Episode 26: The One Who’s Mistaken Is the One at Fault
Lumine hadn’t come just to visit her brother in the infirmary.
She knew her little brother better than anyone.
He was absolutely not the type to lie quietly in bed and rest.
She came to deliver the news he was bound to hear sooner or later—before it blindsided him.
“The damage was pretty severe. There are countless people with major and minor injuries, and many who died.
The students took the brunt of it, but even some of the faculty didn’t make it.”
“So it wasn’t just a few attackers—it was much bigger than that.”
“They were trying to annihilate the Academy completely. If we hadn’t resisted as fiercely as we did from the inside, the damage would’ve been far worse.”
Then Lumine reached out and gently ruffled Abel’s hair.
“Bel, we owe a lot to you. Without you, things would’ve been much worse.”
“Me?”
“The professors interrogated the prisoners we captured. They say their leader was Julien—that man you held off until the very end.”
No wonder he had seemed too powerful—almost absurdly so.
Power nullification and physical enhancement.
It was the perfect combination—too perfect. For a first-time named villain, he was boss-level strong.
If someone like that had just been a foot soldier, the balance wouldn’t make any sense.
He had to be the leader.
While Abel nodded silently, processing this, Lumine turned to Seria and the four male students.
“You all fought hard, too. Thanks to you, that dangerous man couldn’t regroup with the others, and we were able to defeat the enemy that much faster.”
“We only did what we had to, senior.”
“Next time we meet, we won’t fall so easily!”
Lumine smiled fondly at their responses.
Then—ah!—she remembered the real reason she came.
She’d nearly forgotten after all the other talk.
“There’s going to be an announcement soon, Bel.”
“An announcement?”
“We got hit hard. The Academy can’t just go back to business as usual after something like this.”
At the mention of disruption to the Academy’s operations, Abel’s expression hardened.
Even if he had misunderstood the genre, it wasn’t like the world’s powers had disappeared.
There was still so much to gain here—so much to learn.
But now he was hearing that the Academy might shut down?
“Are you saying the Academy will be closed temporarily?”
“I’m not certain. But it’s possible. Right now, nations are pressuring the Empire.
The Empire’s own ability users suffered, sure, but the other countries lost their future leaders, too.
They’re saying: ‘If this is how it’s going to be, we should shut the Academy down and just go back to managing things separately like we used to.’”
Abel’s face grew colder by the second.
Temporary closure? There was even talk of shutting it down for good?
After everything he went through just to get here…
What could be more miserable than watching all his efforts turn into nothing?
“…Bel? Where are you going?”
“I won’t be satisfied until I ask directly.”
“Ask? Ask who?”
“Who’s the highest authority in the Academy?”
“The headmaster, I guess… Wait! You’re not seriously thinking of going to the headmaster, are you?! Are you out of your mind?!”
Was he ever in his right mind to begin with?
Well, no. That’s true. That’s just how it is.
The comedy routine between the Rotensilt siblings left Seria and the other students stunned.
No way… he’s not actually going to go, right? Right?
Come on, that’s ridiculous. He’s just a first-year. A total newbie.
And not just that—this is right after the Academy was attacked. It’s chaos.
And he wants to go now and question the headmaster directly? That’s absurd.
“I’ll be back.”
But when Abel put on his coat and walked out of the infirmary, everyone let out a stunned gasp.
They’d only known him briefly—but it was already clear:
If anyone was crazy enough to actually do it, it was Abel.
***
Headmaster Ludwig was beginning to understand the meaning of the phrase “I need ten bodies to do all this.”
When the Academy was attacked, he had fought on the front lines with the rest of the faculty.
It had been a long time since he’d retired from direct combat, but he hadn’t lost all his instincts.
He fought with all his strength against those who dared threaten the Academy—and they’d managed to repel the enemy.
He’d shed tears as the final numbers of the dead and wounded came in.
Nothing like this had ever happened before.
Who would even think of attacking a place swarming with ability users?
To think such a disaster came from just a moment’s carelessness…
The guilt was worse than hell.
But Ludwig never forgot he was the headmaster.
There was no time to grieve.
There was a mountain of work ahead.
To get it all done, he’d probably have to work nonstop for the next month.
He had to notify the Empire and the nations about the casualties and prepare funerals.
