Chapter 294: Iron Fairy Subjugation (4)He felt as if he were being pulled somewhere, taking steps toward the sensation.


    At the age of eight, Noah Bartin stumbled upon a graveyard of swords while holding the hand of his little sister, Taryn Bartin.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Just days ago, the ce was a simple in. Noah and Taryn instantly sensed something was amiss.


    The sheer number of swords made it unlikely they were ced there for a particr purpose.


    The swords themselves looked anything but ordinary.


    “Brother, let’s go back. I’m scared…”


    “If you want to go back, go ahead.”


    “Why do you want to go through here? Aren’t you scared?”


    “I’m scared. But somehow, I feel like I have to go there… Huh?”


    As they reached the center of the graveyard, the two children found a skull on the ground.“Eek! B-Brother…!”


    The young Taryn clung tightly to Noah’s arm, trembling with fear.


    Noah’s gaze shifted forward, and he saw a hill made of skulls.


    There stood a massive, ash-colored greatsword, seemingly several times his size.


    <strong>[Come here.]</strong>


    At that moment, a faint voice echoed in Noah’s ear.


    The pull he felt suddenly grew stronger.


    “Taryn, wait here.”


    Taryn continued to tug at Noah’s sleeve, pleading to leave, but he left her behind and approached the greatsword.


    Noah climbed the hill of skulls and gripped the hilt of the greatsword with his small hands. He felt as if he absolutely needed to.


    At that moment, iron mana surged from the greatsword as if it had been waiting for this moment.


    “Ugh!”


    The iron mana pierced Noah’s body, flowing into him.


    Noah screamed in pain.


    “A-argh!!”


    “Brother! Kyaa!”


    A wave of mana spread out, blocking Taryn from approaching as if warning her not to interfere.


    As his consciousness faded, Noah saw another child, seemingly his age.


    Though the child’s face was shadowed, making his expressions unreadable, Noah could tell his body was made of iron.


    <strong>[My name is Rachnil.]</strong>


    The iron child introduced himself.


    <strong>[Wee, I’ve been waiting for you.]</strong>


    “Aaaagh!!”


    The Iron Fairy Rachnil listened to Noah’s screams with a pure smile, unaffected.


    Noah had to endure terrible pain to fully integrate Rachnil’s iron mana and be its vessel.


    “Run, Ta… ryn…!”


    Even amidst the agony, Noah only worried about his sister, Taryn.


    <em>Swish!!</em>


    Noah was in pain as he relived through his memories.


    As if to cut through memory, a sharp sound interrupted him as Hilde swung her Frostscythe to cut through an Iron Knight.


    The cold air touched his skin.


    Noah snapped back to reality, gasping as he pushed himself off the ground.


    “You… Ice Sovereign…?”


    Before him stood a young man with silver-blue hair.


    Despite being his age, this young man was an Elemental King, a tremendous powerhouse.


    It was Isaac from M?rchen Academy.


    ***“Get up. You can still move, can’t you?”


    Just as I thought. I knew this would happen.


    The iron mana inside Noah was steadily being drained away.


    This was Rachnil’s domain, and the iron mana was surely being absorbed.


    He seemed to be caught in an illusion, unable to do anything while being targeted by Rachnil.


    <em>But he still has plenty of mana left, so he should be fine.</em>


    Unlike in ?Magic Knight of M?rchen?, Noah hadn’t used any mana yet.


    He should still have enough energy to move.


    “Haa…”


    Noah staggered to his feet.


    “Hilde, please take care of the other students.”


    <strong>[Understood.]</strong>


    <em>Whoosh!</em>


    Hilde disappeared in an instant, leaving only a trace of cold air.


    <em>She’s faster than I thought.</em>


    Even in her half-human form, her physical abilities were remarkable.


    “Who was that just now…?”


    “She’s an ally of mine. You don’t need to know more.”


    “Oh…”


    “Follow me.”


    “Ah, okay…!”


