Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Academy Raid: Begerton Antares (3)
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The nights in the grand library were invariably visited by a time of profound silence.
In the library where I alone remained, the only sound echoing was the rustle of turning pages—a scene of utter solitude.
Yet, for me, it was a familiar solitude.
It was the very landscape I had faced day after day, until the library's first member, Lua Polaris, came to visit.
"......"
In the library filled with silence, I quietly turned the pages of the grimoire in my hand.
How much time had passed since I began researching magic?
The endless studies I had pursued over countless hours were now on the verge of surmounting a massive wall.
Breaking free from the stale framework of incantations that had bound my former self, and taking a step into the unknown realm.
And from beyond that realm, I sought to uncover two particular spells.
"A great magic... I haven't the slightest clue how long it will take to perfect."
First, a magic to slay gods—
It was the feat of reaching, with my own hands, the level of the "great magic" that the girl in my dreams so desperately yearned for.
An aspiration to attain the domain of omnipotence lying beyond the sea of mysteries.
"Escaping this place won't be much different."
Second, escaping from this vast library.
It was also the reason the Secret Society's members bustled about for me every day.
Those were the only driving forces propelling me now.
For that reason, even now, I was deciphering and editing corrupted grimoires in the library.
"......"
Of course, this time, I had added one more volume to the list of corrupted grimoires.
A few days ago, the Doctor had paid contribution points himself to check out an illusory magic from the Third Repository.
—Spirit Labyrinth.
This was a spell I had created long ago through repeated research into time and memory.
Though similar to "Avici" in being housed in the Third Repository, its purpose differed fundamentally from that previous spell.
After all, it had not been designed with combat in mind from the outset.
"......The Doctor has made a peculiar decision this time."
The core effect of the Third Repository's spell, "Spirit Labyrinth."
It created a labyrinth of memories that induced a disparity in perceived time.
In other words, it trapped the target within a labyrinth that endlessly repeated fragments of their memories.
Unlike "Avici," it was not a war spell designed for mass slaughter.
"Since 'Spirit Labyrinth' was originally created for educational purposes, using it won't yield typical results."
Strictly speaking, this spell had been made to artificially recreate the form of dreams.
For mages who did not dream, how far could it simulate the essence of dreams?
It repeated the process of learning one's own traces from the scattered remnants of memories within those dreams.
It was akin to the prototype of the "Memory Imprint" spell currently in use at Celestia.
Using such a spell in the heart of the Academy promised to create a rather comical scene.
"They'll be stuck in endless remedial classes."
A faint smile escaped amid the turning pages.
The time looping in the labyrinth was based solely on the target's memories.
Information not present in those memories could neither be shown nor even attempted.
Thus, using it on Academy students would result in perpetual review sessions.
Until the spell's perceived time expired, it would continue just like that—
Repeating study sessions that wallowed in their own shortcomings.
"Endless classes, huh—"
I gazed at the grimoire on my desk.
Endless class time would descend upon the Academy.
In the remedial scene the Doctor would create, just how much corruption would this spell exhibit?
The results would come as enjoyment from this moment onward.
* * * * * *
The silent night over the Academy.
The sky, which had been draped in evening glow just moments ago, now hid itself in pitch-black darkness.
Roan, a second-year student at the Academy, was sprinting down the hallway, clutching the hand of his childhood friend Avery.
The moment he realized something was amiss, he had begun checking the School of Magic building with Avery.
Tadak-tadak-.
The footsteps of the two racing down the corridor echoed through the heavy silence.
"Roan, what on earth is happening...!"
"I don't know! But the professors in the School of Magic building must know something!"
Roan shouted to Avery, his face tense with anxiety.
As he dashed down the hallway, immense unease surged in Roan's chest.
The pendant Avery had cherished for so long had shattered.
And it was due to the massive darkness looming over the sky.
It meant the legend of the talisman Avery always spoke of was true.
'The stories about the pendant were real!'
