Clytie's face turned pale as fear became completely obvious on her expression.
"We are trapped!"
'Obviously we're trapped! But that's not even the worst part here—'
Rain gritted his teeth while his mind raced rapidly.
The surrounding dog monsters slowly kept getting closer and closer while growls echoed throughout the dark forest. Rain tightened his grip around the metal sword, ready to react at any second.
'I can't protect her and kill all these monsters at the same time!'
For a brief moment, Rain quietly glanced toward Clytie behind him.
'…Should I abandon her?'
It was a cruel thought, but at the same time an extremely rational one.
Even if he left her behind, she probably wouldn't actually die. The academy definitely had hidden protections prepared somewhere. And honestly speaking, what did he even gain from risking himself for her? He wasn't trying to earn favors, nor was he especially desperate for a closer relationship either.
A monster suddenly lunged forward toward Clytie with its maw wide open, its sharp teeth aiming directly toward her chest.
Rain let out a long sigh.
"…Whatever. Who cares."
SWISH!
His sword instantly pierced straight through the monster's skull before it could even touch her. The kill felt absurdly smooth thanks to the acceleration the beast itself created while charging forward.
The nearby monsters immediately stopped advancing for a moment, growling cautiously while thick drool continued dripping from their mouths.
Behind him, Clytie tightly grabbed Rain's clothes while lowering her head.
'If only my powers worked properly…'
Rain glanced at her quietly before gently patting her blonde hair with a small smile appearing on his face.
"Don't worry," he said calmly. "I'll protect you."
And this time—
He genuinely meant it.
For some unknown reason, the earlier thoughts about abandoning her had completely disappeared from his mind. Whether it was pity, friendship, responsibility, or simply something else entirely, even Rain himself wasn't fully sure anymore.
But one thing was certain now—Rain no longer planned to leave her behind no matter what happened next.
The surrounding monsters slowly regained their courage once again and started advancing toward them from every direction. Their previously cautious movements disappeared completely as low growls echoed throughout the dark forest continuously. Thick drool dripped from their sharp teeth while their bloodshot eyes remained completely locked onto Rain and Clytie like starving predators cornering helpless prey. Some dragged their claws across the ground while others circled around slowly searching for an opening to attack from.
Rain tightened his grip around the metal sword while carefully watching every single movement around him. Even he couldn't deny the current situation looked troublesome.
"No kidding… they seriously outnumber us on a massive scale," he muttered with a hesitant smile while quietly stepping slightly in front of Clytie.
Behind him, Clytie nervously grabbed onto his sleeve tighter than before. Fear was already obvious on her face as the monsters kept getting closer and closer without stopping.
"Y-You should run…" she said while forcing herself to stay calm. "At least I can stall them for some time."
Rain immediately looked at her blankly after hearing those words.
'…Doesn't she realize we literally can't die here no matter what?'
The academy definitely wouldn't allow students to actually die during an entrance exam no matter how dangerous things looked. At worst, they would probably interfere at the last second.
Still—
Rain couldn't completely ignore the sincerity behind her words either. Even while trembling in fear herself, she was still thinking about protecting him first.
'I really do appreciate the thought though… Maybe she honestly isn't that bad after all.'
Without realizing it himself, Rain's impression of her slowly improved again.
"Running?" Rain replied calmly while his sharp eyes continuously scanned the surroundings searching for anything useful nearby. But no matter where he looked, there were only large rocks, towering dark-green trees stretching endlessly upward, and a few dried dead trees scattered around the area.
Then suddenly—
Rain's eyes slightly widened.
An excited grin slowly formed across his face as if he had just discovered hidden treasure.
He already had an idea now.
"Who said I'm gonna run?" Rain said confidently while raising his sword slightly toward the monsters. "We're BOTH getting that A+ grade."
Clytie blinked repeatedly in confusion after hearing him.
At this point, she genuinely couldn't decide whether Rain was some fearless genius with a hidden plan…
Or if the pressure had finally damaged his brain completely.
Rain suddenly spoke with a serious expression.
"Be ready to use your powers. We only have one chance."
Before Clytie could properly react, Rain bent down and grabbed the corpse of the dog monster he had killed earlier from the ground.
"B-But my powers won't work here…" Clytie said nervously while looking at the dark forest around them.
Rain didn't even turn back toward her.
"Just trust me."
At that moment, his hand slowly tightened around the corpse while the mysterious energy inside his core quietly started flowing through his veins once again.
Clytie looked at his back silently before forcing herself to calm down.
Rain narrowed his eyes toward the dried dead trees nearby.
"Ready… 3…"
The surrounding monsters slowly started approaching again while growling aggressively.
"2…"
Clytie nervously raised her hands forward despite still doubting herself. Tiny golden particles weakly flickered around her fingers before disappearing again.
"1!"
The moment he shouted that final number, Rain suddenly swung his arm forward with all his strength and launched the monster corpse directly toward the dried trees ahead of them.
But the real terrifying part wasn't the throw itself.
Just before the corpse made impact, Rain instantly poured his gravitational energy into it at the very last second, multiplying its weight several times unnaturally. What was originally just a light corpse suddenly became heavier than solid metal itself.
BOOOOM!!
The moment the corpse smashed into the first dried tree, the impact force exploded violently. The entire tree instantly snapped apart like brittle twigs before crashing directly into the dried tree behind it, causing that one to collapse as well.
