The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

When the monsters began their simultaneous advance, most of those atop the barriers prepared for death. It was only natural.

Even if they won the war, there was no guarantee they would survive.

Neither the Imperial Palace, the knights, the pros, nor even the Constel students.

They each exhaled deeply, somehow trying to clear the smell of death from their nostrils.

Kugugugu—

The fear of the humans spread as the monsters invaded.

The first to shake off that fear was, of course, the western barrier where Renzo had fallen from the sky.

When the outside monsters were pulverized by Renzo's immense martial prowess, people finally came to their senses.

They knew that Renzo was also an enemy of humanity, but for now, he was a welcome presence who was destroying the monsters.

"Hold your positions! The monsters are still aiming for us!"

The outside monsters split into two groups. One attacking Renzo, and the other still rushing towards the barrier. Even so, there were still a significant number, but those on the barrier gripped their weapons tightly.

The knights' encouragement, which had fallen on deaf ears, was now clearly audible. Renzo had interrupted the flow of monsters. That much was clear.

However, this was only a small portion of the entire Empire's barriers.

No matter how strong Renzo was, he couldn't deal with monsters outside his field of vision, and he had no obligation to do so.

The southern barrier of the Empire, completely unaware of Renzo's intervention.

The Shroud Knights had yet to escape their fear.

"...Will it be alright?"

Malia unconsciously spoke out.

A fact Malia hadn't told Frondier.

Several barriers had nearly collapsed in fear before the monsters even approached.

The Shroud Knights, in particular, were in a dire state.

From Sanders' perspective, which Malia was sharing, it was impossible to even consider fighting.

Sanders was trying his best to encourage them, but it wasn't working, and with the knights responsible for the soldiers' morale in such a state, the soldiers naturally crumbled alongside them.

Elodie, next to Sanders, was quiet and subdued, lost in thought.

"Archers! Prepare to fire!!"

Sanders shouted. There was no time to bolster the knights' mental state. The monsters were surging in like a tide, and the battle had begun. Then the knights would show their strength.

And at that moment.

"...?"

Sanders felt the surroundings brighten slightly. It had been a clear sky from the beginning, so it wasn't that the clouds had cleared. He absentmindedly looked up.

"...Ah."

His admiration was brief.

The sight above him in the sky was familiar to him.

It was also a sight he had longed for.

Countless arrows of light soaring through the sky. That swarm, even more massive than he remembered, tens of thousands of arrows splitting the heavens.

'Frondier...!'

He didn't know where he was now. The trajectory of the arrows was so high that he couldn't even tell where they had been shot from.

Rain was falling.

Rain that would surely pierce the hearts of their enemies.

Sanders knew this clearly, but there was still something he didn't know.

This rain wasn't falling only in the south.

"It's been a while."

Hector in Tyburn grinned and said, and Aster nodded.

"...Beautiful."

"Hmm."

Lunia of Krasmere marveled, and Zodiac Monty, her pair, made a short sound.

Frondier's arrows were a vivid sight that anyone who had seen them once would not easily forget.

Constel, Tyburn, Yeranhes.

Wherever it was in the past, these streaks of light had brought them the wind of victory.

Therefore, the arrows of light pouring down at this moment, as the war began,

Revived in a clear image, piercing through the monsters without fail.

More powerful, massive, and accurate.

Those who didn't know these arrows rejoiced at the death of the monsters,

And those who did, bathed in the colors of the past, took a deep breath.

"...Frondier."

Someone quietly uttered the name.

And a weight slowly settled upon them all.

"Wow, wow...!"

And back at the southern barrier.

One of the Shroud Knights spoke in a voice drained of energy.

"With that much, we could kill all the monsters, right?"

"We might not even need to fight..."

Their tension eased, and a lax atmosphere flowed.

Frondier's arrows were on a considerable scale, but it was clear at a glance that they wouldn't be enough to deal with all the monsters.

They were having petty thoughts.

