I got into school for nothing - 205
I got into school for nothing (205)
Lesson 40. No Alien Allowed - 5
“Oh my goodness, you startled me!”
Kang Eunyoung exclaimed in surprise at the sudden appearance of her daughter before her eyes.
Yet, there was also a hint of relief in her expression.
“Why are you here? Strange things have been appearing all over the sky, and it's absolute chaos everywhere...! Oh, Yuwon sent you, didn't he? My good son, look at him, keeping his promise to his mother so perfectly.”
Meanwhile, Ban Yumi, who had been half-forcibly pushed back to Korea by her younger brother Ban Yuwon’s spatial movement ability, twitched and furrowed her brow at the sight of her mother, who was invoking a promise made with her son while looking relieved.
“What promise did you make with Ban Yuwon? A promise involving me?”
“Huh?”
Ban Yumi was in a very foul mood right now.
She disliked the fact that her younger brother knew so many things she didn't, acting as if he was playing above her head. It infuriated her that she was in a position where she had to be protected by him due to her lack of power.
“Yumi.”
“Ban Yuwon definitely said that, didn’t he? But now the entire Earth is in danger. Mom, tell me. Why are only you and I in danger? Why does he know, and I don’t?”
But what irritated her most was herself, secretly fluttering with excitement even amidst all this.
Even though she knew she shouldn't... her delusion, secretly dreamed of since childhood.
Yes, a vulgar and sordid delusion that shouldn't be described with cute words like "wish" or "fantasy," was perhaps on the verge of becoming reality, and that anticipation was swelling within her.
She found such a self utterly intolerable.
“Yuwon said... something like that?”
At her words, Kang Eunyoung momentarily wore a pained expression, but then her face hardened as if she were a different person, and she began pushing her daughter’s back firmly.
“We’ll talk later. For now, let’s get into the shelter with your mom and dad, hurry!”
“Mom, please. I’m the head of the world’s top combat guild, why would I go into a shelter?”
“Even so, we have to hide right now!”
“But why?”
Now, Ban Yumi’s voice contained certainty, not just a question.
In truth, she had felt for a while that something was amiss.
Ever since the world changed, her mother had often behaved in a secretive manner.
While there were many who couldn’t adapt to the transformed world, her mother’s problem was of a different nature.
It was frustrating to see her mother burdened with worries and secrets she didn’t share with the family, but the men at home were all too dull-witted to notice Kang Eunyoung’s strangeness.
Months had passed as she thought, “It’ll be resolved in time,” or “At least she’ll tell her daughter.”
Ultimately, this problem had erupted before she could hear the full story from her mother’s lips.
“Daughter, there’s no time for arguing right now. For now, let’s go to the shelter your grandfather prepared and talk there.”
“...Mom, you know where these guys invading Earth right now came from, don’t you?”
“Ugh...!”
But her younger brother was different.
Having grown unrecognizably in less than half a year, her brother had eyes that seemed to pierce through people’s innermost thoughts.
Though he himself acted nonchalantly, pretending to know nothing, Ban Yumi vaguely sensed that he was suffering internally.
And perhaps the reason was...
“Mom.”
“...Alright, I’ll tell you.”
Kang Eunyoung, of course, couldn’t have failed to notice Ban Yumi’s realization, so she finally let out a deep sigh and nodded.
Her son had seemed to notice something during their conversations, yet had tried to keep it a secret.
The fact that he had directly told Ban Yumi meant that the truth could no longer be hidden... and given the current circumstances, it seemed they had truly reached their limit.
“But for now, we have to hide. I’ll tell you everything once this is over, okay? Please, listen to your mom.”
“Okay. Though honestly, I doubt it’ll make a difference if we hide, seeing as Ban Yuwon might get wiped out.”
“Don’t say such unlucky things!”
The shelter, after all, was set up near their home, so there was no need to travel far.
However, just as Ban Yumi had said, there was no point in the two of them hiding, because—separate from the battle Ban Yuwon was fighting in space—an assassin had ambushed them.
Perhaps it was even better that Ban Juseok hadn't joined them, as he hadn't been targeted along with them.
“—Look out!”
Kang Eunyoung, who had been exiting the mansion and heading underground with her daughter, suddenly turned around and extended her arm.
*Swoosh!* Her arm glowed crimson, blocking a sword that flew straight for her daughter’s neck.
It was the unique Or wielded by the knights of the Prominence Family.
“Mom?!”
“Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas!”
Flames blazed on the sword’s blade, and Kang Eunyoung, whose complexion instantly turned pale despite not being physically wounded by it, uttered the name of a Constellation in an incredulous voice.
“Tch!”
“How...?”
The attacker hastily retreated, fearing a counterattack, but Kang Eunyoung was in no state to do anything of the sort.
“Someone from another dimension shouldn’t have been able to enter so easily. Could it be... they made a contractor on Earth?”
“...That’s right.”
The one who replied to Kang Eunyoung’s horrified voice was not the person whose attack she had blocked, but someone else.
Including that person, a group of five or six individuals appeared, their originally uncolored hair now distinctly long and red, surrounding the two women.
This area was private property of the Ban family, but given that they were attempting a life-threatening attack, illegal trespassing was hardly a surprising matter.
Beyond the fact that most of them were Korean, their biggest commonality was—they were all contractors of the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas.
“You fools, there’s no way you can handle the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas at your current level!”
“That’s our worry, ma’am.”
“The problem isn’t us handling him; it’s you handling us, wouldn’t you say?”
Not only Ban Yumi but also Kang Eunyoung had seen these individuals on TV a few times, for they were famous ability users. Yet, even they barely scraped by at the average level of Oculus Ruber.
There was no way such individuals could have received a proper selection from a Constellation.
