Flicker—
Flicker—Flicker—
The magic lamps were dimming in a strangely irregular way.
This was the road leading to the Herein Building. Standing motionless on it as if dead was Camilla Bliss.
She had been in that same state for hours.
She didn’t even know what she wanted to say. She was simply waiting for someone to return.
Her mind was filled only with the face she had seen earlier.
The face of the boy who turned away with lifeless eyes. That image kept playing in her mind, endlessly and eternally.
Crackle—
“……?”
At that moment, the lights suddenly went out.
Crackle—Crackle—Crackle—
The magic lamps that lit the path began to flicker and die.
But Camilla didn’t pay it any mind. She just continued waiting in the darkness.
Someone was approaching from the distance.
It wasn’t the boy she had been waiting for. The figure was far too large for that.
……The smell of blood.
A sharp, metallic scent pricked at her nose, making her frown. But considering the figure’s build, she assumed it was probably a student from the Knight Department.
That would make sense. Bleeding during training wasn’t unusual for them.
“……The seed… the seed……”
“……?”
The figure passed by, muttering something strange.
But she didn’t care. No suspicious person could possibly enter the inside of Tane Academy anyway.
Camilla returned to her quiet vigil…until she suddenly noticed a strange glow rising from the main Knight Building.
“.……”
The magic lamps around her had gone out under strange circumstances. Instinctively, she sensed that the two events were connected.
Still, someone would surely deal with it. That fleeting thought crossed her mind and passed.
“.……”
But no matter how long she waited, nothing was fixed.
After much hesitation, Camilla finally began walking toward the Knight Department.
***
I thrust my arm into the barrier and stirred it around.
◆ [Total Magical Structure Analysis] activating…
Strange. It’s too early for something like this to be happening at the academy.
If it was a blackout barrier, it was one I had seen plenty of times in the game.
Essentially, it’s a type of barrier designed to neutralize low-circle mages, and even high-level mages would find it mildly disruptive when trying to cast magic.
A technique created solely to target magic users.
That said, it wasn’t particularly high-level. Which meant that deploying it wasn’t all that difficult and the same went for disabling it.
However, for me, that fact actually worked as a disadvantage.
Because the barrier is low-level, it makes it harder to identify the culprit. Anyone could have done this, and it wouldn’t seem strange…
Exactly. That’s the issue.
If it had been a high-level barrier, I could’ve used the in-game story as a reference to at least narrow down the suspects. But with this? There was no way to tell who was behind it.
Guess I’ll have to check the situation from inside.
“…Let’s go in.”
“Leave it to me.”
Awen, who had now returned to a calm expression, pulled a small sword from her clothes. Her earlier panic had completely vanished. She closed her eyes.
Her blonde hair shimmered faintly in the dark. It was a sign that sword energy was being released.
“No need to force our way through. It’s not the kind of barrier that blocks entry. If anything, we might end up disturbing what’s happening inside.”
“Then what?”
“This type of barrier sharply reduces a mage’s firepower. Let’s just walk in.”
“…You can tell that?”
“Well, somehow.”
“…Come to think of it, you were an early admission student, weren’t you… Got it. From now on, I’ll trust everything you say.”
Not so much because of that. More like I’m just a game nerd.
I nodded as I withdrew my arm from the barrier.
“It’s also possible that the barrier is already being dismantled. After all, this is Tane Academy, where the Empire’s finest are gathered. Just gathering the professors here would make up a force equal to a division from most kingdoms. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“…Still, I couldn’t sense anything. Even now, it just feels… unusually quiet…”
“That’s possible. After all, swordsmen have relatively weaker mana sensitivity—”
Huh.
Right as I said that, a thought struck me.
It was about what happened last weekend at Black Alley.
Come to think of it, I was able to see that “wide-brimmed hat woman” wasn’t I…
That sharp awareness of faint magical light—
It was proof that I, Adel, possessed an extraordinary talent for sensing mana.
And yet, even with that level of talent, I didn’t notice the [Blackout Barrier] until I got this close.
That’s not normal.
Did someone deliberately modify the barrier to make it harder to detect from the outside?
But what’s the point of that? The blackout barrier is the kind that any mage inside would notice whether they like it or not… It’ll be undone soon anyway.
The only effect it might realistically have… is tricking people outside into entering without realizing the barrier is even there…
“Adel?”
“…The situation has changed. Senior Awen, let’s hit them hard.”
“Okay!”
