"What is that...?"
I watched as an immense beam of light fell from outside the window.
Even though it seemed to be happening at a distance, it was clearly visible.
"That was a quicker response than I expected."
Haruna, looking at the light, spoke to me.
The echoing voice of McGuire throughout the school.
The enormous light falling from the sky.
Professors rushing to evacuate the students.
Just as she said, the Rebels are approaching.
However, I had a question.
"Why didn't you warn us about the Rebels coming earlier? If you had, we could've prepared..."
"I couldn't do that. I wasn't certain this future would come to pass."
"What?"
"You might be familiar with the concept of dimensions, especially since you're from another one."
At Haruna's words, I frowned.
"Dimensions can refer to entirely different worlds, like the one you came from. But they can also mean the same space at a different time, like the future or the past."
Haruna smiled.
"I can see all those dimensions. The future, the past, and other worlds."
"...What?"
I looked at Haruna in disbelief.
"So, even when I see the future, I can't always tell if it's the future of this world or another."
A power to see other worlds?
What kind of power was that?
Then...
"So, did you learn about me through that power?"
Unless she could read minds, there was no way she could know I had taken over this body.
While my actions might have been peculiar, they weren't definitive proof that I had come from another dimension.
"Regarding you, Rudy... I didn't find out through my powers..."
Haruna smiled with a hint of sadness.
"I heard it from my predecessor, the former Saint Beatrice."
My mind began to whirl.
And I glanced out of the window again.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Everyone, move this way!"
"Is anyone else left in the building?"
"What's going on?"
The chaos outside suggested that it wasn't the best time to hear Haruna's story.
I fixed my gaze on Haruna.
"So, what do you want from me?"
Haruna smiled brightly.
"It's good to get straight to the point."
Saying that, she slowly approached and showed me the rosary she had untied from her neck.
"I'm going to use magic."
"...Magic?"
I frowned and examined the rosary Haruna held.
Several gem-like structures were embedded in the rosary.
But upon closer inspection, they weren't gems.
Mana crystals.
Tiny mana crystals were embedded in that rosary.
I turned to look at Haruna again.
"I will summon a future version of you. Specifically, your body."
My eyes widened at Haruna's words.
"We need you at your strongest, from every possible timeline. For the present, and for the future."
A beam of light descended from the heavens.
More precisely, a small orb of light burst through the clouds, heading straight for the distant Bone Dragon.
As the orb approached the dragon, those riding it scattered in all directions.
Only one man stood his ground, attempting to deflect it with his sword.
That man was Aryandor, the leader of the Rebels.
The moment his blade made contact with the light orb, a massive explosion ensued, obscuring all vision.
'It begins now.'
Observing from a distance, Professor Cromwell reached out a hand.
Circling light manifested around it, and a long staff materialized – Cromwell's own magical staff.
He then turned his gaze to Gracie.
Gracie seemed slightly out of breath.
"Can you still fight?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"I can."
Despite her weariness from using a powerful spell, Gracie appeared to be in relatively good condition.
Cromwell desperately needed her assistance.
Even though she was his disciple, she had achieved significant accomplishments in another field and was recognized as a professor.
Despite being a junior faculty member, she was a formidable wizard.
While Cromwell's telekinetic magic was incredibly versatile, it wasn't specifically tailored for combat, especially against a single opponent.
Thus, facing the leader of the Rebels, he needed Gracie's support.
"We need to draw the leader closer,"
Cromwell murmured.
Though Gracie's spell had affected their enemies, it was far from over.
Had the leader been so easily defeated, Principal McDowell wouldn't have received such grievous injuries.
Taking a deep breath, Cromwell released his mana, not concealing it but letting it radiate visibly all around, as if flaunting its overwhelming presence.
'Lure him out'
Calling out the rebel leader.
No one else was fit to confront this leader.
Cromwell knew it had to be him.
In the distance, a large figure emerged, making its way towards the academy after emerging from the smoke caused by Gracie's explosion.
It was the Bone Dragon.
Atop the dragon stood a man, looking seemingly unscathed.
However, the Bone Dragon itself was charred black.
It wasn't flying.
In fact, it was plummeting straight towards Cromwell.
The leader, as if challenging the academy to stop the crashing dragon, stood atop it, glaring intently at the institution.
The dragon was hurtling towards the academy's spire.
Cromwell quickly glanced below.
The students hadn't yet fully evacuated.
If the dragon crashed now, the spire would crumble, and the students below would be harmed.
