Another Wound, Seriously?

"So… that's it! Could you do me another favor and heal my disciple, Shib?"

"That's a lot of favors in one day, Sayuri. And since when were you this interested in Dignitas?"

Currently, Sayuri and Professor Shib were back in the infirmary. She had brought back an unconscious Dignitas Qwerdan and asked the Professor to heal him again.

"Well, he managed to accomplish my first mission!"

"...really now?" Shib's face screamed with surprise.

Even amongst Sayuri's past disciples, no one had ever managed to successfully complete her "elegance" assignment.

Finding one's elegance was finding one's own way of fighting. A person could easily say they knew their fighting style more than they knew themselves, but that was more than often not true.

"Yeah! Now do it, do it~"

"Alright. He seems to be a noteworthy cadet, so I'll be keeping my eye on him as well. Did you ever note down the names of his party members?"

"I did. None of them were interesting, though."

"That's only to you since you're biased towards the sword. With my power as a professor, I believe I can manipulate the class assignments so that they're put in the same class as Dignitas here."

"Hai, hai, yes. Teamwork and all that! Now could we get with the procedure? I want to see my new disciple in action again."

"Don't rush me! And remember! This is another favor."

"Excuse us."

Just then, the door to the infirmary opened. Both Sayuri and Shib drew their weapons, a katana and a pen respectively.

"We heard our team leader was sent here. Is there anyone who goes by the name Dignitas Qwerdan?" Rokas' voice resounded from outside the door.

"Come in. We've got him here." Professor Shib answered.

Six, seven people entered. One was carried on the back of another person and was unconscious.

"Ah. There he is." Rokas said.

The party members of Dignitas began entering the infirmary one by one.

There was a mixture of reactions. Some were surprised, some were shocked, some were happy (to see him alive), and some were sad.

"Is… he okay?" Alter questioned the Professor.

"Yeah. He's just unconscious. You guys should've seen him earlier. Right after I fixed up his wound, he immediately went out with his teacher."

"Fix… his wound? But doesn't Dainsleif have the power to inflict wounds that can't be healed?"

"Oh, that's what the sword's ability is?" Professor Shib asked, confused.

Everyone was left speechless. How could he heal Dignitas if he didn't even know how and what the cause of the wound was?

All of Dignitas' party members knew about the power of Dainsleif. Thus their disbelief at the current situation was perfectly normal.

"You don't even know Dainsleif's power? Then, if I may ask, how did you heal him?"

"I didn't."

"...?"

"I can see looks of confusion among you all. But I really didn't. It's only thanks to this pen here." Professor Shib brought out an ordinary-looking black pen.

"With this, I can effectively create anything as long as I have the capacity to draw and power it."

"So you just…" Rokas interrupted.

"Patched his wound, yes. And I'll be doing it once again, thanks to him getting injured. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have a patient to treat."

Wang Jin, Rokas, Alter, and Percivale all shared looks of relief. It was another thing for Dignitas to be injured and another to be dead.

And if they were to pick between the two, it would most likely be the injured.

With that, they all left the infirmary, with the exception of John Ailey, who was still carrying Curie Mortem on his back.

"You're still here? Is there something bothering you, Ailey?" Shib asked.

Even if they had never met before, the Professor knew John. Who wouldn't? He was the top ranker on the first exam, finishing it in record time, unlike the other teams who struggled.

"Yes. Is there perhaps a medic nearby to treat my friend's wounds?"

"Let me have a look at her. Bring her to the bed."

John didn't wait. He hurriedly placed Curie on one of the empty beds and sat down.

Professor Shib then began to inspect her body, scanning for any sort of external wounds of the like.

Anything that could prove fatal, like gashes and deep scars would have to be patched up via his Magic Pen.

After a few minutes, the Professor took off his glasses and sighed.

"W-what… is there something wrong? John asked, terrified.

"Nothing much. I'd like to confirm this, though. Curie Mortem, she's a Mental Magic user, right?"

John froze.

"There's no need to hide it. I could sense the odd flow and nature of the mana inhabiting her. Mental Magic, it's a wonder she's still capable of moving."

