The Academy’s Weakest Became A Demon-Limited Hunter

Vuel effortlessly blocked Tristan Humphrey’s kick by raising his arm.

The compressed wind mana in Tristan’s leg exploded, but it had no effect on Vuel.

Despite blocking the attacks so effortlessly, Vuel’s expression was grim.

“Cowards! Now that Isaac’s gone, you think you can do whatever you want!”

Tristan unleashed a flurry of blows.

[Begone.]

Vuel blocked all of Tristan’s attacks, grabbed his leg, and flung him to the ground.

Wham!

Crash!

Tristan crashed into the ground, creating a deep crater.

Blood poured from his head, but he easily got up and laughed maniacally.

“Hahaha! Is that all you’ve got? It doesn’t even tickle!”

Tristan hadn’t received any information from Isaac.

But the moment he saw the white sky, he realized something dangerous was happening. After that, he spotted the heavenly beings invading the academy.

The Academy quickly initiated emergency measures, prioritizing student safety, but Tristan’s decision to confront the heavenly beings was purely his own.

It was clear what those heavenly beings intended to do to humanity, so he acted instinctively.

[Was there such a fool…? I don’t waste my time with weaklings.]

“Wait…!”

Whoosh!

Vuel gave an order and then headed back toward the Black Stone.

As Tristan tried to chase him, the heavenly being who had kicked him earlier swung his spear.

Tristan enveloped himself in wind mana and retreated at lightning speed. The heavenly being was taken aback by his invisible speed.

“You damn pigeon…! Who are you calling a weakling?”

Tristan glared furiously, veins bulging from his forehead and chin.

In the sky, Alice was fighting, while on the ground, Tristan clashed with Vuel’s underlings.

Boom!

Suddenly, purple thunderstorm clouds gathered in front of Vuel, and a black thunderbird soared into the sky.

[Gaaaaaah!!]

Luce Eltania’s familiar, Thunderbird Galia.

It roared ferociously at Vuel.

Vuel halted again, narrowing his eyes as he glared at the familiar.

On the ground, a girl with rose-gold hair glared at Vuel.

Shadow fell over the area. A massive, menacing whale swam through the thunderclouds, looking down at Vuel.

White Thunder Whale - Bello. This giant whale magic beast had grown by its master’s side, absorbing both powerful water and lightning mana.

“Surround the enemy!”

The Imperial Knights and the academy’s battle forces flew in on their familiars, blocking Vuel’s path.

Many Imperial Knights and academy faculty stood on the landing bridge, aiming bows and crossbows at Vuel.

And then.

Whoosh!!

With ice mana surging from the sea, land, and sky, massive ice magic beasts appeared and simultaneously targeted Vuel.

Ice Bound Crocodile Tugaros, Glacial Bear Barbatoma, and Frost Spirit Merphil.

The oppressive presence of the disaster-level ice beasts weighed heavily on the landing bridge.

[I knew you wouldn’t let me go so easily.]

Vuel tilted his head slightly, speaking in a heavy voice.

[Luce Eltania.]

Among the Class A students Vuel had taught, aside from Isaac, Luce Eltania was the strongest genius.

Vuel addressed her with a chilling voice.

[You should act like the student you are.]

Vuel extended his right arm, enveloping it in Divine Power.

And the battle didn’t last long.

“Kugh…!”

With Thunderbird Galia and White Thunder Whale Bello collapsed in pools of their own blood, Vuel seized Luce by the throat and hoisted her up.

Luce gasped in pain as her breath faltered. Due to the effects of the Heavenly Clock, her mana was thrown into chaos, preventing her from using magic properly and leading to her defeat.

The Imperial Knights and Märchen Academy’s combat forces had all fallen unconscious.

Alice and Tristan, who had each been battling heavenly beings, were swiftly defeated when Vuel intervened.

Even the disaster-class ice beasts were either staggering or completely knocked out.

The match was hopeless. Even without being fully armed, Vuel was overwhelmingly powerful.

You lot are no match for me. That includes you as well, Luce Eltania.

“Ugh…!”

Luce frowned and desperately summoned her lightning magic, but its power was pitifully weak.

A simple bolt of lightning wasn’t enough to leave even a scratch on Vuel.

[Pathetic fools.]

Vuel tossed Luce aside effortlessly.

Luce’s body landed on the Thunderbird and slid down onto the rough ground, tumbling helplessly. She choked out harsh coughs in agony.

“Isaac… until Isaac arrives…”

With her blurred vision, Luce glared at Vuel and reached out with her left arm. The gift from Isaac, the Ring of the Abyssal Queen, began to glow.

