The Guardian

Chapter 26: The Truth

A figure jumped between the rooftops, hiding in the darkness.

—The situation at the hotel has been brought under control.

Aurora didn’t flinch at the report from her system, just continued carefully moving across the rooftops.

She had enough confidence in Alice and believed she would handle any event, no matter how unexpected.

Diminishing her presence as much as she could, Aurora began to nimbly hop across the rooftop, watching in the distance as three masked men flew by.

The one in the middle was the leader appeared to be an A-Rank mage; the two carrying the students on their backs were B-Rank.

Aurora kept her cool as she waited for the right moment to strike.

She couldn’t make a move if it put the students at risk; she needed to be prepared or wait for reinforcements to arrive.

—Alice is heading this way.

Hearing those words, Aurora was relieved, but her relief didn’t last long as she saw the group stop.

Aurora carefully hid behind a chimney and eyed the group warily.

“Tiger A, it’s down and the hotel seems to be in control of the authorities,” said the leader of the group, looking at his holographic watch.

“Damn... I didn’t think the hotel security members were that strong,” mumbled one of the cronies.

“They were taking on cultists. Those guys are useless,” commented the other minion with an amused laugh.

“I thought they’d give us a few extra minutes,” murmured the leader and, after a sigh, ordered. “Eagle B, head west and use this scroll. It’s a Rank A fire spell. It will create a crater of tens of meters.”

The scroll flew to the first crony who had spoken first.

“Try to cause as much damage as possible. Civilian casualties are fine as long as it gets the attention of the authorities to confuse them,” said the leader, in a disinterested tone.

A diversionary tactic that would allow them time to flee.

Aurora put on a cold expression.

A combat suit replaced her travel clothes with ‘Quick Change,’ then she grabbed three tiles from the roof, where she stood, extremely careful not to attract attention, and when she saw that the leader was about to receive the student on his shoulders, she ran towards them.

Reinforcing her body with magical energy, with great naturalness, Aurora charged towards the leader.

Her body moved at a speed greater than that of a B-Rank fighter.

Reinforcing a tile with her magical energy, she threw it towards the assailant who was passing his hostage to the leader.

The tile traveled at a great speed and struck the man’s head, causing him to shriek in pain and fall to the ground because of the heavy impact.

“What the...”

The leader was startled and tried to unconsciously grab the hostage who was about to fall to the ground, but the second shingle was already close to his face.

This time Aurora had put in a significant amount of magical energy, which caused the tile to shatter and turn into a small cloud of dust that hit the leader’s face.

Aurora, for her part, just jumped towards the falling student, and when she caught him in her arms, she gave an order.

“Now.”

—Sent.

The student’s body emanated a glow and then disappeared in the next instant.

Her system took over the teleportation control, but the movement was a skill in her combat suit.

With less weight, Aurora literally stepped into the air, where a translucent section was created under her feet, and jumped back into battle with her tile in hand.

That was another skill in her combat boots.

“Damnit... Ugh...”

Before the leader could curse her, Aurora sent her third shingle, reinforcing it enough so that it wouldn’t turn to dust, hitting precisely the leader’s stomach.

Fighters did not reinforce objects, and Aurora did not do it as a fighter; that was the reason why the tile broke through the barrier and could hit the leader, who was a Rank A mage.

Aurora noticing out of the corner of her eye that the man she had hit first was rising; she used her fist against the one carrying the other hostage.

“Gh...”

He was carrying a damn hostage in his arm, and he only had one hand to protect himself; that evildoer could only take the blow, waiting for the leader to back him up.

Aurora grabbed the hostage, looking to take it from that man, but then had to kick the crook’s chest and using it to retreat while sending the hostage and hostage-taker duo flying off into the distance.

*BOOM*

As would be expected of an A-Rank Mage, a fireball passed through where the two had been and exploded in the middle of them both.

A barrier was generated from the battle suit itself, but the shockwave sent Aurora crashing into the ceiling.

She rolled for a few seconds, then got up in a fighting stance.

She didn’t care about the pain in her body and just looked at the hostage, looking for a way to rescue him without endangering him.

“Who are you?” the leader asked.

It wasn’t that he was looking for a conversation; Aurora could feel how he was preparing spells to use against her.

Aurora looked around, analyzing how to fight back, but without the hostage being rescued, her hands were tied.

Those guys with demon masks could use him as a shield or assassinate him, Aurora was restrained, but she wasn’t nervous.

