Chapter 39: The Entrance Exam (VI)

“Ah… I…”

Lyra’s shoulders were trembling.

The moment her power faded, her body dropped down to her knees, hands digging into the dirt.

Blood dripped from her nose, and her face was pale like she’d seen death itself.

Gray walked up to her, quiet as always, and crouched down.

“…Still breathing?” he asked, voice low.

She didn’t answer. Her head was down, chest rising and falling in short gasps. She was clearly overwhelmed. Her magic, the fear, the blood, everything finally caught up to her all at once.

So Gray did something unexpected.

He reached out and placed his hand on her head, and patted her lightly just as he used to do to Maelis when he was a child.

“…You didn’t die,” he said simply.

“That’s what matters.”

Her shoulders flinched slightly at his touch, but… she didn’t pull away.

“I-I almost lost control…” she whispered. “That… wasn’t me. I don’t… I don’t kill people.”

“You did,” Gray replied without blinking.

“But it’s fine. It was either you or them.”

She bit her lip hard, and tears welled up in her eyes.

“I didn’t want to…”

“I know.”

He ran his fingers through her hair gently, his tone calm, almost sounding kind, but it still wasn’t soft.

“But you still did it. And now… you’re alive.”

Her breath hitched.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

Gray gave a small shrug.

“I’m not trying to make you feel better. I’m telling you what you need to hear.”

He stood up.

“That’s what this place is. Gloria Academy doesn’t care what you want. You hesitate, you die. You cry, you die. You doubt yourself, and someone else puts a blade through your throat.”

“…Then what should I do?” she asked, looking up at him with teary eyes. “Just accept it? That I’m a killer now?”

Gray looked down at her.

“You survive.”

He held out his hand toward her.

“That’s all.”

For a moment, she just stared at his hand.

Then slowly… shakily… she reached out and took it.

He pulled her up with ease.

And as soon as she stood, her knees buckled, but Gray caught her without hesitation, one arm slipping around her waist.

“Tch. Weak legs already?” he teased. “You have some crazy strong power, and yet you’re wobbling like a baby deer.”

“I-It’s not funny,” she muttered, face flushed.

“It kinda is.”

She looked up at him, clearly still shaken… but breathing steadier.

Gray tapped her forehead lightly.

“That power you used… don’t forget how it felt. Next time, use it before you break down.”

“…You’re not very good at comforting people, huh.”

“Never said I was.”

She leaned against him slightly, her breathing calmer now, even though her eyes were still red.

“…Thanks,” she muttered, almost too quietly to hear.

Gray didn’t respond. He just looked forward and started walking again, keeping his arm around her waist so she wouldn’t fall.

But then….

BOOM!!

A sharp explosion echoed just a bit ahead of them.

Their heads turned instantly.

In the distance, through the haze and dust of the cracked battlefield, two silhouettes were clashing violently, one student swinging a flaming sword, the other firing ice shards with both hands.

Magic crackled between them like lightning. Blades scraped, fire roared, and the ground trembled from their attacks.

“…Looks like we’ve got company,” Gray muttered.

Lyra wiped her eyes and stared ahead.

“…They’re really fighting to kill, huh.”

“Yeah.”

He loosened his grip on her waist, cracking his knuckles slighly as his eyes stood locked on them.

But then… he clicked his tongue as he noticed something weird about them.

“Stay on the sides, Lyra.”

“Huh?”

He turned slightly toward her.

“Don’t jump in unless I signal you. Got it?”

“But—”

“I won’t repeat myself.”

She frowned but nodded, stepping back behind a cracked boulder, her hands lightly trembling.

Gray walked forward alone, and when he was close enough for the clash of blades and the roar of spells to brush against his clothes…

He stopped.

Then spun on one foot with a ridiculous little flourish… and gave a mocking bow.

“Why hello, my good sirs?” he said with a smirk.

The two boys instantly stopped, eyes locking on Gray like they had just found a new enemy to rip apart.

In just a mere second, both of them lunged toward him.

