I Became the Academy’s Pink Airhead

The wolf running all the way to the distant Golden Street was instantaneous. And before Rota and Astrid could chase after, the disaster began.

Suddenly the entire academy city started shaking.

Rumble…!

Astrid couldn’t close her mouth seeing the previously intact wilderness cracking open and turning into canyons.

“The ground suddenly collapsing—?!”

“This is… what on earth…?”

“This won’t do… Let’s go up like this!”

“G-Go up?!”

“Aish! No time to explain!!”

Astrid hurriedly grabbed Rota’s hand and rose into the air. She led Rota into the yellow fog.

Swoosh—!

The two rising into the sky. They flew at an altitude that barely escaped the impact of the collapse.

“Hold onto me tightly—!”

“Eek…?!”

Rota let out a thin scream and trembled, gripping the hand she was holding. It was due to the fear of suddenly rising over 20 meters into the air.

Along with the feeling of her lower abdomen being pressed, cold sweat flowed down her nape. For some reason, it was scarier than sitting in an airship and rising hundreds of meters.

Rumble…!

The ground passing by below caves in as if it were a lie.

She comes face to face with the abyss spreading infinitely below where they had lived without a care until now. If she let go of the hand she was holding, it felt like she would be sucked in there like this.

But even scarier than that was…

Rumble…!

“…This can’t be.”

…the sight of the academy city collapsing.

Literally, the earth was shattering and the sky was falling.

When the familiar scenery turned upside down, a scene reminiscent of destruction unfolded there. The black curtains and boundaries were gradually advancing towards the Golden Street.

Once again the ground collapsed, making a low rumbling sound.

Pain like someone hammering her eardrum.

Rumble…!

“Ugh?!”

Rota grabbed the orange cat ears on her head with one hand. She wanted to block out the low rumbling sound that seemed like it would tear her eardrums, even if just a little.

Rumble…!

But no matter how much she tried to block it out, she couldn’t stop the noise ringing painfully in her head.

Countless screams pierced into her mind.

-N-No!! Please stop!!

-Kyaaah—!!

-He, hehe… I’m happy…

-No, no, no, no…

-Destruction, it’s destruction…

At times like this, having more sensitive hearing than others was difficult. Even if she closed her eyes, she was aware of the chilling reality.

‘I want to run away…’

If she could just hide in a quiet room and cover herself with a blanket, covering her ears, it felt like her heart would be much more at ease.

‘Where is everyone…’

Tremble tremble…

To begin with, most beastkins were cowards. Their keen senses and cognitive abilities specialized for magic all developed to flee safely.

That beastkin-specific sense was whispering ‘Run away.’

But…

The faces of her friends.

-Rota is brave—☆

-I knew from the beginning.

-You always reliably support us from behind.

The promise she made with the golden cat.

-You can… ‘the story’…

Freya’s praise.

-Wh-What’s needed to explore magic is st-stubbornness… You seem to already have that.

All of those things.

They held her back from running away from reality.

‘No… I can’t run away.’

Rota bit her lip and opened her eyes. Facing the sight still full of screams and chaos, she began to recall what she could do.

At the same time, blood returned to her pale hands, and will imbued the strength that had only been clinging by instinct.

“Senior Astrid! Please go to the northwest of the Golden Street like this!”

“Northwest… You mean ?”

“Yes! If we go there, Senior Freya should be there too!”

If they headed there, perhaps she could find a way to overcome this situation.

Reason and instinct.

It was the direction both pointed to.

“…”

She recalls the sensation of the grimoire always fixed to her body.

A smooth, plain cover without any writing.

Once containing the magic of the greatest witch, now it was a grimoire filled with her own magic.

She feels the familiar sensation of the book.

‘I can’t just keep preparing and being ready forever…’

All the experiences she had gone through until now.

She could sense that the time had come when she had to unleash everything. Now she had to move on her own towards the direction she thought was right.

‘The direction I should go is…’

Grip—

Astrid holding Rota’s hand could immediately feel that determination.

“…”

This tiny junior was looking for what she could do even while everyone was surprised and afraid. Even if she fled, she didn’t hesitate to move forward in a situation where no one would know.

And Astrid really liked people like that.

“…Oh~ Hohoho!!”

So she moved even faster, blocking Rota’s ears with fog so she couldn’t hear the echoing voices following.

- is for beastkin nobles of the to attend…

-The first school established by the faction that occupied around the World Tree first…

Forbidden knowledge.

But in the end, it was knowledge of the world we live in.

Just against the ‘order’ of the academy city and World Tree.

“…”

Astrid made a bitter expression looking at them.

“To think they were eliminated from the world… just for this.”

If we remember the outside world.

Is it because we can’t remain pure?

Or is it because we might stray from the path of fate?

What on earth is the age of order…?

“…”

Like that, Astrid passed by those who had unfairly become ghosts, while covering Rota’s ears with fog.

* * *

Eir leapt up on her bike from between collapsing buildings. And she jumped off just like that.

Whoosh!

She kicks off the bike and charges in midair.

Brilliant flames were blazing on her raised sword.

What Eir’s eyes were looking at was the wounded wolf.

“Grrr…!”

“Blaze!! [Laevateinn]—!!”

Eir swung the sword she had raised to the sky.

Then the flame-filled sword began to spin fiercely in midair, drawing a circle like a carriage wheel. The rotation speed gradually increasing became as fast as a storm.

Woong—

Woong—

Woong—

A wheel spewing white flames.

Matching that rotation, all the surrounding air heated up.

“Now!! Please just die already—!!”

Eir shouted like that and swung down the giant flaming wheel.

