Chapter 21
Chapter 21
A few days later.
At the moment when all preparations were finally complete.
“Ah!”
Before beginning the plan, I let out a groan.
I really don’t want to do this.
Why do I have to be the one doing something that invites this kind of danger?
But I can’t not do it.
If I don’t, it’ll become even more dangerous.
Still…
“Once it begins, there’s no turning back.”
There are only two outcomes. Success or failure.
The real question is how well the means I prepared will work, and how much things will move according to my intentions.
Since I had to move before Cult made his move, the plan I created could only be described as full of holes.
I don’t know the full extent of the plan Cult is preparing, and the only thing I can do is strike before his plan begins.
“The core of the plan is the traitor in Class F.”
I made the first move.
I struck before she could start dancing in Cult’s palm.
If she is eliminated early, the plan Cult prepared will collapse as well.
Another plan? Maybe there is one.
But he won’t have the leeway to carry it out. Cult is an outsider in the end, and the time he can stay in the Cradle is limited.
This one move changes everything.
With this one move, I’ll finally be able to enjoy a peaceful school life.
“Let’s do this…”
I acted according to the plan.
Aside from the fact that the plan would be executed today, I didn’t tell Ariel anything else.
The core of the plan is making sure the opponent doesn’t suspect anything.
If she, a close aide of Robelia, suddenly started acting differently than usual, even the attacker would have no choice but to be cautious.
All Ariel needs to do is stay in a state where she can confirm my location at any time.
That’s why I even proposed a deal to Ariel.
If she participates in my plan, she won’t have the capacity to worry about Robelia’s side.
“Good grief. I became a noble only to end up doing something like this.”
Night had fallen.
Holding a shovel, I dug into the ground on a quiet hillside where not a single human presence could be felt.
The bait had been cast.
If she still doesn’t attack me after seeing this, then there’s nothing I can do.
I gave Melana a chance.
How she uses that opportunity is up to her.
However, there’s one problem.
There’s no way to avoid the first strike.
Me?
Someone like me?
Avoiding an attack from a skilled fighter ambushing in this darkness? Blocking it?
Impossible.
And Melana believes that I am Robelia’s informant.
Naturally, she will launch an attack that an ordinary person wouldn’t even be able to react to.
Of course, I have a plan.
It might end up being an action we never agreed upon beforehand and one that offers no benefit.
But there’s something I’m half certain about.
I stopped digging.
The air had changed.
The darkness before my eyes felt sharper.
At the same time, I realized it.
I glanced behind me.
There stood Melana, frozen in place as she swung a massive scythe toward me.
After confirming that sight, I took a single step away and turned my head back again.
“You’ve arrived.”
A demon was standing there.
Just like the first time we met, the demon in the form of a black poodle was staring at me with an annoyed expression.
The demon growled.
“You could have died.”
“No, it would’ve been fine. I knew you would come.”
“And if I hadn’t come? If I hadn’t stopped the moment and warned you, you wouldn’t even have realized your own death.”
“Ha ha! Would a demon of your caliber abandon me so easily?”
I know who the demon in front of me is.
Because I know, I can be certain.
The ability to stop time.
The overwhelming power to manifest physically even without a contract.
That appearance.
And most importantly, the condition of the contract.
“Stop, fleeting moment.”
A famous line from the play Faust.
And in that play, there is one fool who gives everything to the protagonist Faust and gets completely played.
His name is…
“Mephistopheles.”
A sucker of that level would surely save my life without demanding a price.
Especially since the opponent is who it is.
If it’s Mephistopheles, he can’t help but dislike the Under Chain.
After all, the leader of the Under Chain, the Great Sage, is Faust himself. The very man who made Mephistopheles into a fool.
Fate is a strange thing.
The one who tried so hard to corrupt him ended up collapsing alone in the end.
“There won’t be a next time. I’ll only play along once.”
“Of course.”
I called him a fool, but he’s still terrifying.
What must he have thought when I mentioned his name?
Maybe I should’ve pretended not to know instead of acting familiar.
Perhaps I got carried away because things were going according to plan.
“What did you do?”
Time began to move again.
Melana swept her scythe through the place where I had been standing and muttered in fear.
To her, it probably looked like I moved at an impossible speed.
But it’s even more than that.
I moved while time was stopped.
Not that I stopped it myself, but still.
“I don’t see why I’d tell you.”
