Chapter 192: Priestess of The Red Lotus (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 192: Priestess of The Red Lotus (5)
“Look over there!”
Several faculty members and Imperial Knights rushed toward the source of the mana they had identified as the Nameless Hero’s.
One of the professors spotted a magical beast cutting through the night sky. The rest of the group followed his gaze, their eyes widening in awe.
“The White Dragon…!”
“It really appeared.”
The creature soared through the night sky, radiating an air of nobility. Its white wings were frosted with an opalescent sheen. It was, without a doubt, the mythical White Dragon—the very same familiar the Nameless Hero had ridden during the emergence of the Abyssal Sea Monster.
It appeared smaller than it had back then, likely because its master hadn’t summoned its full, true form.
Dorothy, who had been distancing herself from the faculty using her starlight mana, suddenly skidded to a halt and looked toward the White Dragon. The mystical creature glided toward a figure standing atop the clock tower and landed gracefully beside him.
The White Dragon’s frigid mana briefly illuminated its master, casting his silhouette against the moonlight. Everyone’s jaw dropped at the sight.
He stood over two meters tall. The man was clad in a heavy robe that seemed barely able to contain his massive, muscular physique. Though the distance made it hard to discern specific details, the presence of the White Dragon was proof enough of his identity.
“The Nameless Hero…”
The mysterious archwizard who protected Märchen Academy.
He appeared to be scanning the campus before quickly vanishing behind the clock tower, the White Dragon following suit.
“Damn it! Let’s split up. We’re going after that man!”
“Right now?! The appearance of the Nameless Hero means a demon might be on the loose!”
“It’s likely already over! I can’t feel any demonic mana anymore!”
The Nameless Hero’s mana had already begun to fade. This suggested that even if a demon had appeared, it had been dealt with swiftly.
“Remember, our orders include uncovering the identity of the Nameless Hero. Your academy should focus on assessing the situation here!”
“Wait! Hold on a moment!”
Several Imperial Knights bolted toward the clock tower in pursuit. The Nameless Hero was a powerful archwizard capable of world-altering feats; even the Imperial Knights, elite combat experts, were wary of him. They needed to approach with extreme caution.
There was a palpable sense of urgency; they hadn't been able to catch so much as a glimpse of his identity since being dispatched to Märchen Academy. However, the hero was already far away. Catching him would be a monumental task.
The faculty continued toward the area where the Nameless Hero’s mana had first been detected. They had to investigate the aftermath and ensure no students were harmed.
Meanwhile.
“…”
Dorothy stared at the top of the clock tower where the Nameless Hero had stood. She pressed her witch hat firmly onto her head and flew back the way she had come.
Thanks to the power of [All in the World], it was easy to see through Isaac’s intentions.
It was Kaya Astrea, not Isaac, who had been standing atop the clock tower just moments ago. It seemed Isaac had given her a magic cloak of disguise to create an alibi for himself. By sending his familiar, the White Dragon, he had successfully tricked everyone into believing the disguised Kaya was the Nameless Hero.
He must have planned an escape route in advance. If it was Isaac, that was a given.
Dorothy’s mana sensitivity was too high to be fooled by such an illusion. Isaac had likely realized this and decided, through a process of elimination, that it was better to leave the disguise to Kaya.
“Ugh.”
She was worried he might be hurt. Dorothy pushed her mana to the limit, picking up her pace.
*
In a secluded dueling ground far from the main academy buildings.
Dorothy arrived at the spot where she had first felt Isaac’s formidable power, and her eyes widened at the scene.
In the center of the cratered ground, Miya lay sprawled like a corpse, barely breathing. She was covered in bruises, looking as though she had been subjected to a violent assault. A faint wisp of fire mana flickered around her—her fire elemental familiar appeared to be unconscious.
At the far end of the grounds, slumped against a crumbling wall amidst the debris, was Isaac.
It was unlikely that Isaac himself was responsible for Miya’s state, as he could only exert such overwhelming power when fighting demons. Therefore, it was certain that the Shadow Demon within Miya—the one Isaac had mentioned—was the culprit behind this devastation.
“Isaac!”
Dorothy dropped to her knees in front of him. In her worry, she called out his name instead of his title.
