321 Malice

In the next heartbeat, I threw up a defensive barrier in every single direction. Beneath my feet, I also triggered the Blessing of Healing and Impulse of Destruction.

Immediately, the mana of the world’s four strongest people began flooding into me. It was a staggering, terrifying amount of power—the kind that makes you realize you might have bitten off way more than you can chew.

This spell was easily one of the best I had ever devised, but it had always come with a massive downside: if the enemy was too powerful, my own body simply couldn’t handle the strain. Up until now, I’d managed to avoid exploding by immediately discharging that energy as an attack, but that was just a desperate, reckless way to fight. It made my moves way too easy to read.

But I don’t have to deal with the backlash myself anymore. All I have to do is funnel every last drop of it into you—

"—Hah! Who the hell are you?"

"...Summoning Magic?"

"I must say, I’m surprised..."

I successfully caught the incoming attacks—Darius’s greatsword and Chloe’s whip. However, the one who intercepted Teacher Milk’s strike wasn't me.

"—I will not forgive anyone who points a blade at my master, regardless of who they may be."

Standing beside me was a bewitching woman holding a Black Sword just like mine. She had already snatched away everyone’s mana. She had pure white hair, a voluptuous chest, and for some reason, a jet-black outfit that left very little to the imagination. Her eyes were a beautiful, piercing red, and a pair of small black wings sprouted from her back.

Oh, and she had a black tail attached to her backside.

Teacher Milk was the first to realize who—or what—she was. Her eyes were wide, her face twisted into an expression I had never seen on her before. Hah, so she actually can make a face like that.

"—Weiss, surely you don't mean..."

My special training with Luna had been focused on deepening my mental imagery for magic. To chant High-level Magic, mana alone isn't enough. It had taken a considerable amount of time to master, but I’d somehow managed to get it ready in time for this "exam."

I had been thinking about this for a long time. I knew that if I could return her to her complete form, she would surely become even stronger.

"—As you command, my Master."

The first time we met was during the School Trip. Back then, she had a much more "dangerous" look about her, and she had been terrifyingly powerful. Ever since I put her under Subjugation, she had been in a state of Weakening, partly because I had been siphoning my own power into her.

Debi—no, that name doesn't fit her anymore. Her name is—

"Malice, release all your mana. You have my permission to kill."

Malice flicked out her red tongue and licked her lips hungrily.

"Your wish is my command, my Master. I have accepted your request for their death."

In the next instant, Malice unleashed a Dark Wave that sent the instructors flying. She was releasing every drop of the mana I’d gathered through the Blessing of Healing and Impulse of Destruction.

It was Imagination Magic copying Eleanor’s Corrosion. The Anti-Magic barriers were obliterated instantly, leaving even Teacher Milk completely exposed. It looked like Coco had deactivated her own defenses at the last second to avoid wasting mana. She was a pro, through and through.

But this is where the real fight begins.

I will avoid my destruction. I’m not just saying that for the sake of it.

They might have taken the lead in the first round, but the second round belongs to me. I’m going to take every single one of these "strongest" monsters down at once.