The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 130

The sound of the crying whale was enough to make the earth tremble.

Just by waving its tails and fins, it caused a strong wind to blow. The Apostles of Telos took formation as they cast a defensive magic circle to block the incoming wind. However, that wasn’t even an attack from the whale in the first place.

The apostles quickly glanced at each other, exchanging opinions.

It wasn’t that they didn’t have a chance of winning. As long as they had enough magic power, the six of them could cast a joint magic circle simultaneously, which should have been enough to stop that monster-like whale from moving.

However, their goal wasn’t to take down the ultimate spirit.

Their goal was to reclaim Velbrok’s Tooth Necklace, a relic that was the center of their entire plan.

However, there were too many spirits flying in the air, blocking their way. Plus, the pterosaur that Ed and Yennekar were riding on was moving at a ridiculously fast speed, getting further away.

Since things were like that, the right person to chase after them had to be the third seat, Taldarek.

After coming to that conclusion, the apostles quickly decided on their plan.

Three of them would try to block the ultimate spirit from moving forward as much as they could. Two of them would try and secure a path for Taldarek to fly through. Finally, Taldarek would chase after Ed and Yennekar on his own as fast as he could to subdue them and take back the relic.

After all, if they were able to subdue Yennekar, the main body, then all of the spirits would become nothing.

It didn’t take long for them to take action. Taldarek spread his wings.

“Yennekar. Get ahold of yourself?”

Her forehead was like a furnace. Her face looked red like usual, but for once it wasn’t because she was blushing. It seemed that by gathering a ridiculous amount of magic power, her fever continued to rise.

Ed supported her staggering body as he took out Velbrok’s Tooth. The magic that flowed on the surface of it was definitely weakening.

The farther away from Acken Island it was, the weaker its magic power would become.

“Ed……”

She didn’t lose consciousness. Yennekar continued to command the spirits as much as she could, even while she was in a semi-conscious state.

Friede, the ultimate water spirit that commands the sky.

The magic circle the gigantic whale had appeared from filled the sky. All sorts of other elemental water magics cut through the sky as well.

But flying quickly through all of that was the third seat, Taldarek.

His speed was comparable to a bullet. Without even realizing it, they were almost pierced by his spear.

Fortunately, the spear only caught a few strands of Yennekar’s pink hair and the back of the pterosaur they were riding.

But when the pterosaur’s back was pierced by the spear, it screamed as it began to shake.

Then, Ed and Yennekar began to fall to the ground once more.

***

“Right now, the Holy Father Building’s forces alone aren’t enough to defeat the Holy Blue Dragon Velbrok. You cannot judge it recklessly like this just based on the vague descriptions of it in the history books.”

There was no fluff in her words.

Clarice sat down as she only spoke of the key points.

The sheer size and strength of the ultimate water spirit dominating the sky was clearly visible through the broken stained glass. Not only members of the school, but also the Knight Templars looked up at the sky in a cold sweat. But to Saint Clarice, it wasn’t all that amazing of a sight.

She had already seen the Holy Blue Dragon Velbrok, which was several times larger than the water spirit, destroy the entirety of Acken Island dozens of times.

So, she didn’t lose her composure.

Looking at her, the Holy Father Eldane and Archbishop Verdio felt a heavy sense of incongruity.

Saint Clarice, who was always pure with eyes full of curiosity for the world, was no longer there.

The Saint that sat in front of them with her hands folded had already seen the bitterness of reality.

“Saint. Just how did you…?”

“Listen to me, Verdio.”

There was a man. A blonde, fallen aristocrat that Clarice had watched die over and over again.

She remembered every single one of his deaths. They were all clearly engraved in her memory.

He had done too much to get Clarice to that spot.

Now, it was her turn to do her part.

No matter what, Clarice held great status as the Saint of the Religious Group.

She was one with the authority to speak directly to the Archbishop and the Holy Father.

In those aspects, no one else could take on Clarice’s role.

That was why Clarice spoke to them confidently.

“I am sitting in front of you now after having repeated the same thing over and over again.”

Silence filled the room.

“I still haven’t figured out the exact reason why time is repeating itself. However… I have a rough guess.”

Clash! Boom!

The massive whale and the Apostles of Telos fought over Acken Island. What seemed to be hundreds of spirits flew through the air, joining in on the fight.

