The End of Tribulation
Somewhere in the capital.
A royal family crest is engraved on a hanging banner inside a cold stone building.
Lanterns cast light from everywhere, yet they bring no warmth. Instead, they feel like a fortress—cold, inorganic.
"The series of incidents that occurred at the Ebonic Tower were caused by Tower Master Finnadel McKellen and thirty-two following mages. All the mages have been taken into custody by the Kingdom Army, and Finnadel McKellen is detained underground."
"Did you identify the demon's true nature?"
The dark-haired Royal Guard reported from behind his back to the man sitting at the desk.
The man placed the report he had been reading down, clasped his hands, and stared at his subordinate.
"We couldn't uncover detailed information, but it doesn't match any previously known demons."
"I see. Internal cleanup and assessing the damage scale are matters for the Kingdom Army. What became of the Megirurun tainted by the demon's blood, Ludo?"
Ludo, the Royal Guard, paused for a moment.
He took a breath and spoke again.
"We seized and incinerated all of it. No demonic scent was detected during the process, so we believe no further influence will occur."
"Good. That's the end of the report. Any peculiar details or additional information you need to report?"
"..." No.
At those words, the man looked at Ludo's eyes.
Ludo met his superior's gaze directly without avoiding it.
"Yes. Good work. Rest until your next orders."
"Understood."
Ludo lowered his head.
He left the office and walked the gloomy hallway.
As he returned to his room, Ludo fell into deep thought.
"That movement wasn't on student level. But it's not the rough style forged through real combat either."
He thought of Lir Ostrin, the girl he had sparred with.
They had fought equally. No, even though his strength was far greater, he had barely lost. Ludo replayed the moment of that duel.
"That basic stance is clearly from the Knight Order's movements. But Lir Ostrin's name doesn't appear on any past Knight Order roster."
It was the breathing, reactions, and movements of someone thoroughly trained.
The movements and eyes of a girl entering the academy hadn't shown anything like that. There had been an indescribable eerie feeling and sense of wrongness.
But there was something even more indescribable.
"Why did that girl have that sword?"
The sword was the one Rigel Belheim carried on his back.
Ludo had investigated the girl's personal details and Rigel's, but he still couldn't find any connection.
"...I need to investigate further."
Ludo inscribed the name "Lir Ostrin" into his memory—the girl who had fought him equally or better.
And he resolved to use every means at his disposal to uncover that girl's identity.
***
"...So, in summary, I needed Megirurun. But in that situation, it was certain to be seized, so I stole it."
A-Class Training Grounds.
Just in case someone was lingering nearby, or eavesdropping on this conversation, he had closed the windows and doors.
He sat on the floor, and he told Dalek and Serpin almost everything that had happened that day.
Of course, he left out the part involving Professor Remediela and anything about his own identity.
"Where is the Megirurun now?"
"I already used it. I can't tell you where."
Dalek and Serpin looked at him with those words.
"I'm not distrustful of you two, but I can't say any more. I can definitely say it wasn't for some illegal or shady place."
"Master Lir wouldn't commit any crimes. It's just that the methods were a bit rough."
...Am I really rough? I thought I'd been pretty patient.
Putting that aside.
"Lir. Even if you didn't commit any crime, it's never a good thing that the Royal Guard is watching, right?"
"I know. This time it was just for investigation, so they came alone..."
If they had come intending to catch him, it could have become a full Royal Guard operation, or even a Kingdom Army encirclement.
But from his guess, since he had killed the demon, they probably wouldn't take it too seriously. There was a chance it would be swept under the rug. From his perspective, that was the best outcome.
'Too happy a coincidence.'
Even if he thought about it this deeply, there was nothing active he could do.
At best, he could prepare countermeasures for a possible ambush or make an appropriate explanation.
First, what he needed to do now.
"I should go home and sleep."
My head was throbbing. The tension had apparently released, and sleep was flooding in, as if someone was pressing down on my eyelids.
My eyeballs felt itchy, and everything was hazy—floating in a foggy consciousness.
Whatever happened, I had to sleep.
No matter how much I kept watching and thinking of plans, if my body was about to collapse, it would mean nothing.
*Sigh... My life...*
Bad luck piled up one after another. I hadn't been able to focus on my studies during exam season.
I was exhausted, I had gone to professor meal gatherings, and suddenly the Royal Guard had ambushed me.
It was just life itself being unjust.
With a sigh, I placed my hand on the floor and pushed myself up, and Dalek and Serpin rose at the same time.
"Um... Master Lir, should we walk you back?"
"It's fine..." I wanted to say that, but today I might collapse just from walking home.
Normally I would have gone alone, but not today.
Looking at them with half-closed eyes, both nodded.
***
A-Class Second Place. Serpin Altamet.
On a simple ranking scale, she held a higher position than Lir Ostrin.
Also, in the previous combat techniques class spar with Dalek, the result hadn't been great, but because she had consistently pressed Dalek, her public evaluation was on par with his as top two.
She lay on her bed with her eyes gently closed.
She was thinking about everything that had happened today.
Normally, she should have finished sparring with Dalek, studied ecology a bit, and now been soundly asleep.
Serpin glanced at the clock. It was an hour later than usual bedtime. The only time she had done this before was the night before entering the academy when she had been too excited to sleep.
'...Royal Guard.'
She had known of their existence. But because it was such a secretive organization, she had thought she would never meet them in her lifetime.
Of course, today's incident had nothing to do with her. It was related to her classmate Lir Ostrin.
Serpin fidgeted with her fingers while lying down.
She and Lir had fought equally. It had been a fight too fast to even track with her eyes, but considering their conditions, she thought Master Lir had performed better.
She had cut the Royal Guard's collar a few times and had even slipped through gaps a few times.
Serpin, who had sparred with Dalek, could feel it. Both Dalek and herself weren't up to Lir's level.
It wasn't just speed or power; there was a huge difference in the psychological warfare and technique embedded in every movement.
But what was more important now was something else.
'Could I have jumped in back then?'
Actually, she had felt relieved when the Royal Guard had simply backed off. She didn't know why he had retreated, but...
If the fight had become more intense, she was certain she would have exchanged blows with the Royal Guard.
If a decisive situation had arisen where she needed to go all out, she couldn't figure out what choice to make.
'My mother said the decision was mine...'
But deep down, her mother probably wanted a different answer. That was why she had hidden it until Serpin grew this much.
But by now, she had delayed the decision too long, and there wasn't much time left to do as she wished.
If she followed her mother's way, she would gradually have to bring her grades down.
Otherwise, the world's natural order of scouting talent would draw eyes to her from multiple places.
'Then, even if it wasn't the Royal Guard, she would surely meet someone with great ability.'
In the end...?
'No, that's... I don't want that.'
Serpin frowned and tightly closed her eyes.
She didn't want to live that way. She knew that kind of life was already decided. And she also knew the process was harder than anyone else's.
The front was brilliant, but the back was rotten to the core.
She didn't have the strength to endure that life. Therefore, the answer was pretty much already set.
'Combat Techniques... I should probably give up.'
It was a bit regretful. Her heart felt heavy, but there was nothing she could do to survive.
Besides, it was still relatively speaking. She only needed a lower grade than other written subjects.
That would be enough.
If someone found out about her situation and saw her actions, they would call her selfish.
But... but this was a matter of life and death for her. It was even a matter of her mother's promise.
Serpin made up her mind to steel her heart.