Chapter 199
Chapter 199
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: Anastasia & Ariya Shupellent
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***
Just seven minutes ago.
Anastasia, who had intervened in the domain deployed by the apostle, sensed something was wrong.
That Cheon-seong had escaped the apostle's domain with Leonhardt. Still, she wasn't overly concerned by this fact.
‘If anything, it’s a relief.’
By drawing the apostle's full attention to herself, the two students would be out of harm's way.
So she had focused solely on executing the apostle before her. If she could just eliminate this one, the greatest threat would be removed....
As several minutes passed, Anastasia realized the fight was dragging on, and she hadn't been able to finish the apostle quickly.
She had tried to shatter the apostle's core by overwhelming it with her first-stage release, but the apostle focused on grotesquely hardening its body, taking a defensive stance.
There was no sign of it attempting to attack or even counter. Considering humanoid apostles were more intelligent, it was a difficult reaction to comprehend.
The execution was still a certainty, but as she swung her sword, a persistent question took root in her mind.
‘Why is it taking such a half-hearted stance?’
If it had recognized the difference in our levels, the apostle should have either tried to flee immediately or launched a final, desperate attack to inflict some damage on me.
But it was doing neither. That was impossible.
Having executed hundreds of apostles... she instinctively felt that the one she faced had a different intention.
…
A tearing sound filled the air!
Belatedly ripping open a rift in the alien space, she was able to enter another apostle's domain.
Within the space, awash with light, she turned her gaze toward the source of the energy she felt.
“……!”
Just as the apostle's hand was about to touch student Han Cheon-seong, the disaster was averted.
Her body was already moving.
*Swish!*
Instantly obliterating the apostle's hand that reached for student Han Cheon-seong, she swept him into her arms and created a great distance between them and the apostle.
She had... she had managed to save him just in the nick of time.
If she had been just a few seconds later, she would have faced a horrific situation.
"I was late."
She spoke carefully, her eyes taking in student Han Cheon-seong's condition.
“……”
Held in her arms, he blinked blankly, unable to process what had just happened.
Her gaze briefly fell on the spear he somehow still managed to grip tightly in his hand.
“Anastasia-nim.”
Even as his voice reached her, I couldn't bring myself to speak as I assessed his state.
*Clench.*
...She bit her lip, cursing her own complacency.
‘I never considered the possibility that there wasn't one apostle, but two.’
The student uniform, completely stained red, was what she saw most clearly. His left arm hung limp, bleeding as if pierced by something. Furthermore, the large gash carved into his right side was nothing short of horrific.
Neither wound was minor in the slightest.
They were severe injuries, the kind that could make a person collapse at any moment.
‘And above all, the blood loss is the most critical.’
Had he moved so much without even staunching the bleeding? The blood loss was severe enough to stain nearly half his uniform crimson.
“For now... Student Han Cheon-seong, just focus on taking care of your body. I'll finish the apostle in an instant. Just wait a moment.”
"...Yes."
She released him from her embrace as he answered dazedly.
Then, getting a clearer view of his condition, an irrepressible sigh escaped her lips.
*Step.*
Taking a step forward to shield student Han Cheon-seong, I fixed my gaze on the being that should not exist in this world.
“....”
As I watched the apostle do nothing from a distance... my heart twisted.
*Fzzt—!*
Lifting my sword to point it at the apostle, a self-deprecating smile played on my lips.
‘I said I wouldn’t let a single scratch touch him.’
Far from keeping my word, I had failed to uphold the very essence of what student Han Cheon-seong had asked for—to be protected.
All I had done was barely rescue him from the brink of death.
*Shiiiiiing—!*
A colossal chill erupted, beginning to coat the blade of my sword. Soon, the sword, now imbued with extreme cold, radiated a pure white frost.
I dispelled all the ice shards I was about to form in the air.
Given student Han Cheon-seong’s condition behind me, even the slightest overflow of my power could be dangerous.
“In the end... in the end, was it a failure?”
I pushed the apostle's distorted voice from my thoughts.
I kicked off the ground.
*Shhhhk—!*
A thin, chillingly white path of ice spread from my feet, clearing my way forward. As I moved along it, the scene before me changed drastically.
ROOOOAR!!
There was no hesitation, no doubt, as I swung my sword in a great upward arc from below.
I had already grasped the apostle's power just by facing it moments ago.
...Unbelievably, student Han Cheon-seong had managed to protect his own life against an apostle of such strength.
*Swish!*
Recognizing the apostle—which had already lost one hand to me—raising its other, I naturally pivoted.
*Shhk!*
My form, which had been directly in front of the apostle, instantly circled around it at high speed, creating a new path of ice.
And as I swung my sword along the naturally formed path, the extreme cold began to freeze the entire atmosphere.
“Barely like this….”
Though the apostle belatedly tried to step away in a desperate attempt to escape, I swung my sword and shattered its legs.
*Craaack—!*
Like a building collapsing after losing its support, the apostle began to fall, only to stop suspended in mid-air.
*Shatter!*
What I saw next was a familiar form of death, like a large block of ice cracking in countless places and slowly crumbling.
With the sound of innumerable, mismatched ice fragments breaking apart, the humanoid apostle’s form began to splinter into thousands of pieces.
