deadly arc.
Two heads tumbled onto the ground as blood spouted forth like a fountain.
The two cats didn’t even know what had killed them as they died.
Around us, the eyes of the lurking beasts that were hunting for an opening gathered on me.
However, it was too late.
Without stopping my legs, I decisively kneed the closest beast squarely in its jaws, snapping its head back with a brutal crunch.
Then, plunging into its space, I pinned down the cat and ruthlessly pummeled its face. There wasn’t even a need to use my fists. Remembering that I had a sword, I thrust it right into its forehead.
-Gyaaaaaaaaong-!.
The beast’s death throes echoed as I found myself once again drenched in hot blood.
Although I felt several startled gazes focusing on me, I ignored it as I was already half out of my mind.
My vision turned red, and my voice leaked out in-between gasps.
“You… dare… hurt… Emma?”
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