Serene wore an incredulous expression. "Don't you think that's absurd? Why should I help you?" Simon climbed onto the back of Lorraine's Skeleton Horse and replied, "I'll owe you one." With only those words, Simon nodded to Lorraine. She pulled on the reins, and the Skeleton Horse soared fearlessly into the sky. '......Nonsense.' Serene raised a single feather with a cold expression. The feather disintegrated into a magic circle, transforming into a large interceptor ballista. -You're clumsy at politics, aren't you? At that moment, Simon's voice echoed in her ears. -Your methods only increase your enemies. '.......' Serene gritted her teeth. It was sophistry. She had always been the strong one. The weak had only two choices: be taken or die. To her, whose mental abilities had reached their peak, the thoughts of others were never an important consideration. But. 'My methods, clumsy?' Her gaze returned to the sky. Simon and Lorraine could be seen talking amicably on the Skeleton Horse. *** "So the monster went berserk?" "Yes." Simon nodded and continued, "Have you heard anything about me from Neptis-nim recently?" "Huh? What are you talking about?" Lorraine's blinking, questioning look was easy to read. Neptis had never told Lorraine about the Legion either. It was a secret between Simon and Neptis. Of course, one more person knew now, but that couldn't be helped. "It's nothing. Actually, a famous treasure hunter visited as an external lecturer for Class A, and that monster was in his data. It's not in the guidebook." Lorraine thought for a moment, then said, "It might be an artificial monster that doesn't originally inhabit this island." "That's a possibility too." As Simon briefed Lorraine on the information he had gathered, their distance from Bikrum grew shorter. The berserk fake Bikrum was now almost 20 meters tall. It had crossed the river and entered the southern island. "This is insane!" "What is that thing?!" Students who had been quietly hunting monsters in the outer regions were busy fleeing at the sudden appearance of the colossal monster. As Bikrum passed among them, kicking, the ground overturned and trees were uprooted. It was a walking catastrophe. "Kyaaaaaaah!" Bikrum stopped and looked down at the screaming female student. Then, it lifted its massive foot. "Ah......!" As the giant's sole covered the sky and descended, the female student froze in terror. Whoooosh! Just then, a man bravely flew towards Bikrum's sole. He took a deep breath and punched with all his might. Bang! Bikrum's massive body momentarily tilted, losing its balance and stumbling backward. -Ooooh! -Brother Bread! Nice one! His true identity, of course, was not Bread, but Erzebet, transformed into Bread. She had a magic communicator attached to her ear, allowing her to communicate with the command center and other teaching assistants. As she descended to the ground, the female student cried out with a moved expression, "Thank you for saving me! Teaching Assistant!" Erzebet lightly tapped her forehead with her index finger, making a flicking gesture. "It's dangerous here, so stay far away." "Yes!" The female student, her cheeks flushed, glanced back at Bread before fleeing into the forest. 'Oops, this isn't Bread's style, is it?' Bread was a simple muscle-head. Erzebet took a moment to recall her persona, then placed her hand on the magic communicator and said, "This is Teaching Assistant Bread. I will relay information learned from the engagement." Even Erzebet herself thought her voice imitation was perfect. "The monster is sensitive to human sounds. Screams or shouts while fleeing are dangerous, but other sounds are fine. Please relay this to the students." -This is HQ! Good work. We'll relay it immediately. -You figured that out already? Why are you so competent lately, unlike your usual self? -Yeah. I thought your brain was all muscle. Judging by the reactions of the other teaching assistants, he didn't seem to be the competent type at work. Erzebet cleared her throat and said gruffly, "All teaching assistants under me, shut your mouths." -Hahaha! As expected, Brother! "And HQ. I have one more thing to relay. Combat must be avoided at all costs, and operations should focus on student rescue......." While Erzebet was speaking, another teaching assistant was flying towards Bikrum. -Hey, Bread! It was Karis, the Jet Black Mechanics teaching assistant. -I know what you're thinking, but there's no one among the students who can catch this thing anyway. I'll just catch it myself! He floated into the air and violently swung his scythe. A crescent-shaped blade, over 10 meters long, flew and slashed Bikrum's back. -Okay! I'll catch.......! Bikrum turned around, perfectly fine, and threw a thunderous punch. Craaaash! Incredible speed! Karis, who was hit, was immediately sent flying hundreds of meters and crashed into the ground. -Ugh! Cough, cough! Damn it! This bastard hurts so much! The cries heard through the communicator were filled with pain. "That's why I told you, Senior Karis. HQ, I'll relay again." Erzebet raised her head and continued, "The monster has regenerative abilities. Combat must be avoided at all costs, and operations should focus on student rescue." -Copy that. Erzebet had once been Bikrum's comrade, so she knew this much information. She turned off the communicator and wore a complex expression. 'It seems our Legion Commander's situation is messed up.' If Bikrum went completely berserk, no one could stop it. Persuasion seemed to have failed, so the only way was to eliminate it with minimal damage. If casualties occurred by accident and Kizen headquarters initiated an investigation, things could get troublesome. 