The majestic spell sweeping across the sky flashed through Roan's mind.
The eerily quiet Academy landscape, the barrier isolating the Academy—all were surely connected to it.
Otherwise, there was no reason for the School of Magic building to be this silent.
"Avery! Let's check if anyone's still in the lecture halls!"
"Yeah! Got it!"
Roan's footsteps, still holding Avery's hand, headed toward the door of a closed lecture hall.
Druruk-.
Roan's hand urgently flung open the lecture hall door.
However, the lecture hall he opened was empty, with no one remaining.
"Roan! No one's here!"
"......"
Confirming no one was there, Roan turned his gaze elsewhere.
Even if this hall was empty, he didn't think the entire building was.
Roan immediately opened the door to the next lecture hall.
Druruk-.
And as if proving Roan's hunch, the second lecture hall he checked showed signs of human presence.
"This is...!"
Roan's eyes scanned the interior of the lecture hall.
Had a few students lingered here still?
Roan spotted students from the School of Magic slumped lifelessly over their desks, their faces frozen.
"N-No way... they're not all dead, are they?"
Avery's terrified voice rang out.
They were all collapsed over their desks as if their souls had fled their bodies.
"......I need to check their pulses."
Roan approached one of the fallen students.
He placed his hand on the student's neck.
Swik-.
A clear pulse transmitted through Roan's fingertips.
Proof that the student before him was alive.
"Did they fall victim to that spell from moments ago?"
Roan's eyes stared out the window at the Academy's changed scenery.
Since Avery's talisman shattered, pitch-black darkness had settled outside.
Considering the silence that had befallen the Academy, it was wise to assume students elsewhere were in similar straits—
As Roan watched the transformed Academy landscape, his head began to ache.
"What do we do? We need to wake them..."
"If they could be woken with ordinary methods, at least one or two would have stirred by now."
Roan's palm lightly tapped the face of the student before him.
Tok, tok-.
Yet, despite the gesture, the fallen student showed no sign of waking.
"As expected, this won't work."
But a knight never gave up amid adversity.
Roan raised his arm again toward the slumped student.
Hit them hard enough to snap them out of it—
Such a thought surfaced in Roan's mind.
"Sorry if this doesn't work...!"
Just as Roan's palm swung toward the student's cheek.
Kyaaaak-.
His hand froze in midair at the sudden scream that pierced the air.
Avery's shrill cry reverberated through the lecture hall.
"Avery, what happened?!"
"Roan, o-over there...!"
Tremble, tremble-.
Terrified, Avery pointed shakily at something with a trembling hand.
Seeing this, Roan followed her finger with his gaze.
And right then—
Kikikikik!
Roan's eyes met the massive shadow looming outside the window.
"Ah-."
Roan Adenov.
Reflected in the eyes of the boy aspiring to knighthood was a grotesque creature writhing with enormous eyes.
A chimera so hideous and bizarre that devouring a person in one bite would seem unremarkable.
The chimera's eyes fixed on Roan.
"......"
A horrific monster was here.
A dangerous monster that should never exist in the Academy.
* * * * * *
The Academy's main building, shrouded in darkness.
There, the Doctor strode forward with a face brimming with delight.
Having visited an academic institution after so long, he was lost in nostalgic memories of his youth.
Of course, the gaze of his sole guard, Leintath, watching the Doctor was far from kind.
It was because he had been forced to watch the childish scuffle the Doctor staged at the entrance.
"Couldn't you have just subdued them properly from the start and entered?"
"Leintath, that would kill the vibe, wouldn't it?"
"You're planning unauthorized intrusion anyway, so what grand vibe do you need?"
Pfft-.
A hollow chuckle escaped Leintath's lips.
In response, the Doctor let out his signature laugh as he addressed Leintath.
"Dear me, Leintath, you have no sense of romance at all."
"I've never once wanted to know your kind of romance, so no need to worry."
"That's a shame. I thought we were pretty good friends."