Their contract with a Constellation was certainly not proper!
As Kang Eunyoung’s eyes deepened, comprehending their future and the Constellation’s true purpose, one of them, perhaps misunderstanding her expression, spoke with a somewhat stung look, as if making an excuse.
“They said if we just cut off Empress Ban Yumi’s head, we’d be given greater power, so we couldn’t help but risk our lives. We’re sorry.”
“Huh? Me?”
It was already absurd and infuriating that her mother had reacted and blocked an attack she herself hadn't even perceived, but now, faced with a crazy group prattling as if they held her life in their hands, Ban Yumi was utterly dumbfounded and could no longer bear it.
“You pathetic excuses for beings, just because you made a contract with a Constellation and gained a measly bit of power, did you think I’d be easy prey—!”
Ban Yumi extended her hand without hesitation.
The crimson flame that shot forth in a straight line from her hand first targeted the man who had attacked her and her mother, then shamelessly retreated.
The man scoffed, watching the stream of fire move according to her will as if it had physical form.
“So it’s that, huh? Even after seeing whose power I wield— *Aarghhh!*”
—*Crunch!*
With a horrifying sound, as if a beast of prey had ripped open its victim’s throat, the stream of fire pierced through the man’s abdomen.
The flames rapidly spread throughout his entire body, engulfing him whole, and just a few seconds later, nothing remained where he had stood.
It was a flame hot enough to freeze the attackers in their tracks.
“What is that monster?”
“Didn’t we think this power would be enough to block the Empress’s flame?”
“Damn it, I thought it wouldn’t be easy, but still!”
It was unclear whether the Authority granted by the Constellation was insignificant, or if the Authority Ban Yumi had awakened was truly formidable, but one thing was clear: she would not be pushed back by mere contractors hastily assembled by the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas.
The contractors of the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas belatedly realized the truth that one should never hastily sign a contract, no matter how advantageous it seemed, and began to falter and retreat.
“Hmph, they’re fleeing!”
“But the terms of the contract with the Constellation...!”
“You’re all dead.”
Ban Yumi was not so kind as to spare those who had trespassed on private property and sought to take her and her family’s lives. Now, she even forged crimson flames into swords, gripping one in each hand, and began to press the attackers.
“Ban Yumi, I told you not to use your Authority!”
Yet, even as she watched her daughter’s fierce performance, Kang Eunyoung’s complexion grew increasingly pale.
Her concern had never been about these weak contractors.
“Sorry. But it’s already too late, Mom.”
[Yes, it is already too late.]
One of the attackers suddenly stepped forward, affirming Ban Yumi’s words.
His hair, which had been stained red, now blazed as if it had truly become flames.
He looked as if he had transformed into a fire spirit.
Soon, even his eyes, and then his entire body, were naturally engulfed by the inferno, and Ban Yumi, overwhelmed, held her breath.
[Because I have already caught your scent.]
Another person stepped forward, adding to the statement.
Why did the voice sound identical, even though a different individual was speaking?
It was probably because all the attackers were transforming into fire spirits.
[My servant caught your scent on your man. I caught it distinctly, before that treacherous woman could escape my grasp.]
Your man?
Could it be referring to Ban Yuwon?
Even amidst this, Ban Yumi was utterly disgusted with herself for catching that phrase and feeling her face flush.
[Once I knew that, there was nothing left to hesitate about.]
[It has been a truly long wait. Now, return to where you belong.]
[Close your eyes and embrace my bosom.]
By now, the Constellation’s contractors had transformed into entirely identical figures.
No, these were merely the vestiges of humans who had met a tragic end due to their desire for excessive power.
One could easily learn that one shouldn't enter into contracts beyond one's station just by entering the Union Net, yet in reality, since Constellations rarely offered contracts to humans, foolish individuals occasionally made mistakes.
They believed that being chosen by a Constellation proved their worthiness.
But most Constellations, except when dealing with a very few humans, never suffer a loss.
[Come to me quickly.]
[The contract made with Prominence, it is your rightful duty to fulfill it, you who inherit that blood.]
And as the price for their mistake, they were used and discarded like disposable batteries. R~ANOBЕ.s
Everything that had constituted their individual selves was consumed by the Constellation’s flames, leaving behind only the pure will of the Constellation.
The Constellation had but one objective:
To descend upon this very spot.
[[[[Princess of Prominence, become one with me.]]]]
“...!”
Before their eyes, the fire spirits merged into one, their bodies swelling, until they became a colossal giant of flame, looking down upon Ban Yumi and Kang Eunyoung.
The material being so insignificant meant that many had to be consumed—but the momentum unleashed by the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas, having successfully descended, was far too intense for Ban Yumi, who had not yet fully awakened her abilities.
“Ah, ahh...”
“Yumi, leave this to Mom and run away.”
Kang Eunyoung took another step forward.
Had she stopped the Constellation’s descent, it would be another matter, but now that it had already manifested, it was best to abandon any thought of escape until all the power contained within its physical body was exhausted.
Therefore, someone had to stop it.
“Run away, and hide. Your grandfather—no, if you ask Yuwon, he’ll arrange a place for you to hide. He’s my son, but he’s truly remarkable...”
“Where on earth am I supposed to hide?!”
“Another dimension.”
[Hahaha. After all this effort to find you, you mean to escape from my sight again? That is utterly unacceptable.]
The Constellation’s manifested form, having overheard the mother and daughter’s conversation, laughed vulgarly and raised a blazing hand.
Kang Eunyoung’s eyes gleamed sharply, as she, like her daughter, formed greatswords of flame in both hands.
She had no intention of simply throwing her life away.
The Constellation’s manifested form was undoubtedly an
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