Third Day of the Festival.
“……”
While everyone was enjoying the festival, Sen was wandering around the dormitory alone, looking for something peculiar.
‘How strange.’
She hadn’t noticed it before, but now that she heard rumors of something odd going on, the air in the dormitory felt different.
Realizing that she had missed this situation made her think about how she hadn’t figured it out sooner. Since there was training to be sensitive to the flow of mana in the Chokugen Faction, if she hadn’t noticed it, the other students would definitely be oblivious.
‘Where does this lead to, anyway?’
But no matter how much she followed, it was so broad that pinpointing the exact location was difficult.
Either way, it was close to the dormitory.
‘Is it a student?’
As she headed up to the fourth floor from the boys’ third floor, a girl walking the hallway caught her eye.
“……Rin?”
A female student popular with everyone, and of course, a childhood friend of Daniel and Ares, also evaluated to have excellent magical talent.
Since they didn’t have much of a connection, Sen was about to ignore her, but Rin seemed to be looking for something as well.
‘Nothing to lose, I guess.’
Sen approached Rin and poked her lightly.
“What are you looking for?”
“Huh? No, just something feels weird.”
Seeing Rin looking around with a vague expression, Sen was convinced inside. This girl too had realized the unusual flow of mana and was looking for the culprit!
‘Impressive.’
While she herself only noticed it after Daniel mentioned it, Rin had discovered this bizarre distortion all on her own.
Feeling a strange sense of defeat, Sen extended her hand first.
“There’s a strange flow of mana in the dormitory, right?”
“Uh? Yeah. You knew?”
“I was searching for what the problem was too.”
Rin smiled upon the thought of gaining a colleague and pointed to a door.
“I think that room is the problem, but the owner isn’t around.”
‘She already figured out the culprit?’
Honestly, this surprised her, and when she checked where Rin pointed, it was a room she was familiar with.
‘Adriana?’
The room of Adriana, right next to Rin.
Gingerly approaching, Sen sensed a slightly denser flow of mana than in other places and took out a tool from her pocket as if it were a wire and inserted it into the keyhole.
Click.
Seeing the door open in an instant, Rin looked bewildered.
“Is it really okay to go in like that?”
“It’s fine.”
Since Daniel had taken down Zavalanco in an instant, it meant they couldn’t waste time sitting around.
“By the way, can you pick the lock on the boys’ rooms like that too?”
“Why? Where do you want to go?”
“No, I think I got caught using magic last time…”
Clearing her throat, Rin suddenly raised her mana and cast a protective spell while Sen hurriedly took out a dagger.
A barrage of magical bullets engulfed the two from inside the room.
Though it was a spell with the intention to kill the opponent, thanks to Rin’s quick response, they were unharmed.
“……”
Seeing the magical bullet barrage end, Sen’s suspicion deepened.
‘They intended to kill anyone who intruded. Adriana is definitely up to something.’
“Did she set up such a trap?”
Even Rin was taken aback, carefully entering the room, which made both of them grimace.
First, an acrid smell teased their noses.
The scent came from various drugs used for magical intervention, but the degree was overwhelming.
The windows were boarded up with wooden planks, and there was also magic placed on them to kill intruders.
It felt like walking through a landmine with layers of magical traps that created a chilling spectacle.
“……”
“What is this……”
In the end, they couldn’t step further inside near the entrance, and Rin was staring blankly into the room as well.
“If we go in further, we’re dead.”
“Why would someone set up such magic in a dorm room?”
Stepping out of the room, Rin crossed her arms, starting to ponder, but Sen hurriedly took out her dagger.
“Someone’s coming.”
“……!”
Noticing the mana, Rin quickly got into position, and both of them focused on the stairs leading to the fourth floor.
Thud thud thud thud
Heavy footsteps were advancing.
Filled with rage, Adriana had noticed that magic was used in her room as she stomped up to the fourth floor.
“What are you doing, you brats?!”
Unlike her usual self, Adriana shot out mana with harsh curses.
While Rin was bewildered to see this side of her for the first time, Sen responded instead.
“What are you plotting, Adriana?”