WHOOOOOSH!!

Gray’s smirk deepened.

’Bingo.’

He flicked his hand and chucked a rock at one of them.

Fwip!

The first student, tall, built, and carrying a flaming sword, slashed the rock in two midair without even flinching.

But his body didn’t stop.

He twisted with surprising speed, blade arcing toward Gray’s ribs.

At the same time…

KRK!

A massive spear of ice dropped from above, fired by the second student with a glare cold as death.

“Die.”

But right before either could touch him…

Gray’s lips curled.

“Swap.”

Fsshh—!

In an instant, he vanished.

Fwip!

The fire swordsman sliced only empty air.

The ice spear slammed straight into the ground, cracking the earth.

BAM!

The rock Gray had thrown earlier exploded in their place, as he switched positions with it at the last second.

He now stood where the rock had landed, with his arms folded, a lazy grin on his face as he watched the chaos.

The two enemies spun in confusion, eyes wide.

“…What the—?!”

Gray casually waved.

“You guys move fast. I like that,” he said, tilting his head.

“But…”

He pointed toward the two of them with a single black string dangling loosely from his fingertip.

“…You’re not thinking fast enough.”

Behind them, the split rock suddenly snapped upward.

No… not the rock.

Threads.

His mana had already recovered a little, and now, he could use them again, although he had to lessen their invisibility to decrease the amount of mana they consumed.

Thin, near-invisible black threads tied to the rock fragments whipped up like the jaws of a trap, trying to wrap around the swordsman’s ankle and pull him off balance.

The flame user jumped back on instinct, but the moment he did…

SNAP!

Another string snapped from below and caught his wrist mid-air, forcing his arm to twist and his flame to misfire.

WHOOSH!!

The fireball shot off in the wrong direction and blew up uselessly in the sky.

The second boy, the ice user, responded fast, sending a wall of ice toward Gray.

Gray took a step back.

“Now, Lyra.”

From behind the boulder, Lyra’s eyes sharpened. She raised both her hands, her aura flaring again.

BZZZZZZZT!

Electric sparks flickered over her palms.

“Go!”

CRACK!!

A bolt of golden lightning surged forward, slamming into the ice wall before it could fully rise.

It shattered like glass.

’…Lightning magic, huh…? With those floating spears that make it two skills already…’ Gray noted inwardly.

Then, he walked straight through the falling pieces of ice, brushing one off his shoulder.

“…Good girl.”

Lyra blushed slightly at his words, but didn’t drop her guard.

The two enemies were now on edge, breathing heavily.

“What the hell is wrong with this guy?!” the flame swordsman barked, panic starting to rise in his voice.

Gray just grinned as black threads slithered slowly between his fingers like snakes ready to strike.

“I don’t like to repeat myself either, but…”

His black eyes gleamed slightly.

“Let’s play, shall we?”

The two students exchanged glances after hearing Gray’s words.

They didn’t say anything, but they agreed silently, and then…

SWOOOSH!

Their auras flared at once—red flames licking the air, while jagged shards of ice circled around the other’s hands.

Gray tilted his head, unimpressed.

“Oh? A team-up now?” he chuckled.

“How cute.”

Then, slowly, he turned his head back toward Lyra.

She flinched.

Her breath caught in her throat.

He didn’t say anything at first—just looked at her with those unreadable hypnotic eyes.

The same cold stare he had right before pulling her close… that same smile right before he softly cupped her chin, and whispered into her ear like a ghost.

A deep red hue spread across her cheeks as she remembered.

She instinctively took a step back, her hand brushing against her own collarbone like it were burning.

Her heart wouldn’t calm down.

“Just fight the way you want.”

Gray finally spoke, making Lyra blink in complete surprise.

“…Huh?”

“I don’t care if you go wild, or run away. If you’re going to follow me, do it your way.”

His tone wasn’t cruel, but it wasn’t kind either.

She bit her lip, confused… but something inside her clicked.

She nodded quietly.

“…Got it.”

And then…

BOOOOM!

