Annihilation
We have kidnapped Ceres Reinhardt as a sacrifice to our king, Lord Elden.
If you wish to have her returned, her knight Minel Iris and her fiancé Lian Primal must come alone tomorrow to the Arcade Academy's first-year Class A.
"...What the hell is this?"
"What do you mean? It's a blackmail letter. They're kidnapping her to lure us in."
I handed the kidnapping note to Minel, and she stared back and forth between the letter and me in disbelief before trying to jump to her feet in a panic.
Thud!
"Ugh!!"
"I'll untie your hands and feet soon. Calm down. They're not really after Ceres—they want me and you anyway."
If the reason for the kidnapping was to use her as a sacrifice for Elden, then she was even safer. Elden, called the king of Spirits, was a king in the truest sense. He wouldn't touch the soul of some ordinary human. Instead, he'd curse the souls of humans that caught his fancy and turn them into Spirits like himself.
And when he'd been captured by Lian, the words he'd left for Ceres were these:
'What a boring soul. Not ordinary, but... so tiresome. I could probably make decent use of it if I cursed it, but I just don't feel like it.'
That guy lived entirely by his whims. His dying words had even been a regret that he wouldn't get to see Lian turn into a Spirit. His own pleasure was the only compass in his life.
A guy like that wouldn't kill a sacrifice even if it was offered to him if it didn't suit his taste—he'd just let it live.
"Their real goal is me and you, Minel. Besides, Ceres is the only daughter in the Reinhardt family. She's essential for maintaining their political position."
Sure, carrying on the family line would fall to the eldest or second son, but as the sole daughter, she was a tool for forging political alliances through marriage. Hadn't that been exactly why they'd acted to block her engagement to the crown prince this time?
"If they killed her, the ones who sent this letter would be picking a fight with the Reinhardt family—the ducal house that rose through magic itself. They're not bold enough for that."
"...I see. So if I lose my head here, it plays right into their hands."
"Exactly."
"In that case, let's make a plan right now."
"Nah, we don't need a plan."
At my words, Minel glared at me like I'd said something outrageous.
"You don't mean you're going to abandon the young lady...?"
"No, what the hell are you imagining?"
I needed Ceres alive if only to keep things stable with Minel. And if Ceres died, Minel's mental state would be at risk too.
"Minel, this place isn't called humanity's final bastion for nothing."
The barriers were impressive, of course, but what made it truly formidable was that inside its grounds, the stats of all monsters, Spirits, elementals, and golems—except for registered students, faculty, and their contracted summons—were halved. Their skills didn't weaken, but with overall stats cut in half, they were far easier to handle.
"Listen up, Minel. What we're going to do from here is..."
"Is...?"
"Annihilate them."
I grinned as I summoned Nero.
*****
"Ughhh..."
The cold touch of the floor hit me the moment I opened my eyes, snapping me awake. But even with my eyes open, I saw nothing. The pitch blackness made my breathing quicken as my mind raced with every possible thought.
Am I blind? Are my eyes even open? Why can't I move my limbs? Is my mouth gagged?
After dozens of frantic thoughts, the conclusion was utterly despairing.
I've been kidnapped?
It was impossible. Where was this? The Arcade Academy. Its security was on a whole different level from other academies, and Skaya Arinfield was here too. And who was I? Ceres Reinhardt, the only daughter of the Reinhardt family.
When my brothers were assassinated for political reasons, I was the only one kept safe. The eldest son, the second son, and the eldest daughter—that's the three of us. We'd never even been kidnapped, let alone assassinated.
I'd grown up like a flower in a greenhouse... but not anymore.
"Awake, are you?"
"...!"
Just those words unleashed a curse. A Spirit—no, a Special Grade Spirit like the one Lian had. My senses screamed at me not to defy it. They insisted that bowing my head quietly was all I could do.
"Relax. I have no business with you anyway."
My rigid body loosened slightly at the Spirit's words. As the tension eased, a bitter laugh escaped me.
Even so, the daughter of the Reinhardts feeling relieved to hear a Spirit had no use for her... it was pathetic.
I knew it was no time for pride in a kidnapping, but I couldn't just discard the self-respect ingrained in me overnight.
So why had they taken me? The gag made speaking difficult.
"Ughhh... eek!!"
"What're you mumbling? I don't care about you anyway, so shut up. You're only quiet 'cause you think I'll kick you to death if you don't."
With those words, curses from all directions crushed down on me.
"Guh...!"
It wasn't even a curse ritual—just raw curse pressure—but it was stronger than any I'd ever felt. I couldn't breathe. My eyes felt like they'd pop out from the strain. Desperate to survive, my whole body tensed, toes curling upright.
"Damn... you gonna die from this?"
"Mmph!! Mmph!!!"
I struggled to steady my ragged breaths around the gag. Any thought of escape vanished in seconds. I couldn't beat this thing. If Minel were here, maybe I'd consider it, but for me—a total amateur in close combat—fleeing was impossible. No chance.
I had to give up. So what was my best play?
"......"
"Good. Stay like that."
Swallowing my pride was the optimal choice. Yeah, this was right. I wasn't wrong.
I couldn't win anyway, so better to play obedient, wait for rescue. Right, Ceres Reinhardt—sole daughter of the Reinhardts. My parents would surely come for me. Minel too, even if she wasn't here. And Lian... our relationship had cooled lately, but as a friend, he'd come, right?
"...By the way, where the hell is Lorien? She tied up that Ceres bitch, so why hasn't she shown up yet? We need to grab Lian Primal and Minel Iris's souls quick."
"...Eh?"
The words slipped out, but the gag mangled them.
I'd assumed I wasn't the target—that this was a ploy against the Reinhardt family. They'd use me as a bargaining chip, and my family would rescue me. But those two? The goals were Lian and Minel?
A shiver ran through me at the renewed curse. No. I couldn't win this. My family's mages could, though. I couldn't imagine them losing, but Lian and Minel falling to this curse? Easy to picture.
Rumors said Lian had summoned some ridiculous monster, but that little Spirit? No way it was a monster. Just a tiny pet—that's what I'd seen of Lian's Spirit.
Strong? Absolutely not. The curse it naturally emitted was so weak I barely felt it. Curses formed from negative emotions, but I sensed none from her. She just craved affection, like a puppy. No way a pup like that could beat this curse...
Boom!!!
"...What?"
Mana rippled suddenly. A familiar sensation—the feeling when mages gathered power. But no mana flowed into me. Right, this was like when the family mages absorbed massive mana. When the quality of their mana force circuits was so high that nearby mana wasn't enough, it pulled from afar, making distant mana surge toward them.
"What the..."
A grand mage? Had Principal Skaya already come?
I thought that normally, but the surging curse snapped me back.
"What is it...?!!"
The Spirit, so arrogant moments ago, yelled in panic, gathering curses to weave a ritual.
Boom!!!
The sounds grew closer. The curse and mana waves intensified.
Kaboom!!!
Soon, a massive explosion rocked the air, followed by a man's voice.
"Found you."