Academy’s Barbarian

A satisfying impact fills my left hand.

The shattered fragments of Isabella splatter against the sewer walls, staining them with a sickly wetness.

Yeah, this is the feeling…!

How long have I been waiting for this strike?

Even if the attack itself was meaningless, I couldn’t resist throwing a punch the moment I saw her face.

I’ve been holding back for so long just for this moment.

The idea that came to me four days ago.

If Isabella had one last resort, it was undoubtedly to resurrect Nidhogg. That speculation turned out to be spot on.

As expected, that bug-like woman slithered her way here.

And she got a proper beating for it.

Even I have to admit, it was a thrilling strike. If Leopold had seen it, his receding hairline might have grown back.

Though he’s probably busy burning down the Venes territory right now.

—

Four days ago,

Convincing others that Isabella was heading to the capital was no easy task.

Without mentioning the dragon, there was no reason for Isabella to go to the capital.

But I couldn’t just say, “There’s a dragon’s corpse beneath the capital, and the witch is definitely trying to revive it!”

Without evidence, no one would believe me, and even if they did, they’d ask how I knew, leaving me with no answer.

So, I had to resort to vague reasoning like, “The witch might have left some of her forces in the capital.”

Just like when the beastmen attacked before, she must have hidden troops somewhere in the underground waterways, waiting to seize the capital while it was half-empty.

Of course, it didn’t go over well.

My opinion was just baseless speculation, while the hundreds of thousands of bugs in the Venes territory were a visible threat.

Ignoring the immediate danger to return to the capital sounded like nonsense.

Of course, I wasn’t suggesting we withdraw the entire army.

That would take too long, and ordinary knights wouldn’t be much help anyway.

The monsters in the Venes territory were also enemies that needed to be dealt with.

Even if Isabella died, those bugs wouldn’t just disappear.

What I needed was just a few key fighters.

Unless Isabella had brought her entire army to the capital, her group probably consisted of only two or three people.

In other words, all I needed was the necessary manpower to take her down.

Me, Lacey, and a few masters.

Of course, the noble commanders weren’t thrilled.

Who would welcome the idea of key forces leaving for an unconvincing reason right before a major battle?

Lacey thought it over and eventually nodded, but the other nobles’ reactions were less enthusiastic.

Ludwig groaned while smoking a magic herb, Duke Bien outright opposed it, and Duke Pailoon pressured Leopold, worried about when he could return to the north.

…From my perspective, Duke Pailoon might be the main reason Leopold’s hairline is receding.

Like father, like daughter. Or rather, given his actual power and influence, Duke Pailoon is even more stubborn.

Leopold agonized over the nobles’ opposition but eventually allowed my impulsive plan.

Maybe he remembered how things always went south when he went against my advice.

Or maybe it was the sight of my left hand casually resting on the hilt of my sword.

Honestly, what could they do if I insisted?

The situation worked out, but my individual achievements might outweigh those of an entire elector’s army.

Excluding the Ghost Sword, I’ve killed fourteen masters, unintentionally taken out thousands of soldiers, and probably a fair number of knights…

In terms of numbers, I’ve single-handedly wiped out the equivalent of an elector’s entire force.

No one was reckless enough to oppose my strong stance after that.

…In a way, I’ve more than achieved my initial goal of establishing my position in the Empire. Overflowingly so.

—

To counter the witch’s powers, Lacey, and the master-level fighters Bels and Nigel.

Since we couldn’t spare many troops for the Venes territory, I only requested these three.

Plus, Rene, who insisted on coming along, so I had no choice but to bring her.

There weren’t many master-level knights to begin with…

There were some high-level mages, but they were more needed on Leopold’s side.

The reason I chose only women despite the lack of manpower wasn’t to “show the power of women!” or anything like that, but to guard against Isabella’s charm curse.

The charm curse is fundamentally a spell to enchant the opposite sex.

It’s much less effective or outright fails against the same sex.

I don’t know how it would work on homosexuals, but I doubt any of us fall into that category.

Since Rene was coming with us, I had no choice but to leave Rana in the care of Lilieth.

Rana, clutching a teddy bear in the blonde nun’s arms, looked at me with pleading eyes…

But sadly, Rana’s stamina couldn’t handle such a forced march. It was a request I couldn’t grant.

—

And so, leaving Leopold’s camp, I and the other four raced like mad toward the capital.

We pushed our horses to the brink of death, and when they did die, we forcibly requisitioned new ones from nearby territories.

Sleeping in shifts on horseback, with no real rest, we pressed on relentlessly.

By the time we arrived, we all looked like beggars, but we made it to the capital in just three days.

Along the way, we stopped by Ophelia’s hideout and dragged her along, even though she was in the middle of some bizarre ritual.

Ophelia wasn’t a high-level mage yet, but she could still be of some help.

