A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 173

The world is filled with countless colors.

Including the first appearance of the rainbow colors, there are too many to count.

Each has its own unique name depending on brightness and saturation, and combining different colors creates new ones.

Especially for ‘life,’ colors are inseparable. Without colors, maintaining life would be impossible.

In that sense, ‘demons’ are beings that disregard not only common sense but the very foundation of the world. They continue to exist even after losing their colors.

Demons are not alive because they lack color. Yet, they persist in their existence.

Unless they regain their colors, they are destined to disappear someday. This led scholars to question:

How exactly do demons manage to exist without vanishing and even possess color?

Demons are beings that inherently twist the foundation of the world, so very little is known about them.

In fact, records of anything beyond indigo are almost nonexistent. It’s an event from so long ago that humanity has forgotten.

However, because they cannot leave descendants, they are bound to naturally vanish over time. Most scholars predicted this.

But that doesn’t mean they are harmless. For one, they possess immense physical strength and must steal life to sustain their existence.

Above all, they inherently have intelligence and even the ability to control monsters.

As a result, incidents suspected to be the work of demons occasionally occur. Though they remain suspicions, of course.

“Hmm······”

A space that seemed to have been arbitrarily made into a dwelling, a fairly large cave.

In a place relying solely on torchlight for illumination, a figure sat on the ground.

The being had a remarkably unique appearance, primarily in monochrome tones.

It looked as though it had been drawn with a black pen. Despite the dim surroundings, it seemed disconnected from the colorful environment around it.

However, its chest—specifically near the heart—glowed faintly blue. It was the only part of it that had color.

A demon that had its colors stolen during a war with the gods, defying the very foundation of the world.

It appeared as a muscular giant, but its distinct art style made it clear it was a demon.

“It’s not enough.”

The demon muttered in a tone of irritation. Beside it lay a greatsword.

The greatsword was unique, with a crimson blade and a pitch-black hilt and decorations.

Additionally, the part connecting the blade and hilt was engraved with a design resembling an eye, akin to a reptilian eye.

“Still not enough.”

The demon, muttering so, slowly stood up. As it rose, its massive size became evident.

Its bulk was comparable to that of an ogre, its body brimming with muscles that hinted at its strength.

Soon, the demon picked up the sword from the ground and walked somewhere. Its destination was a wooden prison.

“Kerrk? Kerrk?!”

“Kieeek!”

Inside the prison were two goblins. As the demon approached, the goblins recoiled in fear.

But there was no escaping the wooden prison. The demon reached into the cage and grabbed a goblin by the head.

Crunch!

With a squeeze, it effortlessly crushed the goblin’s head, like popping a water-filled balloon.

The same fate befell the other goblin. It struggled in vain, but resistance was futile against the demon’s strength.

“Hmm······”

The demon frowned, staring at its hand. Goblin blood and brain matter smeared its black and white hand.

To sustain its existence, the demon must take life—just as it had done moments ago.

Yet, strangely, it wasn’t satisfied. Before turning blue, consuming monsters like goblins had been enough to sustain it.

‘So now, I must take humans.’

Humans, the creatures symbolizing blue and ruling the world. It seemed their lives were now necessary.

It had taken no small number of humans before, but recently, it had refrained. Minimizing activity was essential for the future.

But it seemed that was no longer possible. Now that it had turned blue, it would inevitably have to consume human life.

Clank—

“Kirrk! Kerrk!”

“Kreeek!”

Just as the demon was lost in thought, several goblins boldly opened the door and entered.

Being low-intelligence creatures, expecting them to knock was out of the question. The demon turned its gaze toward the goblins.

“Hmm?”

Its eyes widened slightly. The goblins had brought a human with them.

It was a timely coincidence, as the demon needed a human. However, it wasn’t entirely a welcome development.

‘I thought I ordered them to avoid humans whenever possible······’

Abducting a human was premature. Acting rashly could expose its location and identity.

Of course, the goblins couldn’t have known that. They hastily bowed their heads and fled the hideout as if escaping.

Once the door closed, only the demon and the human remained inside. The demon looked down at the human with indifferent eyes.