Academic faculty also rushed over to try and take care of the incident. Although they cast all kinds of defensive magic circles, the massive whale didn’t take any interest in the school.

Even such a magnificent sight was only background noise to Saint Clarice.

“Saint. Now is not the time to joke.”

“You’re too loud, Verdio. I’m talking to the Holy Father right now.”

“What? Saint…?”

Clarice had already become cold-hearted.

She looked at Verdio in a clearly different light than back at the Holy Father Building. He was no longer the devout believer that she looked up to with great respect. Her youthful eyes had trembled and she held her hands together nervously, but she didn’t let him interrupt her speech.

She had experienced a lot. Her values had changed, as well. More than anything, however, she also had someone she could emotionally depend on.

Humans grew quickly if there was someone to support them. Realizing that fact, Clarice continued speaking.

“Holy Father. How do you think I knew about your secret plans to subjugate Velbrok? You shouldn’t have told anyone of it until you arrived here at Acken Island, correct?”

Eldane’s face, full of wrinkles, turned towards Clarice and met her bright red eyes.

“How did that blonde-haired boy suddenly raid the cathedral and steal Velbrok’s Tooth as if he already knew? How could a regular male student of the Magic Department here in Acken Island know about the plans created by high-ranking clergymen back at the Holy Father Building?”

Verdio’s eyes widened bit by bit.

A blonde-haired boy had stormed the cathedral.

Breaking through the glass, stealing the necklace, and running away before the confused knights could even come to their senses… It really did seem like he knew all about the plans of the Religious Group.

“How did I know that you, the Holy Father and Verdio, would be here? The two of you and your escorts must have cast stealth magic to secretly make your way to this cathedral as best as you could.”

Their eyes were focused on her.

“From the start, it was all because I experienced it already.”

It seemed like she was talking nonsense, but they didn’t have anything to refute her claims.

“Holy Father, Verdio is someone that will bring the Religious Group to ruin. If not now, then one day his madness will devour the group.”

“Saint, that’s nonsense. Your words are too extreme.”

“You have to cut him off when you have the chance. Right now, you need to…”

“Saint!”

“I told you that you’re too loud, Verdio!”

With a bang, Clarice slammed the table.

And silence.

Holy Father Eldane didn’t say a word. Clarice and Verdio faced each other.

“How could you do this to me…?”

Verdio’s reaction was completely unexpected.

He… was shedding tears.

“Ever since you became the Saint, I always tried my hardest for your sake.”

“……”

“I was afraid you would have a hard time adapting, so I taught you everything that I knew. I protected the spire from the rebellious forces that tried to attack you, as well as from harm from the ones that doubted you. Just how many years did I spend doing those things?”

The old Archbishop cried tears of anguish… Holy Father Eldane’s pupils also trembled slightly.

“I have dedicated so much for the sake of the Saint. A fact that all of the Knight Templars within the Holy Father Building know well. It isn’t just the knights that know it—even the Holy Father Eldane does!”

“……”

“More than anyone else, I was the most ardent supporter of you, Saint. I am the one that prays more earnestly than anyone else for your health and happiness, Saint.”

Verdio’s eyes were full of despair and sorrow.

“Saint! You’re the most sacred and greatest treasure of the Holy Father Building. You are the favored treasure of our lord, Telos. You are far more valuable than this lacking Archbishop. I… I’ve always thought as such. So… for me… to be slandered in such a way… this horrid reality… I can’t help but cry.”

After that, silence filled the room again. The weeping Verdio raised his head.

It felt as if his entire life, which he lived solely for the sake of the Saint, had been denied. It was the image of a person that wept miserably, with a wound in his chest.

Clarice watched as she slowly walked towards him.

She looked exactly as she did when she would calmly walk towards one that confessed their sins, or when she approached a respected faithful that was being baptized.

A benevolent smile, as if acting on behalf of the will of God. A beautiful figure that was engraved in the memory of all the knights.

Clarice approached him with a modest appearance. Putting both hands on his shoulders, she knelt down as she spoke in his ear.

“So, if things went wrong you were going to use me as a sacrifice?”

A streak of nervousness ran through Verdio’s cold veins.

That was a fact that only Verdio knew of. It was never revealed to anyone else.

Her absurd claim that time was repeating itself wasn’t quickly made up just to try and convince the people present.

