The Broken Possessors of the Infinite Regression Academy

Chapter 212 – Side Story: Summer Festival – 5

The confrontation between Leona, who felt guilty for teasing Eichenhardt from the moment they first met, and Eichenhardt, who had a shameful dark history, was quite intense.

The largest magic tool on top was also reflecting the two people’s duel, and most of the audience was also watching the fight between Leona and Eichenhardt, especially at Layla Academy.

No matter how much Leona’s power was being limited, the fact that the Hero of Light and the head of her own academy were fighting fiercely seemed to make her feel quite proud.

“Haaap!”

The rapier flashed several times with a powerful roar. The holy sword blocked all of the thrusts, and the slashes that bounced off created several craters the size of a person on the ground nearby.

The battle gained more and more speed. As the mana flashing on the blade became like a river, exclamations erupted from all over. She may have fainted from one blow, but she was indeed an outstanding woman in basic skills.

“… … !”

As if sensing something, Leona quickly moved away. A small hole appeared in the rock right behind her. The hole soon exploded, destroying the large rock without a trace.

Eichenhardt put away his rapier for a moment and let out an exclamation of admiration.

“As expected of a warrior. If you hadn’t been limiting your strength, someone like me would have been defeated long ago.”

“Uh… …Thank you for the compliment?”

“I would like to ask for your teachings, even if it is only briefly… … but this is a battlefield. Unfortunately, one of us is destined to fall. The time of destiny is approaching.”

Aren’t you embarrassed to say something like that with your own mouth?

Leona seemed to have similar feelings to me, and responded with an ambiguous smile, but everyone else, except for the two of us, was genuinely enthusiastic about Eichenhardt.

Well, it would make sense, considering the name of the Duke of Rennitus in the Empire alone is enormous. Especially if the next head of the Rennitus family is fighting on equal terms with the warrior.

“So, I’ll bet everything I have.”

Eichenhardt brought the rapier he had briefly put away in front of his chest and raised the blade vertically. A huge amount of mana flowed out of his body and began to gather into the rapier.

The ambiguous smile disappeared from Leona’s expression. The Holy Sword also began to show a light that seemed to have been melted directly from the sun. It meant that she would deal with him seriously.

Eichenhardt nodded slightly, holding his rapier.

“I see you are serious about confronting me. Thank you for your kindness, warrior.”

“Yes. I made some mistakes when I first started. I need to treat you properly now.”

“……profit.”

Eichenhardt’s lips twitched slightly as he was suddenly hit.

Leona must be genuinely thinking that she did something wrong. She didn’t intend to do it, but she unintentionally hit a sore spot by losing the bet.

So, he must have apologized, but what Eichenhardt thinks of that apology is a different matter. The mana that was rising from Lapiar grew stronger, fueled by his flushed cheeks.

The flow of mana that had been swirling around became one, and the tip of the sword was pointed at Leona.

-Flow 1. A rushing river.

Eichenhardt’s body sprang up like a spring. Leona gathered her divinity and swung her holy sword. In an instant, the rapier and the holy sword crossed each other.

-Kwaaang!

Blue and gold lights burst out.

“… … .”

“… … .”

In the place where the light cleared, there was a rapier that had passed Leona’s cheek and a holy sword that had reached near Eichenhardt’s neck. Both of them were unable to move because their blades were blocked by each other.

– An amount of divine or mana exceeding the allowable limit has been detected.

A warning sound rang out from the magical tool worn on her wrist. It meant that Leona had used more mana than allowed to block and counterattack the attack just now, resulting in her defeat.

“Whaaa!”

“Lenitus! Lenitus!”

The audience erupted in applause and thunderous cheers, led by the officials of the Lila Academy. Even if their strength was limited, they had defeated the warrior.

Leona, who had collected the holy sword, scratched her cheek awkwardly.

“Congratulations, you won.”

“Thank you. It was a truly great fight, warrior. It was an honor to face you like this.”

