Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

‘…What does that mean?’

My head was spinning. The fact that the Demon King had given such an order was completely baffling. He had commanded that if a human found this place, they must be told about her order?

‘Could she really have some kind of prophetic ability… No, that can’t be.’

If the Demon King had such abilities, she would have used them in the original novel, and neither Priscilla nor Rosaria would be unaware of it. Yet, both of them looked utterly shocked by the Demon King’s words.

Was there any advantage for the Demon King in revealing his plan? I reviewed the situation but couldn’t come up with anything. If I had just a little more information, maybe I could—

“Mira! Watch out!”

—Boom!

At the sound of something slicing through the air, I reflexively raised Eternity. A massive impact transmitted through the sword, causing my hand to tremble and my feet to leave the ground.

With a resounding crash, I was slammed into the opposite wall of the cave, my right shoulder partially embedded into the stone. Agony shot through my body where it was pinned. Dust and debris tickled my nose. I coughed, dislodging the debris. My vision, momentarily darkened, slowly returned to normal.

With effort, I braced my left arm and pushed myself free from the wall. After a few attempts, I managed to extract my body. My feet touched the ground again. It had been a long time since I felt such genuine pain. If I hadn’t failed to react in time and missed using body reinforcement, I would have been killed instantly by that blow.

“Haha! At least you’re not a complete weakling! This won’t be too boring after all!”

The centaur’s laughter echoed through the cave. He didn’t even glance at Priscilla and Rosalia, who were preparing to fight nearby.

“Mira! Are you okay?!”

“Do you need healing?”

Priscilla and Rosalia approached, checking on me. Rosaria was about to use divine healing but hesitated upon seeing no visible wounds, while Priscilla pointed her staff, ready to cast a spell. The centaur didn’t seem threatened by Priscilla’s preparations. Instead, he provocatively spread his arms wide and tilted his head as if daring us to attack.

And it was for a good reason.

‘She said short incantation spells wouldn’t be able to harm him.’

It wasn’t that Priscilla’s magic was the problem; it was that the centaur was ridiculously tough. I stepped forward, leaving the other two behind. Rosalia looked ready to protest, but Priscilla gently held her back.

As I approached, the centaur swung his axe energetically.

“You plan to face me alone? Hahaha! I like that spirit! I was annoyed when that bitch Astaroth took my soldiers, but I’ll vent my frustrations here!”

Of course, I didn’t intend to fight alone. I wasn’t some berserk warrior; I needed to conceal my strength whenever possible. This was just laying the groundwork for later.

After fighting with Maker, Priscilla and I had prepared specific strategies for encountering each legion commander. I hadn’t expected to use them so soon, but here we were. Even if Priscilla couldn’t win against this guy one-on-one, she could still deal significant damage. The plan was for her to deliver a big hit while I kept him occupied.

‘Strike first before getting hit,’ she had explained.

Priscilla had said that the centaur would act like an honourable and straightforward warrior at first, but it was all an act. He would fight gallantly only when he thought he could win; otherwise, he would call for reinforcements or set traps, doing whatever it took to secure victory.

He was nothing like his appearance suggested.

“Well, if you lose to me, you’ll just get even more frustrated. How about we both step back without any hard feelings? We’ll just destroy this place and leave. Promise.”

“Lose? Me? You really don’t know your place!”

The downside of this plan was that I had to hold the centaur off until Priscilla could find an opening to complete her incantation. But honestly, if the goal was merely to hold out rather than win, I could do it all day.

‘I’ve heard about the techniques he uses from Priscilla.’

While he wouldn’t use them exactly as he did in the original, knowing his general moves was enough. At least I wouldn’t die from an unknown attack.

The centaur seemed to think I was bluffing. Like what Priscilla said he would do, he stood his ground and twitched his axe as if inviting me to strike first. There was no reason to refuse. I launched myself forward.

With my body fully reinforced, the distance between us shrank rapidly. His face showed surprise as I approached, but his body reacted instinctively, swinging the axe horizontally to cleave me in two.

I leapt into the air, evading the swing. As soon as the blade missed, it stopped abruptly. The sheer force behind it was impressive, but I was faster.

My mana-coated blade aimed for his neck.

“Hrrrgh!”

With a grunt, he tensed his muscles. Clang! The sound of metal striking metal rang out as my sword left only a minor scratch on his neck.

