The moment Joy saw the concentrated magic in the assailant's hand, the first word that came to her mind was "death."
There was no thought of blocking, countering, or deflecting. Those words didn’t even come to mind because she believed it was impossible.
How could anyone stand against such overwhelming magic?
There were no complex spells or advanced techniques, yet the sheer power of the assailant’s magic was an overwhelming force on its own.
Faced with this, Joy could only feel despair.
But Lucy was different.
Even after seeing the assailant's magic, she smiled and stepped in front of Joy.
Her condition was dreadful.
Her body was covered in blood.
Her arms and legs trembled as if merely standing was a challenge.
Even her usual effortless ability to conjure shields failed her, and her magic seemed utterly depleted.
Nothing was working properly.
But still, she smiled.
As if nothing was wrong, she stood up and looked directly at the magic gathering in the assailant's hand.
And then she spoke.
"Hey, blockhead. It's going to be okay."
What could possibly be okay?
There's no way we can block that magic.
We're both going to die here.
We're going to die in vain, without achieving anything!
But how could it possibly be okay?
Joy had countless things she wanted to say to Lucy.
"Trust me."
But all those complaints vanished the moment Lucy uttered those words.
Under normal circumstances, Joy would have dismissed those words as mere bravado.
She would have thought Lucy was just saying whatever came to mind to reassure her.
But for some reason...
Lucy Allen's words felt so incredibly trustworthy.
Joy nodded, turning her gaze to Lucy.
And soon enough, the assailant hurled his magic toward them.
The overwhelming force, as if intending to erase the entire alley from existence, headed straight for Lucy.
At that moment, Lucy pulled something from her pocket and held it out in front of her.
A bizarre magic circle unfurled from her hand, forming a blue barrier.
The barrier looked incredibly fragile.
The amount of magic contained within it was so small; how could it be sturdy?
Yet, surprisingly, the assailant’s magic couldn’t penetrate the barrier.
The black magic simply avoided the blue barrier, like darkness fleeing from light.
What is this?
Joy’s eyes widened in disbelief at the miraculous sight, while Lucy turned her head slightly, wearing that same infuriating smile.
"I told you it would be okay, didn’t I? Hm?"
"...Yes."
Its effect is incredibly simple.
The scroll creates a distortion that causes all magic within a certain range to miss its target.
It might sound like a game-breaking item, and to be honest, it is.
Doesn’t something feel off?
What can you do, though? It’s a cheat item!
Sure, it has a short activation time,
And while it’s active, no one within the magic circle can use any magic,
You can only carry one due to the item limit,
And it even nullifies all intermediate-level magic around it,
And you can’t obtain it unless you go through the black market, but it’s still a cheat item.
Just think about it: being able to nullify an enemy’s threatening magic even once is an enormous advantage.
After the early stages of the game, it became a must-have item for boss fights.
It was the kind of item that could save you from a complete wipeout by countering a boss's pattern.
And that cheat item had just done its job.
As the massive force that was about to crush the world gradually dissipated, Nakrard’s face became visible beyond the blue barrier.
He was grinding his teeth, but he had no more cards to play.
Sure, he’s strong by this world’s standards, but he’s not strong enough to crush all the veteran players in Soul Academy.
Just look at how his god-given barrier was shattered in three minutes. Doesn’t that prove it?
If Tariki regains his power later, the story might be different, but for now, Nakrard is just a mid-level boss.
Hey, you should have taken the opportunity to cut my head off when you had the chance.
Why did you bother casting such a half-baked spell?
Were you so annoyed by what I was doing that you wanted to give me a taste of absolute despair?
Hah! If that’s the case, then you got played by a Mesugaki, you fool.
Nakrard’s brows furrowed at my smirk, but instead of doing anything more, he ascended back into the sky and flew off.
Looking at him, the blue barrier dissipated as the aftereffects of the magic faded away.
The smell of blood, the stench of burning, and the scent of dust filled the air.
My vision gradually blurred, and the ringing in my ears wouldn’t stop. Amidst all this, I could faintly hear the voices of the old man and Joy.
And the sound of countless footsteps echoing behind them.
Is this the end of this incident?
The moment that thought brought me a sense of relief, everything I had been holding back came rushing at me.
Since there was no longer a reason to hold on, I let myself be swept away by the wave and lost consciousness.
The last thing I saw was the sight of several message windows popping up in front of me.
Joy rushed to catch Lucy as she collapsed forward.
No, this can’t be.
I haven’t even repaid you for saving me yet; this can’t happen.
I know you have a troublesome personality, but don’t be selfish.
Don’t you dare leave me with a debt to repay!
As Joy’s trembling hands reached out to check Lucy’s condition, another hand gently touched her shoulder.
Startled, she took a step back but held onto Lucy tightly.