Baseless expectations that another volley of arrows would come.

'...Sigh.'

Elodie sighed.

Frondier's arrows provided a solid foundation of trust and responsibility for most of the barriers. But that wasn't the case everywhere.

For rotten dogs, even that was useless.

What would save them wasn't Frondier's arrows.

It wasn't Elodie's magic.

"——Now."

Elodie, who had been silent, opened her mouth.

As if she had been waiting for those arrows to fly.

As if she had known it from the beginning.

Watching the arrows pierce the monsters on the battlefield, Elodie spoke in a low voice, infused with mana.

"Shroud Knights."

"...?"

The gazes of the knights, who had been staring blankly at the battlefield, turned to Elodie.

"Let's make a bet."

"A bet...?"

Elodie thought about Frondier's actions that Sanders had told her about.

She decided to follow Frondier's lead.

Frondier had used a bet to encourage the exhausted knights. But it didn't fit the current situation.

Elodie stated coldly,

"I bet that all of you here,"

Elodie's gaze, subtly sent backwards, reached each and every one of them.

"Will all die."

"What...!"

"Not only you, but if you die, the monsters that cross this barrier will kill your families, friends, everyone without exception. I am certain of that future."

Elodie's words made their eyes tremble.

There was no next after escaping from this barrier.

This war wasn't a simple fight for territory like the Empire had with other regions. Defeat meant the annihilation of the Empire. None of their families would survive.

There wasn't a single fool among the knights here who didn't know that. That's why, even with their fallen morale, they stood before this barrier instead of running away.

"I'll bet ten million quirs per knight on this bet."

Ten million quirs.

It was roughly the same price as the 'Viper steel Sword' that Elodie had obtained earlier.

To Elodie, the price of each Shroud Knight she saw before her was about that much.

"If by any chance you survive, I'll give it to you."

The current Shroud Knights were too weak.

It wasn't a matter of skill or technique, but a matter of spirit.

If the bet that Frondier had offered in Tyburn had given them hope and dreams,

Elodie would give these dispirited individuals the reality of despair and anger.

Elodie de Inies Rias.

She wasn't cheerful like Sybil, nor kind like Aten. She didn't have the talent to understand people's hearts and gain popularity like Quinie.

However.

"...Who."

A seething voice, as if rising from deep within her body.

"Who says we're dying here!!"

"Uwaaaaah!!"

The aura of the Shroud Knights surged. Just like in the days of their past glory.

The Shroud Knights of then and now were vastly different in their composition, but they had received the same training and education as their long tradition.

Their origins, who had longed for the glorious path of the past, were no different from their leader, Sanders.

Elodie wasn't bright, kind, or merciful.

But right now, the Shroud needed Elodie more than anyone else.

"...Hmm."

Elodie also felt the fierce spirit of the Shroud Knights, but she maintained her cold eyes and turned her head back to the front.

"Each of you knows your own soldiers, right? They're worth 10,000 quirs per life."

"Shut up! We'll take care of them without that bullshit!"

"I'll really give it to you."

Elodie's eyes were still dry and stern.

"Because anyway, this current fervor is just a momentary intoxication. I have to dangle money like a carrot."

"...This bitch, I've had enough!"

When one of the knights, his eyes bloodshot, lunged at her,

"Stop!"

Sanders stopped him.

Sanders gave an order to everyone.

"The rain of arrows will stop soon! Prepare for the second wave!"

At that, the knights checked beyond the barrier. The momentum of their anger was directed straight at the monsters outside.

The knights shouted to the soldiers at their designated positions.

"Kill all those approaching bastards!!"

"They're worthless things that fall with a single arrow!"

While they were boosting the morale of the soldiers, Sanders approached Elodie.

"You're taking on the role of the villain."

"Anyone would have done the same."

Elodie said calmly.

Sanders had doubts about that answer, wondering if that was really the case. Taking on the role of the hated one was not an easy task at all.

"I used to be afraid of being hated too,"

Elodie's eyes briefly fell into reminiscence.

"But it's okay now."

Elodie muttered quietly and raised her right hand.

An unusual flow of mana was born from that hand.

"Even if countless people who have nothing to do with me hate me,"

As she murmured, the magic in Elodie's right hand layered and bloomed powerfully.

Sanders watched in awe.

'This child, she's casting magic while talking...!'

Magic was a combination of intuition and theory. To perfectly control mana for the theoretical framework of a spell, immense concentration was required.

The theory behind extracting magic was extremely precise, but the mages who had to handle it were not, so they used chants to infuse their mana into the precise theory.

That's why silent casting was more difficult than chanting, and of course, casting magic while speaking unrelated words was extremely difficult. There were no mages who even attempted such a thing.

But.

"Just one person is enough."

As if that were her chant.

"If that person forgave me."

Elodie's outstretched right hand was perfectly aligned with precision, aiming at the pouring monsters.

One of the five gods, Rudra.

An arrow of storm born with the power of God.

Elodie's specialty, 'Storm Arrow'.

Swoosh.

Elodie threw the Storm Arrow towards the monsters in front of her as if it were someone else's business, and

"Being hated is whatever."

*Kwaaaaaaaaah!!*

Before the storm that seemed to change the terrain, she murmured calmly.

* * *

"Aster! Head to the right! Move on the barrier and block the vulnerable areas!"

"Yes!"

Tyburn had experienced more harsh battles with monsters than other places, and the scale of the monsters was correspondingly larger.

For Tyburn, which had almost been on the verge of collapse, monsters were both a tiresome nemesis and a source of fear.

That's why, even after being hit by Frondier's arrows, the waves of monsters that followed were quick, and Hector and Aster were already in a fierce battle.

Hector, although he hadn't been in command for long, showed a talent for leading knights. This was thanks to the countless experiences he had shoulder to shoulder with other knights after abandoning his position as Ludwig's son.

'...Aster.'

Hector constantly gave instructions and killed monsters himself, checking on Aster whenever he had a chance.

He was worried about Aster, a student with overwhelmingly less experience in fighting outside monsters, but he also had high expectations.

Just how strong was the student that the entire Constel was paying attention to?

How powerful was Baldur's divine power?

'He fights well, but...'

Contrary to Hector's worries, Aster was fighting well. He wasn't flustered or confused, and he adapted quickly to the situation, understanding the implications of Hector's short commands.

Hector found that very unfamiliar.

He had been worried that Aster wouldn't be able to control his immense power and would run wild, but now he was worried about the opposite.

'...He's like a pro.'

Aster wasn't using his divine power yet. Even so, he wasn't having much trouble.

In other words, he didn't show the passion or enthusiasm that students usually displayed, but rather the demeanor of a seasoned veteran who had seen it all.

But anyone could be like that with enough experience.

It was surprising that Aster, at his young age, was showing such a level, but that wasn't what they expected from Aster.

No one on the continent would have expected this from Aster.

A spectacle of brilliantly annihilating and slaughtering monsters. The heroes Hector knew all showed such aspects. The 'Zodiacs', of course, and Elodie, who was probably as famous as Aster, wouldn't she be the same?

To say that it was because he hadn't yet unleashed Baldur's power, that movement, what was it?

Swoosh!

At that moment,

Aster, who had been running tirelessly on top of the barrier, stopped abruptly.

His right hand went up to his shoulder and grasped something.

It was a huge spear, about Aster's height.

'Ambush!'

Hector was surprised. From somewhere beyond the barrier, a spear was shot at Aster with precise aim, almost in a straight line.

Only then did he feel the tremendous killing intent directed at Aster.

Aster looked down from the barrier.

His excellent eyesight found someone hiding in the forest.

One of the Shepherds of Manggot, Notker.

While those murderous eyes were smiling darkly at him, Aster met his gaze, holding the spear.

With a still ordinary face, ordinarily.