Running Away From The Hero! Chapter 41

Published at 3rd of February 2023 03:45:04 PM

RATH 41

TL: Eevee

6. Hell is just beginning. (2)

#4 Their story: The student council president's story [Subtitle: I saw the devil 1]

The breakthrough of the second floor was all but complete.

Of course, we didn't think that we could exit the academy today.

On the first floor was still the academy's strongest, Professors Muam and Harian that hadn't appeared once yet to stop us leaving.

One of the strongest spirit summoners, even among the elves; combined with the gnome race's strongest spirit summoner.

It will probably be an even more brutal battle than what happened just now.

No, come tomorrow, the fourth year's dean might have shaken off his cold and we might be stopped here again.

But, the experience of having broken through at least once is valuable.

Alhough it was designed as a one-time use only move, my strategy worked.

Even if someone other than me used this attack, in an ambush attack this move could deal a surprisingly large amount of damage.

No, perhaps if it's Professor Muam and Professor Harian who spend most of their time by themselves on the first floor, it's possible they might not hear of this tactic from the other teachers.

“Kwahahaha. Wahahahaha!”

It was then.

That we heard a chilling, mad laughter.

“Kwuuugh!”

“Aaaaaghh!”

“Kyaah!”

And four people went flying at the same time.

“I won the bet, Maroon! Since you were the first to be defeated the next staff outing is on you! I'll empty out all your professor's salary!

Professor Aruhan was grinning like a lunatic as he saw Maroon collapsed in front of me.

As if, everything he'd done now was a joke, and his appearance right now, emanating fighting will while holding his spear, was that of an undeniable monster.

“Although I have treated you all as students all this time, but now it will be different. Very well. I, Aruhan Ekhed, will face you all as warriors.”

At that moment, a gust of mana began to rampage around the corridor.

The source was Professor Aruhan. With him at the center, space was bending around him!

“My summon, or perhaps not quite my summon, is the Key to the Imperial Armoury. Do you know what that signifies?”

Of course we did. Swords, daggers, spears, axes and all sorts of other weapons.

And starting from the thick steel armour that normal knights wore, all the way to armour said to have been made from a dragon's scales!

Retrieving the best weapon for the situation at hand, and being able to retrieve the best armour for the situation at hand! The armoury that borrowed the name of a summon, that existed purely for strong warriors!

“But as strong as it is, there is an equally glaring weakness! That one cannot take weapons out immediately!”

That was the case. While you could summon all sorts of different kinds of equipment, you had to know of the weapon in question.

Moreover, the Key to the Imperial Armoury wasn't a contract between one on one, but between a person and the empire.

Because of that, there are many people who have made a contract with the armoury, not just one.

Sometimes there are even cases where someone else was using the gear you wanted to use.

And at moments like those, summoning said equipment was impossible!

While there are some duplicates of some of the weapons in there, there was only one of each of the more outstanding equipment, so the user must be able to choose another immediately.

“But, at the end of my efforts I found a way to overcome that!”

The ceiling began to disappear. No, it was widening!

Not limited by the space of the corridor, a crimson land appeared with Professor Aruhan in the middle of it.

“Now, behold. This is the formation that combines the Imperial Armoury and my space magic, a formation that only I can wield in the entire empire!”

Countless weapons were embedded into the floor!

“I don't need to take time to summon other weapons. Without any delay whatsoever, I can use every weapon at my command!”

Finally, the ceiling vanished, and we could see the crimson sky!

Professor Aruhan looked down on us as he shouted.

“This is my, Aruhan's!”

More accurately, he tried to shout.

“Unlimited…”

“Diieee, Hectopascal Kick!(1)”

“Kuooohhhhk?!”

Until he got kicked in the side and blown away by a silver girl that flew in out of nowhere.

“Eiit. I was supposed ta' be the final boss, but this mister was about to pull something weird so owner shent me up early.”

Even as she grumbled she kept lightly tapping at Professor Aruhan with those short legs of hers.

