Chapter 115

At this rate, it meant he was a black mage master with a black mage divine beast.

‘A terrible but undeniable fact.’

Having another mouth to feed—no, another mouth to hide—was an immense burden.

Roan glanced at Hector’s Purgatory Penitence Beast for no particular reason.

‘At least that guy’s black magic is permitted.’

What if the Abyssal Dragon was caught using black mana?

At that point, he might really have no choice but to hand it over to Professor Timothy.

Roan shuddered as he unintentionally imagined such a scenario.

How had he managed to obtain a dragon? He would rather expose himself as a black mage than have the Abyssal Dragon taken away from him.

*Woorung!*

*But thanks to that bracelet, I can hide it!*

The false divinity spoke confidently.

The Rally of Sworn Allies essentially shared the souls of the divine beast and its master.

Through the effect of this item, the false divinity engraved on Roan’s soul was also able to exert influence over the Abyssal Dragon.

‘It would have been a disaster if I hadn’t equipped it beforehand.’

Roan felt dizzy thinking about the moment he had equipped the Rally of Sworn Allies earlier.

Otherwise, the burp from earlier would have undoubtedly been raw black mana.

Early education, my foot. At this rate, it would have been early arrest.

‘I should avoid sending this guy to the Holy War as much as possible.’

Roan resolved once again to keep his distance from the Holy War.

Of course, when he had to use the divine beast regardless of black mana or anything else, he would do so decisively, but the Holy War was in every way just a useless game and could not be considered a “time he had to use it.”

Just then, Hector, who had been attacking Demona most fiercely, slipped away and spoke to Roan in an insinuating voice.

“By the way, Roan.”

“I’m not doing a Holy War.”

“Why! Why on earth!”

As Roan cut him off flatly, Hector raised his voice, unable to comprehend.

Roan glared at him with contemptuous eyes.

Even the most vicious dogfighter on Earth would not throw a newborn puppy into a dogfighting ring.

……Though in the Empire, it was common practice to make newborn beasts fight each other in Holy Wars.

At any rate, the friends wore fed-up expressions, wondering if Hector was next after Demona.

Those two were a bizarre combination that took turns provoking Roan’s anger.

What was even more horrifying was that they weren’t doing it on purpose in their own minds.

However, Hector was also unwilling to back down this time, and he sobbed sorrowfully.

“But I only have beasts that can’t participate in the Holy War! If not with you, Roan, I can’t do a Holy War with anyone else… Uwaah!”

‘That’s true.’

Roan also felt a bit of pity upon hearing that.

Hector had been singing about the Holy War ever since he enrolled, but far from playing a single match, every beast he obtained was a banned species.

Though Roan’s position was that it was all karma.

At any rate, as the mountain-sized Hector burst into tears of sorrow, the gazes of the students resting nearby gathered on him.

—Pavilto is crying?

—I heard Darc rejected his Holy War proposal.

—What? Rejecting a Holy War?!

Roan grit his teeth.

As he had mentioned before, the students of Akerandir hated rejecting a Holy War even more than shouting, “I am a candidate for the Saintess of this country!” in the middle of the commercial district square.

He had simply rejected it without thinking, yet it had drawn wide-area aggro like this.

Thud—!

At that moment, a loud noise echoed from the midst of the students.

It was the sound of several large students stomping their feet simultaneously.

Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!

‘Damn it…’

Roan sensed that the most troublesome character when it came to Holy Wars had stepped forward.

All this just because he rejected a simple, informal Holy War once?

“Ho-o-o-o-o-ly! Wa-a-a-a-a-r!”

—Go forth, conquer!

—Shorts girl! Seary!

It was Seary, wearing sky-blue hair and her characteristic shorts school uniform.

Although Seary herself was a massive Holy War fanatic, she was a character who could not stand to see someone have their Holy War proposal rejected and felt compelled to step forward.

A true model of a Holy War-crazed hooligan.

‘Why is she acting like that when it’s not even her own match?’

“Who is it! Who dares reject a sacred Holy War proposal!”

