Academy’s Barbarian

– Crack!

On the altar of the underground temple, the third Holy Grail, sustained by Peirus’s power, began to crack. The golden chalice’s edge shattered, and a dark red liquid started to drip from the broken seams.

‘The Holy Grail… cracked?’

Peirus, bewildered, reached out toward the Holy Grail. Pale spirits flowed from his fingertips, flying toward the bleeding chalice to seal the cracks.

Though only a temporary measure, it had at least prevented the Holy Grail from shattering completely.

‘There should have been some margin left. What happened…? Did the Heavenly Barrier shake?’

His mind raced, trying to deduce the reason for the Holy Grail’s damage. He had delayed the destruction of the third Holy Grail to guard against the fairies’ power, but cracks had appeared nonetheless. This was beyond his expectations.

Since the collection of souls had been halted, the contents of the Holy Grail hadn’t overflowed. Therefore, the cause wasn’t the Holy Grail itself but something external.

If so, it was highly likely that damage to the Heavenly Barrier, connected to the Holy Grail, had caused the chalice to crack.

‘Ascension, or descent…? No, ascension is impossible. As long as the barrier exists, the prerequisites aren’t met. Descent is more plausible. Someone tried to summon a being from beyond the barrier.’

And they must have failed. Peirus was certain of that.

Only two Holy Grails had been shattered. It was impossible for those who had ascended or beings originally from the heavens to descend with such a number.

Clearly, they must have been blocked by the barrier and expelled. Even the dragons had hidden underground to escape the barrier’s gaze. It was impossible for beings of greater power to roam the mortal world.

‘Even so… now that the Holy Grail is cracked, I can’t keep it halted like this… The fairies will grow even bolder.’

Peirus looked up at the temple ceiling, pondering the orders he would give to the other apostles.

Once the third Holy Grail shattered, the world would change once more. Thus, preparations had to be made in advance.

—

The shockwave that swept through the city left a massive crater in the center of Arvil.

The ruins, large enough to cover more than half the city, were filled with debris, both organic and inorganic, scattered indiscriminately. The sheer destructive power was staggering.

“Crazy…”

Honestly, that was the only word that came to mind.

Everywhere I looked, there was nothing but ruins. Everything inside the city, except for us, had turned to dust. The outer buildings had collapsed like they’d been hit by catapults, reduced to piles of rubble. Even the city walls were cracking and crumbling in places.

“Is everyone okay? Are you alive!?”

I turned to check on my companions, hoping the fleeing citizens hadn’t been caught in the blast. Right before the collision, Lacey and Seilon had erected a divine barrier, but the sheer force of the impact made it hard to feel reassured.

“Elpinel, I thank you for your protection…”

In response to my question, Lacey muttered the name of the god, kneeling. Her face was pale, drenched in cold sweat.

She had poured all her holy power into the barrier to block the shockwave, but it seemed to have drained her completely. She didn’t even have the strength to stand.

Still, thanks to her, the rest of us had survived the collision that had devastated the city.

Unlike Lacey, who was exhausted from a single act of defense, Seilon still had some strength left, standing tall and glaring at the epicenter.

The difference in stamina between a paladin and a priest, combined with his own heroic resilience, must have been the reason.

“…I don’t know if I’ll ever be as shocked as I am today in my entire life.”

Nigel leaned on her spear like a cane, her lips trembling as she answered. Her mind seemed completely blank, unable to process the series of events that defied her common sense.

“Was that… the power of a god? Did the gods really help us…?”

Leonor looked dumbfounded, her voice trembling with confusion.

Yes. Even for the people here, who believed in the existence of gods without question, witnessing such a clear intervention from the divine was unprecedented.

“…Miss, I’m serious, do you have some kind of prophetic or clairvoyant ability…?”

Prophecy…?

Ah, now that I think about it, I did say something that sounded like a prophecy. I joked that the gods would surely help us out.

I had said it to boost morale, but I never expected it to actually happen. Honestly, I was more shocked than anyone.

“Of course not. If I had such an ability, I would have stopped this from happening in the first place.”

I shook my head, denying it.

Even if I knew the story in advance, all I knew were events that might happen. It was far from being a prophecy.

People aren’t programmed machines; their actions can change with even the smallest variables.

Take Belcus, for example. Who could have imagined that guy would pull off a stunt like summoning the Evil God?

—

After confirming the safety of my companions, I turned my gaze toward the dust cloud.

As the curtain of dust slowly cleared, a grotesque and massive right arm, firmly planted in the ground like a giant tree, came into view.

The arm of Invidius.

Though it was just a detached piece of flesh, the sheer pressure it exuded made my fingertips tremble.

