She Banished Me Yesterday, But Today She Calls Me Master? - Episode 20

“Why are you making that face like everything’s already over?!”

“What did you say?”

“You think we’re the only ones who attacked? We’ve still got allies—your school teachers, in fact! Former instructors Arnold and Chaos!!”

Gazelle spoke smugly, but our response was cold.

“We already know that.”

“Naturally, we’ve already made our move.”

“What…?”

The truth is, Arnold had contacted the headmaster last night and informed him of this planned ambush. I, Eltrinde, and the students participating in today’s class had all agreed to act as bait. Just moments ago, we saw Arnold fire a signal spell into the sky—by now, the knights should have surrounded the area.

“Damn it… you knew all along?! I should’ve known better than to trust nobles!!”

He gritted his teeth and glanced around before letting out a heavy sigh of resignation and beginning to chant a spell.

“What are you doing?”

“If it’s come to this… I’ll use my last resort!”

Dark, mist-like magical energy began to pour from Gazel’s body. The grass that touched it withered instantly. His muscles bulged unnaturally, and black markings appeared on his skin.

“Power in exchange for life… If I have this power, even I—!”

“He’s… enhancing himself beyond his limits? Why would he go that far…?”

“If I get caught by the knights, my life’s over anyway. So, I’ll take you down with me. I’ve always hated you—Asto Belg!!”

He grinned with a twisted expression, his voice warped and low, his eyes bloodshot with rage. He was literally coming at me with a death wish.

“What did I ever do to you?”

“You don’t get it. Lord Flugel only ever had eyes for you. In the royal capital, it was always the unbeatable pair: the noble ‘Magic Sword’ Asto and the adventurer guild leader, the ‘Sword Saint’ Flugel. The rest of us were just living in your shadows. No matter how hard we tried, he never acknowledged us—he was the dream of all adventurers!”

“That’s…”

“Shut up! When you two were being hailed as heroes, I had finally reached S-rank as an adventurer. I thought I finally had a shot at being recognized by Flugel. But then you vanished, and everything went to hell!”

The dark magical mist around Gazel thickened.

“Flugel is still looking for you. ‘Have you seen Asto?’—she asks it everywhere she goes. She’s never thinking about us—just you!”

His words struck me speechless. Flugel… is still looking for me? Why?

“If I defeat you today, maybe—maybe—she’ll finally acknowledge my existence. Even if it costs me my life!!”

Gazel’s eyes gleamed with madness.

“Eltrinde, stay sharp!”

“Understood. So… she really hasn’t given up on Flugel yet.”

“Given up…? On what…?”

Her words confused me for a moment, but I began chanting time magic in preparation for his assault.

“Time, freeze—Slow World!”

Time around me began to slow, but Gazel charged at me, seemingly unaffected.

“What the—!? Even with time slowed down…!”

“Hah! I’ve trained for this day—to fight you! DIE!!”

Seeing the shock on my face, Gazel grinned triumphantly. But he wasn’t unscathed—every step tore the veins in his legs, every swing of his sword made a sickening crunch. He had pushed his body far past its limit.

Even broken, he was still an S-rank adventurer. If only he had used that strength and willpower for the right reasons…

“Big Brother… are you playing around?”

“I know, Eltrinde. Tell me… If I can slow down time, don’t you think I can speed myself up too? Accelerate time—Accel World!”

“What?!”

With a branch in my hand, I doubled my speed and slashed at Gazel. He had no time to react and took blow after blow.

Finally, I struck him down with all my might. He fell to the ground, beaten.

“Damn it!! I’m not done yet!”

“You can still move?!”

Bl00d was oozing from his body, but he stood back up unfazed—until ice of absolute zero crept up and froze his legs.

“Any further resistance is futile. There’s still time to heal your injuries. Surrender, and we won’t take your life.”

“Screw that! I’m not surrendering! I might not be able to kill you, but I can take out the knights… I’m not dying alone! I’ll slaughter those damn students!!”

Ignoring the flesh tearing from his legs, Gazel wrenched himself free from the ice and darted toward the direction Anbie and the others had gone.

“Eltrinde!!”

“Understood, Big Brother!!”

With a cold tone, Eltrinde appeared at my side. From her left sleeve, black markings peeked out.

“Same as always, right?”

“Yeah. Time, freeze—Slow World!! ×10!!”

“What—?! Parallel chanting…!? So, someone could actually do it…”

Under the power of a tenfold Slow World spell, Gazel’s movements dulled significantly. Before he could fully register what was happening, a blast of absolute-zero magic struck him.

“O frozen river of the underworld, answer my call. Stop time, freeze life, and lead all into silence. Cast them into eternal ice—Cocytus!”

The battle ended in an instant. Gazel’s slowed movements couldn’t escape the spell. As the light faded, he was frozen inside a crystal of ice—his face twisted in terror and despair.

“…It’s over.”

I let out a long breath. Then I looked at Eltrinde beside me. Her arms were glowing with ominous markings, spreading under her sleeves.

I spoke before she could hide them again.

“Eltrinde, those markings… Do they have something to do with why I was banished?”

“That is…”

The question I couldn’t ask before—I asked it now. She looked away. From the conflicted look in her eyes, I already knew the answer.

It wasn’t because she hated me. There had been a reason she had to push me away.

She sighed softly, then gave a wry smile.

“So, you figured it all out… As expected of you, Big Brother.”

Slowly, she rolled up her left sleeve. The black markings covered her entire arm, spreading to her shoulder.

“This is… the Demon Lord’s curse. I exiled you to protect you. Because this curse—can never be lifted.”

“The Demon Lord’s curse…?”