Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy

Chapter: 87

“Hold out, you say?”

There’s a guy up there I’m not so sure I can even withstand at my level, and I’m being told to hold out!?

“Does this Sloppy Fool even have a conscience?”

I’m staring down death because of you, shouldn’t you be providing something!?

As I ponder about it, I see another phrase below the message.

[Reward: Short-term Buff (Advance Payment)]

Ah, so it wasn’t just chatting; it was a quest?

And what’s this about an advance payment?

What the heck is that?

I hadn’t seen this wording since starting at Soul Academy so it raised some questions, but those were cleared up shortly.

An overwhelming ecstasy welled up inside me.

It was an even bigger, almost omnipotent feeling than when I received the buff from the Mesugaki Skill.

Ah, so that’s how it is. Shoddy God.

You treat me like a toy always, but now that the toy is in real danger, you’re all flustered!

Thinking back, you also jumped in when I was almost killed by that alchemist last time.

Looks like I’m a fun little toy for you, huh?

Well, I’ll gratefully accept what you’ve given me, Lord Armadi.

I get the feeling that if you were a real God, you’d naturally provide this much.

If I whine about it, you’ll probably hit me with some weird penalty, huh? I guess I’ll just shut up.

The Apostle of Evil God looked down at me and Joy with his red eyes.

Long black hair.

A black coat trailing down to his calves.

A threatening big guy looming over those rather stuffy clothes.

He is the Apostle of Tariki, the Evil God.

Nakrad.

Sigh. Right off the bat, the toughest one shows up.

“Lady Allen. That guy is.”

“Joy, stay behind me.”

“Foolish Young Lady. You’re shaking behind me.”

He then nodded and conjured a magic circle atop his hand.

I’m no expert in magic, but I have an inkling about what that spell is.

Nakrad always uses the same magic when invading the Academy for the first time.

The Barrier of Blockade.

A spell that perfectly isolates the inside from the outside.

I remember it took the professors at the Academy several minutes to break it.

When I attended the plaza during the first invasion event, I had to hold out for 3 minutes, right?

Three minutes.

I usually think that’s disgustingly short, but now it feels eternal.

Taking a deep breath, I raised my Divine shield and gripped my mace.

I should have worn my armor for this.

I don’t know if my armor matters against that guy.

No sooner had I completed my preparation than Nakrad landed lightly in front of us.

“Hmm. You’re young and weak. It’s hard to believe you received a blessing.”

After sizing me up, Nakrad spoke dismissively.

“Killing a kid like you isn’t my usual hobby. Little one, blame the God that chose you.”

‘You don’t need to say it; I’m always resenting it!’

“Always resenting. Bravado Stick.”

“Bravado?”

A Bravado Stick, huh? I can guess why such a nickname was given.

Nakrad does have a bit of that chuunibyou vibe.

His eyes are red, the rest of him covered in black, and he’s even blessed by the darkness.

Users have called him chuunibyou Apostle more than Nakrad, so the term ‘chuunibyou’ must have morphed into ‘bravado’ now.

“Bravado? Truly, can’t even grasp the gap in our power?”

Saying this, Nakrad formed a small black sphere above his hand and tossed it at me.

Danger!

Over and over.

Repeatedly.

Until my head was filled with danger.

[Defend!]

Amidst it all, I heard Grandpa’s voice and opened my Divine wall.

And just as that wall completed, the black sphere in front of me burst, causing an explosion.

My hair flew wildly.

Debris spread all around, carried by the wind from the explosion.

As the shield endured the shock, it began to crack, shattering to pieces.

At least it’s fortunate the power was significantly reduced.

I enlarged the Divine shield and put strength into my feet.

To hold out.

To protect the Joy behind me.

Once the explosion finally ceased, I lowered my shield a bit and saw Nakrad, leisurely conjuring more spheres around him.

“Do you still think it’s bravado?”

I can withstand those explosions.

