The Academy’s Weakest Became A Demon-Limited Hunter

“Can I ask for a match? There’s something I want to show you and talk about.”

I read her psychology. It seemed like Michelle wanted to show me her skills.

Well, I was also curious about her abilities. And there was something I wanted to talk about, too.

“Morcan, Ian. Sorry, but could you head to the stands for a bit?”

“Huh? Oh… okay.”

Ian responded with a surprised look, while Morcan saluted me. Both moved over to stand next to Amy.

Now, only Michelle and I remained on the dueling ground.

I adjusted my glasses and smiled kindly as I asked, “I didn’t expect to see you here. How did you pass the entrance exam?”

She probably knew I was here thanks to the blessing of the Incarnation.

“I’ve always been good at academics. And my practical skills were good enough to pass. Unlike you, I’m in the Knight Department.”

The practical exam for the Knight Department would have assessed her athletic abilities and weapon skills.

So, her physical abilities must be exceptional.

“Is that so? That’s great. I had something I wanted to talk to you about, too.”

“We’re on the same wavelength, huh?”

Michelle smiled and stepped back, putting some distance between us.

“I’ll let you go first.”

“Alright.”

Michelle quickly lifted her skirt, pulling out two hand axes fastened to the belts on her thighs.

Those are…?

I could sense the presence of multiple people coming from Michelle.

…I see. My opponent isn’t just one person.

But for now, the conversation took priority.

I set up a soundproof barrier around the ground. Our conversation wouldn’t reach the stands.

“Let me ask first. How did you come to know the Incarnation?”

“Of course, you’d notice. I figured as much, knowing you.”

Michelle tapped the ground lightly with the tip of her shoe.

“It’s not a very interesting story.”

“Tell me.”

“I’ll tell you while we spar.”

“I know it’s a bit late to ask, but why do you want to spar with me?”

“Pure curiosity. I just want to see how strong you are.”

I felt the same way. I was curious about Michelle’s skills too.

Besides, Michelle had been chosen by the Incarnation. She might even have some value to me.

Michelle giggled and then leaped toward me.

There was no need to read her psychology. Just from her movements, I quickly pulled my head back.

Swing!

A sharpened ax passed right in front of my eyes, drawing a line through the air.

A flurry of ax strikes followed, but I dodged backward, lightly deflecting or parrying them with my fingers, letting the attacks flow past me.

She has the basics down.

However, her strength was different from what my academy friends had shown.

It was the ruthlessness of someone who had committed countless killings.

“You’re pretty nimble for a wizard!” Michelle shouted with a delighted expression.

She lightly retreated, quickly widening the distance between us.

“More importantly, tell me what happened.”

“When was it? Ah, when I was young, my parents sent me to my grandmother’s house.”

Michelle approached me slowly, her footsteps soft.

The two hand axes in her hands spun with dazzling precision, almost like an acrobatic performance.

She seemed incredibly skilled with axes.

“But when I got to my grandmother’s house, something ridiculous had happened.”

“Ridiculous?”

“A wolf magic beast had eaten my grandmother and was pretending to be her under the blankets. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

Michelle darted at me again, launching a barrage of attacks, which I effortlessly dodged or deflected.

Whoosh!

Michelle lightly jumped and threw a spinning kick toward me.

I blocked it with my arm, but with a thud, the force pushed me back.

Her strength was impressive, ignoring the difference in our size. She wasn’t quite my match, but she was still stronger than she looked.

Michelle landed back on the ground and looked at me.

“And then?”

“In the end, when the wolf realized I had figured it out, it tried to eat me. That’s when a hunter appeared and saved me.”

A hunter.

I instantly knew who that was.

“The hunter, that was the Incarnation’s nickname when she was alive, right?”

“Yeah. She was famous as a hunter who took down bad guys for the sake of children.”

Michelle nodded, tapping her shoulder with one of her hand axes.

“That kind of person must have heard about a twisted wolf tricking parents into sacrificing their children. The hunter sensed the wolf’s presence while roaming the forest and saved me. She then confronted my parents, and I learned the truth. My parents had sold me for a few scraps of meat, to become that wolf’s meal.”

In any world, the lives of poor families often spiral into tragedy.

Just like Hansel and Gretel, abandoned by their parents, it seemed Michelle had faced the same fate.

Michelle lunged at me again, swinging her ax.

“I won’t tell you what I did to my parents! Anyway, after that, I felt miserable and was really angry! So, I went to the Incarnation and asked her if I could live my life when her since she had saved me.”

Thud, thud.

I grabbed both of Michelle’s arms as she swung her axes.

I was far stronger, but Michelle didn’t panic and tried to kick me in the groin.

Having already read her psychology, I stomped on her foot.

“Ugh!”

Michelle winced and groaned but then giggled.

“Impressive, Big Bro. You’re this good even without using magic…”

“So, what did the Incarnation say?”

“…She said my choices were my own, but if I wanted to live like her, she’d help me. Thanks to her, I got tons of books to study and was able to live with some semblance of humanity. She was my savior.”

So that’s how it happened.

The Candy House Witch had always been alone and probably focused on researching how to save children.

She couldn’t have continued saving children while doing the work of a hunter indefinitely.

So she entrusted that role to Michelle…

That conclusion made sense.

“So, in the end, you became the hunter in her place?”

“Yeah. But at one point, I almost died trying to kill some wretched adults. That’s when I met the Incarnation again, in a very bright world. You probably wouldn’t understand.”

