The Sponsored Heroines Are Coming for Me

Lichten.

The only place on the continent that had avoided the chaos.

In the once-peaceful city, it became clear that the tranquility had merely been the calm before the storm. A relentless disaster was now crashing down upon it.

— Kwaaaaang!

— Kuuuuung!

Explosions, impacts, and the sounds of destruction echoed from all directions.

“Kyahhhhhh!”

“Get to the shelters, now!”

Disasters swarmed toward the academy. Each one was bizarre and despair-inducing.

Entities that did not seem to belong to this world.

‘…Danya was right. The academy really is a key strategic point.’

Silvia quickly assessed the situation.

The enemy’s known forces.

The conditions in each sector.

Available personnel, equipment, and items.

She had already experienced commanding a frontline before.

And if they were to stop these monstrous calamities, Silvia had to adapt with all her strength.

“The eastern barricades are functioning properly. The enemy’s advance has significantly slowed.”

“Then send the remaining forces to the southern gate. The speed at which they’re being pushed back isn’t normal.”

“Understood!”

“What about the north?”

“The bridge crossing the river has been destroyed. As soon as the undead attempt to ford the river, we’re preparing to freeze it solid.”

“Good. Execute the plan precisely. If the northern gate falls, we won’t be able to hold out.”

“The real problem is the west! The Shadow Forest is acting strange! Something is coming!”

At the mention of the Shadow Forest, Silvia momentarily froze.

The Shadow Forest.

That was where Danya and the Dessert Research Club had headed.

Silvia saw Danya as a rival. Because of that, she respected her abilities.

If Danya, someone strong enough to be considered a competitor, had gone there because something felt off, then it meant something serious was happening.

The dense forest obscured their view, making it impossible to see what was unfolding. But there was no doubt—it was something bad.

‘This is the worst.’

They had no reinforcements.

They were barely managing to defend the academy as it was.

Of course, there was still the academy’s final defense, the protective barrier.

‘If the enemy reaches the barrier, though, it’s only a matter of time before it’s breached.’

In a defensive battle like this, buying time was critical.

But they had no available forces left.

The only option was to hope the members of the Dessert Research Club returned quickly.

“I’ll check the west myself.”

Silvia climbed to the top of the student council building.

A temporary observation tower had been set up there.

From her vantage point, she looked down at the battlefield—chaos itself.

Hordes of monstrous creatures swarming from the north, east, and south.

Civilians desperately fleeing.

The academy’s defensive perimeter, formed by students encircling its outskirts.

Lichten Academy looked like an island trapped in a dark sea.

‘And the west…’

Silvia turned her gaze—and fell silent.

The Shadow Forest.

A dense expanse of towering trees, each over ten meters high.

At first glance, it seemed eerily still.

But then—

— Ssshhh… Ssshhhhh!

From deep within the forest, the trees began to sway violently.

Not just one or two—the entire forest.

Even without using magic, Silvia could feel it.

Something—no, many things—were approaching.

She had to confirm it.

“…”

She didn’t want to look.

They had no forces left to deploy to the west.

She already knew it would be hopeless.

But Silvia gritted her teeth.

Slowly, she spread out her mana.

And then—she sensed it.

A massive tide of monstrous entities rushing forward.

Like a great black wave surging toward them.

And that wasn’t the worst part.

Farther beyond—

— Kuuung… Kuuuuuung…

A colossal presence, radiating an overwhelming magical force, was drawing closer.

Something horrifying.

Something ominous beyond imagination.

“…Ah.”

Without realizing it, Silvia let out a gasp.

— Kuuung!

With each step it took, it felt like hope was being crushed.

Could they even deal with this?

Then—

— This way, nyah! Hurry!

From the entrance of the Shadow Forest, a familiar voice rang out faintly.

“Danya!”

Silvia shouted before she even realized it.

It was a distance that an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to hear from.

Yet, from far away, Danya lifted her head, her gaze locking onto Silvia’s with pinpoint accuracy.

Behind her, Lina, Elena… and even Sasha Asilia, the Ether Swordsmanship professor, came into view.

“I’m heading down for a moment!”

She rushed down the stairs, barely noticing as her legs grazed against the railing.

Practically leaping, Silvia landed at the building’s entrance.

In the distance, Danya and the others were running toward her.

“Are you all okay?!”

Silvia quickly examined their condition.

Their clothes were ragged and covered in dirt, but none of them seemed injured.

Haa… Haa…

Catching her breath, Danya spoke.

“We… we found it, nyah.”

“Found what?”

“Ian’s trace. And probably the Bloodstone Cult’s barrier.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. It looks like it’s underground in the Black Forest, nyah.”

Underground?

