The Guardian

Chapter 39: They are excellent

Professor Santulli, who had finished investigating the coast, after telling Professor Miller what was going on and moving him with her magic so that they would go to the other groups scattered in the dungeon to help them, she went to the boss room, arriving at the same time as Alice because of her space magic.

It was now covered with dense magical barriers that hid her presence.

“So, you seem to be a mage who used his demonic energy to cause an overflow effect on the creatures in the dungeon,” Aurora analyzed, stepping down from the gorilla’s corpse.

She had bloodstains on her clothes and a few minor bruises or cuts that were slowly healing, but what was most impressive was her combat aura.

That translucent aura was covering not only her fists, but her whole body very naturally.

Professor Santulli understood that Aurora herself had not noticed that because she was attentive to the demon.

Alice gave a slight glance in Professor Santulli’s direction but approached Aurora.

The shadow descended at her feet and spread with every step she took.

Alice, however, with an indifferent expression, declared. “Let’s get this over with quickly and take that demon with us so we can take care of the later tasks.”

Those words were not only addressed to Aurora but to Professor Santulli herself, warning her not to interfere with her work.

She could understand it immediately, and that was why she said nothing when Aurora advanced toward the demon.

With a single step, she covered several meters, and when she reached the demon, she hit the barrier that the demon had hastily generated.

“Who do you think I am! I am...”

The demon was about to give its grand presentation, but Alice didn’t care, and one of the black arms hit his magical barrier, causing it to break.

Aurora, instead of attacking, stepped back as she felt the demonic energy overflow from the demon.

The human appearance began to crumble as the demon’s skin cracked as if it was dry as a horn grew from its head.

“I’m a demon!” the demon shouted as it continued to disfigure itself, but...

“It’s really just a corrupted demon. Alice, end this,” Aurora muttered in a simple tone.

It was just that.

A human who had been corrupted by his demonic energy and had mutated, as the players called it, began to corrupt.

He had gained more strength, but at the cost was not only his appearance but also his mind.

Before his face was further disfigured, Alice extended twenty black arms and savagely struck the demon who was amid his transformation.

The next moment, those black arms encircled him and covered him entirely as if he were a cocoon.

Professor Santulli opened her eyes in surprise as that ‘cocoon’ tightened around the demon as if it were a strange black mass, and before she could intervene, the black arms formed again and withdrew, leaving nothing in sight.

That demon had been ‘devoured’ by Alice’s shadow; that was how Professor Santulli saw it.

“Do you think you can hold it until we get to a safe place?” Aurora asked with a serious tone.

“Yes, this demon is very weak,” commented Alice, going back to eating her chips as the shadow disappeared completely.

It was undoubtedly very weak, as it caused the creatures in the dungeon to go crazy and spent a great deal of magical energy that its barrier broke so quickly was clear evidence of that problem.

Just as mages could faint if they spent all their magical energy, demons were the same if they spent their demonic energy.

Before Professor Santulli could appear, footsteps could be heard from the tunnel through which Alice had come.

Professor Miller followed by Érica and her group rushed in, but the latter when she saw Aurora approached with an angry expression.

“Why did you leave?!” shouted Érica with overflowing anger; with no one giving her time to intervene, she accused. “You abandoned the group and left us all surrounded by enemies!”

Her hand was shaking from sheer irritation and pent-up anger.

Not just at being abandoned and the group being left alone behind, but for Aurora’s safety.

She was the group leader, and it was her duty to protect everyone in her group... For someone to go off endangering herself and others was certainly something to be angry about.

However, Professor Santulli noticed that Alice was frowning, and Aurora was just tugging at her hand to calm her down.

Unfortunately...

“Aurora, your actions have caused your group to become destabilized for lack of a fighter and led it into danger, this cannot be ignored and needs to be discussed seriously,” Professor Miller stated with a serious look full of disappointment and scolding.

“Discuss it? Discuss what?” Alice asked, and ignoring Aurora’s look for her to stop, she gave Professor Miller a look and stated. “Aurora just saved your students who almost died.”

With that, she pointed to the students who were lying unconscious in a corner of the room while a barrier covered in dust, rocks, and dirt created in the battle were hiding them.

“Alice...” Aurora scolded solemnly, but...

“I will not keep quiet when you’ve fought so hard to protect them,” Alice replied in an irritated tone.

With an expression would be very different from her lazy attitude, she looked at Érica and declared. “She abandoned you after spending a scroll created by an S-Rank Mage for you to be protected because she had to save two groups of students from two A-Rank creatures.”

She pointed to the dead gorilla, and the wolf that was severely injured crawling on the ground.

The looks on Professor Miller's and Érica’s faces changed, but seeing how Érica seemed to want to continue arguing against it, Alice’s expression turned cold.

“Do you know why she didn’t ask you to accompany her? It’s simple because in battle the entire group would be a burden,” Alice said with a cold, indifferent look.

“That’s enough, Alice,” Aurora interjected and, with a serious expression, excused herself. “The situation was complicated, and it all happened so fast. This is the only thing I could do.”