With her eyes half-crazed, the current Seary wouldn’t care whether Roan cast a paralysis spell or stabbed her with a blood lance.

Seary dashed toward Roan and Hector, and naturally, her followers also swarmed over to surround them.

—Holy War! Holy War! Holy War!

‘These crazy Holy War rioters…’

Roan pondered how to get through this situation.

No matter he thought about it, sending the Abyssal Dragon, which used black mana, into a Holy War was not something a sane person would do.

Roan put on an act, pretending to be angry.

Grrr—

Roan’s black mana spread out fiercely.

“A Holy War with divine beasts born just today. Do you intend to abandon Lady Hiloa’s teachings to protect new life and embrace all things with love?”

—Hieek!

—Th-that is true…

Not only the ordinary students, but even Seary’s followers had no choice but to back down under Roan’s frosty momentum.

Because Roan’s words were indeed correct.

Kyat— kyat—

At that moment, the awakened Abyssal Dragon cried sharply in Roan’s arms.

Thanks to the Rally of Sworn Allies, the Abyssal Dragon’s will was transmitted to Roan.

*Don’t ignore me! I can fight!*

‘……Shut up.’

Who do you think I’m doing this for?

……While sending a baby divine beast to a Holy War was a no-go, Roan had no hesitation in telling it to shut up.

At any rate, the Abyssal Dragon’s momentum was slightly crushed under Roan’s sharp warning.

It was because it felt an instinctive fear from Roan.

Just as the situation was about to be settled reasonably well.

A clear, alert voice left a distinct comment in everyone’s ears.

“Roan, but if Eongeong-ie and Yongyong-ie fight, who wins?”

“……It is not Yongyong-ie, but Belzahar.”

Demona naturally calling the Abyssal Dragon “Yongyong-ie.”

Roan corrected her words while gritting his teeth.

At that moment, however, the students stirred.

Even if they couldn’t pitch the two into a Holy War, they were free to predict the results among themselves.

—Huh? Who really wins?

—Still, wouldn’t Yongyong-ie win? It’s a legendary divine beast.

—Hey, look at the way Eongeong-ie looks! Who could beat that? Even if I fought it, I would lose.

—……That’s true.

The greatest topic of human history.

So, who was stronger?

The students blazed up at Demona’s single sentence.

—Are you ignoring a legendary divine beast? It’s a dragon, a dragon!

—Hey, is Eongeong-ie a banned divine beast for nothing? It must have been banned because it’s broken!

Some students even flushed red, looking ready to exchange blows.

Joy, who had been merely watching since it was a matter among students, stepped forward.

“Students, calm down. Of course, that would obviously be… Ah.”

But she had inadvertently poured oil on the fire.

—Who obviously?

—Whose side are you on, Assistant Joy?

“W-Well…”

By this point, Roan was also starting to lose his temper.

The sight of them comparing the Abyssal Dragon, a legendary divine beast, to a mere Purgatory Penitence Beast rubbed Roan the wrong way.

‘What do these bastards take the Abyssal Dragon for…’

Grrr— grrr—

At that moment, the state of the Abyssal Dragon in Roan’s arms became unusual.

The Abyssal Dragon let out an angry cry, its entire body filled with tension as if it were about to spring forth at any second.

‘Hold back, Bell.’

Roan tried to calm the Abyssal Dragon down by stroking it.

Just then, Demona shrugged and said.

“Well, even if it’s a dragon, how could it beat Eongeong-ie, whose neck is severed and even has crosses stuck in its eyes~ It lost just from its appearance.”

Snap—

Something inside Roan and the Abyssal Dragon snapped simultaneously.

Kuooooooo─────!!!!!

The Abyssal Dragon let out an angry roar toward the sky.

However, it was not a mere roar.

—F-Fear?

The first thing that came to mind was ‘Fear’, the suppression skill unique to dragons.

Yet it was far different from Fear.

A black, tangible energy manifested around the Abyssal Dragon.

A rhythmic vibration that shook the air.

The dragon’s eyes dyed black.

