"Hupp!"

On a grassy field, two men of distinctive age could be seen.

The sun had already lost its scorch as it descended on the horizon, with gentle breezes reverberating through the atmosphere.

"Haaa!"

"Yeah, just like that. Keep that form, and you will leap in your swordsmanship even without the use of mana".

The one who was currently instructing the hero was an elderly man in his late sixties, or so did he seem.

The man came here upon the request of his granddaughter, Sicily, to train the hero Kyouki for some 'certain' unexpected purposes.

Since the old man, Hachi, didn't have any objection to teaching such a fine young man who happened to be a hero too, the old man teleported here from a faraway place and initiated the training.

After sparring with Kyouki and identifying his flaws, the old man used his experience to instill some of the stances and ancient techniques in the hero so he could stay standing in the long run.

Since Hachi wasn't much proficient with mana, he doesn't train using magical enhancement to his technique, thus teaching Kyouki too, how he should handle things if somehow mana disappears from the world.

Currently, Kyouki's upper body was completely exposed, which showed a lot of cuts and bruises, which he felt like a trophy to adorn.

There were quite a number of women and some faculties who came to sneak on Kyouki and enjoy the scene, which in normal circumstances, they couldn't. 

The party members of Kyouki were also training on their own weaknesses and sharpening their strengths with the help of Rachael and headmaster Merlin.

Back on the grassy field, the black eyes of the hero, despite looking determined and concentrated on his training, his mind was not focused at all.

'I can't sense either of them....'

Kyouki, after returning from the northern empire, seems to be distant from Luna, but in reality, he still cares for her.

During his stay in the foreign lands, he realized that Austin wasn't using any dirt to keep Luna by his side. Even he hates to admit; he has seen how much love Luna carries for the blond youth.

He wasn't a shameless bastard to keep meddling in their business when their love was consensual, but he just couldn't move forward from the love he had nurtured for more than half a year.

It was Kyouki's first love after all....

'Will my hard work make any difference, Luna? Will you ever look at me again?'

He was in a daze as his body moved subconsciously. It wasn't the first time, he got lost in his imaginary lane where only ruled a single woman, but he didn't let it show in front of his other party members.

Even steadily, Kyouki has started to realize what kind of emotion his party members carry for him. And he knows better than anyone what it feels like if the person you love loves someone else.

Kyouki wouldn't stop loving Luna. He can't. But he would do all to reciprocate the emotions that his party members have been nurturing for him. 

'Maybe that way, you might find me worthy...'

Suddenly his train of thoughts and the movement of his blade came to a halt, which naturally attracted the old man's attention too.

"What happened, boy?"

From the look on Hero's face, it seemed something grave had just taken place as he slowly turned his body in an aimless direction.

**SWISSSH** 

Like a gust of wind, Sicily arrived just beside Kyouki with a worried expression spread across her flawless face as she called out for him.

"Kyou-kun...did you feel it..?"

Her heart was racing to the point she completely ignored her grandfather. The anxiety blended with a glimpse of fear made quite an amount of ripples in her usual calm mind.

Kyouki looked at the distant sky while judging a lot of things, and from what he sensed, even he became a lot anxious.

"Yeah. The front line has been ambushed. I can feel the dense miasma and the evil intent from this far. Sicily!"

"H-Hai!"

Being called so suddenly, Sicily stood straight as she replied in a fluster.

"Gather the others and tell them about the situation. Since headmaster Merlin must have also sensed the danger, he would take care of the school fortification. So we better do what we can. "

Sicily nodded with a profound expression before she chanted a spell underneath her.

"I will meet you at the front gate, Kyou-kun. Please be safe."

"Mm. I will, Sicily."

Smiling reassuringly, Kyouki saw Sicily drifting away as he heard the hoarse voice of the man beside him.

"You better not make my granddaughter cry, or I will hunt you down by all means."

Without turning toward the voice, Kyouki kept his gaze in the direction Sicily left as he muttered under his breath.

"I promise."

____________________________ 

"Has everyone assembled?"

"Yes, Commander!"

Rachael nodded upon hearing the report as he focused his gaze toward the northern forest while standing on the fort wall of the Eden Academy.

"Do we have that many soldiers to cover the whole perimeter?"

Kyouki asked as he glanced around the vicinity.

"Well, we can't cover this humongous place which is slightly less inbuilt than the royal palace.  But yeah, we have eyes all around the school for any unexpected ambush."

The school was built with 25 kilometers of sq ft in dimension. The number of soldiers from the royal capital wasn't any less but providing utmost security in each corner was close to impossible until not every soldier from Gram gathered around the fort.

The northern side was under the watch of the hero's party with the amount of five hundred soldiers in hand. The Eastern side was being guarded by the explorer group along with the Headmaster, with the same number of soldiers as the Northern Vanguard.

The Northern and Eastern areas were the most critical sides of the school as the intent from the monsters was at its peak from those two cardinals.

"I just hope that the explorer group does-"

Suddenly Kyouki's words broke down abruptly as his eyes widened in utter shock.

Rachael also seemed to notice the same as Kyouki, as he also felt his heart going cold for several seconds as both men faced the front simultaneously.

"Kyouki-kun...is that what I am thinking?"

Lilia, with a deep frown adorning her slight baby-like face, asked as she tugged meekly on Kyouki's sleeve.

With a resolute face, Kyouki nodded as he announced the scariest revelation, much to everyone's fret.

"The front line has been breached. I think it's time."

_________________ 

Amidst the chaos that spread among the masses who were standing to protect the Academy after they heard the news of front-line failure, two figures enjoyed the scene far above anyone's perception.

These two silhouettes, just from outer appearance, seemed inhuman, and adding the leakage of slight miasma, it became certain of what origin they belonged to.

"Waah~ How amusing is it to see the human preparing to counter something inevitable~."

Shivering in delight was an inhuman woman with a petite figure as she hugged her curvy body while staring at nothing but only the group of humans standing on the fort.

Her blood-red eyes were staring intently at the human figure of a black-haired boy who was wearing golden armor all over his body and a great sword hanging on his back 

"Don't take this lightly, Philia. That blond human boy and that Headmaster are dangerous beings."

The tall muscular undefined inhuman, spoke in a stern tone as he eyed the vicinity; as he failed to spot one of the humans the demon was wary of.

"Well, yeah, they are~ But without their blessings..."

As the female demon said, a skull-shaped artifact appeared right in the center of her palm as she continued.

"...They are nothing more than ants who are destined to be trampled upon~"

________________________

A/N:- Let the chaos commence

Editor : Zenon #4120