The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 182

Ayla Triss, who was running across the hallway on the fourth floor of the Elte Store, was already out of breath.

Escaping from the basement and running up to the fourth floor, Ayla had her eyes wide open.

When she first heard Ed’s proposal, she didn’t think the scale would be so big.

The employees who were lying here and there throughout the Elte Store, and Ed’s acquaintances guarding each floor.

Ziggs was on the second floor, fixing his posture and looking like he usually did. But in the third floor’s VIP waiting room, Yennekar was there with a scary energy around her. For some reason, she was too afraid to speak to her.

When she reached the fourth floor, crossing through the mess that was made of the hallway, she suddenly had the thought that something was wrong.

“Oh, you came earlier than I thought. Still, it would be better for you to keep up your pace. The weather is rather gloomy, so it seems it’ll start raining soon.”

Then, when she reached the end of the hallway on the fourth floor as planned, the fourth-year top student in the magic department, Trayciana Bloomriver, was waiting for Ayla.

“H-Hello, Trayciana.”

“We’ve met a few times at education conferences before, right? It’s nice to see you.”

“Y-Yes… I heard that Ed was asking for help from a bunch of people, but I had no idea that you would be here, Trayciana.”

Ayla knew that Ed Rothstaylor knew various people that were skilled in different fields.

However, Ayla had no idea that Trayciana, who was famous within Sylvania Academy, would also show up.

“You can keep heading on up to the roof. Once you go out through the emergency exit, you should head straight towards Ed’s camp. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of the rest.”

“When you say take care of the rest… What do you mean?”

Ayla asked her nervously, but she only shrugged her shoulders once.

“I’m just going to do what I was asked to do. Send you to Ed’s camp and stop Taylee.”

Ayla recalled the faces of the people she had seen as she went up to the fourth floor.

Taylee McLaure had grown much stronger over the last few years, and at an insane rate. He didn’t dishonor his family’s name as a descendant of a swordsman. He grew up at such a fast rate, it was hard to see him as the same person every day. Even his childhood friend, Ayla—who knew him well—was surprised by the speed at which he grew.

Still, to be able to break through all of those opponents…

“You don’t look all that great, Ayla.”

Suddenly, Trayciana said something that was right on the dot.

“Whatever you are worrying about, it won’t happen. Everything that’s happening here is all for his sake.”

“How… can you be so sure, Trayciana…?”

Ayla looked at her with a puzzled expression on her face.

Ed and Trayciana weren’t even that close. It was common for talented magicians to have an upperclassman/underclassman relationship, but it was strange to see her able to understand Ed so deeply.

In fact, it was strange that she had shown up in the middle of night just because Ed had asked her to. Whether or not she had a personal debt to pay back, a troublesome request like that shouldn’t have been easy to accept—no matter how close the two of them were.

“Stop having useless thoughts, Ayla. Go to Ed’s camp now.”

Trayciana didn’t bother trying to explain the reason why.

She only told Ayla to start moving in a light-hearted tone.

* * *

Grabbing onto his sword, he swung it in the air to clean it of blood.

Taylee’s sword, which gleamed in the moonlight, was sharp and ready to slice through anything—just like his re-established will.

Clevius has already been nearly consumed by the madness of blood. Is he an enemy that I can’t defeat at my current level?

Taylee felt it.

If he made even the smallest mistake, he would die.

“I don’t have the confidence to not cross the line now, Taylee.”

There was a sense of intimidation in Clevius’s voice, and his reason was slowly disappearing.

The reason Clevius Nortondale always avoided fighting was to avoid killing people.

His swordsmanship, which swung his sword in complete madness, could very easily take away people’s lives.

“For me, a battle is… Where two people’s lives are at risk as you walk across a single thread of rope. And today is no different.”

“I have no intention of backing down either, Clevius.”

“I guess you wouldn’t.”

Clevius grabbed his sword tightly as his red eyes turned towards Taylee.

“Ugh, keuk… hnng… keuk”

Clevius, who was hunched over like a doll with a broken string, started to make strange noises. The blood magic power began to wrap around his body once more.

