Mental Clash was originally a control Spell Card with a fairly high risk and strict limitations.
Mages with high mental stats rarely got up close to people.
And most warriors who excelled at close combat weren't necessarily able to win a mental clash.
If they lost, they'd basically be helping their opponent control them.
Apart from against certain specific classes, it was a Spell Card with very limited uses—almost useless.
But...
If Dekan was the one using this card, he'd come out ahead whether he won or lost!
Win, and the opponent would be stunned. Lose, and they'd both be stunned—and the opponent would probably stay that way longer than he would.
The instant the spell activated, a sharp pain stabbed through Dekan's brain, followed by an irresistible wave of dizziness.
His vision went black, and his body slumped to the ground.
In his final moment before losing consciousness, he saw...
Olive's body convulsed violently, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.
Her expression looked like she was crying in pain and laughing with excitement at the same time.
Beneath the bandages, her gaze had already grown unfocused.
"Glu... glugluglu..."
The pain was so intense and so far beyond anything she knew that it seemed to snap her nerves, leaving her unable to control even her own tongue.
After Dekan passed out, the limp Olive soon toppled off the chair and onto the floor as well.
It wasn't long before the lock on the laboratory door began to tremble slightly.
"Ding!"
With a splintering sound, the door swung open.
The one who entered the Demon Laboratory was none other than lock-picking expert Cornelia.
Just before using [Mental Clash], Dekan had activated the broadcasting function on his ring.
It transmitted the sounds around Dekan inside the Demon Laboratory to the nearby hallway.
Even Cornelia, who had been waiting outside, could clearly hear him and Olive hit the ground.
And, of course, Olive's incoherent babbling.
Dekan had instructed Cornelia to wait outside the laboratory. If she heard the school broadcast go "knock knock" twice, she was to pick the lock and rush into the Demon Laboratory.
Then Cornelia had to kill Olive before she regained consciousness.
Dekan wasn't sure how long he could keep Olive unconscious, after all.
Olive was a high-ranking demon. Given enough time, she might be able to recover on her own.
If that happened, Dekan would truly be in danger.
Looking at the chaos inside the Demon Laboratory, Cornelia had a few comments on the tip of her tongue, but held them back.
Olive lay sprawled on the floor, flushed, tongue lolling out, unconscious.
She looked as if someone had forced a bottle of hard liquor down her throat.
Every now and then, her body would twitch.
Dekan, meanwhile, lay beside her as peacefully as if he were asleep, with even the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.
Anyone passing by who didn't know Dekan's plan would surely suspect he'd done something heinous.
Cornelia hurried over to Olive.
There was no time to dawdle. She had one crucial task left—
Kill Olive.
This demon was extremely dangerous. She had to be eliminated once and for all to prevent future trouble.
Normally, even if Olive was unconscious, a third-tier Cornelia would have a hard time quickly killing a sixth-tier demon without waking her.
After all, she'd already broken her hammer and still hadn't managed to kill the fifth-tier Batchel.
Demons had remarkably strange bodies.
But earlier, Dekan had discovered an important loophole.
A very important way to easily kill demons in the Demon Academy!
Cornelia picked up the unconscious Olive.
She hurried to the window.
She opened it, then threw Olive outside.
She leaned over the sill and looked out.
Olive fell into Endless Purgatory, her body disappearing completely from sight.
Cornelia breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew. All done."
She stretched lazily by the window, feeling utterly relaxed.
Having an external brain was wonderful.
Then she thought it over and checked the mission objectives.
Dekan had also told her to check the exploration progress for Mission 1 to confirm whether Olive was dead.
During their earlier explorations, they had established that entering a room awarded a small amount of base exploration progress, while clearing a room awarded a much larger amount.
Both clearing a room according to its rules and killing its Demon Teacher counted as clearing it.
As Dekan had predicted, the exploration progress displayed for Mission 1 had shot up, bringing it very close to the required 50%.
[Exploration Progress: 32.7% → 47.7%] [Time Remaining: 5 hours 10 minutes]
That meant they only needed to clear one or two more rooms.
But Dekan and Cornelia had already done more than enough. Before entering the Boss Room, they had agreed that after this job, they wouldn't cause any more trouble.
They'd take a break and enjoy their pool party.
As for the humans in the Boss Room, Dekan had advised her not to approach them.
Since they hadn't defeated Olive by the usual method, rescuing the humans along the normal strategy route might instead trigger a chain of unpredictable consequences.
With Dekan unconscious, the less Cornelia had to do, the better.
Cornelia crouched beside Dekan's unconscious body and considered poking his face to wake him up.
But after thinking it over, she decided against doing something that might accidentally hurt a teammate.
She'd let him rest for a while.
Carefully, she slipped one hand behind Dekan's back and the other under his knees, then lifted him into her arms.
Then she quickly left the Demon Laboratory and headed toward the Cooking Classroom.
"Mm..."
Dekan had only suffered triple the pain, along with the dizziness from Mental Shock, so he gradually regained consciousness before long.
He felt someone holding him gently. The soft, warm hands gave him a strange sense of comfort.
A shiver ran over him, and his eyes opened almost involuntarily.
Cornelia had just left the Demon Laboratory and was walking down the hallway.
As soon as Dekan opened his eyes, he realized Cornelia was carrying him in her arms.
Their eyes met.
Both fell silent.
It should have been a rather lovely scene.
But with a boy being carried in a girl's arms, it felt a little awkward.
"...I think you'd be better off carrying me on your back."
Dekan chose an opening line that felt a little less awkward.
"I was afraid I'd break your bones when I picked you up."
Cornelia had considered carrying Dekan on her back, too.
But she still remembered his original warning: his body was fragile, so she shouldn't hurt him.
That was why she had chosen the safer way to carry him.
"Never mind. This is pretty nice, too."
Dekan had come around.
She smelled nice, felt soft, and was thoughtful and comforting.
After spending most of the Shadow World busy at work, what was wrong with enjoying himself a little?
Cornelia: "Should I put you down now?"
Dekan: "I'm still a little dizzy. Take me to the Cooking Classroom."
Cornelia: "Okay."
Sorry for the trouble.
Before you continue