I got into school for nothing - Chapter 271
I got into school for nothing (271)
Lesson 53. Equivalent Exchange - 3
—It’s the Demon King’s daughter! That succubus has brazenly shown herself in space!
—His Majesty has commanded that the succubus’s head be brought! The debt owed to the Demon King shall be repaid to the succubus today!
The cosmos grew boisterous.
This was an experience they had also faced in the D-13 Dimension, the difference being that instead of external invaders, it was battle-ready warships that had launched from the planet Diabolo and were now flying en masse towards them.
These bastards weren’t just exchanging simple voice signals; they were using a secure intranet to send and receive real-time commands, tightening their encirclement.
“Of course, for Lilyth, such security means nothing.”
[Ahem.]
It was conjectured that the Authority extracted from the God’s Fragment had combined with Ban Yuwon’s Authority — which controlled all concepts — allowing a new, unique Authority to sprout within Lilyth....
The scope of that Authority was truly immense; in this vast cosmic expanse, she could intercept their communications and play them inside the spaceship even before the enemy fleet came into sight.
“So.”
Mira looked at Shati, who was covering her face with both hands, and boldly cut to the chase, asking the question everyone was thinking but nobody dared to voice.
“What’s this about a succubus, Shati?”
“Kyahaha... how embarrassing.”
Shati’s characteristic laugh somehow lacked its usual vigor.
She subtly avoided Ban Yuwon’s gaze and explained concisely.
“A succubus is one of the sub-species of the Evil One race. The most successful among them are incubi/succubi, but even they are somewhere in between demons and monsters.”
“So that means... I knew it from the start, but the term 'succubus' is a derogatory expression for you, senior.”
“Exactly.”
But it wasn't as if she was called a succubus by them for no reason.
Surely, they wouldn’t just arbitrarily label her that simply because she was beautiful.
After indulging in a moment of free-ranging imagination, Ban Yuwon became certain that no matter how he phrased his next words, it would border on sexual harassment, so he sealed his lips shut.
“Um... Project Manager? No.”
“Of course.”
“It seems you’re misunderstanding something right now?”
“I’m not misunderstanding anything.”
“Lies! You’re avoiding my gaze right now!”
“Hey, stop flirting with my boyfriend and just explain it quickly.”
Unable to tolerate it any longer, Mira spoke with a voice laced with a curse, grabbing hold of her, and Shati finally sighed, explaining the situation.
“Those guys coming now... they’re from the Human Empire, and some third prince of that empire, supposedly smitten with me, kept making ridiculous propositions, telling me to come to the empire or whatever. This was about a year before I entered the Academy.”
The gazes of all the other members, save for Ban Yuwon, fixed on her.
Stories concerning love, regardless of race, always had a way of capturing people’s attention.
However, as Ban Yuwon listened to the story, he felt a strange sentiment: ‘It seems those imperial bastards don’t even consider demons as human.’
Indeed, with such a fundamentally flawed perception, war was inevitable.
“So? What happened?”
[Was he handsome?]
Shati shrugged, answering Mira, who was coolly pressing for details, and Lilyth, who had chimed in with sparkling eyes.
“He was uglier than our Project Manager, and he was annoying, so I killed him. Not my type anyway.”
“K-killed...?”
“Well, it wasn’t a love story after all.”
“Then them calling you a succubus, senior, is...”
“Hmm, I suppose it sounded better to say they died by having their life force drained by a succubus’s wicked magic, rather than admitting they died by having their necks snapped by me.”
Ban Yuwon replied indifferently to Shati’s chuckling words.
“If you were ugly, senior, they would have hurled other insults, wouldn’t they? That’s how smear campaigns work; there’s no need to pay it any mind.”
Strangely enough, Shati seemed to feel a little better at his nonchalant consolation.
She grinned, a smile just like her usual one, and needlessly poked his shoulder.
“Kyahat, are you perhaps trying to hit on me right now?”
“Now I can’t say anything.”
Ban Yuwon, letting out a snort at her, reminded himself that silence was golden and turned his gaze to the monitor in front.
“Lilyth, have you gathered their intel?”
[Yes, I’ll list them in order of strength, starting now. First, the strongest one is aboard the red spaceship in the center....]
Lilyth’s Authority helped not only with eavesdropping but also with assessing the enemy’s power from a distance. As expected of an A-rank dimension, the internal power of the spaceships was formidable.
Each ship swarmed with individuals boasting 'Life' levels of 1,000—meaning over 4 Irektos of power—and at the heart of the twenty-ship fleet's flagship, there was a master so powerful that it would have been difficult to gauge their strength without Lilyth's enhanced Authority.