Sadly, Saint Clarice already knew all too well just how low all of the people sitting there were.

Turning around and approaching Eldane, Clarice spoke to him.

“Holy Father, don’t be deceived by him anymore.”

The Holy Father Eldane was a bystander. Essentially, it was fair to say he is no different than Verdio. However, he still had the opportunity to walk a different path.

That was why Clarice spoke to the Holy Father Eldane. It was why she told him to expel Verdio.

“Right now… it’s time for you to make a decision.”

At that moment, an explosion erupted from under the table.

Boooom!!

It was Verdio’s sacred magic.

***

In a forest that was reached after escaping from Acken Island and traveling north for a long while, Yennekar’s mid-rank spirit, in the form of a pterosaur, barely managed a crash landing among the conifers.

Kyaaaaghk!

It crashed into the ground, giving a painful screech before the spirit’s manifestation was canceled and it disappeared. It seemed like it had continued forward, ignoring the pain as much as possible to at least get us to the ground safely.

Yennekar and I rolled on the ground for a while, but neither of us had any serious injuries.

But from the start, Yennekar’s condition wasn’t great.

I clenched my teeth as I stood up. I ran over to Yennekar, who was far away from me, to check on her condition.

“Hey, Yennekar. Are you alright?”

She was breathing heavily, as if she were out of energy. I wiped my forehead to go and check if she had a fever. I couldn’t measure if she had a fever from just my hands, so I tried to touch foreheads with her. But the moment I leaned forward, Yennekar pushed on my chest.

“D-Don’t… do that…”

“What?”

“My fever… will only go up…”

Yennekar coughed as she stood up.

It seemed difficult for her to walk on her own, so I leant her my shoulder.

“This is probably… the Great Forest Krett.”

“Yeah… Do we have to go further…?”

Listening to Yennekar’s question, I took out Velbrok’s Tooth Necklace. There was a magic power reaction, but it was really weak.

All we had to do was go a little bit further.

I helped Yennekar as we walked together. Once we reached a place where the necklace no longer reacted to Velbrok’s Seal, we just had to bury it in the ground or throw it into a nearby lake so that no one could find it. Then, everything would be over.

However, things weren’t going to come to an end so smoothly.

Booom!

Was it better to call it a landing or a crash?

Seeing as his body was completely unharmed, it would probably be more appropriate to call it the former.

However, the amount of dust that rose didn’t seem like calling it a landing was right either.

Whoosh!

With a single flap of his wings, the dust quickly dispersed. The man standing at the center was… The third seat of the Apostles of Telos, the Swift Taldarek.

I’d already faced him once.

A memory of defeating him previously… Even though my body was pierced by his spear, I used it as an opportunity to limit his movements, ending things with a final blow from Merilda.

A case of overcoming the overwhelming gap in power between us with a short, decisive battle. However, the situation was very different from before.

Now, I couldn’t risk my life, and Yennekar had already used Glast’s ring. So, until Yennekar’s magic power returned to her, I couldn’t use the ring.

Still… Having someone as powerful as her on my side was great, but…

“Ed… In front… I can’t see anything…”

“Just keep your eyes closed until the dust is gone.”

“No… That’s not it…”

I was already busy looking at Taldarek, who had just arrived in front of us.

When I turned my head after hearing what Yennekar said, her eyes looked empty for some reason.

“Hey… You…”

“This must be a temporary effect…”

“…This isn’t good timing.”

It was clearly a side effect of using the ring. It seems that she drew out much more mana than I had thought. It was going to take some time for her to recover.

It’d probably be difficult for her to live alone for the next few days after the incident was over. Even though I thought she had gathered too much magic power from it, if she hadn’t drawn out that much… Yennekar alone wouldn’t have been able to deal with all of the Apostles chasing after us.

I clenched my teeth as I sat Yennekar down against a nearby tree.

Behind us, a man that had succeeded in using the lives of the other apostles as collateral to chase after us was looking straight towards us.

Wings that extended behind his luxurious robe. A sharp gaze that showed under the shade from his robe hood. His arms were muscled, holding a spear.

“Give me the necklace now.”

He pointed to Velbrok’s Tooth Necklace, which I was holding in my hand.

“Otherwise… I’ll kill you.”

I put my finger in front of Yennekar’s eyes, moving it around.