Her body was being reinforced with a large amount of magical energy to the point that the floor was cracking at her feet.

Her mind was working at full speed, and if the hostage was in danger, Aurora would move immediately.

Teleporting near the evildoer who had the hostage captured, take him from her, and since the movement ability would be on cooldown, then she would have to fight with a student in tow... It would be the worst-case scenario, but she would keep him alive until reinforcements arrived.

“...”

Tension rose between the two, staring at each other, watchful for any movement from the other.

“Boss...”

As the A-ranked leader was about to send his spells at Aurora to eliminate her immediately, he heard a call next to him.

“Idiot. A damn tile has hit you!” Spat the leader as he noticed out of the corner of his eye that his subordinate who was hit first levitated towards him, rubbing his cheek.

Aurora immediately raised her sense of security to the highest because she had not hit his cheek but his head... To the leader’s lament, only she reinforced her security and not him.

“But... It hurts!” the subordinate shouted and punched the leader in the face while his fist was reinforced with a combat aura.

He was an A-Rank Fighter, and that punch shattered the barrier covering the leader and sent him flying into the ceiling, falling hard.

“What the hell are you doing!” shouted the other subordinate with an incredulous expression, and when he noticed the combat aura, his expression changed, and he hesitated. “Who are you?”

“Change of plans, begin the subjugation,” ordered the fighter, who had betrayed his leader.

The subordinate holding the hostage looked at him in disbelief but listened in his ear. “I understand.”

That was the last thing that the subordinate heard.

Aurora saw that the student woke up and hit that Rank B subordinate with a sword that emanated a sword aura.

Although she had recognized the student, Aurora knew that there was no A-Rank swordsman among their group... Moreover, that student was only someone of support and not a swordsman.

Scenarios from a trap for her to a conflict in the organization itself entered her mind, and for Aurora, it was the same.

Her eyes narrowed with incredible ferocity, and black gloves that released small electric waves were placed in her hands.

She was a B-Rank fighter, but she was confident, and that was due not only to her experience, but she had enough to take on enemies in case of danger.

The reason was her high-tech combat suit that fused Terra nova’s magical craftsmanship with Earth’s technological capabilities, plus...

*BOOM*

A young woman with four black arms fell at the duo’s back as she looked seriously at the situation.

Her shadow seemed to want to spread around, prepared for a massacre.

“Boss... We’re in trouble, can you come?” the fighter asked with a serious tone, and noticing that Aurora was about to move, he exclaimed. “We’re from the Falion Empire’s special forces! We’re on a mission!”

With those words, the student pulled off a ring and revealed a full-grown elf with long ears.

“Bastards! Do you not wish to reveal more important secrets?!”

A voice echoed to the surroundings, and amid the group, a glow appeared, leaving Urfin and a group of warriors, mages, and fighters in sight.

Urfin ordered the group to stop the assailants and then looked at Aurora and Alice.

“Thank you for ruining my plans,” Urfin said, but unlike his words that seemed sarcastic, he had an amused smile on his face.

“A secret mission run by the very Head of National Security of Greece... I apologized if I ruined your mission,” Aurora replied with a sigh and then asked Alice. “And the students?”

“They are fine. Most of them were on the second and third floor, but the goal of those cultists was to take over the hotel from the floor below and they only sent a small group to take care of the students,” Alice reported, and after eating some chips, added. “Although one A-Rank appeared along with dozens of B-Ranks, the Greek security members disguised as workers and tourists could deal with them.”

Alice, with her report, made it clear that Urfin had known the ambush would take place and had been prepared for quite some time for the assault.

“I apologize for not informing you, but we didn’t want to scare the students and warn the mastermind,” Urfin explained with an apologetic smile, and with a half-sigh, murmured. “Be sure the students were protected.”

Aurora gave no response; she didn’t like the methods of using innocent third parties as bait to ambush enemies... Unless those third parties were informed about the situation and agreed on the danger presented by becoming bait.

“Let’s go back,” Aurora ordered, making her combat suit disappear and leaving only her clothes she had come out in; she looked at Urfin and just said. “See you later...”

With those words, Aurora started moving across the roof at high speed as Alice followed.

“You know he informed you more than he should?” Alice asked as she used her black arms to move.

“I know...” Aurora replied calmly.

Urfin didn’t need to apologize on a type of mission like this.

