Chapter 118
Brahmus' arm moved, crashing toward Gilbert.
[You…! I won’t eat! No taste! You fly, pest! I’ll crush, squash, flatten…!]
Gilbert darted like a mosquito, barely escaping.
A heart-pounding close call, but it confird one thing.
"Only stellar force can wound him…!"
The power symbolizing the Cosmos Empire. The orderly authority demons of chaos abhorred.
‘…Problems aren’t few.’
Gilbert, narrowly escaping, trembled. The tiny scratch on Brahmus' side began regenerating. Stellar force sparked in resistance, but expecting much from such a faint wound was futile.
"Not small hits, we need a big one."
At Gilbert’s words, everyone thought of one thing. My ultimate technique. My trump card against great demons. The finest holy diamond bullet. That was likely the only way.
"Hey, cadets! Fall back!"
A small fireball flew, hitting Brahmus. It caused a massive explosion, engulfing his upper body.
A thick water cannon struck his side, wind blades slashed his body, earth spears pierced him, and rapidly growing trees bound him.
Brahmus was massive, but the successive attacks were equally large-scale.
"The teachers!"
Teachers, positioned on academy rooftops, joined the fight. All gold knight-level, their firepower was on another level.
[Heh, hehehe, hahaha! Useless…! I’m strong! I’m tough! Brahmus! A monster!]
Unscathed amid the barrage, Brahmus was an unstoppable beast. Screams echoed across the academy.
"Damn it, it’s not fazed?! Is that even possible?!"
"Attack! Attack! Whatever magic it is, there’s a limit to shock absorption!"
"What, what, what is that?! Where did it co from?! How do we beat that?!"
"Where’s Teacher Hectia?! Where’s the platinum knight?!"
"H-hic, the teachers will handle it! They will!"
"This place is sealed by a barrier! We’re trapped!"
"Don’t flee! Fight! Are you proud academy cadets?!"
A cauldron of chaos. Such was the terror of a demon’s descent.
Yet Imperium Academy lived up to its title as the world’s best.
Teachers squeezed their heart’s mana, relentlessly attacking Brahmus.
A third of the cadets fought Brahmus, a third trembled, doing nothing, and a third wailed, pounding the barrier to escape.
Later, Martin would remark that compared to the chaos when demon lords descended worldwide, this was remarkably orderly and responsible.
I observed it all. Not blinking once. My eyes bloodshot with focus.
‘…Think.’
This was the Imperium Empire’s capital. The academy, second only to the imperial palace. If reinforcents hadn’t co yet, they likely wouldn’t.
Probably due to the barrier encasing the area. From outside, it might look like a peaceful academy.
Couldn’t we do sothing about the barrier?
Know-It-All (Lv 4) analyzed that the barrier’s core is Demon Lord Brahmus.
Back to Brahmus.
A significant hit on Brahmus will damage the barrier.
Small hits were useless. The combined attacks from teachers and cadets were re stalling. No, not even that—just flailing.
Only one. Only Gilbert could wound Brahmus. …Though even that wasn’t aningful.
‘I need to prepare a big hit. A massive one.’
Anger surged, but my power wasn’t much different from Gilbert’s. The finest holy diamond bullet could deal aningful damage, but look at his size. He dwarfed even large academy buildings. Unless I shoved the barrel into his brain, it wouldn’t work.
‘No answer now.’
I needed to boost my power quickly.
‘Luckily, I have plenty of points.’
Points from various achievents remained, even after upgrading key skills.
…This damned situation, occurring years earlier than the original, was likely due to those achievents!
‘Remaining points: 11,500…!’
The investnt target was clear.
The core of anti-demon warfare. The cosmic order that expels evil and brings harmony. Cosmos' stellar force.
Spent 2,000 points to upgrade Stellar Force from Lv 3 to Lv 4.
Spent 2,500 points to upgrade Stellar Force from Lv 4 to Lv 5.
Spent 3,000 points to upgrade Stellar Force from Lv 5 to Lv 6.
Spent 3,500 points to upgrade Stellar Force from Lv 6 to Lv 7.
Spent 4,000 points to upgrade Stellar Force from Lv 7 to Lv 8.
Spent 4,500 points to upgrade Stellar Force from Lv 8 to Lv 9.
Spent 5,000 points to upgrade Stellar Force from Lv 9 to Lv 10.
Remaining points: 500.
Cosmos, the great cosmic order, sensed the growth of a stellar force user. It will test your worthiness.
An unexpected system alert, but the die was cast.
I felt a change. My stellar force swelled nearly tenfold, obeying better than before.
Countless techniques and applications for stellar force flooded my mind.