However, her pupils didn’t follow my finger. She continued to stare blankly in front of her, like a still image.

She still had a fever, and she was shivering to the tips of her toes. She was sweating so much that her entire uniform was wet. It seemed that she had a hard time breathing, so I unbuttoned a few buttons from her shirt and took the shawl she was wearing, putting it off to the side. I then wiped the sweat from her forehead as I stood up.

The man had come pretty close to us, but I continued to only look at Yennekar.

“Is that girl the one using the spirits?”

“…….”

“If I don’t subdue her right now, my colleagues could be in danger.”

The reason Yennekar was in such an extreme state was because she was still handling all of the number spirits, blocking the other apostles from chasing after us.

From Taldarek’s point of view, he would want to defeat Yennekar right away to get rid of all the spirits that were threatening his comrades.

Perhaps because he came to the conclusion that nothing good would come from waiting any longer, Taldarek quickly flew forward with his spear in hand.

He was so fast that you could say it was impossible to see and dodge his attack with the naked eye. A speed that transcended even the speed of sound. That spear, which was heading straight towards my stomach, was so powerful that it wouldn’t be surprising if I were to die in a single strike…

Fwoooooooosh!

The ‘speed that transcends my cognition’ acted as an advantage for me only once.

Just one time, Storm’s Blessing would negate an attack that I was unaware of.

A wind started to form from the tip of his spear, wrapping around Taldarek’s body.

“Wh-What?!”

I didn’t pay attention to Taldarek’s attack ‘intentionally’, in order to activate Storm’s Blessing.

I didn’t look at him, nor did I try to anticipate the timing of his attack.

Clang!

The spear bounced back, and in that instant, a large opening was formed on Taldarek’s body.

A very brief moment of suppression. Taking advantage of it, I shot the intermediate fire magicPoint Explosionright at his abdomen.

Booom!

I turned around to look at him as I pulled out my dagger. The aftermath of the explosion still remained.

I then leapt forward with my dagger in hand, thrusting it into his shoulder.

“Keuaaaaak!”

Boooooooooom!

Then, the spiritual skillExplosionactivated, and another explosion erupted.

As I had said before, the only way for me to defeat him was to rely on a short, decisive battle by using flukes. I would just have to clench my teeth and somehow create a gap to deliver a critical hit.

However, because I was unable to manifest Merilda, there was a limit to my firepower.

Ultimately, to defeat Taldarek, it was necessary to manifest Merilda. But at that moment, I couldn’t use Glast’s Golden Phoenix Ring.

“You bastard…!”

Taldarek fell to the ground, but quickly regained his composure and stood up. The dagger pierced through his clothes, but it looked like it couldn’t get to his body because it was covered in Sacred Magic. There was a blunt feeling when I stabbed him.

Absolute lack of firepower. That was my chronic weakness.

“You will keep resisting to the end…!”

That was why…

If I didn’t have the ring, what else could be done?

How long was I going to continue using high-ranking spirits while relying on the ring to draw magic power, despite all of the penalties?

I took a deep breath as I refined my magic power.

Dozens of memories of my death crept through my brain.

I died under the rubble of a building, excessive bleeding, was stabbed to death, struck by the scales, and various other reasons… The countless memories imprinted in my brain didn’t just give me pain.

Whenever I was in a crisis, I had always summoned Merilda. And that resonance of magic power remained in my memory, after repeating it dozens of times.

The surest way to raise one’s Spiritual Resonance was to accumulate experience.

And over that short period of time, my experience was steadily accumulating within me. I suddenly realized that the flow of magic had become much smoother than before.

“Is that it?”

Only then did I understand why my memory was completely restored.

It was thanks to Celestial Magic, which I was familiarizing myself with before.

Since I had never used it properly before, my proficiency in Celestial Magic was awful…

But as Adele constantly rewound time, I ended up becoming constantly exposed to it. So, because of that, my Celestial Magic Resonance had been steadily increasing.

That was right.

When time rewound, all memories and events returned to the past… But my stats, engraved in me in my ‘stats window’, were also completely affected.

As Adele drew closer to death, the strength of Celestial Magic Power she had in her body gradually weakened.

On the opposite end, my strength was gradually increasing, until eventually the dynamic between it had become completely reversed… Only then was I able to resist her Celestial Magic and retain all my memories.

