The Sponsored Heroines Are Coming for Me

A pitch-dark tunnel.

Not a single thread of light could be seen.

Monsters filled the land.

An unknown entity approached slowly from beyond the horizon.

A situation where even singing of hope was meaningless.

Everyone trapped in the academy thought so.

But no one spoke it aloud.

“Gather everything inside the buildings! Chairs! Desks! Anything will do!”

Amidst the chaos, a noblewoman ran back and forth, directing the people.

Even her cherished dress had been ripped up to her thighs for ease of movement. She distributed tasks with precision, her voice firm and unwavering.

A resolute command.

There was power in it.

A force that made it seem like, as long as they followed her orders, everything would work out.

“Alright, just a little more! We’re almost there!”

And more than anything, she believed in something.

A firm belief that someone would come to save them.

That conviction resonated in every word she spoke.

That was why they moved.

Even though they didn’t know what hope she was seeing, to those who had lost theirs, she appeared radiant.

— KWAANG!

The monstrous creatures slammed their heads against the barrier in a despair-inducing scene.

Like a single wildflower blooming amidst ruins, people—regardless of age or gender—began to move.

And Silvia was not alone.

“You hold the bow like this, nya. That’s right. Well done! I’m counting on you, nyah!”

Danya moved swiftly, her ears twitching as she taught those unfamiliar with weapons how to wield them.

Elena instructed the clergy on how to effectively counter the monsters.

Lina moved around, calming the panicked and boosting morale.

Asilia simply standing at the frontlines near the barrier, with a calm smile, was enough to empower everyone.

Those who refused to yield to despair.

They all shared the same belief.

Ian Blackangers.

Their companion, their mentor—someone they had faith in.

That belief spread like wildfire, giving courage to those who had taken refuge in the academy.

— KWAAAANG!

Cracks formed in the barrier.

Only 20% of its durability remained.

“Everyone, move up.”

Silvia and the special team quickly headed toward the rooftop of the student council building.

◆

Academy Student Council Building.

Long pink hair trailed behind her.

Danya sprinted up the stairs of the building.

Her steps were precise and swift, but her hands remained clenched, trembling whenever she loosened her grip even slightly.

The mission assigned to her was no small task.

The fate of the entire academy depended on this final operation.

The moment the barrier broke, she had to shoot the most powerful full-element arrow into the sky.

She would detonate it midair, scattering its energy across the largest possible area.

Then, Lina would use her flames to ignite everything—burning all the surrounding monsters to ash.

The operation was called “Fireworks.”

And Danya was its key.

If she failed to spread the full-element energy properly, Lina’s magic wouldn’t activate as intended.

“…I can do this.”

She clenched her trembling hands tightly.

A few more steps, and she was on the rooftop.

The student council building was the tallest structure in the academy.

From here, she could see everything.

A sky painted deep crimson.

Monsters swarming around the academy.

And the barrier, now half-shattered…

Gulp.

Danya swallowed hard.

It looked dire.

It was hard to think of anything optimistic in this scene.

“Everyone, focus.”

Silvia’s voice cut sharply through the creeping despair.

“Miss Christina, is everything ready?”

“All set!”

A red-haired girl in a white lab coat shouted back.

She stood inside a massive contraption.

Three large, golden, glowing rings were aligned vertically, each reaching the height of the third floor.

It was a type of machinery never seen before.

Like three enormous magnifying glasses stacked one above the other.

— Creak!

The girl tightened a golden screw using the mechanical arm attached to her back, then stepped forward.

“I poured everything I had into this device. The mana-to-magic power conversion efficiency should be close to 100%. I used all the floating stones that Ian and I developed together. The mana amplification rate is also at its maximum…”

“Sorry to cut you off, but are you saying it’s completely finished?”

“Of course!”

Christina, dark circles deeply etched under her eyes, declared proudly.

— THUD!

At that very moment, a large screw fell to the ground behind her.

“”…””

Doubt filled everyone’s eyes instantly.

Christina scratched the back of her head and picked up the screw.

“Oops. Looks like I tightened it the wrong way. I’ll fix it real quick.”

She extended her mechanical arm and started securing the screw.

— Creak.

For some reason, the sound was unsettling, but at least it seemed like something was being tightened.

‘This is really okay… right?’

Danya watched Christina’s work with a complex expression.

After all, the one who had to step inside that machine and cast magic was her.

“Are you nervous?”