None of that mattered.
Only one thing was needed now. Stellar force condensation.
The dium: the world’s most precious gem. Diamond.
I drew the finest holy diamond bullet.
Opening the shotgun’s chamber, I loaded my one-shot trump card.
Click, the chamber closed loudly.
Looking at the shotgun, I felt affection. It had been damaged and repaired countless tis on my arduous path.
The Peacemaker’s Star Child once said the current shotgun couldn’t handle even 50% of the diamond bullet’s power, let alone 100%.
As I grew stronger, the shotgun was upgraded repeatedly. A single-shot, ultra-long-range, ultra-high-firepower weapon.
Mary once asked what differed between a revolver and my shotgun. I’d said it was for killing enemies farther and stronger. True to that, my shotgun was optimized for one-shot kills.
Thus, Nerjin and I focused on one thing.
Ensuring it could handle the output of the finest holy diamond bullet.
We’d worked tirelessly, but it wasn’t easy.
Honestly, I wasn’t confident.
[Still! Hungry! More! Fear! Terror!]
I couldn’t guarantee it would work against that colossal demon lord.
But.
"I couldn’t do anything there. Just spouted lofty words."
"I’ll apologize again here. I wasn’t in my right mind then. I’m sorry."
"I’ll go ahead. Join . I’m counting on you."
It pissed off.
"Hearing that from Gilbert, if I don’t go, it feels like losing…!"
I didn’t care about anyone else. Their wealth or glory was none of my concern.
But Gilbert was different! Losing to him was unacceptable!
[This is Gilbert from Class A.]
Then, the academy’s battered broadcast equipnt crackled with a noisy voice.
[We need to buy ti. If possible, provoke him to expose openings. But he mustn’t move.]
Amid the ruined academy, campus speakers blared the fallen crown prince’s impassioned speech.
[I have a trump card. A trump card to land a hit on that demon. No failure. We’ll succeed. Please help.]
…Damn it, Gilbert understood best.
The broadcast echoing across the academy snapped cadets and teachers to attention.
"Do it."
"What do we do?!"
"Gilbert! Give orders!"
The protagonist’s declaration was a lifeline for a boat navigating a storm.
A teacher climbed a tall building. Odric, the fire magic instructor.
"Fire mages, gather here! I’m giving orders!"
On another building, Beryl, a water magic specialist, stood. Beyond, Paka, an earth magic practitioner.
"Water mages, assemble! Snap out of it! This is an ergency! Not a ga! Think warti! An unprecedented attack on the academy, a demon lord from ancient continental myths!"
"Earth mages, gather! To counter that demon’s massive attacks, we must unite!"
While mages grouped by elent.
Valiant warriors assembled.
"Fall back! Don’t think you can endure! That mass' impact will turn us to pulp in one hit!"
"Want to die?! This isn’t an artificial dungeon! Retreat if it’s dangerous!"
"It’s a predation pattern! Evade! Flank him!"
Glory be. The bravest warriors fought at the forefront, none deserting. Teachers proved their worth, honorable knights.
[Oh, ooo! Vermin…! Annoying…!]
Brahmus' rciless physical attacks and devouring everything in sight.
Even in the face of such overwhelming violence, warriors held their ground, buying ti.
"Fire!"
Archers waiting around loosed arrows. Explosions and smoke from Brahmus' body were mind-numbing.
Their commander was Faris, a gold knight of the Quesharow Family.
"We must scatter his attention!"
Even if their attacks were futile against his thick hide and armor, they couldn’t give up.
The scene resembled a battlefield.
‘Found her!’
The resistance sparked by Gilbert’s beacon of courage.
In it, I desperately searched for soone.
I found her near Brahmus. A massive tree trunk sprouted, blocking Brahmus' arm, slowing him slightly. It saved a life with a fleeting dodge.
A chick-like pink spring blood against winter.
"Teacher Hailey."
"Cadet Martin! You’re safe! And I’m not a teacher yet!"
With Hailey’s gestures, plants grew, flowers blood, climbing Brahmus' body. Not to bind.
Venomous weeds and mana-draining carnivorous plants.
But they often failed to pierce Brahmus' hide.
Yet Hailey didn’t give up. Knowing she’d fail, she tenaciously did what she could.
"I need your help."
Playing spring with her hands, she turned to with effort. Strained but trusting.
"How can I help?"
"I’ll escort you."
No ti to explain. I scooped Hailey into a princess carry and leapt, scaling buildings.
"Eek?!"
Hailey’s pink eyes widened. Brahmus grew distant.
As we withdrew from the battlefield, Gilbert’s voice rang vividly from the academy’s ubiquitous broadcasters.
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