Honestly, I don’t even know the exact mechanism.
But sometimes you have to bluff to buy time.
And the proof was in front of me.
She stopped moving.
Holding her stance, she carefully observed my every action.
Yes. Be cautious.
The more cautious you are, the slower you become.
“Then die!”
As Melana rushed toward me, I extended my arm and opened my fist as if showing her something.
Melana stared intently at the movement of my hand.
What emerged from my fist was light.
At best, it was light comparable to a high quality flashlight.
But in this darkness, it was more than enough to disrupt the focus of someone staring directly at it.
“Cheap trick!”
In the end, it failed to blind her.
Of course. Someone of her level wouldn’t shut their eyes just from something like that.
Exactly as expected.
After all, that light wasn’t meant for her anyway.
The scythe swung.
By the time the sound of wind splitting through the air reached my ears, it was already too late.
I couldn’t even see the attack.
However, the nature of a bizarre weapon like a scythe limits the range of its movements.
Clang!
I blocked it.
Not because I saw it.
The moment she moved, I swung my sword toward the direction an attack would likely come from.
My wrist throbbed and my entire body was pushed back, but at least I wasn’t split in half.
“It’s over, Melana.”
Illusion magic is my specialty.
I can’t even use basic magic like Fireball.
But illusion magic is something I can use at an intermediate level.
The spells I just cast are Luminescence and Kaleidoscope.
Light and refraction.
The two spells that form the foundation of illusion magic.
A double casting.
The magic shot up into the sky and scattered light in every direction.
It wasn’t bright enough to color the entire world, but if you were paying attention it was more than flashy enough to resemble a laser show.
“I gave you a chance. You should’ve taken it when you had the chance.”
I cornered Melana and provoked her, but I did give her a chance.
That much is true.
I gave her a chance to turn herself in.
She was the one who refused it.
“I could’ve immediately reported your information to Her Highness.”
That was a lie.
I couldn’t have done that.
Not because I sympathized with Melana.
But because I feared the price Robelia would demand.
Just last time, for helping once, she dragged me into facing Cult.
If I wanted to eliminate Melana early, it wouldn’t just require force.
Political maneuvering would be necessary as well.
Even if eliminating Melana itself is simple, Robelia would inevitably face pressure from other imperial family members.
That’s why suspicion or words weren’t enough.
Concrete evidence was necessary.
And now the evidence had appeared.
Shimmering green eyes.
Hair dyed a dull gray.
Proof that black magic had been used.
Eventually it would return to normal with time.
But there’s no time for that.
“You used the Under Chain. There’s no escaping now.”
“Shut up!”
The massive scythe rushed at me again.
I can’t block this one.
My wrist was already ruined just from stopping her first strike.
There won’t be a second.
Melana’s strength after using the chain has already surpassed my expectations.
Well, this part is just like a bonus stage.
It doesn’t really matter.
My real trump card is something else.
“Ugh?!”
A bolt from the blue.
Lightning struck down upon Melana, illuminating the world.
And the girl who cast that lightning descended slowly from the sky, sitting on her staff as if floating.
“Sir Johan? You can double cast and yet you can’t use Fireball? Does that make any sense?”
The moment Ariel arrived, she started scolding me.
“And don’t you think this plan is way too crude? If I had arrived even a little later, one of your limbs would’ve been gone.”
“That’s how plans work. Unexpected situations always arise.”
She arrived almost at the exact moment I used my magic.
How fast did she come?
She’s basically a monster.
But in the end, my plan succeeded.
It was crude and sloppy, but results are what matter.
The only important thing is that I was confident I wouldn’t die.
“At this point, are you sure you’re not secretly able to use a special ability?”
“I told you I can’t.”
If I could, dealing with this crisis would’ve been far easier.
Of course, the reason I can cast two spells simultaneously isn’t because I’m exceptional.
Nor is it because I have deep mastery over illusion magic.
I’m average at best.
This is just a remnant of a special ability.
“Still suspicious…”
Ariel stared at me with a doubtful look.
She keeps treating me like some kind of con artist.
What exactly did I do?
She fooled herself and then accuses me instead.
It’s unfair.
“Ha ha… So it really was a trap. I knew it. I knew it, but…”
Soon, Melana rose from where the lightning struck.
She took that hit directly, yet she’s tougher than I expected.
“Miss Melana. Surrender. If you do it now, we can still bury this quietly.”