*Shhhh...*
As I watched the apostle's remains scatter and obscure my vision... I could see the very space of light it had created beginning to collapse.
But I had no time to watch it.
*Stagger.*
Seeing student Han Cheon-seong swaying, I rushed toward him.
*Shhhhk!*
The moment I arrived, riding the newly forged path of ice.
*Slump.*
I managed to catch student Han Cheon-seong in my arms just as he collapsed.
“I’m sorry……”
The student’s voice, as he spoke feebly in my arms, was incredibly faint.
In response, my heart felt as if it were freezing over.
“Don’t blame yourself for this. Don’t say another word.”
Student Han Cheon-seong was in no condition to speak right now.
I figured he had finally let go of the tension that had been holding his body together, which, paradoxically, put him in even greater danger.
Now that the thread he had been desperately holding onto had snapped, the pain would feel much greater.
Even in this situation... he didn't resent me.
Student Han Cheon-seong was apologizing to me, the one who had failed to properly keep my promise to protect him.
*Shatter!*
With the hand holding my sword, I hastily tore a large rift in the collapsing space of light... and spoke carefully.
“I’m so... so sorry for being late.”
I had to say it, even though I knew student Han Cheon-seong had already lost consciousness.
An overwhelming sense of apology filled my heart.
***
News of the tragedy that occurred within the academy spread quickly.
A horrific incident had taken place inside the central Grand Royal Academy.
The victims of the incident were clearly identified, and the absurd truth that the perpetrator was an 'apostle' spread rapidly beyond the academy to all corners of the imperial capital, Edelphia.
The central Grand Royal Academy was, in essence, a symbol of the Empire.
It was the institution that produced countless officers who defended the front lines, and its many other talented graduates went on to play active roles in various fields, wielding immense influence.
It wasn't for nothing that the Imperial Family invested vast sums of money to support the central academy and others across the land.
The scale of that support, in terms of both material goods and funds, was said to exceed the annual operating budget of a decent-sized city—a fact known to all who needed to know, demonstrating their commitment to cultivating talent.
Therefore, any citizen of the Empire, no matter who they were, couldn't help but pay attention to news concerning the academy.
This was true even for those who resided in the so-called inviolable territory...
the 'Magic Tower' was no exception.
…
—The highest floor of the Empire's Central Magic Tower.
The Magic Tower stood tall on the outskirts of the imperial capital, piercing through the clouds.
On its top floor was a vast space filled with luxurious magical artifacts that any mage could only dream of.
*Click.*
The ornate door to the top floor opened, and a woman stepped calmly inside.
*Clack. Clack...*
With the sharp sound of her heels, her pure white silver hair fluttered, and the hem of her stylish and elegant white mage's robe swayed.
The woman who entered the top floor was named Ariya Shupellent.
She was one of the 'Great Ones,' regarded as the highest-ranking mage in the Empire's Central Magic Tower, and also a 'person of power' who held the immense authority of the current Master of the Central Magic Tower.
*Thump.*
Sinking into a white wool chair by the window, Ariya plucked out a single red file from the pile of documents before her.
A red file. It was an 'intelligence report' detailing major news of the Empire. It contained rather expensive intelligence, delivered daily from the top-tier information guild, 'Ryuel.'
*Rustle. Rustle...*
As she casually flipped through the red document, Ariya soon furrowed her fine brows.
“No... wait, does this even make sense?”
She muttered in a sharp voice, still unable to comprehend it as she quickly scanned the contents.
As her intelligent violet eyes meticulously gathered information from the document through strands of her disheveled silver hair... a sound of disbelief escaped Ariya's lips.
“Ha.”
Even after reading it all, it was hard to believe.
However, since the source of the information was the Ryuel Guild, she had no choice but to believe it.
The names of special beings who would have a great impact on the world, along with fragmented accounts of incidents, had been prophesied in the ancient tomes. And one of the names she remembered was written right here in this red file.
—Leonhardt Rorient.
And it was listed as the name of a victim in this incident.
The unbelievable news that he was attacked by an apostle... within the academy, a place teeming with instructors who possess high-grade traits.
“How on earth is this possible?”
There was no way the immeasurably vast magical barrier surrounding the Empire's front lines could have been breached. If an apostle strong enough to break through that barrier had appeared, the front lines should have collapsed first.
And yet, the magical barrier was intact, and another unbelievable incident involving an apostle had occurred.
Moreover, an incident even occurred where Leonhardt, a being mentioned in the books of prophecy, 'lost the power' of his trait.
*Tap. Tap. Tap...*
As she habitually tapped the table, her gaze unintentionally fell upon another name written in the report.
“And what's with this bizarre name, Han Cheon-seong?”
While Leonhardt, who possessed a Legendary trait, had lost his trait and fallen unconscious from the apostle's attack, this student with a mere Common-grade trait had only sustained serious injuries.
Flipping through the document a bit more, she glanced at the information on his trait, and what little interest she had completely vanished.
[Trait: Common-grade Spearmanship]
It was a truly insignificant trait.
But that thought was fleeting, as she pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh.
“In the end... I suppose I'll have to visit the academy.”