The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 153

Boom, Crash! Clang!

The ground began to shake. It wasn’t just a few simple explosions in the building. The ground itself, even in the underground research facility, was shaking.

Since it was a facility located underground, the vibrations could easily be felt. Dust began to fall between the bricks surrounding the outer wall of the hall, blocking my view.

Crumble.

A few grains of dirt fell down onto Arwen’s pale cheeks.

“It’s begun.”

Arwen spoke seriously as she lowered her head, and her body began to tremble all over.

Booom! Booooom! Booooooooooooom!

Whirlik! Whirick!

“Kyaaaaah! What is that?!”

Yennekar screamed in surprise. Something broke through the ground,

It was a disgusting tentacle with flesh stuck to it. It wasn’t small, but it also wasn’t that big, either.

I felt sick just looking at it as it oozed out mucus. Tentacles began to rise up across the ground.

What was happening on the ground?

Needless to say, the advent of the evil god Mebula was taking place.

“Crazy bastard…”

All of a sudden, I started to swear. I came all the way to Rothstyalor Mansion to find Krepin’s weakness, but I never thought that I would actually have to fight Mebula.

However, now that I was witnessing the advent of the evil god, it seemed Krepin had crossed the bridge of no return.

The most conclusive evidence of his experiments for the advent of the evil god Mebula came from Krepin himself.

There was no need for piles of paperwork. Mebula’s disgusting tentacles covering the ground would be clear enough evidence.

He was a madman who tried to gather the strength of a disaster in his grasp by sacrificing numerous distinguished aristocrats and renowned scholars at Silvenia Academy.

However, no matter how crazy he was, he was still cautious. So even though Lucy, who was like an iron wall, was blocking his path… He wasn’t the type of person to recklessly draw on the powers of the Evil God in such a way.

Certainly, there had to be another variable.

According to the original storyline, it wasn’t time for Krepin to attempt the advent of the Evil God yet. As far as I knew, it wouldn’t be until next semester that Krepin started to earnestly prepare the summoning of Mebula.

And that reason was…

“Princess Penia…?”

“…Ed!”

Suddenly, I felt a chill down my neck. Yennekar, who couldn’t move because of the shaking, called my name as if she were worried.

“Ed! I think it will collapse soon! We need to go up to the ground level quickly!”

“……”

When I looked towards Arwen, she lowered her head with a smile.

“You don’t have to worry about me. Hurry up and escape.”

“…What did you say?”

“Father would never let me die. He’s someone who can’t do that.”

Saying that, Arwen smiled calmly under the ceiling that began to crumble, bit by bit.

Her pale expression made her look like a ghost. Looking at her gave me chills.

Yennekar was hesitating as she looked at her. I also hesitated for a moment before clenching my teeth and running away, holding Yennekar’s hand.

As we ran past the prison we had just passed through, we ended up back at the lab, filled with all sorts of research materials. Those disgusting-looking flesh tentacles were coming out from the ground there as well.

As we ran through the lab, I grabbed anything I could get my hands on, flipping through and reading it.

The study itself seemed as if it would end up being destroyed.

Krepin visited Acken Island and attempted the advent of the Evil God around the time the protagonist’s generation entered winter break of their second year.

In other words, there should have still been at least half a year left.

However, looking through the research material, it seemed that he was already near the final stage.

The research of magic and flow of magic power had been completed to the extent that there wouldn’t be a problem even if he were to call on the Evil God at that very moment.

All that was left for him was to gather worthy enough sacrifices.

Unfortunately, there was no better day than at the social gathering held at Rothstaylor Mansion, when high-quality offerings were all gathered in one place.

It was clear Krepin’s research was much faster than in the original storyline. He completed his research nearly half a year early. Because of that, it wasn’t all that strange that he would try to summon the Evil God sooner than I expected.

And if I tried to think of the cause, there were a number of events I would need to look through.

However, without much thought, my solid guess was that it was because Princess Penia didn’t run for the student council president election. That was the only reason I could think of.