He had been in charge of the students’ security, and if what Alice said was true, then it meant that most of the hotel workers and managers had been replaced by combat forces prepared for this day.

They had created a scenario where the hotel security was losing so that those who had orchestrated everything, took hostage two members of the security forces who had disguised themselves as students...

The enemies’ target was the students, and that is why they made a whole scenario; Aurora knew that the security to the actual students was relatively high.

The Head of National Security of Greece apologized to Aurora just because of the close relationship they both had.

Someone like Urfin didn’t need to apologize to a B-Rank mercenary... And while he could apologize to students in general, he could also send a message or a subordinate, and no one could criticize him.

“System, prepare a report of what happened and send it to Director Vincent. Whether or not he was aware of this, make it look as if a ‘reparation’ of harm was needed for the students,” Aurora ordered coldly.

Alice’s lips quivered, but she remained silent.

—I’ll send it right away.

Hearing her system’s response, Aurora nodded.

Her system was good at all sorts of things, and sending a report with a few words, with the goal of getting the Director to take care of ‘damage repair’ trying to get something for the students who were used as bait, was something her system could surely do.

Aurora didn’t care if Director Vincent was an SS Rank; she was angry.

One could argue that the students used as bait were heroes in the making, and this would serve as a real test for the future, but it was a weak argument that seemed to be an excuse.

She didn’t care if the other students accepted it; Aurora didn’t like being used by others, even if that person was an SS Rank and the Director.

With a rather grumbling expression, Aurora and Alice arrived at the hotel garden.

Noticing dozens of people in the dining room, Aurora entered through the front door to make things easier.

When she entered the room, the students noticed both of them and approached with some serious expressions.

Among them were Erica and Marc.

“Where were you two?” Erica asked with a serious tone, and as she looked at Aurora, she commented. “We’ve been looking all over the hotel for you and couldn’t find you, you had us all worried.”

Her serious tone seemed to be mixed with scolding, but her concern was sincere.

“Damn, what a waste of time. You must have run scared and hidden somewhere outside,” Marc scoffed with an annoyed tone.

That sneer hid the frustration of the group... Even Erica said nothing to stop him, for while they were all fighting, Aurora had disappeared from the hotel.

Following her escape from earlier and the evidence, the closest claim was that she had run away again to hide until it was all over.

“So what will you say about me, that I left in fear too?” Alice asked before Aurora could say anything.

Her shadow on her back slowly became visible, and her intention to fight became clear.

An A-Rank creature wasn’t as scary as Alice...

The atmosphere became extremely serious and heavy.

No one liked to anger an A-Rank and worse, Alice, who had a history for being ruthless over mere chips.

Aurora smiled at the sight of her companion protecting her, but in the end, she didn’t say too much, as Urfin was on a secret mission.

It was up to the empire authorities to report the situation.

Urfin had told her about the mission and apologized because they were acquaintances, but he was sure the students would be told otherwise.

“That’s enough,” ordered a voice at their back, and the same fighter who had beaten the mage stepped forward to the group and explained. “These young mercenary girls helped my men track some escaping criminals. Show more respect.”

His serious tone was full of strength and authority sounded nothing like that fighter calling for his boss to come.

Now he sounded like a proud and authoritative elf.

“I am the security manager of Athens. Some cultists carried this raid out to take the heroes hostage,” reported the fighter with a serious tone and, seeing the stunned group, he explained. “The mission was aimed not only at catching some lowly minions but, the genuine leaders, that’s why they were not informed. If you have any complaints, please communicate them to Director Vincent. He approved this mission, and our security department only lent support.”

Like an expert, he wiped his hands of the matter.

“I was not informed about that,” Professor Villacrés said.

“Director Vincent will contact you in due course. As it is evening, you may return to your quarters. Our men will remain to ensure your safety,” said the fighter with a severe tone full of confidence.

At that very moment, the holographic clocks of the students and the teacher vibrated, leaving Director Vincent’s report in view.

Although the whole point of it all was to catch those who orchestrated all this, and the students were not informed, Director Vincent commented that it was also a test to see how the students reacted.

No students were upset to learn that Director Vincent himself ensured their safety, and they were happy to receive a few extra marks and, incidentally, a paid trip again to Greece as compensation.

Aurora no longer cared and went back to her room to sleep.

******

“The report was as a B-Rank mercenary and her complaint was as a student. Do you think a mere paid trip can appease her?” Urfin asked with a smile to the person next to him, looking at his holographic watch.