Unfortunately, the Doctor's romance was coldly rejected by Leintath.
Undeterred, the Doctor trudged onward with his bloodied hands, peering down the corridor through his monocle.
Thud, thud-.
As the clear footsteps of the two intruders echoed through the quiet hallway.
Leintath commented to the Doctor, who was staring at his blood-stained hands, on the Academy's state.
"By the way, you've pulled off something outrageous again. Did you always have a Forbidden Wisdom like this?"
The Third Repository's spell, Spirit Labyrinth.
Leintath marveled at the results it had produced.
"Not bad in terms of power, right? It's a special spell I acquired fairly recently."
"Excellent for suppression."
Tok, tuuk-.
The Doctor raised his blood-drop-stained hand and stared at it.
The lingering mana residue dripping from his fingertips was fading with time.
"Even with extensive preparation, casting it over such a wide area puts a heavy burden on my mana."
"......"
"I nearly drained myself dry."
From the Doctor's lips flowed talk of the mana consumption of the "Spirit Labyrinth" spell.
Perhaps because it was one of the higher repository spells from the Phantasmic Repository Celestia, cast over a vast expanse.
Even the Doctor, one of the top mages in the Magical Research Society, had only managed the mana cost after thorough preparation.
Spells from the Third Repository were not something to be cast without preparation.
'Well, Acheronar... that woman might wield it without issue.'
By the Doctor's own estimate, few in the Secret Society could handle Third Repository spells.
Perhaps only the elf mage once called the Seven-Horned one, Acheronar.
Of course, recklessly using Forbidden Wisdom without preparation wasn't normal even by mages' standards.
As far as the Doctor knew, previously, only the society's chairman could.
"......"
Lost in such thoughts, the Doctor's footsteps had briefly rampaged noisily through the Academy's main building.
Swik-.
Soon, Leintath leaned in toward the Doctor with a question.
"So, where are you headed now?"
A question about their destination.
The Doctor adjusted his monocle with a smile.
"Why, to meet a friend, naturally."
"A friend? Does the Doctor even have anyone at the Academy you'd call a friend?"
Kekekeke-.
Hearing the eerie laugh, Leintath asked with a baffled expression.
But the Doctor continued onward with a composed face.
"Leintath, you don't have many friends, so you wouldn't understand. Talented researchers like me have plenty of useful friends."
"......Spouting nonsense again."
"Now that we're in the Academy, it's only right to start by meeting my bosom buddy, Cardos."
Stopping before a massive door, the Doctor uttered the familiar name.
—Principal's Office.
Leintath and the Doctor's eyes turned to the door plaque.
Leintath's gaze, fixed on the plaque, filled with doubt.
"You're sure about this?"
"Trust me, Leintath."
Kkiiik-.
The Doctor boldly flung open the principal's office door.
Inside the office the two entered sat an elderly man with a flowing white beard in a chair.
Apparently struck by the Doctor's spell, the Academy's principal—Cardos—was slumped in the chair, drooling.
Thud, thud-.
The Doctor approached the sleeping Cardos.
"Cardos Gordieus. Your dear old bosom buddy has come to visit."
He raised his hand, channeling mana to slap the principal's cheek.
Slap, smack-.
Repeated sharp strikes shook the mental barrier.
Soon, Cardos opened his eyes, his dazed face coming into view before the Doctor.
"Ugh... urgh...!"
Perhaps from the shock of the slaps, pained groans escaped the waking Cardos's lips.
Blink, blink-.
As Cardos's gaze blankly fixed on the two for a moment.
Soon, he stared at the Doctor with a panicked face and spoke.
"Who the hell are you...?"
Hmm-.
Leintath's eyes turned to the Doctor.
"Your 'bosom buddy' doesn't recognize you. What's your plan now?"
"We'll become bosom buddies starting now. It's fine."
Swik-.
The Doctor drew out a bizarre torture implement.
Faced with it, Cardos's expression darkened in an instant.