Rumble—!!

Like the legend of the chariot pulling the sun.

A trajectory spewing brilliant light rushed towards the wolf.

The ground starting to glisten with black swamp.

The debris spewing acrid smoke from numerous collapsed buildings.

The silver moth priest in the distance who had lost strength and breathed her last.

At this moment, everything was dyed white.

Whoosh—!!

The wolf began to burn from the white flames. The fires that had entered its fang-filled mouth were burning up its innards and fur.

Crackle

Crackle

『——!!』

[Twin Priest] Moin, who had been struggling in her final throes, could no longer even scream. She just opened and closed the wolf’s mouth, trying to move forward.

『——!!』

One last time…

Just one more…!

Pierce with these fangs and make them suffer until the very end…!!

Boom!

The wolf with half its bones exposed from flames, lightning, and countless weapons just moved forward. It staggered forward, trying to take even one more life.

The giant shadow of the half-melted wolf. It swayed back and forth in the street full of screams and chaos.

『——!!』

Moin letting out a roar beyond language.

Eir, witnessing her tenacity, looked to the sky.

“[Flash]—!! It’s still alive!! We need to finish it off!!”

After that shout spread.

Alvit, who had been moving here and there in the dim sky above… fighting [Priest of Illusion] Svafnir with her two wings shining, came down in one breath.

“Now!! This is the end—!!”

From sky to ground.

A ruby-colored straight line drawn.

Flash!

A battle cry rang out through it.

“[Flash Barrage]—!!”

And the sound came later than the explosion. The explosion of the holy sword burning everything around including the wolf followed.

A flash that seemed to burn the eyes just looking at it.

And explosion.

Boooom—!!!

The wolf just opened and closed its mouth in that. It was slowly being sliced apart by the exploding flash, completely losing its original form.

『Ah… Uh…!』

Moin, the dragon tribe girl raging inside the wolf.

She flailed her hands one last time.

In the explosion slowly eating away at the wolf god’s body, she muttered blankly. Even the lingering desire to live had disappeared.

“Bro…ther.”

Her brother who had fought together in anger.

Whoosh…

Their leader who had died in vain.

“Fa…ther.”

Whoosh…

The end of over 2000 years…

Was just terrible pain burning her body.

Even so.

Even so… they were able to do it.

With help from one who was once an enemy.

They awakened the dragon sleeping in the deepest abyss.

“…”

The girl prayed in pain.

‘Our black dragon.’

Living in the fighting set by the World Tree is too hard.

Living by stealing others’ ether is too painful.

Please, guide us… the dragon tribes who have become chaos insects that have lost even rationality… to a peaceful and complete death.

To a place where we no longer endlessly revive as bugs in the darkness…

By fate…

“…Please.”

As the last priest’s prayer ended.

The flash burned dazzlingly and exploded.

Boooom—!!

Dust clouds heavily obscure vision. Countless debris and buildings were endlessly collapsing, pushed by the force.

Though they had defeated the last remaining priest, Alvit and Eir just silently watched the collapsing academy city. 

The surroundings were burning.

“…”

“…”

Still.

The situation wasn’t over.

Eir rubbed her brow and muttered in a small voice. Her face was full of fatigue.

“Damn it… What is this.”

“…”

Those who had been fighting together either disappeared, enchanted by echoes, or were sucked into the black abyss. Even the screams still heard around were rather subsiding.

In the street gradually being dyed with a chilling silence, the footsteps of several people were heard.

Tap tap tap—!

Where Alvit and Eir looked were executives of the … Bell, Sieglinde, and Erda.

Bell, singed all over, spoke in a fluster.

“Girls!! How did the fight go?! What on earth is happening?! Does only Sister Erda know the current situation? Where on earth did the boss go—?!”

Restraining Bell like that, Erda calmly assessed the situation.

“It seems this side has been resolved. Good work, both of you. With this, all confirmed priests have died.”

“…I wonder if that’s of any use though.”

Alvit was looking at the collapsing academy city with gloomy eyes.

After declaring so confidently in front of Clara that she would protect it… Had she ended up being too late after all?

“…”

Apart from Alvit’s dejection, Erda calmly continued speaking.

“I have unfortunate news for those of you who just finished fighting. President Hilde, who was leading the students, witnessed an anomaly and asked me to bring you all.”

“An anomaly?”

“The academy city is in chaos and dimensions are being cut apart, is there something worse than this?”

Erda calmly answered Eir’s cynical words.

“Yes, movement of the ‘dragon’ has been confirmed in an area close to the World Tree… the southern region. Currently all personnel who can move are heading that way.”

“…”

“…”

Eir muttered while covering her face.

“Damn it…”

* * *

Senior Frida suddenly opened her mouth while eating.

“Should we… go to the sea?”

At the words of Senior Frida, who usually doesn’t speak during meals, Senior Nina, who was eating rice wrapped in seaweed, opened her eyes wide.

“Um… Wha?”

“Nina unnie, just swallow before speaking—☆”

“Ah… Gulp, munch. Sorry. Hehe.”

And the one who questioned those words was Senior Selma.

“The sea… You mean Incheon? Why Incheon all of a sudden?”

“Umm… Just because?”

Senior Frida spoke hesitantly, cleaning her glasses as if embarrassed.

“Just… I felt like going on a trip.”

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to firm up your resolve to join the army after failing to get into art school there?”

“That’s not it! And I haven’t failed yet!”

“The ‘yet’ implies it’s already a predetermined future…”

Due to Senior Selma’s ceaseless comments, the dining table eventually turned boisterous.

“…”

I muttered while fiddling with my chopsticks.

“The sea…”