“Hmm?”

The demon’s eyes widened slightly. The aura emanating from the human was unusual.

Softly glowing pink hair and long eyelashes. Her attire resembled that of a cleric.

She was objectively a beauty, but the demon didn’t care. What caught its attention was the aura she exuded.

“A follower of Gaia.”

Clerics with vitality surpassing that of others. Specifically, a believer of Gaia, who governs life itself.

This made taking her life particularly troublesome. To the demon, clerics were a burden in the truest sense.

Their abundant vitality greatly enhanced its power upon absorption, but the problem was the risk involved.

Divine power was akin to poison for demons. Consuming it whole could lead to complications.

For humans, it would be akin to food poisoning. That’s how it was generally regarded.

‘I’ll deal with this human later.’

The demon clicked its tongue. It was still too soon. Even a weak cleric would cause trouble if absorbed.

Thus, the demon decided to imprison her in the wooden prison. If she starved to death, so be it.

It had learned long ago that acting rashly led to disaster. Now was the time for patience.

‘If only it had been a different human.’

The woman was thrown into the same place where the goblins with crushed heads had been kept. Thrown, to be clear.

Though it resembled tossing luggage, from the demon’s perspective, she was exactly that—luggage.

Thud!

“Ugh······”

Perhaps due to the rough handling, the cleric let out a low groan.

She slowly opened her eyes, revealing pink pupils hidden beneath her eyelids.

“W-Where is this······?”

Even in her dazed state, the woman glanced around. The cave, lit only by torches, made it hard to discern her surroundings.

Squelch—

“Huh?”

A squelching sound reached her ears. She turned her head toward the source of the noise.

What came into view were the headless corpses of goblins. Brain matter and blood splattered everywhere.

Though she couldn’t grasp the situation immediately, her face turned pale. The shock was so great that she couldn’t even scream.

“Ah······ Ugh······ W-What is······”

What on earth had happened? She had only entered the forest to retrieve a lost item.

Afterward, she encountered goblins, tried desperately to escape, and was ultimately captured. Now, upon waking, she found the goblins’ corpses strewn about.

Suppressing the nausea rising within her, the woman surveyed her surroundings. She realized she was trapped in a wooden prison.

Before long, she noticed a figure sitting like an old tree in the center. She opened her mouth to speak but hesitated.

“W-What is that?”

It was starkly out of place compared to its surroundings. Not just in terms of color, but it felt disconnected from the world, like a drawing.

It had no color, only monochrome tones, except for the faint blue glow in its chest.

Though she couldn’t immediately identify it, she soon realized what it was. Knowledge she had recently gained at the academy came to mind.

“C-Could it be a demon?”

“··· ···”

Regardless of what the cleric muttered, the demon remained silent. It simply closed its eyes, calming its mind.

Even as the cleric panicked and mumbled incoherently, the demon paid no heed. To it, she was little more than emergency rations(?).

“W-Why is a demon here?! Answer me!”

“··· ···”

“If you won’t answer······!”

“Be silent.”

A heavy reply came back. The cleric clamped their mouth shut upon hearing the demon’s response.

With just a single word, an overwhelming sense of intimidation pressed down on their shoulders. Just what was the demon’s true identity?

However, the woman was not easily cowed. She stood her ground, glancing around before clasping her hands together.

“Oh, Gaia, master of life! To this vile being······”

Wooong-

A golden aura began to gather in her neatly clasped hands. The demon frowned as it sensed the energy.

Then, pointing at the demon as if accusing it, the woman shouted.

“Judgment!”

A ray of golden energy shot out from her fingertip like a laser. The demon raised its hand indifferently the moment it saw the beam.

Chiiiizik!

The energy was extinguished by the demon’s hand. However, a change occurred in the hand that had been struck.

Like paper being burned by fire, the demon’s hand began to char and disintegrate. Though it subsided quickly, the demon scowled.

This was why it hated clerics. Even such weak beings could inflict this much damage.

If the demon’s body was like paper soaked in oil, divine power was the spark. The worst possible matchup.

