The Trap
Tick. Tock. The clock hands rang out softly in the silence. At the center of the room, a magic circle glowed brightly. Standing before it was a mage clad entirely in red. His form seemed almost like living flame itself. Fiery mana swirled ceaselessly around him, shaping and reinforcing the magic circle.
Ethan watched the scene with a bored yawn. It's about time.
The clock had already struck three in the afternoon. The bombs were set to detonate at five, leaving only two hours. If the goal was simply to reduce the academy to rubble, everything was proceeding smoothly. But that wasn't Ethan's true objective. The bombs existed for one purpose alone. And it wasn't just the bombs—every single member of the Dark Cult occupying this clock tower was part of the same plan.
Hyun. Come quickly. This time, he would push that man to his absolute limit and tear off that mask.
While Ethan waited impatiently, the door suddenly burst open and a massive tiger beastkin in workman's clothes stormed inside.
"Hey! The academy's caught on to the operation!"
The fire mage's gaze shifted toward him. "Caught on?"
"Yeah. The student council is leading a search for the bombs right now. They've already found several."
"…Ethan. What is the meaning of this? You said there was no way we'd be discovered."
The fire mage, Valtard, was deeply versed in magic and possessed sharp insight. He immediately sensed that Ethan was hiding something. As a high-ranking mage with considerable standing within the cult, Valtard wasn't someone Ethan could afford to manipulate carelessly. Even as an Apostle, Ethan was still far too weak to handle the backlash.
"That's what I was about to ask you. Are you sure your people weren't careless?"
"…If you're plotting something, you'd better watch yourself. Understood?"
"As you wish. More importantly, which ones noticed?"
In truth, Ethan already knew exactly who they were. No one but Deborah with her Eye of Prognostication could reach such a conclusion without any clues. The answer came exactly as expected.
"Abel, the highest-priority elimination target, and his group. Apparently, the disciple of the Gray Magic Tower Master was the first to figure it out. I don't know how."
"Hmm… The Gray Magic Tower Master's disciple, is it? That's troublesome. If they manage to get outside the academy, we'll have a real problem. We'll have to change the plan."
It was time to execute the second contingency he had prepared in advance. Valtard crossed his arms. "What are you going to do?"
"I'll lure them here. Then we can deal with them all at once. No problem, right?"
"Do you have a method in mind?"
"Simple. I'll send a letter. With my spatial magic, it's easy enough. The message will be that if they don't come alone, we'll detonate every bomb. How's that?"
Ethan grinned confidently. Valtard scowled in displeasure and turned back toward the magic circle.
"Do as you like. I need to finish the circle. Just make sure they can't reach this place."
Rumble… With those final words, Valtard began pouring mana into the magic circle once more.
*
After the three-legged race ended and the commotion died down, Deborah and I hurried toward the empty lot behind the gymnasium. This was the meeting place we had agreed on. The others were already gathered there.
"We're here."
"You kept everyone waiting!"
"Ah, welcome."
"Perfect timing, nyang."
Alissa and Pernia greeted us warmly. In contrast, Abel and the rest of the group all looked drained. After a quick round of greetings, everyone sat in a circle, staring at a letter.
"What's that? A letter?"
"Oh, Luan. Take a look at this."
Abel handed me the letter. Deborah immediately leaned in close as I unfolded it. I read the message slowly.
Come to the top of the clock tower immediately. The bombs you're looking for are here. If you tell anyone about this, we'll detonate them right away.
The message was brutally simple. That only made it more threatening—and more unsettling.
"Abel. Who gave this to you? Where did it come from?"
"It was for me. It suddenly fell from the sky while we were on our way here."
"From the sky?"
"Yeah. Yuni said it looked like spatial magic."
"Spatial magic, huh…"
I had a pretty good idea who the culprit was. If Ethan Gloucester was the mastermind behind this, then the letter wasn't just a reaction to us noticing their plan. Someone like him would have already considered the possibility that Deborah's foresight could expose everything. In other words, this might have been his goal from the very beginning.
Is he trying to kill Abel? That seemed the most likely explanation right now.
While I turned over countless hypotheses and variables in my mind, I asked Abel for his decision.
"Abel. What do you want to do? Are you going to the clock tower? Or are you going to tell the others?"
"Of course we're going. They're watching us. If we don't do what they want, they'll detonate the bombs immediately."
"…I figured as much. What about everyone else?"
At my words, they all met each other's eyes and nodded firmly. Only Alissa looked away, but everyone knew that wasn't a refusal. Things had changed a lot from the game, but these guys were still hopelessly good-natured. With a sigh, I handed the letter back.
"Then let's hurry. We don't know what they'll do if we hesitate."
"Right! Let's go, everyone!"
Abel took charge and led the group toward the clock tower at a run. I kept pace beside him and quietly sent a telepathic message to Deborah. A short while later, we arrived at the clock tower.
