Chapter 214 : With a pinch of courage
The <Four Attribute Barrier De Ijelia> forcefield creaked.
The dragon dug its fangs into it, and closed its ferocious jaws on it little by little.
Raos, Heine and Ledriano were channeling all of their magic power into it, but to the dragon variant, they must’ve been nothing more than food with a tough exterior.
And surely the three of them were aware of that.
“…What… are you boys doing…?” Emilia muttered in shock.
“Stop wasting your time here, and run away already! There’s no point in doing all this. You boys don’t have to…” (Emilia)
The next words spontaneously spilled out of Emilia’s mouth.
“Listen. You don’t have to fight for someone you don’t want to protect. If these are the shackles of a hero, then take them off now.” (Emilia)
She was rephrasing the feelings she wanted to convey back when she slapped Raos on the cheek. Perhaps she had a feeling that this was her last chance to tell them.
“People may criticize and even blame you for running away despite being heroes. But you don’t have to pay attention to what anybody says about you. Let them say whatever they want.” (Emilia)
Even as she felt like she was about to be swallowed by the dragon, Emilia kept her eyes on them.
“There’s no need for you to feel hurt by the words of humans who don’t understand the pain of others. There’s no need for you to risk your lives for them.” (Emilia)
Even as she said that, Emilia had a self-deprecating expression.
Talking about people who didn’t understand the pain of others must’ve reminded her of her past self.
“You don’t have to become Heroes. If you’re afraid, you can run away. No matter how long or how far you run, I won’t blame you for it.” (Emilia)
The barrier creaked and distorted, then the tip of the dragon’s fang dug into her shoulder.
“Ugh…! Aaagh…!” (Emilia)
Her red blood oozed out.
Emilia was about to be devoured along with the barrier.
“…One last thing: forget about the <Source Destruction Light Burst Gavuel> spell. I don’t know who taught it to you, but making students learn such a spell is wrong. Whoever taught you about it doesn’t deserve to be a teacher.” Emilia declared, hoping to remove one of the shackles binding them that way.
She probably thought that by telling them this, Raos and the other two would get out of there.
“Come on, hurry up! Please do what I say for once! This is…” Emilia said as she bit her own lip.
“…the only thing an incompetent teacher like me can teach you…” (Emilia)
Emilia looked at the three of them and yelled.
“Now run! You boys still have futures ahead of you! Let me die fulfilling my role as a teacher at least once in my life!” (Emilia)
“…Shut up!!” (Raos)
As soon as he shouted, Raos and the others flew towards the dragon.
The <Four Attribute Barrier De Ijelia> barrier was destroyed.
However, the dragon didn’t completely close its jaws.
Right before it could, Raos, Heine, and Ledriano jumped into its mouth and prevented it from closing using their holy swords.
“…The hell you mean by “your role as a teacher”…? Don’t act like you’re our teacher when you’ve only been here for a week…!” Raos shouted as if to fire himself up while holding the Sword of Holy Inferno Garriford.
“What are you still doing here?! You’re letting all my efforts go to waste!” (Emilia)
“Seriously… What a mean thing to say after all the trouble we’re going through to protect you, Emilia…” (Heine)
Heine used the Sword of Sacred Land Zere and the Sword of Sacred Earth Zeleo to stab through the dragon’s upper and lower jaws.
“Stop fooling around! This monster could eat all four of us! You know that, right?!” (Emilia)
“Yes, I suppose it could…” (Ledriano)
Using the Sword of Holy Harbor Bailamente, Ledriano rebuilt a barrier inside the dragon’s mouth.
However, the situation wasn’t much different from before. If the barrier was destroyed, Emilia would be devoured by the dragon for real.
Except this time, it would eat her three students as well.
“Don’t you understand yet?! The Hero Academy’s education is just a fool’s errand! You don’t have to risk your lives for someone you don’t want to protect! Hurry up and go! You can still make it out ali—” (Emilia)
Although Emilia reprimanded them, the three of them focused on channeling their magic power into their holy swords and didn’t even try to get out of the dragon’s mouth.
“…We’ve been called many names… like fools, or scum… But…” (Raos)
A crack appeared on Raos’ sword Garriford.
His holy sword couldn’t withstand the dragon’s power.
“…You’re the only one… who’s ever told us… that being a Hero or being Kanon… didn’t matter…!” (Raos)
“But that… That was because I knew nothing about this nation’s common knowledge! I didn’t say that for your sake at all! What’s the point of dying together with such a worthless teacher over one ridiculous misunderstanding?!” (Emilia)
“Then how about you try to bring back a teacher worth their salt?!” Raos demanded angrily, as if lamenting and expressing his rage.
“So where are they?! Where in this whole damn country would you find a single decent teacher?!” (Raos)
A crack appeared on Heine’s swords Zere and Zeleo.
They both looked like they could break at any moment.
“…They’re all nothing but trash. This country is much more rotten than you think. Sure, you may be trash yourself since you were only thinking about yourself. But the teachers in this country are nothing but fucking maggots who push their responsibilities onto their own students!” (Raos)
Bailamente began to creak with a dull sound.
“…Since that war with Dilhade, you were the only teacher commendable enough to speak of a student’s responsibilities as her own.” Ledriano said with a grim expression.
Emilia turned to him in surprise.
“…And… besides…!” (Heine)
Heine clenched his teeth and desperately endured the fear of being swallowed by the dragon as he spoke.
“…Just think about it! No way we’re gonna take lessons from some full-fledged teacher at this point. A scumbag like you is just perfect for scumbags like us.” (Heine)
“…Heine is right. …We’re fakes… We may be stupid, short-tempered, hopeless scumbags who take out our frustration on others, but…” (Raos)
Stomping his foot and straining his arm, Raos mustered up his energy.
“Even so, we sure as hell don’t wanna end up like the filthy adults of this country…! I can’t bear to abandon my friends and run away, even if it kills me! We ain’t that rotten!!” (Raos)
Raos tried his best to pry the dragon’s mouth open, but Garriford broke with a snap. But he somehow managed to keep it open with his broken sword.
“Goddammit…!! Can’t you do something about this, Ledriano?! At this rate, we’re really gonna be screwed!” (Raos)
Ledriano’s face turned grim.
Then he spoke as if to bet everything on their next move.
“Let’s use <Dragon Binding Barrier De Jerias>. It’s our only chance of winning.” (Ledriano)
“…That’s fine and all, but if we drop the power of our holy swords and the barrier now, the dragon is gonna crush us in an instant… What should we do…?” (Heine)
“…Well, one of us has their hands free right now, don’t they? Someone who just so happens to have practiced the <Dragon Binding Barrier De Jerias> spell earlier…” Ledriano answered before looking at Emilia.