In the original timeline, Princess Penia became the student council president and used the school’s power and her imperial powers to constantly suspect and keep Krepin in check.

However, the current student council president was Tanya Rothstaylor, who was close with House Rothstaylor.

Although Tanya also had suspicions about Krepin’s actions, she wasn’t willing to actively confront the head of her house.

It was completely different from Princess Penia, who aggressively kept him in check.

I didn’t realize it while playing , but Penia’s actions were more than just politically oppressing Krepin. She also acted as a hindrance that prevented him from focusing on his research.

Without Penia getting in his way, Krepin’s research proceeded quickly. In the end, he ended up completing it far sooner than I expected. Now, there was no need for him to raid Silvenia Academy in a cumbersome way just to secure offerings. It was more than enough to use the attendees of the social gathering that just so happened to be held at the right time.

After realizing all of that, it suddenly became clear as to why he had called me to the mansion under the pretense that he was going to reinstate me to House Rothstaylor.

He intended to sacrifice me while attempting the advent of Mebula. The perfect way to dispose of me once and for all.

At that moment, people were saying that I was becoming more competent, and my reputation was growing. Thus, it was not only the perfect excuse to say that I was being reinstated to the house, but also the perfect sacrifice as well.

Slam!

I slammed opened the door of the lab as I ran straight down the brick hallway.

Yennekar followed, gasping for breath as she clenched her teeth. She looked like she was struggling quite a bit, so I picked her up and ran. I wanted to summon a spirit and have it fly us away, but the space in the hallway was too narrow to do so.

“H-Huh?! Ed?!”

Yennekar started squirming as she blushed in embarrassment. It wasn’t the time to have such a reaction.

Crumble, Boom! Clang!

A tentacle protruded from the floor, stretching across the ground. Dodging the tentacles here and there, I ran up the stairs.

“E-Ed… Am I not too heavy…?! Isn’t it tiring?!”

“Not heavy!”

“That’s a relief!”

I only gave a quick response as I picked up the speed. Bricks fell as the ground trembled. If one of them happened to hit my head directly, it wouldn’t be strange to instantly die.

After running for a while, I finally saw the door that led out of there. Without wasting any time, I sprinted out of the door.

Boom!

And the sight in front of me.

I never thought that the situation outside was normal. Still, it was much more than anything I would have thought… Both Yennekar and I caught our breath.

There were a total of five buildings that were arranged in a circle around Rothstaylor Mansion, which was further surrounded by a larger outer wall.

The exit we came from was the third floor of the most luxurious building, the central mansion. As it was a secret space that was built next to the kitchen, it should have been dark and isolated. However, surprisingly, the view in front of us was wide open.

That was because… More than half of the wall of the central mansion had been blown away.

Because of that, we could see the entirety of Rothstaylor Mansion.

From the servant’s residence, the spire, the central mansion, to the annex. There wasn’t a single building left unharmed.

However, now wasn’t the time for me to be concerned about the state of the buildings.

Whoosh.

My hair fluttered from the wind.

On a night where the moon shined brightly, massive tentacles rose up against the dark sky. The tentacles, which rose higher than the buildings, began to destroy everyone around them without distinguishing between them.

And with the bright moon in the background, a huge piece of flesh hung in the air.

It was so massive that even the broken buildings only looked like mere toy blocks to it, and it had eyeballs attached to it.

Humans had two eyes, but does the Evil God known for hatred and anger need more than that?

Dozens, if not hundreds, of eyeballs could be seen all over. It was as if it were looking over the entire world. It was such an unpleasant sight that my skin began to crawl.

Then, dozens of layers of magic circles began to stack on top of each other, covering the entire sky. At first glance, it seemed impossible to figure out the identity of those magic circles. But I had already seen them several times.

, Act 4’s final battle.

It was the same magic circles that covered the sky of Acken Island during the Krepin Subjugation.

“E-Ed…”

“Listen well, Yennekar.”

I put my hands on her shoulders as I spoke, looking straight into her eyes.

“That magic circle was cast to offer sacrifices to the Evil God. It was probably cast by borrowing on the magic power of Mebula. But the Evil God Mebula would never grant a human’s wish without pay.”