Elementalism… Would it be any different?

[ Magic Skills Details

Grade: Proficient Magician

Specialized Field: Elements

Common Magic:

Fire Element Magic:

Wind Element Magic:

Spirit-type Magic:

Spiritual Resonance Lvl 18 (Up!)

Spiritual Understanding Lvl 18 (Up!)

Spirit Manifestation Lvl 13 (Up!)

Sense Sharing Lvl 13 (Up!)

Resonance Level: 5 (Up!)

Spiritual Efficiency: Perfect (Up!) (Possible to Raise Status)

Innate Skills:

Resonance Level: 4 (Up!)

Spiritual Efficiency: Very Good (Up!)

Innate Skills:

Resonance Level: 3 (Up!)

Spiritual Efficiency: Normal (Up!)

Innate Skills:

Celestial Magic:

The hem of Taldarek’s robe flapped from the gust of wind.

He tried to lower his center of gravity to withstand the strong wind, but eventually his body went flying and he got stuck in a nearby tree.

Even the old, large trees were shaking back and forth like barley. Tiny conifers were uprooted, sent flying through the air. I was worried that Yennekar might also be harmed, but the wind blew strangely, avoiding the tree that Yennekar was leaning against.

That meant it was an artificially made wind.

As time rewound countless times, how many times did I die in the past?

Leaving everything to Clarice, on my own I constantly faced a painful death.

I had all the memories of when I clenched my teeth and used all the strength I could to achieve something. All led to a tragic death. All the memories of the past that now ran through me were the records of my meaningless efforts.

Had all of those horrific pains and deaths I experienced become things of the past?

Nothing more than meaningless struggles?

Were my struggles, my unwillingness to give up on my unavoidable fate, nothing more than useless attempts?

Thankfully, God shook his head at that question.

Awoooooooooooo!

There was a saying among peddlers that if you heard a wolf crying in the forest, you should beg God for your life. The mountains and forests were the territory of the wolves.

Standing among the large coniferous trees that stretched high, a wolf the size of a house growled. It was a high-ranking spirit that I had manifested entirely with my own power, not drawing any magic power from elsewhere.

The gigantic Merilda looked down at Taldarek with sullen eyes.

***

“Keuaaack…!”

There was a huge hole in the ceiling of the cathedral.

Aside from Clarice, who was completely immune to Sacred Magic… Everyone else was injured by the sudden explosion.

The interior of the chapel was already in shambles. It took quite a long time to cast an explosion of that size with just divine power.

While Verdio pretended to assert his innocence, he secretly chanted a sacred magic spell.

“Someone that can change the power of time on Acken Island… It must have been Adele Cerise… There’s no one else who could do it…”

Clarice was being choked, suppressed under Verdio’s arms. He walked through the knights, who were moaning in pain. However, even the knights that could still gather their strength couldn’t go against him when the Saint’s life was at risk.

Since Verdio was baptized by the Telos Religious Group, his surprise attack didn’t do any damage to her because of the Holy Blessing. The only way he could subdue her was using his raw strength to grab her.

“K-Keuk… Doing this… Do you think you will be able to leave unscathed, Verdio?”

“Naturally, I can’t just get away with this. Still… Adele Cerise… Where is that girl? Tell me now… because I don’t need anything else…!”

All of his plans had already gone awry. There was nothing he could do now. And there weren’t any escape routes left.

Nevertheless, Verdio seemed to be looking for something… He tried to get out of the cathedral.

“Since all my plans are ruined, at the very least… I can…”

“Keuk…!”

Clarice clenched her teeth as she tried to escape, but she couldn’t overcome the difference in physical strength.

Despair crept over her.

It was her last chance, and she was nearly there. But right at the last moment, she became careless. Verdio’s instantaneous decision and bold actions were much more drastic than she expected.

Slam!

As Verdio ran out the front door of the cathedral, slamming it behind him, he took a horse from the carriage and was getting ready to head somewhere.

However—

“You’re a bit late this time.”

There was a girl sitting on top of the carriage, chewing on jerky with drowsy eyes.

Verdio didn’t know the girl’s identity yet, and he didn’t know why she had appeared there.

“Come here. I’ve been waiting.”

However, Clarice, who was trapped under his arm, knew.

Now… Verdio really didn’t have a way to escape.

“Is the story over now?”