At those light footsteps, Professor Aruhan, who had laughed while tanking all our attacks, started uttering “kuueeehhk!” “kwuuhhkkk?” noises from his mouth, that were too bizarre to even be called screams.

“Well, even though my turn is a still a bit far off.”

As if her anger had cooled, the silver girl that had been poking Professor Aruhan turned to us, and smiled cutely.

And that day, we received a grim reminder.

“'Specially f' today, let's play with unni?”

The disgrace of being unable to leave school,

“Heheet, tushitushi! Yap! Hiyap! Yah!”

“Kuuuuuughh!”

“Noooooooooo!”

The fear of the silver devil.(2)

#5 Their story: Aris ril Letia's story [Subtitle: I saw the devil 2]

“Kaargh!”

“Wh, what the hell!”

“Block it Ariscia!”

“Silver Fang, beat it!”

“What the heck? The attacking summons are the ones falling!”

“Kuaaaarggh! Help, help me!”

The absence of the fourth year dean.

Thanks to that coincidence, we had an opportunity where we could barely clear the second floor.

We defeated Professor Maroon that stumped us time and time again, and now only Professor Aruhan was left.

We thought that with the combined assaults of the student council and I, we would be more than enough to defeat Professor Aruhan.

That was, until the moment Professor Aruhan was about to reveal his hidden card, and we saw the silver lifeform appear and brutally kick away Professor Aruhan's side.

The moment the being that even plunged the goddess into despair appeared, that was the end for us.

In all honesty, I hadn't believed that we would be able to leave school today.

Because there were still the strongest forces of the teachers, a Spirit King summoner and a God-class summoner, as well as Professor Nicerwin whose strength we still didn't know of.

Even if we knew we couldn't escape, what we wanted was confidence.

It was an attack where we would get through the second floor at least once, and revive the embers of hope that had been dying away because of our repeated failures.

But, the embers of hope vanished.

“Heehee, kids these days have some pretty good meat on them? Feels great to hit ya!”

“Sa, save me…”

“Uu, uwaaahhhk!”

Along with the screams of students piled under the silver devil.

“Lady Aris! We need to break through! Help us!”

One of my student council seniors charged forward with a black lion

-Gyaaaaaaaaa!

“Take this, Lion Claws!”

That senior was the youngest in the student council, but he was one of the top five among the second years.

Unlike your average knight family, he was the oldest son of a knight family started as a baron that had retained that rank even today. Said to have developed Lion-style swordsmanship after observing the form of a lion; in conjunction with his summon, a black lion, he obtained the title of Lion Sword at last year's empire festival, and was one of Yugrasia's most promising prospects!

“Beat it, Rosen!”

“You can do it!”

And the timing was perfect for an sneak ambush.

He aimed perfectly at the back of the silver devil who was grabbing a female student by the lapels with her small hands and beating her up.

And the result!

-Gyagyagyagyagyagyagyagyagyagyagyagyagya?!

“Guooohhht?!”

My senior and his summoned beast who inflicted a perfect attack, screamed with their eyes rolling back in their sockets.

“Heehee, attacking the back of a frail girl like me! Dat's divine punishment!”

While my upperclassman was desperately trying not to collapse, she simply kicked his ankles with her short legs and immediately proceeded into a mount position.

Making shiik, shiik noises with her mouth she immediately started to punch my senior's face just like that.

“Kuuht? Uk? Uwuuhh? Ha, how?”

Shock and horror.

To my upperclassman's question, who had a face that said he couldn't belive what was happening, the silver devil smiled and said.

“Wiin? Innit obvious? Me's a being designed to give you kids pain! And hitting things hurts 'cuz of the impact between two different things. But think about it. If oppa punches a wall, that hurts, don't it? So oppa was going to punch someone, but they dodged and you punched a wall instead? So who's gonna be the one that hurts then?”

“M, me?”

“Wiin, correct, oppa! And so oppa will hurt if you hit and hurt if you get hit, masochist confirmed!”

