"...What?"
I stared at the cloud of dust rising from the floor.
The fight started with a punch, but it left me somewhat bewildered that I was able to drive him into the ground in one move.
Then, a voice sounded from behind me.
"What's this?"
"Huh?"
The voice was neither Cromwell's nor Gracie's.
Aryandor.
It was decidedly Aryandor's voice, the one who had surely been slammed to the floor.
Aryandor was right behind me.
However, he did not attack.
"Huh!"
I swung my fist towards my immediate rear.
Aryandor lightly stepped back, avoiding my attack with ease.
"Surely, you look like Rudy Astria, but..."
Aryandor spoke, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
I squinted, looking at him intently.
What just happened?
I was sure I saw him hit the floor...
"Rudy Astria, it's time magic!"
Cromwell, who was a distance away, spoke as he cast a spell.
Cromwell's gravity magic targeted Aryandor, but Aryandor dodged the attack with ease.
After effortlessly evading Cromwell's attack, Aryandor continued to gaze at me.
"Who are you?"
"What?"
"You're not the Rudy Astria I know."
I frowned at Aryandor's words.
"Do you know me?"
This was certainly a guy I had never met face to face.
Yet, his words were inexplicably incongruent.
"What are you to say whether I am right or wrong?"
I spoke, manipulating my mana.
Aryandor locked eyes with me.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"I might know more about you than you think. However..."
Aryandor tilted his head slightly.
The slight tilt of his expressionless head gave off a slightly eerie vibe.
It felt like he was peering through me.
"The current you is completely different. Not the Rudy Astria I've seen."
It didn’t seem like he was referring to my current form being from the future.
It felt like he was indicating that I was possessed.
He didn’t seem to have precisely figured out the fact of 'possession', but it appeared he had somewhat caught on.
At least when he harbored such doubts, I had to inflict some damage, somehow.
"Spatial Slash."
I cast the spell at a rapid pace.
Upon my casting, Aryandor's eyes widened.
A large slice appeared in the space where Aryandor was.
Seeing this, Aryandor bent his body significantly.
Even if a slice was made, it took time for the space to be severed.
Of course, that time wasn’t long, but Aryandor was able to avoid the slash by moving in that brief moment.
"Space... magic?"
He seemed to have just caught on now, even though I had used space magic just a moment ago.
Aryandor looked at me, seemingly bewildered.
"Who are you?"
I kindly responded to Aryandor's question.
"I'm Rudy Astria."
Upon hearing my response, Aryandor furrowed his brow.
"This is absurd."
Aryandor seemed puzzled, and I too found the situation strange.
What exactly does this guy know?
When thinking about it, since it involves time magic, he should be able to know about the past and future.
However, seeing Aryandor's reaction, I couldn't help but feel perplexed.
He doesn’t know me.
It seemed like he knew Rudy Astria before my soul took over the body.
But what was it about Rudy Astria before I took over that led him to come here for me like this?
The Rudy Astria I knew wasn’t a talent that the rebels would covet.
Certainly not worth mobilizing the rebels’ forces to come and fight like this.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Yet, him being here meant that he saw something.
What did he see that prompted this action?
While I was thinking, a voice rang out from afar.
"Indeed, everyone is gathered here."
A man with a patchy beard, Robert, stood there.
He was riding on the back of Behemoth, approaching us.
Robert scanned us quickly and then focused his gaze on Cromwell.
"Cromwell, you still haven’t beaten him? He looks like a greenhorn."
Irritated by Robert’s teasing, Cromwell gritted his teeth and spoke.
"...You try fighting him. He's a headache."
"I’ve already caught one."
Robert pulled up a man by the scruff of his neck.
"Hey, is this one your comrades?"
A man with severe dark circles under his eyes.
He was the one who had ridden the Bone Dragon last time.
He seemed to be unconscious or at least unable to gather his wits.
"How can you treat a necromancer like this?"
Robert looked at Aryandor with disdain as he spoke.
"The power of the rebel guys lately is no joke~ That's what I heard. It was slightly interesting, but was it all just a rumor? They said they were fighting for some great cause, but......"
At those words, Aryandor shot him a fierce look.
"Do you want your tongue cut off?"
"Oh~ scary~."
Robert mocked Aryandor with his words.
While laughing mockingly, Robert suddenly shifted the atmosphere as he began to speak.
"What kind of cause is it when you can’t even look after one person by your side. It’s almost sad for those around you."
I looked at Robert and scanned the surroundings.
The situation was hugely in our favor.
He was alone and we were numerous.
Moreover, I was in a state where I could use space magic.
It was a situation that he could never win.
From his perspective, it should be a hopeless situation.
Aryandor, glaring at Robert, shifted his gaze back towards me.
"Hmm, this is as far as I should go."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Aryandor smiled at me.