Likewise, Eichenhardt, who had put away her rapier, slightly lifted her skirt, crossed her legs, and bowed to show respect. She certainly had a very well-mannered personality for a duke’s daughter.

On the score sheet, Eichenhardt’s group jumped straight to first place. It was only natural, since Leona had the highest score.

“It seems like you’re not worried about your score.”

“Is that the last monster that came to the first group? I appreciate your concern, but I will accept it with all my heart. I am confident that I can defeat anyone who comes.”

“ah…….”

Leona smiled vaguely again. Knowing that I was the last monster, she couldn’t help but do that.

“And, it’s only 1%? I don’t think Chairman Erestica would have set it to such an absurd number. I think he would have set it to a level where I could try my best if I tried my best. So even if someone stronger than me comes, I don’t plan on giving up.”

Leona nodded with eyes that seemed to show her kind but slightly lacking younger sibling, then said her final goodbyes to Eichenhardt and disappeared somewhere through the dimensional gate.

Soon someone sat down next to me. I looked around and saw Leona with a few beads of sweat on her neck.

“So, was I right?”

“That’s right. You really came to me first.”

Leona smiled shyly and snuggled up next to me. Their shoulders touched. I could smell a sweet scent mixed with the smell of sweat.

“What are you going to do? Are you going to knock it down?”

While they were watching Eichenhardt with a single magic tool, Leona suddenly asked a question.

“Well, I’m thinking about it, but I think I’ll go in the direction of protecting my pride even if I get knocked down. Like you, Leona.”

If he were to act arrogantly, relying only on his position as the next head of the Duke’s family, he would trample on him without mercy.

However, the Eichenhardt Lenitus I saw was a woman who had pride commensurate with her abilities, and even if you set aside her status as the daughter of a duke, she was a woman who belonged to a fairly conceptual group.

My conscience pricked me for treating such a person so carelessly.

“I see. Mira, you think the same as me.”

Leona, who was about to turn to look at me, stopped. She was so close that their shoulders were touching, so her face was right in front of me.

Hoo, Leona’s breath, which she had let out without realizing it, dispersed as it touched my lips. The breath I let out would be the same. I could see her pale cheeks gradually turning red.

“I, Mi, Mi. Could you come a little closer… … and… … away… … wouldn’t that be okay… … ?”

But, apart from the words, “If we’re close, can we not get away?”, he gulped and moved his neck slightly. His cheeks, which were red as if they were going to burst, came closer and closer. And his lips, which were slightly protruding, were also—

-Waaah!!!!!!

A cheer of joy and horror echoed throughout the Colosseum. Leona, startled by the wind, fell down in panic. Then she kept fanning herself with her hand, saying, “Why, why is it so hot?!”

I looked at the magic tool, wondering what had happened.

Priscilla was walking confidently out of the flames that covered all directions.

The time for me to appear as a hidden boss came quite quickly. Maybe it was because there were so many eyes watching, but everyone was actively hunting the boss.

Most of the students who took on the role of boss lost without significantly reducing their scores.

Priscilla managed to burn down the entire three groups and push them to the bottom, but in the end, while fighting Eichenhardt, she had to give up points and retreat after exceeding her mana allowance.

Naturally, expectations for Eichenhardt rose to the sky.

[The last monster has been activated.]

As we crossed the dimensional gate and arrived at the event venue, a narration echoed through the air.

As a hidden boss, he had to wear a mask to keep his identity from being revealed, and he changed his body shape slightly with the Thousand-Way Necklace. Finally, he pulled down his hat and robe that covered his entire body, and then lightly released his hands.

‘Where should I look?’

I checked the location with a magic tool. As the chairman had said, it was a magic tool that only showed the location of the group currently in first place. Eichenhardt was standing still in one place, not moving.

As if he was waiting for me.

In that case, it would be polite to follow suit. Let’s go to the place marked with a red dot, and as expected, Eichenhardt, who was waiting with a rapier in hand, greeted us.

“You must be the student who took on the role of the last demon. Nice to meet you. I am Eichenhardt Lenitus, the next head of the Lenitus Duke family and the top student of the third year at Lila Academy. And you?”

