-It’s an attack!

The demons were the first to notice the approaching storm.

The demons stationed at the rear of the army, waiting for fresh blood and souls, recoiled in shock as the sudden magical tempest descended upon them.

-How dare you!

The Nine-Headed Demon, subordinate to Esadojikwa and chief among the demon blacksmiths, roared in fury.

And the roar was not merely an expression of rage.

The hellish siege weapons prepared by the demons unleashed their firepower all at once.

——–!

The souls of mortals imprisoned within the copper cannons screamed as they transformed into streams of energy. Facing the destructive force that tore through space itself and scorched the earth, the young Skeleton Principal teleported away while speaking in contempt.

“Demons. Your race will pay for this evil for all eternity.”

-Such grand words from a mere mortal. Mage! You do not possess the power to take revenge upon me—much less upon my race.

“We shall see.”

The young Skeleton Principal lightly raised a hand.

A tiny droplet of water appeared above his fingertip. It was a perfectly spherical droplet.

No demon present could comprehend the magic he had just displayed.

A single floating drop of water? What could that possibly—

Bang!

Before their confusion could even settle, the impact arrived.

The instant the droplet left the young Skeleton Principal’s hand, it accelerated beyond the limits of perception.

A conical shockwave erupted outward as blue-white light scattered in every direction. Yet the demons had no time to observe the phenomenon itself.

The droplet mercilessly tore through their siege weapons.

The copper cannons, war chariots, and siege rams that had imprisoned mortal souls moments earlier exploded into flames one after another. Each time the water droplet touched them, the enormous war machines forged through demon blood and labor detonated and collapsed.

It was on an entirely different level from Lee Han’s compressed rotational water.

That single droplet contained dozens of intertwined properties, concepts, and magical principles.

The demons desperately attempted to counterattack, but by then the young Skeleton Principal had already moved beyond their range.

The Nine-Headed Demon trembled with fury and bellowed.

-Mage! When I catch you, I’ll leave only your eyes and heart intact! You’ll hang there suffering for eternity!

From Lee Han’s perspective, however, the battle had already ended in the demon’s defeat.

All the massive war machines around him had been annihilated, while the demon himself could do nothing but scream in desperation.

The young Skeleton Principal completely ignored him and continued destroying the surrounding areas.

The same thing was happening wherever his projections descended.

“You again, you cursed prince!”

As the rear lines collapsed in the blink of an eye, Esadojikwa roared in fury.

Having clashed with the young Skeleton Principal several times already, he recognized the identity instantly from the magical aftermath alone.

“Failing to corrupt you was this Esadojikwa’s greatest mistake! Surround the prince! Let the other trash escape if you must, but if the prince escapes, I’ll devour every last one of you!”

The Great Demon, whose appearance resembled a minotaur, barked orders while eternal flames poured from his eyes.

At those words, the young Skeleton Principal immediately withdrew all his projections.

To face Esadojikwa and his subordinates, he could not afford to waste power maintaining them.

“These evil demons!”

“!”

The young Skeleton Principal looked back in shock.

The disciples from the distant future—whom he had explicitly ordered to remain in the air—had joined the battlefield.

“Student Lee Han! You absolutely must not come forward. Do you understand? Absolutely not!”

“I understand, so watch the front! The front!”

Lee Han slapped Professor Garcia on the back while pointing ahead.

This was not the time for Professor Garcia to worry about his disciple.

Meanwhile, Professor Voladi summoned dark blades from the air and cut down the demons charging toward them.

“No outsider shall approach this place...”

Professor Garcia closed his eyes and began chanting an incantation. In a battlefield like this, it seemed easier to concentrate with his eyes shut.

Professor Voladi attacked.

Professor Garcia defended.

And Lee Han—

“Professor! Please take my mana!”

“Student Lee Han. Don’t shout things like that so loudly!”

“???”

Lee Han looked bewildered.

“There are only demons around to hear us?”

“...Even so!”

Professor Garcia’s dignity as a professor prevented him from openly admitting he was replenishing his mana through his disciple.

Professor Voladi returned after cutting through demons for a while, absorbed mana from Lee Han, then immediately charged back into battle.

With attack, defense, and recovery perfectly synchronized, Lee Han’s group rapidly established themselves even amidst the chaotic battlefield.

Seeing that, the young Skeleton Principal finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Why did you come? I specifically told you to wait.”

“How could we just stand by while demons attacked like this? I don’t know about myself, but these two professors are definitely powerful combatants.”

“S-Student Lee Han. I’m really not that confident...”

Professor Garcia flusteredly denied it, feeling his disciple was evaluating him far too highly.

After all, he had descended here trusting Professor Voladi, not because he believed in his own combat ability.

Crackle!

At that very moment, a demon trying to force its way through Professor Garcia’s massive barrier turned instantly to ash.

The young Skeleton Principal nodded.

With abilities like these, they certainly deserved to fight on the battlefield.

“Thank you all for worrying over such an inadequate master as myself.”

“Please stop saying things like that already.”

Lee Han grimaced in disgust, and Professor Garcia unconsciously nodded in agreement.

Even after preparing themselves mentally before coming here, enduring the young Skeleton Principal’s grateful expression was still difficult.

“...No! Those bastards?!”

Lee Han, who had been speaking, suddenly noticed the situation changing and stared in disbelief.