He had to assess the damage, lead the recovery, investigate what had happened,
And most importantly—ensure something like this never happened again.
“…You came to ask about the Academy’s future?”
And then, in the middle of it all, some student suddenly barged in demanding answers.
“Student. What was your name again?”
“Abel Rotensilt, sir.”
“Abel Rotensilt… Ah, yes. I’ve heard of you.”
After all, he was the one who had launched an all-out attack during the orientation duel…
Next, there were the rumors that he easily overpowered a third-year student.
And finally, during the power test, he caused a commotion by completely destroying the test site.
They were worried he might be overconfident in his abilities and cause trouble wherever he went.
But since no further issues had arisen, Ludwig had been quietly relieved.
“I heard Abel did some very impressive work this time. They say you stood your ground and fought against the mastermind behind all of this—someone named Julien, wasn’t it?”
“I just held him back for a bit.”
Ludwig had expected him to show off a little, but Abel didn’t even seem inclined to.
On the contrary, his expression showed that now wasn’t the time for that story. What he truly wanted was not praise, but to hear about the Academy’s future.
“If you believe I really did something worthy of praise, then I ask that you reward me by answering this: Is the Academy really going to shut down? Is it entering a temporary closure?”
“…”
Ludwig didn’t quite understand why Abel was so desperately asking about the Academy’s fate.
Some might think he was trying to cozy up to those in power—but Ludwig shook his head.
He had seen enough people in his life to tell what someone’s intentions were.
From his perspective, Abel genuinely valued the Academy itself.
“If things spiral into the worst-case scenario, yes, that might happen. The damage was too great, and it’s hard to justify keeping students here under such unease, Abel.”
“…”
“But in my personal opinion, we shouldn’t let that happen. If we back down now, it would only boost the egos of those supremacists who caused this mess.”
What the supremacists wanted was to make their presence known to the entire world.
They wanted to pressure the undecided and tempt hesitant ability-users to join them.
The people they murdered had all, in some way, been connected to opposing them.
Their tactics weren’t persuasion—it was intimidation and execution.
They killed to send a message or to silence those who stood against them.
If the Academy closed now, it would mean playing right into their hands.
If ability-users were once again isolated in their own countries, conflict would rise, and international tensions would escalate.
And in that isolation, supremacist ideologies would grow even more rampant.
Supremacists believed ability-users existed to serve the powerless.
If they twisted that logic and weaponized it, even well-meaning ability-users could falter.
That would only make their twisted ideology spread further.
“The Academy might be small, but it’s a microcosm of society. Here, ability-users learn they’re not that special or all-powerful. Outside, they may be idolized, but in here? Everyone’s an ability-user.”
“I agree.”
“It also helps each country learn about others’ ability-users and suppress potential wars. That’s true. But more importantly, it helps ability-users realize they’re still human. Forget that, and they become like the supremacists.”
Ludwig muttered the word supremacist through gritted teeth and tapped his desk, trying to hold back his anger.
That small action revealed just how furious he truly was about everything that had happened.
“You asked about the Academy’s future, didn’t you, Abel?”
“Yes, Headmaster.”
“Since you’ve done your part, I’ll tell you: we won’t back down. They attacked the Academy—so now, it’s the Academy’s turn to strike back. They gained experience in attacking us? Then we’ll use this as experience for how to fight back against ability-users like them.”
In that moment, Abel’s eyes lit up with a flash.
“Does that mean… you’re still talking with the Empire and other countries?”
“We have to take revenge. According to our intel, not all of the attackers escaped the area. Even if they’re just remnants, they were involved, so they’ll be held accountable.”
“Will students be allowed to participate in that revenge?”
“Didn’t I say? You’re all ability-users, and victims in this incident. You deserve your turn for payback too.”
This was it.
Of course a place like this—a gathering of ability-users—wasn’t just going to roll over and take it.
Abel, impressed, clapped his hands in delight and made one final request:
“Would you allow first-years to join as well? I’m confident I can pull my weight.”
“Did you forget? This is the Continental Academy. Everyone here is an ability-user. If you can prove yourself, anything’s possible. And from what I’ve seen, you’ve already proven yourself.”
“Then I’ll wait. I look forward to the news.”
At that, Abel cheerfully saluted and withdrew.
Such a battle junkie lmao
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