"...!"
Blanid stepped forward, getting in between the corrupted human and the rest.
She would have attacked immediately if not for the completely insane actions of the attacker.
"Give me a moment, love."
*SHING*
Because the corrupted human, with black veins spreading all over his skin, raised one hand and asked with a dismissive grin, and then casually formed a blade out of the murky gray energy and used it to cut his other arm, right by the shoulder!
*plop*
*squelch*
*SHING*
As the limb fell down into the gory remains of friends, he reached down and grabbed the arm of the corpse, picked it up, causing a nauseating sound, before cutting it to shape and then sticking it to his own open wound!'
"Now, this is a sword arm! If that guy wasn't a slacker, he would have been a true menace! Not that it matters anymore~! Pfffhahahahaa~!"
With the gray energy pouring into the wound and welding the foreign arm to his body, the corrupted student laughed in amusement.
"You… you are not student Owen… not anymore… What the hel are you!?"
"!!!"
"Oho~!"
Blanid tensed up, her body shining with enchanting spells, causing other students and the wounded fae to freeze in shock as the corrupted human chuckled.
"Bravo~ Little one, you are a smart one, aren't you?"
The individual laughed, taking a step back while spreading his arms apart and leaning to one side.
"I'm only borrowing the body of this… Owen? Yeah, this Owen guy. Usually, I don't butt in on my contractors having fun, but… this seemed just too good to miss~!"
He laughed, straightening his back and then pointing both hands towards the top of his head.
There, the viscous gray energy gathered and formed a slightly melty-looking crown.
"Don't worry if my name won't tell you anything~ I'm the former Arch Deofol himself~ The one and only co-creator of the swordsmanship magic system, #$%^&#* @&((=&(( ~!"
The being declared proudly, but its last words came out as an unrecognizable screech that hurt the human ear.
Even so, what could be recognized was already outrageous if true.
"Co-creator of…?! WAIT! No! Arch Deofol!? FORMER Arch Deofol!? How can you be a former Arch Deofol!?"
Blanid gasped, shaking her head again and again after new realisations were hitting her again and again.
"Well… Arch is a title of the absolute ruler of all deofols. I was dethroned… thought that it would be obvious…?"
"!"
The being explained, furrowing the brows of the body it possessed, at the sight of the girl's shock.
"Oh! Did you mean as in you are confused about how am I alive after losing my spot? Yeah... I kind of cannot fully die anymore. And, since I didn't like the idea of being trapped in an endless loop of destruction and restoration, I swore my allegiance to the new guy. Don't tell him, but I always kind of had a soft spot for him. After all, you could even call me his godfather in a way~"
It seemed that even a former Arch Deofol was prone to overthinking because the body it possessed shrugged its shoulders as it hurriedly added the context it believed to be necessary.
"But, that's enough about me. You, sweetie, are the one playing {}^%|<, aren't you? That makes me want to tease you a little~"
The being breathed out and asked, casually lowering the hand of the body it was possessing and…
*SHINH* *UMPH*
Cleaving the cafeteria, the tree grown by Leshi, and the entire main building in half!
"!!! GHHH!?"
Blanid somehow dodged it, or rather was ridiculously lucky…
While her body moved by reflex, using her bluish-white sword to block the incoming downward slash, she also made a hasty decision to jump away, ending up above the ground the moment the attack connected with the blade. As a result, she ended up pushed to the side, spinning around uncontrollably from the imparted force.
"Whoaaaa~! Hey, look at you! Aren't you too strong for your role~?"
As the girl managed to stop herself and regain her balance, the being controlling the corrupted human, let out an amazed voice and made its body grin wildly.
"Hey, hey~! You're actually worth my time, aren't you~!?"
*SHING* *SHING* *SHING* *SHING*
*UMPH*
The being laughed happily, and it looked as if it lightly moved its body's hand just once, but the next second, four horrifying attacks blew the entire main building apart, transforming the cafeteria into an open arena and felling the already split tree...
"L-leave the kids alone…!"
"...?"
Leshi, despite his severe wounds and gedwyld pollution that was deadly for his kind, dragged himself in between Blanid and the being, causing the latter to stare at him with a hauntingly hollow expression.
"A mere Great Fae has the audacity to utter a word in my presence…?"
"It's not abou…"
*click* *BOOOOOOM*
The former Arch Defofol asked in a flat voice, and Leshi did attempt to speak up to it, but the being raised the hand of the body it was possessing and with a simple snap of the fingers it unleashed a shockwave that knocked out and flung around everyone within the premise of former main building…!
…with the exception of Blanid, who had been shielded by Leshi from the brunt of the attack…
But everyone else, including the Academy's Guardian were tossed all around the Academy's ground, and it was impossible to determine their state… or survival…
"I swear, those FILTHY faefolk just never learn their place!"
