The Sponsored Heroines Are Coming for Me

Shadow Forest.

The darkest and most ominous place in Lichten Academy.

Even in broad daylight, deep shadows covered the area, but now, it was stained red.

— Cawww!

“Ahhh!”

Startled by the crow’s cry, Elena took a few steps back.

She nearly tripped over a rock, but Lina caught her by the back.

“…The atmosphere really is unsettling.”

The air was red, the trees were black.

It was impossible not to think of the Bloodstone Cult.

But Danya stepped forward without hesitation, entering the forest.

“Let’s go, nyah.”

If Ian was there, she would go in, even if it was a place teeming with monsters.

The same went for Lina and Elena.

The two of them followed Danya without question.

Step, Step.

The sound of their footsteps echoed hollowly through the forest.

“I-It’s surprising… I don’t see any dangerous creatures or cultists.”

Elena was right.

Despite the ominous atmosphere, there were no immediate threats within the forest.

“Is it just an illusion to scare us from the outside?”

“Oh! I heard that happens in wars sometimes. A tactic to lure the enemy into thinking something is there when it’s not. B-But, of course, that doesn’t mean we were tricked!” ꭆἈ₦ö₿ÈŚ

Danya nodded.

“We’re not falling for anything, nyah.”

“R-Right? There’s no way anything could deceive your senses, Sister Danya!”

“That’s not it… but, this silence…”

Danya trailed off.

The whole world had gone silent.

Only the sound of their footsteps remained.

That was definitely strange.

In a forest, there should be the sounds of animals, at the very least the rustling of the wind.

Gulp.

Elena swallowed nervously, the sound echoing unnaturally in the quiet.

“Even the animals must have fled.”

A disaster.

Animals were always the first to sense it.

Ants moving before a storm.

Small creatures fleeing before an earthquake.

They had a sensitivity to impending catastrophe beyond human understanding.

If that was the reason for this silence…

“…”

They should be running away right now.

Danya’s instincts were sharper than any bird’s, any small animal’s.

And her instincts told her—

A massive sense of crisis was growing, moment by moment.

Something was approaching.

She could feel it.

“Let’s move faster, nyah.”

Danya quickened her pace, running through the forest while scanning the area.

She slid down slopes and leapt over vines with effortless agility.

Lina and Elena, having grown used to the terrain during their search, barely managed to keep up.

Then, suddenly, Danya stopped.

She sprinted toward the base of a tree.

“Haa… I found Ian’s trace, haa…!”

Lina, arriving late, caught her breath.

“Ah! There’s more over here!”

Thud, Thud, Thud!

Elena ran toward another tree root, carefully picking up a tiny white crystal.

“This is the first time I’ve found Brother Ian’s mana crystal this close…! This must be the place!”

Elena was right.

As they searched, they discovered several of Ian’s mana crystals scattered around.

Hope filled them as they gathered the crystals—

Until they realized one crucial fact.

“But… where did they come from? We’re not supposed to be collecting crystals. We need to find Ian.”

For once, Elena’s words struck at the heart of the matter.

Lina muttered absentmindedly.

“You’re right… We’ve struggled so much just to find Ian’s traces that… I didn’t even realize I was too focused on just that.”

The important thing wasn’t Ian’s traces.

It was finding his location.@@novelbin@@

And in this place, where his traces were scattered everywhere—

If there were this many, they should have been able to pinpoint his exact location.

“But there’s nothing here…”

“Could he be… up in the sky?”

Following Elena’s words, everyone looked up.

Aside from the red-stained clouds, there was nothing.

“…Where on earth is he?”

The more they thought about it, the deeper the mystery became.

Then—

“Hey.”

Danya suddenly spoke, as if she’d realized something.

“Why do Ian’s mana crystals always appear at the base of trees?”

Tock, tock.

Danya tapped her foot against the ground.

A faint cloud of dust rose.

She thought of Ian’s mana traces as being like that dust.

Floating in the air, then settling on the ground.

But what if that wasn’t the case?

“Are you saying the mana crystals came from the ground in the first place?”

“Yeah. More specifically, from the tree roots, meow.”

Elena added.

“Now that you mention it… Every single one we’ve found here was near a tree.”

“And no one has ever been able to find the Bloodstone Cult’s headquarters, meow.”

The pieces were falling into place.

““Could it be… underground?””

The moment everyone’s gaze shifted to the ground—

—KIEEEEEEEEK!

A terrible screech tore through the air.

