"...?"
Everyone here doubted their own eyes. After all, her speed was truly astonishing.
Amelia dashed forward like a flash of light, her golden hair—long enough to reach her waist—billowing behind her as she charged.
But that wasn’t what shocked the villains and Siwoo.
Well, of course they were surprised by her speed... but that wasn’t it.
Amelia had clearly stabbed a villain with her weapon.
...She had stabbed him.
So why wasn’t there a wound?
"Ah, you’re tougher than I thought. Why are you so thick?"
"DIE YOU BASTARD!"
"Kyaaaak?!"
-KWAAAANG!
The villain swung his massive body down at Amelia with all his might.
But Amelia had already shrieked and dodged out of the way, leaving only the ground torn up and dust swirling in the air.
She was definitely fast.
...Fast, yes. But why weren’t her attacks working?
"This is so annoying! Why is he so damn tough?!"
"...I see. Your speed must come with a cost."
"Y-You figured that out in one try? You’re pretty sharp, huh?"
A cost?
What the hell did that—
"If you’re that fast, your attacks should be stronger, but there was no impact. The more you use your ability, the faster you get, but the weaker you become. Now I understand why your father couldn’t catch you. The cost is too great."
"Hah. Yeah, that’s right."
Weaker?
Only then did they notice something off about her.
The spear in her hand was trembling slightly. Was it heavy?
She had always held it steady, no matter how exhausted she was.
But now, the tip of the spear was shaking.
"But this is strange. Why don’t you run? Your ability isn’t suited for prolonged battles. You were bluffing."
"Ah, ahaha. You saw through my bluff? Am I that bad at acting? ...Hmm, I dunno."
"Even if we can’t catch you, you can’t catch us either. If you run, we’d have no way to stop you. So why aren’t you running?"
"Nah, scratch that. You’re dumber than I thought."
"What do you mean? I don’t think I said anything wrong."
As the executive expressed his confusion, Amelia turned to me and shouted with a grin.
"What kind of hero abandons his friends and runs away, you idiot!"
"..."
"If I did that, I’d have no excuse when Dad beats me up!"
Siwoo stared blankly at her bold, laughing face.
Hero. The hero he aspired to be.
And right now, he could see a glimpse of that heroism in Amelia.
Sure, she preferred reckless methods.
He had felt that firsthand after getting dragged into her absurd plans. But there was no doubt—she was a hero in the making.
Amelia had entered the Academy to become a hero, and she had her own convictions.
I have to help her.
Just as Amelia said, a hero never abandons their friends.
But how? No, don’t think about it.
There’s no time to debate whether it’s possible or not. I just have to do it.
My entire body ached from taking hits I could have dodged while protecting my senior.
Maybe it was because I’d avoided every attack I could until now—my body, unaccustomed to pain, was screaming.
It doesn’t matter.
I have to wait for the Association and the police, who could arrive at any moment, and I still have to protect my senior. On top of that, I’m up against executives of unknown strength and underlings who look even tougher than before.
It doesn’t matter.
Amelia had used her ability so much that she’d weakened to the point where she couldn’t deal meaningful damage to the enemy. Maybe I’d have to protect her too.
It doesn’t matter.
None of that mattered.
Abandoning a comrade in danger was something a hero could never do.
I—I just have to find a way…!
"…Hah. For a bunch of students, you’ve got admirable justice. Let me tell you something—your courage is just recklessness. When you’re dead, friends don’t mean a damn thing."
"That doesn’t matter. If I run away now, I’ll just be a loser. And I don’t like that. I’ll save my friend by any means necessary. That’s what I decided."
"Is that so? Then die. Sorry about that. This is just what I have to do to survive."
But they were too far.
Far, far too far.
I needed to take down all these villains and help Amelia.
But it would take too long. It wasn’t impossible… but the time it would take was the problem.
I could win. I was sure of it. They couldn’t hurt me.
Every wound I’d taken so far was from blocking attacks meant for my senior, who couldn’t move.
But even if I defeated all the villains, time would still run out.
Siwoo’s ability was intuition. A defensive ability focused on evasion.
And that was exactly why fights against multiple opponents inevitably took too long.
Until now, he’d never considered it a weakness. He had been fine with it.
If only it had been a reinforcement-type ability, like Amelia’s. Then maybe—!
"Ugh, why am I like this… Ah, I know. I get it. It’s my fault."
Thump, thump.
Even in the middle of the fight, he thought he heard light, cheerful footsteps.
…A voice he’d completely forgotten about until now.
"Ah… Arte…?"
"Yes, Siwoo. It’s Arte Isis. When things get tough, don’t try to handle it alone—call a friend!"
She appeared as if she were just out for a stroll in the park in front of his house.
Along with the stench of blood clinging to her.
"Who the hell are you? Don’t tell me…"
"Ah. So it’s come to this? …Hmm, what should I say? Oh, this’ll do."
Where the hell had she been until now?
Was this all some scheme of hers?
He had a mountain of questions, but he decided not to ask them now.
A look of relief spread across Siwoo’s face.
She clearly wouldn’t want us to die in a place like this.
