The Witch's Wrath
Sky Island.
Thousands of meters above the ground, this mystical floating island had been an impregnable fortress that, in the entire history of the continent, had never once fallen to an outsider. It currently served as the headquarters of Ephnel.
At the Gate of Heaven — the sole entrance through which one could set foot on Sky Island — a crowd of people murmured restlessly, all eyes cast down toward the world below.
Krrrrrumble!
Just ten minutes earlier, the sky had been bright and clear. Now it had blackened like night, and bolts of dark lightning struck down one after another. The priests and students of Ephnel rolled frightened eyes at the heavens.
"Wh-what is this? Is it the Demon Realm?"
"Could the Goddess be angry with us?"
"...No."
A priest appeared, his hair so long it trailed along the floor. Every staff member and student bowed their heads in unison.
It was Aigil, Professor of Guardian Magic at Ephnel.
"This is an ill omen. Suspend all lessons immediately and evacuate every student."
"Yes, sir!"
At Aigil's command, the faculty scattered at once.
And right at that moment—
Fwooooom!
A blinding flash split the air, and a colossal pillar of light erupted from the very center of the Gate of Heaven.
The pillar bored up through the clouds of Sky Island, rising without end.
The moment Aigil saw ribbons of light fluttering and streaming through the air, he dropped to his knees at once.
"Your Holiness the Pope!"
Everyone present flattened themselves against the ground.
The 15th Pope, Hersilia Ephnel.
As the pillar of light faded, the figure it revealed was an elderly woman whose hair had gone snow-white.
She wore loose, flowing white vestments and gripped a staff in her hand. Her posture was impeccable, her face touched with a benevolent smile — and yet her frame, standing well over six meters tall, bore down on every onlooker with crushing, oppressive weight.
"Y-Your Holiness! What brings you here in person?"
At Aigil's words, the Pope's eyes shifted.
"Flema has caused quite a mess."
"...Ah."
"They are all so hopelessly reckless. Cleaning up after them always falls to us, doesn't it?"
Hersilia stepped forward and pressed her palms together.
"This time, I may have to stake my own life as well."
Kugugugugugung!
Black clouds surged up like a tsunami and massed in the sky, swelling into the shape of a demon so vast its size defied description. Its two eyes burned blue, and its enormous hands reached all the way to the horizon.
Murmur, murmur, murmur.
"A d-demon! It's a demon!"
"O Goddess! Please, protect us!"
Hersilia raised her divinity. A radiance so brilliant it threatened to blind erupted outward, and a second sun rose over Sky Island.
"Aigil. I leave the evacuation to you."
"Yes, Your Holiness! Please, stay safe...!"
The priest called Aigil knew all too well that he would be of no use whatsoever in this fight. He led everyone at the Gate of Heaven away in a desperate flight.
Soon after, the Pope swept her arm, and an immense barrier of divinity wrapped itself around all of Ephnel and the entirety of Sky Island.
"Nephthys. Was all this truly necessary to vent your anger?"
Before the words had even finished leaving her mouth—
A colossal arm of darkness slammed into the barrier.
The onslaught of the Death Witch, until now known to most only by rumor, raged on for a full forty-eight hours.
Ephnel itself, guarded by the Pope in person, survived unscathed — but her assault reached far beyond Sky Island, striking all the way down to the surface of the continent.
Three great monasteries were destroyed. Forty-seven mid-sized and small monasteries were reduced to scorched wastelands. The cities beneath Sky Island lay in ruins.
Considering that all of this devastation had been caused merely by the debris and fragments raining down from her attacks on Sky Island, one could begin to grasp just how ferocious Nephthys's offensive had truly been.
"Your Holiness! Your Holiness! Where are you?"
When the Death Witch's forty-eight-hour assault finally ended, Aigil came sprinting to the entrance of Ephnel — now little more than a field of rubble.
"Ah..."
The famed Gate of Heaven had been reduced to a pitiful ruin, and the ground around it was flooded knee-deep with blood.
At the center of it all, he could see the Pope sitting slumped against a wall.
"Your Holiness!"
Every drop of that blood had flowed from her own body. Trembling all over, Aigil fell to his knees in the sea of blood, tears streaming down his face.
"I will summon the six Saintesses to Ephnel at once! We will exact a bloody vengeance upon the Death Witch and Kizen—!"
"That will be all, Aigil."
The Pope spoke with her eyes closed.
"Restore order and devote yourself to the relief efforts."
Aigil's eyes went wide.
"Y-Your Holiness! Can you truly let such a merciless, vicious act of terror from Kizen go unanswered?! Every last believer of the Holy Federation stands ready to fight with their lives on the line! If you would only give the word...!"