    As I started running, Noah followed behind me.


    I read Noah’s psychology. He seemed to be thinking about the moment I attacked Rachnil.


    “Uhm, Ice Sovereign…! What are you nning to do? Even you would be helpless in front of the entity at the top…”


    “Nah, I’d win.”


    I assured Noah, implying he shouldn’t worry about unnecessary things.


    If I didn’t win, it would be all over anyway. But just like all the battles I had been in up til now, I’d win.


    Noah’s eyes widened slightly.


    “Abel!”


    “Finally found you!”


    Not far from where we started, we reunited with Abel, who was carrying Ian on his back.


    I already knew where they were heading thanks to [irvoyance]. There were no issues.


    Abel looked relieved upon seeing me.


    “Senior Isaac, what exactly is going on…?”


    “The Iron Fairy is ying a game with us, and the situation outside must be utter chaos.”


    “F-fairy…?”


    Rachnil’s mana would be spreading over the entire area outside, creating a sea of molten iron and a rain of swords.


    The high-ranking wizards under the Emperor would be doing their best to resist, but they wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.


    They would be struggling just to approach the Iron Sanctuary, likely evacuating the people of Aldreque and trying to find a solution.


    Rachnil was creating an iron heart on the top floor of the sanctuary, continuously feeding the iron sea with power. This would be the heart of his newly imed territory,


    In other words, Rachnil intended to amuse himself with us until the iron sea spread enough to form his new domain.


    Anyone who survived this game and waspatible with iron mana would be his direct servant. Otherwise, they’d be turned into mindless subordinates.


    <em>To think he’d turn the entire world against him.</em>


    The more I thought about it, the more arrogant and foolish he seemed.


    “How’s Ian doing?”


    “He’s still out cold!”


    “Lay him down for a second.”


    “Yes, sir!”


    As Abelid Ian on the ground, I approached and pped his cheeks repeatedly, like a spinning fan.


    <em>Smack! Smack! Smack!</em>


    “Ian, wake up, wake up, wake up.”


    “S-Senior Isaac! You’ll kill him!”


    I ignored Abel’s urgent cry, knowing this guy was tough enough.


    Soon, Ian’s eyes fluttered open.


    “…Hmm?”


    “You’re awake?”


    Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Ian regained consciousness, his cheeks swollen.


    “Senior Ian, you’re awake!”


    “Isaac? Abel…? Was that a trap? I can’t remember anything after feeling a blow to the back of my head.”


    “Yeah, that trap was quite strong…”


    “Where are we?”


    I grabbed Ian’s arm and helped him up.


    “I’ll exin as we go.”


    “Something big happened, right? I can feel a terrifying power from above…”


    “We’re going to take that guy down. I need you.”


    “Ah… I get it. One of those situations, huh? Just like back at the academy.”


    Ian smiled and held out his fist.


    “Leave it to me, Isaac! I’ve gotten a lot stronger over the break!”


    “Just don’t pass out.”


    Despite fainting often, Ian was the main character who always managed to pull through in the end.


    He had the ability to remain calm and think clearly despite any emergencies he mighte across. He also had a strong sense of justice.


    With the Luminous Sword, he had now reached the level ofbat power I’d expect from him.


    <em>Rumble!!</em>


    “Whoa! W-what’s happening?!”


    Suddenly, a deafening roar shook the sanctuary.


    Another powerful force had descended from the top.


    “Dorothy, Kaya…?”


    I looked up at the ceiling, feeling the strong starlight and nt mana. Dorothy and Kaya must have broken into the Iron Sanctuary.


    As fairy kins, they had the power of fairies. They must have broken through the outer wall to stop Rachnil.


    <em>They must be trying to stop the heart from beingpleted…</em>


    I tried to use [irvoyance] to check the top floor, but Rachnil’s barrier blocked me.


    Dorothy and Kaya couldn’t defeat Rachnil. I had to hurry up and join them.


