I got into school for nothing - Chapter 301
I got into school for nothing (301)
Lesson 59. Trap - 1
A mecha-dragon capable of transforming into incredibly tough armor, along with a hundred powerful warriors, each reaching at least a 4-Irekto to 5-Irekto level. This force was undeniably top-tier even among a bridal retinue, a formidable military might that completely shattered the existing balance.
He could easily imagine a now arrogant Asha flaunting her superiority to the other girls, but after her father's funeral, she seemed to have reflected on things and become a little more subdued. While that was fortunate in itself, the change in her demeanor toward Ban Yuwon was also troublesome; the playfulness had vanished, replaced by an unsettling earnestness.
[“Master only has one body—three cuts with a knife—four pieces—”]
“Don’t sing such strange, self-composed songs.”
On the way back to Fairytale aboard the spaceship Lilyth had created, Ban Yuwon gave Lilyth a light smack on the head. She was sitting on his shoulder in the form of a tiny doll, humming a sinister tune.
Eve, as if finding Lilyth pathetic, hissed faintly and coiled around Ban Yuwon's arm. Then, she suddenly poked his cheek, and only then did Ban Yuwon realize his mirror was ringing.
“Yumina, Nuna...?”
“What can I do when she asked to be called that? It’s a relief it’s not ‘honey’.”
“From my perspective, that’ll happen soon too. Hmm, still, she’s someone who has looked after Master a great deal, so she’s third in the hierarchy... no, depending on how Asha acts, perhaps fourth...”
What kind of hierarchy she was discussing, he was too afraid to ask.
Ah, at the funeral of the former King Yuder Light Camelot, Asha officially declared herself the next monarch, and also informed the other members of Rebellion to simply call her Asha. While at the academy, she planned to push forward with the 'blindfold and pretend' strategy of cross-dressing to avoid trouble, and with the Chancellor granting Ban Yuwon special favors, it wouldn't be too difficult. Regardless, she now considered her female identity not a secret to be covertly shared only with close friends like Ban Yuwon or Aire, but a truth to be proudly revealed and accepted.
‘Acquiring the Dragon Fang Soldiers and witnessing her father’s death—for me, it was all so fleeting, but for Asha, it must have been an event of immense significance, one I can hardly imagine...’
Ban Yuwon pondered this, twirling the mirror in his hand, then accepted the communication before it was too late.
Yumina, appearing as a hologram above the mirror, exclaimed in an urgent voice.
[“The Academy is under attack! Dimension pirates!”]
“They really chose *this* timing to cause trouble...?”
[“Exodus’s main fleet has broken through the Union Dimension Protection Barrier. It seems an unimaginable number of Constellations are with them; perhaps the war with the Ortima Family was nothing more than a smokescreen.”]
“Where’s Cantone? No, what’s the Chancellor doing?”
[“Of course, Professor is stepping forward to block them, and Cantone... seems to have entered the Tower. For now, I think I need to help Professor.”]
He'd expected trouble to break out eventually, but to think they'd cause such an incident even before the first-year final exams were over. Could Lusein Ortima’s rampage also have been a plausible deception? No, even if it were, someone of the Chancellor's standing wouldn't be swayed by it; rather, it was likely the Ortima Family's ploy to separate Lusein Ortima from the Academy. And Ban Yuwon's party being out in space at *this* precise moment...
“What should we do?”
[“Union is in danger right now. And the Tower also seems to be in a precarious state... I never imagined Cantone would be skilled enough to tamper with the Tower, ugh, but anyway, hide in Fairytale for now! That would be safer...!”]
Ban Yuwon replied that he understood and was about to hang up, but the next moment, a shockwave slammed into the entire spaceship, causing him to momentarily lose his balance.
[“A-Are you alright?!”]
“Yes, I just stumbled a bit... Nothing much here. Stay safe, Nuna.”
[“Mm, alright. I should be there with you at a time like this... I’m sorry, you must stay somewhere safe, okay?”]
“Yes.”
The communication ended.
Ban Yuwon confirmed it two or three times, then let out a grand sigh.