“If you were planning to reveal your identity, you wouldn’t have come here like this.”

A perfectly modulated voice flowed out. It was the kind of noise-filled voice often used to reenact criminals on TV.

“That’s right. I expected it, but I was wondering if it was possible. I’m curious. Are you really that strong? So strong that you have to limit your mana output that much against me?”

“Even if you talk about it, you won’t really feel it.”

“That’s true. Actions speak louder than words. I like it, you too.”

As Eichenhardt breathed mana into his rapier, the other crew members scattered and began to run away.

“A runaway?”

“I would appreciate it if you could call it a strategic scatter. As Chairman Erestica explained, it is obvious that you are an outlier, so this is a strategy to avoid getting dragged into our fight and losing points.”

“Hmm, really?”

I clenched and unclenched my fist a few times. Eichenhardt tilted his head as he watched me.

“You don’t have a weapon?”

“This is my second time, and I think this will be enough.”

When he made a motion as if he was slamming his fist down, Eichenhardt’s eyes, which had been frozen for a moment, widened.

“Where did the guild leader go?”

“I don’t know either. He left after telling me not to contact him unless it was really urgent.”

“Huh… … Is that so? Okay, I understand.”

Kang Yu-na let out a sigh. The secretary who saw her slightly opened her eyes.

“Is this an emergency? If so, I can activate the emergency contact network. But you must give me a proper explanation.”

“No, that’s not it… … If it were normal, it would have been reported right away, but I don’t think it’s really urgent, so that’s why.”

“What is the case? I have been given the authority to handle most of the matters, so I will listen to what is happening.”

At those words, the bag tied around Kang Yu-na’s waist opened. Several documents were taken out from inside.

“Isn’t there an S-class gate that appeared in Busan a while ago? It’s said to contain a humanoid boss.”

In fact, it wasn’t just humanoid, it was like a human being was completely removed.

Not only did she have brown hair, but she also had a sky blue pupil (although only one was present), and her light blue clothing was reminiscent of a yukata.

So there was a lot of back and forth. People were saying, “Aren’t we really the same person?”

“Yes. There was. They say he was a very unique boss.”

The Eternal Guild was on high alert due to the large-scale emergency that occurred when an S-class gate opened in the middle of the city, but the only person inside was a boss who looked exactly like a human woman.

It is so strong that it can subdue a squad of A-class hunters belonging to the Eternal Guild and send them out without a single scratch.

Considering that it is several times more difficult to subdue than to kill, and several times more difficult to subdue without causing any damage to the victim, this boss is truly of an unbelievable level of strength.

“I received a report that they decided to just watch for now since it didn’t seem to be hostile to humans, but has anything gone wrong since then?”

“I just learned of this today, but that boss has actually been used as a sparring partner by A-class hunters for the past few days.”

“A sparring opponent?”

“Yes. The fact that no matter how much you attack, you won’t die, but will only be subdued and come out has spread… … .”

The secretary’s face was distorted. Are you guys who walk around with your liver hanging out of your stomach? You have nothing better to do, so you use the boss of an S-class gate as your sparring partner?

“They are crazy as hell. But? If that were all, there would have been no need to worry about whether or not to call the guild leader.”

“Yes. There’s more. The youngest son of the leader of the Salt Guild, he… … got ripped off by the boss… … and died with his whole body torn to pieces… … .”

“ha…….”

The secretary let out a deep sigh and quietly grabbed the back of her neck. Kang Yu-na also continued speaking, pressing her furrowed brows.

“According to what the hunter who recovered the body said, even if a 60-year-old traditional radish kimchi craftsman were to cut it, it wouldn’t be cut into such neat squares.”

“… … I understand. Please continue speaking.”

“And, it was just an hour ago that the leader of the salt guild, whose child died, came in alone, saying he would take revenge, and came out looking the same.”

The secretary’s hand was unconsciously fiddling with the emergency caller in her inside pocket.