I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 668: The Wolf Walking in the Abyss (1)

"Wolf sounds?"

"I've heard about it."

A wolf's howling echoing through the fog.

It was enough to eat away at a person's mind, but to those gathered here, wolves weren't even a threat.

Even a single knight had the skill to slaughter a pack of wolves at once.

However, the wolves howling here now weren't ordinary beasts.

"According to survivor testimonies, they look like creatures molded from pitch-black mud."

"Similar to cryptids. No, they are cryptids."

"Since they're cryptids controlled by the Demon King, perhaps we should call them demonic beasts."

-Awoooo!

-Awoooooo!!

The wolf howls grew louder and more numerous.

When one howled, others followed in succession from different locations.

The howls resonated with each other, vibrating and buzzing in the fog.

Their numbers seemed to be a thousand, or perhaps even more.

Between the gray fog, whitish-black shadows moved quickly.

The sound of beast footsteps, panting breaths and blood-red eyes were clearly visible even through the fog.

"They're coming!"

Cryptids in wolf form are coming and in great numbers.

They couldn't even be described as a pack.

-Thud-thud-thud-thud!

As they approached, the ground vibrated.

It was a legion of wolves.

-Swoosh!

The gray fog scattered as a black tidal wave rushed forward.

That tide was made entirely of black wolves.

A horde of wolves surging forward, unconcerned about tangling with each other.

"We'll block them! Everyone, prepare!"

The magicians stepped forward first.

They deployed magic by manifesting spell formulas with magical power.

Those gathered here were all selected War Mages.

Their skill was at least 4th rank, so their magical output was extraordinary.

-Kugugung!

The ground, infused with magical power, surged upward to create a massive earthen wall.

Sharp spikes protruded from the outer side of the wall.

The black tide collided with the top of the earthen wall.

-Thwack! Thud!

The cryptids were pierced by the wall's spikes and scattered like black liquid.

They didn't stop. When one disappeared, a new one appeared to take its place.

It was an overwhelming quantity that kept surging forward endlessly.

As cracks began to form in the sturdy earthen wall and it was about to collapse, the next magic activated.

-Whoosh!

Massive flames poured down from the top of the wall, engulfing the cryptids.

Like throwing a match onto oil, the flames spread rapidly, causing the cryptids to scream in agony.

In an instant, a sea of fire spread. The stench of burning filled the air.

The gray fog dispersed as a crimson haze rose, and the cryptids became ash while howling.

Although the cryptids vanished, new wolves took their place and charged forward.

-Kwaaaak!

-Awoooo!

After blocking one wave, a second wave surged forward as if the first was merely a test.

Not only were there far more this time, but the wolves were also much larger than before.

-Kwaaang!

A wolf rammed its body into the earthen wall.

The cracked wall that was barely holding collapsed with a rumble.

Through the hazy dust beyond the collapsed wall, successive waves of magic prepared by the magicians flew out.

-Zzzap.

Water that had been spread on the ground froze, holding the wolves' ankles.

The wolves at the front stopped, and those running behind became entangled, creating a bottleneck.

-Rumble!

-Crack-crack-crack!

Just as the wolves were randomly piling up and tangling together, lightning struck from all directions, hitting the wolf pack.

Even with that alone, hundreds of cryptids were reduced to charcoal and vanished.

But the wolves were endless.

Those surging from beyond the fog seemed to have no limit to their numbers as they continued to charge.

"Oh Lord!"

"Protect us with your holy power!"

Holy knights took position at the front.

The holy knights responsible for defense held body-sized rectangular shields in one hand.

They formed a tight wall with their shields, and golden holy power infused the shields.

The wolves couldn't penetrate the wall of holy power.

The skin of wolves that touched the holy power sizzled and burned.

Those that tried to bite the shields had their heads burned by golden flames.

Any wolf that managed to break through was greeted by maces and flails.

-Thwack!

Maces and flails infused with holy power crushed the wolves' skulls.

Wolves with shattered heads vanished, collapsing like black mud.

