Chapter 152: A String of Cadet Disappearances (6)

From the very first moment Berald told me about the string of cadet disappearances, I had felt something was off. That unease, buried deep in my chest, only grew stronger the more I investigated. And when I finally came face-to-face with the masked man in the hills, I understood at last what that nagging feeling had been trying to tell me.

Berald turned to me with a shocked expression. “W-wait, what? Professor Bastion? What are you talking about, Brother?”

I didn’t answer him. My eyes stayed fixed on the masked man. Through the gaps in the mask, I could see his eyes trembling ever so slightly.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I said, “Keeping silent won’t do you any good.”

A familiar voice slipped out from behind the mask. “How did you know?”

It confirmed my suspicions.

I briefly glanced down at the unconscious Raios before answering, “Not many people in the Hero Academy are capable of knocking Raios Ryu unconscious with pure magic alone.”

The fourth-years this term were considered the most gifted cohort in decades. Among them, Raios, ranked fourth overall, was not only the grandson of the Thunder God Lionel Ryu but also a genius mage in his own right. To subdue someone like him required nothing less than professor-level strength.

Perhaps, it was even more than that. Even for a professor, it wouldn’t be easy. After all, this wouldn’t be just about winning a fight. To strike so swiftly that the victim didn’t even realize they had been attacked was at the level of top-ranked heroes, the so-called Rankers.

“You figured it out just from that?” Professor Bastion asked.

“Not quite. That alone wouldn’t have been enough. Our professors are very capable, after all,” I replied.

Another professor could have also subdued Raios with the advantage of surprise.

I continued, “However, at this very moment, most professors are busy with late-night meetings, preparing for the second semester.”

The only exception was the professor who had been all but pushed out of faculty duties after the accident two years ago.

Professor Bastion let out a hollow laugh. “Heh. Faculty meetings, is it? I didn’t even know such things were being held. But even so, you couldn’t have been certain it was me, not with just that.”

True enough, he wasn’t the only professor absent from those meetings. And it was possible, after all, that an outsider was behind all this.

“Well, let’s just say part of it was instinct.”

It was not entirely untrue. There had been hints. The cadets all complained of a tickling sensation where their soul stigmata were etched. Furthermore, Professor Bastion had acted suspiciously when I visited his office the previous day. Despite all that, I hadn’t been completely convinced that he was the culprit behind the disappearances. But then, something gave him away.

I explained, “When you blocked Senior Sophia’s spell just now, you extended your barrier to shield Raios as well, keeping him from getting caught up in the blast.”

The professor remained silent.

“That’s when I knew the culprit was you, Professor Bastion.”

Despite the cruel nickname that had once clung to him, “Disciple Slayer,” I knew better than anyone how deeply he cared for his cadets.

“I truly can’t outwit you, Dale.”

With a bitter smile, Professor Bastion pulled off his mask. He had a weathered face and a thick beard. The man before us was the heir of the Great Sage Julius Bastion and the continent’s foremost soul stigmata researcher, Jayden Bastion.

Perhaps having already suspected so, Senior Sophia gripped her staff tighter, eyes sharp with fury. “It really was you.”

“Sophia, isn’t it?” Professor Baldwin said.

Her eyes, cold as steel, bore into him. “Don’t you dare speak my name with that filthy mouth. These attacks on the cadets… You did it for your ‘Artificial Soul Stigmata’ research, didn’t you?”

Professor Bastion kept quiet.

“You killed my brother, and even then, you couldn’t abandon that damned research?”

He lowered his head in silence, saying nothing in response to her accusation. Then, suddenly, he made his move. The moment a burst of blue radiance flared violently from him, Berald leaped in front of Senior Sophia, crossing his arms in an X-shape to shield her.

“Get back!” he shouted.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact hurled him backward.

“Ghhh!”

Senior Sophia’s expression twisted with rage. “You!”

She raised her staff again. Red mana blazed at its tip, and dozens of crimson orbs formed in the air, each brimming with raw destructive power. Like a rain of fire, they fell upon Professor Bastion.

The professor let out a bitter smile as he watched the orbs descend. “Heh. As expected of that brat’s little sister.”

He raised his hands, weaving signs as though painting in the air. Blue light burst forth, unfolding into vast geometric patterns in the air. The falling crimson spheres lost control, veering sharply off course. The blasts uprooted the trees, and the deafening roar rocked the entire forest.

Professor Bastion nonchalantly continued, “But don’t think this old man’s skills have rusted away just yet.”

Senior Sophia bit her lip. “Damn it!”

She leaped back, and an instant later, streams of blue light surged into the space where she had stood, drawing glowing sigils across the air.

