Reincarnated as the Only Male in an All-Girls Magic Academy!
Chapter 34: Last Stand.

Chapter 34: Last Stand.

The moment Ren shouted, the world seemed to slow down.

With an inhuman screech, the seemingly unconscious girl’s mouth cracked open unnaturally wide, stretching like it had no bones or limits.

Her jaw clicked and snapped open like a trap from some nightmare, aiming straight for the closest girl’s neck.

Ren didn’t hesitate. In fact the moment he screamed he had already acted.

With a grunt, he swung his kusarigama like a master reeling in a beast from the depths.

Swish!

The chain rattled through the air, a blur of metal and momentum, and the spiked club at the end wrapped around the curse’s neck with a low whirl.

He didn’t just stop there. He twisted his wrist, wrapped the chain around his arm, then yanked it sideways with brutal force.

The body was ripped clean away from the girl she had almost bitten, the momentum sending the curse crashing into a nearby pillar. Bits of the stone cracked from the impact.

For one brief moment, everything stilled again.

Then, all at once, the curse howled.

It didn’t sound like a human or an animal, it was worse. Like a child screaming underwater while chewing on glass.

It jerked up and lunged forward again, eyes empty but wild, mouth gaping to devour anything nearby. This time, the girl she targeted was too frozen to scream.

But someone else did.

Lia.

"Aarrgh!"

Her voice tore through the hallway like an arrow filled with raw, unfiltered rage, and in that instant, her entire body erupted in blazing fire.

Her cold, brooding expression vanished beneath a mask of fury as her black hair was swept upward by the force of her power.

She leapt forward with a speed that made most of the girls blink and miss the moment altogether.

Her spear fell from her hands, forgotten. She didn’t need it. Her hands alone were enough.

Bang!

She crashed into the curse mid-lunge like a meteor, pinning it to the floor. Fire exploded outward, searing the walls and making several girls fall back with cries of surprise.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The curse screamed again, but Lia screamed louder. Over and over she punched, clawed, slammed, and scorched until the monster finally cracked, splintered, and turned into black mist beneath her burning hands. But she didn’t stop.

Ren walked toward her calmly, though the air around her shimmered like he was approaching a bonfire.

Her flames roared, wild and furious. The sound of her fists against stone was like drumbeats of war, and the look in her eyes was nothing short of madness.

He placed a hand on her scorching shoulder gently. Just a simple touch. And somehow, through that touch and his soft words, her fire began to die down. Slowly. Bit by bit.

"It’s over," he said. "You’re safe. We’re safe. You did well."

She didn’t look at him immediately. Her breathing was ragged.

Her eyes were still glowing faintly, unfocused, and there was a single tear trailing down her ash-streaked cheek.

But eventually, her hands stopped shaking, and her fire faded. Her clothes were tattered, scorched at the edges, but she stood up slowly, trying not to wobble.

Then came the stares.

Some girls looked horrified. Others judgmental. Whispers began to bubble at the edges of the group.

"Did you see her eyes?"

"She looked like a monster..."

"Is she even human?"

Ren stepped forward, blocking them all from seeing Lia. His back was straight, voice clear. "You should be thanking her," he said coldly.

"That curse would have taken one of you. Maybe two. She saved lives. You should be looking at yourselves for freezing up."

His voice cut the murmurs off like a guillotine. Dead silence followed.

Then Mirabella stepped forward, her voice sharp with authority. "If anyone has a problem with someone risking their life to protect you, feel free to walk back to your dorm on your own. Otherwise, shut up and move."

Her words hit home. The group nodded, murmuring apologies. One of the girls, the one who had almost been bitten ran forward and bowed deeply to both Ren and Lia.

"T-thank you," she said, her voice trembling but earnest. "I... I owe you both my life."

Lia gave a short nod but said nothing. Her lips were pressed tight. Ren gently patted her shoulder again and turned to Mirabella.

"That curse," she said, glancing back at the corpse, "how did you know?"

Ren wiped a bit of blood from his temple and spoke with casual calm. He explained the reasons behind his deductions briefly.

Mirabella stared, eyebrows raised.

"I see..." she said slowly. "Impressive."

"It was obvious," Ren said with a shrug. "If anyone had paid enough attention, they would have discovered the same thing."

With that, the team pressed on, gathering up girls who had stayed behind in the dorms, hiding under beds or behind cabinets.

Many cried when they were found. Some had to be carried. Lia moved with renewed fire, silent but always alert.

And though she didn’t speak, she never strayed more than a few steps from Ren.

They reached the arena with nearly a hundred new girls trailing behind them like ducklings. But instead of relief, they were greeted by horror.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The barrier.

The massive dome of protective force that encased the arena was flickering violently, shuddering under the relentless pounding of the curses.

Thousands of them, all shapes and sizes, slammed against it. Black mist and red eyes were everywhere.

Worst of all, five towering curses stood at the front, each one a stage 3, hammering at the barrier with monstrous limbs, claws, or roars that cracked the air.

Mirabella’s face paled. Ren narrowed his eyes.

"That barrier’s not going to hold much longer," he said grimly.

Rumble!

The arena’s sky-hued shield rippled and buzzed like it was being punched in the gut over and over again.

Every time a Stage 3 curse slammed into it, it bent unnaturally inward, letting out a deep hum that vibrated through the bones.

