Chapter 157
“Isn’t this a bit too fast? Why is normalization happening already…?”
Archbishop Beris raised an eyebrow in the auditorium, engaged in a one-versus-many battle.
According to what she had received, there should have been at least half a day left.
However, the distortion points spreading from a specific center were clearly a signal that the Academia’s defense system was operating intact.
Beris, feeling a bit disappointed, licked her lips and looked around.
Even though it was before the Liberation was completed, those opposing her were somehow managing to put up a formidable front.
A woman with white hair, whom she didn’t like due to her appearance, was wielding a black great sword. Although she was trying to stabilize her breathing, it was clear she was struggling.
The blind man in a wheelchair supporting her, along with the Magic Instructor, also looked exhausted. It was hard to estimate how much mana they had, but they had clearly exhausted a significant amount within reasonable limits.
“Those guys were quite entertaining, huh…”
The three students who arrived late were also individuals who had fought to the end. It was because of them that all living beings here could not be sacrificed.
But it couldn’t be helped. Time was up.
Beris organized her thoughts alone.
With a playful smile, she addressed those who seemed intent on killing her.
“Oh dear, it’s time to say goodbye. A beauty like me needs a lot of sleep, but it seems I’ve already stayed up too late, huh?”
Her tone was bright and light.
The Archbishop, surrounded by flowers, was filled with falling petals and their rich fragrance.
She had sustained considerable damage as well.
The bark surrounding her flesh was notably damaged in several places.
Even though she had partially liberated her powers, her natural healing of wounds was slow.
There were ‘fruits’ made from the students but she hadn’t touched them since eating three of them.
As Beris scanned everyone around, Alicia was also observing her every reaction.
Despite her senses being dulled and her vision clouded by pollen, her clear gaze was unwavering.
Whoosh—!
Alicia charged in.
Generating a whirlwind, she swung her black sword, sharpened to the utmost extent, with all her might.
“Honestly, there’s nothing about you that I like.”
Is my beautiful skin so jealous that it keeps trying to get scratched?
The lingering sound of Beris’s voice scattered like an afterimage.
Alicia’s sword, which had only bounced off Beris’s tough outer skin, easily sliced through the air.
No, it wasn’t just air.
Alicia had assuredly struck Beris.
However, she felt no physical resistance at all.
The answer came right after.
“Oh dear, what a shame! Catching is what I do best.”
“What should we do? I’m the best at hide-and-seek, you know.”
The body of Veris, split like a burst doll, became a bunch of white dandelion seeds that scattered in all directions.
Her voice echoed chaotically, just like the number of those seeds.
The countless seeds moved freely, and even though it was an unexpected change, everyone around tried to incinerate the white-feathered dandelion seeds in their own way.
But Veris, laughing at their judgments, began to swell her form.
The already countless dandelion seeds started to duplicate as if creating clones.
Naias, now manifested, used her special eyes and clicked her tongue.
“Not one of them is less than ‘real’.”
Veris divided her body into countless pieces.
If even one of them slips through the cracks of the Academia, it will sprout in that land and leisurely bloom again.
Complimenting Naias for her precise observation, Veris turned her attention back to Alicia.
Alicia tried to confine the seeds using wind magic, but naturally, they weren’t ordinary dandelion seeds, so it wasn’t easy.
“…The more I look at it, the more it resembles someone. Frustratingly so.”
Veris recalled the figure of the recently appointed Archbishop.
Alicia had no way of knowing this fact.
“Is there something like ‘Sister’ or something? If not… Huh? What’s this?”
Veris felt a momentary abnormality in Alicia’s expression.
It was just a brief moment, but her finely divided view saw it clearly.
Then she maintained silence for a moment, as if pondering.
“Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha⎯⎯⎯!”
She began to laugh like a madwoman.
The high-pitched laughter ringing from all directions was like needles piercing the ears, and it felt alien.
“So that’s what it was. That’s what it was…! No wonder it was especially unpleasant to see!”
Veris was enjoying the current situation.
After playing around so funnily, to receive such a gift…!
Judging by their reactions, this white-haired woman knew nothing at all.
She didn’t know, not at all, what kind of situation her sister was currently in!
What kind of pain she had endured, what kind of psyche she was currently hosting, and whom she served, she knew nothing!
Nothing at all…!
This doesn’t seem like a fleeting connection after all.
It’s unpleasant but, the more you chew on it, the more flavor it has—a delicious dish!
“Ah-ha-ha⎯! Thanks to you, this will be fun going forward. I can’t wait to see what expression you’ll have then…”
Just thinking about it filled Veris with ecstasy.
Like emotions responding, the growing seeds filled the auditorium, and some had already begun to escape outside.
Veris’s voice amplified, echoing like a swarm of insects from all directions.
Everyone was anxious to catch her.
But the seeds, blown away by the wind, dispersed like smoke.
“Let’s meet again later, white-haired lady.”
On the day they meet again, she hopes it won’t be the same face as now.
Please, show me a ‘good face.’
Cry for me.
So I can enjoy ‘your’ despair.
*
In the place where Veris had left, there were only lifeless dandelion seeds left.
Perhaps because they had already escaped and grown, the meaningless seeds lost the value of existence.
Through the large windows of the auditorium, traces of morning were slowly starting to seep in.
Why are you only just arriving? The sun has finally started to rise, and here comes the scolding!
Seventeen casualties occurred in the auditorium.
Among them, ten were those who were ambushed by the roots of the flower that Beris had bloomed, turning into fruits.
People were giving first aid to the injured.