The surrounding monsters immediately panicked after seeing the sudden destruction. Some jumped backward while others let out frightened growls instinctively. Their animal instincts sensed danger immediately.
And then—
Sunlight finally broke through the opening created above.
Golden rays poured directly down onto the forest ground and onto Clytie herself.
Rain's eyes instantly widened slightly.
'It worked!'
Golden particles slowly started gathering around Clytie's hands once again, but this time they no longer disappeared. Instead, they continuously multiplied and condensed together into a massive glowing sphere of golden light radiating pure energy. Her blonde hair slightly fluttered from the power gathering around her.
The nearby monsters immediately started backing away in fear after sensing the terrifying energy.
"TAKE THIS!"
Clytie thrust both hands forward as the massive golden sphere shot toward the monsters like a miniature sun itself.
BOOOOOOM!!
More than half of the monsters were instantly burned into blackened crisps under the terrifying golden explosion. Their screams echoed painfully throughout the forest before disappearing completely while the ground itself became scorched black and smoke slowly rose into the air.
Only around one-third of the monsters barely survived the attack, and even those remaining ones looked completely terrified now. Their earlier madness vanished entirely as survival instincts took over instead. Some limped backward fearfully while others immediately turned around trying to escape deeper into the forest.
Meanwhile, Rain stared at the destruction with slight sweat forming on his face.
'…Okay, she's WAY stronger than I expected.'
Seeing dozens of monsters get erased in one attack genuinely shocked him a little.
'This girl can probably wipe the floor with me if she wanted… I should seriously treat her nicely from now on.'
For the first time, Rain became painfully aware of his current level of incompetence compared to certain monsters disguised as innocent girls.
Then his attention returned toward the surviving beasts.
A dark grin slowly appeared across his face.
"Where exactly do you think you're running?"
The surviving monsters visibly panicked after hearing his voice. One even slipped awkwardly while trying to run faster while another let out a frightened bark before instantly changing direction again.
Unfortunately for them—
Rain had already moved.
SWISH!
His body shot forward quickly while his sword flashed toward a nearby monster. The creature barely managed to dodge in time, but the blade still sliced deeply across its side, causing blood to spray out painfully.
The injured monster immediately lunged back toward him in desperation.
Rain blocked the attack awkwardly with his sword, his feet sliding slightly backward from the impact before he forcefully kicked the monster away and immediately followed up with another slash directly toward its neck.
SPLURT!
This time the beast finally collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.
Another monster suddenly jumped toward him from the side. Rain barely ducked in time as sharp claws brushed past his shoulder, tearing a small cut through his clothes.
"Tch— annoying!"
Rain quickly grabbed a nearby rock and smashed it directly into the creature's face. Unfortunately for the monster, the rock somehow hit directly into one of its eyes with absurd accuracy, causing the beast to crash into a tree headfirst and snap its own neck accidentally.
Rain blinked.
"…I totally meant to do that."
A third monster attempted escaping between the bushes, but Rain's eyes instantly sharpened coldly.
"Trying to run?"
Rain suddenly pushed his body forward at full speed, instantly closing the distance before the monster could even properly react. His sword flashed downward coldly through the air.
SPLURT!
The beast's entire body split apart violently before crashing onto the ground in pieces.
The remaining monsters were completely horrified now. Their earlier aggressive behavior disappeared entirely as they stared at Rain like he was the real monster instead. Some even whimpered pitifully while backing away slowly.
Meanwhile behind him, Clytie silently stared at Rain's figure while her heart unconsciously sped up slightly. He looked cool, reliable, handsome, and strangely ruthless whenever he fought seriously. For some reason, all those traits mixed together perfectly in her eyes right now.
Even the way his clothes slightly fluttered while holding the bloodstained sword somehow looked unfairly cool to her.
'Rain is amazing…' she thought while unknowingly staring at him again with sparkling eyes.
But for some reason, Rain suddenly felt a dangerous chill crawl deeply down his spine without warning.
His entire body stiffened for a second.
Fear and confusion instantly appeared on his face.
"What the hell was that…?" he murmured quietly while looking around cautiously.
For a brief moment, it genuinely felt like something extremely bad had just glanced at him from somewhere far away.
But the feeling disappeared as quickly as it came.
Rain frowned slightly before eventually brushing it off.
Then he turned toward Clytie again with a grin slowly forming on his face.
"So… should we have a little more fun?"
Clytie blinked before revealing an innocent smile.
"Why not?"
*DOG MONSTER POV
"What kind of demons did we just encounter!?" one monster barked internally while trembling violently, its tail completely tucked between its legs.
"Retreat! RETREAT! These humans are completely insane!" another whimpered fearfully while trying to crawl backward away from Rain and Clytie.
The remaining monsters slowly stepped back pitifully, their bodies shaking nonstop. Some whimpered softly while others desperately looked around searching for escape routes. One monster nervously pushed another one forward with its paw.
"You go first!" it barked anxiously.
"WHY ME!?" the other instantly barked back furiously while stepping away in betrayal.
But soon all their tension and fear suddenly vanished as Rain and Clytie disappeared right in front of them in a flash of light.
The monsters froze blankly for several seconds.
Then—
"Phew… They are gone!" one monster cried emotionally while collapsing dramatically onto the ground in relief.