Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Full Moon Festival - End
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The standoff between the two didn't last long.
Bang!
The tentacles pounded against the barrier. Cracks began to form in the holy barrier Elise had erected. Sophia, who had been glaring sharply, soon turned her head away.
This isn't the time for this.
Isabella was still rampaging, and there was no one around to help either of them.
"…We need to take down that monster first."
Elise narrowed her eyes as she gazed at the shadowy figure trapped within the black mist.
"It seems like that woman is targeting you specifically. Do you know her?"
"Isabella."
"Isabella, huh. Should we save her?"
Elise quietly observed the woman engulfed by the monster.
Her vital signs were faint.
All that remained was a dim consciousness.
If they could remove all that black form enveloping her, could she be saved?
"…It'd be tough."
Elise shook her head.
The black mist was pouring out from the holes in her body.
The organs inside those holes had all necrotized.
And the lingering consciousness was nothing but blind hatred toward Sophia.
"…It looks like she really hates you. To minimize collateral damage, why don't you head outside the academy grounds?"
"…Wouldn't it be better to just finish it quickly right here? I don't have much stamina left anyway, so I doubt I could even run."
"…Hmm."
Why is she speaking so casually?
The retort nearly slipped out, but given the situation, Elise had no choice but to hold it back. She forced a smile.
"Well, no helping it then. Let's fight right here."
"Yeah."
Sophia gripped her sword tightly. A sinister black energy trailed along the blade and dripped onto the ground.
Soon, the holy power she had infused ran out. The golden barrier vanished, and Isabella's hollow eyes turned toward Sophia.
Several tentacles flew at her. But with her right arm healed, Sophia was able to fend them off deftly.
Slash.
As the tentacle made of black mist was severed, Isabella let out a scream of agony.
"It's working."
Sophia brightened.
As expected of the sword my master prepared.
Sophia didn't understand why a sword abandoned in the academy basement was so keenly sharpened. But she harbored no doubts.
It's something my master chose for me.
That makes it perfect.
"Left side."
The tentacle coming from Sophia's blind spot was blocked by Elise's barrier. Not only that, but the scratches on Sophia's body healed in an instant.
Overwhelming holy power. Sophia now understood with her own body that the title of Saintess Candidate was no empty honor.
Slash!
Thud!
But the battle wasn't going well. No matter how much they slashed or repelled it, the black mist kept regenerating. Physical limits were closing in. They couldn't afford a war of attrition like this.
They needed a fatal blow. That was Sophia's role.
While fending off attacks repeatedly, Sophia had figured out the target.
'The hole in her stomach.'
All the mist forming the tentacles was emerging from Isabella's lower abdomen.
That meant it was the weak point.
But Isabella was floating in the air. Sophia's sword couldn't reach that high.
And there were no environmental features around to exploit.
"…Um, Saintess Candidate?"
"What's with that awkward title? Just call me Elise."
"Got it. Elise, I've got one favor to ask."
"A favor?"
After hearing Sophia's subsequent plan, Elise furrowed her brow.
"…Well, not a bad idea."
I hate to admit it, but.
Elise kept the afterthought to herself.
Isabella felt as if she were swimming through a dream.
Her field of vision was elevated. The sky felt close.
And indeed, her height had doubled.
'Am I dreaming?'
Her vision was blurry.
Her mind was hazy.
But she knew full well that the figure before her was Sophia.
Sophia looked tiny, like an insect, swinging her sword this way and that.
'….'
Sophia Aquilova.
The traitor's daughter she loathed beyond measure.
She had long forgotten why she hated Sophia so much.
'I have to kill her.'
Only one thought remained in her mind.
She had to destroy that thing.
She had to erase Sophia Aquilova from the world.
That blind impulse was the sole fuel driving this alien body.
And so Isabella lashed out. Just thinking about it made her new flesh move abundantly.
If she kept swinging, she could plant a new seed in that girl's body…
'Seed?'
The moment the word suddenly surfaced, causing Isabella to falter—
Clang!
A clear bursting sound.
Elise's golden barrier blocked Isabella's tentacle.
But this time, the barrier's angle was subtly steep.
It faced toward the sky.
Tap.
Sophia stepped onto the airborne barrier like a platform and leaped upward.
Now their eyes met at the same level.
Shing.
Sophia's sword sliced vertically through the mist, fully exposing Isabella's body.
Her pallid skin without a trace of blood, and the hole writhing in her stomach.
Sophia didn't hesitate. She readjusted her grip and thrust the sword into the hole.
-Stab.
"Hurk."
Only then could Isabella breathe the outside air.
'Ah….'
Her mind cleared.
All her memories returned.
She had definitely been in the warehouse with some man…
"Ugh."
The man's hand forcibly invading her body.
The black seed planted along with that hand.
Everything was vivid now.
Before her eyes was the sword piercing her and Sophia's emotionless face looking down.
Isabella mustered her last strength and squeezed out the words.
"…It hurts."
Her final words.
The black mist crumbled in an instant.
As the mist melted away into the surroundings, all that remained was the corpse of Isabella von Kreuz, with a massive hole in her stomach.
"Hoo…."
Sophia exhaled raggedly.
Her heart felt like it would burst. Her joints screamed. Her stamina had hit its limit.
Sophia collapsed right there. Soon, the area grew noisy.
"Th-there! Over there!"
"Saintess Candidate! Are you alright?!"
Faculty members and holy knights rushed over.
They panicked upon arrival.