To him, every battle was life-or-death. One couldn’t imagine just how heavy that had to be.

Facing an enemy who was risking their own life, you would have to risk yours, too. If you faced an enemy who was willing to die without stealing yourself first, you would quickly be defeated.

Taylee clenched his teeth.

The fight couldn’t be dragged out any longer. The longer the fight was, the stronger Clevius became as he absorbed more blood.

He had to end things with one attack. Which of the two would be cut down… It needed to end everything.

And like that, the two of them sprinted off the floor.

Clevius disappeared.

It felt as if he had lost sight of Clevius because he had jumped forward too fast.

He had to predict Clevius’ next move by looking at the air currents and his movements right before he disappeared.

Closer to foresight than prediction. Concentrate on his five senses. Feel each sensation that runs across his skin.

Clang!!

Taylee miraculously blocked Clevius’ sword attack, which came swinging from the right. The sound of two swords hitting each other echoed throughout the front yard of the Elte Store.

Whooooosh!

The magic power energy that was emitted from the collision shot out around them. The debris and belongings of the employees that were scattered across the ground flew away in the air.

The sound of a growling beast and heavy breathing… It came from Clevius’ mouth.

Seeing the blood-crazed Blade Demon in front of him… Taylee gripped his sword even tighter.

“If you don’t know the circumstances… Don’t interfere…!”

Clang!

After deflecting his sword, Taylee clenched his teeth once more as he ran forward. He swung his sword toward Clevius, but it didn’t reach.

“Interfere?”

Clevius’s voice, which was getting louder, was right at Taylee’s ear. He was already right behind him.

With goosebumps all over his body, Taylee quickly turned his sword to block Clevius’ attack, but he couldn’t stop the tip of the sword from piercing his collarbone.

“Keuheuk!”

It wasn’t a deep wound. He somehow managed to stop it.

However, blood continued to flow from the wound, which was a few centimeters deep.

“It’s obvious what’s going on. The reason you are doing all of this is because of Ayla, isn’t it, Taylee?”

Clevius had been somewhat close to Taylee for quite some time now. So, to some extent he knew a lot about him.

“If not for her, why else would you do all of this…?”

“Even though… you know that…”

“So what?”

No matter what, it didn’t change the fact that Taylee swung his sword at Elvira.

“Just like Ayla is something you treasure, I have something myself.”

The sound of grinding teeth. As Clevius pushed the sword deeper in, Taylee screamed out.

Clang.

After somehow managing to push Clevius’ sword back, Taylee repositioned himself.

To settle things with a final attack, he began to draw magic power through his entire body.

Even if that was how Clevius felt, Taylee had no intention of backing down.

He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

“Grrrrrr……”

Clevius had completely lost all sense of reason.

Controlled by his blood and sword, he was truly the Blade Demon that only focused on cutting down the opponent in front of him.

Taylee didn’t hesitate.

If his opponent was risking his life, he would have to do the same. And from the start, since Ayla was captured, he didn’t have the option to run away.

Clevius, who had completely lost his sanity, was now out of control.

He had become a monster that would cut everything he saw, fighting until his stamina depleted.

Whooosh!

It seemed that he had finally adapted to Clevius’s ridiculous speed to some extent.

In a very brief moment, Taylee engraved Clevius’ posture into his eyes.

He could instantaneously predict the direction and power of his attack.

However, he didn’t know if he would be able to attack him in return. He would just have to try.

The price of failure was his life.

Magic power blew out like an explosion, covering the entire area.

Taylee’s gray hair started to become whiter. A strong sense of determination emanated from his red eyes.

Swordmaster’s Skill.

There were so many skills that were deep and profound, enough that he hadn’t even been able to master half of them.

Feeling as if he was floating in the sea, in front of Taylee’s eyes he could see the next stage he couldn’t reach before.

As two swordsmen exchanged a final attack for the sake of what they so preciously treasured.

A moment where no one could predict where their swords would strike and who would be cut down.

And then, when Taylee used his Swordmaster’s Skill, stretching his arm out…

Fwoooooosh!

