"We-We're here?"
Seeing the Headmaster's residence appear before their eyes, everyone looked somewhat stunned.
Clearly, no one had managed to prepare themselves.
And not just them—even the enemy didn't seem ready to welcome Rozen and the others. Otherwise, there wouldn't be not even a single black-clad magus in front of the Headmaster's residence. There would've been at least some form of defense.
Rozen had used Space Manipulation Magic to completely eliminate preparation time for both sides, launching a surprise assault.
However, the enemy clearly had a highly skilled puppeteer.
Someone had already taken position here, seemingly having anticipated this. Despite the suddenness, they managed to respond immediately.
Thus...
"Boom!"
With a surge of mana, an attack was launched.
A storm-like gale swept in.
The earth trembled violently, with sharp spikes bursting upward.
Gale and spikes struck in tandem—one from above, one from below—coming without warning.
If it were anyone else, facing such a sudden attack, they probably wouldn't have had time to react, and would've been torn apart by the storm or impaled by the spikes.
Unfortunately for the attackers, these weren't ordinary people.
"Sigmund!"
With her Spirit Vision, Charlotte was the first to react. As if venting her previous frustration, she instantly injected mana into Sigmund resting on her arm, activating the Gram magic circuit. A gleam of savagery flashed in Sigmund's eyes as his mouth opened and fired a brilliant beam.
The beam, shaped like a sword, pierced forward at incredible speed, shattering the spikes that were erupting from underground. The stone debris didn't even get the chance to scatter—melted like candy, leaving nothing behind.
"Cherubim!"
Loki, too, wasn't to be underestimated. Mana surged from his shoulders as he flung his greatsword into the air.
Jets of hot wind spouted from the sides of the sword as it spun and slashed, evaporating and cleaving apart the incoming storm.
Free from the effects of Multi-Controller, Charlotte and Loki could finally use their full strength and be of real help.
Not only Charlotte and Loki—Frey also seemed to sense something, turning toward a particular direction.
"Rabbi!"
Frey commanded her most trusted automaton, and Rabbi let out a low growl, firing an invisible sonic blast from its mouth.
This was the Sound Pressure Manipulation ability from the Garm system's magic circuit, enabling full control over sonic power.
The soundwave-formed projectile blasted toward a corner.
Soon after, the ground there trembled slightly, and an earthen wall rose.
"Bang!"
With an explosive noise, the sonic projectile was blocked by the sturdy wall, only managing to peel off some of the outer rock layer.
Behind the earthen wall, several figures emerged one by one.
"Didn't expect you to arrive this quickly."
Zekaros (Elder Brother) spoke coldly.
"Seriously, that was close."
Zekaros (Younger Brother) patted his chest in relief with an exaggerated expression of being scared.
"Coming here on your own—what a death wish."
Dorothy mocked.
Then, the Student Representative stepped out from behind the earthen wall, facing them.
"You got here quickly, everyone."
Olga smiled faintly.
Seeing the four people standing before the Headmaster's residence, blocking their path, everyone was stunned.
"Student Representative? Why are you here?"
Charlotte looked bewildered.
"...So that's how it is, huh?"
Loki's expression shifted slightly, as if realizing something, and turned cold.
"This is..."
Frey was completely confused.
"What's going on?"
As for Henri, hiding behind Charlotte, he had no clue what was happening.
Only Rozen remained calm.
"It seems Rozen-kun has already figured out quite a lot."
Olga had been watching Rozen the whole time. Seeing his calm demeanor, she raised an eyebrow and spoke with a smirk.
Rozen didn't flinch.
"It's not that hard to guess."
He replied expressionlessly.
Rozen had long known that Olga was not an ally, but an enemy.
Not because his Heaven's Eye had seen the spiritual energy of Olga and the others lingering around the enemy's leaders, but because of the fact that the Academy had been so easily infiltrated.
"Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart is one of the world's top magic academies. As a magically autonomous zone on British soil, no matter how powerful the enemy is, letting so many people sneak in and stage an invasion without alerting anyone is impossible, don't you think?"
Rozen explained.
That's just the truth.
Setting aside the fact that the campus is surrounded by fortress-like walls patrolled by top-tier puppet users, any enemy approach would trigger alerts and attacks. Even getting past those walls would be no small feat.
If it was just a few individuals sneaking in, that was possible. Like Komurasaki often used Yaegasumi to sneak in and out undetected, even Raishin—someone unskilled in magic—managed to infiltrate. But a large faction invading all at once? There's no way that wouldn't have been discovered.
Yet the enemy succeeded—first infiltrating effortlessly, then launching attacks. Clearly suspicious.
So what went wrong?
"Someone from the inside cooperated, creating an opening in the Academy's defense, and let them in."
Rozen smiled at Olga.
"If that person were the Student Representative, it'd all make perfect sense, wouldn't it?"
With her status and authority, Olga could easily manage that.
Which meant...
"Olga Saladin—you are a traitor."
Rozen concluded calmly, making the eyes of everyone around him widen before they all glared angrily at Olga.
Olga just smiled wryly.
"That's a pretty harsh way of putting it, Rozen-kun. But I'm not a traitor." Olga said, looking at Rozen. "I was always on this side. My family has power and standing here. Everyone around me is the same—we infiltrated the Academy under orders. We were spies from the beginning. So, it's not betrayal."
That statement didn't earn a response from Rozen—but drew Charlotte's fury.
"No! That's still betrayal!" Charlotte shouted. "You betrayed every student who trusted you! Everyone who supported you!"
"...That, I can't deny." Olga went quiet for a moment, then said, "So, what do you plan to do now?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Loki stood up coldly. "We clean house."
"Indeed. That is the logical choice." Olga nodded, then added, "But can you really do it?"
As she spoke, Olga raised her hand.
In the next moment, a small red dragon streaked across the sky and landed on Olga's arm.
"Th-That is...!?"
Everyone was shocked.
"No way!"
Charlotte froze.
"Thor!"
Even Sigmund couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Ha! Long time no see, brother!"
The red dragon named Thor grinned.