"Courage to face the darkness!"

"Steely endurance to not yield to the enemy!"

Priests in the rear cast buffs.

Other priests used holy magic to shoot golden flashes of light.

Golden holy magic cutting through the gray fog fell into the center of the wolf pack, causing massive explosions.

-Boom-boom-boom!

Huge explosions occurred everywhere, and wolves caught in them were flung in all directions.

The magicians joined in with their magic.

Occasionally wolves jumped over the wall and charged from above, but knights quickly dispatched them with aura-infused swords before they could penetrate deeper.

"Change!"

"Second row, forward!"

When the holy power in the shields was explosively released in a forward direction, the wolves that had gathered were torn apart.

At that moment, the second row of holy knights stepped forward with their shields, switching places with the front line.

The front-line holy knights immediately focused on recovery with the support of priests.

It was a systematic battle with no gaps in attack or defense.

This alone should have broken the enemy's momentum, but that didn't happen.

The wolves remained ferocious and continued to charge as if they didn't fear death.

They died, died, and died again.

Despite so many deaths, these cryptids kept surging from beyond the fog.

"So there is something after all."

Tarian, the Holy Knight Commander, muttered while glaring at the thick fog.

One of only three Holy Knight Commanders in the Bretus Holy Nation.

With the other two commanders now dead, he was the only remaining commander-level holy knight, and he realized that continuing like this would be disadvantageous.

"Despite holding them off this much, there's no sign of the offensive diminishing. That means there must be some kind of source creating them somewhere around here."

The personnel gathered here could withstand this kind of attack indefinitely.

But what if it continued without a break?

Even with elite members, they were still human and would eventually tire.

On the other hand, whatever trick the Demon King was using, the wolves kept surging endlessly.

It was truly an endless wave of darkness.

"It seems to be the work of the Beast of Gevaudan, as reported."

The deputy commander, a senior holy knight, said.

"I thought so."

The Beast of Gevaudan, the worst cryptid in history that drove the Kingdom of Durman to its downfall.

A singular entity yet also a legion-level being that endlessly reproduces and mass-produces cryptids.

The beast that was reported to have been subjugated in the Durman Kingdom reappeared at the Kunst Auction House in Leathervelk.

It was reported to have disappeared somewhere after that.

"I didn't expect it to appear here again. So the incident at the Kunst Auction House back then was the Demon King's doing after all."

The Beast of Gevaudan.

When he had only heard stories, he thought they were exaggerated, but facing it in reality proved its reputation was well-deserved.

At this rate, they would be worn down in an endless war of attrition.

"Commander Tarian. What will you do? At this rate, we will be pushed back."

"How long can we hold?"

"In this state, we can endure for a full day at least."

"That's enough time for reinforcements to arrive."

Currently, the first vanguard was led by Tarian.

The number of troops in the subsequent forces that would arrive was much greater than those present here now.

With their support, they could slowly advance and sweep away all the cryptids instead of just defending.

"But that's not enough. We don't know what schemes Demon King Heathcliff is plotting even now, so we can't just focus on defense. According to reports, they're deliberately trying to buy time. This current mass attack must be part of that."

"So we need to switch to offense then."

"There must be a main body that keeps summoning these cryptids."

If they could defeat the main body of the Beast of Gevaudan, they wouldn't need to engage in this war of attrition.

"We need to send separate people to take it down."

And that was the role for Tarian, the strongest one present.

"I'll go with you."

It was a dangerous act, but the deputy commander didn't try to stop Tarian.

He didn't even consider the possibility of Tarian's defeat. It was as if the very thought would be blasphemous.

Who was Tarian?

One of only three commander-level holy knights in Bretus, and considered the strongest among the three.

Moreover, the opponent was a cryptid, an axis of evil.

In terms of compatibility, cryptids were weak to holy power, so the fight itself shouldn't be disadvantageous.

Tarian quickly selected members to accompany him to deal with the Beast of Gevaudan.

They couldn't move with large numbers all at once.