From a shockwave caused by the collision of their magic power, Taylee saw fluttering orange hair suddenly come into his vision.

There was someone who had jumped between Taylee and Clevius. It was suicidal.

“…What?!”

Taken off guard, Taylee tightened his forearm, stopping the attack.

However, he soon realized it was a mistake. Even if he stopped, Clevius was still completely engulfed in madness, unable to stop his sword. He had completely lost all sense of reason.

Not only the girl who had intervened, but even his own life. If the two of them were caught in his attack, there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t both die.

Regardless, the correct choice was to continue with his attack. However, even until the very last moment, he couldn’t stop hesitating. He couldn’t strike with Elvira suddenly intervening in between them.

The goddess of duels was always on the side of those who did not hesitate.

Taylee closed his eyes, thinking of Clevius’ attack, which would soon strike him down…

“Keuk!”

But the only thing that came was Clevius’ coughing out as he fell to the ground.

Crash!

” …What…?”

Then, as Taylee slowly opened his eyes, he saw in front of him… Elvira, lying on the marble floor with Clevius, holding onto him tightly.

Clevius was covered in blood. She climbed onto him as she grabbed his collar, holding him down.

“This…”

“This… Isn’t a fight you have to risk your life for!”

There was no way that Clevius didn’t have the strength to push aside Elvira’s weight.

Rather, he should be engulfed by the madness of his Blood Swordsmanship.

Once he completely lost his mind, he should have become a monster that couldn’t distinguish between enemy and ally. He had even cut down his own brother before.

Nevertheless, Clevius looked surprised as he had control over his sword.

In Clevius’ eyes, as he laid on the floor and looked up at the sky, it looked as if he hardly had any sense of reason left.

It must have been difficult to tell people apart in that state.

Elvira Aniston.

She was a cheeky girl who always bothered Clevius unnecessarily.

There was no way Clevius’ strength couldn’t withstand the weight of Elvira’s petite body.

He should have been pushing her aside and slashing down whatever got in his way to continue his fight against Taylee.

However, that blood-crazed Clevius… was simply laying there, weighed down from Elvira’s weight.

Elvira looked down at him as he spat out blood magic power as if in pain. Her orange hair, which came down a little past her shoulders, tickled Clevius’ cheek.

The hairpins that were tying down Elvira’s frizzy hair had gone missing at some point.

Not caring about her loose hair as it fell down, she stared at Clevius, who was looking up at her with eyes filled with madness and grinding teeth.

“Taylee. Go.”

“What… Did you say…?”

“Go inside the store! Don’t you want to save Ayla?!”

Taylee looked at the two of them with a confused expression on his face.

At that moment, Clevius was completely drunk on blood. It wouldn’t be strange if—should he leave the two of them alone—Clevius was unable to distinguish between ally and foe and cut down Elvira.

Yet Elvira continued to yell at Taylee.

“What is the most important thing to you right now?”

“That…”

“Ayla was taken by Ed Rothstaylor. The rest is up to you.”

Saying that, Elvira grabbed Clevius’ collar tightly and pushed it against his chest again.

“We can take care of our apologies later, so far now, just go. It’s alright to head inside.”

Saying that… Elvira no longer looked at Taylee.

Taylee looked at them as he swallowed his dry saliva… He then quickly ran towards the Elte Store.

Whatever the case may be, the most important person to Taylee was Ayla.

* * *

The bleeding was severe.

For Clevius, that amount of bleeding might have not actually been a problem, but Elvira could only frown while looking at it.

In the first place, that was what Blood Swordsmanship was. She knew that it was a type of swordsmanship with no middle ground, but using one’s own blood as the driving force was too dangerous.

Back when Lucy was going wild at Ophelis Hall, Elvira had clearly seen Clevius get lost in his madness. His monstrous appearance as he tried to cut down everything in his path caused fear in many people.

“Ugh… Keuk…”

It sounded as if he was losing air in his lungs, looking up at Elvira as he twisted his body grotesquely.

However, was he really not thinking of cutting down Elvira?