When we finally met Ophelia again, she had Claire floating in a giant glass tank, while she kneaded animal entrails and flesh beside it, doing who knows what…

He was making something… but I didn’t even dare to ask what kind of mischief he was up to.

Thankfully, I had the other party members wait outside the hideout while I went in alone. If Lacey had seen her, she would’ve smashed her head in, calling her an evil witch, and I wouldn’t have been able to stop her.

Anyway, my suggestion to go kill Isabella seemed to sit well with Ophelia.

“That sounds good. Not only did she mess with my sister’s body, but she also forced her onto unwanted people. If I can see that witch burn, my sister would be happy too.”

She was licking her lips like it was a golden opportunity and started arming herself, which was fine, but… from what I could see, *you’re* the one who’s been using Claire’s body the most, you know…

Not that I’m one to judge. If Claire, floating like a fish in a tank, heard this, she’d probably cry.

—

So, with our party now grown to five, we returned to the capital and headed straight for the underground waterways. Specifically, the restricted zone.

If Nidhogg’s remains were anywhere, they’d be under the restricted zone. I didn’t know the exact location, though.

…If I had, I would’ve already found it and turned it to dust.

The underground waterways had been strictly controlled since the Great Fire of the Capital, but no guard was foolish enough to stop me when I said I was on Prince Leopold’s secret orders.

From the looks of it, Isabella hadn’t arrived yet. I guess our forced march paid off.

I told them to keep our arrival a secret.

If Isabella found out we were here, who knows what tricks that witch might pull.

We pushed open the iron gate to the restricted zone and went inside, then used Ophelia’s magic to close it as naturally as possible.

From then on, it was just a waiting game.

Would she really show up as I predicted, or was all of this just my wild imagination?

I wasn’t sure. If Isabella was still in the Venes territory… then this might just end up being a wasted opportunity to kill her.

But I’d already rolled the dice, and since I’d chosen to come here, there was no turning back.

I just had to trust my judgment and endure the endless wait.

While conserving my stamina to kill Isabella.

Luckily, since there was a fresh underground waterway right next to us, we had plenty of drinking and washing water.

Enough to turn us all from looking like beggars back to human beings.

—

…The wait wasn’t too long.

After about a day and a half, that disgustingly seductive voice finally started echoing through the area.

The moment the iron gate opened, my left hand instinctively shot out, filled with killing intent—

And there it was, right in front of me.

Isabella’s lower body was slumped in a pool of her own fluids, legs spread and trembling.

She was wearing something even worse than underwear, so her disgusting parts were fully visible.

Her waist was torn apart, and her crimson innards hung like wall decorations.

To anyone, it would’ve looked like a brutally murdered corpse… but I couldn’t let my guard down.

This was just the beginning.

[It hurts… it hurts so much.]

Her voice, thick like honey, sank heavily, echoing through the entire waterway.

Under Isabella’s legs, a strangely rippling shadow suddenly surged upward.

Like a reverse waterfall, thick miasma enveloped her corpse.

With a squelching sound, bits of flesh began to grow back on her upper body.

It was as if a swarm of shadowy bugs were spitting out the flesh they’d devoured.

Her spine and ribs reformed, and her spilled innards crawled back inside.

Muscle, fat, and skin layered over them, and her shattered body regenerated as if time was reversing.

Though it was more like her body was being rebuilt from scratch.

As proof, her brain, still stuck to the ceiling like clay, was dripping brain matter.

【Hymn of the Underworld】

A power of immortality that uses the one she’s mingled with as a sacrifice to return from death.

That’s why she always seemed so composed.

Yeah, no wonder she acts like the whole world is beneath her—she can’t die no matter how many times you kill her…!

[It hurts so much it makes me angry. But… while I can endure the pain, I can’t stand the mystery. How on earth did you figure out this place…? Will you answer me?]

A tongue stretched out from her throat, half-dangling from her jaw, which was the only part left.

In just a short time, Isabella’s body had regenerated up to her lower jaw.

She couldn’t seem to regenerate her clothes, though, so everything above her navel was completely naked.

“That’s because of the stench of a filthy rag wafting off you. You smell just like a sewer between your legs!”

Before the witch could fully recover, I lunged at her, swinging my Ice Blade with sharpened nails.

If there’s a delay in her resurrection, then I’ll just keep killing her in that gap—

– CRASH!

…Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy.

A mantis-like arm sprouted from Isabella’s back, blocking the cursed claws of the Ice Blade.

The exoskeleton was deeply gouged, and the curse seeped in, but she detached the arm without hesitation, nullifying the curse.

“Sewer smell, you say? That’s quite harsh… I think you need some correction.”

“Then should I call it a chicken coop smell?!”

I drew my sword and swung it at Isabella, who still looked as composed as ever.

Let’s see how long she can keep that up.

Durandal’s blade began to glow golden.

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