Heavy Metal

"Someone dares? Could it be someone from Lord Lampert's faction?"

One of the four summoners battling the lightning tiger shouted as he spotted a halberd flying through the air. A large metallic gauntlet clung to its hilt, pulling the weapon back with magical force that suggested it had an origin. Katherine's expression shifted from boredom to surprise. Her teacup, which had been balanced on the edge of her flowery throne, slipped and shattered on the ground.

The red orc archer stepped forward, bow half-drawn, eyes scanning the treeline. It focused on the direction to which the halberd had returned, then notched an arrow into its large wooden bow. The second orc, a warrior with a heavy sword, moved into position to shield his master. The air grew tense, and more rustling followed. Something was approaching, and it was moving fast.

From the dense underbrush emerged a blur of metal. It was Rusty. He burst out of the foliage at full speed, shield raised high just in time to intercept the arrow loosed by the orc archer. The projectile struck with a dull clang, deflecting off the reinforced surface in a burst of mana sparks. Rusty did not slow. Instead, he accelerated, an aura of wind gathering around him and enhancing his agility.

He charged forward, gripping his halberd firmly, the weapon lowered like a jousting lance. His speed increased with each stride, and his footsteps grew heavier. The ground tore beneath him as if he were forged entirely of metal, as weighty as a golem. Katherine turned at the sound of crashing branches and the ripple of shrieks from her subordinates. Her composed expression faltered as her eyes locked onto Rusty barreling toward her.

"W-what?"

She toppled from her throne, catching herself clumsily on one knee as her dress snagged on a thorned vine. Trying to rise, she stumbled again, and a sudden jolt sent her tumbling forward onto her face. Her robe fluttered in the wind, exposing her backside to anyone who dared to look.

"What are you all looking at? Get that thing!"

Her voice rose into a shriek of frustration as she shouted, her face smeared with dirt and streaked makeup. The elegance she had so carefully maintained was now in ruins. The other students hesitated, unable to respond to her command. They could not turn their backs on the lightning tiger, which was still tearing into one of their summons. If even one of their creatures shifted focus, it would mean certain defeat.

However, the student who had been holding the teapot moved. They also had a summon, one capable of manipulating plant matter. It was the same entity that had created the rose-covered throne for Katherine, or more precisely, it had been the throne itself.

Once Katherine fell, the throne began to shift. Its elegant form of vines and roses twisted violently as it revealed its true nature. Spikes pushed outward while the vines and wood reshaped into a humanoid figure made entirely of plant matter. Though similar in height to a rock golem, it had a leaner frame. Red roses bloomed from its back, while the rest of its body bristled with sharp thorns. Its eyes glowed green, formed from what looked like woven strands of poison ivy.

The creature fully emerged and stepped forward to defend Katherine. However, this act proved to be a mistake. Rusty, the charging suit of armor, did not aim for the girl who had fallen. Instead, he shifted direction and now barreled straight toward the summoner who had awakened the lesser Rose Treant. Chapter source: My Virtual Library Empire (M|V|L4EMPYR).

"Huh? W-what?"

The student summoner's eyes widened as Rusty closed the distance, the heavy thudding of armored feet shaking the ground like a war drum. The two red orcs made no attempt to help him. Their focus remained solely on protecting Katherine, and they quickly gathered around her. While they helped her back to her feet, the young student who had held the teapot was left unguarded and defenseless before Rusty's charge.

CRACK!

A sharp crack split the air. Rusty slammed into the student with the full force of his momentum. His halberd struck their chest with a crushing blow, sending the summoner flying into the trunk of a nearby tree. A protective barrier flashed at the last moment, shielding them from serious injury. The teleportation enchantment activated immediately afterward, whisking them away and eliminating one of the opponents in an instant.

The Rose Treant let out a low, unnatural screech as it lunged to protect its fallen master. Vines snapped forward like lashes, but before they could make contact, they dissolved into particles of light. With the summoner gone, the creature lost its connection to this world and vanished before everyone's eyes.

'Good. That one would have been a problem.'