Clevius’ has a past where he accidentally killed his older brother, which now weighed down on his shoulders.

Yet Elvira, who was already covered in blood… Without caring about it at all, she pulled out a reagent hanging from her waist.

It was a sedative agent. However, she wasn’t sure if it would have any effect on the magic power that came from Blood Swordsmanship.

She tried to get him to open his mouth and take it, but Clevius—who was breathing like a monster—did not open his mouth.

“Get it together, stupid Clevius!”

She tried to open his mouth with her bare hands, which were covered in blood, but… That madness was still inside of him and wouldn’t let him drop his hostility towards her.

Then, Elvira opened the lid of the reagent as she put it in her mouth. She didn’t swallow it, instead keeping it inside her mouth.

Then, without a single bit of hesitation, she kissed Clevius as he struggled beneath her.

“Eughhh…!”

She kept her lips on Clevius as she held him down by his waist. As she held Clevius’ face, pouring the reagent into his mouth… Clevius, who was twisting around grotesquely, was starting to calm down.

Was it the effect of the reagent, or was it the shock of the current situation?

The reason was unknown, but… Little by little, the magic power of his Blood Swordsmanship finally started to calm down.

“Puha…”

When she moved her lips away, Elvira looked down at his face with her hands on the marble below them.

“Why are you needlessly meddling…?! I told you to sit still…!”

As she looked down, talking to him with a nearly-crying expression, Clevius started to calm his breathing.

His dark red eyes were also fading away… The feeling of hostility around him also started to slowly fade.

“That’s what I should be saying. You shitty…!”

However, Clevius, who regained his sanity… suddenly clenched his teeth and spoke…

“What, what?!”

“You always drag me around, tie me up and bring me to strange gatherings, keeping me hostage, and meddling uselessly in my life… You meddle the most out of anyone else… You… freaking…”

The recoil of the Blood Swordsmanship started to take place in his body. He continued to bleed out tremendously, but he kept speaking as if he didn’t care.

“You are the one who always meddles into everything when nobody asks you to. So, why are you—of all people—staring at me like you want to kill me for meddling in your business?!”

Elvira was suddenly at a loss for words. The same went for her breathing.

“Don’t meddle!”

The lines Elvira’s older sister, Diella, had said as she slapped her across the cheek.

“You’re always thinking you’re the main character in this world, aren’t you?’

Nosy Elvira.

A nickname that always followed her around, weighing on her shoulders.

Although she was determined to live life her own way, that firm determination was actually nothing more than her own defense mechanism.

That was because, if there came a time where she started to doubt herself, she would feel that she couldn’t bear it any longer.

Maybe it was the fault of her older sister, who had cut ties with her and left the family.

Maybe she should have been a little more considerate of Diella. Whenever such thoughts started to show up, she needed to clench her teeth and move on somehow.

“That’s fucking why… I can’t say no… To you…”

However, Clevius’ words pierced Elvira’s heart like an arrow.

“The way you express yourself… I… can’t do anything against it… Fuck… you fucking… Shitty…”

“Clevius, you…”

“You… everything you did was for me. Which is why… I can’t… Say jack shit against it… Fuck!”

As Clevius clenched his teeth saying that, Elvira almost stopped breathing.

Diella Aniston.

Unable to overcome her inferiority complex towards Elvira, she said abusive things towards her before leaving the house.

In the first place… Diella never liked Elvira.

The existence of an older sister who lived and studied alchemy with her in House Aniston was a great blessing in Elvira’s life.

Elvira just never knew how to express that. Whenever her sister made a mistake, Elvira knew her sister could grow even more. So, she continued to meddle, point things out, and complain to her in hopes that would be true. But in the end, the deep regret for her actions remained in her heart.

She tried to pretend to be strong to protect herself, but in the end, she was just being noisy and behaving selfishly.

Diella Aniston could neither understand Elvira nor read her inner heart.

Both of them were young, so their expressions were immature. They also weren’t mature enough to understand their own immaturity.