Mental Magic was another branch of the "Spells" category that used mana to cast abilities by invoking the power of one's mind.

Most spells of Mental affinity required extensive use of the brain.

As a result, many users of Mental Magic often wound up crippled. The brain basically sacrificed a part of the person's body and removed it from the control of that person.

In exchange, the excess brainpower would then be used to cast Mental Magic spells.

"Is she going to be okay, Professor?"

"Yeah, it's just some minor Mana Exhaustion. She should be okay after a few hours of rest."

"That's a relie–"

"I'm not done. When she wakes up, make sure you tell her never to exhaust her mana ever again. If she does, there's a chance she'll permanently lose control over her body."

"...yes sir."

***

At the moment, Dignitas' party was walking through the Colosseum halls. Most of the weaker demons had now been fully eradicated in this specific area, so their guards were low.

There was also the added safety of being pretty close to Professor Shib and The Crimson Maiden.

"So… now that Digni's all fine and well, what should we do?" Wang Jin asked the group.

"I propose we go help in the counterattack against the demons," Rokas replied.

"Ah, the school did send a memo to everyone. I guess that's one thing… but won't the heroes be enough?"

"That's no way to think, Mister Wang Jin. The more people that help, the faster we can end this battle."

"Although I agree with Percy here… it's too dangerous. It's demons we're talking about here. I don't want a repeat of… never mind."

Alter stuttered for a slight moment before stopping. It seemed that she was about to say something important.

"Sister…"

"It's nothing. Let's do it. We can all survive if we stick together." Alter shook her head and smiled.

"That's the spirit! Don't worry, we'll only help in clearing the lower ranks." Rokas spoke.

*boom*

Just as the party was about to leave the infirmary and head towards the arena, a blast erupted behind them.

The direction of the infirmary!

"Leader!" Rokas screamed.

The party immediately rushed back to the infirmary.

From the looks of it, the explosion was caused by something terrifying.

Something that greatly exceeded their power levels. A beast of darkness.

"Hurry!" Rokas urged the others to move faster. Surprisingly, he was the one in the front.

As they got closer, the air began to turn… unearthly. It was getting difficult to breathe and the mana was turning corrupted.

Like something was forcefully making the surrounding area rupture.

Rokas didn't even wait for the others. As soon as he reached the door, he rammed it open with his shield.

And there they were.

On one side of the room, an unconscious Sayuri Kinako was sprawled out on the floor.

On the other, a demon that closely resembled a gargoyle stood tall. It had grey skin, and its body was exceedingly bulky. Its muscles bulged out from its veins, giving off the look of a demon who was into bodybuilding.

But that wasn't what Rokas focused on. He looked at what the gargoyle was choking in its hands.

And there, a struggling Dignitas Qwerdan frantically flailed around as he tried to release the demon's grip from his neck.

In his hands, Dainsleif was shining in a bright red color.

Using the pointed tip of the blade, Dignitas hurriedly shoved it into the demon's arm, hoping to get it to release him.

Unfortunately, it did not. The sword only served to make small dents on its tough rocky structure.

Opposite the demon, Professor Shib stood, injured. He was covered in blood and was clutching his arm in pain.

"Hmm?" The gargoyle finally turned its eyes away from Dignitas.

It was the strongest pressure Rokas had ever felt in his life. It felt like ten cars had been placed on top of each other and were pinning him down.

"What are you doing here? Get out! It's an A-rank demon!" Professor Shib screamed.

"An… A rank demon…" Rokas stood there, unmoving.

The door behind him opened, and the figures of Wang Jin, Alter, and Percivale rushed through.

They, too, froze on sight.

The pressure was completely unbearable, and they found it difficult to even move a muscle.

"More prey. I came here because The Sovereign ordered me to watch over Kano, but who would've thought he would keel over from a single Hero."

"I'm not complaining, though. This means I'm free to rampage as much as I want."

"Remember this name, mortals. For it will be the last name you will hear. I am Varnier, the Stone Demon."