Invincible
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#163
🕑 Added 2024-12-12 18:22:01 +0000 UTCSpirit Battle (3)
“These creatures seem… unusual…”
Professor Gomon’s remark made the Knight Division professor nod in agreement. The way the monkeys positioned themselves in a circular formation around their leader looked as disciplined as a well-trained army.
“These monkeys are suddenly moving with precision,” he observed.
“Professor Ildiran, judging by the intense demonic energy radiating from them, each one must be at least at a mid-level spirit's strength.”
“…Then, what about the one in the center?”
Professor Gomon nervously hid the trembling Stone Bear behind his legs and swallowed hard.
“It might be something greater, possibly even higher than the three outside.”
The monkey leader was only about half my height, yet its presence was unmistakable. Students who had paused to rest instinctively reached for their weapons, sensing the tension in the air.
“What is this? It looks like nothing, but it’s giving me chills…”
“Yeah. Especially that gray monkey in the black robe.”
While the students whispered among themselves, the leader monkey swiftly scratched the ground with its index claw. The sound was harsh, and the friction heated its claw to a reddish glow. It used the glowing claw to light the end of a cigarette held in its mouth. A long inhale followed, and as it exhaled, smoke spread around it.
“Hahhh.”
The leader monkey took a few more drags, then removed the cigarette and glanced around. Moments later, an aged voice escaped its mouth.
“Hmm. This is much better than rolling it up in leaves.”
My eyes widened in shock. A spirit speaking? While it wasn’t unheard of for some spirits to speak human language, this wasn’t a good sign given the circumstances. Professor Gomon, seemingly grasping the gravity of the situation, muttered in a surprised tone.
“A… high-level spirit?”
Above high-tier, there’s ultra-tier. And then, there’s high-tier.
Some students, still clueless, muttered in confusion.
“High-level spirit? Is that a thing?”
“Can’t summoning only reach the higher tiers?”
Bellman responded, his face showing clear tension.
“A high-level spirit is among the top entities… though only a few ancient records mention them. We always thought it was more of a myth. I never imagined it was real.”
The leader monkey approached, leaving its subordinates behind. Professor Gomon, with a tense expression, addressed it.
“It seems we can communicate. I’ll ask—what is your purpose?”
“Our purpose?”
The leader monkey raised an eyebrow and smirked.
“Conquest of the human realm. To burn your lands and enslave all humans.”
The chilling statement froze the atmosphere. Professor Gomon’s face showed confusion, and he frowned.
“This doesn’t make sense. A pure species like yours, why would you…”
The leader monkey sneered.
“Pure? Ah, yes. We were once. Before we were tainted by your ancestors' malice.”
“What?”
“By that reaction, it seems your ancestors never told you. Well, I guess they wouldn’t, considering it was such a filthy deed.”
The leader monkey unbuttoned the tattered robe, revealing its chest.
Countless scars covered its body. From sword marks to strange patterns left from branding by hot metal, it bore the symbols of its painful past. The leader monkey pointed to the markings and said, “Do you know what this is? It’s the mark of slavery engraved by you humans.”
Professor Gomon’s eyes widened in shock. For someone who believed in the cooperative nature between humans and spirits, this revelation was a harsh reality. But the leader monkey continued recounting the events, seemingly indifferent to Gomon's reaction.
“There were spirits trapped in forges just because they radiated warmth. Some had their legs cut to prevent them from escaping and were bound to fields to ensure bountiful harvests. And then there were those subjected to repulsive acts by vile individuals, who hunted them for sport after releasing them in the woods. And those were the kinder things they endured.”
A quiet fury laced the monkey’s voice, and the other monkeys behind it flashed their sharp teeth, their eyes blazing. The leader monkey, scanning everyone in the lobby, spoke again with a twisted smile.
“It was you humans who treated us this way when we came to the human realm with pure hearts. I’d like nothing more than to kill you all. But if we’re to do this, why not be productive about it, right? Just as you once did.”
Its smile revealed a calculating side. “So, I’d prefer it if you surrender. We’d rather avoid unnecessary bloodshed. If you accept a life as livestock, we’ll take care of you until the time for slaughter comes.”
Professor Gomon raised his staff in defiance. “I understand you have your grievances, but this has gone too far. I won’t listen to any more of it.”
“So negotiations have broken down, then? In that case… let’s start by dismantling this annoying barrier.” The leader monkey suddenly gagged and coughed. “Ugh… been a while since I tried this. Bear with me for a moment.”
It tapped its throat with its fingers and spat out a slimy, glistening piece of metal—a pendant in the shape of a rhombus.
“Hmm. Now, where’s the device controlling the barrier?” it asked.
“You think I’d tell you that?” Gomon retorted. The leader monkey smirked, waving the pendant.
“I wasn’t asking you, fat one. I was asking this.”