"This is the Arte chance that doesn’t come every day!"
"Attack quickly! Now!"
Crack.
With that sound, the villains’ necks snapped in an instant.
Ugh, I got my hopes up too much.
Yu Siwoo dodged all my threads during our last sparring match, but these guys couldn’t. So I thought I could handle it easily.
But Senpai was the wildcard.
No, maybe I underestimated the dolls’ desperate struggle to survive?
Yu Siwoo reacted to the perfect ambush, but Amelia didn’t.
And because of that, Senpai, who had shielded her, was taken out in a flash.
Then Yu Siwoo, weighed down, couldn’t evade and ended up injured trying to charge into danger.
I thought Amelia was a perfect heroine, but turns out she’s loaded with penalties—felt like I was looking in a mirror. The sense of kinship was unreal.
I knew about her ability, but I didn’t bother checking the details. My bad. I just assumed “acceleration” meant she only got faster.
When someone asked if that defied the laws of physics, what did the author say again?
“She has mana and an ability, so what’s the problem?!” Right. No comeback for that.
But still, that’s ridiculous. The more she fights, the weaker her attacks get, but her speed increases… what the hell?
Equivalent exchange? I heard the speed boost outweighs the strength loss, but if the damage doesn’t land, what’s the point?
Same with Yu Siwoo and Amelia. If their base stats were solid, they’d be monsters, but right now, they’re barely hanging on—like watching a late-bloomer type.
It’s not like I’m some fool holding onto a coin hoping it’ll moon one day. What is this?
Damn, the author really loves slapping on penalties.
And yet Yu Siwoo’s the only one without any? That’s main character buff. Pisses me off.
"You bitch! I was gonna kill you from the—*gk*?!"
"Oh? You suddenly stopped talking. …Is something wrong?"
Tsk.
How dare he spout nonsense in front of the protagonist.
Did he really think he could get away with that filthy mouth of his?
I wanted to snap his neck myself, but this time, I’d let the protagonist take the shot.
"Well then, Siwoo-kun. It’s your turn."
"M-me…?"
"Yes. I don’t have the hobby of stealing someone else’s prey. You’ve practically caught it already, haven’t you?"
Bullshit.
He hadn’t even gotten close—Amelia was on the verge of death.
Even if Yu Siwoo won, losing a main and supporting character would’ve been a huge problem.
That’s why I intervened.
But if I took out the executive myself here, it’d feel a little off.
These kinds of kills are best left to the protagonist for the sake of style.
Even the Arte chance has its limits.
"…Yeah. I’ll thank you later, after I hear what you were doing. Thanks."
"It was nothing. Well, if you insist."
Ah.
I’d hoped maybe she’d let me off the hook.
Guess not.
Being smart alone isn’t enough, huh.
How do I even explain this? I decided to think it through slowly.
"...Huu, here I go!"
[Ohhh, Intuition! Best ability ever! A legal chance to watch the protagonist’s heroics!]
Now that I think about it, that’s true.
Just imagining the author’s delighted expression made me smile.
It wasn’t like I got nothing out of this.
She’d looked impressed by Amelia’s appearance.
Hopefully, she’d picked up even a little of the hero’s mindset.
"Fuck, fuck...! My luck is absolute shit today!"
I slid down the mountain at a speed that made me feel like I was slipping.
My whole body was already drenched in blood, battered to the point where there wasn’t a single uninjured spot.
But I didn’t have time to worry about that.
Who knew when that crazy bitch would come after me!
"Hup, hup...!"
I got lucky.
I didn’t know why, but that bitch didn’t kill me—she made me fight that guy instead.
It was a move I couldn’t understand at all.
Maybe that was why she attacked us in the first place?
But in the end, that worked in my favor.
It gave me, Mormo, time to use my specialty.
She seemed to not want the students to know what she’d done, so I played along and stayed quiet.
Then, when she let her guard down, I shoved my neck into the tip of the student’s swinging sword and tore off the choker.
Only then could I escape, leaving my already doomed subordinates behind. She hadn’t expected that—her flustered face had been almost laughable.
Survival of the fittest, always.
And today, I survived again.
"Thought I was gonna die. What the hell kind of woman is she?"
I’ll have to gather intel on that crazy bitch when I get to another branch.
I couldn’t remember her face, but I’d memorized the students’ faces for sure.
The culprit was probably lurking around them.
I’d better be careful at night from now on.
"...Huh? Someone survived? Hey, you okay?"
Near the mountain’s entrance, a woman with wolf ears and a tail was perched on the stairs.
One of my subordinates, maybe?
Guess someone else made it out alive.
That bitch was ruthless, but her guard was sloppier than I expected.
"You look fine. Order: get me a ride—*cough*?!"
"Sorry, whoever you are. It’s an order. No one’s supposed to leave this place alive."
Only then did Marmo notice the woman’s neck, hidden beneath her clothes.
...Sloppy, my ass.
She never intended to let anyone live.
"Ha, fuck. Today’s... luck... is... absolute... shit."
This was the end of the road for a rat that had scraped by on the ground.