Rusty thought this to himself. His true target had never been Katherine. From the start, he had aimed for the summoner who controlled the throne-shaped monster. Plant creatures were notoriously resistant to physical damage and could regenerate over time. Without his poleaxe, which carried a flame enchantment and was currently out of reach, he had no reliable way to deal with the creature directly. So he had targeted its master instead.

The noise he made, the apparent charge at Katherine, it had all been a distraction. He knew the students would rush to defend her. It was part of his plan, and now only five enemies remained.

"You… that form… a living armor? Gwendolin Rainstar, you dare oppose me? Where are you hiding?"

Katherine had managed to get back on her feet. The two orcs stood beside her in formation, the warrior in front, shielding her with his large frame, and the archer positioned behind, arrow already drawn. It flew toward Rusty but clattered harmlessly off his raised shield. This time, however, he did not charge. He advanced slowly, carefully analyzing their stances and movements.

'I think you should answer her and show yourself.'

Rusty sent the thought through their bond, his tone calm. Gwen, however, was not thrilled by the suggestion.

'Can't I just stay here behind this tree instead? I think you have everything under control…'

Although she had moved closer to the battlefield, Gwen had quickly ducked out of sight the moment Katherine glanced in her direction. Even now, with the decision to confront her oppressor made, facing Katherine directly still felt overwhelming.

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'It would help me out greatly if you could show yourself.'

Rusty could feel the emotions rising in Gwen, her fear intensifying. But he remained detached, viewing the confrontation through a more strategic lens. Katherine, in contrast, was clearly letting emotion guide her. If Gwen revealed herself, there was a good chance Katherine would lose some composure, or better, give misguided commands to her summons.

Rusty understood that humanoids often became ruled by their feelings, and he had no hesitation about using that to his advantage. If Gwen's appearance could destabilize Katherine, then it was a tactical opportunity worth exploiting.

Gwen inhaled sharply. Her fingers curled tightly around the bark of the tree she hid behind, her nails digging into the wood. Katherine's voice still echoed across the battlefield. Ever since Gwen had started at the academy, she had known that voice—impertinent, mocking, and insidious. Every word Katherine spoke dripped with venom, and Gwen had endured it for far too long. There was no room left for fear as it was replaced with rage.

"Why shouldn't I dare to oppose you, Katherine Grandwell? I've already beaten you once. I will do it again!"

Her voice rang out, wavering at first but firm later. Gwen stepped out from behind the tree and faced her tormentor head-on. Her eyes shimmered with tears, and though her body trembled, she stood her ground. She did not look away.

Katherine froze. She was not accustomed to hearing that tone from anyone, especially not from someone who dared to speak her name without a title. The girl before her bore a once-respected family name, but her house had nearly collapsed. To Katherine, Gwen was nothing more than a paper tiger, shaking with fear and still pretending to have teeth. And yet, here she stood, baring her non-existent fangs. It was intolerable.

"You… you little..."

Katherine's voice broke as rage surged through her. Her hands trembled, curling into fists, and her eyes burned with fury that threatened to overwhelm her already fragile composure.

"How dare you speak back to me? Know your place, you vermin! Do you think you and I are equals? Your name means nothing now!"

Katherine's fury reached its breaking point. Her voice cracked again as she screamed, the elegant poise she once clung to falling apart with every word.

"You think this is some kind of game, Rainstar? That you can talk back and suffer no consequence? You forget who stands above you. I will show you your place!"

Her hand snapped forward, not toward Rusty, but toward Gwen.

"You! Shoot her! Aim for her stupid head. Maybe an arrow will knock some sense into it!"

The orc archer obeyed without hesitation. He was a creature of mana, bound to his summoner's will and incapable of acting on his own. His massive bow groaned under the strain as he shifted his aim away from Rusty. The arrow's tip shimmered with a sickly, green light, coated in a venomous enchantment as the archer activated one of his innate abilities.

On the other side of the battlefield, a clash erupted. The Orc Warrior charged headlong into Rusty, forcing him back with sheer strength. Rusty was pushed to the side, metal grinding against the earth, momentarily off balance. Meanwhile, the arrow soared unimpeded toward Gwen's face.

Then, a flash of green light burst into view. A wall of glittering energy formed around Gwen, surrounding her in a radiant shield. The arrow struck the barrier, crackling against its surface. For a second, the shield shimmered under the impact, but it held firm.

