Chapter 13
Chapter 13
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Full Moon Festival (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Full Moon Festival had begun.
Dancers flaunted their moves on stage to the fullest, while wandering musicians played lively melodies.
Everyone was enjoying the festival, but I alone knew this powder keg was one spark from exploding.
All I could do was keep my nerves on edge, ready to bolt at any moment.
However...
"How about it, Priest Leo? The moon's bloomed gloriously, just like the festival's name!"
Even as Priest Lowen, drunk on wine, raised his glass to the moon with a cheer.
Even as the band's tune shifted to the next movement.
Even as the dancer stepped down and the next performer, a magician, began firing fireworks into the sky.
No Shade burst out from beneath the stage.
"What...?"
I felt considerable doubt.
By now, Shades should have emerged for their human buffet. Yet the festival remained lively and peaceful.
'No way... did the attack just not happen?'
I clung to a sliver of hope.
Perhaps the chain of changes I'd set off had triggered a butterfly effect.
Maybe the festival could end smoothly, with everyone heading home safe.
I was lost in that foolish thought for a moment when...
"Big trouble!"
A soldier came rushing to the VIP section entrance.
"Hey, this is the VIP area. Put down your sword and come in properly!"
The holy knight guarding the door raised his spear shaft to block him, but the soldier shouted anyway.
"Emergency! We need to evacuate right now!"
"Evacuate? What kind of nonsense is this?"
"Monsters of unknown origin are rampaging in the north part of the academy! Several people have already been attacked!"
Everyone fell silent at the soldier's gasping words.
——Boom——Boom
Only then did we feel the vibrations shaking the ground. They were rhythmic. Not an earthquake.
Footsteps.
"...Damn it. Festival's canceled. Everyone evacuate. Our knight order prioritizes protecting the VIPs."
"Yes, sir."
The holy knight captain made his call, and the knights moved with disciplined precision. The band's music cut off, replaced by the screams of students.
As everyone scrambled to their feet in panic...
"H-hey! Priest Leo! Where do you think you're going!"
I slipped out of the VIP section amid the chaos.
Planning to run. The western chapel should be safe.
I had no idea why the Shade had popped up in the north academy grounds instead of dead center stage. And I didn't care to find out.
I wasn't meant to fight Shades anyway, and I sure as hell didn't have the ability. In a situation where even saving my own skin was iffy, best to bow out and not get in the way. The real protagonists would handle the stage.
I was shoving through the crowd toward the west when...
"...Huh?"
I spotted a girl of small build.
Shabby student uniform. A somewhat sluggish gait.
Through curtains of deep crimson hair, green eyes sparkled.
No way I'd miss her. I'd stared at that face for nearly a hundred hours through a monitor screen.
"...Sophia?"
Sword Saint Sophia Aquilova stood right in the middle of the festival grounds.
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief.
'Why the hell is she here?'
By the original plot, amid the chaos, she should have been chased by a Shade and fled to the academy's treasure vault...
"Ah."
Sophia already knew how to wield a sword.
And the Shades had emerged from the north.
No being hunted by Shades as in canon. No helpless flight without resistance.
'...We're screwed.'
Throne of the Academy was infamous for being downright filthy. The early breezy vibes didn't last. Act 1 Shades, Act 2 Predators, Act 3 Archangels, and so on—a parade of bullshit enemies turning the academy to rubble.
With plots like that locked in, the Sword Saint's role was heavier than anyone's.
Among the five main characters, Sophia appeared from Act 1, so she had to carry the early game.
Her awakening as Sword Saint happened today, at the Full Moon Festival.
Without the cursed sword, she couldn't even scratch the Act 1 boss Shade.
Shades were wraith-type bosses.
Physical attacks simply didn't work.
'Big trouble.'
I couldn't even begin to guess how twisted the plot had become.
As I stood there fretting...
Sniff sniff.
Sophia suddenly started sniffing the air.
'What, she a dog now?'
The moment I wondered what scent she was picking up, her gaze locked straight on me.
I whipped my head away and melted into the crowd.
'No way she smelled me.'
Ghostly senses.
Remembering my scent amid this massive crowd and tracking it down. Gave me full-body chills.
Nothing good came from getting tangled up. Didn't want my face getting famous either.
Escape first.
Figure out a plan after getting out.
Right as I desperately shoved through the crowd to flee the grounds...
"Kyaaak!"
A scream split the crowd like the Red Sea.
———Boom———Boom———Boom.
At the end of that parted path, something was charging straight at us.
A form wrapped in black smoke, like a nightmare made flesh.
A Shade.
"Fuck."
I hurled myself outward. But the Shade ignored puny humans like me entirely, barreling past to the heart of the crowd.
Straight for the crimson-haired cadet in the center.
Sophia.
Boom!
The Shade extended its black mist into a long sword form and slashed mercilessly at Sophia.
Caught off guard by the sudden ambush, Sophia leaped aside nimbly.
But the Shade's attack wasn't just a single swing. Black mist exploded from where she'd stood like a bomb.