'For now, I need to rendezvous with the Legion Commander.' *** "Hold on tight, Simon!" Lorraine, riding the Skeleton Horse, stretched her arm backward. The empty air split open like a monster's mouth, revealing silhouettes with red eyes identical to hers. Whoooosh! Crimson light beams shot out from within, piercing Bikrum's torso one after another. Bikrum, now riddled with holes, raised its right arm. "Kuk!" She pulled on the reins. The Skeleton Horse rapidly descended, and Bikrum's arm sliced through the air. Whoooosh! It was a narrow escape. Simon brushed back his wildly fluttering bangs to clear his vision. "Lorraine! To your side!" "......!" Bikrum's leg was already approaching. A kick from its massive body! She urgently pulled on the reins, but the Skeleton Horse's reaction was slow. "Simon! Brace for impact!" Simon was covering his head with both arms when suddenly, feathers flew in front of them and unfolded into a defensive magic circle. Bang! As the Golem's leg hit the magic circle and slowed down, the Skeleton Horse safely escaped the attack radius. 'This ability, could it be......!' Simon turned his head. Countless feathers whizzed past Bikrum's body. Splaaash! Fountains of blood erupted from various parts of Bikrum's body, which had been shredded. The feathers returned to the platinum-haired girl floating in the air. "Serene!" "Hmm." She rested her chin on her hand, a troubled expression on her face. "As expected, physical attacks won't work." Bikrum's body was rapidly recovering from the injuries inflicted by Lorraine and Serene. There was no sign of damage. "Then how about this?" Feathers wrapped around her hand flew like arrows, plunging into various parts of Bikrum's body with a thud! The emotion carried by the feathers was 'calm'. And a whopping twenty feathers with calming effects. If an ordinary human were hit, it wouldn't be surprising if they became a vegetable instead of just calm. However. ―Ughhhhhhhh! Bikrum grew even more enraged and punched at Serene. She frowned and ascended higher into the sky. "This is why I hate ignorant undead." Even Lorraine and Serene, who possessed unparalleled skills among Kizen first-years, had no effective way to deal with it. As their attacks temporarily ceased, Bikrum once again looked around for students on the ground. "This will truly be endless." To buy time for the students to evacuate, there was no choice but to attract its attention with attacks. Lorraine unleashed a barrage of firepower, forcibly diverting Bikrum's gaze, and Bikrum irritably swung its arm. Whoooosh! The Skeleton Horse flew as low as possible, evading. Now, the forest was visible directly below. Just as Lorraine was about to pull the reins again to ascend. -This is a broadcast from the command center. A voice came from the Tongpad. 'Surely they won't cancel the exam like this?' Simon waited for the next words with a tense expression. -Attacks from an unidentified monster are continuing on the southern island of the Kera Archipelago. Students on the southern island will undergo forced random teleportation to other islands. After teleportation, they will receive a 5-minute damage immunity judgment. Simon breathed a sigh of relief. He thought this was a good decision. -Students who wish to refuse teleportation should input a refusal signal into their Tongpad. In this case, the command center will not be responsible for any problems that may occur. Lorraine and Simon immediately input refusal signals. "Simon!" Lorraine looked surprised. "You should go back to the center and continue the exam! This is Kizen's problem......." "No. I'll stay." This was, strictly speaking, partly his fault too. Simon looked at Bikrum with a resolute expression. Blue lights could be seen rising from various parts of the southern island as teleportation proceeded. "Simoooooon!" Just then, Simon looked down at the voice calling him. Erzebet, transformed into Bread, was waving from a tree. "Lorraine! I'm going down for a moment!" "What?! Wait! How much more do you plan to act on your own.......!" Simon had already leaped from the Skeleton Horse. "I'll signal you again!" "Simon!" As Simon descended from the sky, Erzebet immediately leaped from the tree. She caught him in a princess carry and landed lightly on the ground. "Ta-da!" "......." Simon, who had suddenly found himself in the arms of a burly muscular man, sighed. "You don't have to do this, I can come down on my own." "Hehe, Legion Commander, you're so shy." As she put Simon down, a turquoise orb was falling from the sky. Simon stretched out his arm and caught it. -Simon! Can you hear me? It was Lorraine's voice. Simon looked up and saw Lorraine on the Skeleton Horse holding the same device. -It's a magic communication device. Press the bottom button and speak. There's not much mana left, so use it sparingly. "Ah, okay." Lorraine immediately led the Skeleton Horse towards Bikrum. "By the way, Legion Commander. What's going on?" "Ah, well." Simon turned off the communication device and meticulously explained the current situation to Erzebet. She nodded. "So it's a fake Bikrum." "Yes. We have to deal with it before things get worse." "But how can we deal with a monster that has regeneration and giant abilities......." [Kuhuhuhuhu!] The two looked down. Pier's Sub-Body, hanging from Simon's uniform, wore a meaningful smile. [I have a way!]
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