“Th-Then…”

“So. If you are in range when the magic circle is activated… It is very likely that you will lose your life.”

Yennekar’s eyes trembled slightly. Although I had survived countless crises, where my life was on the line, death still seemed like a distant concept to Yennekar.

“You and I are the only ones who have seen exactly what was happening down there. At least one of us has to live.”

“If you are going to tell me to run out of its range first, I’ll get mad.”

However, Yennekar predicted what I was going to say next, prematurely rejecting it.

“Listen, Ed. If it’s for you, I can die.”

She then grabbed my collar, speaking straight at me. She spoke so strongly that I wondered if she really was the easygoing Yennekar that I knew.

“It’s not ‘one of us’ that has to survive. We both need to survive. Either way, if you die, Ed…”

After saying that, Yennekar started to grin as she muttered. She seemed to have gotten a grip of herself after seeing my expression as I wondered, ‘What the heck is she thinking of?’

Did she get overly excited because of the situation? She couldn’t hide her inner thoughts and only realized she said something she shouldn’t have after the fact.

“Th-That’s not what I meant…”

“Thanks, but I don’t think we have the time to go on about that.”

Mebula was floating up in the sky. The Evil God was getting ready to move at any moment. The tentacles of the Evil God had already begun to destroy the buildings and kill people.

Once the contract was complete, Krepin would be able to wield a power that ignored even the provinces of the world.

If that happened, was as good as over. The story would end with Krepin moving on to attack the Kroel Imperial Family.

At that moment, it had already been revealed to the public that he had put the life of countless distinguished guests at risk, and he had meddled with something forbidden.

He turned the entire empire into his enemy in an instant. So, if he wanted to do something more with that power, he had no choice but to eventually gather all the authority in his own hands. Once he crossed the line, he would have to go all the way to the end.

“The Evil God is already attacking people. The banquet hall, where all the guests gathered, is probably in chaos.”

Yennekar already firmly said she wouldn’t run away, so I couldn’t convince her any further.

So, in that case, we needed to create a list of priorities to fix the situation quickly.

Just as we always had.

“We need to figure out if there have been any major casualties. And if there has, we need to figure out to what extent… Then, we will have to save as many as we can. Yennekar, since you can handle a large number of spirits, you should be able to cover a large area all at once.”

“Then… What about you, Ed?”

“I’m going to catch Krepin Rothstaylor.”

Hearing those words, Yennekar’s eyes started to tremble again. It seemed that my expression wasn’t normal.

I needed to finish things once and for all.

Going to Silvenia Academy, quarreling with House Rothstaylor over the past few years, and that cruel fate… I needed to end it all.

“Then… What do we do about that creepy Evil God up in the sky…?”

“That…”

Booom, Crash!

Before I could say anything, someone flew by, slamming into the kitchen, which was next to where we were standing.

Crumble!

Crash!

Some of the building’s rubble crashed on top of them. But with a single gesture, it was all thrown away with an explosion.

Booom!

In the rising dust, the figure of the person stuck in the wall slowly came into view.

“Cough, Cough…”

That petite body. The witch hat that she held onto, in case it flew away as she sneezed.

Lucy Mayreel sat still as she leaned forward, staring at Mebula up in the sky with blank eyes. And then she started to frown.

“Lucy!”

I quickly turned, running towards her. When I bent down to check her condition, Lucy quickly grabbed my forearm with both hands, standing up.

She was so light that the series of motions ended in an instant.

“That thing is definitely not normal.”

She was thrown into the building from an extremely high point in the sky, but aside from some dirt, there was not a single scratch on her body.

Maybe because her pride was hurt, she looked particularly motivated.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“The way it uses magic power is so unique that defensive magic is completely useless. It seems like gravitational magic, but it’s not simply cast through a physical force… It’s definitely not a normal type of magic.”

Lucy was talking a lot when compared to her usual self. That just meant that the opponent was that special.

“It uses magic that can’t be blocked through normal means and forms of magic power.”