"What?"

Katherine gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief. Behind Gwen, a small fairy hovered in the air, wings aglow with residual magic. She was the source of the shield. For a moment, Katherine assumed Gwen had summoned it. But then her gaze shifted, and she saw the true summoner stepping forward. Astrella revealed herself, her long ears marking her as something not entirely human.

"The halfbreed?"

Her voice dripped with disdain. Astrella's expression tightened. Her ears dipped along with her eyebrows, and her eyes narrowed in rising anger.

"Yes, the halfbreed. What about it, Lady Grandwell?"

"You… you too…"

Katherine's voice faltered, her confidence shaken by the sight of yet another defiant figure standing against her. Her bottom lip trembled, and she began to bite one of her fingernails, unable to mask the crack forming in her carefully constructed exterior facade. The two young girls stood before her, their steady gazes filled with opposition. It was more than she could stomach. And it was exactly what Rusty had been waiting for.

His opponent was distracted, caught in the chaos of uncontrolled emotions, and no longer issuing proper commands. Rusty recognized the shift instantly. Though he had not spent much time within this summoning space, one thing had become clear to him early on. The creatures summoned by these students were not particularly intelligent. In fact, they were even less responsive than many of the monsters he had fought in his own world. Without direct input from their masters, they became predictable, limited to basic routines and unable to respond to advanced tactics.

This made them easy prey. Rusty steadied his stance. His moment to strike had come. With a surge of force and his weight control skill active once more, he slammed his shoulder into the Red Orc Warrior. The creature, thinking itself sturdier, accepted the hit head-on and immediately regretted it. The impact sent the orc tumbling across the ground, crashing through branches and moss. Without hesitation, Rusty followed up by hurling his halberd. This time, he did not aim for the orc. His target was Katherine.

Just as he expected, the Red Orc archer reacted instantly. The summon was bound to protect its master if it was able to do so. That predictability was exactly what Rusty had planned around. If he had thrown the weapon at the archer itself, the creature would have likely dodged or defended. But its master was another matter entirely. Katherine stood frozen, her attention fixed on the two girls in front of her. She had not even noticed the weapon flying through the air, aimed straight at her exposed side.

The Red Orc Archer moved to protect its master. It lacked any true defensive abilities, relying only on its large body and heavy bow. It reached out with both hands in an attempt to catch the halberd, but missed by only a few centimeters. The weapon embedded itself in its abdomen with a sickening impact, and the orc slid backward, stumbling toward Katherine.

"Huh?"

Katherine felt something bump against her back and turned to see the orc slumped in front of her. Blood began to pour from the wound, but quickly transformed into glowing blue particles as the summon's form began to flicker and fade. Only then did she realize she was under attack and her other summon was faring no better.

This time, Rusty had not used his gauntlet to retrieve the halberd. Instead, he summoned a one-handed mace from his item box and charged the Red Orc Warrior. The creature swung its massive blade, but the strike was absorbed by Rusty's shield and armor, doing no real damage. Rusty retaliated, his mace crashing into the orc's knee with a heavy crack. The joint shattered instantly. Before the monster could fall, Rusty's next blow struck its face, sending the creature flying. It hit the ground hard and began to dissolve into a cloud of mana.

"Such insolence!"

Katherine's shriek echoed across the battlefield. But it was not over yet. The wounded monsters were still alive, barely holding on. Their forms, though flickering, had not fully vanished. Some summoners, if skilled or well-equipped, could use their mana or special items to prolong the lives of their creatures. Even critically wounded summons could be kept alive and healed through such methods. That was exactly what Katherine was attempting to do.

The monsters were beginning to regenerate, but Rusty knew the counter to this. A summoner needed full focus to heal their creatures. Without it, their spells would falter.

"Ahhh, get this thing off me!"

Just as Katherine extended her hands to channel her mana, something small leapt onto her face. It was a tiny imp, summoned by Gwen and placed according to Rusty's instructions during the earlier chaos. The creature clawed at Katherine's cheeks, bit her nose, and pulled at her hair. She shrieked and thrashed, stumbling backward and falling to the ground in a panic. Her hands flailed uselessly as she screamed for help like a child…