Chapter 148: Episode 148

Despite Erzebet’s shout, there was no reply. She let out a deep sigh and was about to spread her spiderwebs in all directions when Kajan stopped her.

“Wait.”

[What is it?]

“It seems Francesca isn’t here.”

Having discovered something, Kajan strode forward. At the far end of the secret hazardous materials storage was a table, which had clearly been given special attention, as traces of several layers of security magic remained. However, whatever had been on it was now gone.

Kajan began to intently examine the empty space, even taking out a measuring tape and other tools, apparently trying to determine what the missing object was.

[Master!]

Erzebet, who had been examining a magic circle on the wall, ran to Simon.

[It seems at least a day has passed since this magic circle was installed!]

“Looks like she just set a trap and fled.”

“We’ve been had,” Kajan said, looking up. “She never entered the storage room in the first place. More importantly, it seems she had a Plan B in case her Plan A—the four Desolaters—failed to detonate. I take it you didn’t see that future.”

Simon’s face turned pale. The Priest’s threat of mass murder wasn’t over.

“What in the world was the missing item?”

“Prima Materia,” Kajan answered. “It’s a horrifyingly complex object, but to put it simply, it’s an item that endlessly creates monstrous creatures.”

“Don’t tell me with that, she’s…”

“Yes. She plans to attack Kizen with it.”

Kajan glanced at his wristwatch. “By now, Francesca’s barrier should be more than half complete. Once it’s at one hundred percent, it will take time even for professor-level necromancers to break through. In the meantime, the monsters from the Prima Materia will slaughter all the first-years trapped inside.”

“We have to stop her, no matter what,” Simon said, gritting his teeth.

Kajan nodded.

“I have an idea where she’ll use it. Follow me.”

“Right!”

—

At the same time, Meirin, having dealt with her assigned Desolater, arrived at the final location: the Learning Hall.

She threw open the lecture hall door and looked around.

’Huh?’

The plant-type monsters that should have been guarding the Desolater were torn to shreds or shriveled up in piles on the floor. Meirin quickly assessed the situation.

’Someone got here before me! Was it Kamibarez? If not…’

A window suddenly shattered as someone leaped into the room. Meirin jumped back in surprise. The man who stood up, striking a ridiculously dramatic pose, was all too familiar.

“Agh, you scared me! Why the hell did you do that when there’s a perfectly good door?!” she yelled.

“The urgency of the situation left me no choice.”

Dick, deeply engrossed in his spy persona, put on Kajan’s glasses and scanned the room. All the plants were dead, but the Desolater was gone.

“I was sure I’d be first. Did you take care of it?”

“It wasn’t me. If it wasn’t us, Kamibarez must have gotten here first.”

“Okay.”

Dick took off the glasses and pocketed them.

“So, does this mean the Desolater situation is completely resolved?”

Meirin nodded. The three of them had agreed to handle one Desolater each before meeting at the Learning Hall. If Kamibarez had already cleared this one, then all four bombs were now neutralized.

“Hahaha!”

Dick threw his arms in the air.

“We saved Kizen!”

“There he goes again,” Meirin muttered, pressing her temples. “I don’t think we can let our guard down yet.”

The situation would only truly be over once Simon and Kajan defeated Francesca. Until then, they couldn’t afford a moment of carelessness.

“Besides, I have a more fundamental question,” Meirin said, crossing her arms. “Simon and Kajan. How are two first-years supposed to defeat a necromancer who’s at least at the level of a senior TA?”

Dick shrugged. “Simon is Special Admission Number One, and more importantly, Kajan is ridiculously strong.”

“He is?”

“Yeah. This is a secret,” he said, lowering his voice conspiratorially, “but they say not a single person who ran into Kajan on Survival Island made it out alive. He’s famous among the second-years for his undefeated streak in last year’s duel evaluations. Plus, he’s a repeater, which is rare at Kizen, and a member of the Thieves’ Guild. Doesn’t it all click? He has to be a professional necromancer who infiltrated Kizen for a mission!”

Meirin considered his words. She couldn’t believe everything Dick said, but if there was some truth to it, they might be the ones with the best chance of defeating Francesca. After all, the only people left on campus were students, servants, and low-ranking TAs.

“Alright. Then let’s do what we can.”

“Which is?”

“Take over the broadcasting room and warn the students. Since we’ve removed all the Desolaters, it should be fine to monitor the situation and issue a warning now.”

Meirin had a gut feeling the danger wasn’t over. For a terror attack targeting Kizen, the security around the bombs had been far too lax. It felt almost like an afterthought, a ‘nice if it works, oh well if it doesn’t’ kind of move. She was sure Francesca’s real plan was something else entirely.

Hearing her, Dick clapped his hands.

“Whoa, I didn’t think of that!”

“Hurry up and follow me. If we can’t persuade the staff in the broadcasting room, we’ll just have to force our way in.”