Before she realized it, Silvia had approached and asked quietly.

No—

Danya was about to say that, but instead, she clenched her hand tightly.

The lives of countless people rested in her hands.

She had never experienced anything like this before.

Before meeting Ian, she had even considered dropping out of Fantasy X Academy.

Thinking back, she had been nothing more than a naïve child.

But after meeting him, everything changed.

Under his guidance, her hypersensitivity to mana—once overwhelming—became an immense advantage.

Her full-element affinity, which had always felt ambiguous, turned into something unique—an element capable of interacting with others.

So, where was she now?

Where was the Danya who had once debated leaving the academy?

Danya looked down at her own clenched hands, trembling from tension.

She stared for a moment before speaking.

“Yeah… I’m nervous, nyah.”

“I see.”

Silvia gave her a worried look.

This girl had once been a rival fighting for Ian’s attention.

Now, she felt more like an ally.

But if peace ever returned, Danya would compete again.

She looked forward to that day.

Then, she spoke once more.

“But I’m not afraid, nyah.”

A bright smile illuminated her face, so radiant that even Silvia had to acknowledge her charm.

“Because after meeting Ian, I’m not a naïve kid anymore—”

Whoosh.

Danya’s tail, which had been stiff with tension, relaxed smoothly.

The weight pressing down on her had always been the same.

The burden of expectations.

The genius of her tribe.

The first to enter the Academy’s Magic Department.

Yet nothing had ever gone as expected.

She had been crushed under the weight of pressure.

But not anymore.

Or rather—she no longer cared.

Because right now—

“I just love magic.”

She loved feeling the elements of nature.

She loved interacting with them.

She loved how Ian’s earth met her power, how Lina’s flames reacted explosively with her own.

That alone made her happy.

So—

“I can do this, nyah!”

Her resolve rang out, clear and unwavering.

At that moment—

— KWAAAAANG!

A massive collision resounded.

From the very center of the sky above the barrier.

It was so powerful, the entire building seemed to shake.

Crack!

A deep fracture spread across the entire barrier.

It was a dire situation, no matter how one looked at it.

Crackle—

Fragments of the barrier crumbled and fell.

“The barrier is on the verge of complete destruction.”

Silvia spoke calmly.

Gulp.

The sound of people swallowing nervously echoed throughout.

“The moment the barrier collapses, we begin Operation ‘Fireworks.’ Danya, are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

Danya nodded and stepped toward the device.

“Good luck.”

Christina whispered softly.

Danya turned to her with a small smile.

“I trust you, nyah.”

“Of course! Who do you think built it?”

The two exchanged a light high-five before Danya positioned herself beneath the magical apparatus.

Above her, three massive golden rings hovered.

A Gate that detects the passing magic.

A Combiner that fuses different mana sources.

An Amplifier that enhances Danya’s magic to its fullest potential.

As her magic passed through each stage, it would grow stronger.

That was the explanation she had been given.

She didn’t fully understand the theory.

But it didn’t matter.

She believed in Christina and her creation.

Danya summoned her bow—a long, green luminescent bow that nearly reached her knees.

Slowly, she drew upon her mana, preparing for the moment the barrier collapsed.

— KUUUUUUUUUUNG!

The barrier shattered.

Right at its center, directly above the academy.

A massive crow-like monster thrust its head through the breach.

“Take that thing down!”

Someone shouted.

Danya shook her head.

“No. I shoot as planned, nyah.”

This arrow contained the combined efforts of everyone.

It would pierce through.

Silvia signaled to Christina.

The three golden rings above began spinning rapidly.

— Gate activated!

— Combiner activated!

— Amplifier activated!

Looking up from below, the rings resembled a giant bullseye.

Danya raised her bow and aimed at the sky.

— WOOOONG!

Once more—drawing it even tighter.

— WOOOOONG!

Until she could pull no further—her arm reaching its absolute limit.

The arrowhead glowed more brilliantly than ever, containing the combined mana of everyone.

KIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEK!

The monstrous creature, having breached the barrier, dived straight toward her.

Danya did not even blink.

She poured everything into this shot—

TAP!

And released the string.

— SHWAAAAAAA!

The arrow soared through the sky, slicing through the crimson-red heavens.

A brilliant green streak of light, like hope itself, racing forward.

— PHAAAAAASH!

It pierced straight through the monster’s head, ascending even higher, cutting through the sky.