Her comment seemed to be self-blaming, clearly wanting to deflect attention from Alice’s words to Érica.

But Alice, she wasn’t being arrogant.

Before, Aurora was a B-Rank, who, with her experience and equipment support, could take on an A-Rank creature and match it, being able to win under the necessary conditions.

However, even she could not protect Érica’s group that had B and C Ranks in it, while she had to save and protect the other unconscious students.

In this fight, Aurora was risking her life depending on her barrier and her strong body to resist the powerful gorilla strikes and the speed of the wolf.

“If you have any problems, you can take it up with Director Vincent. Now I just want to retire,” Aurora said, noticing Professor Miller’s expression change at the sight of her bruises and cuts.

With those words, she signaled for Alice to follow her, as the latter was grumbling.

“Do you think I will tolerate my friend being looked down upon? That’s why I don’t like to work in groups of idiots...”

Alice’s voice was low, but in this quiet space, they clearly heard it.

Her anger stemmed from them trying to accuse Aurora when she had tried so hard; such actions overstepped her line of indifference in a clear and obvious way that made her unable to keep quiet.

“Miller, you don’t need to go on,” commented Professor Santulli, appearing at Professor Miller’s side, hesitated for a moment, but in the end, declared. “Just talk to the Director.”

Talk about the Aurora group’s mission... Talk about the attacks and about the cause.

Watching as the students from the support group arrived to heal the injured students, Professor Santulli watched Aurora, who was receiving a healing spell from Vanessa, and she couldn’t help but sigh as she listened to what they were talking about.

“You could manifest your combat aura... We need to celebrate,” Alice commented with a cheerful smile.

“Sure, we’re going to prepare a sumptuous dinner today... But first, we have to settle that other matter,” Aurora replied with a truly contented smile.

“Tch... Well, the faster we finish it the more time for the feast we have,” mumbled Alice, nodding softly as she lazily went back to eating her chips.

Watching Aurora retreat as her wounds healed thanks to Vanessa’s support, Professor Santulli shook her head.

She couldn’t understand the reason why a group of professional mercenaries had enrolled in the academy. Still, she was grateful.

After all, this situation would have happened without them being here, and their presence was undeniably a great help that changed the outcome.

Clicking her tongue as she watched Professor Villacrés fidget as she looked at the wolf that was still alive and wounded, Professor Santulli returned to her work.

******

“Thank you for the report Professor Santulli,” said Director Vincent and ended the call.

Looking around his quiet office that would soon be filled with screams, Director Vincent sighed in relief.

He had called in a favor to his contacts to keep an eye out and to make sure that no demons entered Atlantis Island and in case that happened to stop it.

Thanks to that, the city authorities moved and found out when a group of demons would arrive, and they could stop them all and capture them.

Unfortunately, their aim was different and had nothing to do with the dungeon.

While hours later, a group of demons with high-ranking items tricked the academy’s artifact guarding the dungeons, and then a demon entered the dungeon, causing an overflow effect.

Director Vincent felt that the first attack was just a distraction... Distraction that worked, getting his students attacked and in grave danger.

Calmly closing his eyes, Director Vincent hid his questions and waited for the report he needed and...

“You may come in, Miller,” said Director Vincent, sensing the presence on the other side of the door that he couldn’t even touch.

Professor Miller entered the office with an awkward expression.

“Can you tell me what’s going on?” Professor Miller asked with a serious tone and, looking at Director Vincent unafraid to face an SS Rank, he commented. “Aurora left her group behind, putting them all in danger. I understand that she left a barrier, still... That makes everything weirder. It’s clear she knew the reason for what happened in the dungeon, and now I want to know, too.”

He had been angry with Aurora because of the situation that Érica’s group and the other groups had encountered, though he calmed down when he found out that Aurora had saved Marc and Alexey’s group, that didn’t mean he wasn’t upset.

Being in ignorance and not knowing what was going on, seeing a student put in danger... It wasn’t pleasant at all.

Nodding gently, Director Vincent explained. “I have purchased an important grimoire and now there are some people after me wanting to take it away from me and wanting to use my students to get it.”

“At first I thought of taking care of it myself by leaving a fake grimoire and allowing them at the entrance exam to infiltrate the academy and steal it from me. Because that grimoire had a hidden tracking spell, I could capture the mastermind, but Aurora stopped it,” narrated Director Vincent, and seeing that Professor Miller seemed to understand something, he added. “Yes, it’s for that reason that Aurora abandoned her group at the test, although I don’t know why she left an illusion to act scared. She could follow that old infiltrator and stop him, ruining my plan.”

His plan was simple, but the plan of the person who sought to get his grimoire was also simple; after all, that old man who infiltrated was just a weak and unimportant person whose mind was atrophied and didn’t know who the person who hired him was.

“Then, in the attack that was made on the students in the history class, I was prepared. With the help of the Greek authorities, we created a scenario allowing two powerful individuals to disguise themselves as students and be captured, not only allowing them to be taken to the base but also to use it to reveal the mastermind when it demands its terms. Simple, no?” Director Vincent asked and, with a soft laugh, commented. “No, so much for when Aurora saved them both.”

