The Academy’s Weakest Became A Demon-Limited Hunter
Chapter Summary
Snow White’s mother, wearing searing hot iron shoes, suffered in agony as she moved through an anguished dance in a ballroom so vast it bordered on extravagance. White’s eyes widened as she recognized the white-haired zombie who had cast dark magic at her. She remained unchanged from the woman who once performed the dance of death, but now, many zombies followed her.
In a dazzling ballroom, the execution ceremony unfolded.
Instead of the grand music played by an orchestra, the hall was filled with agonized groans.
Snow White’s mother, wearing searing hot iron shoes, suffered in agony as she moved through an anguished dance in a ballroom so vast it bordered on extravagance.
The charge was attempted assassination of an imperial family member.
That day, Emperor Carlos watched the empress’ dance coldly, like a man whose emotions had dulled.
Among the Imperial Knights standing in formation, Merlin Astrea, an Imperial Knight, noticed Princess Snow White.
White was secretly hiding behind a pillar.
Her expression was utterly emotionless, and her eyes had turned cold.
Another Imperial Knight found White and quietly escorted her out.
Even as she was leaving, White’s gaze remained fixed on her mother, who was giving her final solo performance.
“Princess White!!
”At the garden near Duke Hall, on the second campus of Märchen Academy.
As Snow White was cutting her way through zombies, claws of darkness rushed at her.
Merlin hugged White, leaped off the ground, and narrowly avoided the attack.
Merlin quickly positioned herself with White behind her, adjusting her stance.
White’s eyes widened as she recognized the white-haired zombie who had cast dark magic at her.
Her pupils quaked as if an earthquake had struck them.
“Mother…?
”Though tattered, the dress was once exceedingly beautiful.
Her decayed and rotting face faintly retained traces of her former beauty.
The high-heeled iron shoes worn by the zombie were the very torture devices that had led to her demise.
She remained unchanged from the woman who once performed the dance of death, but now, many zombies followed her.
Empress Grimhilde.
This woman, who gained the world’s greatest beauty through a contract with Mephisto, won Emperor Carlos’ affection and dramatically rose to the position of empress.
She growled like a beast.
Even after death, she harbored resentment toward her daughter.
“The contractors of Mephisto that Lord Isaac mentioned… I see.
Grimhilde, it’s only natural that you would appear among them as well…”Merlin narrowed her eyes.
“Merlin, that person…”“Do not waver, Princess White.
She is already dead.
”“…I know.
”Contrary to Merlin’s expectations, White was remarkably calm and steadfast.
Her moment of surprise was brief.
White brought forth the power of the night above her hands.
The navy blue mana flowed like smoke, then suddenly grew more intense, blazing like a burning sun.
“Merlin, leave the rest to me.
I’ll end… my mother with my own hands.
”Merlin had no intention of hindering White’s firm resolve.
She only wanted to risk her life to help White break the curse of the past.
“…Understood.
”Fwoosh!
Merlin leaped into the horde of zombies, skillfully cutting them down.
Crash!!
In rapid succession, White clashed magic with Grimhilde.
Grimhilde’s dark magic could not easily overpower the fairy power that White wielded.
Grimhilde let out a roar of rage, her mouth tearing open to her ears.
Even as a corpse imbued with Mephisto’s intelligence, her decayed body still retained remnants of memories.
Jealousy.
It was nothing but jealousy.
— Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?
Every day, Grimhilde asked her talking mirror that question and confirmed she was the most beautiful.
But as Snow White grew older, the mirror declared that Grimhilde’s daughter, White, was the fairest of them all.
In the past, Grimhilde had sacrificed much to the demons to gain the world’s greatest beauty, her body and soul included.
But White, simply by being born from Grimhilde’s womb, held beauty far greater than her own.
How can this world be so unfair?
Grimhilde was furious.
She had to be the most beautiful being in the world.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous!
”Crash!!
White sneered as she unleashed a series of wind blades infused with night mana, but Grimhilde deployed a dark shield to block and absorb the attack.
“How can you decide to kill your own daughter!?
I thought you’d at least consider me your daughter, even just a little!
If you’d done that, even the tiniest bit, I would have tried not to resent you as I lived my life!
”No matter how many times her mother had tried to kill her, White believed that the pocket watch her mother had given her was an ordinary gift and cherished it.
The fact that even that watch was Grimhilde’s ultimate tool to trap White in eternal hell… left White with profound loss.
Step by step, White advanced toward Grimhilde, unleashing blades of night wind.