"Professor!"
Gracie, realizing the imminent danger, called out.
Nodding, Cromwell responded,
"We have to stop it."
He then looked back at the leader, who met his gaze with an impassive expression.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Cromwell raised his hand.
"Gravity."
Yet, nothing seemed to happen around him.
A confused expression crossed Gracie's face.
Slowly... steadily... the approaching Bone Dragon.
Its descent was accelerating.
Cromwell, with a stoic expression, merely held his hand aloft.
"Professor, if you don't act now..."
"Stay put."
"Pro... Professor!!"
It was almost upon them.
Gracie tried to draw on her mana, intending to cast a spell herself.
Seeing this, Cromwell turned his head with a frown.
"I told you to stand still."
"But, soon...!"
That's when a strange noise reached their ears.
Whoosh...!
It wasn’t the sound of the descending Bone Dragon.
Gracie turned her head towards the sound.
"Huh?"
What was flying toward them was a massive rock.
A colossal stone.
Boom!!!!!!
The stone collided squarely with the Bone Dragon.
It had been summoned from the mountains behind the academy.
Cromwell had drawn this massive rock from there.
The stone, having traveled at great speed from the mountains, crashed into the Bone Dragon, forcing it towards a vacant lot in the academy.
While the Bone Dragon was effectively stopped, it wasn't over.
From the distance, Aryandor, having witnessed the flying rock, leaped towards Cromwell.
Drawing his sword as he descended, Aryandor greeted,
"Hello there."
In response, Cromwell raised his staff.
"Gravity Hand."
Cromwell's spell clashed with Aryandor's blade.
Near the academy dormitory.
"What a mess."
Robert had seen everything.
Luna stood beside him.
With trembling hands, Luna tried to steady herself as she looked ahead.
Robert was in the middle of instructing Luna about staff synthesis.
However, suddenly, the principal's assistant arrived with a warning of impending danger.
Professor Mcguire was swiftly evacuating the students, and Robert was moving Luna to a safer location.
But, a man descended in front of them.
He descended on a wyvern made of bones.
His hair was unkempt, and dark circles marred his eyes.
A face Robert had never seen before.
It was instantly clear that this man wasn't an ally.
Seeing the skeletal wyvern beside him, Robert cautiously asked,
"Necromancy?"
It's a type of dark magic.
However, it slightly deviated from the conventional categories of dark magic.
It had its own established framework.
Despite being a dark magic, its structured nature was due to it being the most advanced among dark magics.
So advanced, in fact, that it was banned.
"I didn't expect to encounter someone who wields necromancy."
Robert subtly positioned Luna behind him for protection.
The man slightly lifted his head and spoke,
"Someone who was punished for using necromancy shouldn't be talking."
At this, Robert smirked,
"You recognize me?"
"Among those who know of necromancy, who wouldn't know you?"
The man responded without a hint of emotion,
"Those who practice necromancy consider you both a mentor and an enemy."
The man's words echoed what Robert had once said to Rudy about Levian.
Yet, Robert couldn't refute what the man said.
In the past, while secretly researching necromancy and serving as a Royal Wizard, he was discovered.
All those associated with him either died or were imprisoned.
The only reason he was spared was thanks to his mentor, Levian, and his contributions as a Royal Wizard.
"You're from Ephomos, aren't you?"
Ephomos.
A group once connected to Robert.
A place where the underprivileged, vagrants, and the impoverished gathered.
If the empire's capital was the light, this place was its shadow.
It was a haven for the fallen, where they tried to start anew.
However, after his necromancy research was exposed, the place vanished.
Erased by the empire itself.
"So, you're here for revenge now?"
Robert slowly channeled his mana.
The man nonchalantly shrugged,
"Revenge is too grand a word for what I intend, I’m just doing what needs to be done."
The man with pronounced dark circles under his eyes stamped his foot on the ground.
Immediately, the ground began to rumble.
“Uh...”
Luna, taken aback by the sudden quake, stepped back and looked around.
“Oh...”
Crack!
From the ground around them, skeletal hands began to emerge.
Skeletons.
Skeletons started to crawl out from the ground all around them.
And it wasn’t just one or two.
So many that they completely surrounded Robert.
“Hmm.”
Robert smirked, rubbing his chin.
“More than I expected.”
Robert stretched, cracking his neck.
"Quality over quantity, though."
Then, a much louder rumble shook the place.
Robert’s mana surged, causing the earth to upheave.
“Come forth, Behemoth.”
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