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nThere were three major areas plagued by an insufferable amount of Shadow Demons.

nOne was the General Library

nThe other two were Restricted Zones accessible only to the Staff of Ainzlark–and even then, only those with the appropriate clearance were permitted within.

nKuzon alone was assigned to the General Library on his own. Ciara was given charge over the second toughest spot, while a good amount of the Rankers handled the last saturated area.

nMany would have viewed Jared’s actions to be that of a madman–assigning two students individual tasks and sending them to the heart of the enemy’s forces–or at least close.

nHowever, since the people in question held no complaint on the matter, no one could say anything. Jared explained that his decision was fair, and that he simply gave everyone the roles he felt they could handle.

nThis sent a message to everyone present; that Ciara and Kuzon as individuals were stronger than a bunch of Rankers. Usually, it would be considered insulting, if not downright conceited, however… no one said anything.

nIf someone as brilliant and powerful as Jared Leonard deemed it so, that was what it had to be. After all he had shown, there was no room for doubt in the hearts of most. Besides, they were also partially grateful that they weren’t the ones undertaking the more difficult mission.

nWith that in mind, everyone charged toward their appointed destination. Their formation was impeccable, their goals unchanged, and their expressions displayed a firm resolve.

nThey were going to take back their Academy!

n**************

nKuzon floated through the air, staring at his surroundings with his golden eyes. They shone brightly in the dark thanks to him pouring mana into them.

nThe fact that he glided so easily in midair would tell anyone he was used to this activity, but Kuzon was simply relying on muscle memory and wasn’t even paying much mind to his flight activities.

nHis eyes took in everything around him while his mind ruminated on several things.

nIn the quiet embrace of the night, it was the perfect time to think. Still, with all the chaos around, the golden-haired boy picked the wrong time to delve deep into thought.

n“This is incredibly suspicious…”

nHe considered all Jared had said in their meeting, and he could tell that the boy was withholding some information. Whether he was doing it for the greater good or not was something Kuzon didn’t know yet.

n‘It’s clear we have a mole, but… it couldn’t possibly be Jared, right?’

nJared had contributed the most in mitigating the calamity that befell everyone, but his actions and the information he possessed showed something beyond the reach of a twelve-year-old.

nEven Kuzon, the genius, could not have thought things so well… and he knew that perfectly. Jared may have been lacking in Magic, but that was only his perspective. He far surpassed most people his age–even older.

n‘Still… it can’t be Jared…’

nThe mole had to be a Staff… a Lecturer most likely. However, Kuzon couldn’t think beyond what he suspected due to his lack of information. It was at this point that the boy wished he had been paying more attention to the people around him.

n‘Well, let’s take care of this incident first… the rest can come later…’

nWith that, Kuzon increased his pace to a phenomenal degree, and–

nWHOOOOSSSHHH!!!

n–He arrived at the General Library in no time.

nIt was a very massive building, though it wasn’t all too impressive by the young boy’s standards. The place he knew was far better than this place. Still…

n“I suppose… they did the best they could.” He murmured as he began alighting from his height.

nKuzon refused to let his feet touch the ground and remained aloft, looking at the building in front of him–as well as the enemies that had already surrounded his flank and rear.

n“You don’t need to hide.” The boy called out.

nThere was no way they could escape his superior detection. Plus, even if they attempted to ambush him, it wouldn’t work. The only reason he called out to them was because it would be a pain to kill them off one at a time.

nHe would rather get things over with quickly.

nAnd so, in response to his call, multiple shadows began surfacing. They showed up in hundreds, revealing their malevolent auras and grotesque figures. Their white eyes eyed him, and their limbs were sharpened for combat.

nSo far, according to Jared’s analysis of these creatures, they were capable of three major attacks.

nOne was the ability to alter their form–preferably their limbs–and use them for melee combat.

nThe second was their tendency to shoot projectiles from a distance by compressing their dark forms.

nThe third was the ability to generate several constructs from various parts of their bodies–even from blind spots.

nCoupled with the fact that they could turn semi-tangible, were resistant to physical assaults, and were fluid in their motion, these Shadow Demons were the perfect soldiers–and the greatest enemies for most fighters.

nStill, Kuzon wasn’t worried.

nUltimately, he simply had to mow them down. His Original Magic, while not perfect yet, utilized pure Mana. As a result, it could deal direct damage to the creatures.

nAt this rate, all he had to do was expend quite a sum of Mana to maintain it. That was also not a problem, though, thanks to his necklace.

n“Now, then…” Kuzon smiled, watching so many Shadow Demons creep up on him.

nThe rest were most likely sorting through what they wanted to obtain within the Library. After he was done with the ones surrounding him, his next goal had to be the Library building itself.

nNot even a single one was to get out alive.

n“Come!”

nVWOOOSSHHH!!!

nThe Shadows charged at Kuzon. However, they all shared the same fate.

nKuzon’s fingers snapped… and then… an eruption of blinding lightning erupted and consumed the area.

n“Shock…” He whispered.

nBOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!

nWhile ensuring his immediate vicinity was protected, everything for a large distance was consumed by the explosive blue lightning that flashed.

nThe Shadow Demons were weaker to Light, but since the Lightning element was closely linked, it also served the same purpose. In essence… it was their weakness as well.

nSHUUUUUUUU…

nOnce the smoke began hissing and the cool wind of night cooled the charred surface around him, Kuzon deemed his job to be done.

n‘I should head to the Library, then…’ He nonchalantly shrugged.

nOnce again elevating himself from his lower estate, the boy began moving in the direction of the large building. However–

n“That was one impressive display.”

n–A voice called out to him.

nInstantly, Kuzon felt a chill completely different from earlier. Instinct took over, and the casual air around him vanished. The sudden appearance of something even he hadn’t sensed startled him.

n‘This is…?!’

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