Dressed in a mage’s robe that gently fluttered in the wind, Director Vincent didn’t know what to say in response.

“I suggested to you that we should have hired or invited her to participate in the mission. That would have reduced the danger of her failing...” Urfin said, shaking his head with a sigh.

Director Vincent did not know how to react to those words.

Inviting his own student to take part in the mission or trying to hire her as a mercenary?

Didn’t that sound strange?

“What was it that happened?” Director Vincent asked.

He himself had stayed at the hotel, ensuring the safety of his students.

He wasn’t kidding when it was said that the students were fully secured... A mage of SS Rank, he was in charge of that task.

He noticed that Alice and Aurora had left, but he didn’t expect his plan to fall apart.

“Simple. Just as we had planned. My men disguised as students had been taken hostage and were being taken to whoever hired these guys, but to our regret, a B-Rank mercenary interfered,” Urfin said, and with a smile, as if he had been watching the whole thing, he commented. “One of my men ended up over two hundred meters away and we had no choice but to disguise some of our hidden members as one of the criminals to stop the mage and reduce the damage to the surrounding area.”

An A-Rank mage was quite troublesome because of the explosive force of his spells, so they caught the criminal that had fallen and replaced him on the sly.

In Urfin’s tone, at no time was there concern for Aurora; that was because of the confidence he had in her.

“Still, we have gained information. These men are from a smaller scale demon sect, and an extra group was hired through an intermediary with the goal of capturing some students alive. Whoever the person who was hired him paid a large amount of money, as he had two A-Rank and dozens of B-Ranks participate in this mission knowing the danger of Athens.”

Athens was an extremely dangerous city for thugs and terrorists, that was because the Falion Empire was in charge of security, and they did an excellent job.

Those people may have been desperate to take a job in the middle of the city, but those A-Rank would surely charge a great deal of money.

“They’re still in search of the grimoire,” Director Vincent muttered with a sigh.

That they went after his students was only meant to use them against him.

Everyone knew the protective attitude that the director of the Hero Academy had towards his students... That he protected the students himself made it clear that the analysis about him was not wrong.

It was certainly possible that they would use his students, and he would accept... Director Vincent was that kind of person; that was why he ran the Hero Academy.

“You shouldn’t have bought the ‘Enemy of humanity’ Grimoire. It was a big mistake and now there are people who want it,” Urfin said, knowing Director Vincent’s situation and then shaking his head, he muttered."Unfortunately, those cockroaches are not afraid of being cut by the wind and take the risk."

As someone of S-Rank, he knew Director Vincent’s strength.

It was true that the grimoire could help mages move up the ranks, but having to face an SS Rank... It was basically suicide, and only idiots could be that desperate.

Unfortunately, those idiots were the most dangerous, as they didn’t mediate their consequences, and to make matters worse, this entire world was inhabited by many idiots.

“That’s right...” Said Director Vincent, nodding.

He had bought a grimoire of the ‘Enemy of humanity,’ and it was real; although it did not contain essential secrets about that player who murdered gods, this grimoire had the learning and experience of that player who was known as an Archmage in various magics.

Innovative theories and powerful forbidden spells capable of destroying cities of the wind attribute.

Although the forbidden spells were precious and important, the grimoire contained no relevant secrets.

Still, just that this grimoire belonged to that person attracted lunatics eager to know his secret and be able to perform the same atrocities and follies he did in Terra nova.

Just the simple fact of belonging to someone capable of taking on gods while being a mortal... It drove anyone to madness.

Director Vincent rubbed his temple in exhaustion, as he couldn’t capture the mastermind this time, either.

“I recommend you hire Aurora’s mercenary group,” Urfin said with a firm tone.

“You want me to hire my own students?” Director Vincent asked.

It was strange no matter how it looked...

Urfin just shrugged and, with a smile, commented. “I don’t know why she became a student, but her group is skilled enough to have been able to have stopped this assault on her own.”

Director Vincent couldn’t help but nod.

He remembered when Alice entered the restaurant where both the authorities disguised as hostages and the cultists were there... It was a chaotic beating that disrupted the scenario with ease.

Thanks to them, the hidden support didn’t even have to take part to back up the others.

Then, remembering Aurora, who had stopped his plan to trick the infiltrator into the test, now Director Vincent just let out a long sigh.

He had never imagined it would go so badly when he was asked to get them into his academy.