A Death Row Convict Teaches at a School of Magic

“Vaaaahh!”

“Tsk!”

Shrieking a bizarre bellow, the demons darted out from left and right.

The two demons were slain when I drove a Chakrameth into each of their jaws, yet two more demons assaulted me from the rear after recognizing this an opportunity to finish me off.

“―Teacher!”

Arti’s screech fell futile as one bit me in the chest and the other set its fangs in my face.

“Noooo!”

“―Compose yourself, Arti.”

“Eh?”

Without a second thought to the creaking of my cheekbones, I retrieved a pistol from my waist with my free hand and pulled the trigger a few times. After six shots, the biting demon finally separated and was reduced to dust.

“After all, a gun doesn’t work well with this type of demon, it seems…”

“T-Teacher… just now, you got bitten…”

“…Well, it will be explained to you if we survive this!”

The demon that materialized behind Arti was checkmated with my gun and then defeated with Thunder magic. Against this type of demon, it would be tempting to employ fire-attribute magic, but the fear of ignition in this environment prohibited me from unleashing it poorly.

She really seemed sloppy and calculating…

An inner part of me sneered at Xenia… Alice, and then my eyes swept over the surroundings.

Blood and entrails were cluttering up the living room, which was not spacious by any standards, and most of them had now been trampled by the demons into mincemeat.  The thought that all of this had formed Eto’s body and soul crossed my mind, gripping my heart with an intolerable emotion.

“Vaaaah!”

“Damn it, stop being so pestering!”

As if not permitting any time for rest, the demons assaulted one after another. While eliminating them, I had to contend with the demons that occasionally headed in the direction of Arti.

While this was underway, from the corner of my eye, new demons were springing into existence in succession, emerging from the gray miasma.

Alice seemingly really had the intent to send me to my grave through a game of perseverance.

Bitterness overcame me as I wiped out the demons ahead of me, while I began to calculate without pausing my body how much longer I could sustain the rest of my lives and my physical strength―

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[Well, Kanaki. It has now been exactly one hour since the outbreak of the battle. It would appear that you still have a lot of lives left, but is your physical condition satisfactory?]

“…It’s none of your business.”

Alice stated that an hour had elapsed, but in reality, it had been much longer in my mind.

The number of demons before me was not diminishing at all, on the contrary, the frequency of them devouring my attacks was rising.

Unless the circumstance shifted at this stage, I wouldn’t last another hour, but unfortunately, Arti was with me. I have been unsuccessful in escaping from this place many times so far, only to face a barrage of demons each time, combined with the simple barrier in the living room.  The confidence to overcome all of these obstacles and get Arti out of the place was beyond my power.

Nevertheless, even amidst this despairing predicament, there was still a ray of hope for me. That was the presence of the impending arrival of reinforcements. Help may be on the horizon if sunrise approaches according to Alice, but this was not in alignment with Alice’s character. A countermeasure would surely be taken by her, perhaps scattering talismans to repel people in the copse of trees around the house. If such a thing were to be carried out in such an inconspicuous location, the odds of a stranger reaching the house would be close to zero.

On the other hand, an original occupant of the house would be a great bet. Assuming Matthias was able to uncover Xenia’s actual identity and return in a haste, it would be a different scenario. His expertise could skillfully overcome any physical hurdles, even if they were present. As things stood now, I had no choice but to place my bet on Matthias given the difficulty of resolving the crisis with my own strength alone.

After that, the period of time spent exterminating the demons stretched on. Even the number of demons I had already massacred slipped my mind. It was then that Alice let out a sudden voice.

[Oh, here’s a report for you, Kanaki. ―Mr. Matthias is dead.]

“―I see.”

Maintaining the same facial expression, I crushed the advancing monster with my foot. In any case, that was another of Alice’s prevarication. She was no doubt hoping to derive satisfaction from witnessing my consternation.

In fact, Alice’s monotonous voice responded right away.

[Tsk, you are really no fun at all, Kanaki. But you know, it’s true. Right now, Mr. Matthias and Fina are engaged in a battle in the hospital room.]

“!?”

That was an expectation I myself had been dreading, hence Alice’s remark was spine-chilling.

[Mr. Matthias vanquished Xenia despite suffering severe injuries, but Fina, whom Kanaki had kept at bay, showed up. Upon sighting Karen, who was already out of breath, she flew into a fit of fury. They are currently engaged in combat as a result of her lunge at Mr. Matthias, which was fueled by pure wrath. How’s that for a plausible story?]

“…Well, that’s a moderately well-executed setup for Ms. Alice to have concocted.”

My answer came from a place of utter equanimity as I buried the restlessness in my frame of mind. My aptitude for deceiving the students at the school on a daily basis was not to be underestimated. While it was no small feat to suppress this degree of turmoil, it was also true that Alice’s words could not be discounted as falsehood.

[…Hmm. Well, it is within my expectation for you to say so, Kanaki. You are seriously a dull person.]

“―?”

All of a sudden, the demons that had been deployed in the surrounding area fizzled out.

Did she exhaust her magical power?

Such hope rose in my mind momentarily, but it was unbelievable that Alice would deplete her magical power with such a small amount of power. Another line of reasoning was that she might have decided to drop the charade and get serious about annihilating me―

“!”

The front door was opened with a rattle, and heavy footsteps approached the living room.

It wasn’t Matthias. If so, it was help from the outside or one of Alice’s comrades―

“…Well, it’s the latter huh.”

[Now, let’s raise the stage, Kanaki! The next opponent is on a different level than the previous one! After all, this is one of the five most proficient magicians in the city, the commander of the Garrisoned Corps!]

Accompanied by Alice’s self-assured voice, the sliding door to the living room was opened.

Out of the sliding door emerged Shiva Ramerick, a large man with a bald head devoid of vitality.