Even in this situation, Ariel offered mercy.
But shouldn’t she ask me first before deciding whether to bury it or not?
I’m the victim here.
“You know I can’t give up, Young Lady.”
“…Melana.”
Ariel shook her head with a troubled expression.
As if she had no intention of showing any more mercy, she tightened her grip on her staff.
“Did you know each other?”
“Yes. A little.”
“I see. Stay strong.”
“…I keep realizing this, but Sir Johan, you’re quite cold.”
“What can someone who knows nothing possibly say?”
Your problems should be solved between yourselves.
All I need is to survive this moment.
I took a step back.
Just as I’ve always wanted, I stepped down from the stage and into the audience.
“I envy you, Young Lady.”
“…Melana.”
The living corpse spoke while shedding tears of blood.
The white rabbit began chanting a spell and drawing a magic circle as she looked at her.
“If I had that kind of power back then, I wouldn’t have anything to regret!”
“No. Everyone has regrets.”
Ariel was colder and more resolute than I expected.
Maybe it’s because she seemed fragile before.
It was quite surprising.
Boom!
From the magic circle floating in the air, spears of steel shot forward.
Flames danced along her staff.
Magic that twisted through the air combined with her telekinetic ability, moving as if alive and pressing Melana down.
No matter how much Melana borrowed the power of the chain, she couldn’t defeat Ariel head on.
At this moment, Ariel is even stronger than Robelia.
“Kyah!”
Soon Melana collapsed onto the ground with a scream that sounded half human, half beast.
She swung her scythe again and again, but she couldn’t even approach Ariel.
She scratched the ground trying to stand up repeatedly, but eventually collapsed as if all her strength had run out.
“It’s over.”
Even seeing such a miserable sight, Ariel did not waver.
It should have ended there.
It should have.
“Hngh…!”
Until Melana pulled out another chain from her clothes.
“What?”
That was beyond anything I had predicted.
The organization known as the Under Chain gives every member a soul ring.
One ring represents one life.
Chains are created by weaving those rings together.
Naturally, something like that is bound to be powerful.
The reason Melana, who belongs to Class F, was able to endure against Ariel was thanks to that power.
But…
“You’ll die, Melana. If you die like that, you won’t even find peace.”
Ariel spoke with an icy voice.
Perhaps that was her own form of mercy.
The chain is powerful, but the burden is enormous.
It’s no different from forcing another person’s soul into yourself.
There’s no way anyone could endure it.
“Death…”
Even so, Melana grabbed the chain without hesitation.
“…is merely one path.”
A wailing cry echoed.
The chain woven with seven rings burrowed into Melana’s hand.
Ash gray hair.
Green eyes.
And this time, the hand holding the chain began to rot black.
The signs of reaching her limit had already appeared.
“Only death can sever eternal sorrow.”
“I don’t think so.”
Melana gripped her scythe with both arms now blackened and rose like a broken puppet.
Seeing her like that, Ariel changed the type of magic she was using.
This time it was lethal magic with not even the slightest trace of mercy.
“No! It has to be that way!!”
Melana charged toward Ariel.
Black energy trailed behind her like a tail.
Death followed in her wake.
Even so, Ariel calmly aimed her staff at Melana.
There was no miracle.
Melana, wrapped in power she could not handle, failed to control it.
And Ariel calmly began destroying everything about her.
The battle ended even faster than the previous one.
Melana collapsed to the ground in a miserable state, and Ariel prepared to finish her off.
That was when the anomaly occurred.
Clang!
Dawnlight.
A single radiant streak of light blocked Ariel.
Ariel, who had maintained a cold expression the entire time, showed agitation for the first time.
Melana, lying on the ground, was equally shaken.
But I simply let out a sigh.
“So in the end, you decided to use the chance I gave you like that.”
Cult approached the students to find the traitor in Class F.
I followed behind him and contacted every student in Class F.
As a result, I identified the traitor named Melana.
And as a result…
“Jeff.”
I reached someone named Jeff.
He was the one who realized Melana’s betrayal faster than anyone else.
And he…
“It’s something I decided half a year ago. When Rain asked me to protect Melana, I said I would.”
He was a fool faithfully keeping the request of a friend who had already died.
“I keep my promises. I decided not to think about anything else.”
The Dawnlight of morning.
A knight blessed in the name of Paradise stood there with the shadows at his back.