‘What kind of brute…’

Even though my attack was only mana-enhanced, he blocked it just by tensing his muscles?

I shifted strategies. Using the still-moving axe as a platform, I launched myself upward and swung my left fist at his face.

—Thud!

‘…Ugh!’

Despite using body reinforcement and mana, my fingers throbbed from the impact. I could shatter a boulder with that punch.

Whether the blow affected him or not, it was time to retreat. I kicked off his face and jumped back. His hand swiped at where I had been, trying to grab me.

Shaking the numbness from my left hand, I gripped Eternity again. The centaur laughed with an unscathed face.

“Your courage is admirable! I commend your spirit! Despite your small size, you’ve earned the honor of my introduction!”

With a snort, his muscles, already enormous, bulged even more. His voice boomed through the cave.
“My name is Leptarukus! Chief of the Centaur Clan and proud commander of the Demon King’s Sixth Legion!”

To an outsider, he might seem like someone who values honour and seeks fair duels. I would have been fooled into thinking the same if it weren’t for Priscilla. Of course, that couldn’t be further from the truth. This was the same guy who tried to gang up on the hero with his subordinates when he thought he might lose
‘Still, it wouldn’t hurt to play along for now.’

The more distracted he was by me, the better for Priscilla.
“My name is Mira Crate.”

“Mira Crate, you say?”

He laughed so hard it seemed like the cave would collapse.
“The Demon King even foretold this! She said if someone named Mira Crate came to stop us, report it immediately! Truly, she is a leader worth following!”
“…”
At this point, I was genuinely curious about who this Demon King was. It made sense that she would know my name from the Maker, but why would she specifically predict that I would come here?
The more I pondered, the more questions arose. There just weren’t enough clues to figure out the answer.
“But I, Leptarukus, cannot turn my back on an opponent who has attacked me! I will strike you down myself and present you to the Demon King!”
He spoke of honour, but I knew he’d switch tactics the moment he started losing. I inwardly scoffed.
‘Is he really just that stupid?’
He was ordered to report immediately if someone named Mira Crate showed up, but he didn’t even ask my name before attacking. Maybe he really was just a musclehead who relied solely on his strength, which worked to my advantage.

.

.

.

Priscilla and Rosalia were watching the battle unfold. Despite their combat experience, they found it hard to follow the movements. Every clash of my blade and his axe sent walls, floors, and ceilings crumbling. What was once a narrow passageway had transformed into a cavernous space.

It was a relief that there were no signs of imminent collapse. It seemed the outpost was sturdily built after all.

“Hahaha!”

Leptarukus charged at me with his axe. My blade deflected the charge, but the force sent me skidding across the floor. Even as I tumbled, I didn’t forget to strike back, leaving a small cut on his hand.

Priscilla could tell. Although it looked like we were evenly matched or that Leptarukus had the upper hand, the one getting wounded was still the legion commander.

Thrown back, tumbling across the floor, and soaring through the air for what seemed like ages, it wasn’t Mira’s body that clashed with the double-edged axe each time—it was Eternity.

Yet, with each swing of the blade, Eternity inflicted wounds upon the opponent’s body. Before long, the cuts left behind resembled red thread, visible evidence of the damage inflicted, although the unnaturally tough skin barely managed to mitigate the effective strikes.

“…”

Perhaps realizing this fact himself, the hearty laughter disappeared from his face. It seemed he was beginning to acknowledge the shifting tide of the situation. His movements noticeably slowed, no longer showing any openings. It was time for her to step in.

‘Just big enough.’

Anything larger would be excessive. After all, the cave might collapse. While it served as an outpost, it wasn’t sturdy enough to withstand the top-tier lethal magic that Priscilla wielded with full force. Quietly, she raised her staff.

“Keep me concealed. when I signal, move aside.”

“Huh? Oh, uh, okay.”

Rosalia quietly approached Priscilla. Her attire, made of starlight-threaded fabric, was so short that the bottom of her ass was exposed. Did Mira notice that sight?

“…”

Next time, she’d have to wear her skirt a bit higher. With that thought in mind, Priscilla quietly began her incantation. A small but intricate magic circle appeared at the tip of her staff.

“Where do you think you’re playing tricks from?!”

