Chapter 62: Chapter 62

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: All-Out War

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"It's finally begun."

I gazed at the villains gathered to raid the academy.

...There are so few. Ridiculously so.

According to the original plan, there should be three times this many.

"Mir, are you really going through with this? Shouldn't we gather more?"

"You know we can't help it. It's dangerous to drag this out any longer. We don't know when *they* might show up."

"..."

The plan was, from the start, incredibly risky.

We could force our way into the academy somehow.

If thousands of ability users swarmed in and tore through the academy, it would be more than enough to easily subdue it.

No matter how strong they were in their prime, even if they became academy teachers after retirement, they're ultimately washed-up.

The original plan was to easily subdue the academy with that number of people, somehow avoid the swarming Association, and achieve our objective.

The academy was merely an obstacle. The real threat we perceived was the Association's heroes.

...But what about now?

Our executives and their subordinates were instantly decimated.

All because of a single organization that suddenly appeared.

It was unavoidable that the academy raid itself, which we originally thought we could easily handle, became unsettling.

The feeling of Mir's plan, which we considered perfect, being twisted by strange individuals, and our comrades disappearing one by one...

It was utterly unpleasant.

"Only four of us executives left."

"So now we get treated like executives again?"

"Because Mir said to call us executives."

"Well, true. It's nice, like the Four Heavenly Kings."

I watched the villains smash through the academy's main gate and push inside.

The Four Heavenly Kings, huh. Looking at this scene, I couldn't really argue.

"Still, it's all for the world, isn't it? I know that."

"...Yes. This is all for a world of equality."

Mir gazed at the academy with resolute eyes.

Her objective lay within.

The academy's founder. A hero. The world's savior.

A dangerous artifact, so dangerous that the hero, known by countless names, had to seal it away.

But to us, it was sweeter than anything.

"...But seriously, if it was dangerous enough to seal, why didn't he just destroy it? It seems like it would have been perfectly possible."

"That's simple, Annie. That person must have realized how much of a revolution the artifact could bring. ...It's dangerous, but he sealed it because he believed it would eventually be used for the right purpose."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it's unmistakable."

Mir said with a voice full of conviction.

Yes, if she says so, then it must be true.

She was always right, after all.

"According to what's written in that book, it definitely exists. The artifact we desire. ...An artifact that can blend humans and other races."

"Was it called the 'Forge'?"

"Yes. If only we had that..."

I knew what she would say next without needing to hear it.

It was the same story we always heard.

"Everyone can use mana, right? I get it, I get it."

"...Have I talked about it too much?"

"Yes. A lot."

Mana is the exclusive domain of superhumans.

That's why non-superhumans are infinitely weak against superhumans, and superhumans receive preferential treatment.

Even if they commit crimes.

If an ordinary person kills several people, that's the end of it. Rotting in prison for life, or death.

But superhumans? Even if they kill hundreds, due to the shortage of superhuman personnel, they can return to a normal life if they're lucky.

"If we just get our hands on the Forge... Then, people can protect themselves."

"I see."

Someone once said this.

If everyone could use mana. If everyone always possessed the power to kill people.

I heard someone ask if that wouldn't be hell.

If we weren't intending to drive society into hell under the guise of helping others.

That's true. If mentally unstable people, those with short tempers, or the immature suddenly gained immense power, they would undoubtedly run wild without knowing their place.

...However, the person who told us that had forgotten the most important fact.

"Ah, they're coming out. Faster than expected."

"It's fine. It hasn't deviated from our predictions yet."

"Shall we go in too, then?"

"...Yes, Annie. We should go too. For equality."

The fact that Übermensch is a villainous organization made up of thousands.

Yes, it's a villainous organization. An organization that opposes society.

Even if society rejects it out of concern for side effects, even if the negative impacts far outweigh the positive ones.

We don't care.

This many people gathered, each with their own beliefs. Ready to defy society.

There might have been some trash who joined just for kicks, but we don't care. Because we're villains.

We don't care about the countless growing pains the world will experience if everyone is given mana. Because we're villains.

We are the ones who gathered, determined to do what everyone else forbids.

"Are you ready to burn the world, Mir?"

"Burn it? I told you this is a necessary action, Annie. We're giving society an injection. Vaccines hurt when you get them, don't they?"

"...What if we botch the injection and it dies?"

Hearing my question, Mir smiled kindly.

It was just like her, always so gentle.

"Then... well, perhaps we'll offer our condolences to a weak society?"

***

"...Dorothy!"

"Gah?!"

I hastily batted away the blade flying towards Dorothy and severed the attacking villain's tendons.