“What?”
“Because of you, the entire academy could be in danger.”
At that, Adriana’s eyes widened. A mix of anger and injustice surged as she suddenly exploded.
“So what! Am I supposed to just go die? Just leave me alone and let me die? Quit your nonsense! I’m gonna live! I’ll survive!”
“You’re crazy.”
“Adriana, what’s wrong with you?”
Sen scoffed while Rin tried to calm her down, but Adriana was already rampaging.
“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to be torn apart by those bug bastards! I’m gonna live! Don’t get in my way!”
“Bugs? So it was you.”
Recalling the bugs she saw on the rooftop, Sen was now certain of the culprit. She was about to take down Adriana and inform Daniel, but…
Adriana’s state was odd.
Upon mentioning that she knew about the bugs, her rage suddenly halted, and she started to look around in fear.
“Y-you saw the bugs…?”
“Yeah, on the rooftop at night.”
“Y-you’re lying…”
Scrape scrape
Something scuttling crawled into Adriana’s ears as she denied it.
Rin looked around, curious, while Sen dashed at Adriana with a dagger prepared.
“Don’t mess around!”
Thinking Adriana was controlling the bugs to do something, unexpectedly, she activated a protective spell and began looking around in a spasm.
“W-was that a bug? Was that a bug sound just now?!”
“……”
Feeling her dagger blocked by the protective spell, Sen realized something was amiss.
‘Why is she so terrified?’
If Adriana was calling upon an Ancient Beast, there shouldn’t be a reason for her to tremble like that.
In that moment.
Adriana’s eyes widened, and she gaped in shock, shivering as she looked behind Rin and Sen.
Rin and Sen naturally turned to look behind them.
There, a giant bug clung to the ceiling, watching the three of them.
“A bug?”
“……”
Rin recognized it as a magical beast and immediately attempted to cast a spell while Sen checked Adriana’s expression.
That was not the face of someone summoning something.
Rather, it was the look of someone paralyzed in fear, wanting to run away. She looked like she would burst into tears at any second.
“They’re here! The bugs are here! Ares! Where are you, Ares?!”
Desperately attempting to escape through the window to the outside, Adriana was thwarted when a bug crawled inside.
They didn’t show any signs of attacking or charging, just fixated on Adriana, leaving her deeply emotionally tormented.
‘Something is off.’
Adriana was not the culprit summoning the magical beasts.
Believing this, Sen hurried to calm her down, but it was too late.
“I-I don’t want to… I don’t want to die!”
With tears streaming down her face, Adriana drew all the mana she possessed.
In an instant, light burst forth from her room, resonating with her mana, and the strange current throughout the dormitory began to assist her.
“A-amazing.”
Even Rin, knowledgeable in magic, sensed the extraordinary power. Adriana hadn’t been merely relying on Ares; she was prepared as well.
She had sought and planned a way to kill the magical beasts coming for her and eventually put it into action.
The forbidden magic agreed upon by the witches of the Black Forest.
With a single-minded intention to crush everything, her mana surged and began to draw a magic circle.
What emerged from there was…
“Th-this can’t be.”
A towering body.
Antennae sprouting from its head.
Emotionless eyes, completely black without any whites.
Solid muscles formed like armor.
The overwhelming oppressive presence made both Sen and Rin drop to their knees, struggling to breathe.
“A-aah…”
Adriana, with tears streaming down her face, sat on the floor, staring blankly at the being before her.
That was it.
The magical beast that had chased her for the past four years, tearing her apart even in her dreams.
It opened its heavy mouth.
“I am the King of Insects, Apviel.”
Swarming bugs began to gather in the corridor.
Not just the enormous bugs that followed Apviel, but every bug nearby crawled towards their king.
‘Why? Why? Why?!’
What Adriana invoked increased her mana explosively, granting her supernatural strength far beyond that of ordinary mages.
This wasn’t a spell to summon such monsters!
Watching the bewildered Adriana, Apviel expressionlessly answered her.
“By the witches’ covenant, I’ve come to eliminate the witch who handled the forbidden magic.”
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