Chapter 352: The Beginning Of The End [XIV]

“…Gosh, that was tiresome to finish!”

Elijah let out a long sigh, stretching his arms high above his head until his joints popped. His whole body sagged afterward, like his bones had turned to jelly.

I couldn’t blame him. We’d been sitting here for nearly six hours, doing nothing but running numbers and cross-checking divine output ratios.

The room smelled faintly of ink, old paper, and exhaustion.

I leaned back slightly in my chair, eyes half-lidded as I glanced at the final result of our work.

Perfect calculations. Stable containment levels. Zero percent failure rate.

Except for one small detail…

“…It’s 0.1 units below the maximum safety standard,” I muttered.

Elijah groaned again, rubbing his face.

“Yeah, which means it’s acceptable.”

I sighed through my nose, looking at the glowing lines of divine measurements still shimmering faintly across the scrolls.

“Unbelievable. If they had gone just a little higher, the relic would have broken containment within seconds.”

“Guess they know how to push limits,” he said, smirking tiredly. “Either they’re lucky… or just really damn smart.”

I didn’t answer; I was thinking about the latter option.

That 0.1 difference couldn’t simply be luck.

Whoever was behind this had done the math perfectly to make it look safe on paper, but dangerously close to critical in reality.

He stretched one last time, letting out another satisfied groan before slumping in his chair.

“Could you hand it to the president? She should be in her personal room.”

I looked up.

“Sure.”

“I’m gonna go get something to eat before I fall over.” Elijah rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

I nodded, picking up the stack of neatly organized papers from the desk. My legs were stiff when I stood…

Even if I were a god… six hours of calculations did that to me.

Halfway to the door, I stopped and looked over my shoulder.

“…Uh, which room was hers again?” I asked, scratching the back of my head casually.

“Ah! That one on the left,” Elijah said with a half-yawn. He waved lazily at me before heading toward the exit.

“Have a nice day, Junior.”

“Yeah, you too,” I replied, waving back.

But before moving, I let my hand drop beside my side.

My gaze, however, didn’t follow Elijah; instead, it shifted slightly toward the other desk.

Themis’s desk.

She wasn’t here right now, and her documents were spread out, half-sorted, some rolled, some marked with crimson wax seals.

Normally, I wouldn’t bother.

But this was the perfect distraction.

And I was curious about what kind of reports the Vice President handled personally.

I let my steps slow, my eyes flicking briefly to the side as I “adjusted” my sleeve. My vision was sharp enough to make out the text without even leaning close.

The top sheet had a golden seal from the Eternal Tribunal.

My breath stilled for half a second.

It wasn’t common to see that name here.

I shifted slightly, pretending to readjust my papers, my peripheral gaze catching the neat black letters that followed:

[Project Sanctus: Divine Detection Barrier – Phase One approved.}

A divine barrier…?

I narrowed my eyes slightly.

The text continued in small, official handwriting.

[The Eternal Tribunal, in cooperation with Gloria Academy’s Student Council and Instructional Board, has authorized the creation of a large-scale divine detection field. Its function: to locate and confirm the existence of a Fallen God or corrupted divinity within academy grounds.]

My heartbeat skipped once.

Then twice.

A detection barrier.

It had already been approved.

I read further.

The barrier’s installation date was clearly stated near the bottom of the page, written in an elegant golden font.

[Scheduled for activation: Midterm Evaluation Day.]

The same day, I’d be acting as an enforcer.

My fingers tightened slightly against the folder I was holding.

…Perfect.

Just perfect.

I didn’t let a single hint of expression slip, but inside, every muscle in my body felt tense. My mind ran through the possibilities, each one worse than the last.

The barrier would react to divine energy, especially corrupted types. Mine would light it up like wildfire.

If that thing went active while I was in the open, I wouldn’t just be caught.

I’d be fucking exposed.

They’d see exactly what I was.

The “Fallen God student” they were looking for.

I inhaled slowly, then exhaled, my expression calm as ever.

I glanced back at the report’s seal one more time before turning away as if nothing had happened.

Of course, I couldn’t just destroy the file; that would draw attention. The only thing I could do for now was memorize what I’d seen and pretend ignorance.

Lunara probably didn’t know I was the target.

