Damn Academy - Chapter 213

Chapter 213

Host (10)

While Damian and Louis were in the midst of their fight, the remaining Art Department members also faced their own battle.

They were ambushed just like Damian.

After a few minutes of chase, their carriage was utterly destroyed. The horses broke free from their reins and fled in panic.

T h i s was c o pi ed fr om k i n g mtl . o r g
Lilyke, the head of the Drama Club and the top second-year student in the Magic Department, single-handedly decimated the Art and Instrumental Departments.

T h is w a s c o p ie d fr o m ki n g m t l . or g
The Art Department tried to avoid direct confrontation, but they were hindered by the non-combatant members of the Instrumental Department, making it hard to escape.

Lilyke protected herself with a semi-transparent spherical barrier and heightened her senses to count the enemies.

They gave up on escaping and switched to hiding and ambushing.

“I roughly know where you’re hiding.”

The presence of one outstanding mage like Lilyke was more than enough to overshadow the combined forces of the Art and Instrumental Departments.

White projectiles made of pure mana floated around.

Despite being mid-level magic that typically required years of practice to master, Lilyke skillfully wielded it as a teenager.

The Art and Instrumental Department members hid behind cover in the sparsely wooded hills, trying to bide their time.

Lilyke chuckled.

“Straight out of the anti-magic tactics manual. You’ve been paying attention in class, haven’t you?”

Everyone stayed silent. Lilyke swatted away the bugs flying in front of her without a trace of tension.

“But how long are you going to keep this up? Either make a move or surrender.”

Lilyke’s combat skills were among the best of those involved in this mission.
T h i s wa s c op i ed f ro m k in g m t l. o r g

Even if they all attacked together, their chances of winning were slim.

However, Lilyke was cautious by nature and avoided needless provocation or rash moves.

Hubert from the Instrumental Department whispered to his comrades.

“This is nuts. Are all department heads this ridiculously strong?”

Hiding behind a rock, Cecil glared at Hubert, as if to say he was asking the obvious.

“You’re the top student in the Magic Department too. Got any plans?”

“If we had enough supplies, we might’ve had a chance. But you let Gale take all my stuff because you couldn’t hold your ground.”

“…We still need to find a way. We can’t just stay here. What about Damian…?”

“He was alone. He’s probably been taken out by now.”

Their peers and seniors, all seemed dejected, avoiding each other’s eyes.

Lilith, who had been silently crouching, spoke up.

“You should be grateful to Damian.”

Cecil retorted.

“What?”

“He’s no help to us at all. If I were the leader instead of Damian, I would’ve abandoned you without hesitation.”

“….”

Determined, Lilith broke her cover and boldly stepped forward.

Lilyke narrowed her eyes. She recognized the face well. Lilith was a junior she had tried hard to recruit for the Drama Club at the beginning of the semester.

Lilyke greeted her slyly.

“Oh, Lilith, fancy seeing you here instead of the social club. How heartless of you.”

Lilith bowed her head.

“Nice to see you… senior.”

“You’re not here to fight, are you? I know your abilities well.”

Lilyke’s perception was as sharp as her skills.

“…”

“Why not give up the futile resistance and surrender? If you hand over some information and supplies and return to Eternia without fuss, I won’t touch you further. Seems reasonable, doesn’t it?”

Lilith shook her head.

“Our leader is doing his best from afar. We can’t take the easy way out.”

“…Damian? He’s a good guy, but… still inexperienced. Do you really think Damian would have achieved anything?”

“…”

“Damian is probably getting beaten to a pulp somewhere in that valley. We sent three elite members just to catch him. He got special treatment.”

“…”

“Damian seems to have earned himself quite a bit of resentment from the other boys. Hitting a senior might be a bit much, even in a duel.”

Lilith’s expression didn’t change.

“Damian is stronger than you think. I know because I’ve seen him up close.”

“Hmm…”

Just then, the faint sound of wings flapping echoed from somewhere.

A stitch carrying a letter flew to Lilyke.

She snatched the letter and, without opening it, waved it.

“Oh, it’s a letter from Icarus. Looks like the battle over there is over. Still want to blindly trust Damian?”

“….”

“Since it looks like that side is settled, shall we finish here too?”

Without warning, Lilyke unleashed the mana spheres she had been holding in the air.

As if expecting it, Lilith deployed a low-level magic barrier. The barrier was barely enough to cover her body.

“Kyaa!”

The barrier withstood the mana spheres for a moment before shattering with a shockwave.

Boom!

The impact sent Lilith flying, tumbling to the ground. It was a one-sided battle.

“I told you, I know your skills. Now, let me show you how Icarus beat Damian.”

“…”

Lilyke opened the letter and began to read.

T h is wa s c o pi e d fr om k in gm tl. o r g
“Let’s see. Next up for you maggots is— kya!”

Lilyke dropped the letter, startled.

She picked it up again, flipping it over, confused.

“Wh-what is this?”