Khehek.
She laughed.
"There is no need for any of that. This was nothing more than Nephthys throwing a roaring tantrum."
A blank look froze on Aigil's face.
Their supreme leader was soaked in blood, monasteries across the continent had been flattened — and this was a tantrum?
"If she had been serious, I wouldn't even be standing upright right now."
Rising from her seat, the Pope called upon her divinity and began rapidly healing the wounds across her body.
"This is simply old enemies trading blows, as we always have. The matter ends here. See to the aftermath."
"..."
Aigil's expression hardened.
Did she have any idea how desperately the militant factions within Ephnel thirsted for war? Even Saintess Flema had defied the Pope's instructions — that was exactly why she had launched her reckless solo operation.
But the Pope's word was absolute. So long as she continued to hold the radicals in check, there was no pretext to move.
Sighing inwardly, Aigil bowed his head.
"I shall obey your command."
Three days later, at the Kizen infirmary.
"Man, Nephthys really let 'em have it! Ephnel tucked their tail and ran!"
All the members of Group 7 had gathered around Simon, who sat up in his patient gown. Dick was chattering away with his usual enthusiasm, and Simon nodded along with a smile.
Ephnel tucked their tail?
"They sure did! They saw the power of Nephthys with their own two eyes! The word 'war' got scared right out of their vocabulary. As long as Nephthys is alive, the Holy Federation will never dare start a war first!"
"Ugh, you hopeless idiot. You act all clever until the subject of diplomacy comes up, and then you're a total bust."
Meilin, who had come along for the visit as well, was busy helping herself to Simon's fruit.
"Sure, Nephthys is incredible, and yeah, she dealt out dozens of times the damage we took. But I wouldn't say Ephnel tucked their tail over it. This was just the Pope deciding to take the punch they'd earned. Honestly, the ones who flinched were our own Council of Elders."
"Ah, yeah, that part I'll concede!"
Dick snickered and nodded.
"Nephthys came out personally and did all that — and then for them to come back with 'Nephthys still falls short! She's lacking! To war!' — it just makes them a laughingstock. So now public opinion's swinging to 'All hail the magnificent Nephthys!' That's basically where things stand."
Just then, Camibarez, who had been sitting quietly peeling fruit, speared a slice with her fork and leaned toward Simon.
"Simon! Say 'ahh~'"
Simon opened his mouth, and Camibarez fed him the piece of fruit. Then she just stared, watching him eat.
"...Kami."
"Yes! Simon."
"You're a patient too, you know. How about you get some rest?"
Camibarez was wearing a patient gown of her own, bandages wound here and there across her body. She flashed him a bright smile and held up her thin forearm.
"I'm fine, really! I'm tougher than you are!"
From what Simon had heard, she'd simply overexerted her hemomancy flying to the Mausoleum.
Of course, that was all Simon knew — in truth, unsealing the Ursula bloodline had pushed her to the edge of a genuinely dangerous crisis. Only because Professor Silaje of Hemomancy had intervened on the spot and re-sealed it did she survive with her life intact.
But Camibarez was keeping that part secret, worried it would frighten her friends.
Knock, knock.
Just then there was a knock, and a henchman assigned to the infirmary stepped inside.
"Pardon the interruption during your visit. How are you feeling, student?"
"Much better, thank you."
"Good to hear. Would you mind if I drew a little blood for some tests?"
"Go right ahead."
The henchman inserted a syringe into Simon's arm and began drawing blood. A brief silence settled over the room—
Gulp.
The sound of a swallow carrying down a throat rang out, unnaturally loud.
Three heads turned. Camibarez was staring at the syringe, her face scarlet.
"Kami? What's wrong?"
At Meilin's question, Camibarez jolted and flailed her hands about.
"Ah, I-I mean! I was just thinking how scary needles can be... that's all! Needles always make me tense, you know?"
"Ahaha!"
Meilin scooted over and wrapped Camibarez in a big hug.
"You're adorable~ Scared of a little needle? Kami, you're still such a baby."
Meilin patted her head. Camibarez, cheeks burning, only glanced away — but her eyes kept drifting, again and again, to the syringe slowly filling with Simon's blood.
"There, all done."
"Thank you!"
"You seem stable, so you'll be discharged soon. I'll let the professor know as well."
"Yes! Please do."
Two days later, Simon and Camibarez completed their discharge paperwork without a hitch.
And so the shortened lessons continued at Kizen.
The school's mood was still unsettled in the wake of the Saintess's terror attack, and with so many injured students, even holding normal classes proved difficult.
