I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 679: Approaching Light (3)

The flower field was completely breached.

Finally, as the path opened, people who had been just twiddling their thumbs until then started to move.

"Hurry! We don't know when the path will close!"

"Move quickly! We need to arrive first!"

The infantry who had barely been holding the line began to move.

Thanks to Catherine burning the flower field as she passed through, they finally realized they could do something and their eyes gleamed.

The armored corps that had been halted started moving, and soldiers lined up in formation to advance.

They saw the Demon King's army fighting near the flower field, but seeing the priests confronting them, they decided to pass by.

A vortex was swirling as the light giant wielded a shield and spear, engaging in hand-to-hand combat at invisible speeds.

It was clear that if they tried to help, they would only get in the way.

"Ignore them and pass through!"

"This isn't a battle for us to worry about!"

Sedina, who had been handling the artificial world tree, immediately detected this change in the battlefield.

"The flower field, did it all burn?"

Julia felt the same sensation.

She was performing fusion magic with Sedina, so they were sharing some sensations.

Because of this, she could feel the thorn vines disappearing and the flower field burning, just like Sedina did.

"What exactly happened?"

"It seems the Saint has appeared. Leading the priestesses."

"Ha, the Saint. This is already giving me a headache."

Julia frowned.

Of all things, it was the Saint. Moreover, it was clear from what Catherine had shown that she wasn't just a Saint in name only.

It was truly nothing short of a miracle.

The proof was that she completely burned away the thorn vines and sleep flower field that others couldn't even budge.

Even Violetta and Vierano, who were protecting the flower field, couldn't stop her.

Soon, an enormous number of soldiers would rush in.

But it wasn't so desperate as to give up hope.

There was a manual prepared for this kind of situation.

"We just need to do our part."

Sedina's words felt a bit cold, but this was right.

The breached defense line couldn't be helped. They needed to act according to the manual prepared for this scenario.

Sedina and Julia weren't among those who needed to act.

While they were filled with the desire to help immediately, they forcibly suppressed it.

If the two of them left their posts, the gates of the fortress would be breached.

"Don't worry too much. I'm sure that person will be able to stop them."

Hearing the strong trust in Sedina's voice, Julia nodded without questioning.

"Right. Let's do what we need to do."

"Yes."

Though Sedina answered like that, there was actually something she hadn't properly told Julia.

Currently, Sedina was resonating with the roots of the world tree, receiving various information from plants in the surrounding area.

Because of this, she knew detailed information that others didn't.

Among them, the first thing that caught her eye was an unexpected person with Saint Catherine.

'That child Rene. Why is she here? No, rather, why is she with the Saint?'

Rene, a girl she had known for a while, but recently she had become particularly irritating.

It was because Rudger had been taking special care of her.

As if there was something in the past between the two.

What annoyed Sedina even more was that after the Nirva incident, Rudger and Rene had disappeared for a while.

They came back later, but continuous incidents broke out immediately after, so people didn't notice there was something between them, except for Sedina.

The two disappeared at the same time and returned around the same time.

This was evident from the series of events that took place in Isla Machina across the sea after Rudger disappeared from Leathervelk.

The fact that Rene had now joined hands with Catherine was quite displeasing to Sedina.

But Sedina decided not to think too deeply about it.

There were other concerning things besides focusing just on Rene.

'Why on earth did those kids come?'

~Bretus shoreline~

On the beach where waves crashed onto the sand, soldiers were busy moving about.

Shouts and orders coming from everywhere.

Even the loud noise of armored vehicles moving.

In this space that was several times louder than a bustling marketplace, some people appeared.

Looking closely, one could tell there was something strange about them, but no one around questioned it.

That's how urgent the situation was, and how busy everyone was.

"Hmm. This way it shouldn't be too difficult to get there."

Madeline, with her long black bushy hair, nodded with satisfaction.

Wearing a military uniform with a helmet on her head, she was disguised to avoid revealing her identity.

In fact, her disguise worked perfectly, and no one gave her a second glance.

The problem was the person who came with Madeline.

"Um, Master. Is this really okay?"

Aidan asked with a worried voice.

Aidan, who should be at Theon, was now in Bretus wearing the same military uniform as Madeline.

Even Aidan, who had always maintained a bright and innocent appearance, seemed unclear about why he was here.

"I still don't understand why I'm here."

"Why? Of course it's because I called for you."

"No. I mean, I don't understand why you called for me."

Aidan could feel suffocated just by looking at the surrounding atmosphere.

This was a battlefield.

Not something he had only heard about or read in newspapers and books, but a real battlefield.

Moreover, it wasn't just an ordinary war, but a holy war against the Demon King.

Aidan hesitated for a moment at the thought of the Demon King.

'Teacher Rudger.'

Rudger Chelici.

No, the man who should now be called Heathcliff had become the Demon King who declared war against the world.

Demon King. It was hard to believe even after hearing it, but that was the reality.

Aidan had vaguely suspected that Rudger was hiding something, but he never imagined it would be something this incredible.

Whatever the case, the holy war had begun.

Whether the fate of the world truly hung on this war was uncertain, but it was indeed a war of unprecedented scale in history.

Aidan thought that as a student, he couldn't be deeply involved in this war.

It was true that he was stronger than his peers, and perhaps even stronger than veteran magicians.