The pendant floated into the air, its chain expanding and pointing in a direction. It seemed to be indicating the control room for the barrier on the outer wall.
Dorosian, observing this, remarked with a touch of disappointment, “Is it a magical artifact that leads you to what you want? Fascinating…”
“…Except it came from a monkey,” someone muttered.
“That’s the disappointing part. If only it hadn’t been coughed up,” Dorosian sighed.
The leader monkey began to follow the pendant's direction, and the two professors, maintaining their distance, stepped in to block its path.
The leader monkey chuckled and ordered its followers, “Take care of them.”
The 18 monkeys, which the professors had roughly counted, dropped to all fours and charged. The Knight Division professor yelled urgently, “You students handle these!”
The barrier was a crucial element in this scenario—a protective shield to buy time while they thinned the enemy’s numbers and reorganized their front. If it fell too early, before the proper timing of the counterattack, the difficulty of the battle would escalate dramatically.
Ukkkkikkikkikki!
As the monkeys charged in, baring their teeth as if ready to tear into their targets, the first-year students of the Adele Hall quickly took up defensive stances. Riamon grimaced and said, "Everyone, don’t come near me. Edina, prioritize assisting me."
"Understood."
Positioned against the wall, he swung his greatsword, handling three enemies on his own. Silla and Leana, who had evidently built strong teamwork over time, paired up effectively to fend off the attacks from their blind spots.
Leana swung her sword and called to Bellman, "Bellman, you probably don’t need to worry too much about this side. Support the others instead."
"Don’t just ignore us completely, though. You know what’ll happen if you do, right?" Silla retorted sharply as she quickly rolled away from a monkey’s swipe.
Meanwhile, Erucel, under Grovel's cover, swung his sword to keep the monkeys at bay. Suddenly, a fiery bird swooped past Erucel's shoulder.
"Whoa, don’t just throw spells out of nowhere! That almost scarred my face!"
"S-sorry… I didn’t know you’d move there."
Mircel, aided by Ricks, weaved through the monkey horde with ease. Ricks, sweating from the struggle to keep up, commented, “…It’s hard to help when you’re all over the place.”
Mircel dodged a monkey’s attack effortlessly without even looking and replied, "Huh? Just do whatever works for you. Hey, Ricks, your magic is fun. Can you make something like banana peels instead of chains? I’d love to see them slip.”
Donatan admired Mircel’s agility. ‘Small body, yet used so effectively. Hm, seems he’s gotten even faster than before. Has he grown again?’
The rapidly changing environment seemed to be teaching them a lot. Mircel appeared to be handling things well, and I grew curious about how the others were doing, so I asked, ‘What’s your overall assessment?’
‘Those who’ve fought alongside you before have improved significantly. But especially the newcomers—they’re definitely higher in quality than the Schlaphe Hall swordsmen.’
Considering this scenario started early, I had worried their specs might fall short, but they seemed to be just about passing. The presence of Mircel and Erucel, who wouldn’t have been here otherwise, added some reassurance. Of course, for those who weren’t key players, these enemies were still overwhelming.
“These things are too fast!”
“Why can’t I land a hit?!”
One monkey bit down and shattered a student’s sword, and he was about to be bitten on the neck. Just then, Aslay threw himself in, grabbing the monkey by the neck and tossing it aside.
“Th-thanks, Aslay.”
“I’ll set my shield here. Use it for cover.”
Realizing his role, Aslay focused on protecting his allies, bringing a sigh of relief to the students around him.
Limberton wasn’t standing idle, either. With precision born of skill, he fired arrows that sailed through the gaps between his allies, hitting the monkeys right in the forehead.
Thunk!
Among them, only Limberton had the skill to take down the monkeys with a single strike. Having grown the most prominently among us, he was our hidden ace. However, he only had limited shots available.
“Limberton, how many more shots with your aura arrows can you manage?”
“Four. Any more than that would be tough.”
“Then, save them for when someone’s truly in a life-or-death situation.”
Upon hearing this, Limberton glanced subtly at Dorosian before leaning close and whispering in my ear.
“But, Hersel… uh…”
“What?”
“Aren't you and Dorosian going to help?”
He glanced cautiously at Dorosian, clearly too intimidated to flirt. But he still asked why we weren’t helping. Dorosian likely thought it wasn’t her responsibility, so she remained relaxed. And as for me, my body’s endurance wasn’t great. If I started fighting mid-level spirits now, it’d be hard to deal with what’s to come.
“I’m saving my strength.”
At my brief response, he widened his eyes in surprise and nodded. “Wait… are you thinking of dealing with those high-level spirits outside…? No way, right?”
“Let’s save that talk for later. Limberton, do you think you can take down that monkey leader with a single shot?”