A staggering 'Life' level of 2,000, 8 Irektos!
In terms of sheer presence, it was a being that surpassed even Dokgo Yeon, the strongest member of their party.
Ban Yuwon, dumbfounded after hearing all of Lilyth’s thorough explanations, turned to Shati.
“Are those bastards perhaps the Human Empire’s elite?”
“Almost, but just below that. There’s the Human Empire Emperor’s Imperial Knights, and below them are the Imperial Guardian Knights. Those seem to be them. It appears they’ve gathered in such numbers because it’s the first time I’ve revealed such an opening.”
As Union was Ban Yuwon’s main sphere of activity, there was an easy misconception to make.
That was the fact that the students of Union Academy, hailed as geniuses of the world, were merely judged on their potential; they were not, at this very moment, the strongest individuals in their respective dimensions.
Influenced by mana, ability users from various worlds inherently possessed long lifespans, even if they weren’t of the fairy race. Even if their talents weren't exceptional enough to be selected for Union Academy, after decades of continuous Leveling up, their Levels would naturally surpass those of Academy students.
Higher-ranking dimensions, being rich in mana and thus easier to grow in, were overflowing with masters, and consequently, dangers lurked everywhere.
That was why, when she was staying in the A-4 Dimension, Diabolo, Shati never ventured through space in such a manner.
While she wasn't holed up in the Demon King's Castle, she at least stayed deep within the Demon Realm, where the Human Empire dared not tread.
She had become especially cautious after accidentally venturing out of the Demon Realm and encountering that third prince, who then proceeded to stalk her.
“I see. During vacation, the Academy directly teleports you home, so...”
“I didn’t expect to return so boldly under the guise of ‘special activities,’ but seeing them swarm like ants just to catch a glimpse of my face doesn’t feel so bad. Kyahahahat!”
Shati seemed to have completely returned to her usual state.
Ban Yuwon pondered as he watched the spaceships steadily closing the distance.
“Those things, their combat power seems high, but their technological level doesn’t seem all that advanced.”
“Even A-rank dimensions have considerable variations in civilization. Most of those ships were hijacked and modified from dimension pirates.”
“So dimension pirates get beaten up around here, huh....”
Realizing why the spaceships seemed to lack any uniformity, Ban Yuwon asked Shati.
“They probably can’t match Lilyth’s speed, so should we shake them off and enter the Demon Realm?”
“The Demon King would intercept even me if I brought a tail with me into his territory.”
“Alright, then in that case, the space-combat-exclusive Abel...”
“No.”
Shati reached out a hand, stopping Ban Yuwon as he was about to unleash Abel, his combined robot, further enhanced not only by Lilyth’s upgrades but also by additional concepts he had gathered.
“I’ll go. Hmph, that bastard is probably already peeking at us ominously anyway.”
“Shati?”
At her friend’s gaze, filled with worry about facing a Level 200 enemy, Shati raised the back of her hand, showing the inscribed Authority, and grinned.
“I came here to show this off from the very beginning anyway. I have to break that much myself.”
If one were to discuss Shati before her Authority's modification, she boasted skills that put her at the top of the third-year students, surpassing even the excellent students of the Special Class, all based on her profound magic and the Evil One’s characteristic robust physique.
However, that was by no means a level to be considered the Academy's strongest... but now, with Ban Yuwon's help, her Authority had been modified, instantly skyrocketing her combat power by more than double.
To the extent that she had once again completely surpassed Mira, with whom she had briefly been on par after contracting with a compatible Constellation in her third year.
To the extent that it could overturn her father’s disappointment in a daughter who couldn't properly wield her Authority.
“The Demon Realm is nearby, so the magic power consumption for summoning is less than half of normal. That means my output has doubled.”
“Please, fight with appropriate restraint and then return.”
“Then I’ll be off. Everyone, watch closely.”
Shati winked at Ban Yuwon, then turned and boldly flung herself out of the spaceship.
As flickering magic power, like blazing flames, enveloped her entire body and accelerated her, her form rushing towards the Human Empire fleet, drawing a long tail of light, resembled a small comet.
“Her intrinsic combat power doesn't seem to have changed much, but...”
Dokgo Yeon, unable to pinpoint the source of the overflowing confidence emanating from Shati, tilted her head and murmured.
Indeed, even if her Authority had changed, it would be difficult to perceive any transformation unless her magic power or physique had dramatically altered.
“Focus on the software rather than the hardware.”
