Doggone Academy

Lilith and Matthias ran until they were gasping for breath.

Their arms and faces were scratched countless times by the tree branches, and their shins and knees became bruised from tripping on tree roots, but there was no time to care for such injuries.

Lilith glanced back.

Between the gaps in the dense trees, black figures with elongated legs strode towards them.

“Damn it, Lilith! Run faster!”

“I am running!”

They were nearly at the limits of their stamina.

As Lilith faltered in speed, Matthias urged her even more.

These black spirits had changed appearance since a few hours ago—an unusual occurrence. Initially, they resembled human figures, but now they had the heads of deer, complete with antlers.

Taking a moment to catch their breath, they were quickly entangled by vines and weeds coiling around their ankles.

Lilith swiftly rolled her foot to strip them away.

Yet these were not mere vines; they wielded magical power akin to genuine forest spirits—an appalling realization.

“This is… it can’t be.”

Lilith ran once more, but quickly hit her limits. She was so out of breath that her vision began to blur.

While in stride, vines again seized her ankles. Unable to maintain her balance, she tumbled to the ground.

“Lilith!”

Matthias let out a startled cry and rushed towards her.

“It’s… it’s caught my ankle.”

“Wait!”

Matthias drew his sword and began slashing through the vines, but they grew back faster than he could sever them. Soon, even the tree roots joined in, beginning to restrain her lower half.

“No, not like this, damn, bloody hell!”

Realizing it was too late, Matthias gripped his sword with both hands and turned, standing with his back to Lilith.

The black spirits emerged from the trees, rapidly closing the distance.

One, two, three, five… ten… thirteen.

Matthias’s expression contorted as he counted—overwhelmed by their numbers. He had no chance against even a single entity, and this fight was far beyond winnable, no matter what he did.

The vines reached out snake-like, attempting to coil around his body as well.

He slashed irritably with his sword, muttering to himself.

“I must block them. I can block them. Damn it. I…”

The black spirits slowly formed a semicircle, closing in.

Hands trembling, mind going numb, he couldn’t control the primal fear inside him with mere thoughts.

Calculations had long since finished. Staying meant dying together.

“This is impossible. It’s all over.”

Matthias sheathed his sword and turned to flee, leaving Lilith behind.

It was only after struggling alone against the vines for a while that Lilith realized Matthias had abandoned her and escaped.

Tears began welling up as she thought it was all over.

Drawing on her last ounce of strength, Lilith sent out fireballs, which merely passed through the spirits.

The black spirits finally encircled her, with long black hands reaching down to clinch her throat.

Her breath began to constrict.

“Cough, I don’t want this… I don’t want this…”

Flailing her arms proved futile.

At that moment, the black spirits simultaneously halted in their tracks and turned their heads westward, seemingly detecting someone else’s movement.

There were only dark shadows and thick, black-barked trees untouched by sunlight. Lilith saw nothing.

However, the black spirits lost interest in her and realigned their formation towards that direction.

As the grip on her neck loosened, she coughed violently.

Then from the quiet forest came a rustling.

Swish, swish, swish.

The sound moved with a regular rhythm, as though someone was walking, before abruptly ceasing.

A blinding light pierced from behind a pillar of trees, growing brighter until it was so intense she had to squint.

It was not just illuminating the spot; it was moving closer to Lilith, and with a flash, it bulldozed everything in its path.

“Aah!”

Lilith crouched down and squeezed her eyes shut for a few moments before opening them.

Black spirits. Trees, rocks, and even the soil had been cleared in a straight line.

Half of the black spirits were swept away by the light, the rest retreating, perplexed.

Lilith, still in shock from the unfolding events, stared blankly.

Shortly after, with loud snaps, the shattered ancient trees fell haphazardly in all directions.

The ground trembled repetitively with thuds, and leaves and twigs showered down upon Lilith.

She fixed her gaze to where the light came from but saw nothing due to the fallen trees obstructing her view.

The black spirits began to resist fiercely.

Utilizing the fallen trees, branches reached out and vines grew, creating barriers like walls along the approaching path.

Again, a faint light burst from obscured gaps.

Boom!

A tremendous roar followed, sweeping away all obstacles in its path. Lilith’s hair was swept by the fierce wind.

The resistance of the black spirits was in vain; the waves of light ruthlessly shattered the barriers, forging a direct course.

Lilith’s pupils dilated, and her heart began to thunder. She remembered one individual capable of wielding such power.

From the path cleared in a straight line, a figure emerged, holding a longsword made of light in one hand, a black spirit’s hair in the other.

It was the masked man.