Awen confidently drew her short sword. Mana gathered at the blade with an intensity that seemed to burn. The same kind of mana Aron used.
“──!!”
Then, her slash swung through the air as if slicing through nothingness.
It looked like nothing had happened, but I saw it clearly. That strike had definitely created an opening.
Impressive.
I gestured to Awen and quickly stepped through the barrier.
“Which way do we go?!”
“The barrier core is near the Knight Department’s main building!”
“Then I’ll keep running. Hold on tight!”
The roles had reversed. Awen started running, almost as if she were supporting me.
“Want me to carry you?!”
“Would that be faster?”
“Probably!”
“Then, excuse me!”
“W-Wait, don’t people usually refuse at least once?! I mean, guy and girl?!”
It was best to get there before the professors dispelled the barrier, to clearly identify who was behind this. If that’s the goal, then speed is all that matters.
◆ [Total Magical Structure Analysis] activating…
“Look. Do you see that faint light beyond the Knight Department’s main building? That’s it.”
“Got it!”
The light was on the other side of the building.
Going through the main building would be ideal, but given the time, there’s no way the doors would be open.
“Hup—!”
Awen must’ve realized that too. She leapt up the wall in one motion and landed on the rooftop.
Then she sprinted across and jumped back down.
What an incredible jump. If I pushed my magical tool’s mana to the limit, maybe I could pull off something similar. But even then, all my muscles would probably tear. As expected of Class A from the Knight Department.
That’s how we arrived in front of the main building. The wide courtyard was already full of shadows. Professors who had rushed out, startled from their rest.
– We need to identify the culprit! This is far too big to be a prank!
– Our first priority is to calm the students. You’re a professor. How can you lose your head over something like this?
– Lose my head? This is an insult to the dignity of the Academy! What do you think, Professor Quinoron?!
– ……I doubt this is a prank by a student. Take a look at this mana stone.
Awen let out a sigh of relief.
“……Looks like the professors have taken charge.”
“Yeah.”
“If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have made you ride on my back…”
The curtain that had covered the sky was fading away.
The dome-shaped “Blackout Barrier” that had enveloped the Academy was being effortlessly dispelled by the professors… That’s all this barrier really was.
“No.”
“Huh?”
I watched the scene and quietly said,
“You did more than enough.”
“……Really…?”
“Yes. Thank you for being there for me today, senior.”
“Ah. Yeah. Um… well.”
She fiddled with her tousled blonde hair as she replied.
“Camilla, listen. Don’t hate her too much. I-I know it’s rude of me to say this to you, but……”
“……I understand.”
“G-Great! Yeah! If anything troubles you, come talk to me anytime! Okay?”
And with that, I parted ways with Awen.
I turned my back and headed toward the Herein dormitory.
Quietly so as not to draw the attention of the students, who were detecting more and more anomalies and gathering around.
– What? What’s going on……?
– Why are the professors all gathered?
– Everyone, back to your rooms! Return to your dorms!
– It’s nothing serious, so go rest for now!
On my way back.
The campus of Tane darkened by the “Blackout barrier” began to slowly regain its light one by one.
For a moment, it felt like someone brushed past me.
With the magic streetlamps only beginning to light up, I couldn’t be sure, but they were probably heading over to see what the commotion was about.
It had nothing to do with me.
***
“Oh my, Adel. You’re coming back from talking with someone? Hurry on to your room now.”
“Yes.”
“It’s fine for now, but you know you can’t go out after curfew, right?”
“Of course.”
“……Is something wrong? You don’t look well.”
“No. I’m fine.”
“I see. Get plenty of rest.”
Creak……
After finishing my conversation with the dorm manager, I closed the door.
Herein Hall, far from the commotion, was utterly silent. When I shut the door to the unlit room, complete darkness swallowed the space.
……Click.
I quietly locked the door.
Then click—
I turned on the magic lamp that lit the room.
The first thing that entered my view was the shattered mirror.
And on it, a message written in blood.
[The seed of the demon shall soon blossom]
Next came the stinging smell of blood.
Feathers from a torn pillow drifting through the room. An overturned desk, papers scattered across the floor.
The bed was split wide open down the middle. Covered in blood.
As if to say if I had been lying there, that’s how I would have died.
[We do not forget you]
“…….”
The cause of an event that should never have happened.
And I’ve realized….the responsibility lies entirely with me.
To be exact, ever since the moment I possessed this body, the seed of a future demon worshipper had already been planted within—
Adel Bliss.
Leave a Reply