If it were me on a normal day, it would be one thing, but with the buff given by the Shoddy God, I think I can somehow manage.

However, it seems he’s just toying with me now.

If I see that barrier start to crack, he’ll likely get serious about trying to finish me off.

Will I be able to withstand that firepower?

“What should I do?”

[This is a tough situation… but let’s take advantage of the fact that the opponent feels secure.]

“Even if I land a hit, I’ll end up dead, right?”

[That’s not what I meant. Use your provocation to make him disregard the barrier breaking.]

That was Grandpa’s strategy.

Since he is the Apostle of Evil God, Nakrad will want to defeat me in as humiliating a way as possible since I’m the Apostle of Armadi.

So we’ll guide Nakrad into playing with me.

Pushing his temper as much as possible with the Mesugaki skill to make him focus less on the barrier crumbling.

Make him think I’ll be toyed with until salvation arrives.

Not a bad idea, Grandpa.

I took a deep breath inside.

A confident smile on my lips.

Eyes wide open, I relaxed my shoulders, feeling no tension whatsoever.

“Ugh♡ You wanna be recognized by a girl like me, huh, Bravado Stick?♡ You’re such a pathetic trash adult in that embarrassing outfit!♡”

Nakrad’s eyebrows turned into a straight line.

He’s a character lacking in emotional expression.

At this level, he must be quite irritated.

But that’s not enough.

“What are you talking about?”

“What? Oh♡ Bravado Stick, do you actually think you look fine like that?♡ Seriously?♡ Trashy sense for a trash adult!♡”

He probably thought responding was pointless.

Nakrad threw one of the spheres toward me.

I had anticipated that already.

I was prepared and had set a barrier, making this one thicker and sturdier than before.

I could withstand Nakrad’s explosion.

As the smoke dissipated and his face came into view, I grinned with all my might.

“A little teasing and you call that violence?♡ Isn’t it okay for an adult to have some patience?♡ Aha~ Bravado Stick is just an outer-shell aging child, isn’t he?♡”

“Enough noise.”

“But~ you’re a trash adult, so of course, you believe in a trashy Evil God!♡”

The moment “Evil God” crossed my lips, a thick ecstasy surged through me.

At the same time, Nakrad’s eyebrows which were straight became diagonal, his forehead wrinkling.

Alright, let’s keep this up.

“You are an Evil God, right?♡ If not, why would you make a Sloppy piece of trash your Apostle?♡ Stuck in some corner of the world, trash!♡”

Just before I finished my sentence, Nakrad hurled all the black spheres surrounding him.

Gotcha.

Apostles are generally overly pious beings, so they can’t stand it when you insult their God.

I prepared a Divine-enhanced barrier against the coming explosion while calling out Joy.

“Joy!”

“Foolish Young Lady!”

“…Huh? Yes!”

“Run! I’ll buy you some time!”

“Run! That Bravado Stick is more than enough for me!”

“But—”

Joy’s eyes wavered.

Fear filled her mind, and her conscience fought with it.

Good people have a tough time, huh?

If it were Visi, she’d already be running before I even said a word, huh?

“Could you just vanish?♡ A useless Sloppy person is nothing but a hindrance!♡”

Saying that, I refocused on the barrier.

The buff from the Shoddy God is pretty good after all.

I’m getting used to the increased power, and I can feel it.

The problem is, it can’t close the gap between me and Nakrad.

Shoddy God. If you want to help, help properly.

What are you going to do if this is the kind of help you provide?

Around the time the explosions ceased and the smoke cleared, footsteps echoed behind me.

Thank you, Joy.

For listening to me.

I was worried you might be that heroine trying to obstruct with “Lady Allen!”

“It’s truly disrespectful.”

As the smoke fully cleared, Nakrad’s sharp voice rang out.

“You’re quite the trashy Apostle of that garbage Armadi.”

“Isn’t that better than the gloomy trash Tariki?♡ At least I’m not a pathetic adult with confidence issues!♡”

“You little brat.”