Ordinarily at Kizen, injuries sustained during lessons were each student's own responsibility. But this time the situation had been caused by an external act of terror, and forcing performance evaluations on wounded students was bound to stir up no end of controversy.
Then, on a day when nearly a week of shortened lessons had passed—
During Basic Dark Magic class, a bombshell announcement dropped from Jane's lips.
"Vacation begins tomorrow."
The classroom erupted at Jane's startling declaration. Simon, already briefed by Nephthys, simply nodded along as if he'd expected it.
"Given the circumstances, we will begin an early break. The remaining first-semester lessons, the Duel Evaluations, the final exams — all of it will be folded into the newly reorganized Integrated Second Semester."
The Integrated Second Semester replaced the usual first-year second-semester curriculum with a semi-wartime framework built around the prospect of war against the priests. No war had broken out, but it was proof that Kizen's leadership regarded this incident as anything but ordinary.
"Naturally, I trust none of you plan to spend this vacation doing nothing but play?"
At Jane's signal, the TAs dropped thick stacks of paper in front of each student's desk. The moment the class realized this was all vacation homework, every face went rigid.
"Assignments have been prepared for all nine subjects. Of course, even if the professors weren't tormenting you with coursework, I hope you will each recognize on your own that this is your chance to prepare for the Integrated Second Semester and raise your skills. Questions?"
Jamie thrust her hand into the air.
"If the Integrated Second Semester is beginning, what happens to our first-semester grades?"
"They will of course be consolidated into your second-semester grades. The Duel Evaluations will continue as well, with everyone keeping their current squads."
After Jamie, other students raised their hands and fired off question after question, and Jane answered without missing a beat, as always.
"What happens if we fail to finish our vacation assignments? Is there a penalty?"
"You will enjoy an eternal vacation. Next."
"How is the Integrated Second Semester different from a normal first-year second semester?"
"We will train you as though it were semi-wartime. Written exams will become less frequent, while practical training takes up a far greater share of your schedule and far greater intensity. Combat capability against priests will factor into your evaluations, and the performance assessments will be several times more dangerous than before. Next."
"Which professor is coming to teach the new Toxicology course?"
"Whoever it is, they will not think kindly of your forty-point Toxicology grade. Next."
Then Camibarez timidly raised her hand. Jane nodded and pointed at her.
"I-I'm Camibarez Ursula! I know it's a little silly to ask something like this at such a serious time..."
"Ask anything you like, Camibarez."
"When second semester starts... will our classmates change?"
A hush fell over the room, and the attention of everyone around sharpened at once.
It was a small question, yet one that cut to the heart of everything — the very question at least one person had been hoping someone would ask.
Normally at Kizen, the class assignments changed between the first and second semesters. But a second semester built by folding in the latter half of a first-year first semester had never existed before.
Even Hector, slouching back in his seat with a bored, insolent expression, unfolded his crossed legs and leaned forward.
Jane answered with a faint smile.
"Second semester will keep the current class assignments."
WAAAAAH!
Cheers erupted from every corner of the room, joy impossible to contain. Students threw their arms around each other and exchanged high-fives. Simon celebrated with Dick, Meilin, and Camibarez as well.
"Thank goodness, Simon!"
"Yeah."
Simon was genuinely fond of his current group members, the class makeup, and even their homeroom teacher Jane and the team of TAs.
Well — there was exactly one person he'd been hoping would transfer to a different class. Simon glanced sideways in that person's direction.
"Whoa, Hector! Did you just smile?"
"...Shut it."
"Hector smiled! He actually smiled!"
"BWahaha! I bet he was worried we'd all get split up, and now he's relieved!"
"I said shut up."
While Hector's faction howled with laughter, Hector's gaze was fixed on Simon.
This second semester, more than ever...!
Vacation was, beyond any argument, the single greatest opportunity to widen the gap in power.
Hector intended to spend these two months leaving Simon so far behind that Simon wouldn't even be able to look up at him. The Moore family's training regimen was exactly that brutal — and he was confident he would survive it yet again.
Just as he was steeling himself to return as a completely transformed man, his eyes happened to lock directly with Simon's. But Simon simply whipped his head away, and Hector's face flushed crimson.
That bastard! I'm not even worth a glance to him anymore?!
GOOOOOOOW!
Hector suddenly began radiating murderous aura in the middle of the classroom, but the students paid it no mind, chattering away in their warm, festive mood.
"Silence."
At Jane's word, the students of Class A snapped their attention back to her.
"Now then, I will announce the most important task you will all be tackling over the vacation."