I knew. It must have been the Midheaven Realm.

It must have been after Hansel and the Candy House Witch had died.

“I immediately realized she was no longer human. When I asked what I should call her, she told me to call her the ‘Incarnation’. From then on, that’s what I called her. Before that, I used to just call her the ‘hook-nosed witch’.”

Michelle’s eyes became distant as if recalling fond memories.

“That’s how it happened. The Incarnation gave me the role of the Punisher and granted me the power of her blessing. I barely survived, but after that, I was able to finish off those adults.”

The Candy House Witch entrusted her will to Michelle, who had vowed to become the Punisher.

I vividly recalled the Candy House Witch’s final moments as she was erased by the Nether King. I felt relieved to have heard her story.

“Now it’s your turn. Do you know why the Incarnation suddenly cut off her blessing?”

“…”

I decided to tell her the truth.

I didn’t want to hide the truth from Michelle, who had inherited the Incarnation’s will and stained her hands with blood for it.

“She perished… trying to protect me.”

Michelle’s eyes widened in shock.

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like.”

“That makes no sense!”

As Michelle tried to pull away from me, I deliberately let her go. She quickly created some distance between us.

Michelle, her face full of shock, gripped her axes tightly.

“What kind of ridiculous lie is that…? Why would she protect someone like you? Weren’t you supposed to be the strongest human? Even someone like me knows that!”

“There was something unavoidable. But I can’t tell you everything.”

When I was ready to give up everything, the Candy House Witch pushed me forward.

Her sacrifice was a weight too heavy for me to bear.

Michelle seemed to realize that I wasn’t lying, and she furrowed her brow.

“…The Incarnation wouldn’t have saved you for no reason. There must have been a reason, something that made it necessary to save you.”

“Yes.”

“Then let me be part of that reason. I’m sure it’s something I should be involved in, too.”

“With the skill you’ve shown so far, you won’t be much help.”

“Is that so? I don’t think you should underestimate me like that.”

Michelle glared at me with fierce eyes, taking a stance to swing her axes.

Whoooosh!

Suddenly, dense mana began to emanate from Michelle, and her red hood fluttered in the wind.

But it wasn’t Michelle’s mana.

“I told you, right? I’ve got something to show you. I’ll show you what we’re truly capable of.”

The source of the mana was coming from her axes.

Magic weapons typically enhanced the wielder’s magic, but they didn’t possess magic of their own.

In other words, those axes weren’t just magic weapons. They were something else entirely.

Just as I thought.

I had sensed it from the beginning.

The presence of something alive within Michelle’s axes grew stronger.

I summoned the Status Window that Ozma had left me. With her knowledge, I should be able to identify those axes.

[Blood Horn Lagros]

Lv: 175

Race: Magic Beast

Elements: Diffusion

Danger: Low

A high-ranking beast with a unique attribute. Both hand axes were “Blood Horn Lagros”. It appeared to have split itself in two.

She hadn’t formed a familiar contract. Judging by Michelle’s abilities, there was no way she had the mana to control that magic beast as a familiar.

In other words, Lagros was merely cooperating with Michelle.

“Did the Incarnation give that to you?”

“Yes.”

Of course.

The Candy House Witch had entrusted her with the role of a hunter. It would have made no sense for her to give Michelle nothing.

It seems that beast only follows her.

Blood Horn Lagros must have also inherited the Candy House Witch’s will.

“I won’t back down until you accept me as an ally.”

Kagagagak!!

Sharp fragments rapidly grew in size and began to swirl around Michelle, forming a powerful vortex.

Any ordinary creature caught in that vortex would be torn apart.

In the stands, Ian and Amy seemed visibly shocked by the immense mana radiating from Michelle, something they hadn’t expected.

“Here I come!”

Michelle charged at me along with the blade-filled vortex.

Mana gathered around the hand ax she thrust forward.

Lagros’ element was diffusion. The moment she swung the ax, its mana would expand in a long arc aimed at me. The blade-filled vortex wouldn’t be an exception.

In other words, trying to dodge by simply keeping my distance would lead straight to death.

“…”

That actually looks quite useful.

As Michelle swung her ax, I raised my right hand, lightly condensing ice mana at my fingertip.

I flicked my finger.

Boom!

“Kyaaa!!”

A fierce shockwave blasted out in all directions, dispersing Lagros’ vortex and sending Michelle flying.

A murderous chill pierced through Michelle’s body. She dropped Blood Horn Lagros and rolled across the dueling ground, trembling all over.

“Haah, huff…! Ugh!”

Michelle groaned in pain, looking at me with wavering eyes.

I had controlled my strength well enough. It hurt, but her life wasn’t in danger.

I approached Michelle and looked down at her. Adjusting my glasses, I smiled kindly.

“Not bad.”

“What…?”

I crouched down, getting closer to Michelle.

“Alright, let’s be allies. Or rather, welcome to my alliance.”

At this point, I could use all the help I could get.

Plus, we were on the same wavelength, which made it even better.

I extended my hand.

Michelle, her face contorted in pain, let out a small, bitter laugh.

“…What? After losing so easily like this, you’re really acknowledging me?”

“Why? Have you changed your mind?”

“Not at all. I feel motivated. If I’m with you, I’m sure it’ll be fun…”

Thud.

Michelle reached out with her trembling hand to grab mine but passed out before she could, collapsing completely.