Hunter Academy’s Battle God

Amy, the 'Self-proclaimed' information analysis genius, pushed up the non-prescription glasses she’d prepared for the occasion while laying out the materials she’d prepared.

"Everyone! Focus! I, the smartest analyst, have already finished creating my briefing on Ireland and Germany!" Her audience was a total of six people: party leaders YuSung and Seiji, along with the participants—Sakura, SiWoo, Sumire, and the last participant.

"Did you analyze everything in that short time?" SiWoo seemed doubtful.

Amy confidently shook her index finger. "I analyzed everything! From the colors and characteristics of the two teams to the strategies they’ve recently used!”

Clap, clap, clap-!

"Amy, you're amazing!" Sumire applauded.

"Good job, Amy." YuSung chimed in.

Amy cleared her throat. "Now, Germany's Munich Academy is fielding a special forces party trained for anti-terror and anti-villain operations! They're combat specialists!"

It was unusual for normal academy students to experience real-life combat situations against villains. They were closer to city guards at that point than hunters.

"That's why they have zero defeats in tag matches so far,” Amy said. “None of them have lost!"

Just as she said, the fact that the German team, trained to fight villains, hadn’t lost yet was significant. It suggested that their strategies surpassed their abilities.

"That sounds complicated,” SiWoo said. “Well, I also received anti-villain training when I was a kid."

"Then we're just going to have to rely on you, right? Lucky us~!" Sakura teased.

Despite her teasing, he remained confident. "Most of the strategies used by the city guards and the anti-villain units have been in textbooks for a very long time. The important thing is the commander's ability to adapt."

YuSung couldn't help but smile at SiWoo's proactive attitude. 'As expected, SiWoo has changed as well.' SiWoo used to not talk at all about city guards or discuss anything related to his childhood, regardless of whether it had to do with his skills or experiences.

Using a bow instead of a gun had been a form of rebellion for him.

'Is it thanks to Sakura? He seems to have moved on.' YuSung made a contented smile.

Amy raised her index finger again. "As for Ireland's Blin Academy… they're truly the elite among the elite! They've combined the aces from many other academies for the International Competition!"

Students transferring from one academy to another was common for major tournaments like the International Competition—Adela’s transfer to Italy’s Bianca Academy was one such example.

Amy caught everyone’s attention by pointing to the ceiling and pausing for dramatic effect. "And now for the participants!" She seemed to be enjoying the extra attention.

* * *

* * *

Munch—

Paf-!

Verdandi's huge bubble of gum burst with a loud pop, and she licked the remnants of it off her lips before smiling. "Rakion, do you know the story about the ostrich and the sand?"

Most members of the anti-terror unit preferred to look inconspicuous, but Verdandi was different—she wore fancy earrings and jewelry. Even with a uniform on, her bright, long hair and personality couldn’t be hidden.

Rakion felt drained whenever he worked with her. "Verdandi, we're on a mission. If we aren't serious, our team leader will—"

"Huh? I'm serious right now." She always sulked when people didn’t entertain her jokes. "Ah, does it seem like I'm joking around? Well, I guess I do like to joke around every day. Ah~ I'm really bad."

Rakion rubbed his forehead, but she continued to taunt him. "I had something to say, but I guess I won't! I'll just keep my mouth shut and quietly shoot," she grumbled with a dissatisfied look.

Rakion sighed again and, once more, gave in. "Why did you mention the ostrich and the sand?"

Verdandi smiled triumphantly and aimed at a building with her sniper scope. "Ostriches are dumb. When they see a hunter, they hide their heads in the sand."

The long-barreled sniper rifle seemed cumbersome, but Verdandi was used to it. She had a bipod on the ground to reduce recoil, and though it was practically impossible to snipe villains who’d barricaded themselves away, she scoffed at such conventional thinking.

"They think they're safe if they can't see the threat. Don't you think they resemble these villains?"

"Indeed, they do. Rakion agreed and smiled, revealing his bright teeth against his dark skin.

It was an appropriate analogy for Verandi’s Trait, ‘Hell’s Marksman’.

"Right. No sniper on Earth's more skilled than you, Verdandi."

Verdandi's eyebrows wiggled at the praise.

Beep—!