It was simply a joke.

A supposed B-Rank student, she was confronted by an A-Rank cultist, who had two hostages, and with her skills, she could save one of the hostages and then had prepared to fight to the death to save the other.

“In the end, I had to hire the Aurora mercenary group, and they certainly came in handy. They saved the students before the person I left in charge intervened,” Director Vincent commented, and as he looked at his holographic watch receiving a transmission, he muttered. “And now they have done a good job.”

With those words, he started the transmission, leaving in view a live video feed of a room in which two young women were looking into the camera.

“We will begin Director Vincent,” Aurora stated with a professional tone, and motioned to Alice.

The latter continued to eat her chips as the shadow descended at her feet spread to the floor, only to contort itself as if it were a mouth and ‘spit’ a demon onto the floor.

Professor Miller was stunned to see that scene, but more shocking was that the demon backed away in fear when he noticed Alice smiling at him.

“Please, please... Don’t hurt me... I don’t want to die,” the demon muttered and backed away like a frightened child.

That he hit the wall and panicked at having no place to flee only made it even more bizarre.

“I assure you, Director Vincent, that our mercenary group is very against torture,” Aurora stated hastily, and nudging Alice, she asked quietly. “What did you do to him?”

Alice gave the demon an amused smile, and shrugging her shoulders, commented. “Nothing. You’ve entered my shadow yourself and you know there’s nothing dangerous.”

Aurora watched the demon with a frown, but the gaze of Director Vincent and Professor Miller was on the shadow that contorted as if something wanted to come out as it disappeared behind Alice’s back, as if nothing had happened.

Coughing softly, Aurora approached the demon and said. “We don’t use torture methods for interrogation, as it would be inhumane. Even if you are a demon, however, depending on how honest you are with us we will see to it that you go to the right prison.”

“Yes... I will talk... Anything but go back to the shadow... I will tell everything,” the demon muttered in desperation.

Both adults saw Aurora’s expression tremble, but in the end, she asked in a mocking tone. “So fast?”

Making sure if he was really going to speak honestly or was simply using an excuse to act scared and lie was something Aurora had to check if she wanted to look for the right answer.

“Yes... I will tell everything... The whole truth... About who hired me... I just... I just don’t wish to go back to the shadow,” The demon muttered, trembling and lowering his gaze as Alice watched him.

“Why are you afraid of the shadow?” Aurora asked, letting her curiosity get the better of her, but it was unavoidable.

Even Director Vincent and Professor Miller were curious to know the answer, but...

“He’s not afraid of the shadow, he’s afraid of me,” Alice declared proudly as she stuck out her chest.

The demon nodded like a little chick with no intention of contradicting Alice.

“In case this conversation is being recorded, demons in Atlantis City have no rights and maybe my partner hit him a bit when he was in her shadow, but I presume it was to weaken an A-Rank demon mage,” excused Aurora in a professional and experienced manner as if this situation had happened before.

They could not see the Director and Professor Miller, as it was a one-sided camera, but it was possible to be recorded.

“Tell me everything you know. If I find you are lying, I will send you to the Church of Order. I hear there are some extremists who are quite violent with demons. If you are honest, I will send you to the Church of Time. Their jail at least is decent enough,” Aurora ordered without looking at the camera.

The two grand churches had their own international prisons in which they held the most violent criminals in the land, and although both were created with the support of two all-important Primordial Gods, their way of regulating themselves was very different.

The believers of the Goddess of Order were generally very opposed to the demons because the demonic energy they used contradicted the natural order of things.

And since Chaos always opposed Order and vice versa, their believers acted in the same way.

The Church of Time and Space, on the other hand, was neutral and locked up its prisoners, always maintaining a stance no matter who or what.

Time was indifferent, so were they.

Aurora’s words were a threat, and the demon took it seriously, so he did not hesitate to reveal everything he knew.

He was hired by an intermediary with the aim of causing the overflow effect and, while everything was in chaos, kidnapping some students.

That intermediary had given him the artifacts that interrupted the students’ requests for help and the artifact capable of creating an illusion to fool the academy’s surveillance artifact while giving him the ability to secretly enter the dungeon.

Although the demon himself did not know who the mastermind was, before accepting the job, he could do some light research and found out that she was connected to a local gang.

“Good job. Payment will be sent to the bank account, but I hope we keep working together until we finish this matter,” said Director Vincent in a serious tone.

His voice was transmitted to where Aurora was standing.

“I understand, I too would like to finish this matter,” Aurora commented, nodding softly, and the next moment, she muttered. “It’s also too much trouble to be involved in these matters during my vacation.”

That muttered was the last thing Director Vincent heard as the video faded out, but he smiled nonetheless.

“I had mentioned it before. They are an excellent group of mercenaries,” Director Vincent stated with a soft smile.

Director Vincent was now quite happy to accept his acquaintance’s request to receive them.

After all, accepting his acquaintance’s daughters had proved very helpful today.