“I am quite confident in my ability to discern the depths of martial arts cultivated by humans, as well as sorcery and heterodox paths, but... hm?”
Dokgo Yeon, who had been squinting and following the comet's tail, suddenly widened her eyes.
Immediately after, from the vanguard of the fleet, spaceships began to erupt in successive explosions!
“Huh.”
“Whoa...”
Dokgo Yeon simply reacted with utter disbelief, while Rucell clapped her hands, seemingly genuinely impressed.
Meanwhile, Aire, who instantly grasped the principle behind the Authority’s activation upon witnessing the horrific chain explosions occurring in space, wore a look of utter horror.
“To cause explosions by exploiting the rejection reaction of life fusion, even if they are monsters... that is more wicked than any Evil One Authority I knew.”
“It doesn’t even need to go as far as a rejection reaction. She’s forcibly causing Collapse. It’s that powerful.”
“It’s an absurd level, even looking at it again. Not just double. In terms of pure firepower, it’s easily three times or more...”
As Ban Yuwon listened to Mira’s words of stunned admiration, he coincidentally thought how fortunate it was that Shati’s hair was red, then turned to his side only to find Dokgo Yeon turning her head with an uninterested expression.
“It’s certainly powerful, but its manifestation is too slow. At this rate, it would only be useful as a siege weapon.”
“Of course, to a supreme master like you, it would feel slow.”
Although a strong suction force would arise around the target the moment the Authority manifested, restricting its movement, if one could read the timing of its activation and quickly withdraw, like Dokgo Yeon could, then no matter how high the attack power, it would be meaningless.
Furthermore, the excessively wide range of each individual attack was another point to consider.
While it was an ideal Authority for battling gigantic spaceships at a distance in the vast expanse of space, as they were doing now, it would be difficult to utilize effectively in one-on-one combat.
“At any rate, there’s nothing better for the current situation.”
“Shati alone buried half the fleet...”
Mira murmured, utterly aghast, as she watched the site of the chain explosions, which grew larger and larger in scale as the Authority continuously manifested, through the monitor.
It was then.
“One person has escaped from a spaceship.”
Aire, who had been assessing Shati with a look of excitement from a different perspective than Dokgo Yeon, given her mastery of magic, suddenly murmured.
“Probably the strongest one.”
“He must have realized that if he stayed inside the spaceship, he would sink along with it. I need to go help her.”
Shati’s Authority was certainly formidable, but against a supreme master with a ‘Life’ level of 2,000, as Dokgo Yeon had said, their movement speed alone would be on an entirely different dimension.
While Shati, employing a combat style that blended martial arts and magic, wouldn't be outmatched in close quarters, the opponent was simply too strong to face head-on alone.
However, just as Ban Yuwon was about to step forward to support her, Mira stopped him.
“She went out knowing a master was there from the beginning. She must have a plan; let’s watch.”
“Who was the one worrying the most just now...? Oh?”
It was at that very moment.
The explosions that had been spreading through space began to converge on a single point.
Ban Yuwon was astounded by it.
Such Domination, controlling even the explosions she herself caused with her Authority!
This meant that her decision to detonate the outer perimeter of the fleet first, instead of employing the more direct tactic of attacking the flagship, was all to harness those very chain explosions!
“Ah, the enemy noticed too. Rushing towards Shati—!”
The foe, realizing a terrible catastrophe was about to unfold, moved to avoid the energy converging on a single point and reached out towards Shati.
Perhaps he thought that if he killed Shati, he wouldn't be caught in the explosion. A sword, released from his hand, cleaved through space at the speed of light, rushing towards Shati—
Just before that, a small, red glass bead, which had shot out from amidst the exploding and disappearing spaceship fleet, embedded itself in the enemy’s back.
And that was the end of it.
The magic power, processed into a chillingly refined form, did not explode; instead, it disintegrated the target it touched at an atomic level, annihilating it completely.
What this meant was that not even the concept of the foe remained after his demise.
“That... I’ve seen Professor Zenon wield something like that before.”
—That’s one of the highest forms of magic power. Like the Won-gi you wield. ...It seems that girl didn’t intend to rely solely on the Authority you created for her. Not if she mastered such power in such a short time.
Cellon kindly offered an explanation to Ban Yuwon, who was vaguely muttering at the spectacle that exceeded his expectations.
At any rate, it seemed assistance was no longer needed.
Watching Shati return with a triumphant expression after utterly annihilating the Human Empire’s space fleet, he couldn't help but admit that the Authority he had modified on a whim had yielded far more incredible results than he had anticipated.
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