Lucy already knew how to handle various forms of magic power.

Even to her, it was an opponent that was unfamiliar. To that extent, the Evil God Mebula was an enemy that had surpassed the realm of human understanding.

I quietly clenched my teeth as I fell into thought. I then put my hand into my pocket as I spoke.

“Lucy. It’ll be dangerous if you go any further…”

“I will win.”

However, Lucy decided to finish my sentence for me.

“Rather than a battle of magic, it will be a simple battle of magic power consumption. So, it will take some time.”

After saying that, she took off her witch hat as she threw it on the floor of the kitchen. She also took off the coat that didn’t fit her and threw it near her hat. She rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, which was covered in dirt.

She got rid of her tired eyes as she looked up at the sky, eyes wide open. Lucy’s magic power began to form around her.

Fwooooosh!

The energy of the magic power jumped up. It wasn’t at a level that just filled her.

The entire area was completely filled with Lucy’s magic power. The atmosphere began to tremble from the sheer amount of magic power that flew around.

That small disaster moved. She had the power to turn an entire area into nothing if she desired.

“……”

She stretched out one hand towards the sky. With her fingertips stretched out, it was as if she could grab Mebula, who was floating in the sky, with one hand.

An advanced magic circle that would take an ordinary magician an entire day to cast even once. Dozens of them began to be cast, one after another, and centered around Mebula.

Then, a circle much larger than the rest covered Mebula’s stomach.

At that moment, all of Mebula’s eyes turned towards Lucy. Even the Evil God who could destroy the entire world had no choice but to focus its attention on the source of it.

Finally, a massive defensive circle covered all the other magic circles that were aimed at Mebula. It was the ultimate defensive magic, Essence Wall.

It might look like the defensive circle was cast to protect Mebula, but it was the other way around. Lucy had cast it to protect the outside from the explosion.

Then, Lucy clasped her hands tightly.

A sun began to rise in the night sky.

The darkness of the night was momentarily gone. And for a brief moment, the world was greeted with bright daylight.

Fwoooooosh!

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!

It wasn’t the sound of an explosion, but rather a volcano erupting. You wouldn’t be able to tell if it was magic that came from a person or a natural disaster caused by God’s wrath.

Advanced explosive magic, Destruction. Fifty-eight times in a row.

Plus, the ultimate explosive magic, Moment of Genesis.

And on top of that, the ultimate defensive magic was cast to protect the area.

In order to cast even a single advanced magic, an academy senior-level professor would need to completely focus.

And yet, here there was a monster that could cast over fifty of them as if she were simply breathing.

When Lucy did her best, she was at a level that was far beyond the realm of a human being. Needless to say, she was like a monster.

“Eugh.”

After a moment of anemia, Lucy staggered, falling into my arms. She held onto my arms tightly as she looked back up at the night sky.

In the rising smoke, Mebula was still there.

It had endured the ridiculous explosion as it floated calmly in the sky. Some of its countless number of eyes had been damaged, but it didn’t lose any strength.

It was a perfect attack, but not a critical hit.

And Mebula realized who the most dangerous person in Rothstaylor Mansion was.

In an instant, all kinds of magic circles were cast around the mansion. At the same time, the tentacles rushed forward, aiming to twist Lucy’s small neck.

With a wave of her hand, Lucy destroyed all the magic circles as she twisted apart the tentacles.

Then, patting her clothes, she ran towards the open wall as she looked up straight in the sky.

“It’ll be dangerous to stay near me.”

Lucy looked back at me as she spoke.

Numerous tentacles floated in the sky, and there stood the horrific Mebula. A magic circle meant for sacrifice stood there in the starry sky.

Standing with such strange scenery behind her, she said to me,

“Are you going to catch that man?”

“Yes.”

“He threw that disgusting thing at me before running towards the annex. He probably intends to activate the magic circle up there in the sky.”

A gust of wind ruffled her hair. Lucy wiped away the dust and dirt she was covered in as she spoke.