[NO ENTRY]
That damn sign. I'd wondered about it at the time, but thinking back, they must have used it to sneak in equipment for planting the bombs. What on earth had the academy been doing to let something like this through so easily…?
While I clicked my tongue inwardly, the others passed the sign and went inside. The interior was eerily quiet. The clock tower was a popular date spot for students, so staff should have been stationed here at all times, yet there wasn't a single person in sight. Abel seemed worried about them.
"What happened to everyone? They didn't… kill them, did they?"
"Who knows. The Dark Cult wouldn't hesitate to kill."
"Maybe. I can't forgive them. Let's go up quickly."
"The elevator is dangerous. We should take the stairs."
I cut in at the right moment and guided the group toward the top of the clock tower. The tower had ten floors total. For people with superhuman physical abilities like us, that wasn't particularly high—but the problem was the dozens of Dark Cult members waiting between the floors.
The first and second floors had been left empty in case of visitors, but from the third floor onward, dozens of cultists were lying in wait.
"Surrender quietly!"
"We'll spare you if you just give up your legs!"
They had apparently been ordered to capture us alive. Every single one of them charged while urging us to surrender. We formed a defensive formation using the tactics we'd practiced and weathered their assault. Yas and I alternated between striking and retreating, taking out the enemies that had been drawn to Abel.
BOOM!
"Graaah!"
One cultist who had been hammering on Abel's shield took a Crushing Blow to the side and went flying with a scream. He couldn't even stand, just curled up on the floor vomiting blood. It looked like his ribs had punctured his lungs. I stomped down and finished him off before turning to the next target.
We continued cutting down cultists floor by floor. Then we reached the eighth floor. Suddenly, a commotion erupted from below and another dozen or so cultists appeared. This was my chance.
"Leave this to me! You guys go on ahead!"
"B-But—!"
"Don't argue, just go! We don't have much time left!"
It was already 4:10. The sun was beginning to set as we climbed. When Abel still hesitated, Deborah stepped out of the group—she had already received my request earlier.
"I'll help! You guys go first!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah! We just need to hold out! So hurry!"
"…Got it. I'm counting on you. See you soon!"
Abel kept glancing back reluctantly, but the others urged him onward and he disappeared up the stairs. I grinned at Deborah.
"You know what to do, right?"
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
"Good! Let's go!"
After that, a fierce battle began.
*
-Luan, are you okay?
-I'm fine! Just hold on a little longer!
-Abel!
-Ugh! I can do this! Everyone, stay strong!
Different scenes reflected in each person's eyes. Ethan had slipped out of the clock tower unnoticed and now sat on a nearby rooftop, leisurely observing the interior.
"Hmm… When is he going to show up?"
From past experience, Hyun always appeared when Abel was in danger. He should have shown himself by now, yet there was no sign of him. That left only one possibility: he was currently in a situation where he absolutely could not reveal himself.
"So he's among them after all?"
Excluding the possibilities that he had left or was willing to let Abel die, it made the most sense that Hyun was part of Abel's group. That narrowed it down to Luan Priulri and Yas.
"Which one is it?"
Just as Ethan watched the two with anticipation—
-Die!
-Deborah, watch out!
-Ugh, ugh!
Luan left an opening. One cultist who broke through his guard forgot the capture order entirely and launched a killing strike at Deborah. She responded by activating her magic, flooding the area with purple light. When the mana finally dispersed, it revealed a cultist with a crushed head and Luan with a sword through his abdomen.
Deborah rushed to support him.
-L-Luan. Stay with me!
Luan lay completely still, as if unconscious. Deborah tried to feed him a potion, but the wound was caused by demonic energy and wouldn't heal. He would need purification from the cult's priests first. Meanwhile, more cultists kept arriving on the eighth floor and surrounded them.
-You insolent brats! We've finally got you!
-Come on, let's go meet your friends!
Convinced of victory, the cultists grinned viciously and pointed their weapons at Deborah. In that moment of absolute peril—
-Fwoooosh!
A whirlwind of flames tore through the wall and reduced several cultists to ash. A man descended into the opening. His brilliant silver hair fluttered beneath his mask, and his radiant golden eyes swept the area. He looked completely out of place amid the blood and battle scars.
"Eun-rang! You're finally here!"
Ethan's face lit up with a bright smile and he stood without thinking. Then he awkwardly forced his expression back under control.
"But where did you come from?"
He had orchestrated all of this just to see that face, and now it had been for nothing. He had been certain Hyun was one of the group members, but apparently he had been an outsider all along. On top of that, Ethan hadn't seen him arrive at all—how had he appeared by bursting through the wall? Ethan bit his lip in irritation, yet he couldn't tear his eyes away from Eun-rang for even a second.