- Verdandi, I've located the villain. Check the coordinates and handle it with a 'Hellfire Tracker.'

Her party leader’s voice echoed in her ears, and she smiled as she made a pinching motion with her fingers and softly whispered, "Ziel… Verstanden."

A bullet appeared between her fingers.

Click—!

She expertly loaded the demon bullet and looked down her scope, which could see mana flow on top of magnifying her vision. Having located her target, she pulled the trigger.

Bang—!

Her target was inside a building, but it didn't matter. Her demon bullet couldn’t be stopped.

Swoosh! Crash—!

It easily penetrated the mana barrier. If there was a wall, it ignored the laws of physics and curved, easily passing through layers of obstacles to somehow hit the target. Like a hound sniffing out blood, the bullet tracked mana.

Bang—!

Her bullet hit the target, and the blue barrier around the building shattered.

She grinned as she watched the scattering mana fragments. "Fu. Mission accomplished!"

- Rakion, now that the barrier's down, secure the hostages on the first floor.

Rakion turned to dirt and disappeared, merging with the building.

Swoosh-

Since the villain creating the barrier was gone, Rakion turned to dirt and attacked the villains in the lobby.

BOOM—!

"An ambush!"

"Wh-where? There’s too much dust…!

The rising dirt, along with the dust, entangled the villains' legs like vines.

"My legs!"

"You guys, stick with me! I'm going to shoot them!"

"KYAA!"

"Please! Save me!"

Rakion calmly reassured the hostages. "Calm down. We're here."

He grasped at the air with his hand, and…

[Earth's Cradle.]

Swoosh—!

The rising dirt formed a safe sphere to protect the hostages.

Bababang—!

More than six villains fired countless bullets from machine guns at him, but nothing happened. His Trait made their guns useless—their bullets couldn’t penetrate his wall.

"Captain, hostages secured."

- Got it. I'll send the city guards. Verdandi, I'll ask you for supporting fire.

- Okay~

The trio worked together flawlessly.

Rakion smiled at the villains upon hearing his teammates' voices over the radio.

"Alright, villains… I'll play with you guys slowly."

* * *

After Amy's briefing, a hologram appeared before Sumire, who was leisurely enjoying tea.

"This is…"

[First Authority: Animate Dead]

[Synchronization with the Bone Dragon is complete.]

[Familiar: Bone Dragon]

[Summoning progress: 99%]

[Current Status: Paused]

[To reach 100%, something comparable to a dragon’s core is required.]

Though Sumire had finished synchronizing with it, her catalyst was still insufficient. Since the International Competition was approaching, though, obtaining such a tremendous catalyst would be impossible.

'Perhaps using the dragon in this upcoming match is too ambitious.' Just when Sumire was about to give up, she heard Laplace’s voice for the first time in a while.

- My child, you've become too quick to give up since I last saw you, and here I was personally about to teach you a method.

'L-Laplace?' Startled, Sumire quickly responded through telepathy, but Laplace sighed.

- Haa. My child, I'm truly disappointed. I thought you would seek me out if there was something you didn't know.

Being able to absorb a fragment of Laplace meant that she shared many similarities with her and had the potential to be her successor.

- It feels like I've been abandoned. It's saddening. Not even my child wants to seek me out…

'L-Laplace! That's not the case…' Sumire, who was sitting in her chair, nervously sweated.

Amy, unaware of the situation, gave her a curious look. "Sumire, are you okay? You look very uncomfortable."

"I’m fine! It's just that I remembered something…" Sumire gave an excuse and moved to an empty room, and Laplace still showed signs of being disappointed.

- Although a bit late, I'm glad you remembered.

Seeing how quickly Laplace's mood had improved showed how much she cared for Sumire.

- Are you willing to listen to my method?

'Yes! Laplace… can we summon a dragon without a catalyst?'

- No. That's impossible, but there's something you're unaware of. You already possess a splendid catalyst.

She had something equivalent to a dragon’s core—something that was considered one of the greatest artifacts?

Sumire looked puzzled, but she didn't doubt Laplace. The entity she was talking with was the original owner of the Animate Dead skill she'd acquired and the witch who once reigned as a calamity.

- Fufu, it seems that you have many questions. Come. I want to see you. It's been a while.

She was the best possible instructor for a necromancer.