Attacks against Angels work with all non-attribute mana.
Since there is no such thing as [Non-Attribute Resistance] or [Non-Attribute Nullification], Angels must counter non-attribute mana with similar or equal magical power.
Question.
Does only ‘attack magic’ work?
“Gyaaaaaaaaaah!!”
“Shield!”
Defense works too. The laser beam spewing from Angel Yuribel’s mouth was shot straight into the sky by the circular shield created by Yunia.
“Shall we do it now?”
Yunia exuded confidence.
“Should I deploy several shields right now?”
“Hold on, Miss Yunia. I think it’s still okay.”
Even though she was only poking her head out from behind me, with her staff extended forward, Yunia was overwhelmingly subduing Angel Yuribel.
“Gyaaaaaaah!!”
“Gravity.”
Boom!
Angel Yuribel was slammed into the ground by gravity magic.
Her wings drooped, and though she tried to lift her body, she was eventually crushed by the weight and became one with the ground.
“Ugh…!”
The faculty members let out murmurs of frustration at this overwhelming subjugation.
Normally, they should have been the ones to subdue such a threat in the academy, but their magic only felt like a bee sting to the Angel.
‘Forget the Grey Witch, the student they were supposed to protect has subdued her instead.’
Even though Yunia was excellent at magic control, it was a kind of humiliation for those responsible for protecting the students to instead be receiving help from them.
‘Their skills didn’t work, but a freshman easily subdued it?’
As professionals and as seniors who had handled mana for longer, this was a harsh truth to face.
‘It’s all about talent.’
In the end, it comes down to talent. In this world, in the realm of magic, someone who has trained in mana for 30 years can be defeated in just one year by a genius who has just started learning magic.
‘It can’t be helped when fighting an Angel. Just as the Angels say, it takes a lot of talent and ability for an inferior race from the surface to capture a superior species.’
That’s why those lacking in talent are studying magic engineering to overcome the difference with natural mana pockets, but when it comes to controlling mana against Angels, the gap in talent becomes glaring.
An insurmountable difference in level that no amount of effort can close.
‘It was a bad matchup.’
That’s talent. Among the possessors of overwhelming talent, Yunia stood at the pinnacle.
“Binding!”
One of the staff members created chains using binding magic.
They tried to match the rainbow-colored chains Yunia conjured, wrapping them around Angel Yuribel’s neck—but-
“Kyaaaaak!!”
With just a scream and a flex of her neck, Yuribel shattered the chains.
Despite still being pinned to the ground, just by screaming, she broke the binding.
“That’s…”
“Even though it’s the same binding magic, it all depends on how much magic you can control.”
Level 10 binding isn’t the same as level 60 binding.
If that staff member had used their original attribute—probably a fire-based binding spell—they could have created a higher-level fire ring, maybe around level 65.
But that wouldn’t mean anything to an Angel.
To subdue an Angel, one must control balanced mana like Yunia does.
[Miss Yunia? Can you do ‘that’ now?]
As more staff members lowered their magic rifles with grim expressions, an incoming message from Instructor Kadisha in the Old School Building’s control room arrived.
“Huh? Already?”
[Yeah. It seems like dragging this out any longer would be meaningless.]
What did she mean by “meaningless”?
At Instructor Kadisha’s words, the staff hung their heads with gloomy faces.
Some likely felt a sense of inferiority hearing that word, “meaningless”.
“Instructor Kadisha. What do you mean by meaningless…?”
[Whether it’s binding or whatever, it’s not working anymore. I’d like to take her back for research soon.]
“It’s not, it’s not meaningless yet…!”
[Oh, really? So, are you planning to keep pulling the trigger on magic rifles until her mana runs dry?]
‘She really is a master of verbal missteps.’
Kadisha was more at fault in this situation.
The staff knew they were outclassed by the Angel, but Instructor Kadisha’s words made them feel even worse, as if she was looking down on them.
‘No wonder she only has Instructor Esta as a friend.’
There were many reasons why Instructor Kadisha had moved to the Old School Building, but one of them was that she had no allies within the academy due to her sharp tongue.
“Ah, Instructor Kadisha. How about we run a few more tests?”
[Hmm?]
Time to intervene.
The timing is right.
“If Miss Yunia can hold her down a little longer, it’s not particularly dangerous right now, is it?”
[Hmmm… is there something you want to do?]
“It’s not that I have something I want to do, but we shouldn’t waste this opportunity.”
I gestured toward the staff members who were on the verge of collapse.
“Mana bread for sale.”
“???”
Now’s the time.
An opportunity to legally conduct business.
“Mana bread that restores your mana! One loaf for 1 silver. Today is the first day, so it’s free!”
The staff tilted their heads in confusion.
“It’s nothing special; it’s just a mana potion in the form of bread instead of liquid.”
“Mana bread instead of a mana potion?”
“Yes, exactly. It will restore your mana, so why not give it another shot based on that?”
The staff looked at me with skeptical expressions, but I pointed my thumb in the direction of the Old School Building.
“You must have worked hard, staying up late like this. You’re not allowed to enter the Old School Building due to regulations, but since you’re working so hard for us, we should at least do this for you.”
[Hmm…]
“Instructor Kadisha?”
[Miss Yunia, do you have enough mana?]
Instructor Kadisha’s voice revealed some growing anxiety.
If Yunia ran out of mana, the Angel might break free from her restraints, and if that happened, Instructor Esta would be forced to draw her sword.
“Oh, yes, I have plenty.”
But Yunia was on my side.
With her back to the Old School Building, she gave me a thumbs-up, signaling that she was ready.
[Alright, but make sure to deploy the barrier immediately if anything happens.]
“Understood, Instructor.”
Kadisha gave her approval.
“Then, just a moment.”
