### Chapter: 194
Amidst the commotion from the Theology Hall, the children were buzzing like buzzing bees.
“Everyone, don’t move recklessly. Just stay put,”
Professor Ganon Sarsha of the Unnamed Academy’s second-year class tried to reassure the kids to not act too hastily.
‘Why did this have to happen when the Dean is away?!’
Ganon clicked his tongue internally, signaling the vice professors with his eyes to get a grip on the situation.
The vice professors dashed out, picking up on his urgency.
In the meantime, Haring was peering around, looking a bit like a cat contemplating an escape route.
“Haring, you’re not seriously considering going out there, are you?”
Karandis picked up on Haring’s body language, concerned she might get in trouble if something went wrong.
“This incident could be what Kraush was talking about.”
“Kraush?”
Karandis raised an eyebrow, intrigued about what Kraush had hinted at.
“He said something might go down at Rahern Academy, so be ready for anything.”
“That’s just great, he doesn’t tell me,” Karandis huffed while still listening carefully to Haring’s words.
“So, the explosion we just heard could be related to that, huh?”
“It’s possible.”
There were vice professors and professors inside the academy. They should be the first to respond, but Haring’s suggestion to prepare beforehand didn’t seem bad, given what had just happened with Vice Professor Jenicalen causing a ruckus.
Still, jumping the gun could lead to chaos.
“Let’s just wait a bit longer. The vice professors have already moved. We’ll get news faster than if we act rashly. Once we get the info, it won’t be too late to act.”
Karandis calmly urged Haring to hold her horses.
“You don’t want to look ridiculous out there, do you?”
While saying that, Karandis pointed to Balak in the distance.
“Whoa, explosion! Let’s go!”
Seeing Balak bouncing around excitedly, Haring couldn’t help but agree to hold back her own enthusiasm.
Indeed, she didn’t want to look childish like Balak.
Meanwhile, Karandis’ gaze fell on Glen nearby.
Glen Diana, cousin of Mary Diana.
His expression was darker than usual.
He had been particularly less active than before.
‘Heard he got a proposal from Sigrid Ephania recently…’
Is that why he looked this way?
Karandis pondered, feeling concerned.
—
The temple, adorned in white and gold, was the Theology Hall of Rahern Academy.
A hub for those studying theology, it even attracted students like the Holy Maiden Astoria from the Holy Kingdom Freeman, making it quite the prestigious place.
Yet, the recent explosions were unexpected.
“Ugh, what the…?”
Amid the explosions, a male theology student gasped.
Beeeeep—
The ringing in his ears grew louder as he lifted his head.
What met his eyes was a bizarre sight.
A woman, draped in black tentacles, hovered in the air like a spider.
Her long hair cascading down, obscured her face.
The light filtering into the hall reflected off her blue hair, something he recognized all too well.
“Uh, uh, Mirei Beakis?!”
Mirei Beakis—
The youngest cardinal in history.
The icon of the theology hall was now in a ridiculous state.
As the student stared in shock, her head slowly tilted to the side.
In that moment, he realized—
Her eyes, now pitch black and empty, indicated she was no longer rational.
The moment he tried to flee,
KWHAM!
A dark tentacle flew in front of him.
He realized the strength behind that tentacle could easily shatter the hall’s walls.
His throat tightened as he gulped.
Then, he sensed another tentacle rising.
This was the moment he felt death’s presence.
CRACK—
A spark rang out from somewhere, followed by an explosive lightning bolt tearing apart the tentacles.
Mirei noticed the sudden attack and attempted to retaliate, but the lightning was faster.
The barrage of lightning bolts obliterated her tentacles in no time.
Plus, her natural regeneration capabilities were blocked by the residual electricity lingering in the air.
Stepping forward was a woman with ashen hair, brushing back her bangs.
Taria Valess, the top student of the Magic Department and servant of the Crimson Garden.
Adjusting her glasses, she scanned the scene.
“What a mess.”
As she said, the Theology Hall resembled a battlefield.
All the furniture lay shattered, and the walls crumbled.
But thankfully, there was one piece of good news: there had been no casualties.
Taria noticed a bald man dabbing blood from his temple.
Vice Professor Denver Ijuris in charge of theology.
He had been the first to shield students with a holy barrier when Mirei went on a rampage.
Because of his quick actions, he managed to protect the students without a single injury.
What a sense of duty.
Today happened to coincide with the annual festival assembly for the Holy Kingdom Freeman.
Professors—and even the Holy Maiden Astoria—had likely left the hall, leaving only Denver behind to handle the chaos.
Taria’s gaze shifted back to Mirei.
All her tentacles were obliterated, leaving her slumped on the floor, looking utterly defeated.
Watching her, Taria furrowed her brows.
‘Rona Imblize.’