“Okay!”

The two hurried out of the building and ran toward the Broadcasting and Communications Hall. On campus, students bustled about, chatting as they headed to their next classes.

“Hey, Meirin! Don’t you think we’re awesome?” Dick said, his face flushed with excitement. “Everyone else is going about their normal day, but a major incident is brewing right under their noses! And we’re the ones working on behalf of a secret agent to stop it! This really feels like being a secret agent…”

Dick’s words stopped mid-sentence. Meirin, too busy yelling at him to shut up while they ran, didn’t notice. His eyes went vacant. He subtly peeled away from her and slipped into a narrow alley.

“That’s a very interesting story you’re telling.”

Inside the alley, a girl with ivory-colored hair stood smiling sweetly. A single feather was lodged in the back of Dick’s neck. The moment he saw her, his face went slack.

“You’re one of Simon’s friends, right?”

“Uh, yeah!”

“Would you mind secretly telling me what that ‘major incident’ is?” Serne asked, clasping her hands and winking cutely.

With an enchanted expression, Dick nodded his head up and down vigorously.

—

Kamibarez ran toward the north of Kizen, panting and beads of sweat rolling down her face. As she ran, she skimmed a few passages from the diary. It was enough to send chills down her spine. Francesca was a Priest of the Holy Federation, and she was trying to destroy Kizen. The thought that everyone’s lives depended on her made it impossible to stop, even when her lungs burned.

’Thump!’

“Ugh!”

Running frantically, she let out a short scream and fell backward onto the ground. She had collided with something transparent. Scrambling to her feet, she saw a reddish, solid barrier blocking her path. She ran her palms over its surface, searching for a gap, then sprinted left and right, but the barrier covered a wide area without a single opening, completely cutting her off from the outside world.

“No…” she whispered, backing away. “Please…!”

She clenched her fists and poured out her blood flow magic, but the barrier didn’t break. It didn’t waver or crack. It showed no sign of yielding.

“Let me through!”

She gathered Jet-Black into her small fists and slammed them against the invisible wall.

She punched it, kicked it, and even headbutted it, but the barrier wouldn’t be breached.

“Why…”

She collapsed in front of it, defeated.

“Why can’t I even do something as simple as escaping?”

A terrible powerlessness washed over her. Even now, Simon, Dick, and Meirin were fighting hard, each doing their part. She was always anxious. Sometimes, even when the four of them were laughing together, the other three felt impossibly far away. Simon shone just by existing. Meirin was a genius who could do anything flawlessly. Dick always played to his strengths and pulled his own weight. It seemed like those three could overcome any hardship the next three years threw at them.

But not her. She wasn’t good at anything; she was just unstable. She constantly worried that she didn’t belong with them, that one day they would leave her behind and soar to greater heights without her.

She clenched her fists. She was done feeling so helpless.

Staggering to her feet, she stared at the barrier with bloodshot eyes.

’What a pity.’

A hazy voice, like one from within a fog, echoed in her mind.

’To be born with the finest blood, yet to have inherited the frail body of your mother.’

’For such noble blood to flow in a half-breed like this. The heavens are truly heartless.’

’A frail body like this cannot withstand the power of the blood. It will slowly die.’

’If only it had been the other way around, there might have been some hope.’

’It is the end of days. The end of days.’

She began to take off her clothes. Her school jacket fell to the grass.

’My daughter.’

Among the many voices, the voice of a great being cut through.

’It is your mother’s request. To protect you, I will seal your blood.’

She unbuttoned her shirt and pushed it aside. Between her chest and navel, a red magic circle drawn in blood was visible. She took a deep breath and placed her palm on it.

’The blood you inherited from me will ultimately kill you. For you to live, this is the only way.’

Her resolve set, she inhaled sharply and forcefully twisted the magic circle.

As the seal turned, the blood in her veins began to churn like lava.

“Argh!!”

She staggered as a reddish magical power rose from her body. Tears of blood streamed from her crimson eyes. The agony was excruciating, as if her body were being torn apart and reassembled. She let out a pained scream and threw herself against the barrier. Opening her mouth, she sank her fangs into the invisible wall with all her might.

A small hole instantly formed in the barrier that hadn’t budged against any of her attacks. The tips of her fangs slowly dug deeper. She pressed her body tight against it, putting more force into her bite. As her fangs sank deeper, the barrier began to crack like glass.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

The fissures spread, growing larger and larger, until finally…

With a shatter, the barrier broke apart around her fangs, creating a hole. The instant Kamibarez slipped through, the barrier repaired itself, returning to its original state without a trace.

Panting, she stared ahead, her red eyes wide open.

’Everyone, please be safe!’

Clutching Lang’s diary to her chest, she unleashed a red aura. The small wings on her back suddenly swelled as if engorged with blood. Leaping from the ground, she shot into the sky, flying at an incredible speed.

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