I Became the Dark Wizard Who Rules Over the Heroines

16 – Joint Class-5

“Darn it!”

In the middle of a downpouring storm, the Empress exclaimed in frustration.

“A, attack? Must be a terror attack, right? Looking at the mess with rain pouring, doesn’t it seem likely to be a Behemoth?”

Zhenya responded, the smile erased from her face, replaced with a serious expression.

“Seems so. These fools, trying to prevent unity, must have infiltrated the academy.”

The Empress sighed in relief. Fortunately, they were incredibly foolish.

The terrorists had wasted an enormous amount of time, over two minutes since the Behemoth had made its appearance, doing nothing.

“Phew…”

However, this respite had ultimately forced the Empress to make a decision.

“First of all, let’s find Wade and Claire.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

Zhenya exclaimed in surprise.

“Don’t you think there’s just a Behemoth behind us?”

The Empress bit her lip.

The Behemoth was indeed powerful. A monster that ordinary students couldn’t even fight.

However, it was clearly a newborn entity. It would be much more dangerous than the Manticore, but not an opponent that they couldn’t defeat if they risked their lives.

“I’m not alone. You’re here with me right now.”

“No, who doesn’t know that…”

The Empress, who was in the midst of this storm, would not be left unattended by the instructors at the bottom of the mountain.

If buying time was the goal, then the threat she would have to bear would have significantly decreased.

“You think they’d just drop a huge guy like a Behemoth for no reason?”

That was definitely a powerful monster. A monstrous and terrifying creature that ordinary terrorists could not easily cage.

But those who could handle it, did not use the Behemoth merely as a means of murder or violence.

“There must be something more!”

The storm of the Behemoth disrupts magic and interferes with communication and location tracking.

If it weren’t for such variables, the knights guarding the Empress would have rushed to protect her.

“But, we can’t leave them behind-“

“Think logically. It’s a Behemoth. Not another monster, or a creature without magic, but a Behemoth! Do you think the Dark Magician can move freely?”

At Zhenya’s words, Ulyssia regained her senses.

For a moment…

The principle that they obey those with stronger magic was not only applicable among dark magicians.

“If they are being controlled…”

Then, running somewhere would have been a clearly strange situation.

The moment they succumbed to horror and became dominated by magic, they would’ve been swept away by Behemoth’s madness and fury, extending a dreadful hand to Zenia and the Princess.

“Have they run away? No, that doesn’t make sense…”

If they maintained their sense, one of the two things is true.

Either miraculously, their magic is so strong as to not be overridden by Behemoth’s, and a competition is going on, or they’re dominating it in turn.

But if a competition is happening, they wouldn’t have run away in such a manner. Just the occurrence of the event is evidence enough that they had the sanity to directly face Behemoth and find a way to break the situation.

If fear hadn’t seized them, logically they should’ve made a ‘more survivable’ choice. They would’ve called for the Princess and Zenia.

Not out of honor or loyalty, but because that would be a more survival-prone choice.

Although unlikely, if they were the ones dominating Behemoth…that would be a matter of tremendous significance in its own right.

If they are, in control…

It’s not a creature that a novice-level black magician can control. There was almost no possibility they had hidden potential to dominate Behemoth.

Rather, there’s a chance that they hid their power just for this moment-

“Let’s go down first. We need to figure out the situation. If we’re really unlucky… it might already be too late by the time we get there.”

The Princess couldn’t dare refute Zenia’s words.

“If not, we should call for a cleric who can expertly use healing or defensive spells.”

“Alright.”

Alicia reluctantly nodded. Leaving the tent as it was, they ran toward the base of the mountain.

/////

“Where are youuu!!!”

“Princessssss!!!!”

The knight shouted out to the Princess, burying her doubts deep in her heart.

Could it be true?

The meeting with Katarin, the information she provided.

It’s unclear where truth ends and fabrication begins, but at least the information about danger today was true.

“There’s a problem in the mountains. Call the knights as soon as possible!”

