“You’re the daughter of the wolf-human chieftain, aren’t you? Well, this is the first time we’ve exchanged proper greetings.”

“…….”

“Don’t glare at me so. It’s a wound, after all. Right—if I take you with me, that would leave me owing that fellow a debt, wouldn’t it? What do you say? If you follow me, I won’t destroy these stone blocks. Then there might be a chance you return alive.”

It was a deception, of course. Maria intended to slaughter the X-Class students right here regardless of what Bell chose.

‘While I was cooped up in the Demon Lord’s castle, you lot spent every day with Lady Chris. It makes me jealous.’

“Now, make your choice—oh.”

However, mid-sentence, Bell vanished in an instant.

It seemed she had used concealment magic, but—

“My ‘eye’ can easily see through parlor tricks of that caliber, little wolf miss. Hide-and-seek is fun, but drag this out any longer and…”

That was when it happened. The chimera pack suddenly began to whimper uneasily, shuffling about in agitation.

‘What is this? As if they sensed danger approaching.’

Maria narrowed his eyes and focused his hearing.

Rumble….

The sound of the earth trembling reached his ears.

‘Something is approaching.’

Not just one or two. A herd. And not a small one, either.

‘From the Academy? I confirmed that everyone inside had already fled, so what are those?’

In the distance, what had looked like dots rapidly drew closer. Through the swirling clouds of dust, what came into view was—

-Neeeigh! Brrrr, neigh!

“Horses?”

Countless horses came galloping, dragging carriages behind them.

Maria couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

Horses, out of nowhere? Could someone be inside those carriages?

“No, there’s not a single coachman in sight. Then the horses simply went on a rampage…”

That was unlikely.

They were charging straight toward Maria. In other words, they were galloping without so much as fearing the Demon Lord standing between them and their destination.

‘No matter how distracted my lord is, playing with the young master, would mere beasts charge at him like this?’

This was undoubtedly someone’s handiwork. Either the horses’ eyes and ears had been covered, or something more terrifying than the Demon Lord was chasing them from behind, making it impossible to stop.

“But could some mere shepherd dog more terrifying than my lord possibly exist?”

Unbelievable. As he thought this and turned to see what was coming up from the rear—

“Gwahahaha! Make way, make way! The true Lord of 『Destruction』 and 『Terror』 has descended right here! Move unless you want to die!”

Accompanied by that outrageous clamor, a man with an eyepatch over one eye was seen weaving recklessly through the horses.

Astonishing speed. Eyes that rivaled a madman’s.

But more than anything else, what sent Maria’s mind reeling was—

“You son of a bitch, why are you riding that?!!!”

The fact that the bastard had his ass planted on the very gift he had given to Chris.

The skeletal horse that Chris used to call Sagol.

“You damned bastard, get off right now!!!”

“Gwahaha, I don’t take orders from anyone weaker than me!”

‘Just as I thought, he’s riled up. The master’s words were spot on!’

Ryan shot back with a confident grin and thought to himself.

Just a few days earlier.

Ryan, who had been taking some personal recovery time to nurse the pain of heartbreak, received a summons from Chris.

The place he was called to was none other than the school stables.

A long row of horses and carriages belonging to the Academy stretched out before him.

There, Chris handed Ryan a small bone-shaped ornament.

“Master, this is…?”

“It’s your weapon now. Keep it out of sight.”

“…! W-Wait, don’t tell me. You’re finally passing down your secret weapon?!”

“If you’re going to spout bullshit, give it back.”

“Understood! I mean, yes, ma’am! But how am I supposed to use this…? I’ve never seen a weapon like this in my life…”

Chris looked at Ryan and smiled. It was no different from her usual smirk, of course, but from Ryan’s perspective, it looked almost like a smile of trust.

“That’s for you to figure out. Isn’t there something you do best?”

“…!”

Causing trouble. Not listening to anyone. Running wild. Provoking anyone and everyone. The quintessential rebel.

“When the time comes, don’t hesitate. Be yourself. No one in their right mind would look at you and think you’re sane.”

She needed Ryan—the student who had driven countless Academy professors to madness.

It was the moment the dead Roleplay Addict’s heart began to beat again.

