053: Calamity

The dust finally settled, and the award ceremony began.

There we were, lined up on the arena stage in our respective teams: the winners, Noblesse Magic Academy; second place, Duran Swordsmanship and Magic School; and third place, Mason Royal Magic High School.

"Cynthia, next year I am definitely taking you down!" Milica declared.

"I’ll be looking forward to it," Cynthia replied with a cool smile.

Watching them, I couldn't help but smile myself. Matches like this are great. You can connect with someone’s heart way better through a sword fight than a regular conversation.

Though, I suppose that goes for your own teammates, too.

『And now, the championship cup and prizes shall be awarded to the Noblesse underclassmen!』

Principal Gilles walked toward us with a slow, measured gait. He was an old guy with a thick white beard, but he moved with a certain lightness that betrayed his age.

Ah, here we go. This is the moment I find out if that screenshot I saw on the BBS was actually legit...

—Bzzzt—

—Bzzzzzzzt—

Suddenly, a bizarre static sound drifted down from above. At the same moment, the world began to plunge into shadow. I looked up to find that the sun—which had been blindingly bright just seconds ago—was completely gone.

Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Crap. Absolute crap.

I wasn't the only one who noticed. Every single person in the arena was staring at the sky.

In the game, this was supposed to be a random event, but I had never seen it trigger at a time like this. It was supposed to happen after summer at the earliest, or sometimes not until we became middle-class students. Up until now, despite my interference, the main story had followed the established timeline: the Entrance Ceremony, the Tag Tournament, the Survival event, and then the Sword-Magic Cup.

That order had never changed. Not once.

But of course, the impossible just had to happen. I’d entertained the thought—maybe, just maybe, things would go sideways—but seeing it actually play out was another story entirely.

My heart was screaming bloody murder, but the world didn't care. A heavy, oily darkness smothered the sky. Dozens of black circles manifested in the air, and from within them, I saw legs.

Monsters. Even from a distance, they were massive, radiating an impossible amount of mana. These were the elites—vicious, insane creatures that existed for no other reason than to massacre humans.

"…God dammit."

This was it. The beginning of the second Calamity.

Usually, the Calamity has phases. Game theory 101: you don't start with the climax. You turn the gears slowly, ratcheting up the terror bit by bit.

Except, from a player's perspective, the difficulty is already at 'Maximum' the second the clock starts. The first wave consists of high-rank, large-scale monsters. It was a total nightmare mode designed to be conquered only after the player had ground out levels and mastered their skills.

I’d never seen this fight happen at the arena before. In every other scenario, the body count was astronomical. Panic and dread started to bubble up in my chest. I don't care if it's "just a game"—seeing people get slaughtered is miserable.

But this wasn't a game anymore. This was reality. And it was about to turn into a bloodbath.

"Wh-What the hell is that?!"

"Eek! M-Monsters?! They're monsters!"

"R-RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!"

A spectator’s scream acted like a spark in a powder keg. Panic spread like a virus. The first creature to descend toward the stands was a giant Cyclops—and since its stats were likely tampered with, it was way stronger than a standard one.

I readied my sword in an instant.

I was the first to move. I chanted Unnatural to create a path and began sprinting up into the air, desperate to reach the monster before it reached the crowd. I only moved that fast because I knew what was coming. While Allen, Shari, Duke, Cynthia, and even Michael were still frozen in shock, I was already in the air.

But two people were even faster than me.

Milk Abitus and Eva Avery.

The two of them intercepted the Cyclops in mid-air, shredding it to pieces. Then they hit four more. They moved at such a terrifying speed that I wouldn't have seen a thing if I hadn't been using my Time Lapse.

Chunks of flesh and sprays of blood rained down onto the seats below, but since the monsters were already dead, the immediate danger had passed.

They must both have Flight Magic. Though Teacher Milk looks like she’s about to fall, unlike Eva.

Still, that speed was insane. Even for those two, they shouldn't have been able to react that quickly.

I glanced toward Cecil. I checked her with my Dark Eye and saw her mana flared.

Ah, I see. Cecil warned them the second it started. I seriously can't thank her enough.

"What is happening...?" Cynthia stammered, her voice trembling. Even if this world was centuries removed from the last one, nobody was ignorant of what the Calamity meant.

"It’s the Calamity," I barked. "But this is just the warm-up. Get your weapons ready; the next wave is coming!"

My voice seemed to snap the other students out of it. They immediately dropped into combat stances. Not bad. I guess all that training really does make the body move before the brain can catch up.

"Cecil!" I yelled toward the stands.

