Lunavah's pale blue light streamed through the window as Sho gazed up at the ceiling of Room 204, Building 3 of Elm Dormitory. How long had it been since Emilia's letter of light disappeared? The voice saying "don't give up" still lingered in the back of his ears. ——Maybe my very existence here was a mistake. Every time he tried to dismiss that thought, the voices of students he'd heard in the hallway came rushing back. "I wish you'd never come." The bed springs creaked softly. The ancient textbook in his bag reflected Lunavah's light, glowing dully. That was when it happened. DOOOOOOOOOM!! A ground tremor came. The floor shook. The window glass vibrated with a sharp rattle, and Sho reflexively jumped to his feet. The next instant—— GAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!! A deafening roar that shook the entire building. Every pane of window glass shattered into fragments. The sound of countless shards raining down on the stone pavement echoed from outside like a rushing torrent. "——!!" Sho grabbed the window frame and looked outside. It had emerged from the Seventh Sealed Chamber, which was supposed to be sealed 30 meters underground. Eight meters in length. A massive body covered in dark gray scales. A head that looked like a mixture of wolf and reptile. Black mist leaked out in wisps from between its fangs——Glowmfang. The highest-danger-level "Catastrophe-class" magical beast that had been confined in the Seventh Sealed Chamber for 500 years had just trampled through the Practice Field's barrier and now stood in the very center of the academy city. A roar came. GAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! The remaining window frame flew away. Sho reflexively covered his head and threw himself to the floor. The sound of stone walls cracking echoed through the air. Multiple screams erupted from the hallway. "What is that thing!?" "Run!!" "Help——!!" The dormitory hallway descended into chaos. Doors burst open one after another, and students in pajamas tumbled out. Sho got to his feet and rushed into the hallway. An alarm blared across the entire academy. High, short alarm sounds continued without pause, and in the distance, flashes of magic light ran across the sky——the Seal Wardens had mobilized. "[scared]The Seventh Sealed Chamber has completely collapsed!! Everyone evacuate to the East Building!!" Someone was shouting. Sho couldn't tear his eyes away from the window. Seven Seal Wardens had gathered in the Practice Field, surrounding Glowmfang. Elite mages with high-level defensive magic credentials coordinated to cast barriers while unleashing attack spells. Pale blue flashes, red fireballs, ice arrows——maximum-output magic struck Glowmfang directly. Nothing happened. Not a single scratch on its scales. GUAAAAAAAA!!! Glowmfang swung its tail. That alone sent all seven mages flying like dolls. They crashed into stone walls and went still. It took only minutes. Seven elite mages were rendered completely combat-ineffective in minutes. Next, the Magisters emerged. From the Central Hall's faculty research room, more than ten Magisters in white vestments gathered and unleashed maximum-output Paradigm-style magic in rapid succession. "Igna For Maxima!!" "Glacies Fortis!!" The incantations and finger-drawn runes were perfectly synchronized——the pinnacle of modern magical systems. Not a single scratch on its scales. Sho kicked off the dormitory floor and bolted outside. The academy city was burning——or rather, the black mist that Glowmfang exhaled was corroding the walls of buildings. Stone material crumbled from the surface as if rusting. Every time the corrosive mist spread, nearby students cried out "Whoa!" "It hurts!?" and collapsed. Touching the mist seemed to rapidly drain their vitality, leaving them unable to stand. Sho covered his mouth with his hand and ran toward Biblio Arkes. Emilia was there. She'd said she was researching materials in the Grand Library for him while he was under house arrest. She'd said she was going to search for ancient texts showing Glowmfang's weaknesses——she'd said so in her letter of light. He ran. Across the stone pavement, he ran. Biblio Arkes——the five-story Grand Library next to the east side of the main building——had a large crack running across its outer wall. Part of the stonework had collapsed from the impact of Glowmfang's passage. Sho rushed through the entrance. "Emilia!!" No answer came back. Two rows of bookshelves had toppled over. Parchment and books were scattered across the floor. One of the ceiling's magical lamps had gone out, leaving the space dim. "[scared]Emilia!! Where are you!!" "——Over here...!" A voice. Faint, but unmistakable. Sho ran toward the collapsed depths of the shelves. In front of the Forbidden Archive——among a pile of collapsed stone——he saw silver-colored long hair. "Emilia!!" Emilia's right foot was trapped under the rubble. Sho tried to lift the stone. It wouldn't budge. Incredibly heavy. "[sad]...Sato-kun" Emilia looked up at him. Blood seeped from her forehead. Dust had settled on her silver hair. Her clear aquamarine eyes were slightly moist. "[serious]Glowmfang's weakness is an ancient magic purification ritual. It was left in the undisclosed records written by Helvin Paradigma as the only countermeasure——Paradigm-style magic can't even scratch it. Only ancient magic will work. But the practitioners who currently exist..." "I understand. But first——" "[serious]Your textbook should have a page with the purification ritual" Sho checked his bag. The confiscation procedure wasn't supposed to happen until tomorrow. He still had it. When he opened the bag——the ancient textbook was glowing faintly. A single page was shining with a pale golden light. The purification ritual. "[scared]I understand. But let me get you out first——" That was when a voice came from outside. "Jack!!" Not Jack's voice. Another student's voice. Sho stepped over window fragments and looked outside. He saw