I Became the Academy’s War Hero Chapter 57

“Let’s have a quick strategy meeting.”

While Gustav was preparing to release the seal, I called Rubia and Meriel to my side.

“There’s no need for me to explain the rules for facing an evil spirit, right?”

“Yes.”

“And the methods of countering status ailments.”

Both nodded silently.

“Then I’ll leave the interception to you two. I’ll make sure the front line doesn’t break, no matter what.”

Ah, and one more thing—

“This time, you don’t have to hold back, Rubia.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“They may have taught you differently here, but that is by no means a denial of your own power.”

“……”

“This is the perfect opportunity to prove it with your own hands… So don’t hesitate.”

I gave a faint laugh at their puzzled faces, then turned back to the front.

Gustav first began releasing the restraints binding Clina by using an unsealing spell.

Each time a shackle fell away, it rang out with a loud clang—but the ground itself didn’t even tremble.

Then, from his robes, he drew out a small orb—the symbol of the Master of the Magic Tower.

“A top-grade Barion Orb, refined to over 99%. There’s nothing more suitable to contain the Master’s Code.”

I hadn’t asked for an explanation, but Gustav began to mutter on his own.

“…As the current ruler of Duel, this will be my first time using it. And it had better be the last.”

“Of course.”

All towers under Duel were inherently conservative, and Gustav in particular was a man who loathed taking risks.

If it required the use of the Master’s Code, he would’ve preferred to never face it at all.

“…You’re confident, I hope?”

“Confident in what?”

“If I deploy Duel’s core power, suppressing the rampaging Clina White shouldn’t be too difficult—but only once. We can’t keep a being of that strength unsealed for long.”

He cast a worried glance my way.

“There won’t be a second chance.”

“I know.”

And my reply to that was simple—

“Just don’t forget to thank me later.”

“……”

No words followed.

Resigned, Gustav placed the orb near the evil spirit and began to chant the incantation.

At once, a green light flared from the orb, and the hourglass emblem of Duel flickered briefly across its surface.

The light extended outward and seeped into Clina White’s entire body.

In that moment, the seal suppressing her consciousness was released.

KWA-AAAAANG!!

“Ugh?!”

A sudden shockwave hurled both Gustav and me backward at once.

“Sir Eugene!”

“Sir Gustav!”

I immediately adjusted my posture midair and landed on my feet, but Gustav didn’t manage to.

Meriel rushed to catch him, but I shouted sharply.

“No time to prop up the old man! Get ready for battle, now!”

Then I turned to Rubia beside me with a grin full of fighting spirit.

She nodded back in understanding.

“Phew…”

Step by step, I began to move forward.

Once the shockwave subsided, a thick, blood-red mist began to spread in all directions.

Rubia conjured a gust of wind with magic, scattering it away—and then came the sorrowful wail that followed.

For the Queen of Banshees, that cry was a declaration of war.

A Banshee’s lament was the herald of death—

Meaning someone here was bound to die.

“…Well, you’re not wrong.”

It just wouldn’t be us who’d die.

I drew Lukezax and charged forward with all my strength.

KWAANG!

KWAAANG!

A harsh, thunderous pounding echoed through the chamber, like a giant hammer striking an iron gate.

The malignant entities around reacted at once, shrieking in unison, plunging the area into deafening chaos.

But such noise was nothing compared to the overwhelming intensity of the battle unfolding before our eyes.

Gustav could only stare blankly at the three figures, stunned.

‘…Unbelievable.’

It was a grudge from twelve years ago. Saying he had forgotten would be a lie, but the fury, humiliation, and pity he’d once felt had long since faded with time.

Still, because of the link named Rubia Magnus, Eugene Carter had always lingered in the back of his mind.

Even his direct disciple, Meriel, held a complicated love-hate toward Rubia, so he’d naturally kept up with news of her—and through that, learned of Eugene Carter’s accident soon after.

When he’d heard that the man had become crippled on the battlefield, and eventually a broken shell of himself, he hadn’t been shocked.

For a man that arrogant, it was almost expected.

He had even felt a faint sense of grim satisfaction.

A fitting end for someone drunk on his own brilliance—he’d thought with an oddly calm relief.

And so Gustav had watched the fight with a faint, dangerous hope.

That Eugene Carter’s regained memory was merely coincidence, and that his body’s weakness remained unchanged.

Wouldn’t that be the natural order of things?

But that hope shattered not even ten seconds after the battle began.

Creak—creeaak!

He was swinging the heavy, single-edged Lukezax like it was nothing more than a branch, his movements fluid and precise—showing a mastery that hadn’t been there before.

Each time the blade clashed against the skeletal body of the evil spirit, an unpleasant metallic screech echoed through the air.

CLANG!

The skeletal form’s motions were purely instinctive—Clina hadn’t yet regained full control.

If one wanted to act, now was the time—before she fully awakened.

Eugene Carter surely knew that.

Yet he said nothing, focusing only on carving wounds into her bones.

CLAAANG!

By the time their blows had clashed more than thirty times, Gustav’s head was swimming with questions.

‘What in the world is he thinking…?’