As if she would never let go, no matter what.
But the one approaching wasn’t an enemy.
It was a priest dressed in white robes.
“I am a priest of the Church of the Main God.”
He showed the necklace around his neck as he looked into Joy’s eyes.
“I need to check on your friend’s condition. Could you please lay her down?”
“...Yes, yes.”
As soon as Joy carefully laid Lucy down on the ground, the priest began to use his magic.
While watching the priest work, Joy prayed desperately for Lucy to be okay. Then, someone else spoke to her.
“Lady Partran.”
Turning her head, Joy finally noticed the group of people standing behind the priest.
Professors from the academy, guards, priests from the church, and magicians working in the area.
It looked like everyone capable of fighting from the academy had gathered here.
The one who stepped forward was one of the academy’s professors.
“What’s going on...”
The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.
“Am I being interrogated?”
Joy’s tone, usually firm enough to make others hesitate, was even more daunting when she spoke with genuine seriousness.
Even the seasoned professor was at a loss for words, fumbling awkwardly. Joy turned her attention back to Lucy.
Watching the priest examine Lucy in the silence she had created, she spoke up as soon as the priest’s magic was complete.
“How is she?”
“Lady Partran, I hate to say this, but...”
Seeing the priest hesitate, Joy took a deep breath.
The situation must be bad.
Of course, it is.
She had been dancing on the edge of death.
If she were perfectly fine, that would be even more strange.
“She’s fine. Just a few minor scratches, that’s all.”
“What? But Lady Allen just collapsed!”
“She’s asleep.”
The priest then told her to listen to Lucy’s breathing.
Though Joy found it hard to believe, she did as the priest suggested and focused on the sound.
To her surprise, it was a peaceful sound, like a little child quietly napping.
“Hah.”
In a situation that was both ridiculous and relieving at the same time, Joy’s legs gave out, and she slumped to the ground.
“Seriously. Don’t scare me like that.”
No, not unfamiliar. I had been here before when I came to visit Joy after she collapsed.
Anyway, as I woke up looking at the infirmary ceiling, I tried to recall why I was here.
I was definitely planning to observe the start of the main quest at the square today.
Ah, I met Nakrard and got my ass kicked.
So, of course, I should be here.
But considering the injuries I sustained back then, my body feels surprisingly fine.
Even though I was fighting while recovering through Armathi's mercy, it shouldn’t have been this perfect.
Puzzled by the impossibility of it, I pinched my cheek.
It definitely hurt.
Thankfully, it wasn’t a dream.
As I sighed in relief and looked around for someone to explain the situation, the door suddenly burst open, and someone walked in.
It was Carl.
The moment our clumsy pup saw my face, he froze, then silently walked over, knelt down, and pressed his forehead to the floor.
“Lady! Please take the head of this disloyal knight!”
Why is he doing this? My head is already a mess.
“No matter what others say, I should have stayed by your side, but I...”
Ah, so that's what this is about?
But I left you behind; it wasn’t your fault.
‘Carl, it’s okay.’
"Hey, clumsy. It’s fine."
Oh? Oh?! Oooooh?!
Why did Lucy call Carl "clumsy" instead of "clumsy dog"?!
Has the Mesugaki skill evolved somehow?!
“Taking the word ‘dog’ out of it... I knew I had disappointed you, Lady.”
Though it was something to be happy about, there was no time to confirm it.
Carl, thinking the change in title was due to his disappointment in himself, started spouting nonsense.
Trying to stop him from breaking the infirmary floor with his head was more exhausting than dealing with Nakrard.
Seriously? You actually liked being called a dog?!
“I’m sorry, Lady...”
After somehow managing to calm Carl down, I finally got an explanation from him about the current situation.
As expected from a knight with experience in giving reports, his explanation was brief and clear.
They detected the presence of an apostle of the evil god.
The guards in the area tracked that presence, and a barrier appeared.
After breaking the barrier and entering, they found Joy and me.
They protected the two of us, and some of them are currently pursuing the apostle.
“And the weapon you were using is now in the custody of the church.”
No wonder the old man has been quiet. He’s not here.
Why did the church take my weapon?
“Because no one else could pick up the mace that had fallen to the ground except for the Saint.”
Ah, it’s a sacred attribute weapon, so it couldn’t be helped.
I’ll have to retrieve it from Favie later.
There were no other unusual events.
After listening to Carl’s full report, I told him he did well and sent him on his way.
He didn’t want to leave my side, but it couldn’t be helped.
If he stayed here, I wouldn’t be able to check my rewards in peace.
After sending Carl off with a look as pitiful as a puppy being left behind by its owner, I turned my gaze to the countless message windows that had popped up in front of me.
The most prominent one at the top read:
[Joy Partran’s favorability has surpassed 70!]