Ren stood still, sweat dripping down his face, eyes narrowing with intensity as he stared at the dancing patterns of light on the barrier’s surface.

His chest was rising and falling steadily, not from exhaustion this time, but from realization.

"This... isn’t right," he muttered.

Mirabella raised an eyebrow as she stood beside him. Her hair was damp with sweat, her cloak torn, her gauntlet partially melted from a previous encounter.

"No kidding. The barrier’s about to pop like a soap bubble."

Ren didn’t respond. His gaze sharpened. He adjusted his hair with his finger, tilted his head to one side, then suddenly crouched and rubbed the ground with his fingertips.

"The energy dispersion..." he murmured, "...it’s uneven. Like it’s being drawn toward a single point instead of radiating outward. That doesn’t happen unless... unless—"

He froze. His pupils dilated. A string of chaotic ideas shot across his mind like firecrackers.

No. No way.

But what if...

His heart skipped.

He stood abruptly and turned toward the barrier’s edge, eyes wild, his usual calm replaced by a kind of frenzied clarity. "We need to get back inside the barrier. Now!"

Lia blinked. "Wait, what? What did you think of?"

He didn’t even wait. He dashed straight toward the shimmering wall, which was already flickering like a dying light bulb. "Move!" he barked.

Mirabella didn’t hesitate. She grabbed her dagger tightly and charged forward beside him, her aura bursting in a silver flash.

The other girls followed behind like a herd of panicked sheep, scampering through the bloody path carved by the leading trio.

Bang!

After breaking through the spot with the least curses, Ren and the others crashed hard against the barrier.

Right before they smashed against it, it parted briefly for them and they snuck in as fast as possible.

A few curses also took the chance to slip in, but they were promptly cut down before they could pose any threat.

The group tumbled inside just as a thunderous bang struck the barrier again, sending wild cracks shooting through its shell like a cracked mirror.

The inner side of the arena was tense. Panicked girls were standing in silence, desperately observing the barrier that was barely holding up like it was their last hope.

The entire atmosphere reeked of smoke, sweat, and raw fear.

Ren didn’t say a word. He bolted past the injured and confused crowd, heading straight for the core of the barrier.

There was a glowing, dome-shaped formation hidden in a small crater at the center of the arena.

His mind was racing. There had to be something wrong with the formation.

A barrier of this magnitude should last at least a full day of continuous attack. So why was it already on the brink of collapse?

As he skidded to a halt near the core, he slowed his breathing and looked around.

A soft humming filled the air.

Then he noticed it.

The shadows.

Dozens of girls sat or stood nearby, sweating and scared... but all of them had shadows dancing behind them, distorted by the flickering core light.

Except one.

One girl sitting near the very base of the formation. Alone. Her hair was long, covering her face, and her uniform was slightly off, like it was one size too small.

But the most important detail? Her body... cast no shadow!

Again!

Ren’s eyes widened. "There you are," he whispered.

Without hesitation, he swung his kusarigama, the chain spinning with a high-pitched whistle as it hooked around the "girl’s" neck.

With a savage yank, he ripped the creature backward. Its disguise tore away in a ripple of black sludge and screeching noise, revealing a grotesque semi-humanoid curse with a mouth stretching from its chin to its chest.

The nearby girls screamed.

The curse tried to bite his face, but Ren predicted the attack from a mile away.

He took a giant leap backwards, glowed into an elegant turn and whipped his weapon with practiced instinct, slamming the spiked end into its skull and finishing it with a spinning slash that reduced it to black mist.

Lia and Mirabella arrived seconds later. Mirabella’s eyes darted between Ren and the sizzling core. "Was that—?"

"A curse," Ren said coolly, trying to keep his heart from bursting.

"Another mimic-type. It disguised itself as a student and sat near the formation core, probably feeding corrupted energy into it the entire time."

"But it’s gone now, right?" Lia asked, breath shaky.

"Yes," Ren said... then grimaced. "But the damage is done."

As if to confirm his words, the core let out a long, painful whine, like a dying beast. The glowing sphere turned a sickly yellow, black veins crawling across its surface.

"It’s unstable," he muttered. "Too unstable to repair on the spot. Best-case scenario? It overloads, purges itself, and reboots. Worst-case... it just explodes."

"How long?" Mirabella asked, eyes steel.

"Thirty seconds. Maybe less."

She nodded grimly and turned to the girls. "Everyone who can move, form a perimeter! Anyone who can fight, take one of these!"

She opened her pouch and tossed out stamina recovery potions, bitter-tasting little vials that burned like fire going down but could give you just enough energy to fight for a few more minutes.

Ren grabbed one, uncorked it with his teeth, and downed it in one gulp. His entire body jolted, like someone poured lightning down his throat.

Around them, the girls rose shakily, many still terrified, but now holding weapons with trembling fingers.

Lia stood beside him, fists clenched, hair windblown and messy, her eyes full of anger and pride.

The seconds ticked.

Twenty...

Fifteen...

Ten...

The barrier began to let out a horrible creaking sound, like metal being ripped apart.

Mirabella raised her sword and whispered, "We hold this ground. Until our hearts stop."

Ren rolled his shoulder and flicked the kusarigama’s chain. "Let’s give them hell."

Three...

Two...

One.

The barrier shattered.

Hundreds of curses roared as the light vanished, charging like a tsunami of nightmares.

The grand battle was about to begin.

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