For some reason, Isaac was pretending to be unconscious despite being fully awake. However, his condition was genuinely poor. His uniform was scorched and tattered, with visible burn marks. His right arm was completely charred, indicating severe internal and external injuries.
“Isaac, you…”
Dorothy looked down at him in shock and helped him sit up. Slowly, he cracked his eyes open.
“Senior, I’m supposed to be unconscious right now…”
Though he tried to joke, the pain from the burns was clearly agonizing. Despite his attempt to hide it, he was drenched in a cold sweat.
Dorothy’s face was a mask of sorrow, a stark departure from her usual playful self. She felt a wave of remorse for not arriving sooner, for letting him get into this state.
“Why did you push yourself so hard?”
“I didn’t really push myself—”
“Would you want to see me bloodied and burned like this?”
Swallowing back tears, Dorothy began casting a healing spell. The sight of Isaac’s injuries caused her a gut-wrenching pain.
“Ah, uhm… I’m sorry.”
Isaac was taken aback by her intensity. Feeling guilty, he offered a quick apology and a brief explanation of what had happened.
He had already detected the faculty’s approach using [Clairvoyance]. As the sound of the group moving through the forest grew louder, he decided to save the details for later.
Soon, a dozen faculty members broke through the treeline and reached the dueling ground. They were momentarily stunned by the carnage but quickly moved to take control of the situation.
“We’ve found Priestess Miya and Isaac in the closed dueling ground. There are signs of a massive battle. I’m launching a signal; call the healing team immediately!”
The professor reporting the situation fired a pillar of mana into the sky using a magic tool. While the mana density wasn't high, the pillar served as a clear beacon against the night sky.
“Dorothy, what happened here?”
“I don’t know. I just got here myself.”
The faculty began applying emergency healing magic to Isaac and Miya. Advanced treatment would require the academy’s hospital or a high-ranking priest.
Before long, the healing team arrived, accompanied by members of the Imperial Knights. Among them were the Student Council members and their president, Alice Carroll.
As the medics prepared stretchers, Alice walked straight to Isaac.
“Are you okay, Baby?”
“Senior Alice… Yeah, more or less.”
“Looks like you had quite the fight.”
“More importantly, why did she end up like that…? She was fine before I passed out.”
Isaac looked at Miya with a look of feigned innocence and confusion. Alice simply shook her head.
“I don’t know. Just focus on getting treated for now.”
“…Okay.”
The healing team began escorting Isaac toward a carriage. Alice and Dorothy stood side-by-side, watching him go.
“You were quick to notice, Dorothy. You realized the Priestess at the closing ceremony was a fake.”
“No.” Dorothy’s voice was uncharacteristically subdued. “I was late. I assumed she was real at first, so it took me longer than I’d like to admit to figure it out.”
When Dorothy had seen Miya dancing at the ceremony, she hadn’t intended to use [All in the World]. She had simply felt an odd sensation and decided to look closer, just in case. Only then did she realize the figure was a hollow puppet.
Isaac had predicted the Priestess might go berserk during the ceremony. Since that hadn't happened, it was clear his expectations had been subverted.
Alice looked at Dorothy calmly. The lack of her usual bright, cheerful demeanor felt jarring. In a way, Alice found it amusing.
“You get quite serious when it comes to my baby, don’t you? It doesn’t really suit you.”
“…I’ve been bothered by him for a while now.” Dorothy glared at Alice. “Why do you call Isaac ‘Baby’?”
“Why does that bother you so much?”
“Because you don’t have the slightest bit of genuine affection for him.”
“And how would you know that?”
“I just do.”
Oddly enough, Alice was the only person in the academy Dorothy couldn't read. Even the power of [All in the World] felt meaningless in her presence. However, she could sense a dark, impenetrable veil shrouding Alice’s heart. It was one of the many reasons Dorothy loathed her.
“Haha, you ‘just know’… You really do hate me, don’t you?” Alice turned fully toward Dorothy. “I’m curious—what would you do if Baby became mine?”
Dorothy blinked, wondering if she had misheard.
Twirling an earring with her finger, Alice continued playfully. “You like Isaac, don’t you? It’s so obvious I can’t help but notice.”
“What…?”
“So, I’m wondering. If you, who dislikes me so openly, were to find out that my baby truly likes me… I wonder how you’d react.”
Faced with such a blatant provocation, Dorothy let out a cold, mocking chuckle.