    “Ian, Noah, you two follow me.”


    “Me, too?”


    Noah looked surprised.


    “You have business with the guy upstairs, right?”


    “…Yes, I do.”


    “Thene along. I need you too.”


    A glint appeared in Noah’s eyes.


    His desire for revenge silently burned.


    He was eager to resolve this situation quickly, knowing his sister Taryn Bartin was in danger.


    “Thank you.”


    Well, his emotional reasons didn’t matter much to me. Noah had toe with me to face Rachnil anyway.


    After defeating Rachnil, Noah would be the only one able to absorb his remains and grow stronger. His strength would be helpful too.


    <em>Iron King Noah…</em>


    That would be his future title.


    If I left him indebted to me now, he might join in the Evil God Subjugationter on.


    “Senior Isaac, I…!”


    “Take this to our academy’s base.”


    I took a note out of my pocket and handed it to Abel.


    “What is this?”


    “It’s the clue to the location of the keys. I made a rough sketch of it.”


    “What?! Senior Isaac, you knew where all the keys were…?”


    It was not long after the Academy sh began…


    Using [irvoyance], I had scanned the entire tournament stage and recorded some peculiar things that seemed like hints for the keys.


    “Well, you are you after all…”


    “There’s a covenant here in this sanctuary, just as Rachnil mentioned. Once you open the vault in the center, the enemies will really stop targeting you. Until then, Alice and my familiars will protect you. Work with the other academy students to find all the keys and open the vault as soon as possible.”


    The covenant was a convincing lie.


    Rachnil would stick to his word anyway. But being too honest about it might make them uneasy. Also, Alice and Hilde needed to join me once the students were safe.


    Especially Hilde, since she and I could share power.


    In other words, it meant I could transfer the power of my unique trait [Nightfalls’ Edge] to her.


    “I’ll do as you say!”


    Abel gave a sharp salute and dashed off.


    As expected of the top student in ss B from the Knight Department’s first-year, he was incredibly fast.


    “Ian.”


    “Yeah.”


    “We’re heading straight to the top.”


    “That’s what I was hoping for.”


    Ian extended his right arm to the side.


    With a shimmering sound, a pure white aura, with a hint of iridescence, gathered in his right hand and transformed into a holy sword.


    <em>That’s the real… Luminous Sword.</em>


    The Luminous Sword, Ian’s ultimate weapon imbued with Divine Power.


    Seeing it in person, I felt an inexplicable swell of emotion.


    Having yed ?Magic Knight of M?rchen? countless times, I suddenly realized just how much I had grown attached to this character.


    “What is that…?”


    Noah muttered quietly as he stared at the iridescent de, seemingly recognizing the grandness of the sword in Ian’s hand.


    The moment of sentimentality was brief.


    I pulled out the Obsidian de, gripping it with both hands as I infused it with ice and earth mana.


    Ian infused the Luminous Sword with an even more radiant Divine Power.


    And then…


    <em>That girl is also a problem.</em>


    A female student had been secretly following me for a while now.


    Her ability to conceal her presence and tail me was impressive. Without [irvoyance], I wouldn’t have noticed her.


    I nced over. Even though she was hiding in the shadows, just one strand of her hair sticking out from behind the wall was enough to trigger my status window.


    [Methel Valencia]


    Lv: 185


    Race: Heavenly Being


    Elements: Light


    Danger: Extreme


    Psychology: [ns to assassinate you while you’re upied fighting the Iron Fairy.]


    Even though she wore a Betrix Academy uniform, there was no way I wouldn’t know about such a strong individual.


    But today was the first time I’d seen her.


    In short, she was Vuel’s subordinate.


    A Heavenly being disguised as a human.


    <em>nning to strike while I’m distracted, huh…?</em>


    My eyebrow furrowed and a chuckle escaped me.


    <em>I’ll have to take advantage of you.</em>


    “Let’s go.”


    “Yeah.”


    From now on, it was a sprint to the top.