Shatter, Scatter, Hate (2)
"Cough...!"
As I opened my eyes, expelling a dry cough, I found myself lying in bed.
“Haah… haah…”
My throat, just awakened from sleep, released hot breaths.
A pain that felt like my entire body was being torn to shreds washed over me, and shards of a headache pierced my mind.
With a faint groan, I rolled my eyes.
‘The dorm…? Why am I here…?’
The last of my hazy memories.
In it, I was in the middle of the Academy's defense battle.
I had engaged in a bloody battle with the suddenly appearing Recus, and in the final moment…
“….!!”
As my thoughts reached that point, my hazy consciousness snapped into focus.
A chilling sensation running down my spine brought on a dizzying aftereffect.
I got up.
The sudden movement caused my wounds to scream, but that wasn't important right now.
“The rear gate… how…”
I had lost consciousness right after I cut off Recus's head.
Beyond the rear gate, there were still a horde of monsters that we hadn’t dealt with.
The defensive line must have been breached.
I was the only one guarding the rear gate.
Because I had made all the other students flee so as to not get caught up in the fight with Recus.
“D-Damn it…!”
I threw off the blanket that was covering me and got out of bed.
My legs, desperately trying to find their footing, wobbled for a bit before collapsing with a loud thud.
*Thud!*
“Kuh… Haah… haah…”
Was it because of my body that was completely wrecked?
My trembling legs wouldn’t move as I wanted them to.
I tried with all my might to raise my body that had crashed to the floor, but it was a pointless struggle.
“Sh… Shit… Move…!”
Twisting my limbs, I crawled across the floor.
Blood from my unhealed chest wound flowed in a sticky mess, leaving a long, thick trail.
At the end of that unsightly movement, like a wriggling maggot, I was able to reach the window.
Catching my ragged breath, I gripped the window sill.
And then I raised my head and took in the scene that unfolded outside the window.
First, I had to assess the current situation.
The fact that the rear gate’s defenses had been breached meant that the thousands of monsters that were there had poured into the Academy.
In other words, it would have turned into a bloodbath…
“…Huh?”
Just as I was frowning at such a gruesome thought.
I let out a dumbfounded sound at the unexpected sight that entered my vision.
“It’s fine…?”
The Academy remained perfectly intact.
The streets, which I had thought would be stained red with blood, were as clean as usual.
The buildings, which I had expected to be destroyed, were still standing tall.
The students, whom I had envisioned as piles of corpses, were busy running around.
And among them, I could even spot a few familiar faces.
“Just how…?”
The defensive line had definitely been breached.
So how was everyone safe?
Biting my lip at the throbbing headache, I looked up at the air and belatedly called up my status window.
“Status… window…”
*Ding!*
The mechanical sound came as always.
“M-Main quest… show me the information window.”
*Ding! Zzzzttt, zzzt…*
Title: Don’t Be Destroyed#*
[Content]
The Demon King’s army is attacking the Academy-----
@#$% Protect it!
[-Completed-]
“What the…?”
My brows furrowed on their own.
Something was wrong with my status window.
The letters, which used to be perfectly fine, were all jumbled, and the clear, distinct mechanical sound was laced with a strange noise.
No. Putting aside everything else for now, there was one part that was the strangest.
And that was…
“Main quest completed…?”
Yes, that was it.
The small message at the very bottom of the main quest information window.
I had killed Recus.
However, that didn’t mean we had won the defense battle.
Because when I lost consciousness from the backlash of ‘Burning of Sorrow,’ there were still monsters left that I hadn’t taken care of.
So how…?
“Ugh…”
The more I thought about it, the more my confusion grew.
And that heightened confusion painted my already exhausted mind with a headache.
*Thud…*
My staggering legs finally gave out.
I coughed up blood along with a few dry heaves.
“Cough! Hack…!”
Pain that crushed my whole body.
As I took shallow breaths in response, I felt something touch my fingertips that were gripping the floor.
At the unfamiliar sensation, I lifted my head.
There, beneath my palm, lay a single, unfamiliar sheet of paper stuck to the floor.
What was this now?
I didn’t recall receiving any letters recently.
A sudden sense of unease scratched at my mind, and I picked it up.
And then, with effort, I unfolded the folded piece of paper.
{Hey there, our protagonist. You up?}
The first thing that caught my eye was a casual greeting.
{Hmm… well, I’d like to skip the pointless chatter and get straight to the point.}
{The story you’re probably most curious about… yeah, about what happened after you collapsed.}
Even as I frowned at the strange wording.
I slowly began to read it.
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