Looking ahead, the vast expanse of space visible through the monitor was filled with dark-red mana particles, floating everywhere. They had just broken through the dimensional wall and were returning to Fairytale, but the spaceship, which should have experienced no hindrance entering the Fairytale dimension since it possessed the necessary access authority, was now violently lurching as if encountering fierce resistance. It seemed to be due to the particles filling space, and Ban Yuwon, sure enough, detected a familiar concept within them.
“This... it’s a Constellation.”
And not just any—it was the aura of the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas, the patron Constellation of the Prominence Family, a presence he had encountered several times and was now familiar with.
Meanwhile, Dokgo Yeon, already prepared to step out into space, scanned beyond the monitor, her gaze eventually fixing on something. It was a colossal celestial body, not visible before they left Fairytale, yet now circling it as if it had always been Fairytale’s satellite, like the moon orbiting Earth. Covered entirely in crimson magic circles, it was an artifact in itself.
“It seems the Ten Great Families are capable of handling such things. Won, I think we need to destroy that first.”
“Let’s go together. It seems the incident... broke out far too early.”
With a grinding of teeth, Ban Yuwon gave instructions to Lilyth and Eve, then took Dokgo Yeon's hand.
“The power of a top expert can’t be wasted on something like this. If there are two of us, we can reduce the energy consumption.”
“Master!”
“Yuwon!”
“We’ll break through, so you two take the troops and enter Fairytale immediately. There’s probably a battle going on. Just hold out a little longer, and I’ll get there to activate the magic formation.”
Then, at least on this battlefield, they wouldn't suffer defeat.
Even amidst the chaos, Ban Yuwon rapidly issued orders to his party, but his heart was filled with a sense of failure.
‘I was a fool to trust that woman’s words so blindly.’
Perhaps Ulrike Prominence, realizing Ban Yuwon looked down on her, had intended to deceive him from the start. Or perhaps... the Prominence Family, having discovered that Ulrike was a fool and half-acting as a spy for Ban Yuwon, had deliberately leaked false information. Three weeks! He should have considered that the enemy could move at any time once a specific schedule had been mentioned.
“Can Nuna’s mercenary corps move right now? I need to put them on standby immediately.”
Ban Yuwon, urgently contacting the Rebel Force mercenary group, dashed out into space with Dokgo Yeon.
The barrier, deployed across the entire dimension using the satellite-shaped artifact, was indeed formidable, pressing down on Ban Yuwon and Dokgo Yeon, who were thrown naked into space, as if to crush them to death. However, Dokgo Yeon was beyond being affected by external 'qi', and Ban Yuwon...
“Ha.”
Perhaps due to the Prominence blood flowing in half his veins, or perhaps due to his Authority over the conceptualization of all things, he was soon able to move unimpeded by that energy.
No, it wasn't just that.
[Reverse Flow (逆流)]
As Ban Yuwon, having grasped the source of the power forming the barrier, began to properly exercise his Authority, the mana particles in the surrounding area started to change their movement, beginning from the point of contact with him. The energy that had been suppressing everything around them was now flowing in reverse, back towards its origin.
At first, the change was too subtle to notice, but soon Dokgo Yeon also grasped what was happening.
“You... when did you become capable of such a feat...?”
“It’s all thanks to you.”
For fuel to wield his Authority, there was none dare say better than the primordial energy, Won-gi. And it was none other than Dokgo Yeon who had provided the foundation for Yugi, which allowed him to accumulate and amplify it daily.
Of course, reversing the entire energy flow of space in an instant was an absurd feat, but merely carving out a path for the spaceship to advance was no problem at all.
“Lilyth, go!”
[“Understood!”]
Lilyth, resonating with Ban Yuwon, replied spiritedly and increased the spaceship's speed.
Eve and Lilyth remained in the spaceship in case of emergency, but Tikke had followed him to act as his escort. Suddenly, Ban Yuwon, recalling something, turned back to Tikke, who was simply blinking its lenses blankly.
“I think we can broadcast from here now too, right?”
