EMATEC Chapter 122

 

 

 

The feeling of everything he knew being overturned left Kane utterly disoriented. However, he couldn’t afford to remain dazed indefinitely.

 

“Huff.”

 

Determined not to fall behind the two slashing through the monsters like a storm, Kane gritted his teeth and swung his sword.

 

Though he hadn’t yet reached the level where he could freely manifest sword energy like Enoch and Cherrya, he was still a skilled knight.

 

He thought he needed to at least protect himself if he were to recover the pride he had so painstakingly built up in front of Cherrya.

 

It was while they were gradually eliminating the monsters surrounding them that it happened.

 

“Wait a minute, why are there students over there?!”

 

Amid the dwindling number of monsters, a group of academy students could be seen in the distance cautiously making their way in this direction.

 

They squinted and frowned as if unable to see clearly, taking slow, careful steps forward.

 

“What’s going on, Enoch? Didn’t they announce that the test was temporarily suspended?”

 

“I definitely conveyed the message. The test was to be halted until we found Kane. So why…?”

 

Enoch furrowed his brow as he lightly flicked the monster’s blood off his sword. As Cherrya had said, the students approached in formation, much like the groups of ten who took the test together.

 

“Something is off.”

 

It seemed the students hadn’t noticed their presence. That didn’t make any sense.

 

In this environment filled with the murderous aura and screams of the monsters, not to mention the stench of blood, even ordinary people would have immediately realized something was wrong.

 

Yet the students from the swordsmanship department appeared completely unaware.

 

“Grrraaahhh!”

 

“Screeeech!”

 

Enoch quickly dealt with the remaining monsters, his eyes glinting.

 

“This feels just like when I first found Kane.”

 

“What was it like?”

 

“…It was as if he were trapped in fog, unable to see even what was right in front of him.”

 

Enoch raised his hand, pointing to the students flailing their hands in the air as if trying to grasp something.

 

“They looked like they were possessed by something.”

 

At Enoch’s words, a memory flashed through Kane’s mind—the words of the freckled boy he once considered an academy peer.

 

– ‘Do you know about this? Demons, they say, appear as the thing humans desire most.’

 

No way. No way.

 

Kane’s face turned pale in an instant as he gripped his sword tightly.

 

Demons. Enemies of humanity mentioned only in myths and legends.

 

The beings who continually threatened mankind by sending monsters into this world.

 

“Could it be… that guy?”

 

If those students had been lured here by demons, if they had been ensnared just like Kane had…

 

As Kane hurriedly ran toward the students, a gaping black hole suddenly appeared in front of him.

 

It was a swamp. Its form had been concealed by the corpses, blood, and vegetation of the monsters, but now it was revealed.

 

The reason why the king of the Pavan Kingdom had to borrow the power of the Seffield Emblem to clean the Carmedan Jungle.

 

It was because of that very swamp that now lay between Kane and the students.

 

‘The secret of the Carmedan Jungle’s swamp remains unsolved. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say all the monsters in the jungle crawled out of that swamp. No one who has fallen into it has ever returned alive. If you see the swamp during your final exam, stop the test immediately and retreat. Understand?’

 

The swamp Professor Melvine had warned them about so emphatically before the test was now exposed.

 

There it was, the nest of monsters.

 

Even now, monsters were crawling out of the swamp, shaking off the mud.

 

The monsters, as if blind to the group, continued their shambling advance, baring their teeth as they approached the students.

 

“Danger! It’s dangerous!”

 

Kane’s body moved faster than his thoughts could process.

 

Just as Enoch had cut through the mist to reach him earlier, just as Cherrya had scattered the chilling air with her blazing red hair, Kane knew he, too, had to save them.

 

“Kane, stop for a moment!”

 

Enoch tried to stop Kane, but his instincts made him glance beside him.

 

“…Cherrya!”

 

A red blur. Cherrya left only that behind as she moved ahead at lightning speed.

 

“You’re the one who said not to act unless you’re certain and to weigh all the circumstances and interests, you crazy bastard!”

 

Cherrya leaped forward, her sword radiating the crimson aura of the Emblem, flickering and burning like flames.

 

“Don’t even think about using that excuse to avoid joining the Emblem anymore!”

 

“Ugh!”

 

With a powerful kick, Cherrya sent Kane flying straight into the formation of students.

 

Her kick was so strong that Kane barely avoided the wide swamp, tumbling onto the dry ground instead.

 

“Whoa, what’s this?!”

 

“K-Kane?!”

 

“The fog has lifted!”

 

The students cried out in surprise at the sudden appearance of Kane. Their shock at seeing him was brief.

 

“Cherrya Emblem!!”

 

With a furious roar from Enoch, a tremendous gust of wind swept over the students.

 

“Damn swamp! My grandfather told me to blow the whole thing up!”

 

BOOOOOM!

 

Blinding sword energy erupted from Cherrya’s blade, blasting directly into the swamp and creating an earth-shattering explosion.

 

Screeeeech!

 

The monsters crawling out of the swamp howled faintly, their cries drowned out by the thunderous noise.

 

“Commander! Are you out of your mind? What if you leave a hole in the ground?!”

 

“This may be a monster habitat, but it’s still land owned by the Pavan Kingdom!”

 

At that moment, Emblem knights who had been hiding to secretly oversee and monitor the test revealed themselves.

 

Like the students, they had been lost in the fog but could now see clearly.

 

“Protect the students first! Hey, you, the one the commander fancies! If you’re not going to help, move aside!”

 

“Waaah! Senior, a monster is coming our way!”

 

“Cut it down!”

 

The Emblem knights shielded the students by slicing through the dozens of monsters and debris thrown into the air by the explosion.

 

Even though it all happened in an instant, their swift and focused response was a testament to the reputation of the Lutinas Empire’s finest knight order.

 

While everyone was momentarily awestruck by the actions of the Emblem knights…

 

“Is it… is it over?”

 

The tremors that had shaken the ground subsided. Mud splattered in all directions, revealing the bare ground of the swamp, which was incredibly deep.

 

To think such power could be unleashed with sword energy alone.

 

The Emblem knights gazed at the swamp with slightly shaken expressions.

 

It was said that Seffield Emblem, a Sword Master, could obliterate an entire mountain like this—where could Cherrya have learned such techniques?

 

As they finished off the remaining monsters that had survived the shockwave, Kane, who had narrowly avoided falling into the swamp thanks to Cherrya, shouted with a pale face.

 

“…I can’t see her! I can’t see your commander anywhere!”

 

“What?”

 

At Kane’s words, the Emblem knights quickly approached the enormous hole in the swamp.

 

“Commander!!!”

 

As he said, there was only a massive hole left in the swamp, but the person who had created it was nowhere to be seen.

 

There was no sign of the strikingly vibrant red hair that always radiated a powerful presence. Nor was there the boisterous laughter that usually followed such feats.

 

Nothing could be seen or heard.

 

“What about Senior Enoch?!”

 

Kane hurriedly searched for Enoch, who had been behind Cherrya.

 

But Enoch, who should have been on the other side of the swamp, was nowhere to be found either.

 

“They’ve disappeared. The Emblem commander and Senior Enoch are gone!”

 

One word surfaced in everyone’s mind.

 

Disappearance.

 

Cherrya Emblem and Enoch Gray had vanished in the Carmedan Jungle?

 

“…Luke, contact the Duke’s estate immediately.”

 

“Yes, Senior.”

 

At Henry’s calm but heavy order, Luke promptly responded and quickly left the jungle.