‘So to avoid betraying the master’s trust, I have to do my absolute best to wreck this whole operation!’

“Gah!”

“Uwaaah, don’t come! Don’t—agh!”

“Neigh! Brrrr! Neigh!”

“Eeeeek!”

“Kuahahat, I can hear it! The sound of beasts fleeing with their tails between their legs in terror! Yes! If you value your lives, you should run! Before the Emperor Ryan and his trusty skeletal steed knight!”

“You bastaaard! I said get off right now!”

A complete disaster.

That single word summed up the situation.

It was like hurling a massive boulder into a placid lake.

Or rather, boulders, plural.

“H-Hiik! Run! Run!”

With Maria’s judgment clouded, the chimeras he had been commanding lost all sense of direction.

Amidst the chaos, the frenzied horses charged forward with their carriages, and in an instant, the formation collapsed—

“Gah! S-Save me! Save me!”

Deserters trampled under hooves emerged one after another, making a mockery of the Demon Lord’s army’s name.

“If you thought you could escape the Emperor’s Eye, you’re sorely mistaken! Even if you’re going down, I’ll avenge my comrades first!”

Ryan didn’t let such targets slip by—he either dispatched them with magic or trampled them with the skeletal horse, weaving through the chaos.

“You son of a bitch, I’ll turn you to stone right now! Stop! I said stop!”

Maria swung his massive arms in a frenzy, but he couldn’t match Ryan’s speed.

Worse still, his attacks caught his own chimeras in the crossfire, and the damage only mounted.

“What a pity. I don’t hear any happy sounds of prey being found. Was it Kruururu? Or maybe Krrrng?”

“You’re crushing someone else’s creation with your filthy ass, yet you certainly run your mouth well…!”

“What, do you ride a horse with your head instead of your ass?”

As Ryan kept running his mouth, Maria ground his teeth.

Why did that bastard have the gift he’d given Chris?

Chris wouldn’t have given it away or let it be taken. ‘My’ Chris wouldn’t do that.

“You deceived and stole from her with underhanded tricks, while pretending to be an obedient disciple and fawning at her feet! I cannot bear such repulsiveness!”

“For someone in the Demon Lord’s army, you talk like a model student, huh? That’s a line someone else should be saying!”

For instance, this guy! With the Lion’s roar, a shield burst forth from behind him.

A shield made of light. Its brilliance pierced Maria’s eyes.

It was Nika’s.

“Tch?! You broke the petrification already? Impossible! Do you know how carefully I crafted that curse…!”

“Heh, a paltry curse like that is useless against me!”

Nika stepped forward with a triumphant air.

It was all bluster, of course.

In reality, it was thanks to Bell, hidden in concealment, who had dispelled the petrification magic for him.

While the Lion had drawn Maria’s attention.

‘The next person to release from petrification is…’

The answer was clear.

He’d heard the story beforehand, after all.

“Enough, none of that matters! I’ll just curse you again! Let’s see how far that flimsy shield can protect you!”

-Screech!

As Maria swung his arms in a threat, faces began pouring out once more.

But this time, things didn’t go as Maria expected.

“What…?!”

The shield, which should have been shining on its own, was now covered in glittering ice.

“Hah, hah… Phew, that was close.”

It was Andante’s handiwork.

In other words, a surface capable of reflecting Maria’s attack had been created.

Much like when Chris had repelled the Spirits in the cliff cave.

“N-No way. No way—!”

Maria screamed in despair and belatedly tried to dodge the reflected curse.

But his two arms were far too heavy.

Far too many Spirits clung to them.

“….”

In the end, Maria was turned to stone where he stood. Before long, he crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

The flying monster that had been carrying his body fled the moment his control vanished.

For one who had always been surrounded by monsters, it was a pitiful end.

“…Well, there’ll be one more statue in front of the school gates now. Right?”

Andante shrugged and made a joke that didn’t suit the moment.

Nika offered a weak laugh in response.

“True. But looking at this, I think I’ll be scared to come to school every day.”

“Honestly, me too.”

“They should put it somewhere out of sight~ It’s an eyesore.”

Sharp-tongued for someone just freed from petrification. Dolce remarked, casually tossing her hair.