—Whirrr
Tikke affirmed. Normally, powerful individuals like those from the Ten Great Families would thoroughly tamper with things to prevent any news from leaking out when they exerted their power. However, as evidenced by how Ban Yuwon had just pushed back the barrier, he now possessed the ability to resist such measures. If Tikke shared his Authority, it could now undoubtedly initiate a UniTube live broadcast even in this environment!
“Good, do it. If the enemies act recklessly, we’ll play along at their level.”
—Whirrrrr! Click!
There was no need to take a picture, though.
As Tikke, excited by its master’s momentum, immediately connected to UniTube and began a live broadcast, Ban Yuwon nodded and spoke to Dokgo Yeon.
“Yeon, let’s go destroy that satellite now.”
“There’s a lot I want to say—but alright. Let’s go!”
The two sliced through space at a speed comparable to the spaceship, a feat possible because Ban Yuwon was repeatedly folding space with his spatial control ability, performing short-range spatial leaps.
As they drew closer to the satellite, the density of mana particles it generated increased, but for them, already completely resistant to it, it was merely a matter of their vision blurring.
“Here I go.”
“Let’s do it.”
Ban Yuwon drew his sword.
Severing the satellite’s abilities with the Executioner’s Longsword's power of disconnection might have been a decent method, but that was only appropriate if he were surviving alone. Now was the time to borrow the power of a treasured artifact he had been saving.
The sword he drew was not the Executioner's Longsword, but Requiem. A sword that shattered magic, annihilated souls, and slew gods, it was perfectly suited to face a colossal artifact wielding the Authority of a Constellation.
The concept infused into it was Ban Yuwon's sorcery, numbering a staggering two thousand, and from that power, he conjured 'Reverse (反)'. Originally, sorcery held aspects similar to the Fairy race's Changeling, in that it could ward off harm to oneself, redirect it to another, or offer sacrifices for a wish. In that sense, the concept of 'Reverse (反)', which turned the direction of power manifestation, was truly suitable for use in sorcery.
“If even a small crack appears, that’ll be enough. I’ll handle the rest.”
“I might just destroy the whole thing.”
“I’m not the only one who needs to conserve energy.”
In response to Dokgo Yeon's jest-like words, Ban Yuwon gave a faint chuckle, then raised Requiem, with the concept of 'Reverse (反)' clearly visible above its blade, to shoulder height. Although it had somehow become a sword technique used more as a medium for sorcery or magic than for combat, the form of swordsmanship for manifesting sorcery—the thrust—the concept of 'Pierce (貫)'—was being perfectly embodied.
“—Hup!”
He created a foothold of magic power in space, then pushed off it and charged.
The mana particle barrier protecting the satellite tried to stop him, but it was futile; even before Requiem could be used, it was scattered entirely by the magic bullets Tikke fired.
—Whirrr
“Lights out!”
Thereby revealed was the vast surface, densely etched with crimson magic circles. Ban Yuwon willingly surrendered his body to the artificial gravity pulling him in, and plunged Requiem into the center of the greatly expanded surface before him.
The god-slaying power temporarily halted all movement of the satellite. And the trigger of the grand sorcery, manifesting above the blade, smoothly flowed into the giant artifact’s vulnerable interior, like an injection needle slipping into a vein.
“Get out, Won!”
Against the gravity that pulled him with the momentum of 'if we die, we die together,' Ban Yuwon, resisting by activating the concept of 'Reverse (反)' once more, bounced back as if launched from a trampoline.
Immediately afterward, all the mana particles that had been scattered throughout space were sucked back in. Then, upon the satellite, which was now boiling crimson and going berserk, a black sword strike, infused with Dokgo Yeon's power, was finally unleashed.
The crescent-shaped sword strike, impossibly massive, as if conjured by her small frame through a tiny shortsword—
The moment it cleanly sliced through the crimson satellite, then passed through.
Ban Yuwon, who had been flung back into space, once again created a foothold beneath his feet, leaped towards the satellite, and reached out his hand.
The immense concepts held by the legendary artifact, which had been concentrating the aura of a Constellation under the Prominence Family’s management for ages, were now pouring out.
Like yolk spilling from a broken egg, how could he possibly not covet such a thing!
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