While most of the personnel here drew the attention of the cryptids, a small group needed to strike their core.

"I'll open a path!"

Priests and holy knights squeezed out their remaining holy power to deploy powerful techniques.

Heavenly light descended to the ground.

Golden radiance shone down like sunlight over the mass of cryptids.

The wolves, unable to withstand the sacred power, were swept away at once.

The sight of cryptids that had blackened the ground disappearing was somehow satisfying to see.

But the expressions of those defending didn't improve.

They knew that even if they pushed them back now, more would come.

"Damn it. How many more are coming? They just keep surging endlessly. Does this even make sense?"

"Hold on a bit longer. Holy Knight Commander Tarian has moved."

Thanks to the distraction created earlier, Tarian and his special forces members were able to leave their positions and head toward where the Beast of Gevaudan was located.

"If it's the Holy Knight Commander, he can definitely do it. We just need to hold on until then."

After all, the enemy was just wolves that were a bit larger and stronger.

"Huh? What's that?"

At that moment, one knight pointed beyond the fog.

With his particularly sharp eyes, he could see a dim black shadow visible through the fog.

He had thought it would be another wolf-shaped cryptid as usual, but it wasn't.

It was much larger and emitted an overwhelming pressure.

By any measure, it wasn't an ordinary cryptid.

He could feel it staring in their direction.

-Shiver.

A chilling sensation ran down his spine.

Just meeting its gaze gave the illusion of a predator flicking its tongue right in front of him.

Those gathered here were superhumans beyond ordinary people.

Their threshold for fear and pain was much higher than average people.

Yet even they couldn't escape this sense of fear.

"W-what is that...?"

Black energy began to gather around the massive black beast.

That energy, crackling and throwing sparks around, was a pitch-black sphere clearly visible even through the fog.

Soon, the sphere flew toward the crusaders.

-Boom!

Holy Knight Commander Tarian, who had been cutting down wolves, narrowed his eyes at the large vibration felt from behind.

"Commander. What's wrong?"

"That vibration just now. It seems far from the impact caused by magic."

"What? What do you mean...?"

"No. Never mind. Let's move. It's noticed that we've split off. If we waste time here, we'll be surrounded."

Tarian sensed that something had happened to the main force but having come this far, he couldn't turn back to help.

If they moved a bit further, they could reach where the Beast of Gevaudan was.

Wolves that had picked up their scent were already starting to gather and Tarian had to make a choice.

'I'll have to pray that the main force holds until we return.'

Still, with many holy knights and priests from their nation, they shouldn't fall easily.

"Move."

Tarian moved forward, cutting down wolves.

As the fog thinned, they saw a thick darkness covering the ground welcoming them.

Darkness was flowing endlessly from the ground as if an oil field had burst.

Red eyes rose from the darkness, transforming into wolf-shaped cryptids that rushed to the battlefield.

As soon as they were born, they became cryptids and were deployed into battle.

The speed was truly remarkable and beyond that darkness was the culprit of the current situation.

"Is that the Beast of Gevaudan? It's much smaller than I thought."

Wasn't the Beast of Gevaudan supposed to be a giant wolf monster with three heads?

In contrast, that thing didn't look like a wolf at all.

It had a wolf's head, but the body below was human in form.

Moreover, it wore dark armor and even had a cape on its back.

"W-we don't really know either..."

"Whatever it is, I can tell that creature is the master of this darkness."

As its cape touched the ground behind it, darkness arose from there, engulfing the surroundings.

Tarian's sword turned golden.

It looked different from what he had heard in reports, but it didn't matter.

-Grrrr.

At that moment, the beast, which had been looking down, gazed at Tarian with its red eyes.

It slowly rose from its place and reached for a pillar beside it.

'No. That's not a pillar.'

That object, overflowing with pitch-black energy, was a blunt greatsword carved from stone.

-Whoosh.

The wolf lifted the greatsword and rested it on its shoulder.

Its billowing mane made it appear almost devil-like.