Rihardt’s reason for acting like this was obvious.

The Lavendal Duchy had two sons.

If Ray was seriously injured, the only successor left would be Rihardt.

The Duke of Lavendal was not the type to adopt a complete stranger and make them an heir.

So this incident would inevitably be covered up. And the title would be handed down to Rihardt.

At the same time, Athena would lose her right to choose.

“Don’t worry. If you’re lucky, maybe your precious brain won’t be injured.”

Ray said nothing in response and simply glared at Rihardt.

“Oh, judging by the fact that you couldn’t even get first place, maybe your brain’s not as great as I thought?”

As Ray’s feet drew closer to the edge of the rooftop—

“That’s right, Brother. I really hope luck is on my side so my head stays intact.”

Ray whispered without agitation.

“But remember this.”

Ray’s eyes stared directly into Rihardt’s.

“I never get hurt alone.”

At the same moment, Athena’s eyes flashed with light.

Boom!

Water surged across the rooftop.

It was the beginning of /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ the rampage.

“Waaaagh! What the hell!”

Rihardt screamed uncontrollably, overwhelmed by the sudden wave of fear.

Ray, with a calm face, caught his breath and thought:

‘Looks like I won’t be walking out of the Academy in one piece.’

He swallowed dryly and stared ahead.

‘This really was the best option…’

The spiraling flood that poured forth felt endless.

“…Ha.”

Ray clutched Athena tightly and murmured.

“…I am scared, though.”

* * *

“Fire, can you do it?”

“Woof! Woof woof woof!”

<Obviously!>

Fire dashed through the dorm grounds with me on his back.

Just as we arrived, a crash echoed—an explosion-like sound.

“The rooftop!”

I shouted, hugging Fire’s neck tightly.

And Fire, with practiced ease, bounded up the stairs.

It must have been a familiar building for him, since he always roamed it with Zahid.

‘Why… did she say I could stop her?’

I swallowed hard, thinking.

‘Maybe I’ll find out once I meet Athena again.’

Even if only temporarily, it had still been strange that I could stop Zahid’s mana rampage.

And if something strange happens twice, it’s no longer a coincidence.

‘Maybe I have some kind of power hidden even from myself! Were Cecil’s experiments really that intense?’

The door leading to the rooftop wasn’t locked, but it was closed.

And just as a massive wave of water began to seep out—

Fear instinctively made my body tense up, but Fire barked.

“Woof! Woof woof woof woof!”

<Don’t worry!>

Even among Divine Beasts, there were strengths and weaknesses based on elemental affinity.

Naturally, fire was weak against water.

Fire would never be able to suppress all of that chaos.

“Woof! Woof woof woof!”

<I can at least protect Rosie!>

“…Wait, was that a new sentence?”

“Woof! Woof woof woof!”

<Does it matter?>

“It totally matters! You said something new again!”

At the same time, the rooftop door burst open from the water pressure.

Fire plunged through the rushing torrent.

He couldn’t contain the flood entirely—

But he could evaporate enough water around us to carve a path forward.

“Athena!”

I whispered into Fire’s ear.

“Take me to Athena!”

Fire bolted toward Athena, who stood at the far edge of the rooftop.

He was so fast that only seconds had passed since the rampage began.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

‘Ah.’

Between Ray and the tightly embraced Athena, a light shimmered.

‘They resonated.’

“Usually, a Divine Beast chooses a new master when the current one passes down the title or becomes severely injured and immobile.”

That’s what Yuta had said in class.

“Or, in some cases, in truly unavoidable situations, there can be a forced resonance. Although that’s far from natural.”

The Duke of Lavendal hadn’t passed down the title yet, nor was he seriously injured.

And yet they resonated… precisely because this was such an unnatural situation.

‘The timing aligned.’

But this was still nothing more than a resonance, not a natural succession.

Athena’s master was still the Duke of Lavendal. Ray couldn’t completely control her yet.

That’s why, in the previous timeline, even after calming Athena, Ray ended up seriously injured.

“Ugh…”

The rampaging water around Athena looked like it would soon swallow the entire dormitory.

At this rate, Ray would be gravely hurt, and the entire Academy would flood—just like before the regression.

“Ray!”

And from the small pocket of space Fire had created within the water, my eyes finally met Ray’s.

“…Rosie?”

Ray’s blue eyes, reminiscent of water, wavered.

“Why are you… here…?”

I leapt down from Fire and reached out to place my hand on Athena’s back.

“I’ll help!”

And then, I poured in divine power with all my might.

‘Stop, Athena. Please stop.’

Just like I’d done for Zahid.

It was a meager force, but I truly believed in an unexpected miracle.

‘I know you want to stop. I can feel it.’

It was small—so small—but I gave it everything.

But then…

‘Huh?’

To my dismay, the flood didn’t slow down at all.

It felt like my tiny divine power had been instantly repelled.

‘What the—what is this?’

Startled, I looked around.

It was almost laughable how confident I’d been just moments ago, thinking, ‘Maybe I have some hidden power!’ The rejection was that cold and final.

‘What the hell, seriously?!’

Just to be sure, I tried pouring in divine power once more.

Same result.

After two failed attempts, everything felt bleak.

In the middle of all this chaos, I glared at Athena and blurted out:

“You said I could stop you! So why isn’t it working?!”

A wave of betrayal washed over me.

If Athena hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.

I’m not the kind of person to act recklessly on things I’m not confident in!

But I had used a Sacred Relic before, and I’d calmed Zahid once too—and above all, I trusted the words of a Divine Beast without hesitation.

But what—Divine Beasts can lie like this too?!

Overwhelmed, I yelled at the top of my lungs:

“Ugh, you scam artist bird brain! You made me butt in for no reason! What the hell are you gonna do now?! How are you gonna fix this?!”

<Why did you come?>

But Athena, instead of responding to my blaming tone, asked curiously:

<You… are different from us. So this situation must be hard for you to accept.>

“Hmph.”

And still, the flood kept intensifying. There wasn’t the slightest sign of it calming.

Even the Divine Beast herself was clearly suffering during the rampage. Naturally—she couldn’t control the overflowing power alone.

That agonizing feeling was pouring into me.

I looked into Athena’s eyes and spoke.

“I am different. Because I wouldn’t make this choice. I’d get hurt, and so would someone precious to me.”

This rampage… was probably planned all along.

Since Rihardt was going to keep targeting Ray, they needed to establish the resonance in advance.

Once resonance happened, even if the person wasn’t yet the master, it was essentially the same as designating a successor.

‘The downside being they’d have to endure the rampage…’

But Ray must’ve thought that, given the circumstances, this was the best option.

To minimize damage, he’d chosen the empty rooftop of the dormitory…

‘Even if they avoided it now, it would happen again eventually… So they chose to sacrifice themselves and end it here.’

Athena and Ray were enduring this pain together.

And I, feeling a deep ache in my chest for some reason, whispered sincerely:

“But I understand.”

<…>

“I understand. Both of you.”

At the same time, I pushed my divine power back into Athena—the very same energy that had been rejected once.

I didn’t know why, but it just felt like I should.

And this time, the divine power was absorbed smoothly into Athena.

A radiant light surrounded us.

And in that moment, a fragment of the Divine Beast’s memory flashed through my mind.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep