The Last Place Hero's Return-Chapter 34: Last Will (3)

Chapter 34: Last Will (3)
The chilling sound of bones breaking echoed in the air. The next instant, the merchant’s body swelled grotesquely, and he morphed into a monstrous creature.
Shocked by this development, Iris shrieked in panic. “Dale! This is no time to be ordering chicken skewers!”
“I know.” I quickly stepped back, putting distance between me and the vendor. Then I looked at the creature before me. This was anything but normal.
What the hell is this? A demonic aura?
Frowning, I expanded my senses.
From the merchant’s monstrous body came a sticky, revolting energy wave. His clothes tore apart to reveal a black flame, the soul stigmata of the Demon God, burning beneath.
Why is there a demon inside the school? No. Can I even call that a demon?
I thought.
Technically, anyone bearing the soul stigmata of the Demon God was considered a demon, but this creature looked far more like a demonic monster than a human. This was definitely demonization. Demonization was the final fate of a human who had received the Demon God’s soul stigmata. In this state, a demon lost control over the soul stigmata’s power, the dark mana inside it erupting, and their body mutated into that of a monster.
However, this incident was very unusual. Demonization was closely linked to the Demon God’s unsealed presence. With the Demon God being sealed right now, his soul stigmata could not unleash its full power. As such, uncontrollable outbursts like this one were rare to nonexistent. Therefore, it was certain that someone had intentionally triggered this event.
I narrowed my eyes at the vendor-turned-monster. No longer capable of speech, the creature let out a guttural roar as though phlegm was clogging its throat. It charged forward, smashing through the stall’s signboard.
“Watch out, Dale!” Iris shouted.
“Yeah. It’s dangerous,” I replied.
But not for me,
I thought.
“For him,” I added.
As the creature lunged at me, I caught its arm and twisted it, using the Berald Combat Style: Sky Flip. The grotesquely swollen body slammed into the ground, headfirst.
“
Grahhh—urk
!”
Dust burst into the air. I casually picked up a fallen skewer and hurled it at the back of the collapsed monster’s head. Charged with mana, the wooden skewer pierced through the creature’s skull and embedded itself into the ground.
Iris looked at the fallen monster and said, “Dale, that’s...”
“A demon,” I said. Technically, it wasn’t a demon, but that detail didn’t matter much right now.
“A d-demon? Why in the world is there one here at the academy?” she asked.
“No idea. But—”
I didn’t get to finish that sentence as the once-peaceful festival erupted into chaos, filled with screams and monstrous roars.
Boom! Smash!
Many were terrified of this sudden development.
“
Kyaaaah
!”
“W-what is going on?”
“D-demonic monsters! Demonic monsters have appeared!”
Looking at the state of the festival, I had only one remark. “God damn it!”
As I feared, the vendor-turned-monster wasn’t alone. Multiple demonic monsters were rampaging across the grounds. Panic spread like wildfire as people fled in every direction, turning the area into a scene of absolute mayhem. Some hero cadets did step up, gripping their weapons to fight the monsters, but ironically, that only added to the confusion. They shouted at each other and at themselves.
“Hey! Are you out of your mind? Why are you using fire magic here?”
“Damn it! It’s the only spell I’ve got. What do you expect me to do?”
“Someone! Quick, get me a sword! I left mine in the dorm!”
Half-baked heroics could only lead to tragic outcomes. Since it was a festival, most cadets had stashed their weapons away and were drinking from the crack of dawn. There was no way they could handle a surprise attack like this. Despite that, a few did manage to hold their own even in this mess, standing firm against the demonic monsters.
“Get out of the way, you drunk idiots!”
“You’re in the way!”
However, that wasn’t enough to quell the chaos consuming the entire academy. Driven by instinct, people rushed toward the front gate to escape.
“Run! Get out of here!”
“
AAAAAH
!”
Sensing easy prey, the demonic monsters turned and followed in a stampede.
Iris looked at this and said, “Dale! The children. The children are by the front gate!”
“Camilla went with them. They’ll be okay.” Even though I said that, I knew I couldn’t rely on Camilla alone to protect the children in the middle of this madness. “Let’s go. We’ll join up with her at the gate.”
“Right!”
I took off with Iris toward the main entrance.
As we reached the front gate, I saw Father Antonio desperately trying to control the panicking children and Camilla swinging her sword at the incoming monsters.
“
Waaaahhh
!”
“C-Camilla!”
“Everyone, calm down!”
“Damn it! Where are these monsters coming from?”
Iris shouted, “Camilla!”
The moment she spotted Iris running toward her, Camilla’s eyes lit up. “Iris, wait, Milady!”
At that moment, one of the monsters swung its massive, swollen arm at her like a spiked club. But Camilla swiftly ducked and brought her sword up in a sharp arc. “You bastard!”
The creature’s arm hit the ground with a dull thud, severed cleanly. The monster howled in agony and stumbled back. The other monsters, drawn by the scent of fresh blood, charged in, not toward Camilla, but the terrified children.
Camilla turned to intercept them, panic written all over her face. “N-no!”
Iris stepped forward. “Leave this to me!”
She chanted a prayer. “Oh, Seven Gods, shine your merciful light upon your children!”
Her eyes, now glowing with a radiant rainbow hue, fixed on the charging monsters, and she made the sign of the cross from top to bottom. “Protection of the Seven Stars!”
A brilliant white barrier, stretching several dozen meters, unfolded in a dome around Iris and the children, encasing them in holy protection.
The flesh of the monsters that touched the barrier sizzled, releasing acrid smoke. Startled, the monsters recoiled from the divine shield.
They gave up on entering the barrier and looked around, searching for their next prey.
It was my turn now. “Looking for someone?”
The monsters turned their heads toward me in unison. With a chorus of savage growls, they charged at me as if they had just found their next meal.
I let out a dry chuckle and drew my sword, but the children inside the shield called out to me in panic.
“D-Dale! It’s dangerous!”
“Come inside the barrier, hurry!”
I simply shrugged and stepped toward the monsters. The monsters bellowed as they charged from all directions.
Realizing the danger, Camilla hurried to my side and raised her sword to defend. “Damn it! I’ll take this side. You take the other—”
“No need for that,” I replied.
“What?” she confusedly said.
Before Camilla could even turn to me, I sprang toward the charging monsters.
Grrrk—urgh
!
I leaped onto the arm of the closest monster and drove my sword straight into its skull. “One down.”
I twisted the blade free and slashed through another monster lunging from the side. Spinning around, I landed a fierce roundhouse kick to the jaw of the third, shattering bone with a sickening crack. “Three.”
Using the falling creature as a stepping stone, I launched myself into the air and dove down onto the rest of the pack. Maybe it was because my mana had nearly tripled over the past few weeks, but I felt like I was flying, as if I had wings.
With a grin like that of a wolf let loose in a herd of sheep, I tore through the horde. In just over a minute, the dozen or so monsters lay cold and lifeless at my feet. “Five, six, seven.”
The children inside the barrier let out stunned gasps as they watched the massacre unfold.
“W-wow!”
“That was... insane!”
Even Camilla stood slack-jawed, unable to believe what she had just witnessed. “What are you?”
“No time to be amazed,” I said flatly.
The main gate was still swarmed with people trying to escape, and the monsters were chasing them. Iris’s divine barrier wouldn’t last forever. We needed to move.
Then, from afar, I saw Professor Morpheus sprinting toward us, saying, “Over here! This way! Evacuate through here! Don’t head to the main gate! Come to the annex building’s cafeteria! We’ve set up a temporary shelter there!”
It seemed the professors had coordinated and created a safe zone. I turned to Iris. “Let’s head to the cafeteria.”
“Right!” Iris guided the children in that direction.
Suddenly, one kid shouted, “W-wait! Leo’s not here yet!”
I quickly scanned the group, and Leo was indeed nowhere to be seen. “Wasn’t he with you?”
“H-he said he needed the bathroom, and then the monsters came out of nowhere,” replied the kid.
“Damn it!” I said. Even the nearest restroom was a decent distance from here. “I’ll go get him.”
“I-I’ll come with you!” Iris turned around.
In this kind of chaos, moving in a group would only cause more confusion. So, I said, “No. Iris, you take the kids and go with Professor Morpheus.”
“But...”
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” I reassured them. “Camilla, watch over them with Iris.”
Camilla nodded with a grim expression. “Got it.”
Once they were on their way, I sprinted toward the bathrooms. Thankfully, against all odds, Leo was still safe. As I reached the restrooms, pouring every last drop of mana into my legs, Leo emerged from a corner and ran to me. “Big Bro!
Ugh!
T-they just came out of nowhere!”
“Calm down. Focus.” I patted him.
“W-where are the others?” he asked.
“Iris and Camilla took them to safety.”
“Oh!” Leo visibly relaxed.
“Let’s head to the cafeteria. The professors will protect us there,” I said.
“O-okay!”
With Leo in tow, we made our way toward the annex cafeteria. There, Professor Kane stood fiercely amidst a growing wave of monsters, a crimson aura radiating from him. Behind him stood Bianca, Professor Bastion, and other people, also fighting off the monsters.
“Professor!” I said.
Professor Kane crushed a monster’s skull with his axe as he rushed over. “Dale! You made it!”
“I’m fine. But where’s Professor Morpheus?”
“Morpheus?” Professor Kane asked.
“Yes. He said he’d lead Iris and the children here.”
Professor Kane frowned and shook his head. “What are you talking about? Morpheus hasn’t shown up here at all.”
“What?” This shocked me.
“I don’t know what the hell he’s doing, but we haven’t seen a trace of him since this whole mess started,” Professor Kane added.
Monsters were running rampant through the academy, and the man supposedly in charge of the Sealing Festival hadn’t even appeared? Suddenly, a memory resurfaced in my mind.
“Besides, I’ve got my hands full organizing the upcoming Sealing Festival. I barely have time to breathe, let alone scout assistants.”
“Ah, that’s right. You’re in charge of this year’s festival, aren’t you?”
“Yes. From vendor permit approvals to scheduling performances. Ugh, it’s a nightmare.”
Professor Morpheus was the one who had issued permits to the vendors—vendors who had entered the academy grounds, turned into monsters, and triggered this chaos.
Grinding my teeth, I stomped. “Son of a...”
The Archbishop of Dreams and Fantasies, Astaroth... It was you.