The sound was so loud that Danya immediately covered her ears in pain.

“W-What… is that?”

Someone muttered in horror.

Danya forced herself to look up.

Far away, a colossal figure stood.

A headless skeletal giant.

Embedded in the center of its chest was a massive, rolling eyeball, scanning its surroundings.

Where its arms should have been, massive wings extended, and at the ends of those wings— hands.

A monstrous being straight out of hell.

Danya recalled an old legend from her childhood.

“That’s… a Blood Demon’s summoned beast, nyah…”

A being from the Demonic Realm, controlled only by those who had transcended the boundary between human and demon.

Its grotesque eye rolled wildly, while an army of grotesque creatures advanced before it, spilling over the horizon.

“W-We… need to run.”

Elena’s voice trembled.

Right at that moment—an air raid alarm rang out.

A familiar voice echoed across the academy grounds.

— Emergency disaster alert! All cadets and residents in the area must evacuate immediately!

It was Iris, the Student Council Vice President.

Everyone instinctively began stepping back from the approaching horror—

“Wait, wait!”

Danya suddenly dropped to her knees and started digging into the ground.

She poured nature-aligned mana into the earth, ripping it open.

Snapped out of their daze, Lina and Elena rushed to help.

“We came this far—there’s no way we’re giving up now.”

They all shared the same thought.

Then—

—CLANG!

A sharp rebound echoed as their magic struck something solid.

“The tree roots… are invisible?”

“It could be a barrier!”

Even in their panic, they had discovered a glimmer of hope.

Danya spread her mana around the transparent roots, planting seeds—

A technique known as Seed Sowing.

One of the most effective spells for breaking barriers.

But—

The barrier was too strong.

“It’s not budging, nyah…”

They couldn’t leave now.

They had to find another way.

Danya was about to cast another spell when—

“Who… are you people?”

She froze in place.

A voice— brimming with overwhelming power.

She slowly looked up.

A tall man stood there.

A massive battle axe strapped to his back.

It was Two.

Of course, the members of the Dessert Research Club had no way of recognizing him.

But they did know one thing.

This man was absurdly powerful—

And he wasn’t the cult leader they had seen before.

With a slight scowl, he muttered,

“You actually found it. Die.”

Swoosh.

The axe swung— effortlessly.

But Danya couldn’t react.

Neither could Lina.

Their bodies were frozen stiff.

They didn’t realize it, but it was Two’s sorcery at work.

Only Elena managed to raise her shield and step forward in a desperate attempt to block the attack—

But she was far too late.

Everyone shut their eyes, accepting their death.

— CRACK!

Danya thought that crushing noise was the sound of her own body breaking.

Was death always this sudden?

If she had known, she would have spent more time with Ian.

As if in a final farewell, memories of their time together flashed through her mind.

And then—

“Is everyone alright?”

A voice.

A voice so warm and gentle that it was almost out of place.

Danya opened her eyes slightly.

Flowing deep blue hair swayed before her.

“I’ll handle this one. You all need to run. This is not an opponent you can fight.”

Before them, blocking the massive battle axe with a thin, elegant sword, was Sasha Asilia.

“A-Asilia…?”

Her hair was hastily tied back.

She was dressed as if she had thrown on a coat over her sleepwear.

Clearly, she had sensed something was wrong and rushed out.

Danya hurriedly pointed toward the transparent roots.

“Th-That! It might be the barrier Ian is trapped in!”

“Your lives come first, not my disciple.”

“B-But…!”

Sasha’s blade moved.

Her Sword Aura slashed across the barrier—

But it didn’t leave so much as a scratch.

“This level of a barrier… even ten Archmages working together would need a month to break it. Now, go.”

“Ah…”

“Go. I’ll join you soon. Everyone is gathering at the academy shelter.”

Unlike her usual calm demeanor, Sasha was firm.

“…Alright.”

Danya nodded.

This was Ian’s master.

Her judgment was undoubtedly better than their own.

— SWOOSH!

The Dessert Research Club ran toward the academy.

At a time like this, trying to help would only get in the way.

More importantly—

They trusted Sasha’s skill.

As she ran, Danya turned back for one last look.

The sky was painted a bloody red.

And beneath it—

A black and crimson army advanced.

Monsters filled the horizon, their sheer numbers overwhelming.

It was a force far greater than anything they had seen at the frontlines.

“…What… in the world?”

What was happening?

And why was the academy the target?

It felt like the end of the world was approaching.