The Bloodstone Cult’s headquarters was beneath the Black Forest?

What did that even mean?

Silvia stood there, stunned for a moment—until Danya spoke again.

“Anyway, we need to run!”

“Run?”

“There’s a huge monster coming! Something’s seriously wrong, nyah!”

“A monster… don’t tell me—”

The catastrophic energy she had sensed with her detection magic—

It must have been that.

“We need to evacuate everyone, nyah!”

Danya’s urgent plea was met with a shake of Silvia’s head.

“We’re surrounded… there’s no way out.”

“Then…?”

“Yeah. There’s no way to run. We have to fight.”

Silence fell over them.

Everyone had countless thoughts racing through their minds, but one thing was clear—

There was no hope.

And then—

— Kwaaaaaang!

The western gate’s wall trembled violently.

A massive axe was smashing through it.

◆

“You think you can break the barrier? Even for you, that’s impossible.”

The Blood Witch, who had followed me, scoffed from behind.

“Why do you think that?”

“That barrier grew alongside the cult. Do you have any idea how old this place is?”

“A few hundred years?”

“Exactly. And you said it yourself—this place is also the Cult Leader’s Dantian. He wouldn’t have spent all this time reinforcing it for nothing.”

I turned my head slightly to glance at her.

That seductive face—one that always seemed filled with mischief—was now clearly lined with worry.

A rare sight.

“Are you scared?”

“Ian, my dear. I do love you, but you still can’t defeat the Cult Leader.”

Not a single word in that sentence sat right with me.

I ignored her and kept walking.

Behind me, the Blood Witch continued to prattle on.

“Destroying the barrier means harming the Cult Leader’s Dantian. It’s impossible.”

“…”

“Why not just leave with me instead? I know the exit.”

“Exit?”

“Yes. We all use a teleportation circle to leave this place. It’s a kind of portal.”

I had suspected as much.

This place was surrounded by a barrier that prevented anyone from entering or leaving freely.

“It’s pointless.”

“Why?”

“I finally made it inside the Cult Leader’s Dantian. If I leave, it’ll only be after I’ve done some damage.”

A formidable opponent.

An opportunity to inflict internal damage on such an enemy?

That was something that could never be avoided.

“…”

The Blood Witch looked up at me, as if trying to gauge just how serious I was.

I stared right back into her eyes.

After a moment, she walked beside me, muttering softly.

“That look in your eyes is unfair, you know.”

Her voice was quieter than usual—uncharacteristically so.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

She half-closed her eyes and glanced away.

I shrugged and kept walking.

What the Blood Witch thought wasn’t important.

There was far more valuable information I needed to gather.

For example—how was the Bloodstone Cult carrying out its invasion when their numbers weren’t even large enough to attack the entire continent at once?

“The Cult Leader can control abominations.”

“Abominations?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen them a few times myself… they don’t seem like they belong in this world.”

“…”

I had a guess.

The massive wave of creatures that swarmed Fantasy X Academy in the final act of its storyline.

The so-called [Void].

Entities similar to demons from the Reverse Realm.

Of course, given Fantasy X Academy’s notorious difficulty, reaching the final act was nearly impossible—but even if you got there, the Void would always block the ending.

‘…This is dangerous.’

The Cult Leader.

I had no idea what he was planning, but he was definitely opening the Void Gate.

I quickened my pace.

“Where are you going?”

The Blood Witch asked, trailing behind me.

She noticed that I wasn’t heading to the place she had led me before.

“My ally left a trace.”

“A trace? You mean someone from the outside found this place?”

She sounded genuinely shocked.

And she had every reason to be.

The Bloodstone Cult’s headquarters had remained hidden for hundreds of years.

But I could feel it—Danya’s trace.

If my senses were correct, then Danya had become the first person in centuries to discover the cult’s barrier.

“This is the spot.”

A dense space filled with trees and overgrown grass.

I looked up.

The Blood Witch, following my gaze, gasped in astonishment.

“T-This is… the Element of Grass has taken root. It’s entwined with the barrier!”

A technique Danya and I had practiced together before.

‘Sprout’.

The most effective way to break protective barriers.

Danya had planted it here.

‘…You really worked hard, Danya.’

I had been trapped here for weeks now.

How much effort and struggle had it taken for her to get this far?

But the real challenge was still ahead.

I reached toward Danya’s seed, then closed my eyes.

With both hands, I drew out two different energies.

And then—without hesitation—I fused them together.

— Wuuuuuuuuung!

A violent tremor.

Then, at the threshold of its climax—an eerie silence.

“Ah—”

A small gasp escaped the Blood Witch.

At the same time, a brilliant flash of light erupted.

— Beeeeeeep!

A piercing ringing filled my ears.