As if the Abyssal Dragon had become the eye of a storm itself, the surroundings grew turbulent while it alone stood out.

Roan was the first to be astounded.

‘Pupil of Alberg?’

Alberg was the Demon of Fear.

The Pupil of Alberg was a basic suppression-type black magic that had no physical effect but greatly increased the target’s overwhelmed value.

Moreover, because it had inherited Roan’s mana as it was, the effect seemed to have multiplied several times despite being a basic magic.

With a slight difference in timing from Roan, Joy also grasped the situation.

“D-Descent of the Holy Eye!”

It was a holy spell with a similar effect to the Pupil of the Abyss, and was also a basic holy spell, but Joy’s surprise stemmed from elsewhere.

“How is a divine beast using a holy spell?!”

Specifically, that the divine beast, the Abyssal Dragon, had used a holy spell.

Divine beasts were born with holy power as creations of God, but being animals, they naturally could not cast holy spells.

It was merely a similar concept to spirit beasts utilizing their unique attributes instinctively.

So if the Abyssal Dragon had used a holy spell, that in itself was a miraculous event.

……Of course, it was actually black magic, but since a divine beast using black magic was even more nonsensical, Roan was also startled.

‘I thought it only had black mana, but it even casts spells! Good grief!’

……It was not in a good way.

Kyareuk—

Just then, the Abyssal Dragon looked up at Roan and chirped briefly.

*Did I do well?*

‘……Yeah, you did wonderfully.’

At this rate, Roan also felt he had nothing left to lose.

Roan took a bold step forward.

The students, who had already been thoroughly hit by the Abyssal Dragon’s suppression magic, retreated in a stampede like an ebbing tide.

“If you want a Holy War that badly, I will grant it.”

Roan’s voice carried an overwhelming spirit, like that of a tyrant.

It was clearly heard even without being loud.

Everyone trembled even without any anger.

Roan slowly turned around, looking at his friends this time.

“Ugh! Roan, it’s not about fighting among ourselves, it’s about doing a Holy War!”

“Th-that’s right! Calm down, Roan…”

Hector, who had requested the Holy War, was terrified, and Demona, who had provoked Roan, was already hiding behind Hector’s back, trembling like a leaf.

It was truly a pathetic combination.

“Hector, Demona, and Sion.”

“H-Huh?”

“Yes?”

The three called by Roan were deeply bewildered.

Because they couldn’t even imagine what a Roan in that state might do.

“All of you, step forward.”

“……?”

Roan declared with a chilling smile to the three, who still didn’t seem to have understood his words properly.

“I will face all three of you at once.”

‘W-Why me?’

Caught between Demona and Hector out of nowhere, Sion was dumbfounded.

***

Thus, a 1-versus-3 Holy War was established.

With the freshmen surrounding them in a circle, on one side stood Roan and the Abyssal Dragon.

On the other side stood the three along with the Purgatory Penitence Beast, the Diamond Beetle, and the Sunset Shadow.

No matter how overwhelming a pressure the Abyssal Dragon exerted, since it was 1-versus-3, the students also felt slightly tense.

—W-Will Yongyong-ie win?

—No matter how you look at it, they have two divine beasts over there.

—Besides, they said the Diamond Beetle is also on par with average divine beasts…

Meanwhile, Sion, Demona, and Hector huddled together to consult.

“What should we do?”

Sion asked.

Since she had little interest in Holy Wars, she wanted to hear the opinions of her other friends.

“I-I don’t know! I don’t want to fight Roan!”

As soon as Demona whined, Sion decided to ignore her immediately.

At least Hector loved Holy Wars, so he might be of help.

Sure enough, although Hector was nervous about the current situation, he was considerably excited.

“I have a plan.”

“Tell me. Demona and I will follow it.”

A giant like Hector speaking that way made him seem somewhat reliable.

However.

“Once the Holy War begins, all three of us charge simultaneously.”

“……And?”

“We defeat Yongyong-ie!”

“……”

Sion genuinely worried for the two of them.

‘Is there really something wrong with these guys?’