Almost as if on cue, Cecil’s voice rang out directly into the minds of everyone present.

『This is the Calamity. Everyone, please prepare for battle. I have already prepared teleportation magic. We will begin guiding non-combatants and civilians to safety. We need all available hands to assist with the evacuation.』

Her Unique Ability: Telepathy.

It’s a massive mana drain, but it’s the ultimate tool for mass communication. In a world like Noblesse that lacks things like "telephones," her ability was a godsend. But wait—she’d already prepared teleportation magic?

I’d mentioned the possibility to her "just in case," but I hadn't actually expected her to take it this seriously. She’s way too prepared. God, she’s amazing.

Then, Cecil’s voice whispered privately in my mind.

『Fansent-kun, I took the liberty of informing Eva-senpai and Teacher Milk the moment the darkness appeared.』

On top of everything else, Cecil has Parallel Thought. She was probably coordinating a dozen different things while talking to me. This was exactly why she was considered the strongest character in Battle Universe. Without her, this would have already been a massacre.

The darkness in the sky continued to bleed outward. It was only a matter of time before more monsters dropped from the next teleportation gate. The only reason they hadn't fallen yet was likely because of the "grace period" the game gave players after defeating the initial Cyclops.

It was a very game-like mechanic, but I wasn't complaining. We needed every second to evacuate the civilians.

Carta was the first to act, leaping high into the air. He must have been receiving directions from Cecil, because he started barking orders and leading the crowd toward the exit.

Eva and Teacher Milk kept their eyes glued to the sky. Darius, the Principal, and Chloe were doing the same. We had underclassmen from every nation, a few seniors, and a lot of high-ranking officials. We had plenty of firepower, but the situation was still a complete mess.

A few minutes later, the visual effects of teleportation magic flared in the distance, and a massive amount of mana signatures vanished. I didn't know where she sent them, but I hoped it was somewhere safe.

The fighters stayed behind. Teleporting someone is harder the more mana they have; moving someone like Eva would be like trying to teleport a thousand regular people at once.

Seriously, how did Cecil set all this up? If I get out of this alive, I am making her tell me all her secrets.

『Listen carefully, everyone. Regarding our next move—』

Cecil’s Telepathy broadcasted again, cutting off any potential questions. She gave us the bare minimum, but it was exactly what we needed to hear. My head was still spinning from the sheer absurdity of the situation, but I was as ready as I’d ever be.

I gripped my sword as more holes tore open in the sky. There were too many to count. It wasn't just Cyclopes anymore—magic wolves, magic birds... a literal flood of monsters.

Phase Two. This was where the numbers became overwhelming.

I’ll wipe out every single one of them.

It was about to become a chaotic free-for-all, but with the civilians out of the way, we could actually cut loose. I could see the doubt on some of the students' faces, though. They were wondering if they could really trust the voice of a student they barely knew.

But Cecil was one step ahead.

『I will be providing detailed instructions. These orders are being issued on behalf of the Noblesse Academy Principal, Mr. Gilles.』

Despite the hellscape forming above us, I couldn't help but smirk. Nice one, Cecil. That was definitely a white lie she’d cooked up on the spot, but it worked. Nobody was going to question the Principal’s orders, and everyone knew Cecil Antwerp was a genius anyway. There was no better way to settle their nerves.

Heh. If you get in trouble for this later, Cecil, I’ll quit the academy right alongside you.

The last traces of anxiety vanished, replaced by a surge of adrenaline. I was standing right in the middle of the most iconic scene from the early part of the story.

Enjoy it. Isn't that right, Weiss?

I’d recovered enough mana during the brief lull. I could do this. We could do this.

"GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The horde began their descent toward the arena.

I didn't develop this technique for nothing. It was all for this moment!

[Destructive Impulse of the Healing Grace]

I slammed my hands onto the ground to trigger the ability, but my mana was lower than I thought. The activation was lagging. Dammit, move! Faster!

"Weiss, use mine."

A hand clamped onto my shoulder. It was Michael. We Noblesse students hadn't even reached the grade where we learn mana transfer yet, but he was doing it anyway.

Man, I owe you one.

This was going to be a war of attrition. I set the priority to mana replenishment and instantly deployed a formula across all my allies that would allow them to siphoning mana from the monsters they killed.

Suddenly, the bodies of everyone on our side began to glow with a faint, pulsing light.

"We can win this," I said, looking at each of them. Nobody replied, but their eyes told me everything I needed to know. Their resolve was set. I’d worried about how to explain the Calamity to them, but it looked like I didn't need to.

And so, our battle for survival began.