I could sense it. That arm, even severed, was still alive. It was chilling.

“The right arm of the Evil God… I can’t believe it. Is this really happening?”

“Right. If only it were a dream.”

Nightmares disappear when you wake up.

But, unfortunately, this was reality, and that arm showed no signs of vanishing.

No, far from vanishing…

– Groooaaar!

With a heavy rumble, it began to twitch.

“…It’s moving?”

Leonor let out a hollow laugh, muttering to herself. Did she think it was just a piece of flesh? She probably never imagined a severed arm could move.

– Rumble…!

The ground shook, causing a small earthquake. Feeling the ground tremble beneath my feet, I spread my legs slightly and lowered my stance.

Well. With such a grand ritual taking place, it couldn’t just end peacefully.

In fact, this was just the beginning.

【Groooaaar…】

Like a whale swimming in the ocean, a deep, resonant cry echoed. The arm, like an orphan searching for its mother, wailed.

The twitching arm of the Evil God began to melt away, forming a black lake. The arm sank into the bottomless Lake of Magi.

“What’s this? Is it running away?”

“Probably not.”

I denied Seilon’s muttering, gripping Durandal, now glowing gold, as I stared at the surface of the lake. My mouth was dry from tension.

Soon, the center of the lake began to boil, and from it, massive tentacles spiraled upward like a whirlwind.

The pillar-like tentacles intertwined and clung to each other. Nigel and Leonor tightened their grips on their spears, Seilon muttered a short prayer, and Lacey staggered to her feet.

Everyone must have sensed it. That thing was the enemy we had to fight.

I grabbed a spear with my left hand and hurled it toward the mass of tentacles taking shape.

I didn’t know what was being born, but it seemed defenseless for now, so I decided to test it with an attack.

The thrown spear, like a tank shell, reached the creature’s vicinity, but…

– Splash!

A spray of water from the Lake of Magi blocked the black iron spear. The hero’s spear, capable of piercing buildings, was swallowed by the spray and sank helplessly.

…So it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“Seilon, can you attack that mass of tentacles from here?”

“I’m ashamed to say, but I need to get closer…”

Seilon shook his head.

Closer, huh…

Yeah, we’d have to get closer.

At this distance, only Milia and I could attack, but Milia was severely injured and unconscious, and I was more skilled with a sword than a spear.

“Lacey, how’s your body? Can you move… no, can you fight?”

If she couldn’t fight, I’d have to send her outside the city.

Losing someone of Lacey’s combat power at a time when we had to fight the arm of the Evil God was a significant loss… but there was no choice. This wasn’t an enemy we could fight while carrying dead weight.

After all, Lacey had already done her part by protecting us from the shockwave that devastated the city.

“…Yes. Somehow. It’ll be hard to manifest large-scale miracles, but… I should be able to fight at this level.”

Lacey nodded resolutely, casting a blessing on herself to regain some vitality.

If she couldn’t use something like Holy Flame, she could at least manifest blessings or barriers. That should be enough to keep herself alive.

“Good. Then let’s go. Whatever comes out, we’ll just tear it to pieces.”

I signaled Leonor to carry Lacey, and we charged toward the Lake of Magi.

—

As we approached, the mass of tentacles melted and fused together, taking on a new form.

A massive, grotesque mass of flesh. It resembled a monster, but its overwhelming presence was incomparable to any ordinary monster.

As tall as ten people combined.

Its lower half, emerging from the lake, was made of tentacles resembling tree roots, intertwined like intestines. Above them, dozens of ribs, covered in flesh, writhed to protect what appeared to be its torso.

Inside the hook-like ribs, a mass of flesh covered in black veins squirmed, with a round diamond-shaped hole in the center.

The hole was filled with endless void, like the hole in the sky I had seen when Invidius emerged.

From the hole, eight long arms flailed. They resembled human arms stripped of skin, but with three joints and unnaturally long bones.

At the ends of the arms were massive hands, with fingers similar to humans, but instead of palms, there were black, glistening lips.

Black saliva dripped from the gaping mouths.

Above the torso was a massive tentacle that seemed to serve as its neck and head.

The tentacle resembled a cow’s tongue, with round eyes bulging like boils and two faces attached at the end, reminiscent of death masks.

The faces, one male and one female, were hairless, with only skin remaining. Their mouths were wide open as if screaming, but blocked by flesh, and black magi flowed from their eye sockets.

– Ooooh!

And above its head, a black hole floated like a halo, pouring down a rain of magi that drenched the monster’s body.

【Graaaah!!】

The monster born from the arm of the Evil God raised its eight arms and roared.

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