Or maybe… she thought that I could be.

Either way, if I wanted to survive, I’d need to find a way to disable that barrier before it ever came online.

…Or simply not be present during the moment of its activation.

“Ah, right. The left room,” I muttered softly under my breath, regaining my composure as I walked toward the door.

My hand hovered for a moment before I knocked twice.

Knock, knock.

There was silence for a few seconds, followed by a quiet, tired voice from within.

“Come in.”

I turned the handle slowly and stepped inside, holding the folder close to my chest.

Lunara sat behind her desk, her posture as perfect as ever, back straight, legs crossed neatly beneath the long white coat she always wore.

Her cold violet eyes flicked toward me when I entered.

“Report from the Valkyric proposal review,” I said, stepping forward.

She extended one hand silently, and I placed the folder in her palm.

Without another word, she flipped it open and started to read.

Her eyes moved quickly, scanning every line, pausing only when the numbers turned red in the margins…. those 0.1 differences that we had spent hours verifying.

The room was silent for a while.

Only the faint scratching sound of paper turning filled the air.

Then, finally, she exhaled through her nose and set the folder down on the desk with a soft thump.

Her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose, and for once, her calm, perfect mask cracked a little.

“…Those bastards,” she muttered in annoyance. “They really made sure to cause the most destruction possible without breaching the safety limit.”

Her brow furrowed as she leaned back in her chair, eyes staring at the ceiling as if trying to calculate a hundred different counterplans at once.

“This is going to be difficult to counteroffer.”

She leaned her head to the side slightly, her pale hair falling across her shoulder as she sighed.

Then, she turned her gaze back to me.

For a moment, she tried to smile, at least, it looked like she tried. Her lips curved faintly upward, but her eyes remained the same as always, blank and mechanical.

“You can take a rest for three days, Junior,” she uttered softly. “The other matters we need to handle aren’t urgent, so there’s no problem with you taking a break.”

Rest?

I blinked slowly.

That was unusual.

Normally, she’d pile more tasks on without hesitation.

Still, I knew better than to refuse outright. I needed to keep my boundaries steady, keep my image clean. Especially after what I’d just found in Themis’s report.

“I appreciate that, President,” I replied calmly. “Though… are you sure? With the Midterms approaching, I don’t mind helping with the rest.”

Her eyes flicked up at me again.

“I’m sure. You’ve done enough for this week. We don’t need to run you into the ground before the evaluation even begins.”

“I see.”

“Besides,” she added quietly, “you’re efficient. You finished that report with Elijah faster than most pairs could’ve managed. You deserve a break.”

That caught me off guard for a second.

A compliment, from her of all people.

“I didn’t expect that from you,” I said, allowing a faint smirk to slip onto my face.

“What do you mean?” Her head tilted slightly.

“You don’t usually say nice things.”

There was a faint pause.

Then, for the briefest moment, the corners of her mouth twitched again.

“I suppose not.”

It wasn’t really a laugh, but it was close.

I let out a quiet chuckle before adjusting my coat. “Then I’ll take your word for it. Three days off sounds nice.”

She nodded once, returning to her calm, collected tone.

“Good. Make sure you rest properly, Aestrea. You’ll need to be sharp for what’s coming next.”

I raised an eyebrow slightly.

“What’s coming next?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” she replied.

That kind of answer only made me more suspicious, but I didn’t press it.

Instead, I gave a small nod.

“Understood, President.”

“Dismissed,” she said simply, already turning her attention back to the stack of documents beside her.

I took that as my cue to leave.

As I walked toward the door, I heard her voice again.

“Aestrea.”

I turned slightly.

“Yes?”

She didn’t look up from the papers, her eyes scanning the next document as she spoke.

“Good work.”

A simple phrase that I honeslty didn’t fucking care about, though, for most people it would make them feel “warm”.

“…Thanks,” I said after a short pause, before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind me.

Then, I also stepped out of the Student’s Council Office and walked back to my dormitory with countless thoughts.

I needed a plan to avoid that detection barrier… somehow.

Whether it was destroying it before it could detect me, or simply not being inside the barrier the moment it is activated.

I just need to know where it is going to be placed… and when it’s going to activate.

But well, until then, I have a week or so.

Plenty of time to prepare myself.

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