She tried to summon more lightning mana, but Luce soon fell unconscious, crumpling to the ground.

Vuel unfurled his wings, intending to leave with his weary followers.

“Ha…!”

At that moment, Tristan slammed his fist against the ground, bringing himself back to consciousness through sheer pain.

His breathing was rough, his face soaked in blood. The white of one eye was stained crimson from the bleeding.

Through his reddened vision, Tristan glared at Vuel’s retreating figure.

He rose to his feet.

Whoosh!

Once again, Tristan channeled wind mana throughout his body and launched himself off the ground.

Boom!

Tristan swiftly reached Vuel and launched a kick charged with wind mana, but Vuel casually blocked it with his arm.

“Hahaha! You think I’ll just let you go, pigeon?!”

Tristan cackled to suppress the fear welling up inside him and shouted.

[…]

No matter how many punches Tristan threw in rapid succession, they had no effect on Vuel.

[Begone.]

Vuel struck Tristan’s abdomen with his fist. There was a sickening crack of bones breaking as Tristan’s body was sent flying.

Tristan’s body tumbled across the bridge. The excruciating pain nearly made him black out, but he held onto consciousness and forced himself to rise again, slamming his feet into the ground for stability.

He charged forward again.

Vuel clicked his tongue. Time was being wasted.

He had wanted to avoid killing them with his own hands, but now he felt he had no choice.

Lord Vuel?

[I will kill him myself.]

Flash!

In an instant, Vuel shot towards Tristan, seizing his head with lightning speed.

Before Tristan could even react, his head was slammed into the ground.

Boom!!

The landing bridge shattered, clouds of dust billowing around them.

The impact was enough to kill an ordinary person instantly with a concussion.

Convinced that Tristan was now dead, Vuel released his grip.

Whoosh!

Thud!

But then, through the dust, two hands reached out and grabbed Vuel’s arm.

[What?]

Vuel narrowed his eyes.

Tristan, clutching Vuel’s arm, raised his wind mana and grinned.

“Where do you think you’re going? This fight isn’t over yet.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Wind mana exploded violently in rapid succession.

It was a close-range reinterpretation of Isaac’s [Frost Explosion], executed with Tristan’s own style.

I can’t move my body…

Tristan didn’t dwell on it for long. The answer was simple, he just needed to push past his limits.

Channeling wind mana through his muscles, he forcibly moved his body. The force of his grip, combined with the magic, even made Vuel feel a twinge of pain.

[You wretched fool.]

Vuel threw a punch at Tristan.

Boom!!

The landing bridge split open as Tristan instantly lost consciousness and plunged into the sea.

Sploosh. Tristan sank into the sea. Vuel was now convinced that he was truly dead.

He looked at his blood-stained fist.

Vuel felt a surge of guilt rise within him, flooding his senses.

[This wasn’t how I wanted things to go before my plan was complete…]

His right arm tingled. It was the one Tristan had gripped.

Vuel clicked his tongue and prepared to fly away once more.

Whooosh!

Suddenly, a man surged from the sea, cloaked in wind mana.

[…!]

He kicked towards Vuel with tremendous speed.

Boom!

Vuel, caught off guard, took the hit directly.

He was pushed back. The soles of his shoes scraped along the landing bridge. He extended his wings and rose into the air.

Though he hadn’t taken significant damage, the attack had worked. He felt pain in his head.

“I told you, I won’t let you leave…!”

The boy appeared before him once again. Tristan, already battered and bruised, spoke while gasping for breath.

Though he had lost consciousness earlier, he had stubbornly regained his senses.

[…]

Vuel glared menacingly at Tristan.

Tristan forcibly held onto his consciousness.

Vuel realized that Tristan was continuously breaking through his limits and becoming stronger.

He was risking his life, foolishly so.

And because of that, he was becoming dramatically stronger.

It was an unbelievable display of mental strength.

However, Vuel had no time to be impressed by such incredible growth. His eyes filled with murderous intent.

[I find it hard to understand. What is the point of throwing your life away to confront me?]

“Huff, huff… The point? Isn’t it obvious?”

Tristan had already realized.

He had to buy time. He needed to hold off that heavenly being.

There was no way Isaac hadn’t foreseen this situation, and he surely wouldn’t have left without a plan.

There must be a reason Isaac’s women were prepared in advance and were holding off Vuel.

So.

“Isaac will return.”

Tristan chuckled, like a third-rate villain.

“There’s no denying he’s a hero. So for now, even if I don’t like it, I have to help him.”

He had no intention of being sheltered like some pampered flower alongside the other students.