The battle only grew fiercer. My hand hovered over the hilt of my sword as my eyes narrowed. If I joined the fight, subduing Professor Bastion wouldn’t be too difficult. Yet, something felt off. Something was wrong. That gnawing unease in my chest hadn’t gone away. It spread through me like the grinding of misaligned gears, sticky, unpleasant, and deeply unsettling.

I decided to wait and observe the situation for now. Letting go of my sword hilt, I silently watched Senior Sophia and Professor Bastion clash.

***

Berald shouted, “Sister Sophia! Get back!”

“W-who are you calling Sister, huh?” Sophia grumbled, but she did retreat.

Berald stepped forward in her place. “Hup!”

He drew in a sharp breath, letting his mana spread wide. His opponent wasn’t just any professor. Jayden Bastion was the descendant of the Great Sage, one of the Great Five Heroes who had sealed the Demon God and saved the world five centuries ago.

If that’s how it is, then I, too, am the heir of the Iron Fist! Berald thought.

He conjured a Mana Bullet in midair, then hurled his fist forward with all his strength. “Mountain Breaker!”

The Mana Bullet exploded forward from his fist with a thunderous roar.

Jayden, who had spent his entire life in the realm of magic, wore a bewildered expression. “Punching a spell itself?”

However, his surprise lasted only a moment. His hands quickly formed a seal, and a geometric blue sigil bloomed in the air. With a deafening crash, the Mana Bullet slammed against the sigil, then reflected at Berald like light off a mirror.

As the very spell he had launched came flying back at him, Berald hastily crossed his arms to shield himself. “Tch, damn it!”

The impact sent him skidding violently across the ground.

Rushing toward him, Sophia shouted, “Berald!”

He waved her off even as blood trickled from the corner of his lips. “Gh! I-I’m fine.”

Then he staggered back to his feet.

Watching him, Jayden said, “Enough now. If you keep this up, you’ll be gravely injured. You really are a remarkably skilled cadet. But against me, you’re still no match.”

Berald smirked, the corners of his lips curling. “Heh. That much, even I know.”

Jayden’s strength was overwhelming. He was worthy of being called the descendant of the Great Sage. Berald couldn’t even imagine a way to defeat him.

Yet, a torrent of explosive mana erupted from Berald’s body. “But you see. I’ve spent this entire summer fighting opponents just like that.”

Battles where he fought foes he had no idea how to beat were already second nature to him.

Berald lowered his stance and drew a deep breath. “I had been saving this technique to show it to Brother Dale during sparring, but…”

His posture, like that of a crouching predator, exuded such pressure that Jayden felt as though a wild bear was bearing down on him. Berald exhaled sharply, then launched himself, shooting forward like a gust of wind.

Jayden rapidly formed seals with his hands. “It’s useless!”

He thrust them out, and an enormous wall of blue sigils appeared, even larger than before, stretching high like a fortress.

Berald’s grin widened. In midair, a string of Mana Bullets elongated and stretched into glowing “Mana Plates” beneath his feet. Then, he stepped across them, dashing through the air as though ascending into the sky. It was a reinterpretation of Wind Step, a technique he had learned from Dale, now reborn as his own unique martial art, which he had named Berald Combat Style: Sky Walk.

“HYAAAAAAH!”

Leaping high above the wall of blue mana, Berald clenched his fist tight. Then, he kicked off the last mana plate and plummeted downward at terrifying speed.

“Berald Combat Style: Rockfall Strike!”

His fist crashed down like a lightning bolt, unleashing a massive explosion. The blast hurled Jayden backward.

Not missing the opening, Sophia unleashed her spell. “Tempest Wave!”

A crimson wave of mana surged forward like a tidal wave, crashing over Jayden. The devastating explosion shook the earth itself.

When the choking dust finally cleared, Jayden emerged, battered and coughing. His robe was shredded, his body covered in cuts. However, it seemed he had barely managed to shield himself with a mana barrier.

Wiping blood from his lips with the back of his hand, he muttered, “Impressive.”

He hadn’t expected to be driven back this far, even if he had focused only on defense.

Sophia strode toward him with heavy steps. “Talk! Tell us!”

“Tell you what?” he asked.

She seized him by the collar, voice raw with rage. “You and my brother both! What the hell is that ‘Artificial Soul Stigmata’ that you’re so obsessed with?”

Her voice rose into a scream. “Why? Why couldn’t my brother abandon that damned research, even as it killed him?”

Jayden looked at her anguished face, but said nothing. A tense silence fell. Then, at last, his lips parted, and a low, heavy voice spilled out. “Because we wanted to save the world.”

Sophia’s expression twisted in disbelief at the absurd words. “What?”

Jayden gave a bitter, broken smile as he continued, “Yes. All we ever wanted… was to save the world.”

As he recalled that faded dream they both had two years ago, Jayden’s shoulders trembled as though he were quietly weeping.

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