“This won’t do.”

The demon slowly rose to its feet. It had intended to leave her alone, but that was a mistake.

After all, it was better to eliminate clerics preemptively. No matter how strong it was, a direct hit to the heart could be fatal.

As the demon approached, gripping its sword, the woman recoiled in terror. She wanted to speak, but fear rendered her mute.

“Ah······ Uh······”

All she could do was clasp her hands together and pray fervently. There was no one nearby to call for help.

‘Please. Please. Please. Oh Gaia······!’

While the woman prayed desperately with her hands clasped, the demon opened the prison door.

It then grabbed her arm with its massive hand and flung her outside. The woman’s body collapsed powerlessly.

“Agh!”

Perhaps because of the hard cave floor, the impact was immense. The woman grimaced before suddenly sensing a chilling aura.

The source of the aura was directly above her. She slowly lifted her head.

When she looked up, the demon stood there, holding a greatsword. Its size rivaled that of an ogre, and its presence was overwhelmingly oppressive.

“Farewell.”

“··· ···”

The woman couldn’t even utter her final words. The terror had robbed her of her voice.

As the demon’s greatsword descended, the woman squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the pain to come.

Kwoooom!

But before that, another sound interrupted. It was the sound of something being thoroughly smashed.

Both the demon and the woman turned their heads in surprise toward the source of the noise.

“Kehk······! Keck······!”

A goblin. A goblin burst through the door.

At first glance, it was hard to grasp what was happening, but the goblin’s condition was clearly abnormal.

Its face was caved in as if struck by a large hammer, leaving only its relatively intact mouth to gasp for air.

“··· ···”

The demon slowly lowered its sword. Whoever it was, they were clearly an intruder.

Perhaps they had come to rescue the cleric. Its instincts told it as much.

‘Where are the others? Did they take out all the monsters in the cave?’

If that were the case, there should have been noise. Yet, no sound had been heard.

It seemed they had either snuck in or eliminated the monsters one by one. The demon leaned toward the latter.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have caused such a commotion at the end. Indeed, there was almost no detectable presence left in the cave.

Step- Step-

In the meantime, the one responsible for breaking the door entered. A person wielding a large axe in one hand.

Surprisingly, it was a youthful face. A boy who appeared to have not yet reached full maturity.

Rather than a handsome man, he was closer to a pretty boy, with his most striking feature being his bright red eyes.

“Here it is.”

The boy muttered indifferently. His voice was as smooth and youthful as his appearance.

Then, the boy’s and the demon’s gazes met. The woman, who had been resigned to death, remained frozen in place.

‘······What is this?’

The demon furrowed its brow. The boy who had suddenly appeared looked human at first glance.

But······ something was off. Despite being human, there was an overwhelming sense of otherness. His eyes, of course, and even his pale skin.

His youthful appearance didn’t match his well-trained physique. While it was possible he simply looked young, there was something twisted about him.

It felt as though his body had matured, but some part of him hadn’t grown. It was only a feeling, but the strangeness was undeniable.

“P-Please save me!!”

While the demon was lost in thought, the cleric crawled desperately toward the boy—Sivar.

It was a rather comical sight, but the woman didn’t care. Survival was all that mattered.

Sivar frowned as he watched the woman crawling toward him, as if he hadn’t expected it.

“Why are you here?”

“H-Huh?”

“······Never mind.”

“Y-You’re here to help, right?! Yes?!”

The woman asked urgently. Sivar scratched his head before looking ahead.

The demon, whose bulk rivaled that of an ogre. The greatsword it held caught his eye.

Dealing with the demon was no different. Sivar nodded in affirmation.

“T-Then I’ll help you! Oh Gaia! Bless this brave one!!”

Quick to assess the situation, the woman cast a blessing. Her hands clasped Sivar’s.

It was one of the blessings granted to Gaia’s servants—Body Enhancement. At least, that was what she thought······

Chiiiiiik!!

For some reason, smoke began to rise from Sivar’s hands.

“Hot, hot, hot!!!”

Sivar jumped and flailed, shaking his hands rapidly.