He would hold on to Vuel for as long as possible until that damned Isaac returned.

Even though the Imperial Knights, the academy’s battle forces, and students far stronger than him had all been ruthlessly defeated, Tristan had no intention of retreating.

He had sworn to surpass Isaac.

That life-or-death resolve constantly pushed Tristan forward without pause.

[You risk your life for such a trivial reason?]

“Ha! What a foolish thing to say! Isn’t that reason enough?”

[…Utterly foolish.]

Vuel enveloped his entire body in Divine Power.

He copied Tristan’s technique, cloaking his fist in Divine Power, while Tristan’s was enveloped in wind mana, and the two exchanged blows.

Boom!!

Several fierce exchanges followed.

Tristan’s movements gradually slowed, and eventually, completely exhausted, he weakly swung a punch at Vuel before collapsing.

Vuel was about to take flight again, but even though Tristan no longer had the strength to lift his head, he crawled across the ground and grabbed Vuel’s ankle.

He summoned light green wind mana, but the wind dispersed futilely into the air.

[…]

Vuel shook off Tristan and hurried on. Only then did Tristan lose consciousness.

Vuel thought that if he left him alone, Tristan would die. Someone who pushed themselves past their limits like this would only hasten their death.

Anyway, soon enough, once he absorbed the mana of the Black Stone, its effects would wipe out humanity.

There were no more obstacles here that could stop him.

[Let’s go.]

Vuel spread his wings and flew away with his subordinates.

***This was the story of when I entered the Nether.

When I passed through the blue wormhole, with an ice shield deployed over my entire body, I was met by a blinding light.

As I was pulled into that light, the sound of a storm filled my ears.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a storm glowing with blue natural mana. I judged that I would soon be swept away by the storm when suddenly a clear sound rang out from all directions.

Clang clang clang!

Suddenly, stars rose around me, forming a starlight shield.

Then my body began to be forcibly moved.

Dorothy…

I could tell that this was the means of transport prepared by Round 1 Dorothy.

My vision shifted at an incredible speed, making it impossible to tell where I was going.

It might as well have been the speed of light… I couldn’t be sure. What I did know was that I was moving very fast.

Finally, after what seemed like an unknown distance…

Thud!

“Whoa!”

I suddenly collided with something, causing the starlight shield surrounding me to be repelled. Something had blocked my path.

I fell to the ground but landed lightly.

“What is this?”

I looked around.

An unknown smoke was seeping through a hole in the sky, and its color was purple.

The air was cold. The area was covered in ice. Strange ice formations filled the scene, with unfamiliar creatures frozen solid inside them.

Ssssss.

At a distance, there was a large elevator, presumed to be the cause of the ice all around.

It was a beautifully carved elevator. Inside the open doors, a mysterious cold air was gently flowing out.

Dorothy’s magic had brought me to this place. Judging by the surroundings, that elevator must lead to the Icy Lake.

[You have broken the rules.]

“…”

I lifted my head.

The being that deflected the starlight barrier was calmly floating in the air.

It had a strange yet mysterious form. A supreme radiance radiated from it, evoking awe.

A massive golden ring followed behind its back. From that ring, an astronomical amount of mana rose, forming into the shape of beautiful wings.

[Nether King, Hades]

Lv: ■■■

Race: God of the Underworld

Element■: Control

■Danger: Extreme■

Psychology: [ ■ ]

The Nether King, Hades.

A being that, when encountered in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, guaranteed a bad ending.

The status window crackled, unable to properly display the Nether King’s information.

I smiled and greeted the Nether King cheerfully.

“Hello! My name is Isaac! Excuse me, but I’m trying to pass through here!”

It wasn’t confidence.

It was a desperate attempt to suppress the trembling in my body.

— The Icy Lake isn’t under the jurisdiction of the Nether King, so he can’t enter or interfere with it. Just make it to the elevator. Once inside, the jurisdiction changes.

I recalled Dorothy’s explanation from the first timeline.

I only needed to get inside the elevator to escape the Nether King’s domain.

[A living being. Now that one with a physical body has entered this place, nothing can be permitted. You must face judgment.]

“…I figured.”

I didn’t expect anything different, of course.

Ruuuumble.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, a massive iron door appeared in the sky, its size difficult to comprehend. Beyond that door was my minion, the Primordial Magic Beast of Ice - Daikan.

I let the coldness of [Ice Sovereign] flow through my entire body, drawing up my ice mana.

“Sorry, but I have to get through.”

[Apex Predator], a unique trait acquired by maxing out [vs. Other Races Combat Power], activated.