The ground trembled as the two students rushed forward at full speed. Flames tore across the stone while spears of ice burst from the ground like traps.

Gray’s smirk widened.

[…You do realize that either of the two in front of you are much stronger than you, right?]

Jasmine, who had been silent for quite a while, warned him inwardly.

However, before Gray could reply…

CRACK!!

A jagged blade of ice slammed into the spot where Gray had just stood, blowing apart a chunk of the ground into frozen shards.

FWOOOSH!!

A wall of fire followed instantly after, forcing Gray to twist and roll sideways, the flames licking his boots as he barely got out in time.

His breath left him in a soft hiss.

’...I know, but I have Lyra by my side…’

[You really have to be dependent on something, huh…]

’Of course, if not, how am I going to be able to survive in this academy full of monsters…?’

Gray added inwardly, as he continued rolling on the ground, letting his body fall in the motion.

Fwip!

A quick spin, a flick of his wrist, and another line of invisible thread snapped into place between two broken pillars.

At the same time, he marked one of the pebbles on the ground and leapt back just as one of the enemies rushed straight through it.

SLICE!

Blood sprayed from the man’s shoulder as the thread cut clean through his leather armor.

“Shit!” the fire wielder cursed, staggering, but he didn’t stop either; he turned with frightening speed and thrust his blade forward, the fire now condensing into a white-hot point like a damn laser.

Gray’s eyes widened slighly, but he didn’t move to dodge.

“…Swap.”

He vanished once again, body trading places with a pebble he had marked just seconds ago.

“Damn it, he’s using teleportation!”

“Spatial-type movement… he’s hiding it under misdirection!”

The two shouted to each other, but they weren’t panicked, and instead, they were adapting much faster than Gray thought.

And he was starting to feel it.

His left arm ached where ice shards had grazed his skin earlier.

His breathing was getting a bit heavier, even if his face didn’t show it.

’…Their elements really complement each other...’

He clicked his tongue, using one of the threads to gather more distance away from them.

Then, he glanced around, looking for Lyra, quickly spotting her behind one of the giant boulders.

Around her, three glowing purple spears were floating slighly.

Fwish!

Fwish!

FWIP!!

The first spear suddenly shot toward the ice user, whistling through the air like a falling star.

CRACK!

He raised his arm to block it with a wall of frost, but the moment it struck, the wall shattered, and he was forced to jump back.

The second spear curved in midair and slammed toward the fire wielder’s side. He tried to dodge, but too late.

BOOM!

A blast of pressure hit him square in the chest, blowing him off his feet and rolling him across the ground like a rag doll.

Gray blinked once.

[Whew, as expected from a Vessel of Five Gods, even at the Early Intermediate Stage, she can hold her own against opponents one realm higher.]

Jasmine added with a faint smile.

And at that moment, she moved her fingers again.

Three more spears shimmered into the air, slow at first, like they were floating through water, then shot off with sudden, terrifying speed.

Fwip, fwip, fwip!

The ice user gritted his teeth, forming a spinning shield of icicles around his body just in time.

Ting!

Ting!

The spears bounced off, barely. And even then, his knees buckled slightly from the force.

Meanwhile, the fire wielder was still trying to get up, coughing; the front of his armor was cracked and smoking.

And that was the perfect opportunity for Gray.

He extended his strings all over the boulders around both of the ice and fire users, and then increased the sharpness of them.

His lips instantly curled up as he saw the magnificent threads hovering around the two students… like they were being preyed on by a spider on its cobweb.

“Swap.”

He swapped places with a rock on the ground, and then extended his arms in a familiar ’X’ manner.

And since he had transferred the mana of their visibility to their sharpness, the threards were now visible, and seeing this…

Lyra’s eyes widened in shock, and both of the students panicked.

“W-what the hell—?”

But Gray… he smiled, that same devilish smile as he sharply pulled the strings without feeling an ounce of emotion.

“My deepest condolences…”

Gray uttered in the same cold smile.

Splat!

Two heads flew high into the air.

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