“Looks like Damian won.”

Lilyke blinked in disbelief. Lilith dusted herself off and stood up.

Lilyke didn’t seem to notice the ground trembling slightly.

“And it’s not over here either.”

From a distance, the ground faintly rumbled as if a cavalry unit were approaching.

Thud, thud, thud.

Soon, dozens of Plantara scouts emerged from the forest.

“Plantara? Why are they here?”
T h is was c o pied fr o m k in g m tl . o r g

The Plantara marched quickly past Lilith and headed straight for Lilyke.

T h i s was co p i e d f r o m k i n g m t l. o r g
They began attacking Lilyke’s barrier indiscriminately.

Every heavy punch against the barrier made it flicker.

“Wait. What’s going on! Aren’t scouts supposed to protect students?”

The Plantara showed hostility only towards Lilyke. Despite her attempts to retaliate with mana spheres, the scouts, designed to fight beasts, took little damage. Even when damaged, their numbers overwhelmed her.

Seeing Lilyke being overpowered, the hidden Art and Instrumental Department members cautiously revealed themselves.

Cecil, in disbelief, spoke up.

“Why are the Plantara attacking a student? And why are they only targeting Lilyke, not us?”

One of the Plantara knelt before Lilith, presenting a bouquet of bright yellow flowers.

Lilith accepted the bouquet with familiarity and sniffed it.

“Thanks. Not sure why you’re doing this, though.”

The Plantara treated Lilith with reverence, as if she were their queen.

Seeing this, Cecil clenched her fists in frustration.

***

Just before reuniting with the members, Luna climbed off my back, perhaps conscious of the attention.

“Is Damian back?”

“Damian? Damian’s back?”

As we approached the campsite, Tami, a senior from the Art Department, spotted me first and called everyone over.

Soon, most of the Art and Instrumental Departments gathered around me excitedly.

They all looked like they had been through a war, but their expressions were bright, suggesting no major harm had befallen them.

They rushed over, speaking as if they had seen a ghost.

“Wow.”

“You really came back in one piece.”

“Did you really win?”

“Luck was on my side.”

Luna, feeling shy, hid behind me, avoiding their gazes.

Sierra looked at Luna and spoke.

“Why is she…?”

The atmosphere wasn’t entirely welcoming towards Luna.

“It’s good she’s safe, but… you brought an outsider. We barely survived the Drama Club members. And Pavela hasn’t returned yet either.”

“Is Pavela not back yet?”

“No. I thought she was coming from behind us… but she only sent a message saying she’d head to the next village first. No news since. What’s going on?”

“Pavela should be fine.”

“Did you meet her?”

“According to Luna, she isn’t hurt. Pavela won.”

“…Pavela won? You believe what she says?”

“Yes. I checked myself.”

“But she attacked us…”

“The Drama Club is disbanded, and Luna has no intention of continuing the mission. She was exhausted in the wilderness. Besides, the Magic Society helped us secretly against the Drama Club.”

“Well… if that’s the case…”

The Art Department seniors reluctantly agreed.

Even if we were competitors now, it was only for this mission. Once back at Eternia, we’d be friends and peers again. There was no reason to leave someone injured behind.

Sensing Luna’s discomfort with the attention, I changed the subject.

“What’s with the Plantara? And the carriage…?”

The Plantara were cleaning up the scattered ground and repairing the damaged carriage.

Seeing the state of the carriage, a flood of thoughts crossed my mind.

That wasn’t my carriage. It was technically Silveryn’s.

I should have anticipated this. It was my mistake.

“We don’t know why the Plantara are here. It seems like Lilith did something… but she doesn’t know either.”

“…What?”

Lilith was picking some unknown tree fruits with a few Plantara in the distance. What had happened that made the Plantara intervene in student affairs?

“And where is Lilyke?”

Lilyke had declared surrender through a letter and informed me of Luna’s location.

“…She fled a while ago. Lilith! Stop that and come here!”

Lilith finally noticed and acknowledged me.

“Oh, Damian!”

She stopped what she was doing and ran to me, her hair flowing. She seemed slightly awkward in greeting me.

“You’re safe… Oh, and, um, are you hurt? Is the village investigation finished?”

She paused when she saw Luna.

“Yes. Let’s finish the preparations, and then I’ll explain.”

***

The information we extracted from the Drama Club about Foron Village was as follows:

The missing person’s name was ‘Wian’, a 17-year-old boy who worked as a carpenter. Of note was that his parents were originally from the city of Harman. The boy was found dead by the creek a few days after he went missing. They also reported that around the time of his disappearance, a madman had been seen wandering near the village.

[He mumbled to himself as if talking to a sword. He was someone who couldn’t communicate properly due to his madness. That’s all we found out.]
Th is w a s c o pie d f r o m ki ng m t l. o rg

Icarus, who confessed the information, thought it meaningless, but it was different for me.

There was an overlap with the information from the previous village’s missing person, making things clearer.