This was her fault.
Taria’s eyes drifted toward a corner of the Theology Hall.
There lay a girl with turquoise hair, knocked out after colliding with the wall.
Magical artifacts covered her body messily.
Rona Imblize, the maker of those artifacts.
She was well aware from the start who the Devourer of Worlds was.
Thanks to the artifacts she created, it was possible to identify the characteristics of the Devourer.
And the Devourer she had always had in mind?
The youngest cardinal Mirei Beakis.
And it was none other than Rona who had sent Mirei into that frenzy.
“It’s done!”
Taria heard Rona’s shout echoed beyond the magical monitoring spell.
As she looked, a sinister sensation crept over her.
A dark energy surged from deep within her.
Taria recognized this as the essence of World Erosion.
[ You’ve made something absurd. ]
Crimson Garden shared a similarly stunned response.
Because Rona had created an artifact that triggered World Erosion itself.
“It’s finally time to showcase my works to the world!”
With that, Rona gathered all her artifacts and rushed out.
Feeling an impending dread, Taria immediately sprang to action.
“Rona must be planning something with those!”
[ It’s likely she’s aiming for the Devourer. ]
Crimson Garden seemed to share her sentiments as they responded.
Taria flung open the window and dashed out of her classroom on the third floor.
As she leaped from the window, crows from above in the Crimson Garden took flight.
Taria launched herself into a run, the wind magic swirling around her feet, making her movements lighter.
“This must be because of the previous incident caused by Rona’s artifact, right?”
Taria posited, turning to Crimson Garden about Rona’s wild behavior.
Crimson Garden answered with a nod.
[ Yes, her artifact’s reputation has tanked. ]
Thanks to a recent event where students and vice professors were injured because a student lost control of an artifact that summoned their own body’s burning capabilities.
Because of that incident, no one sought out her artifacts anymore.
However, knowing a bit about the circumstances, Crimson Garden could only regretfully shake their head.
Because for Rona, that incident had been quite an unfair event.
Rona had always taken commissions to create magical artifacts.
The creation of those artifacts was rare.
Due to her extraordinary craftsmanship, many sought her out for work.
However, Rona had also made a number of her personal creations.
Many of those were dangerous, and most resided in her private workshop.
Just like any other day, Rona had taken her leave after crafting magical artifacts.
On that very day, a student had visited her workshop.
He was one who had recently commissioned Rona to create an artifact and planned to use it in the upcoming mock battle.
But because the crafting took longer than expected, mock battle day was nearing, and in desperation, he took one of her artifacts without permission.
And so, the chaos ensued, with multiple students and a vice professor getting hurt.
The problem was, the student wanted to pin the blame solely on Rona’s artifact.
And oddly enough, this “student” came from quite a notable family.
Rona was notorious for being the weirdo of the academy.
As a result of being bizarrely eccentric, she openly tested her artifacts.
The rumor spread through the students like wildfire.
Later, the academy verified the incident and declared Rona was not at fault.
But by then, her reputation had already taken a nosedive.
“Rona’s artifacts? Who would use something so dangerous?”
“That’s still true, what she created is dangerous. How can you be so sure?”
“Even the injured folks are still suffering aftereffects. That’s real magic!”
Rona merely expressed apologies and didn’t actively defend herself.
She cared little about the accusations thrown her way.
After all, similar incidents weren’t completely unheard of.
But there was one thing Rona couldn’t stand.
That was seeing her artifacts belittled.
This was something she absolutely couldn’t tolerate.
In Rona’s eyes, news about the aristocrat student kidnapping incident caused by Vice Professor Jenicalen came through.
The Devourers of Worlds.
They were the fear and enemies within society.
Plus, the existence of these beings made for shocking tales spread among people.
The knowledge that someone connected to the Devourers was nearby incited panic.
If she could take down the Devourers of Worlds with her artifact, wouldn’t her reputation skyrocket?
With that thought, Rona quickly created an artifact to find the Devourer.
After perfecting the artifact, she boldly declared her intentions.
Right now, the Rahern Academy was home to the Devourer of Worlds.
She made a point to alert the students.
The goal was to draw out the Devourer’s attention, making them come for her.
But the Devourers didn’t make a move.
So reluctantly, Rona had to take action herself.
“I need to create a new artifact.”
And what she crafted was an artifact triggering World Erosion itself.
As the Devourers didn’t act, she aimed to bring them forth through her artifact’s chaos and deal with them.
This was Rona’s plan.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Taria bit back her frustration.
Underestimating the Devourers of Worlds was no joke.
Even with her artifacts, mishaps could lead to her losing her own life.
‘What in the world is she thinking?’
Weirdo.
‘And why on earth did she have to complete it like that?!’
Genius.
Taria felt the tightrope she was walking become all too real.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.