Taking advantage of the opening created in the demons’ encirclement, the city’s magical nobles and their subordinates were fleeing.

Even at Einroguard, when demons attack, people fight together!

Lee Han was furious at such shameless cowardice.

“Lord Gonadaltes! Just give the order! Professor Voladi will wipe them all out!”

Professor Voladi did not deny it.

Though his appearance had changed greatly, the young Skeleton Principal was still his master, and hunting down traitors who abandoned that master was naturally a disciple’s duty.

However, the young Skeleton Principal shook his head.

“Leave them. It’s actually better if they’re no longer in the way.”

No matter how much he despised the city’s magical nobles, many ordinary retainers were among them as well.

The young Skeleton Principal had no intention of sacrificing them over petty resentment.

“Prince. Surely you are not foolish enough to sacrifice yourself to save that trash?”

Esadojikwa, who harbored deep resentment toward the prince, immediately changed tactics.

If the fleeing mages somehow formed part of his opponent’s strategy, he could not simply ignore them. His pride would never allow it.

“Pursue them! Hunt them down and slaughter everything in sight!”

“!”

The young Skeleton Principal’s expression shifted slightly.

It was not because he worried about the magical nobles. Having escaped the encirclement, they possessed more than ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) enough ability to save themselves.

What worried him were the civilians gathered near the city gates.

If the magical nobles changed course and intercepted the demons near the gates, that would be one thing. But given their arrogant and selfish nature, they would undoubtedly rush straight through the gates toward the safest district of the city.

And if that happened, bloodshed near the gates would become inevitable.

The fleeing nobles would force their way through first, and the demons would arrive immediately after—

The young Skeleton Principal made his decision instantly.

One of his projections broke through the interference and raced toward the gates faster than anyone else.

The gates!

Lee Han immediately realized what the young Skeleton Principal intended.

Even in the middle of this battle, he was continuing the gate work using the southern jade and mermaid tears.

And he was maintaining a separate projection for it at the same time.

“Lord Gonadaltes, you need to concentrate!”

While blocking the demons charging from behind alongside the professors, Lee Han shouted.

The demons attacking from all sides desperately focused their attacks on Lee Han. They had already figured out where Professor Garcia and Professor Voladi kept replenishing their mana.

“How dare you show carelessness before me, Esadojikwa, Prince. Today will be your end!”

Esadojikwa also seemed to realize that the young Skeleton Principal had made a reckless move.

Without giving him even a moment to recover, the Great Demon charged forward.

The blood-red axe absorbed surrounding magic as ghostly wails echoed from it.

“Lord Gonadaltes! Cancel the projection and continue the work another time!”

Despite Lee Han’s shout, the young Skeleton Principal shook his head.

“Disciple.”

“Yes?”

“Yeongnak is not actually a very difficult spell.”

“What...?!”

It was an absurdly calm statement considering a Great Demon was charging toward him while radiating murderous intent.

Lee Han was getting anxious just watching.

“Just as you came here because you genuinely worried for me, sincerely care for other people as well. Then you will soon understand.”

With those final words, the young Skeleton Principal clashed head-on against Esadojikwa.

The burden of maintaining the projection working on the gates forced him backward, but he did not stop.

Blood streamed from his eyes and nose, yet he continued casting spell after spell.

“That princeling... still acting leisurely even now!”

Despite holding the advantage, Esadojikwa growled in humiliation.

Watching the scene, Lee Han realized he had to intervene somehow.

At the very least, I can provide mana!

He had promised Professor Garcia not to step forward, but exceptions existed for situations like this.

Surely Professor Garcia would understand.

But at that exact moment, the surrounding space suddenly distorted.

“The scepter!”

Professor Garcia shouted in alarm.

The scepter had begun forcibly returning Lee Han’s group to their original era.

Professor Garcia’s complexion darkened at the unexpectedly early activation.

What would happen to the young Skeleton Principal if they vanished in the middle of battle?

However, the young Skeleton Principal merely smiled calmly.

“Go back, my disciples. This is not your era.”

“But—!”

“We will meet again someday. That alone is enough. Now go!”

As he spoke his farewell, a spatial vortex swept through the battlefield.

The charging demons were flung aside, and Lee Han’s group was swallowed into the dimensional passage.

The final sight Lee Han witnessed was the young Skeleton Principal standing before the castle gates, enduring Esadojikwa’s assault to the very end.

***

Pop!

“...!”

After returning to Einroguard, Lee Han staggered slightly.

It wasn’t merely because of the artifact’s recoil.

...Honestly... I was moved.

Not by overwhelming magic.

Not by mountains of gold.

But by nothing more than attitude alone.

The final scene he had witnessed left that deep of an impression on him.

In a miserable, merciless era where an entire kingdom sought to harm him, the young Skeleton Principal had continued performing good deeds without wavering.

Not simply to learn Yeongnak magic, but because he had personally witnessed that past—

Lee Han resolved to become at least a slightly more generous and kind person from now on.

Right. Even if I can’t become like the young Principal, I should at least treat other people a little more...

-How dare you put other hamsters inside my cage?!

Now that they had safely returned and finally had time to breathe, the hamster angrily squeaked in outrage.

-If you ever do that again—

“They’re gone now, so what’s the problem?! The young Principal was risking his life to save people, and you’re still complaining because another hamster got put in your cage? Have some shame!”

-...

The hamster closed its mouth with a deeply wronged expression.