Reunion in such a manner had been beyond her imagination.

He sliced off the spirit’s neck and flung it aside, then strode towards the next one.

Soon after, Victor emerged with a bull-sized wolf, rushing toward Lilith.

“Victor!”

Seeing Victor alive, Lilith finally burst into tears. He grinned and checked her injuries.

“Damn, even happier to see you alive.”

With his sword cut in half, Victor slashed through the vines binding her, and the wolf bit and tore at them.

Crack, crumble, crumble—

In the midst of this, a giant tree, split in half, began to tilt above their heads.

Lilith pushed Victor away, yelling,

“No, watch out!”

No sooner did she shout, a light burst from where the masked man was, and a wave flew in, obliterating the tree above their heads.

“Aah!”

Debris rained down on them like flower pollen.

Victor chuckled in disbelief and continued his work. It was such a scene that left no words to say for anyone watching.

Victor assisted Lilith to a safer area.

Even as they moved, she stole glances at the masked man multiple times.

He alone was mercilessly slaughtering the black spirits—a scene fitting the description of a brutal massacre.

“Cecil sent a message. Elias is safe,” Victor said, trying to reassure her. Only then did she avert her gaze.

“Matthias is….”

“Candinella will find him soon.”

“…”

The masked man’s arrival had completely turned the tide.

The battle soon ended. The spirits that had cornered everyone met their gruesome end at his hands.

And the surrounding area was left looking like a meteor strike.

Finally, the light from the man’s sword vanished, and he began walking slowly toward where Lilith and Victor were.

By his side, a previously unseen face had joined.

The prodigious Spirit Master. It was Luna Railis, standing just within arm’s reach as if they were close friends. Lilith was momentarily at a loss for words.

Lilith and the masked man locked eyes.

He gave her a cursory glance and then fell silent, not even offering the common courtesy of a greeting after such a long time.

The silence lingered as they continued to look at each other.

Unable to bear it any longer, Lilith spoke first.

“Thank you for saving me, really, but is it so hard to say hello?”

But no answer came.

For Lilith, greetings from men were a dime a dozen in this world—so common they had become as familiar as pebbles at her feet. Yet she was coldly ignored by the one person she actually wanted a response from.

Her eyes helplessly drifted downwards.

Victor looked back and forth between the masked man and Lilith, holding his tongue.

***

Professor Candinella frowned upon seeing the black pit from which the spirits had crawled. A phenomenon normally seen in the north, now faced here, made her head throb. Thankfully, being under the influence of the Circulatory System, it had not expanded greatly.

Candinella bit her lip. An accident occurred during the weaken phase of the beast’s molting period—as if someone had timed it.

She turned and gestured to the students to retreat farther. Had she not intervened, they could all have been sacrificed to the pit, possibly leading to a catastrophe.

The roughly twenty students watching nervously took a few steps back.

Then she started chanting.

The ground responded as black smoke rose, and a burnt-looking black magic circle expanded.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

Soon after, stones and rocks rolled in, encircling the broken obelisks and piling layer upon layer. Once the obelisk was restored, the black pit began to close slowly.

With the temporary sealing complete, she took a moment to breathe. It should hold strong enough until the beast’s power returned.

After dusting off her hands, Candinella walked away from the seal.

Then Matthias approached her hastily.

“Professor! I still haven’t found Lilith. Maybe now…!”

She shook her head.

“I just received Victor’s message. She’s safe. Don’t worry.”

“…!”

Precisely then, Cecil, who was among the twenty students, shouted.

“Candy!”

At her sudden call, everyone turned their gazes in one direction.

Then, from within the forest, Damian, the masked man, emerged, followed by Luna, Victor, and Lilith.

Candinella smiled approvingly and said to Matthias,

“They’re over there.”

He turned his head but then his face paled.

“Aren’t you going to greet them?”

Candinella nudged Matthias’s back, but he couldn’t bring himself to go forward, just gritting his teeth with hostility towards Damian.

“…?”

Wondering what the story was, she noticed it wasn’t just one odd look aimed at Damian.

From a few steps back, the whole arrangement was clear.

“Why didn’t you send a response? We were worried!”

Cecil ran to Damian and they exchanged glances with Lilith. Then suddenly, she embraced him tightly.

“Hey, sis!”

By her side was Luna, and behind Cecil was Azelis, fidgeting nervously. The twisted expression, the clenched lips of the discomfited Lilith, and even Sion, glaring daggers from a distance.

All of them had their eyes fixed solely on Damian.

Seeing all this, Candinella murmured to herself.

‘…Silveryn really has an exceptional student.’