Surviving as a Villain at the Academy

105 – Ghost Queen. (4)

Quaang!

With a sudden loud noise, I opened my eyes. Hurriedly looking around, I saw that the world was being covered by various magical bombardments.

…What is this?

It was difficult for me to grasp my senses in the sudden phenomenon. I had just woken up prepared to face Umvra’s trial, but all I saw was a battlefield.

Something flew towards me, and I quickly ducked down. Upon checking what it was, it turned out to be the debris of something that had already exploded and shattered.

But… that ‘something’ wasn’t just something simple.

It was a person.

Honestly, seeing a corpse had become familiar to me. Perhaps this world is just a harsh world. I had just witnessed the corpses of numerous soldiers who had died in the recent outbreak of monsters.

Witnessing a corpse doesn’t have any effect on my mental state.

However, that wasn’t the end of it.

Quawaang!

Following that, the sky flashed. I thought it might be lightning, but it wasn’t. Countless magical bombardments continued, and similar human body parts to what I had just seen began to fill the air.

Blood splattered, and a dizzying smell of blood filled my nose. It was suffocating.

I felt like I knew what this spectacle was.

This view of body parts flying on the battlefield… it’s not so common.

Upon realizing that fact, I was able to be certain of what this scenery that Umvra’s trial was showing me was.

This was the future scenery that I had always been afraid of.

The war between heaven and hell. If not, there wouldn’t be demons and angels in the sky. Who would have known that the scene I had vaguely written down with my own hands would be this cruel?

It was a scenery that seemed as if the end of the world had arrived. The burning and tearing land, flashes that filled the sky and made it appear bright red.

I swallowed my saliva. What should I do when faced with this scene?

The current me was utterly weak, just as I was in reality. What should I do to overcome this trial?

Usually, there is a purpose that corresponds to such a trial.

Then, what purpose could Umvra have given this trial?

However, the current situation didn’t give me any time to calmly think.

Quaaang!

If I tried to think, things continuously flew towards me from the sky and from the ground. There were limits to my magical barrier defense.

Although I had become somewhat stronger with Asti’s power, this must be the late stages of the original war between heaven and hell. All I could do was avoid being hit.

“God is with us!”

“Kill those disgusting fanatics!”

Moreover… this wasn’t just a fight between angels and demons. It was also a fight between human and human.

Followers of angels, followers of devils.

The whole world was engulfed in a battle, divided into factions.

What should I do in this world?

* * *

Umbras watched in confusion as Phraugh’s expression became increasingly troubled.

She listened to Phraugh’s mutterings and said,

-You don’t need to do anything. Just watch and endure.

And she was the same.

She showed Phraugh the world as he saw it, a landscape that clearly revealed what he was afraid of.

It wasn’t simply a battle between countries. The entire world was at war, each trying to annihilate the other.

No, even hell itself wasn’t that bad. Certainly, it was a place where living creatures could survive.

But the world Phraugh saw was different.

No one could survive in that world. Angels returned to heaven, devils to hell, and humans, driven by their fanatical devotion to either side, fought each other endlessly.

There was no peace anywhere.

It was truly a world war.

-This is the future you saw, isn’t it? It’s dreadful.

Umbras sighed. The future Phraugh had seen was even more dreadful than what she had imagined. Worse than when she was born for the first time, perhaps.

At least back then, humans didn’t fight each other. They were all victims. But in the landscape she now saw… humans had become perpetrators.

This was a segment that showed the profound influence that angels and devils had on this world.

As she seriously watched Phraugh’s future, she murmured softly.

-Phraugh, you don’t need to do anything in that world. Just enduring the sight of that landscape is enough. It’s all the trial you need. If your spirit can withstand the fearful world you’ve seen, it’s proof of how strong your spirit is.

Umbras watched as Phraugh seemed to be avoiding the attack, and she wondered what he was feeling at that moment. Normally, when people faced their greatest fears, they either retreated or ran away.

Would he show the same behavior?

Or would he face it head-on without running?

However it turned out, she only prayed that his spirit could endure the situation he was facing.

* * *

Death prevailed throughout the world. Even though she knew it was just her trial, the sensations that reached her through her own body told her that it was real.

No matter where she looked, all she saw was death. The dead were mercilessly exploded, their flesh and bones covering the ground.

This was just a trial. It wasn’t something that had actually happened.

It was just her spirit showing her the scariest part of herself. So, be strong.

I kept reminding myself.

I don’t know what to do. But if it’s something I have to do right now, there can only be one.

Survive in this situation. That’s all there is to it. I may not know anything else, but it’s obvious that if I die, I won’t be able to pass the ordeal.

If I fail to pass the ordeal, Umbra will not let me wield the shackler’s sword. I must absolutely avoid that.

Because, the scenery I am witnessing right now will surely come to me in the not-too-distant future, and if I don’t have the shackler’s sword, I won’t be able to survive this war.

Of course, there are many ways for me to become stronger. I have confirmed several possibilities.

However, the shackler’s sword could shorten that process by several steps. Giving up is a strange thing. That’s why I definitely had to obtain that sword.

By the way, what does Umbra want to confirm from me? Mental strength?

She clearly said the ordeal would test me in the mental aspect, so she must have wanted to test my mental strength. Then, how can I break through this ordeal?

What can I show of my mental strength in this situation?

Since I haven’t been given any specific mission, I had no choice but to think on my own. Yeah. So…

“Kill all those in front!”

I said as I avoided those damn bastards who were trying to kill me. Why the hell are you guys my enemies?

Fanatics who entrusted everything to the heavens. Followers who sold their souls to the demons.

They killed each other, and in the process, they attacked me, who was not affiliated with anyone. Moreover, it wasn’t just about blocking and evading their attacks.

There were remnants of widespread magic or holy magic falling from the sky.

…If it weren’t for the mana barrier, I would have died several times by now.

The mana barrier that I had activated since I opened my eyes tightly held onto my lifeline.

It was a good thing that the angels and demons were killing each other in the sky, because even if I had a mana barrier, I wouldn’t have been able to stop them if they wanted to kill me.

The higher beings positioned at this stage are completely different beings. They can easily create a widespread earthquake with a flick of their finger, or wipe out a whole city with a snap of their finger.

They are just using that power against each other, so the aftermath is limited to the burning and splitting of the land. If that power were directed towards the ground now, everyone present would be wiped out.

Let’s get out of here for now. I can’t stay here any longer. I need to buy some time to think.

Wherever I go, it will be a battlefield, but it will be much better than right in the midst of it.

As soon as I had that thought, I unleashed a bright light.

aaah!

“aaah!”

“My eyes, my eyes…!”

And in the moment when the vision of the fanatics and followers was temporarily blocked, I activated the invisibility magic and hit the ground. Since they would continue to fight each other even if I disappeared, their interest in me would quickly fade.

So for now… Yeah.

Being inconspicuous is the answer.