30 – Let’s Roll

“I’m scared…”

“Are we really going to be alright? I’ve been hearing huge noises since earlier…”

“The professors will take care of it. Let’s just wait here without worrying too much.”

“But, things feel off, both yesterday and today. What if the barrier breaks and demons get into the academy?”

The students were gathered in the dorm.

They all wore uneasy expressions.

“Hey, don’t say things like that. You’re making me nervous too.”

“How about we think about an escape route, even now?”

“Where can we even go? It’ll be filled with demons everywhere, you think we can even escape? Stop being so dramatic and study like Etila instead. The Tristy soldiers and professors will handle it.”

The students’ gazes turned towards Etila.

She was sitting in the hall, diligently writing a paper related to the Blaze Eater that Esther Tristy had improved.

“Etila doesn’t even put down her pen in a crisis like this.”

“That’s how you get a full scholarship and go to school. You should learn from her.”

“Hasn’t Etila been working incredibly hard lately? She was always diligent, but it feels like she’s putting in twice the effort as usual.”

She didn’t waste even a second.

Because there was a goal she absolutely had to achieve.

‘I have to beat Esther.’

Somewhere along the line, making Esther eat dirt had become Etila’s lifelong dream.

“Even the top student is studying like that, should we too?”

“Anyone bring their textbooks?”

In any case, thanks to Etila, who was calmly focusing on her studies, the noisy students began to calm down.

That’s when it happened.

Thump- Thump- A tumultuous vibration rang out.

One of the students, feeling puzzled, shifted his gaze, then screamed, pointing out the window with a startled expression.

“It’s a giant!!”

As a large demon appeared, the students instantly gathered in front of the window.

A colossal monster lumbered toward the Academy.

“First time seeing one for real.”

“To think a true Demon can be that large…”

Its height nearly rivaled a ten-story tower.

Everyone stood mesmerized by the emergence of such a massive Demon, a sight usually confined to the front lines.

“So, we can take it down, right?”

Unease was etched on every face.

Not that it mattered – the attacks the professors had prepared proved utterly ineffective against the giant.

“It doesn’t even have an exoskeleton… just how sturdy is its body? A knight in full mithril plate armor would be softer than that thing.”

“Demons, not devils, are said to lack intelligence but possess innate physical advantages. It seems they’re not only immense in size, but incredibly durable as well.”

A female student rebuked the male students, whose academic fervor seemed ill-timed.

“Are you seriously admiring it right now!?”

If the giant brought its massive club down on the barrier, no matter how resilient and intricately woven, the magical defenses would crumble.

With each step the giant took forward, a chill crept further down the students’ spines.

It felt as though death itself was approaching.

As everyone fretted about their future.

A deafening roar suddenly echoed through the air.

*KWA-A-ANG!!*

It was black fire, burning with the darkest and most intense heat imaginable in this world.

The black fire struck the giant’s face, obliterating everything above its neck.

The giant’s enormous body crashed to the ground with a *thump*.

“Hellfire…”

One student murmured, causing a wave of astonishment to ripple through the crowd.

“Hellfire!?”

Hellfire.

The most devastating flame in existence had manifested.

A substance first identified by Esther Tristi, now visible even in the mortal world, not just in the depths of Hell.

It was a magic that required calculations so complex it had been designated a Millennium Prize Problem, but who in the world could have unleashed Hellfire?

“D-Did the professors use it?”

“Doesn’t look like it. They seem just as bewildered as we are.”

“Then, who in the world….”

It was then.

VRoooM-

A thunderous engine roar began to echo.

A mint-colored tank, sporting a main cannon and two secondary guns, was advancing.

It resembled, in a way, an improved version of a steam tank.

The very weapon Professor Aria had shown the students using a crystal ball during a prior elemental fire studies lesson.

Though its appearance was entirely different, the students naturally associated it with a steam tank, being a walking iron carriage.

WHIRRR-

CLANG-

Before the awe could even settle, the main cannon spat fire once more.

Even the mid-sized demons, possessing hardened exoskeletons, fell after the giant, one after another.

“……..”

Everyone was struck speechless.

It must have been because the demons, which even the professors’ prepared magic and weapons couldn’t fell, had vanished in an instant.

HISS-

Steam billowed out, and the hatch creaked open.