A thunderous voice shook the cave. As Priscilla’s concentration wavered, the magic circle at the end of her staff dispersed into mana. Startled, she looked up.

“I won’t tolerate disrupting the sacred duel between warriors! I won’t stand for it!”

Oddly enough, the one who said those words seemed to say this with a tone closer to relief than anger. Priscilla was taken aback. Despite appearances, as a commander of the Demon King’s Sixth Legion, he was by no means weak. Once he appeared on the battlefield, not only ordinary soldiers but even elite knights would fall by the hundreds.

And even then, capturing him definitively was no easy task. It was believed that at most, only about ten people on the human side could confidently fight a legion commander of the Demon King. That’s why, in Part 2, the first thing the hero did was to roam around capturing those legion commanders.

‘But…’

Mira was pushing against that legion commander single-handedly.

Moreover, this wasn’t the first time. Despite being amazed by his strength, Priscilla couldn’t help but wonder how the first world he had transmigrated in and barely managed to survive was like.

From the occasional explanations she received, it didn’t seem like a particularly pleasant world.

“Hey! What do we do about him coming this way? Should we just run for it?”

Rosalia shouted urgently. The distance was closing in. Priscilla changed the type of magic she was about to use. First, a defensive spell—

Zap!

However, Priscilla’s hastily used defensive magic broke apart as soon as it touched his body.

‘As expected.’

She lightly bit her lip. It wasn’t that he was weak; it was that Mira was strong. She was still far from being able to stop him.

With a roar, Leptarukus raised his axe.

Rosaria jumped back, startled.

With a fluffy thud, the back of her head slammed into Priscilla’s chest.

But Priscilla remained unfazed.
“Why are you looking at them instead of fighting?”
It was because Mira, who had started to descend towards the ground from behind, was visible. As the clear voice resonated, he turned his head to check behind him, starting to become flustered. Mira’s body gradually changed its trajectory.
Lunar Drop.
With someone’s faint chant, a star fell.
.

.

.

“What are you doing?”

“…!”
Despite thinking it was executed properly, his Lunar Drop failed to sever Leptarukus’s neck.
‘Did I get him?’
It was because someone who suddenly appeared had grabbed Eternity’s blade with one hand.
With adorned attire and a long white coat reaching down to her ankles, along with equally long violet hair reaching her ankles, pink eyes, and large black horns, it was someone.
“M-Ma, Master!”
Leptarukus exclaimed in a bewildered voice. It was only then that I could understand the identity of the woman who had suddenly appeared.
‘This woman is…’
I tried to pull Eternity out of her grip with force, but Eternity didn’t budge. Even when I tried to infuse mana to use Distortion Twisting, the mana didn’t circulate beyond where my palm touched.
“Astaroth has informed me of your actions, Sixth Legion Commander.”
“D-Did she now!”
But the Demon King, as if not seeing me struggling to pull Eternity out, began to speak to Leptarukus.
“So, what were you doing?”
“C-Cough!”
He screamed. It wasn’t until then that he realized his right arm, which was holding the double-edged axe, had been completely severed. Blood spurted out like a fountain from the severed part. In the hand opposite to the one holding Eternity, a strange-looking sword was visible.
“Recite to me what orders I gave you. Immediately.”
“Guard this place… If an enemy comes, report to me… Especially if someone named Mira Crate arrives… I was ordered to report immediately…”
“I see. It’s clear that I gave you such orders. So, I ask again. What were you doing here?”
“T-That is…”
“Answer clearly as you were told, does my question not sound like a question?”
Squelch!
“N-No! St-stop it! M-Master! Please forgive me!”
Squelch! Squelch!
The high-heeled foot mercilessly trampled Leptarukus. His body, which only emitted groans when touched by Eternity’s blade, was crushed like a soft tofu. The sound of bones breaking echoed incessantly.
In the scene of violence that was difficult to describe, the three of us quietly watched. The violence towards the Demon King’s own subordinate continued until Leptarukus became a rag.
“One week. If I see you heal that wound during the week, I will personally skin you and hang you from the top of the tallest tower in the Demon City.”
“Yes, y-yes…”
“Be gone before my mood changes.”
“Thank you for your mercy…”
His body faded and disappeared. Only the bloodstains left on the floor indicated the lingering scent of the violence that had just occurred.
Soon, the pink pupils turned in my direction.