The lady of House Kreuz lay dead on the ground, with an inky black sword plunged into her stomach.
And right beside that corpse stood Sophia Aquilova, the traitor's daughter, clutching her scabbard.
At the very least, from their perspective, the situation was crystal clear.
"Y-You! What have you done?! How dare you commit murder in the sacred academy grounds?!"
One of the faculty members bellowed. Before Sophia could even defend herself, the holy knights drew their swords in unison.
"…Ha, haha."
Sophia let out a hollow laugh.
She had no strength left to resist. Nor did she want to.
Of course.
This was how the world had always treated Sophia. The descendant of a traitor. Whenever something went wrong around her, she was always blamed.
It had been that way since childhood.
There was nothing new about it now.
But…
"Shut up. You only show up after everything's over."
Saintess Candidate Elise de Lua spoke up.
The atmosphere chilled instantly.
Elise crossed her arms, looking displeased as she alternated glances between the holy knights and faculty.
"Instead of praising the student who quelled the academy disturbance, you're going to slap handcuffs on her?"
"Wh-what are you talking about…."
"More importantly, where the hell were you all this time?"
Elise's brows furrowed.
The Saintess Candidate was displeased. The faculty finally grasped the situation. Shing. The holy knights sheathed their swords.
"If you have the energy to draw swords on an innocent person, go find the injured instead."
"Yes, ma'am!"
After the faculty scurried off, Elise sighed and turned to Sophia.
Sophia looked up at her with a puzzled expression.
"…I'm not… going to thank you."
"You already did."
Elise shrugged and turned away.
"…You."
Elise frowned at the sword embedded in Isabella's stomach.
Sinister energy.
As someone well-versed in holy power, Elise could tell.
That was a demonic sword. One that would lead its wielder to ruin.
"Carry that abomination around much longer, and it'll devour you."
"It's the sword my master prepared."
"…Did I not say at some point that the sword was very refined?"
"…."
"…."
An awkward silence fell.
Unable to bear it, Elise took action first. She strode over and untied the handkerchief bound to Sophia's arm.
"Give it back."
"Shouldn't you be on the Full Moon Festival stage, Priest?"
"Hand it over."
"Yes. I'll return it personally. To its rightful owner."
Elise turned on her heel.
Shade had lingered near the central stage for a good several minutes. That delay was likely thanks to that priest's efforts.
Preparing such a refined sword for that scruffy girl and tying down Shade—all part of his scheme.
"Impressive."
Clearly, Elise had been underestimating him.
The priest's foresight was beyond her comprehension.
"In that case…."
Gazing at the handkerchief in her hand, Elise flashed a sly smile.
"…Is it over?"
Only after the surroundings quieted did I crawl out from beneath the stage.
My pristine white robes were smeared with soot, resembling a janitor's, but my life was intact, so that was fine.
Outside, academy guards were patrolling everywhere, tending to the wounded.
"…The Shadow must've escaped."
The Shadow, the malevolent organization lurking in the kingdom.
They relentlessly targeted Erebos Royal Academy.
This was a probing attack. Releasing Shade to turn the festival into chaos was for the 'seed' they were developing.
In the original story, the Shadow's true goals were never revealed. By Act 4, their own ultimate creation wiped out the organization itself.
"One crisis averted."
Whatever the case, I survived.
I safely passed Act 1.
Process aside, Sophia got her sword, and Shade was defeated.
"Now, time to live quietly like a church mouse."
Interfering with the original story once was enough.
I fed Shade repeated stuns and brushed death multiple times. One tentacle nearly pierced my skull.
I'm done risking my life.
As I made that vow, footsteps approached.
Click-clack.
A woman with white hair and golden eyes strolled across the central stage.
"Elise…."
It was Saintess Elise Aurora de Lua.
Come to think of it, I heard her house arrest ended today. Just like in the original, she must have shone throughout this incident.
Probably here to heal the injured.
Yeah, there was a scene like that in the original.
Act 1 intermission.
Surveying the devastated Full Moon Festival stage, Elise vows to protect everyone. An event where she grows a step as a saintess.
But contrary to my expectations, Elise didn't spare a glance for the injured on stretchers.
Instead, she walked straight toward me.
"Huh…?"
Soon, Elise stood before me.
She silently pulled something from her bosom.
It was the handkerchief she had used earlier to staunch Sophia's bleeding.
The bloodstained cloth was now spotlessly clean.
—Swish.
Elise silently held out the handkerchief.
"Th-thank you…?"
I took it without suspicion.
Elise smiled brightly and nodded.
A beautiful smile. But for some reason, her eyes gleamed with something eerie.
And so, I stared into those golden eyes for a while.
"…Um, excuse me… Saintess Candidate?"
She seemed to have some business, so I asked, but Elise just quietly pressed her index finger to her lips.
Soon after, she turned and left. In the end, she returned the handkerchief without a single word.
"…Well."
From a Saintess Candidate's perspective, a lowly priest like me wouldn't even register. No reason to chat.
She was just kind-hearted and returned a lost item.
"…Wait a sec."
A strange suspicion crept in.
How did Elise know I was the owner of this handkerchief?
"…Hmm."
Probably Sophia mentioned it. In the original, they teamed up to defeat Shade anyway.
I was too exhausted to ponder it deeply.
"I'm beat, so beat."
I slumped down and looked up at the sky.
"That moon's gorgeous."
As Lowen had said moments ago, a massive full moon hung overhead.