“Wh, what the hell is thgueeeeek?”

“And as for me, even if I hit people they're the one that hurts, and even if I get hit they're the one that hurts anyway! Sadist incarnate, call me Your Queen!”

As the silver demon shouted while posing with her index finger confidently outstretched, the rest of us were at loss for words.

“How quiet. Might as well keep hitting.”

“Kwuuuughh!”

-Let's run.

And looking at the sight, the goddess Athena that I was contracted with whispered to me with a voice completely dyed in fear.

-That is not something that can be defeated. Hurts if you attack, hurts if you get attacked. That kind of existence isn't something that can exist, no, shouldn't exist in this world! Fighting something like that is a foolish decision!

-B, but…

-Hurry, run!

In that moment, the goddess and I conversed between each other alone.

But as if she had overheard our conversation between souls, when the goddess shouted, the silver devil's eyes curved into elegant half-moons as she looked my way.

“Iz' the unni who made a contract with that goddess with a great texture?”

And at that moment, as if to prove that we were summoner and summon linked by our souls, we shouted at the same time.

-Run!

-Run away!

My body moved before my thoughts and I immediately leapt back.

At the same time, the silver devil's fist fell just where I had been standing.

“You dodged?”

But as if that riled her up more, the half-moons waned to crescents and she smiled even more brightly.

“I think unni… will make it pretty fun for me.”

“C, come! Almighty goddess's spear, the absolute shield that stops all!”

The moment I saw that smile, cold sweat started pouring down my back.

Even my father's sincere battle-hungry spirit in the past couldn't make me feel like this, to think I would feel this much fear from a single smile!

“Dieee!”

Close combat is impossible.

If I got hit while approaching then I would just pathetically collapse like the others behind me, and if I closed the distance and attacked then I would just end up collapsing pathetically like the student council upperclassman in front of me.

'No matter what I do the only end is with me collapsing pathetically!'

In that case my only options are long-range attacks. But, the goddess Athena's attacks are a spear and shield!

My only option left was spear throwing!

-I'm sorry I only have a spear! If I'd known this would happen I'd have borrowed a bow from Artemis!

-It's already too late, please hurry the next spear!

With a bang! the first spear was thrown at the silver devil, but the devil had easily dodged it!

“Uwee, dis is a good spear?”

Grabbing the spear embedded in the wall, she started retreating.

Perhaps as you'd expect from a summon, her appearance barely looks like a ten-year old, but the spear in her hand was beginning to bend as if it would break at any moment.

-The follow up!

-Dodge, dodge! It's dangerous!

At the same time as the goddess's shout, a booming noise was made.

At the same time, the silver devil used the counterforce from the spear to send herself flying towards me!

“The reason I stepped back, was to gain momentum!(3)”

“Aegis!”

Evasion is impossible. Then defence is my only option!

I used the goddess Athena's greatest weapon that could even defend against a god's lightning bolts, a shield that could both attack and defend.

If it is this then it can surely defend against the silver devil's attack!

Bang!

“Uwiit?”

“Wha, what?”

I swallowed back the scream that had threatened to burst out. To think not even the goddess's shield could fully absorb the impact of that attack, just what kind of attack was that?

-No, that wasn't an attack that can be absorbed! It just broke straight through Aegis and attacked the true body! The shock just spread through the shield and carried down into you!

-Wha, what the heck is that! Then is this pain caused by some sort of curse?

-Aegis is a shield made by the god of blacksmithing Hephaestus. Because of that, all sorts of divine power is embedded into it so it can protect against all sorts of curses too.

-Then that doesn't make any…

-Unless, it was a curse with greater power than the shield.

A curse that could even pierce the divine power of the shield crafted by the god of blacksmithing?

What kind of lifeform has that kind of power?

Devil? Was it actually a devil all along?

“Wiin? You blocked it?”

As I looked at the silver devil who gazed at me with an amused expression, I thought.

'Will I survive this?'

Chapter end