I stepped away from them and—
“Is this what you meant?”
Before I could head toward the Old School Building, Ludmila appeared, holding a tray in both hands.
“When…?”
“I ran to get it as soon as you mentioned the mana bread.”
Freshly baked castella, still steaming.
Just looking at the soft texture of the bread was enough to make anyone’s mouth water.
‘To be honest, this bread is practically made of mana itself.’
I had prepared it in the practice room earlier in the evening, just before the Angel attack.
I figured if things got dangerous, we could eat the mana bread to recover our mana, and by tomorrow morning, our mana would be fully restored anyway.
“Thank you. This will be perfect for distribution.”
“Hey, special admission student.”
One of the staff members grumbled sarcastically.
“Is this really the time to eat bread… Whoa!”
“Kyaaaaak!”
Angel Yuribel, still caught in the binding, flung her fist, and it just grazed the head of the staff member who had been mocking me.
Crack.
“Aaaah!”
A hole appeared in the top of his helmet, and something that should not have disappeared seemed to vanish.
“Seems she’s still got a lot of energy.”
Yunia, startled, quickly extended her staff forward.
“Bind, Bind, Biiiiind!”
In an instant, Angel Yuribel was restrained again.
In an instant, Angel Yuribel was restrained again. Although she had managed to extend a hand outside of the binding, the chains wrapped around her so tightly that they might as well have been her clothing.
“Are you alright?”
“My… my head…!”
Her fist had narrowly brushed the top of his scalp.
The other guards hurriedly used ‘Heal’, but—
“This… this isn’t working?”
“Do we have to use non-attribute mana for healing?”
Ordinary healing wasn’t working.
The staff members turned their gaze toward Yunia, but she shook her head while pointing at Angel Yuribel, whose head was still pinned to the ground.
“Sorry, but if I share mana with you, the Angel might break free.”
“Damn…!”
The staff were running low on mana.
And here I was, offering bread that could replenish it.
“Why not give it a try? Just in case.”
“Hah, but…”
One of the female guards hesitated.
Even though restoring mana might not ensure their attacks would work against the Angel, she was still wary of the bread itself.
“Everyone, did you know?”
I held up a piece of mana bread.
“If you eat it and enjoy it, it’s zero calories.”
“?”
“Since it’s made of mana, there are no calories.”
“…!!”
“And the taste… it’s at least as good, if not better, than what you’d get at a bakery near the terminal.”
Honestly, I wanted to say it was far superior, but I held back. I didn’t want to risk competing with Silverstar Bakery.
“Once your mana is restored, use your healing spells, and when the mana is fully depleted, unleash all your magic on the Angel without hesitation. Leave no regrets.”
“…It’s not some strange bread, is it?”
“Of course not. It will simply fill your mana to the brim.”
“…”
“Captain, it’s dangerous!”
Crunch.
“…”
Crunch, Crunch, Crunch.
“Is it really zero calories?”
“Yes. Well, actually, no.”
It’s not exactly zero calories.
“Since your body will be using up mana, it’s more like negative calories, if anything.”
A short while later…
All the staff, except for the one whose hair roots were knocked out by Angel Yuribel’s punch, consumed the mana bread.
“Aaaaah!!”
“Bind! Bind! Bind!!”
The staff, fueled by the mana restored by the mana bread, unleashed their mana relentlessly toward Angel Yuribel until it was all exhausted, venting all their frustration.
Even though their attacks couldn’t even scratch Yuribel’s skin.
“Aaaaah!!”
They poured their anger at their lack of talent onto the angel.
* * *
[Is that enough now?]
“Yes.”
The mental care for the Old School Building staff was complete.
If you ask why I went through such efforts, it was because leaving them as they were would only cause problems later.
‘If they hold a grudge, they might even let the students they are supposed to catch slip away.’
If they held a grudge against the Old School Building, they might delay their response after seeing a student enter a dangerous zone on the magic CCTV in the control room.
‘You can’t rush out during a “cute time”, can you?’
If an intruder appeared while they were deep in a “cute moment”, it would be a disaster. Instead, we needed to make sure the guards were so diligent that they would chase intruders away before we even knew there was a problem, allowing us to enjoy our peaceful and quiet “cute time”.
‘It will all pay off in the end.’
Who knows?
If they ever master non-attribute mana to their full potential, they might one day become the ones to stand alone against the Angels descending from Heaven.
The Bread Academy staff are no joke.
Even if they’re not quite A-rank like Cutting Wind, they are certainly skilled.
And since they’ve eaten my bread, they might become potential customers in the future.
“Now then…”
I turned to face Angel Yuribel.
“Miss Yunia? Let’s do it.”
“…”
“Miss Yunia?”
“Can you support me?”
Yunia spread her arms, and I supported her mana pockets from underneath.
“Uh, excuse me.”
Hanelis, the girl who had been rescued by Evangeline’s puppet after being harassed by the angel, cautiously approached.
“Oh, are you Senior Hanelis?”
“…Why are you holding her like that?”
“Oh, this?”
Before I could answer, Yunia spoke up first.
“Well, it’s common sense to hold something heavy like this, isn’t it?”
“????”
There I was, holding Yunia’s mana pockets from underneath with my hands spread horizontally.
“Don’t worry. This is how we captured an angel last time too!”
“…???”
It’s common sense at the Old School Building.
“Alright then… Take this!”
Yunia completely released the bindings on Angel Yuribel.
“Kyahhh!!”
The moment Angel Yuribel lunged toward us—
“Take this!”
Yunia lightly called out and deployed a shield toward Angel Yuribel.
Front, back, left, right, above, and below.
In six directions.
Boom!
Angel Yuribel was trapped inside the rectangular shield, as if she had been slammed into a glass door, now imprisoned like a figure in a display case.