He didn’t bother asking aloud—there was no way he’d get an answer—but the strangeness of this fight was undeniable.

He hadn’t declared it, but it was clear that man’s goal was to subjugate the evil spirit.

Then why repeat such a reckless approach?

If he planned to overpower her through sheer force, he was making a grave miscalculation.

That much was obvious—her opponent was a High-Rank Evil Spirit, Clina White.

If it were a lower-grade spirit, perhaps brute force might have worked. But a supreme being like a High-Rank Evil Spirit would never yield to mere strength.

‘No, if this keeps up, she won’t just resist—she’ll…’

Crack—crack!

The areas Eugene had persistently attacked began to fracture, and before long, cracks spread across all her bones.

At that blatant warning sign, Gustav hastily reached out his hand.

“Wait! You can’t provoke her any further!”

Eugene didn’t even flinch at his plea. He simply focused on deepening the fractures.

Soon, those cracks became deep splits, and as if shedding her skin, the Evil Spirit cast off her skeletal shell and began revealing her true form.

Gustav shook his head with a heavy sigh.

“You fool… I told you, we only had one chance!”

Most High-Rank Evil Spirits acted while concealing their true forms.

Especially those sealed or dormant for long periods—they often slept within their shells, waiting for a chance to awaken.

That was why, when attempting to subjugate a High-Rank Evil Spirit, one had to finish the battle quickly.

Once their consciousness awakened and they emerged from their shell, the difficulty doubled—or worse.

“If she awakens her consciousness now, we’re doomed! We haven’t even made a basic attempt yet!”

“In her skeletal state, it would’ve been a waste of time.”

“You think you can succeed after she wakes, when you couldn’t before?! How, in the world?!”

“You wouldn’t understand, Gustav. You’re not the kind of person who could.”

“…What?”

“Just stand back and watch. And don’t interfere.”

Even though the situation was critical, Eugene’s demeanor remained utterly calm.

That serenity left Gustav speechless—he had no choice but to retreat.

Fsssshh—

The bony fragments covering the Evil Spirit’s outer shell vanished completely.

What appeared afterward was a withered woman draped in a black, semi-transparent cloak.

Her skin was rotted and decayed, ready to crumble at the slightest touch, and her eyes glowed crimson with murderous intent.

Everyone except Eugene flinched and took several steps back.

Towering well over two meters tall, she looked down on them all with a crooked smile.

“So, where’s that wretch Aleph? Seems he sent a bunch of rookies this time. Well then—what sweet lies have you come to peddle today?”

Eugene Carter, standing at the front, slowly lowered his sword and extended both arms.

“There’s a better resting place. Would you consider joining me there?”

‘…She’s half-decayed, yet the pressure she gives off is overwhelming.’

Her eyes, filled with hatred and killing intent toward humankind, were so intense that merely meeting them made one’s mind blur.

I’d known this before, of course—but knowing it and feeling it firsthand were two very different things.

No matter how forgotten their kind had become, a High-Rank Evil Spirit was not a foe to be taken lightly.

If compared to beasts, she’d easily rank at least SS-class.

Even at my prime, facing her alone would’ve been brutal.

There were ways to bring one down—but not with just four people, and certainly not in a way that could lead to subjugation.

In that sense, Gustav’s earlier words weren’t entirely wrong.

The fundamental premise of subjugation was, after all, domination.

Whether by persuasion or coercion, that came only after the opponent was subdued.

If you made your target stronger instead, achieving that premise became exponentially harder.

‘If it were any Evil Spirit other than Clina White, he’d be right.’

Despite her burning crimson glare, Eugene didn’t even twitch—

and that seemed to amuse Clina.

“Are you not afraid of me, human?”

“……”

There it was—the first question.

This was where it began.

‘One wrong answer, and the success rate drops below ten percent.’

But I wasn’t nervous in the slightest.

Because I already knew exactly what she wanted, and what answer she needed to hear.

“Of course I’m afraid. You’re one of the foremost commanders of the Evil Spirits—mankind’s natural enemy.”

Then, with a faint grin, I added—

“But it’s different when the one standing before me is you, Clina White.”

“Oh? And what do you mean by that?”

“You’re not like those lesser spirits driven purely by malice and bloodlust. You have no reason to fight me.”

A brief smile flickered across her expressionless face, only to vanish as quickly as it came.

“You’re at least better than that senile fool behind you. Interesting.”

Then her gaze sharpened again, her eyes glowing as she glared at me.

“You said you had a better resting place for me.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, that’s too bad. You’ve gone through all this trouble to wake me, but I’ve no intention of leaving this tower for another.”

“…Because of your promise with Master Aleph?”

“That’s part of it. But mostly, things here are peaceful enough—I don’t get bothered much.”

She leaned back as if resting against the air itself and sighed.

“I’m old now, you see. If I’m just going to rot away among humans anyway, I’d at least like to have a place where I can rest.”

“In that case, that works out perfectly. I happen to know just the place, Clina White.”

“…And where would that be?”

“My heart.”

At my audacious answer, she momentarily fell silent. I reached out my hand toward her once more.

“Form a contract with me, Clina White— and step into the world outside, with Eugene Carter.”