At last, White stood face-to-face with Grimhilde.
“Here… let’s end it all, Mother.
”So that I can break the chains you bound around my heart.
To save herself, White would put an end to Grimhilde.
White’s mana intensified.
Soon, the relentless barrage of night wind blades pierced through Grimhilde’s dark shield, ruthlessly tearing her to pieces.
Shhhk!!
Grimhilde screamed.
Her decayed body, easily severed, crumbled like a collapsing sandcastle, turning into ashen dust and vanishing.
It was the end all demons faced.
Grimhilde’s parched lips moved slightly, like an arid field devoid of moisture.
[Ah… ga…]At that moment, White stifled a gasp.
Her eyes opened as wide as they could go.
[My baby…]The words were clear.
Grimhilde, as if gazing at something dear, murmured while staring into the void.
Facing her second death, she had already lost many of her memories.
She drifted within the strongest memory that had survived until the end.
The remaining memory was of a moment when she held a white-haired baby in her arms.
When she extended her index finger, the tiny baby, barely able to open its eyes, grasped it tightly with its small hand.
Her heart swelled with emotion, and an unbidden smile spread across Grimhilde’s face.
The woman gazing at the baby born from her womb was smiling so happily.
For the first time, she had a treasure beyond beauty.
“Baby, is that…?
”It was then that White realized.
Her name had been given to her by her mother.
She was named “Snow White” because she was said to be as fair as pure white snow.
Snow White.
If her mother was a woman who would envy even her daughter’s beauty, why would she give her such a name?
Questions followed.
Mephisto had made two contracts with Grimhilde.
Why is that?
Looking at the fates of the other contractors around, the answer was simple.
Happy endings were never intended for the contractors.
The two contracts were likely meant to deliver tragedy to Grimhilde.
What is that talking mirror?
The strange mirror was a gift from Mephisto.
It constantly satisfied Grimhilde’s need for validation, telling her she was the fairest.
It steadily built her obsession with beauty.
Even the jealousy Grimhilde would feel when the mirror changed its stance was part of Mephisto’s design.
Mephisto possessed the ability to fill a contractor’s heart with malice.
Just as she had done to Alice, who usurped the Queen of Hearts’ power in Wonderland.
It was impossible for that power not to affect an ordinary woman who merely coveted beauty.
When the time was ripe, Mephisto, as if waiting for the right moment, approached Grimhilde and offered a second contract to cast White into the abyss.
Anticipating the tragedy that had already been set for Grimhilde.
“Wait, Mother…!
Don’t disappear yet, not yet…!
”Swish.
Grimhilde’s form completely vanished.
The woman who had been played by Mephisto met her pitiful second demise.
Not even her mother’s ashes remained in White’s hands.
When she opened her clenched fist, only the pitiful ashen dust left in her palm scattered helplessly in the wind.
It felt as though her insides were being shredded.
Her blood boiled furiously throughout her body.
Unbearable rage consumed her.
Whoosh!!
Following White’s intense emotions, night mana surged.
It took the form of navy blue wings, elevating her power to a much higher level.
Immense mana descended upon the schoolyard.
Ssss!
The radiant navy blue mana spread across the ground.
The dense mana avoided White’s allies and steadily devoured only the horde of zombies.
The faculty and students of Märchen Academy, as well as the Imperial Knights, looked around with astonished faces at the overwhelming night mana that enveloped the area.
“This is…?
”Only the feeble screams of the zombies echoed.
A startled Merlin immediately looked at White.
She saw the white-haired girl kneeling on the ground, her head bowed low, consumed by loss.
The surging night mana made her hair and clothes flutter.
The wings of mana extending from White’s back flickered like flames.
In contrast to the navy blue wings, her body glowed softly, emitting a pure white light.
“Princess White…?
”White stood up.
Merlin took in the sight of White’s face.
Her face, marred by sorrow and rage, was shrouded in the thick aura of murderous intent.
“Merlin, I have to go.
”“Where to…?
”“The First Campus.
”The enormous eye that filled the sky was directed toward the First Campus.
Fierce flames were spreading across the skies of the First Campus.
A battlefield where no number of lives would ever be enough.
White intended to head to the place where the「Evil God Subjugation」was taking place.
“That demon… I must kill it myself.
”White desperately wanted to destroy the demon that had reduced her mother to such a state.
“Princess White…!
”Whoosh!!
As Merlin charged forward to stop her, White unleashed a burst of navy blue mana that shaped her wings and darted away in an instant.
A navy blue comet streaked across the sky toward the First Campus.