"This whole field into a trap…?" Medusa asked quietly, though she already knew from his face he wasn't joking.

The scale of it still stunned her.

The entire training ground… Wasn't it a bit overkill for a single creature, even if it really couldn't die?

"Yes," Azel replied flatly. "From what I saw before, like I said… he adapts to everything. The physical strength you fight with, the magical energy you use, even aura itself."

If Sebastian had been right, if Elion really was the Butcher. It made him hopeful however he needed a plan… one that would not fail.

'I can't let more people die…'

He wasn't a saint, and he knew it.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't save everyone. That truth had burned itself into his heart since he started this game.

But there were some people he refused to lose.

He looked at the women around him… Medusa, Veyra, Edna, and Anya. There were even more like Charlotte, Flare, Sybil, Lorraine and even Rain… there were so many reasons to ensure his loved ones stayed alive.

"What we're going to do," he said, "is teach you all a rune. Then we'll time our spells with those runes and give them conditions. The whole field needs to be rigged. I want to make sure I kill him completely… tomorrow."

The seriousness in his eyes silenced any argument.

All four women nodded.

"But you said he already adapted to ice…" Veyra murmured. "Then I won't be of any use here."

"You will," Azel answered instantly. "Just use your regular ice. I have a plan for it."

Just then, the wind shifted and a familiar caw sounded from above.

A crow swooped down and landed neatly on his shoulder.

"Erblim," Azel said. "You're late."

The crow opened its beak, dropping a folded piece of paper into his hand before shaking violently.

"This is the first and last time I'll let you use me as a messenger crow, Master. It's a waste of my talents." Erblim croaked irritably, fluffing his feathers.

Azel chuckled while unfolding the note.

He read it quickly, and a satisfied grin crossed his face.

"Alright," he said, tucking the note into his pocket, "we've got our permit to work."

He turned to the open field again, scanning the wide plain where the grass swayed like waves.

"This will do nicely…"

Then he lifted a hand, mana swirling around his fingers.

A glowing rune began to form above his palm.

"This is called Rune Projection," he explained, "and what I'm about to show you is the Rune of Lo—"

"Rune of Logic," Medusa interrupted smoothly. "Right. How could I be so stupid?... That's what you meant to show us all along"

She smacked her forehead playfully and gave him a smile. "Go ahead and start with the trap, honey. I'll teach the girls how to do the rest."

Azel sighed, half-deflated.

"It seems everyone's a master at this rune," he muttered. Still, he couldn't deny how much easier that made things.

He knelt again in the center of the field, pressing his palm to the ground.

The earth vibrated as a luminous circle spread outward.

He began conjuring several holy spears, their forms pure gold at first before he layered them with divine energy.

The glow turned pale gold and the light was so intense it looked sacred.

Each spear floated beside him.

'We need to hurry,' he thought, glancing at the setting sun. He wanted everything ready before dinner.

He created a rune… the Rune of Logic and began linking it to the spears.

Dozens of threads of mana connected each weapon to the circle around him.

"Condition," he whispered, weaving the command directly into the spears. "All Holy Spears will eject toward my enemy in the field the moment I say so."

The rune responded.

All of the spears blinked out of existence, replaced by symbols that embedded themselves into the soil.

The whole section of the ground glowed then grew still again.

To anyone looking, it was just grass.

But to Azel… it was a minefield of divine death.

He stretched his back and sighed. Erblim landed lightly on his head.

"You spent an awful lot of time on that small set of runes," the crow commented.

Azel refused to rise to the bait.

But when he turned to check on the others, he froze.

All four women were at different parts of the field and they'd gone beyond what he expected.

Each section glowed differently before the light vanished.

Veyra's ice-blue runes were at the north edge; Edna's dark purple runes circling the west, it made him wonder what kind of magic she had used; Anya's runes were golden and they were hidden in the grass; and Medusa, her runes were white.

They had built a small fortress of magic.

Medusa noticed his stare and gave a smug grin.

"Hehe~ You seem to have a taste for intelligent women, hubby. Everyone learned the rune easily. We haven't set the commands yet… we're waiting for you to tell us what you have in mind."

Azel blinked.

Then, slowly, he wiped away a single tear from his right eye.

'My wives are talented,' he thought proudly.

[The Next Morning]

The sun was up and that was when Azel walked through the academy gates with a poker face.

His plan was already in motion.

'This game sure loves making me use my head,' he thought with a sigh.

It reminded him of the clone crisis… he couldn't brute-force this either.

He'd written a letter to Miss Brown the previous day and had it delivered to the principal immediately.

The request was simple: alter the students' watches so that he and Elion would be grouped together for first-period Field Training.

He'd made the terms clear. If Elion turned out to be innocent, Azel would take full responsibility for the "accident."

But if Elion was the Butcher… then Azel would kill him.

It was that simple.

His watch vibrated.

[Field Training]

'Time to go,' he thought.

He made his way to the male locker room and opened the door.

Elion was already there.

The boy looked paler than usual and his glasses slightly fogged.

His hands were trembling as he fumbled through his locker.

"Hey, Class Rep," Elion said as the trembling stopped, he pulled out his tracksuit. "Did you hear about what happened… with Professor Sebastian?"

His tone was innocent, but it made Azel's blood pressure spike.

Still, he smiled. "I only heard the professor was hospitalized. I wonder who's teaching us now."

He opened his own locker, removing his uniform and putting on his training clothes.

"You look more toned today," he remarked casually.

That was an understatement.

Yesterday, Elion's build had been average.

Today, his stomach was flat but Azel could see the outline of six-pack abs.

"Ehehehe, I trained a lot, Class Rep," Elion said sheepishly, pulling his jacket over his shoulders.

They finished dressing and walked toward the field together.

It was empty.

"They haven't come yet?" Elion asked, glancing around.

"I think we're early," Azel said from behind him.

They continued walking.

Then Elion spoke again. "Class Rep…"

"Hm?"

"What kind of exercise do you think we'll be doing tod—"

Azel moved.

He didn't wait another second.

He poured his aura into his sword so fiercely that the ground beneath him cracked.

The blade ignited in aura and Azel did the needful.

He swung… one clean strike meant to end it before it began.

The sword met Elion's back

… and bounced off.

The shock ran through Azel's entire arm. It was like striking a wall of pure steel.

Elion didn't even flinch.

'Got you…' Azel thought, gripping his sword tighter.

There was no mistaking it now.

The monster was standing right in front of him.

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