Crack.
A fragment of shadow grazed Sophia's right elbow, carving a deep gash.
"Ugh."
Sophia let out a groan.
Blood streamed down her arm. Her right arm hung limp.
Sophia didn't have the cursed sword yet. Meaning she couldn't land effective hits on the Shade.
And now her sword arm was crippled. Even if she got the sword, her odds weren't great.
Could she flee to the academy treasure vault like in the original plot?
No, probably not. The Shade was relentlessly fixated on her.
Couldn't say why, but likely reflecting the host's intent.
'...Shit.'
I'd planned to fold my arms and spectate.
But with things this fucked, sitting idle was tough.
At this rate, Sophia would die.
No Sword Saint meant the Shade raid event failed.
The future I knew would collapse from there.
Worst case, the princess might reset the world upon realizing the Sword Saint was dead.
I had to stop that.
'Well, this mess is my shit.'
Guess I had to clean it up.
No choice.
I kicked a nearby box of magic fireworks.
They spilled onto a brazier still holding embers.
Boom boom!
A flash burst forth, followed by deafening explosions.
Fireworks painted the sky beautifully.
Shades were weak to light and sound. It staggered, blinded.
I didn't miss the opening, charging straight for Sophia.
Even just last year, Sophia hadn't enjoyed the festival.
More accurately, she couldn't. The label of traitor's daughter meant glares the moment she showed up.
But this year was different. Thanks to that day's confession. Having affirmed herself, she could attend the Full Moon Festival without guilt.
Yet the festival that should have been joyful turned into the worst possible mess.
"...Ugh."
Sophia clutched the wound on her right arm. Heavy bleeding. All sensation left was searing pain.
The monster that appeared out of nowhere had attacked her. It wore black mist like armor, but inside was unmistakably human.
And a familiar face at that.
Isabella von Kreuz.
The woman who'd tormented her so relentlessly. Eyes vacant, body reeking disgustingly.
"...Isabella, what have you done."
Whatever the case.
Isabella was clearly out to kill her.
She couldn't fight back.
No sword.
Yet instead of fleeing, Sophia chose to stand her ground. Simple reason.
'The priest is here.'
She'd caught a familiar scent moments ago. No way it was imagination.
Faint incense, musty wood, aged dust.
The chapel's aroma—she'd replayed it in her mind every night.
She had to buy time here, give the priest a chance to escape.
- Growl.
Right then, Isabella raised her arm again.
A horizontal slash incoming.
The instant Sophia thought she couldn't dodge...
Boom boom!
Deafening blasts erupted, brilliant fireworks blooming before her eyes.
Isabella hesitated.
In that gap, someone came dashing toward her.
Urgent footsteps.
Familiar scent.
A blond, blue-eyed priest with a somewhat sharp look swept her up in an embrace and carried her across the grounds.
"...Priest?"
No way she wouldn't recognize him.
Lately, he'd even haunted her dreams—troubling, that. She didn't know his face, personality, or age, but people had their unique auras.
Sophia knew on instinct.
This blond man was her master.
"Sister, listen carefully."
And sure enough.
Even the voice was one she'd heard plenty.
He set her down behind the stage and rummaged in his pocket.
Out came a white handkerchief embroidered with gold thread.
He bound her wound tightly to staunch the bleeding.
"Priest, I..."
Sophia opened her mouth cautiously.
She had so much to say if they ever met.
Like how she'd crushed the second-year knight division's top student recently. How opponents now surrendered before she could even issue a duel challenge.
But the priest cut her off.
"The situation is dire. So listen closely."
"Y-yes..."
"That monster is targeting you. To defeat it, you need a sword."
"A sword?"
"Yes. A sword. It's hidden deep in the basement of the academy's central library. The inner chamber is locked, but you can break through."
His voice was urgent.
The gentle tone burrowed into her ears.
"Use that sword to slay the monster. It's something only you can do."
Sophia could only nod, entranced.
'As expected...'
It made perfect sense.
The priest had foreseen her peril, appeared amid the chaos to save her.
He'd even revealed the path to victory without a second's hesitation.
She recalled the advice from the confessional recently.
Great power comes with great responsibility. Don't waste it on petty brawls.
This was the moment to wield her strength.
To her, at least, this man's words were her life's compass.
Absolute revelation.
Prophecy. Oracle.
'My master knew... everything.'
The tearing pain in her right arm now felt sweet.
This was a stigmata. The handkerchief he'd tied himself—a relic beyond price.
"..."
Instead of replying, she clutched the sleeve of his worn priest robes with her remaining left hand.
As if refusing to let go. As if to hold this salvation forever. With a trembling voice but eyes brimming with the world's utmost conviction, she gazed up at him and whispered.
"Yes. I accept the oracle."
No time to stay down.
She couldn't disappoint him.
Sophia pushed strength into her legs and stood.
Then charged toward the central building without a hint of hesitation.
"...Oracle?"
The priest's mutter, left alone behind her, went unheard.