Academy’s Barbarian

Isabella is dead.

…To be precise, Isabella as a witch vanished at this moment.

The ‘Metamorphosis’ had that kind of power.

Like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly within a cocoon, it was the power to shed everything from before and transform into a completely different being.

The result is as you see…

“The magic energy… it’s gone…?”

Lacey’s cross-shaped window shakes in confusion.

Yes. Not a single trace of magic energy remained in Isabella’s body, which had been oozing a pungent, rotten stench.

She had sacrificed everything.

The four shattered powers, the transcendent magic bestowed by the evil god—all of it.

By sacrificing all of that… she gained a new body.

That was the true essence of ‘Metamorphosis.’

The face once praised as the most beautiful in the Empire now had two additional eyes.

Her hair turned pure white, and long, feather-like antennae sprouted from her forehead. Behind her, wings with strange patterns draped like a veil.

It wasn’t just her head that changed.

Her torso, up to the groin, remained human flesh, but below that, it transformed into a long, insect-like organ.

Human arms and legs disappeared, replaced by three pairs of insect-like arms that clicked and clattered.

A pair of arms sprouted from her shoulders, replacing the original ones.

From their tips, sword-like exoskeletons grew, gleaming sharply.

The arms near her ribs embraced her exposed upper body, while the arms near her pelvis cradled her insect-like lower half.

The insect-like appearance was similar to the ‘Writhing Nest,’ but fundamentally different.

While the Nest’s power merely forced parasites into a human body, this was a power that fundamentally altered the very species.

That was no longer a witch, but a new species called ‘Isabella.’

Well, since the foundation of this transformation came from the evil god’s power, it still belonged to the realm of magic.

The newly reborn Isabella smiled enchantingly.

All previous damage was gone, replaced by an overwhelmingly stable aura. It seemed she had fully recovered upon her rebirth.

“To come this far and then recover again…? Isn’t that just too much?”

Ophelia sighed, sounding utterly fed up.

The trembling around her eyes suggested her fighting spirit had been dampened.

“I never imagined a witch could be this strong…”

Lacey also gritted her teeth in frustration.

Well, both she and Lacey were already quite exhausted. I, too, was drained of both energy and spirit.

In this state, defeating a fully recovered Isabella was nearly impossible.

“-Too bad, reality is always hard to believe. You’ve fought well so far, but all your struggles are in vain!”

Isabella laughed triumphantly, spreading her wings wide.

The two women’s expressions darkened further.

……She’s bluffing.

In vain? What a joke. She might fool others, but not me.

Her bravado is obvious. Where does she get off lying like that?

The power of ‘Metamorphosis.’

It might look like a full recovery, but it’s nothing of the sort.

This was Isabella’s last-ditch effort, a desperate move.

Recovery? There’s no such ability.

Sure, visible wounds might have healed with her new body, but the stamina and strength she lost aren’t coming back.

Having lost all her magic energy, she can’t bombard us with spells like before.

In the game, it was a mechanic where her health remained the same, but her attack patterns and power changed.

Her attack power did increase significantly… but her health stayed the same.

This is all just a show to intimidate us. Isabella is also pushed to her limits!

“Whether it’s in vain or not, we’ll find out by fighting!”

“Still don’t get it? You’re no different from a beast!”

I pushed my exhausted body to move again.

Isabella, flapping her wings, soared toward me like a streak of light.

– Kaaang!

The blue blade clashed fiercely with the black exoskeleton.

The impact felt like my wrist was about to shatter.

My body was flung back, crashing through a wall.

“Kuhak…!”

Yeah, her attack power definitely went up…!

My head spun from the shock.

—-

“Sir Median!”

Lacey’s urgent voice.

Holy light and lightning shot out, blocking Isabella as she tried to pursue me.

“I’m fine! Keep fighting!”

I reassured her, pulling myself out of the wall.

My back ached, but I had expected this much.

“Are you sure you’re okay!?”

“I’m not seriously hurt! Isabella’s just bluffing!”

If anything, I was even more convinced. If she were truly fully recovered, she wouldn’t have been pushed back by mere holy light and magic.

She would’ve just tanked it and rushed to finish me off…!

I launched myself back into the fray, targeting Isabella as she fought the other two.

With her wings, Isabella darted around erratically, but I had just spent who knows how long fighting flying enemies in the mental space.

“Her movements are predictable. Doesn’t it remind you of earlier?”

I repeated the motion of kicking off pillars and leaping, chasing Isabella and slashing with Durandal.

The blade aimed at her wings was blocked by her exoskeleton sword, screeching as it met resistance.

“You… monster of a woman…!”

Isabella bared her teeth, sweating nervously.

As expected, her confident demeanor and words were just a bluff. Facing my blade head-on, her facade crumbled.

“You got a bit stronger, but saying it’s all in vain was a lie! You’re just as exhausted as we are! Aren’t you?”

“That’s… a big misconception!”

Isabella swung her two exoskeleton blades wildly in the air.

Countless slashes intertwined and scattered.

Admittedly, her strength and speed were terrifying.

If she had been able to use magic or her powers in that state, I doubt we could’ve won.

But since she had used everything for the metamorphosis, to use magic again, she’d have to start from scratch, offering sacrifices to build up power.