“Ahaha♡ Are you mad?♡ You’re really mad?♡ Getting serious over a little kid’s teasing?♡ Total adult failure!♡”

No sooner had I spoken than I heard a danger!

As I raised my shield, Nakrad’s fist met me.

With my current body, I couldn’t withstand that overwhelming power.

I gritted my teeth and held on, but even that had limits.

My body soared through the air.

Rolling on the ground multiple times, I finally regained my senses, just in time to hear another danger!

From all directions.

I didn’t know where to block!

No matter where I tried to defend, preventing everything was impossible.

I hastily moved my shield in the direction the danger indicated, but my best was far from perfect.

From the shadows on the ground, spikes made of darkness shot up to attack me.

Some were blocked by the shield, but far more weren’t.

“Ugh! Ack!”

It hurts.

I’m pierced all over, not even knowing where it hurts.

I just feel pain everywhere.

“Do you now understand your place?”

While my mind was filled with the word “pain,” I looked up at the voice.

There was Nakrad, putting on a façade of indifference.

Ha. That bastard.

“Hmm. Still not broken?”

He said this and snapped his fingers, and suddenly, something pierced my abdomen.

It was hot.

The blood flowing from my stomach felt like lava, burning me and turning me to black ash.

I wanted to lose consciousness from the overwhelming pain, but my skill clung to me.

It wouldn’t release me.

Desperately, I struggled to cling to my sanity.

I begged for it to let go when another rough hand yanked my hair up.

“I won’t ask again.”

Nakrad’s face came into view.

I saw my death reflected in his red eyes.

Fear.

Fear swelled inside me.

A long-forgotten feeling surged down like a torrent, trying to break down my dam.

I wanted to ignore him, but the color of fear was just too strong to wipe away.

“What’s your answer?”

An answer? What answer?

What am I supposed to say?

What does he want to hear?

Unable to understand him, I just laughed foolishly.

“Heh.”

With a laugh that seemed absurd, a black sphere fell in front of me.

Ah, damn it.

…

A ringing buzz echoed in my ears.

A beeping sound continued incessantly.

At the same time, I thought I heard Grandpa shouting something, but it was drowned out.

Am I dying? Maybe I am.

How? I don’t know.

I guess it won’t be a peaceful death.

My teeth started to chatter.

A shiver coursed down my spine, mixed with pain.

Overcoming Fear tried to keep it at bay, but the dam had already burst.

The bullfrog could only say he was screwed.

I’m going to die.

I’m dying.

All my bones would break.

Toyed with like a plaything.

In the most humiliating way possible.

If so, maybe it’s better to bite my tongue.

Opting for self-destruction might be easier.

Yeah. If I’m going to be that bastard’s toy, I’d rather—

“I know you’re not dead. Would you expect me to let you go after insulting the name of Lord Tariki?”

I heard the voice approaching me.

Quick, bite your tongue.

Die.

Just go.

“You won’t move, so just wait there. I’ll bring the woman from earlier.”

A woman?

The girl that was with me?

Joy.

It’s Joy.

“I’ll tell you what crime you’ve committed.”

…No. Not that.

My favorite character can’t die because of me.

That can’t happen.

The words “can’t” etched themselves between fear and pain.

Those words began to swell, pushing up against the overwhelming fear.

At that moment, I regained a bit of normal reasoning.

Armadi’s Mercy.

As my body healed, the dam that held back fear was reset.

Sigh. Damn it.

That damn Mesugaki skill’s penalty.

Once you get an education like that, you’d be swallowed by fear in an instant.

Is Overcoming Will and Fear not enough?

“Bravado Stick♡”

I staggered up and called that name again.

Just then, the guy trying to leave turned his head.

“What?♡ Are you running away out of fear?♡ Hahaha♡ So~ sloppy!♡”

I can still hold out.

I’m a tank after all.

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