However, the pathetic man in front of her… It was as if he knew Elvira’s psychology from the beginning…

He had always played along with Elvira’s meddling and noisy attitude.

“So… fucking do it moderately… Elvira…”

Saying that, Clevius bled from the corners of his mouth.

Elvira looked down at him, still on his waist, as she bit her lower lip.

She leaned down, wrapping her arms around his head, as she cried at the sight of him covered in blood.

“You… Are really stupid… Clevius… you… dummy…”

“……”

The moon was shining.

Only the two of them were in the front yard of the store, where only silence remained.

“…Yeah, I think the same…”

A body with no strength.

Looking at the night sky behind Elvira’s shoulder as she held his head, Clevius agreed with her opinion.

And like that, Elvira and Clevius held each other for a while longer.

* * *

“For now, let’s escape.”

I came to that conclusion.

The various treasures in Lortel’s underground vault weren’t at a level that could be dealt with at the moment.

If there was more time, something of that level could easily be resolved. We would just have to move it all to another location.

However, Dune’s plan would not be so simple. If he put together a plan like that one, that meant the imperial convoy would soon arrive.

“He planned all of this to create the perfect situation to hand you over to the imperial convoy team. Since the one who holds power behind all the Knight Templars is actually Princess Persica, it would be easy for him to do so.”

“That must be why he said the Elte Company would completely fall into his hands once break finished.”

Lortel spoke with a hardened expression on her face.

“However… It would take some time for the imperial convoy team to reach Acken Island. Did he think I wouldn’t be able to fix one of his schemes while he called on them?”

“No, the convoy is already coming… There is a high possibility that they are coming alongside Princess Penia’s escorts.”

Hearing that, Lortel hardened her expression even more.

It was a pretty feasible prediction. It also matched his prediction that Lortel would lose all her power once the break came to an end.

When the break finished, Princess Penia would return to school. So, the convoy members that joined alongside her escort team would also arrive around that time.

In other words, it was inevitable that Lortel would be captured by the imperial convoy team around the end of the break.

Everything matched perfectly with the timing.

“There is nothing good about facing the imperial convoy right now. While I convince Princess Penia, you need to run away so you don’t get caught.”

“That’s easy, since Acken Island is rather wide.”

“If they are determined to search and hunt you down, it won’t be that easy for you to run away. And Princess Penia doesn’t trust you… so I don’t think she will stop them from searching for you. The school is our enemy this time, too, so there is no one else to help you hide.”

“You’re planning to convince Princess Penia in the meantime?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, I won’t betray you.”

I grabbed Lortel’s arm, bringing her back up towards the camp.

The peculiar air that filled the forest at night tickled my lungs.

In the middle of the night, Lortel had a strange, mysterious energy around her that was different from usual.

Even her foxlike face was hidden in the dark of the night. It seemed as if a more sinister feeling was starting to show itself.

Lortel held onto my sleeve tightly as she made eye contact with me, smiling softly.

“I’m not worried about that. Because you are mine.”

Laughing happily, Lortel tiptoed whispering in my ear.

“And I’m yours, too.”

As if those words made her feel a strange sense of euphoria, Lortel smiled slyly as she put on her hood.

“Let’s meet again once everything is over. Because I will still be the deputy director of the Elte Company. So, please stay by my side and wait for me.”

“Alright.”

Lortel disappeared, as if blending in with the darkness of the night.

I closed my eyes slowly.

Holding my breath, I sat quietly in the dark, feeling the tension within the camp.

* * *

Princess Penia’s carriage crossed Mexes Bridge.

Traversing through the night, the carriage carrying Princess Penia and Lucy Mayreel entered Acken Island.

And Taylee, who broke through the entrance to the Elte Store… was going up the stairs, towards the second floor.

The story continued.

Around the time Taylee reached the second floor of the building, Ziggs Eiffelstein was there, sitting alone in a hallway full of weapons. He quietly breathed in the early morning air.

He slowly raised his head.

Taylee didn’t even question who he was seeing.

The one blocking his way… was the guardian of the Northern Grasslands, Ziggs Eiffelstein.