At this point, all Isabella could do was engage in close combat.

And that’s what I do best.

A fierce battle, racing toward each other’s limits.

Icicles rose from the surface of the underground water and shot out, while a barrier of holy light blocked Isabella’s path.

However, the witch, who had transformed into a moth-like creature, dodged all the attacks and viciously counterattacked.

Whether our strength would run out first or Isabella’s stamina would be completely depleted—the end was already within sight.

And then…

—

“Ugh…”

Lacey, completely drained of energy, knelt down, clutching the cross-shaped window. The overflowing holy light had already vanished without a trace.

“Ahh!”

Ophelia, who had lost her shield, screamed and collapsed. Her arms were half-crushed by the pillar fragments Isabella had shattered.

But…

Isabella was still alive. Three of her six legs had been severed, and her abdomen bore a deep sword wound, but it wasn’t enough to kill her instantly.

“Haa… Haa… Now that those two annoying women are down, there’s no one left to stop me…! This is my victory, Ai-shan Gi-or!”

Isabella laughed triumphantly as she saw Lacey and Ophelia fall.

“…You’re still running your mouth even as you’re dying. Just because I’m the only one left, you think I can’t kill you in that state?”

I was also nearing my limit, but I still had enough stamina to swing my sword a few more times. That was more than enough to take down the heavily injured Isabella.

“Oh? If you can, then try it…!”

Isabella spread her wings and soared into the air, heading toward the sky beyond the underground waterway, where sunlight poured down.

Surely, she wasn’t planning to escape now…!

In the underground waterway, filled with pillars and walls, I might have had a chance, but once she took to the sky, I had no way to chase her. I didn’t have wings or anything.

“Running away, Isabella?!”

“Let’s meet again someday, Ai-shan Gi-or!”

If I let Isabella escape now, it would all be over. She would disappear, gather more sacrifices, regain the power she lost through metamorphosis, and return!

“Isabellaaaa!”

I stretched out my Life Force tendrils, leaping over the collapsed ceiling to reach the surface… but by the time I got there, Isabella was already high in the vast sky.

“Ahaha…! Can you jump up here? Or maybe throw that sword of yours? If you’re lucky, you might even hit me!”

Isabella looked down at me, laughing with glee.

Indeed, with Lacey and Ophelia down, I had no means left to attack Isabella. She was already out of reach of both my sword and my Life Force.

Even if I had a bow or a javelin, I’d only have one or two shots. And she could easily dodge those by flying.

Isabella flapped her wings and laughed, looking down at the warrior crawling on the ground with nothing but a sword.

At that moment, the outcome of the battle in the underground waterway was decided.

—

**My victory.**

—

“Commence firing! Don’t let the witch who toyed with the Empire live—!”

A command echoed throughout the capital. Thousands of arrows and hundreds of javelins filled the sky.

“Priest Corps! In the name of the 11 Gods, eradicate this heretic tainted by darkness!”

A hundred strands of holy light intertwined like a net, filling the air.

“What…?!”

Before Isabella could react, thousands of attacks rained down on her.

Surrounded on all sides, the attacks were aimed solely at her. No matter how desperately she flapped her wings, there was no way she could dodge them all.

Arrows, javelins, and fragments of holy light pierced her body.

“Ahhhhhh!”

The height was too great to hear the sound of flesh tearing, but her scream was unmistakably clear. A truly delightful sound.

—

Isabella fell.

Her wings torn to shreds, her body resembling a spiky pufferfish.

“Not yet, not yet. I won’t be defeated by the likes of you…!”

Isabella tried to regain her balance and escape, but I was already flying toward her, enveloped in the blessings of the priests.

Using the rooftops as stepping stones instead of the waterway pillars, I couldn’t change direction mid-air, but I could clearly see the trajectory of the falling moth.

“Ai-shan Gi-orrrr!”

“Just die already, you stubborn witch!”

The final collision unfolded as we plummeted toward the ground.

Isabella’s right arm pierced through my shoulder. My left shoulder was half-severed.

Durandal slashed deeply into her waist. Hot blood sprayed like a fountain from her split abdomen.

The exoskeleton of her left arm pierced my calf. The Life Force blade severed that arm.

The last arm aimed for my face. I turned my head to dodge and bit into it, crushing it with my teeth.

The exoskeleton shattered as my fangs dug deep. The taste of bitter blood was unmistakable.

And finally.

The Ice Blade’s claws embedded themselves in the witch’s chest.

“Kuh…! You… you wretch…!”

[Do you remember my oath? I swore I’d tear you into a thousand pieces—!]

Hersela’s roar. Pure hatred filled my left arm.

A storm of crimson blades raged, tearing Isabella’s body into a thousand pieces, just as I had sworn.

—

A rain of flesh fell.

Toward the underground river that had suddenly appeared before us.

-Splash!

The shock of the impact hit my entire body. The cold river water cooled the heat coursing through me.

Falling into the water was fortunate. With one leg injured, landing on solid ground would have worsened my injuries.

And… Lacey and Ophelia were right there in front of me.

Pieces of flesh floated on the blood-red water. Climbing out of the current, my left hand held the half-destroyed corpse of Isabella.

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