“He was also probably the medium that summoned that Evil God. So, if you can catch and subdue him, that eyeball over there will also be greatly weakened. Then, it’ll be easier for me to finish it.”

“Can you hold out ‘til then?”

“Me, hold out?”

Lucy’s expression didn’t change.

“It’s not me who has to hold out. It’s that eyeball who does.”

‘If I fight to the very end, I will be the one to win.’ She showed that sort of confidence, but unfortunately it was us in the hot seat.

The longer the fight, the more casualties. And the only people who were gathered there were distinguished guests.

And if Mebula’s powers were fully realized, the damage might not end with just the Rothstaylor Estate.

“That’s why you need to finish things well. I came here to help you with that, after all.”

After saying that, Lucy turned around, jumping up into the sky. Meanwhile, Yennekar was watching the entire situation from a corner. She glared up at the sky as she let out a sigh.

Lucy had cast wind magic to fly towards Mebula using flying magic.

* * *

Booooom! Crash!

“Kyaaaah!”

“Call the guard! The guards!”

“Help! Keuaaghk!”

It had been a while since the banquet hall had been thrown into chaos.

As the walls collapsed and the tentacles flooded in, those who had combat abilities began to fight back… All the high-ranking nobles screamed as they were busy running away.

Meanwhile, the Evil God could be seen through the collapsed wall, as well as the massive explosion that lit up the sky. Everyone was in chaos from the urgent situation.

“What are the soldiers doing…?!”

Rothstaylor’s men, who were brought over by the Brown Bear Knight Nox, were still blocking the entrance.

A nobleman, who had reached the limit of his temper, hit a soldier in the back of his head and demand for him to move. Still, they didn’t even flinch.

“Are these guys crazy…?!”

“All of you, out of the way…!”

“…Miss Clarice!”

In the banquet that was in chaos, Saint Clarice stepped forward.

The head of House Bloomriver, Sinir Bloomriver, was at the center of those in combat, protecting the distinguished guest. However, there was an overwhelming number of non-combatants compared to those who could fight. It was inevitable that eventually, someone would get hurt.

“I need to contact the Knight Templars of the Telos Religious Group right away…!”

Everything was in chaos.

Even without her orders, the Knight Templars of the Telos Religious Group, who were stationed nearby, would have begun to move towards her. However, the situation wasn’t great, as they didn’t have direct contact with the Saint.

She didn’t bring any apostle-level manpower either, though there are still quite a few talented personnel that she had. With the entire mansion in danger, every single power who could fight was precious.

However, Nox shook his head.

“Are you disobeying my orders?”

“I’m simply obeying a different order.”

“What did you say…?”

Nox answered… and slowly… very slowly he took off his helmet.

Not only Clarice, but all the other high-ranking nobles next to her who were making a fuss, as well as those who were in battle, hardened their faces.

The part of his face that was covered by the helmet… It was covered in bizarre-looking flesh.

Not only that, but there was also a strange tentacle sprouting from his back. It was hard to see him as a human any longer.

“Ugh…!”

In an instant, she lost strength in her legs. However, Clarice quickly pulled herself back up, regaining her composure.

She was a girl who had already experienced thousands of deaths. She had the composure to respond quickly even in a sudden crisis. Still, that didn’t mean she wasn’t afraid of the bizarre scene that was right in front of her.

“S-Saint… Stand back…!”

“These soldiers… Are all strange…!”

With the sound of flesh being cracked, one of the soldiers bent forward. Then, the moment his hand was about to reach the Saint—

Fwoosh!

A flying ice spear pierced the soldier’s arm. All the soldiers began to fall, one by one, from the subsequent freezing magic.

An older middle-aged magician, who was busy dealing with the tentacles, Sinir Bloomriver now stood guarding the Saint.

“Saint Clarice. Please step back.”

“I am okay. I have a blessing that will protect me from any sort of attack.”

Clarice calmly shook her head, but nevertheless, Sinir jumped forward shouting.

“Everyone… We need to escape from the mansion! This was a trap from House Rothstaylor!”

Hearing those words, all the distinguished guests in the banquet hall swallowed their saliva.