blonde hair. Jack was in front of Biblio Arkes' collapsed outer wall, trying to move rubble. The usually cheerful guy was gritting his teeth in an unusual way, trying to lift a heavy stone. "[angry]I heard Emilia was here——!! I'll handle this side——" That was the moment. Glowmfang turned. Its mouth opened. Black mist was expelled. A thick stream of mist struck Jack directly. "——!!" Jack's body went limp and collapsed. First his knees, then his waist, slowly falling to the ground. With a smile devoid of the dimples that usually marked his cheerful face, Jack lay on the stone pavement. "[scared]Jack!!!" He wasn't moving. He was breathing. But he couldn't get up——the black mist rapidly drained vitality. He'd reached a state where he couldn't even stand. Sho tried to run. That was when the dormitory's outer wall collapsed. DODODODODO!! The outer wall of Elm Dormitory Building 3 collapsed from the aftershock of Glowmfang's tail. The wall of the room where Sho had been under house arrest crumbled from the outside. Students poured out from inside the dormitory. Sho stood in the midst of the chaos. "[angry]It's him!!" One of the Magisters pointed at Sho. "[angry]Just as I thought! The transferred person's ancient magic destabilized the seal!! It's because of that otherworlder!!" A student who had come out into the hallway looked at Sho. "You shouldn't have come" Another student said. "Get out of here" Sho opened his mouth, but no words came out. The day he'd scorched the wall in the first lesson. The day Emilia had approached with her analysis notebook. The time in the forest when he'd formed the directionally-challenged alliance with Jack. Those five seconds when he'd first managed to stabilize a fireball in the palm of his hand during training——it all felt like it was losing meaning in this very moment. Like sand slipping through his fingers, he couldn't grasp anything. GAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Glowmfang's roar came again. Sho reflexively covered his ears. A nearby stone wall cracked. The textbook in his bag was glowing. Sho took out the textbook. The page with the purification ritual shone golden. As he tried to read the page——the knowledge of the ritual flowed directly into his mind. The ancient magic purification ritual. It activated through the resonance of will and emotion alone. The only ritual that could neutralize Glowmfang's corrosive mist and nullify the defense of its scales. But. Sho was trembling. His hands were shaking. Ancient magic's output depends on emotion. Emilia had said that word countless times. The moment you feel fear, it reverts to a runaway——that was still the fundamental problem that hadn't been solved. Right now, Sho was afraid. Terrified. If he activated the ritual like this, he might lose control, it might explode, and the entire academy might be blown away. "[sad]......" His knees buckled. Sho knelt on the stone pavement. He couldn't stand. Even though he was gripping the textbook, he couldn't stand. ——Maybe my very existence here was a mistake. The thought he'd had earlier came back, bigger than before. That was when a completely unrelated voice echoed in his mind. ——So I'm kneeling here right now. I got transferred to another world, scorched a wall, got called "the Explosion Transfer Student" or whatever, I've got this ancient textbook, and this is how it ends? Kneeling and that's it? ——What is this? This is way too boring for my life. Well, it's not really my life since it's another world. But having my first season in the transfer destination be "suspected of breaking the seal, put under house arrest, and end up kneeling" is like, what kind of worst-case transferred person am I—— "[crying]...haha" He tried to laugh. He couldn't. Instead, a single tear fell onto the stone pavement. Sho realized a beat too late that he was crying. He was crying. I'm actually crying. I tried to laugh at myself and ended up crying. This is the worst. Because it's the worst, more tears came. The textbook started to slip from his hand. "——Sato-kun" A voice reached him. Low, but trembling, yet certain. Sho looked up. From the pile of collapsed stone, an arm extended. An arm covered in blood and dust. With her foot still trapped under the rubble, Emilia had raised her upper body and was reaching out toward Sho with one arm. Her silver hair was disheveled, and blood from the wound on her forehead traced down her cheek. But her aquamarine eyes looked straight at Sho. "[crying]...your magic...isn't wrong...!!" Her voice cracked. But it came through clearly. "[crying]I...will prove it...!!" Emilia's fingertips opened toward Sho. Sho looked at that hand. ——That day. In the Grand Library. When Emilia first took Sho's hand. To confirm the flow of magical power, her slender, cold fingers had touched the back of his hand. The words Emilia had said at that moment came back to him now. "Your magical circuits are running on the ancient system"——maybe that meant it wasn't a destructive power. Maybe it had always been that way from the start. Sho reached out his hand. Their fingertips touched. Emilia's fingertips touched Sho's fingertips. They were cold. They were trembling. But they gripped his fingers back with strength. Glowmfang's roar echoed in the distance. The sound of more walls collapsing. Students' screams continued. It all felt a little farther away somehow. Something settled in Sho's chest. The fear didn't disappear. But alongside the fear, something else was born. Emilia had reached out her arm while her foot was trapped. Jack had tried to move the stone while being engulfed in mist. If he alone knelt while they did that——that would be the real mistake. Sho wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand. He stood up. "[serious]——I understand. I'll try" With trembling hands, he gripped the page of the purification ritual in the textbook. The page intensified its golden light. The knowledge of the ritual flowed into his mind. The resonanc