First, both missing persons were boys around my age. Their pasts were strangely similar to mine.

The second missing person was from Harman, where the Acates Temple I grew up in was located.

Also, the letters of their names had many commonalities.

The mastermind behind this case might be targeting me.

Moreover, I recently received a warning message from Sion’s teacher about the Magic Sword Hunter, making me even more suspicious.

Professor Candinella said the Magic Sword Hunter issue was resolved, but the deeper I delved, the more uneasy I felt.

There’s no guarantee there’s only one Magic Sword Hunter. One might have been dealt with, but others could be causing trouble.

Furthermore, if Eternia knew this case was related to me, they wouldn’t have assigned it to students.

If it became known that the Magic Sword Hunter was targeting me, someone would also realize I possess a Magic Sword.

It’s a critically cautious problem. However…

“Returning now isn’t a good idea.”

“Right. We’re close to completing the mission first.”

“With our current strength, we can definitely beat Gale, or whatever.”

Persuading my comrades wasn’t easy.

Citing exhaustion of supplies and many injuries, I subtly suggested returning, but most were against it.

The prevailing opinion was that it would be a shame to turn back now with only the final investigation left.

It was hard to convey the mission’s danger, and even if I forced the Art Department to return, the Instrumental Department might split off. The suspicion about the Magic Sword Hunter was just conjecture. Even I wasn’t fully certain.

If there were potential dangers, it might be better to move together than to split up.

Cecil, who had been listening with folded arms, spoke up.

“I’m against returning too. We’re only one investigation away. We can resupply at the last village. We beat the strongest Drama Club; there’s no reason we can’t beat the Dance Club too.”

I ignored Cecil’s words and asked Lilith.

“Lilith, what do you think?”

Lilith, who was peeling the skin off some unknown fruit, looked at me.

“I’ll do whatever the leader says.”

Lilith seemed indifferent to the outcome.

“….”

“Do you want some? I picked it with the Plantara.”

Lilith offered me the white fruit pulp. Reluctantly, I took it. Luna, who was sitting demurely beside me, watched Lilith intently.

“…Do you want some too?”

Lilith asked, but Luna just stared without answering.

Seemingly upset, Cecil handed the map to the person next to her and quietly left the meeting.

“By the way… what’s with the Plantara?”

“Sometimes they come to help me in certain situations. I don’t know why.”

“Can you use them as you wish?”

Lilith was flustered.

“Not quite… Sorry.”

Hubert spoke up.

“Did you do something to impress the headmaster? It’s the first time I’ve seen the Plantara favor a single student.”

“No!”

I shared a similar thought. I had never heard of a regular student controlling the Plantara. Only a select few, like Headmaster Erzebet, were known to command them in Eternia.

Not just me but also the comrades looked at Lilith with curiosity.

The way the Plantara treated Lilith was like knights serving a princess. Even she didn’t know the reason, but perhaps Silveryn could provide an answer.

***
T his w a s c o p i e d f r om k i n gm t l . o r g

The members fell into a deep sleep early, perhaps due to the tension release.
T h i s w a s c o p ie d fr o m ki n g m t l.o rg

The campsite was so quiet that even the sound of clouds drifting by seemed audible.

Cecil volunteered for the night watch alone.

Luna could have used her spirits to take turns, but given her exhausted state, she needed more rest.

I couldn’t sleep. I was still grappling with my emotions.

The helplessness of having done nothing during the mission. The anger and inferiority towards Lilith.

Cecil sat by a rock, throwing stones into the moonlit stream.

Having grown up with no lack of anything and praised as an unparalleled genius, her current situation felt all the more bitter.

“…Candy wouldn’t like someone as flirtatious as you.”

She threw another pebble meaninglessly.

“Right. He wouldn’t like it. He’s not easy to sway.”

T h i s w as co p i ed f r o m k i n g m tl. o r g
Lost in thought, she returned to the campsite as the shift approached.

As she did, she saw a figure sitting quietly by the dying campfire.

A woman with long hair down to her waist sat serenely.

Feeling something was off, Cecil approached cautiously.

The moon emerged from behind the clouds.

It was Luna.

She was sitting by a sleeping man’s head, gazing down at his face.

Cecil felt like she was intruding on a tender moment between lovers.

Luna remained in the same position, staring at the face. It seemed both affectionate and eerie.

The man was Damian.

After a moment’s hesitation, Cecil deliberately made her presence known as she approached Luna.

Luna turned suddenly, startled.

Their eyes met.

Luna looked like she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t. Damian was asleep. It wasn’t a mutual act but something one-sided.

Cecil spoke first.

“What’s your relationship with Damian?”

“…”

“I heard you haven’t interacted much with boys. The only friend you have is Damian, right?”

“…”

“And there’s Candy too. You were paired with him during the Circulation class.”

“Yes. They’re both my friends.”

“Tell me. You know, don’t you?”

“….What?”

“The true identity of Candy.”

End of Chapter