A boy holding a telescope peeked his upper body out, surveying the battlefield.

Everyone knew the name of that boy.

“Esther Tristi!?”

At the sound of the familiar name, Etilla immediately put down her pen and squeezed her way through the crowd at the window.

“What, what is it, where, where!? Where is Esther Tristi!?”

“……..”

The students glanced at each other, noting Etilla’s unusual reaction.

They all wore expressions that seemed to say, ‘Why is she suddenly like this?’

“What is that strange steam tank… and what in the world is Esther doing there?”

“We have no idea either….”

Etilla blinked.

Why was a boy, who hadn’t even had his coming-of-age ceremony yet, driving a weapon on the battlefield?

Demons were still swarming from all directions.

He was facing down so many demons. What on earth did he think he was doing?

Ester climbed back inside the tank.

The hatch sealed shut.

*Clank-*

The secondary guns mounted beside the main cannon began to whir to life.

*Tudududu-*!

Small demons were mowed down in an instant.

The secondary guns generated small magic bullets and fired them at rapid-fire speeds, like coaxial machine guns.

“What makes it so strong?!”

“It seems that the hellfire from before comes from that massive cannon in the center.”

It was fundamentally different from the steam tanks, which required the magic projectiles to be made and loaded manually.

“The Red Magic Tower’s new weapon, perhaps…?”

Everyone was awestruck by the sheer power of the new weapon. Only Etilla was certain.

The developer of that bizarre mint-green tank was, without a doubt, Ester Tristi.

The unfavorable battle situation had shifted in an instant.

With Ester’s arrival, the demons began to be pushed back.

The professors tried to approach the mint tank and ask Ester to talk, but he seemed too busy to stop, refusing any interaction and *vroom-*ing forward.

Etilla blinked.

She began to act with a hurriedness, as if a prophet suddenly aware of impending events.

“Hold this for me!!”

She thrust the thesis she had been diligently working on and her pen into the hands of Lang Lang, who stood nearby.

“Milady…?”

“I’m just going to the restroom. I’ll be right back!”

Without waiting for a response, Etilla *whooshed-* and disappeared.

*

“Whoa, this is so damn refreshing!”

If the tank battle games he enjoyed back in the day had been this invigorating, they would have been insanely popular, right?

It felt like playing a hyper-realistic hack-and-slash game.

The Hell Tank didn’t require reloading like steam tanks or modern tanks.

Every time he pressed a button, a new round was generated and launched simultaneously.

The Helltank’s remaining ammunition was, in essence, its mana reserves.

Utilizing the mana-absorbing and storing properties of mithril, the alloy housed within was used to fuel the tank and its projectiles.

A tank needing no reloading was here, at last.

However, in its stead came the drawback of rapid mana depletion; merely pushing back that horde of demons had drained over 30% of its reserves.

Yes, the Helltank was an early bloomer.

To overcome this, he needed to meet with Haniel, leaving no time to dawdle.

Nob AI was handling everything anyway, but he also craved the crisp outside air and wanted to visually confirm their safety, so he opened the hatch and scanned the surroundings with a telescope as they moved forward.

That’s when the problem arose.

*Thunk!* The Helltank screeched to a halt.

His weight shifted forward, nearly sending him tumbling headfirst.

『Malfunction detected in the right track. Ceasing operations temporarily.』

“Huh, suddenly?”

『It appears there was damage during the transfer process just now. Immediate repairs are necessary.』

He swept the area with the telescope.

His current location was the road leading from the estate to the Academy.

The demons weren’t as thick as before, but he could see dust billowing in the distance.

The vibrations were steadily growing stronger, a sign of impending trouble.

Could he somehow drag it to a safer location before making repairs?

『In the event of unforeseen circumstances, if significant mana is expended during repairs, Nob AI advises against it, as it could render us unable to adequately respond in an emergency.』

His own mana reserves were significantly lower than those of ordinary people.

Despite the constant treatments from Erphs, he didn’t even reach half the average.

This was quite the predicament.

Just as he was racking his brain for a solution, a vaguely familiar voice cut through the air.

“E-Esther Tristy!”

It was Etilla.

She had somehow appeared before him, arms crossed, and spoke.

“I-if you asked for help, I, uh, I could help you…?”

Etilla, despite her outwardly proactive stance, addressed him in a hesitant, mousy voice.