A few minutes before, when Mr. Jacobs landed on the ground with the other cockatrice. He let out a deep breath as he patted the dead cockatrice. He needed to go back to the students as fast as possible, if not, something might happen to them. Forget losing his job if someone dies, what if it's Victoria who gets hurt badly?

Charlotte Gates would hunt him to the ends of the world, maybe even to Antarctica.

​​

But alas, as he was about to leave and rush back to his students, it would seem that there was no rest for him as he heard the leaves behind him rustle.

He quickly turned around, putting up his guard and waiting for the enemy that was hiding in bushes to reveal themselves.

"Y… you? What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Mr. Jacobs."

It was his smallest student, Van. Wasn't he just in the clearing? Could it be that he followed him here… to check up on him?

Mr. Jacobs quickly let down his guard as he felt a warm feeling grow in his chest. For a student to care for him this much, every sacrifice he made as an instructor is now worth it. He couldn't help but cover his eyes as he tried to fight back the tears that wanted to burst out.

"Mr. Jacobs, can you pull out the monster's tail or maybe cut it off?"

But as Mr. Jacobs was lost in his own thoughts of self-appreciation, Van examined the tail of the cockatrice. Lightly tapping it to see how sharp it was. Parts of the cockatrice have already melted, but for some reason, it didn't contain any Crystals whatsoever.

"...This… is really sharp."

"Of course it is, fish. Most of the weapons that some of the Enhancer types use are made from the tail of the cockatrice. But enough of that, let's go back to your classmates."

"Can you pull out the tail? I want to try something."

"What? We don't have time to be carving for parts!"

"No, I have a strategy I want to try. If I am right, we can finish this soon."

"...Strategy?" Mr. Jacobs could not help but squint his eyes. Maybe there is merit in listening to Van. He is, after all, considered to be the top 1 student amongst the freshmen. And what is he if he would not listen to the words of his most beloved student?

"What… is it?"

"Please pull out the cockatrice's tail first. We would be wasting our time if you can't really--"

Before Van could even finish his words, Mr. Jacobs split a huge boulder in half. He then quickly used the sharp edges of the boulder to mutilate and dismember the tail of the cockatrice from the rest of its body.

"So, fish. What do you want us to do with this tail?"

"Please carry it like a spear."

"...What?"

"Hurry up, we don't have much time, sir."

"..."

Hearing the haste in Van's voice, Mr. Jacobs could only let out a sigh as he picked up the cockatrice's sharp tail, holding it in the least dangerous way possible.

"Sir, please. No matter what happens, keep your hold on the tail as tight as possible."

"What? What are we even going to--"

Before Mr. Jacobs could even finish his words, he felt his whole body lift slightly from the ground.

"...What are you doing!?"

It truly was a surreal scene. With how tall he was and how small Van is, it looked as if Van was one of those dung beetles, rolling a big pile of… dirt a couple of times its size.

"Mr. Jacobs, don't ever let go of the tail no matter what happens."

"..."

In truth, Mr. Jacobs' already had an inkling of what Van was going to do. He didn't like it, but at the same time, he was curious as to what the result would be. And so, taking in a deep breath, he tightened the grip on the tail.

He heard from one of his colleagues that liked to read the ancient books that there was something like this in the Old World and it was called...

...A joust.

"Let's go, Mr. Jacobs."

"Alri-- Gwa!"

Mr. Jacobs felt his eyes tremble as the scenery in front of him kept on changing almost instantly. His lungs and insides were being left behind, but even then, he kept his grip on the tail as tight as possible. He could feel them maneuvering in the tight woods. However Van was doing this, Mr. Jacobs now knew that Van deserved to be hailed as the top 1 freshmen.

And then, momentarily, Mr. Jacobs saw a flash in his eyes as they seemed to have come out of the dim forest. He could barely make out the figures in front of him, but he was sure that he could see his students. And after a few moments more, he felt a pressure in his hand.

Mr. Jacobs once again not only felt his insides tremble but also his brain as they came to a sudden halt. His vision quickly darkened. He could feel that he was slowly being dropped to the ground, but still, he wasn't able to move as the whiplash sent his whole body to the heavens.

And so, still carrying the tail of the cockatrice, Mr. Jacobs' legs gave out. It was not until Mr. Jacobs felt something warm trail on his hand that he was able to snap himself out of his stupor. He quickly shook his head, with his vision slowly returning to him.

And there, in front of him, was a struggling cockatrice. Pinned to a tree by the tail of who could only be its mate. The warm feeling that Mr. Jacobs felt was the cockatrice's blood, trailing from the tail and onto his arms.

"That strategy always works."

Mr. Jacobs turned around, only to see Van with a satisfied expression on his face. In truth, Van didn't really think that this would work. His heart was currently beating fast and his breaths were erratic.

This was the first time ever that he carried anyone like that, it was a good thing that Mr. Jacobs is a resilient man. If he was a normal human, then he might have already fainted, or worse, died.

And so, wiping off his sweat, he looked at the cockatrice they just pinned on the tree. Even though its head was already loosely hanging from its body, it would seem that it was still alive, as its chest was still slightly moving.

Seeing it still moving, Van took the tail from the still slightly shocked Mr. Jacobs.

Van's arms strongly trembled as he tried to pull the tail off from the cockatrice's body, but after a few more seconds and a few more efforts, he fell on his butt as the tail slid off.

The blood of the cockatrice instantly gushed out. Of course, Van was able to move away before it could reach him. Mr. Jacobs' however, took a bath in the cockatrice's blood.

The shouts of the students quickly reached Van's ears as the cockatrice took its last breath. It would seem that the Portal has successfully been cleared, as all of them were looking above.

"We did it! The Student Council has rescued the freshmen students from certain doom!"

President Hannah roared as she raised her hands.

The other students were still stuck in the wall since the one who summoned it was still unconscious, but their shouts of victory could also be heard seeping from above the walls. President Hannah could hear them cheering for the Student Council.

...At last, after this is all over, no one in the whole Academy would not know the name of the Student Council. President Hannah could not help but shed a tear at the thought.

Van, on the other hand, looked at the cockatrice's melting body, or more specifically, above it. There was currently a parchment floating on top of it, slowly rotating as it lit up.

It would seem that Mr. Jacobs wasn't able to see it as he kept to his own, wiping off the blood from his body.

Is this… the message? Van looked from left to right. Making sure that no one was currently looking at him, he quickly climbed on top of the cockatrice and swiftly snatched the floating parchment.

He then quickly ran to the woods. He knew that he didn't have to be sneaky about it since the others were unable to see the parchment, but still, he couldn't help it.

And so, Van took a deep breath and closed his eyes. This would be the first time that he would ever be interacting with the Gods.

Whatever it is that was so important that they had to send him the message now.

That they had to lock him inside the Portal.

That they had to do it even if there were other people with him, risking their lives in the process.

Whatever the message was, Van knew that it had to be something important. And so, releasing his deep breath and opening his eyes, he laid his eyes on the contents of the parchment.

[Testing. Testing. Are you sure this is working, Athena?]

"..."

Fuck the Gods.