But he was not yet an adult and still had immature aspects.

He didn't fit in a war at all.

Knowing this well, the reason Aidan was here was because Madeline had called him.

"Actually, you didn't even really call me. You practically forced me to come."

"Oh. Just put aside such trivial matters."

"Trivial?!"

When Aidan couldn't hold back and burst out, Madeline rubbed her ear with her finger as if it hurt.

"Come on. Just act like you normally do. Why are you suddenly pretending to be normal? The real you would be jumping around happily like a puppy in the snow even on this battlefield."

"Pretending to be normal..."

Aidan trailed off, apparently deeply shocked by Madeline’s assessment.

Quickly regaining his composure, Aidan denied Madeline’s words.

"No. Even I wouldn't be running around wildly on a battlefield like this. Rather, are you okay? You seem more normal than I expected."

"I'm always normal. If anything, this kind of place suits me better."

Madeline looked at the busy soldiers with somewhat wistful eyes.

Though she now worked under Erendir, before that she was from a military special forces unit belonging to Black Ops, carrying out secret missions.

On the outside, she smiled and spoke brightly and cheerfully, but the missions she had carried out were dark things unknown to the public.

Naturally, many were dirty, filthy, and cruel, and Madeline’s hands were stained with blood that could not be washed away.

Ironically, it was the man now called the Demon King by the public who ended that life.

Of course, it wasn't through legitimate means.

If he hadn't completely massacred all her team members, and if Madeline, left alone, hadn't begged for her life, she would have died too.

But thanks to that, she survived and was able to live a new life.

Working under the First Princess was quite difficult, but at the same time, it was also rewarding.

That's why Madeline stood on this battlefield again.

"Anyway, don't worry. I don't intend to put you in danger."

"Really?"

"Hey, you don't trust your master's word?"

"Given your usual behavior, of course I can't trust you."

Madeline gave Aidan a light knock on the head.

Normally, Aidan would have yelped, but this time he just sheepishly rubbed his head.

"Oh my. Have you grown up a lot? Have you become truly manly while I wasn't looking?"

Aidan had always seemed robust compared to his peers, but after enrolling in Theon and experiencing various incidents, he had grown even more.

"I thought you had grown when I saw you in the capital back then, but what have you been through since? Did you eat something wrong?"

"There have been various things."

"Well, whatever. Anyway, let's move."

"Move? Are we really going to war?"

When Aidan asked with a serious face, Madeline grabbed his neck and pulled him close.

"Master?"

"Aidan. Listen carefully."

Madeline whispered to Aidan.

"This war is artificial."

"Artificial war? Isn't that what war usually is?"

"That's true too. But would you believe it if I told you that this war, named a holy war, was caused by the power of just one person?"

"That one person isn't Teacher Rudger, is it?"

"The opposite. The one who started this war is Salesin van Bretus. The current Holy Emperor."

Madeline told Aidan all about the hidden side of this war.

"Currently, the leaders of various countries on the continent are in a brainwashed state by Salesin."

"What?!"

"Shh. Be quiet. Is this something to proudly shout about? Just listen quietly."

Aidan answered by nodding his head slightly.

"Anyway, how should I put it...? That kind of brainwashing is some sort of ability passed down through generations in the Lumensis Order, which can control people's minds as they please."

"So that's why the war started?"

"Yes. With certain conditions, they gathered armies through the leaders of each country and waged war."

"Then all the soldiers here..."

Towards the worried Aidan, Madeline shook her head.

"That's not the case. The influence was mainly on the leadership. It didn't reach those at the bottom."

"Then they are..."

"Yes. They're merely victims who know nothing, dragged into a war started arbitrarily by a single individual."

"...What do we need to do?"

Aidan asked, strength in his eyes.

"Oh my. You've grown. In the past, you would have worried about this and that first, but now you're directly asking about the purpose."

"Please answer me."

"First of all, our goal is not to stop this war. Even if we tried, we couldn't stop it with just the two of us. Instead, we two will do something else."

"It's related to your and my anti-magic, isn't it?"

"Kid. Your perception has improved a lot. That's right. My anti-magic and your anti-magic. This might be the key needed for this situation."

"Is that possible?"

"It is. Maybe."

Saying that, Madeline suddenly recalled a memory from the capital.

When a black storm erupted from underground in the capital and raged above ground.

Madeline, together with Aidan, released anti-magic to its extreme, and for a moment, split that storm in half, only to open the way for Rudger.

'That black storm was certainly not magic.'

She heard later that the pitch-black phenomenon was imbued with the power of a demon's authority.

They had precisely cut it with the power of anti-magic.

The principle of anti-magic is close to the ability to finely penetrate magic power and crush the opponent's magic from its foundation.

But the fact that it worked on something other than magic was a first-time experience for Madeline.

'Perhaps it was because I was the only user of anti-magic until now, so I didn't know.'

When used together with Aidan, the power was not just doubled.

The combined power of their anti-magic was much stronger, and the result was difficult to express in precise numbers.

Whatever the case, the important thing was that there needed to be another person who could use anti-magic together.

That's why Madeline had brought Aidan to this battlefield.

"So I'm counting on you."

"Ah, um. I'll try my best. But if it really gets dangerous, you'll protect me, right?"

Madeline answered with a mischievous smile.

"I'll try my best."