There were those who needed to be moved quickly for proper treatment, but the safety of all corners of the Academia had yet to be confirmed, making it difficult.
The students in the auditorium began to move.
Except for those who couldn’t or had difficulty moving. A small team was formed to scout outside.
Even though the defense system of Academia was fully in place, there was always a chance of something happening.
Especially in the place that was thought to be the safest, the hall of learning.
Everyone was cautious, having just been hit by a surprise attack from the Goddess Church.
Leading were Alicia, Erica, Paula, and Bracchium.
Those who left the auditorium.
Diphelia and Alexeria’s group remained in the auditorium to handle treatment and protection.
Erica and Alicia were supporting each other.
Erica had used too much mana.
And Alicia was in no shape to find a single unhurt spot on her body.
However, these two women claimed they could still carry out the scouting mission.
Because during the first round of the student council president election, they had deeply shared their mana, allowing them to complement each other’s shortcomings if they cooperated.
“Erica, are you… okay?”
“Yeah… I’m fine. Alicia is… worse.”
Erica started to add something but cut herself off.
This was partly due to Alicia’s bandaged appearance, which seemed rushed. But she also noticed the dark shadow in Alicia’s eyes, who was trying hard to smile.
Suddenly, Alicia’s sister was mentioned.
The fact that it came from the Archbishop’s mouth made it easy for Erica to guess that something was off.
However, Alicia seemed unaware of the whole truth behind what Beris had said.
She knew something was definitely wrong.
But she also couldn’t make hasty assumptions.
Now, the most complicated one was Alicia herself.
Caught up in those thoughts.
“…Wait a second. Everyone, stop here.”
Paula, who was leading the way, halted everyone.
She cast a small spell that acted like a lens in front of her.
The scene reflected in Paula’s eyes.
She stared at it silently for a moment.
All were waiting for Paula’s command.
“Thank goodness…”
A voice mixed with relief escaped her throat.
Paula removed the spell and communicated back to her followers.
“It seems everyone near the Grand Clock Tower is safe…!”
They quickened their pace.
As they got closer, the scene became clearer.
Upon closer inspection, people were gathering not only from their party but also from various buildings and roads.
There were those limping and others with clothes that were long torn, yet they all had familiar faces.
As if they had made a promise.
The groups scattered around the floating city began to converge.
Back again to the massive pile of bones from the past.
An ancient dragon, which had ultimately collapsed without reaching the Grand Clock Tower, became the reference point that drew them together.
On the bones of the Twelve Divine Beasts that used to roam the sky stood a man in a black suit.
He was holding something that looked like a human form high with one hand, which, to Paula, felt familiar just like the other gathering folks.
Paula’s old friend Louisa was also there.
Long-lost friend Louisa appears as well.
She’s puffing on a thick cigarette, making a face like she just bit into a lemon, while watching a play put on by a man in a suit leaning between distant buildings on the stage.
I briefly passed by Louisa, who’s such a welcome sight, but that man in the black suit is also familiar.
What’s that he’s holding… a person…?
But it looks too bizarre to be called a person…
“Ugh…!”
Paula is finally able to confirm what’s hanging there.
Her pupils dilate to the size of saucers, and she is left breathless by her own two hands covering her mouth.
Definitely bizarre, to say the least.
At one moment, I couldn’t tell if it was a person or not.
But his basic impression remains.
Held captive by Vargan in a black suit is…
⎯As you can see, we have completed the execution of the two sinners! This grotesque figure is Lucien, a worshipper of the Goddess Church who sought to mimic a professor!
Even without using amplification magic,
Vargan’s voice spread wide, echoing straight into our ears.
He also mentions Francesca, saying she has already moved on to her next reincarnation.
⎯These filthy scoundrels cowardly hid in the Academia and thrived! They’re the reason this festival has spiraled into chaos!
Vargan enumerates their crimes.
As if everything he says is truth incarnate.
His voice is firm, bold, and his expression of anger radiates trust and incites the crowd.
⎯These two are not the end of it. Surely, remnants of the Goddess Church remain in the Academia! I am convinced this vile group has reached their wicked hands out during last semester’s final exams too!
A chain of sins.
Once one sin is revealed, more follow in a string.
Whether it’s the truth or not is another story.
Angry crowds need something to target their outrage.
Even if a few incidents aren’t linked, the original sin committed by the sinner doesn’t disappear.
Later, when the full truth is revealed, and it turns out it wasn’t entirely their fault,
the crowd won’t bother to remember those details.
Vargan’s gaze genuinely displays the fury against the villains and he seizes the crowd’s emotional pulses, shaking them.
Because of these people, the honor of the Academia has plummeted.
Innocent lives have been lost.
We have suffered like this.
⎯I now declare that I will root out these offenders from this very place. I will bring to the surface all the sinners who muddy the waters, using every means at my disposal!
He points toward a new direction for the Arbol Frutal he oversees.
⎯The eradication of the Goddess Church. I will lead the charge to wipe out these filthy remnants that revere monsters without a trace, to reclaim the lost glory of the Academia!
““Wowwwww⎯⎯⎯!””
With Vargan’s determination and fervor,
the people cheer.
Among them, quite a number are cursing the Goddess Church, Lucien, and Francesca.
When seen up close, it seems like justice.
However, from a distance, it resembles a warped religion of conviction.
It’s curious.
Vargan and everyone are undeniably shouting for justice and trying to unite, raising the fervor,
yet the one wearing a full-on smile here is none other than
the sinner known as Ocell Victoria Lucien.
⎯The festival is over.
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