“…I’d kill you, Alice.”
Whenever Isaac was involved, Dorothy couldn't help but snap. Alice Carroll—according to Isaac, she was someone he would eventually have to fight. He only held back because there was no concrete evidence against her yet. Isaac had stressed the need to prepare for an eventual confrontation with Alice.
Dorothy considered it a blessing that Alice was an enemy.
“That makes things interesting,” Alice smirked.
The two most powerful female students at Märchen Academy glared at each other, smiles fixed on their faces. Even without actively releasing mana, a dense, murderous aura radiated from them, making the air heavy enough to startle the staff passing by.
It was then.
“Ah, ah…!”
In the middle of the dueling ground, Miya groaned in agony as she was lifted onto a stretcher. As consciousness returned, she felt as if her entire body was being torn apart.
“Aaack!”
The healing team stumbled as she began to convulse violently.
“Miya! Calm down…! Ack! Are you okay?!”
Clang!
Miya rolled off the stretcher, thrashing. Her bloodied body was still draped in her beautiful ceremonial attire. She clawed at the hard ground with a broken hand, her nails snapping.
The healing team tried to stabilize her, but she flailed her broken limbs in a frenzy. Overwhelmed by a torrent of emotion, she screamed at them to stay away, her voice thick with desperation.
“What… what the…! Why… why did I end up like this…! Why?!”
Her scream was a raw wail of despair and rage. Bloody tears of frustration carved paths through the dirt on her cheeks. She seemed utterly lost, unable to find a target for her mounting resentment.
Dorothy, Alice, the Student Council, and the Imperial Knights simply watched the breakdown. The healing team, sweating profusely, tried in vain to calm her.
“Wait.”
Isaac, lying in the carriage, propped himself up to look at her. The sight of Miya weeping, her voice choked with blood, stood in stark contrast to the serene moonlight above.
“Something’s wrong…! It’s strange! Why does this keep happening…? I didn’t come to this academy for this!”
Isaac searched his memories. In the original game, after clearing 「Act 8, Scene 2: The Shadow Priestess」 of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, Miya had been questioned by the Truth Investigation Committee. She had claimed she didn't know why she had gone on a rampage, acting like someone who had committed a crime in a blackout.
But Miya calling him out for a duel was a complete departure from the original storyline. Isaac couldn't shake the feeling that something was fundamentally off.
Within the ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ community, the prevailing theory was that Miya’s erratic behavior was caused by one of Elmetona the Ethereal’s abilities. But witnessing her breakdown firsthand made him doubt that theory.
“I hate everything…! It’s all so annoying! Me! Why do I have to end up like this?! Something’s wrong…! Something is fucking wrong!!”
Crackle!
Having regained some mana after her faint, red flames suddenly erupted from Miya’s body.
“Kugh!”
“Gah!”
The medics trying to hold her were scorched by the flames and forced back. Reflexively, the faculty drew their weapons, and the Imperial Knights unsheathed their swords. Even if she was wounded, they couldn't afford to be careless.
Dorothy watched with a wary gaze, Alice with a subtle, unreadable smile, and Isaac with a look of grim realization.
“What’s with all of you…? Pathetic bastards, why are you looking at me like that…? Stop staring at me…!”
She was trying to assert dominance. She looked at them with pure contempt.
Her desire to rule, her need to keep talented people under her thumb—it all stemmed from a desperate need for recognition and cripplingly low self-esteem. She wanted to be important. She wanted to be special. The fear of being revealed as insignificant was more than she could bear.
Because of that, she trusted no one and relied on threats. For the Tyrant of the East, terror and force were her only safety nets. The fact that she had been humiliated so many times at Märchen Academy was incomprehensible to her. It was infuriating. It was agonizing.
“I am the Priestess of the Land of Fire Blossoms, Horan! I am not someone to be treated like this! So why…!! Why…!!”
Miya’s outcry dissolved into the night breeze.
A white paw brushed against Miya’s hand, which was still scratching at the dirt. When she lifted her head, she saw a Nine-tailed Fox as white as snow. The fox’s eyes matched Miya’s red makeup, and it emitted a gentle, warm flame.
The beast had regained its senses. It was the Nine-tailed Fox, Mae—the familiar that had accompanied Miya on her entire journey.
The fox looked down at its master with a gaze full of profound loneliness.