The former Arch Deofol spat through the teeth of the body it was possessing…
"Tsk…! Now, that's just uncalled for…"
…angrily clicking the tongue at the sight of the hand of said body, that got blown apart from the power behind the snap…!
"..."
The being furrowed the brows of the body it possessed, and the murky gray energy oozed all around it. Instead of helping to restore the hand, the energy enveloped it and formed another blade.
"Ugh... fine. I'll go easy on you, so how about you make it fun for me~?"
But the next moment, the playfulness returned, and the former Arch Deofol started walking towards the petite girl.
"You might be stronger for this act, little actress, but you're still a far cry from the real deal overall. Let's see what you got~"
"...? …!"
It said, and Blanid's confusion lasted only a fraction of a heartbeat because her instinct began screaming at her to either move or dodge…
*SHING*
"...guh…!"
…and not a millisecond too late…! The girl was already sidestepping when an attack, so fast that the movement necessary for it wasn't even visible to the human eye, had carved a horrifyingly deep crevice in the spot she was just standing at!
"Hmhmhm~"
"..."
The former Arch Deofol chuckled in amusement, giving Blanid enough time to realize the depth of the despair she should fall into…
*whoom*
Only for twelve white ephemeral blades to show behind her with a light hum…
*SHING* x 12
*SHIIIING*
The next moment, all twelve flew at the body possessed by the former Arch Deofol as Blanid herself charged, throwing a devastating, upwards diagonal slash.
While the being didn't make any attempt to do something about the flying blades, it made the body it was possessing move, dodging Blanid's sword by a hair's breadth.
"Good~ But you will have to try a bit harder to impress someone who was the main force behind the creation of the whole…"
*plop*
It mocked the girl, at least until the hand, that it ended up moving too slow, dropped to the floor after the gray swordsmanship energy couldn't hold it attached anymore.
"!"
"...!?"
Both Blanid and the former Arch Deofol looked at it in equal disbelief.
"Oh… Oh! That's not a normal sword...!"
"HAAAA!"
The being let out a baffled gasp while Blanid roared as she unleashed a flurry of follow-up attacks!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, there, Miss…! Isn't this your best chance to get someone who can't lie to answer all of your questions?"
With Caladbolg's shadow completely ignoring the defenses of the murky gray swordsmanship energy, the former Arch Deofol found the body it controlled to be severely lacking in agility, and restored to bargaining as chunks of flesh were being carved out of it and flying all over.
"Hey! Listen to me, you little peasant-like bitch!"
*stab*
Blanid's silence and intensity of her attacks seemed to get on the former Arch Deofol's nerves as it formed a somewhat ephemeral, murky-gray blade on its own and made it stab through the side of the girl's abdomen…!
"Ghgg… HHHHHH!"
*SHING* *thump* *thump*
Blanid wheezed, but instead of faltering, she stepped forward and used the momentum for a horizontal slash that bisected the body the former Arch Deofol possessed, causing its arms to drop and bounce off the remains of the cafeteria floor while the torso was slowly sliding apart.
"Now, that was really uncalled for…"
*SHING* *SHING* *SHING* *SHING* *SHING* *SHING* *SHING* *SHING* *SHING*
The being made its body frown with annoyance, but Blanid was not interested in any sort of conversation and instead chopped the remains apart as efficiently as she could.
"Just my luck… I thought this body was sturdy enough to handle a little bit of my power, but you've proved to be above the capabilities of this guy. Shame, really."
While the possessed body dissected into several parts laid on the remains of the floor, the gray swordsmanship energy was the only thing connecting it, although loosely, it was still enough for the mouth to move.
"You might want to know that you haven't encountered my contractor yet."
"It's difficult for me to believe that, especially after you lost!"
It said, causing Blanid to furrow her brows and point out.
…but that was a mistake…
"That's how it is? Well then… Sweetie, just so you know, even now, if I wanted you dead…"
*SHING*
"!!!"
*CRACK* *PSHHHAAH*
The former Arch Deofol said as the gray energy cleaved right past the startled Blanid and burst the great barrier as if it was nothing but a soap bubble.
"...you wouldn't even realize when you died. I was satisfied with our little display match. It was amusing. I was going to leave you be. But, your little comment made me want to help my former underling, so… Enjoy.~"
It declared, and as the gray energy faded, so did the smile, leaving the corpse of the student he possessed staring into the distance with empty eyes…
"THERE YOU ARE, YOU BITCH!"
"...!"
There was no break for Blanid, as the ear-piercing screech that resounded made it easy to locate the deofolized human, in the form of a metal skeleton, launching an attack from the sky!
Then, something unexpected happened.