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“Ha, ridiculous. How much value could the common sense of a narrow community like a school really hold? My previous master once said, ‘School is nothing but a tool of torture, meant to force people into the wrong mold.'”
“Ah, well, that might be one way to see it, but surely there are enjoyable things, too? Like friendships, maybe?”
“Do you think Master Victor had any friends?”

She responded to my attempt at consolation with a question before I could even take a breath.

“Uh, like during lunch breaks, maybe?”
“He said eating lunch in the bathroom was miserable.”

I was utterly defeated.

“I don’t think this is the time for casual conversation. Are we almost at the vital point or not? If we consider the return trip, we’re probably reaching the limit here, but it feels like we’re just wandering around in circles.”

Chided by Cestlavie, Coppelia looked around, seemingly indignant.

“I don’t need you to tell me. My very brilliant brain is multitasking just fine. The vital point has just been shifting around, so it’s a bit hard to pinpoint, that’s all.”
“The vital point is moving? Does that mean Igoronak might be relocating from that spot?”
“I think so, but the central point of the zone is fixed, so it’s not an issue.”

Confidently answering my question, Coppelia’s words sparked an intense, unexplainable sense of dread. Simultaneously, Cestlavie’s voice erupted from behind me, full of sudden urgency.

“Wait a second! Then, does that mean there’s a chance we might run into him in here? No—if the vital point shifts toward us, even if the plan works, we might not have a chance to escape and could get caught up in the spell ourselves!”
“ “—Ah.” ”

Coppelia and I let out a dumbfounded sound—just at that moment, as if it had been waiting for this timing, a dark shadow extended a single arm toward us from outside the barrier.

And when I saw the utterly transformed figure of Igoronak, I was struck with shock.

“Found you, Saintess—!”

With chaotic bursts of his own magical power, the collapsing force of a Dimension-Shattering Bomb, lightning residuals, and even what was left of Coppelia’s previous body still embedded in him…

The Igoronak before my eyes no longer bore any trace of his former, arrogantly refined appearance as a transcendent being. He was nothing more than a pitiful, battered wraith.

All his frustration and hatred were now directed solely at me, whom he saw as the root of all evil (from his perspective).

Facing his expression twisted in madness and his murderous gaze so close up, I couldn’t help but let out a small scream and froze momentarily within the barrier.

“Perish with me—!”

I watched, as though detached, as the extended claw of Igoronak, who had swept aside the barrier’s protection in a single stroke, advanced straight toward my heart. Fear had numbed my senses entirely.

“BOOB MISSI―ILE!!”
“Rapid!”

“—Gwaaaah!?”

At that moment, Coppelia’s and Cestlavie’s quick attacks struck Igoronak, sending his tall form sprawling through the air.

As he disappeared once again into the swirling red light and lightning, Cestlavie immediately launched a new barrier talisman, repairing the damaged protection.

Now, cold sweat poured down my body, and I nearly collapsed on the spot, but Cestlavie caught me silently before I could fall.

As expected of the “Child Prodigy.” His ability to react and make quick judgments is undeniably superior to mine.

Just then—Coppelia, who had been rubbing her now considerably modest chest with a peculiar expression after using her secret technique, looked up sharply and pointed to a specific spot.

“I’ve located the convergence point! Fifty-six degrees up and to the right, distance of 3.2 mertes—Crush it completely, like you’re smashing a kitchen pest, Lady Clara!”
“Understood! Leave it to me!”

Following her remarkably straightforward instructions, I aimed the tip of my staff toward the specified location and channeled all my remaining magical energy, releasing it with the sensation of slamming it into space.

“This should end it!”

The chaotic space was so disrupted that I couldn’t afford to hold back.

The moment I poured out every last bit of my magical energy, I felt a distinct pull—like unplugging a bath full of water—as the enclosed space of red light began to rapidly collapse toward that single point.

“We did it! Success!” Coppelia did a little dance of joy.

Meanwhile, having completely exhausted my magical energy, willpower, and stamina, I found myself barely able to stand. Once again, I relied on Cestlavie’s support to hold me up.

“Sorry… I must be heavy, right?”
“…Not really.”

In this case, did he mean “It’s heavy, but don’t worry about it,” or “It’s not really that heavy”? I couldn’t tell from Cestlavie’s expressionless response.

“More importantly, let’s hurry up and get out of here.”
“Indeed, as the commoner says—if we don’t get at least fifty mertes away from Igor within the next sixty-eight seconds, we’ll get caught in the collapse. Sixty seconds remaining. Starting the countdown.”

Just as Coppelia began her internal countdown—

“Sorry about this.”

Cestlavie said, then lifted me up. It was the classic “princess carry.”

“W-Wait—!”
“You, commoner!!”

Ignoring both my stunned reaction and Coppelia’s indignant glare, Cestlavie began running with surprisingly steady steps.

“Aahhh—!?!”

As I stammered in confusion, Cestlavie glanced down at me, then looked past the barrier behind us.

“The No-Life King… he’s not going to chase us, right?”

“Forty-nine seconds left. Hmph. Do you have any idea how much magical energy is currently crushing Igor? He’s probably flattened like a frog stomped by a dragon,” Coppelia responded with complete confidence.

The moment she said that—

“Guooohhhh—! SAINTEEESSSSS!!!”

Igoronak, his face twisted beyond recognition, his expression filled with an unfathomable grudge and curse, broke through the barrier. With his mouth open wide, he whipped his left arm forward, sharpening its end into a spear-like spike.

“W-wha—?!”

I was paralyzed in shock as his arm lashed out toward me with terrifying speed.

With no time to dodge, no stance to defend, and not a single trace of magic left, all I could do was, in desperation, point the tip of my staff at Igoronak and try to counterattack, hoping at least to strike back before the end.

But in this helpless position, held tightly, there was no way my attack could connect. My staff sliced through empty air, while Igoronak’s left arm easily pierced through flesh and shattered bone.

“Cestlavie—!!”
“—Commoner!?”

In an instant, Cestlavie shielded me, and Igoronak’s arm drove straight through his chest.

Translator’s note:

Unofficial explanation by Mab!

The central point refers to the center of the red light zone, which Coppelia used as a reference when navigating the red light zone.

The convergence point (or the vital point) is the point where mana from the Dimension Shattering Bomb and the mana of Igoronak are converging to try to determine which one comes out on top. Basically, the tipping point between the two forces. Once Jill’s mana pushes it over, it creates an opening for the Dimension Shattering Bomb mana from all over the red light zone to rush in, hence why it feels like a flushing bathtub.

The reason why Coppelia couldn’t locate the vital point right away is because it is tied to Igoronak, who is the target of the Dimension Shattering Bomb. Imagine a man holding a kite. The kite is the vital point. If the man is moving around, it gets that much harder to predict where the kite is going in space.

Is this explanation correct? Hopefully. It’s the best I can do to interpret what the author meant.