"It was a pleasure meeting you, Rudy Astria. Some unexpected events unfolded, which were somewhat startling, but it was fun in its own way."
Aryandor spoke to me as if bidding farewell.
I immediately opened my mouth upon hearing those words.
"Professor."
"I know."
Cromwell, Gracie, Robert, and I began to manipulate our mana.
It seemed like our opponent was trying to flee.
We must stop him.
It’s a prime opportunity to capture the leader of the Rebels.
"Priscilla."
I rapidly summoned Priscilla.
I judged that Priscilla would be more effective at halting the opponent's movements than space magic.
I’m unsure how to utilize time magic, but if it’s Priscilla, who can even freeze mana...
Not only that, but the other professors also used their magic.
Clearly, our magic was trying to envelope Aryandor, but he did not move.
He just smiled and slightly raised his hand.
With his hand raised, Aryandor snapped his fingers.
Click!
"Time Back."
A bright light flared, enveloping Aryandor.
Time Back.
It was a spell that rewinds time.
Although he had continually used this magic while fighting with McDowell and Cromwell, he used it this time on a different scale.
He had arranged for Jefrin to set up magical devices in advance to prepare for the spell.
From the very beginning, Aryandor had no intention of fighting seriously.
He merely intended to retrieve Rudy Astria and retreat.
Aryandor slowly opened his eyes.
Before him stood the Bone Dragon.
Next to it, in order, were Jefrin, Daemon, and Venderwood.
It was before they departed.
However, it was a dark night.
While the moment had been reset, absolute time had progressed.
Aryandor opened his mouth, observing the scene.
"We're not going to the Academy."
“Huh?”
Upon hearing this, Jefrin's eyes widened.
“Bu, but surely... just a moment ago... we were at the Academy...”
“...What?”
Aryandor, who was about to enter a building behind him, turned his head at Jefrin’s words.
Aryandor looked at Jefrin, then glanced at Daemon and Venderwood next to him.
The two also seemed to share Jefrin’s surprise, their faces showing astonishment.
Even though time was rewound, they all retained their memories.
Something that should not have happened.
Aryandor turned his head again, gazing at Jefrin.
“Jefrin, how were the magical devices set up?”
"What? I did as you instructed, exactly..."
Aryandor frowned.
Although time seemed to have been rewound correctly, the fact that their memories remained intact meant something went wrong with the devices.
Time magic was a magic fraught with loopholes.
Even now, time hasn't reverted correctly.
While the time they originally departed was during sunset, it was now deep into the night.
In reality, the duration they spent there had already passed.
Everyone outside the Academy experienced time as usual.
However, for those inside the Academy, only their timeline had been altered.
To be precise, the events during that span seemed to have been erased.
But for some reason, the magical device had not activated properly.
While things like their physical locations were reset, their memories remained intact.
This meant...
The people of the Academy would remember this.
Including his abilities and the abilities of the people in front of him.
Of course, he had not revealed all of his abilities, but still, he had displayed most of them.
“Sigh......”
Aryandor clasped his head and let out a sigh.
Then Jefrin, unable to stand still, looked at Aryandor anxiously.
"I-I'm so sorry! It must've been a mistake on my part... My apologies..."
“No. It’s okay.”
Aryandor sighed and spoke to Jefrin.
"It's my fault for not accounting for the variables."
Aryandor said that and then looked at the others.
"Take a good rest. I'm heading in as well."
With those words, Aryandor walked into the building.
Aryandor went into his room and clutched his head.
His initial plan was to manipulate Rudy Astria, retain only their shared memories, and reverse time.
After that, he intended to utilize Rudy Astria at the academy.
But not only was the Rudy Astria at the academy a different person than he remembered, but the magic also didn't execute properly.
If only the time-reversal spell worked correctly, he wouldn't have been this frustrated.
Knock, knock, knock...
Then, there was a knock on Aryandor’s door.
"Come in."
Then, Jefrin slowly entered his room.
"I... I apologize."
Aryandor shook his head.
"No, it was my mistake. Don't worry, go and rest."
Jefrin, having faced continuous failures since the North, felt shameful in Aryandor's presence.
However, Jefrin had something to bring up.
"I... but..."
"Hmm?"
"As I was going around installing the magic tool... I saw a boy."
"A boy?"
At Jefrin’s words, Aryandor furrowed his brow.
"Yes, a boy... seemingly overwhelmed by feelings of inferiority and defeat."
Jefrin, a wizard who uses hallucination-type magic, was extremely sensitive to people's emotions.
"But, as far as I know, that boy surely isn’t one who would be like that..."
"What?"
"The boy who you said was the most dangerous... that boy was like that."
"...Evan?"
Aryandor's eyes widened.
"Yes, that was his name."
Aryandor stared at Jefrin for a moment and then slowly smiled.
"Care to elaborate?"
In a headache-inducing situation, Aryandor felt as if he'd found a glimmer of hope.
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