I pointed to the monkey leader skillfully dodging attacks from the two professors. With Limberton’s vacuum-enhanced bow and a precise aura-infused strike to a vital point, it could be an instant kill. Limberton made a reluctant sound before responding.
“I think you’re mistaken. It only seems like I hit every time because I only shoot when I’m absolutely sure. But this guy… I don’t see any opening. I feel like I’d miss even if I tried.”
“Oh? Then, we just need to create a brief opening for you, right?”
Removing any unexpected obstacles quickly was the best course of action. As I drew my sword and approached, I regretted not moving faster.
Pah!
In that instant, the monkey leader swiftly bypassed the Knight Division professor. He swiped his thumb across the fresh blood on his muzzle and remarked, “Oh? Seems I’ve cut you. I thought I’d gotten the hang of it, but you’ve made quite a bit of progress in the meantime.”
His tone was relaxed, as if he were addressing a subordinate. Then, he casually took a bite of the forearm he’d severed. A groan escaped the professor’s lips.
“Ugh…”
He clutched his torn shoulder, his face twisted in pain. The monkey leader spat out the bit of flesh with distaste. “Ugh, tasteless. You humans really need some selective breeding.”
With that, he turned and started down a shadowed hallway.
“You’re not going anywhere!” Professor Gomon raised an earthen wall to trap him, but it quickly cracked and began to split apart.
Creeeak…
The dust settled, but the monkey leader was nowhere to be seen. Professor Gomon, stunned, voiced his frustration.
“He’s… we lost him. If he reaches the barrier…”
It was clear his destination was the control room for the barrier. Just as Professor Gomon prepared to rush after him, countless footsteps began to echo from the entrance and windows where the spirits had entered.
Glancing between the new monkey horde and the corridor where their leader had vanished, Professor Gomon turned to me.
“Hersel, sorry, but we’ll need to leave that monkey leader to your squad. You remember where the control room is, right? It’s the place I showed you on that tour.”
Given the situation, it was a reasonable request. The Knight Division professor, though wielding a sword, was severely weakened with one arm lost, and Professor Gomon himself seemed noticeably fatigued.
I sighed and nodded.
“…Alright.”
It was absurd to ask students to handle a high-level spirit that even two professors couldn’t defeat. Yet, I could accept it not just because of the urgency of the situation. These were variables arising due to the premature start of events. And if such beings existed, then our side also had a comparable figure. That person who often left for business at the start of each school year. But this wasn’t one of those times. As someone who represented the academy, he wouldn’t leave the control room—one of the stronghold’s core facilities—unattended. Maybe everything would be resolved by the time we arrived.
***
Rockfeller busily rolled his eyes over the marbles spread across his desk. Several of the assigned battlegrounds were starting to lose ground due to some unusual enemies.
“Damn, ten professors have engaged, and they’re still struggling against just one creature…”
The situation was rapidly turning. Worse yet, they hadn’t even identified the cause of this crisis. Rockfeller pulled out his staff and looked toward the window. A spirit came into view. Although it had entered within the barrier, it was still far away. Yet, telekinesis pulled it right into his office.
Griieek!
Rockfeller threw the lizard spirit into a corner. Around it, the ashes of other defeated spirits were already disappearing.
“Stay put if you don’t want to die painfully.”
With that, Rockfeller cast a memory reading spell. He entered its mind, searching recent memories for clues about this incident. After a few seconds, a memory played from the lizard’s perspective: the face of a man seen after passing through the spirit realm’s gate. The man was a familiar figure, someone recently considered as the next student council president.
“…Ecok Vil Edvance.”
He’d left somewhere with a mysterious, plague-masked figure. They’d headed toward the Mana Control Chamber on the outskirts of the stronghold. Rockfeller didn’t know their motives, but it was clearly central to the incident.
“First, I need to get rid of that door.”
Spirits were still pouring through the doorway. As he urgently reached for the loudspeaker, he caught sight of Professor Ildiran’s arm being torn off by a monkey in the first-floor lobby.
“No, we lost him… If this goes on, the barrier…”
Professor Gomon’s voice could be heard faintly, prompting Rockfeller to zoom in on the marble’s image. The audio became clearer.
“Hersel, sorry, but we’ll need to leave that monkey leader to your squad. You remember where the control room is, right? The place I showed you during the tour.”
It was clear the monkey leader’s target was the barrier control room. Rockfeller’s face paled. Beyond the barrier, hordes of spirits swarmed. If they managed to breach the stronghold with such numbers before they had any concrete strategy, they’d be surrounded and wiped out.
“I… I need to reinforce the control room immediately…”
As he raised the loudspeaker to his lips with a trembling hand, an elderly voice from behind made him pause, mouth half-open.
“So, the control room is their target?”
Rockfeller turned to see Arkandric, cracking his joints with a smirk.
“H-headmaster…”
Arkandric grinned.
“This time, I’ll join the fight myself.”