Leaving them alive for long would be dangerous... but now wasn't the time to worry about that.

She had a bewildered expression from the attack that came from her blind spot, but soon seemed to realize what fate she had nearly met.

"Th-thank you."

"No, don't worry about it. More importantly, that..."

Students and teachers were fighting, intermingled with villains, all over the place.

Just when it seemed like the areas with teachers were being easily cleared, several more villains stuck to them, fighting tenaciously.

Among the students, some were visibly panicking from the sudden situation.

...This is dangerous.

"Yoo Siwoo!"

"...How was it?"

"How was it, you ask? There's no doubt! It's Übermensch! Why are there so many?! Weren't a huge number of them supposed to be dead?!"

"As I thought..."

I'd suspected it from the animalistic body parts visible on some of them, but it really was Übermensch.

I knew their scale was large, given the story about one executive being with nearly 200 villains last time, but I didn't expect this much.

"Executives, do you see any executives?"

"Huh, huh?!"

"Remember that rat-like man who called himself an executive? He definitely mentioned the Twelve Zodiacs. He said there would be more executives than we thought."

"...I suppose so."

"Since they're executives, they'll definitely be stronger than the others. We need to inform the teachers..."

"No need for that, little chicks."

I hastily turned my head at the sudden interjection.

A tall man, appearing to be at least two meters, was approaching us.

"I heard the name Übermensch and wondered what was happening, but you two. You know Marmot. You must be the students who were at that mountain lodge, right?"

"...Wh-why does that matter?"

"Oh, no big deal. He was a comrade I was quite close to, after all."

A faint click.

As soon as that sound reached my ears and my entire body began to scream a warning, a low voice spoke beside me.

"I should at least give him some company on his journey, shouldn't I?"

"Damn it...!"

It wasn't that I couldn't react.

My intuition screamed danger, and I raised my sword to defend that spot immediately, but...!

He's much faster than I thought!

Thinking I couldn't avoid the hit, I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for impact, but instead of pain, only a familiar voice came from right in front of me.

Amelia, who had somehow slipped between me and the villain, was struggling to block a kick.

"Ugh, urgh... That hurts... Mister, you're a bit fast, aren't you...?"

"...Who are you?"

"I'm a bit confident in my speed too, you see. How about we make a bet on who's faster? Though at this speed, I'd probably win."

"Hmph."

As if he'd heard a flimsy provocation, he planted the blocked leg on the ground and brushed his hair back.

"A cheap provocation. Did you really think I'd fall for such a flimsy trick?"

"Ah, so I was right...?"

"Correct, little chick. I find myself unable to resist. Come at me."

"Huh?"

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to fight? It seems your bravado was just for show."

...What the hell is wrong with this lunatic?

Amelia, too, seemed momentarily frozen, as if she hadn't expected such a reaction, then broke into a clear laugh.

It was her usual laugh. The laugh she always showed, the one that always put me in a difficult spot.

"Haha, fine. Come on! I'm faster than you think."

"We'll see. You'll find out when we fight. ...It'll be over quickly, anyway."

After their brief exchange, the two began to move at incredible speeds, kicking up dust.

A speed barely visible to the eye. They were fighting each other, but it was a speed too overwhelming to follow without keen intuition.

"Let's go, Dorothy."

"Y-yes? But Amelia is fighting...!"

"Right now, finding a teacher quickly is the best way to help!"

Amelia had given me a look before fighting. Telling me to go quickly.

Knowing her abilities, I didn't think Amelia would lose.

Because she would only get faster.

If she judged it too hard to attack further, she'd escape on her own. That's the kind of person she is.

So, while she was tying him down, I had to bring a teacher back as quickly as possible.

***

"...Hmm."

[It's starting! Amelia and Horse have begun fighting!]

"Indeed. Only three left, then..."

Dragon, Dog, and Tiger, was it?

I shifted my gaze from the two figures kicking up dust as they fought in the distance, and instead watched the two villains moving far away.

"They seem quite strong... Can the protagonist win?"

[...Ah. Right.]

"What is it now?!"

A wave of unease washed over me.

Because every time the Author spoke as if they'd forgotten something, a problem arose.

And this time, it was what would be considered the highlight scene in a novel, and the target I was observing was presumed to be a boss.

In game terms, it would be a mid-boss.

...But to have such a reaction when looking at someone like that. I already didn't want to hear it.

[W-well... I didn't set how strong he was. ...He's stronger than I thought?]

"What?"

[With the protagonist's current growth, I don't think he can win...?]

"What?!"