From outside her field of view, a dignified voice rang.

“Eh! Oh, okay!”

The princess had spotted the knight before she did.

Despite the pouring rain, the radiance in her eyes did not vanish.

She was concerned. The one in greatest danger now, more likely to be upset than anyone, was her, yet the Princess was thinking of others first.

“But first, let’s get to the bottom…”

“There are still survivors above! My colleague! We need to gather the academy’s knights and magicians as soon as possible and prepare to rescue them!”

“It’s too dangerous right now! You should stay safe until the situation is stabilized…”

“That’s not possible.”

The knight realized, looking into the Princess’ eyes.

She wasn’t throwing a tantrum.

She wasn’t expressing her wishes, or trying to negotiate with the knight.

She simply told the knight the hard truth, that staying safe wasn’t possible.

“…”

A little envy rose in the knight’s heart.

She knew very well that she was not special.

It was a natural occurrence for promising knights to enroll in the academy alongside the royal and high-ranking nobility.

Those who entered this way would form a group, intending to serve the noble successor and share in their glory.

However, the princess required none of that.

Even without those serving her, the princess was still the princess. Those who saw her had the conviction that, even if she led dogs and horses, orcs and goblins, she would not lose her dignity and authority.

However, that was not the case for those serving her. Those who followed the princess into the academy did not share these sentiments.

The princess did not like unnecessary attendance, she also did not enjoy moving in large groups.

She was kind to anyone who approached, but she promised nothing special to them.

Oh…

Still, they thought this time would be different.

It was a sad incident when Stella, a candidate for the Saint, fell, but it was an opportunity for them.

Even if the princess was hesitant to accept their help, in this situation, they believed that she would have no choice but to rely on her followers.

They thought they were the ones who would faithfully dedicate themselves to the princess, even to the point of expelling any formed team.

Why, again… why did they have to…

But, the princess chose an unknown dark magician.

Without any proof of loyalty, without any guarantee of ability, she simply chose a woman who was only incompetent and could not form a team until the last moment.

“…”

The knight trusted the princess. At any moment, his loyalty would not fade.

But this loyalty and love couldn’t fully erase the jealousy he felt towards others.

“They were…”

What she was doing now was a clear sin. It was a crime.

Even if he was questioned later, it was the worst possible action without any excuses.

Still…

The knight rationalized his actions.

It was for the princess. It was advice that came from a desire to ensure her safety.

Even if this caused a problem and he had to atone, he would do it again for the princess.

It’s not without reason. Catharine said there was no basis for his suspicion, but that malicious and hypocritical woman could not have spoken without reason.

Her method of obtaining the evidence was overly specific and cunning, but she certainly had confidence and was spreading information to the knight.

“It’s already gone down.”

“What?”

In the princess’s expression, confusion and joy were mixed.

“Is that, true?”

The princess questioned the knight, perhaps noticing the fear and uneasiness in his eyes.

“Weren’t there only the princess’s party members who went up there?”

“…That’s right.”

“One man, one woman. I didn’t see it myself, but when we met another searching team in the area, they were together-“

The lie was growing and expanding.

It couldn’t be helped. It was unknown whether the two were the instigators of this problem, or simply victims swept up in a big event, but either way, this was the right course of action.

Nothing could be as valuable as the princess’s life on the opposing scale.

If they died, it was just a sad incident. The knight wasn’t the one who killed them, there was no reason to feel guilty.

“What a relief… it is.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Unable to relax, the knight hastily nodded.

“Of course, that monster could not stop the princess, but this is the academy. How about letting the caretakers do their job?”

“…”

The princess looked regretfully at the mountain. However, she soon shook her head reluctantly.

“You are right. Zhenia, what do you think?”

“I agree. Let’s ensure safety first, then slowly stabilize the magical storm and see who is inside.”

It was over. The knight exhaled a sigh of relief.

He completely erased the necromancer named Katarin from his mind.