Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Stars and the Mage (3)
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The lobby of Linea Hall was a complete disaster.
The once-glorious chandelier lay shattered and pathetic, rolling across the marble floor.
Shards of broken glass scattered everywhere on the night air, cutting at people's feet.
A sour stench mixed with ash made faces twist in disgust.
"Ugh... hngh..."
"W-What do we do?!"
Amid the splintered tables and torn sofas, the sounds of students sobbing and groaning leaked out intermittently.
"E-Everyone, stay calm... Don't panic!"
The voice of Assistant Professor Elmsworth, who was on night patrol duty, echoed hollowly.
His fear-stricken shout did nothing to quell the crowd's anxiety—instead, it only amplified their terror.
"Shouldn't we run?"
"Of all times, with the head maid and senior maids all away..."
The young maids with little experience could only stamp their feet in frustration, while the students lacking real combat experience huddled in corners, weeping.
The third- and fourth-year students were out of the academy for practical combat exams.
The department heads, professors, and seasoned maids like Odette had gone along to supervise and assist.
With the academy's elite forces all absent, the disaster had struck at the worst possible moment, making the damage far worse.
At the bottom of the stairs leading underground, right in the middle of the gruesome scene.
A lump of blue mana that had caused this nightmare stood motionless.
An ancient magic golem.
The relic from bygone eras, known only from historical records, had manifested here in an incomplete form.
The magical engineering prodigy girl who had reconstructed it lacked the skill for a perfect restoration.
But even in its current state, it had power enough to unleash a horrifying catastrophe.
Just look at the princess's escort knights lying helplessly at the base of the stairs.
Not only were their swords and armor corroding, but their very bones and flesh were melting away.
"Grr... urk...!"
The knights could only groan in agony as they burned.
The fact that spears and swords did nothing heightened their sense of powerlessness.
If it had been a normal golem made of stone or metal, they might have at least scratched it.
But slicing through flowing mana was impossible, even for the most seasoned knights.
As anxiety and fear crushed everyone's hearts, the students' gazes instinctively turned to one person.
The Third Imperial Princess, Celestina Belhart.
In a crisis, seeking out the leader first was only natural.
The princess's fingertips trembled faintly.
The forced smile on her face had long vanished.
She had no special talents to speak of, nor the seasoned experience from years at the academy.
Strip away her royal status, and she was just a fresh-faced newbie still adjusting to academy life.
Yet because she was royalty.
She had to live up to everyone's desperate hopes somehow.
Celestina steeled herself, steadying her voice with effort.
"What's the situation? How's the golem moving?"
"It's stopped for now."
Stepping forward cautiously to answer the princess was Edwin Belka, the top first-year in the Magic Department.
His arrogant face was twisted in distress.
"The captain of the guard aimed for the golem's core and swung his sword. The impact seems to have temporarily disrupted its mana flow."
Edwin rubbed his eyes as he spoke.
Staring at pure mana essence for so long had made them sting fiercely.
"But that won't last. Once it recovers the tangled flow and starts moving again, the damage will spiral out of control."
"How long until it moves again?"
"From my observations, less than ten minutes."
Celestina's eyes began to waver.
Ten minutes ahead.
Far too tight to decide on a plan.
"Can't we expect support from outside?"
"Communications using mana seem cut off, Your Highness."
This time, it was Kaizel, the top second-year in the Magic Department, who replied.
"It looks like the golem's doing. Expecting outside help... will be difficult."
Of course, people already inside the academy could arrive quickly, but it wouldn't mean much.
At best, it'd be students or staff from other dorms—hardly useful in combat. They'd just add to the casualties.
The real top forces of the academy were gathered here in Linea Hall, the dorm for top students.
Celestina bit her lip anxiously.
Waiting it out passively was pointless, honestly.
Soon, the princess took a deep breath, as if resolved.
"...Then we'll have to stop it with our own strength."
The sobs and groans filling the lobby cut off for a moment.
"We can't let that golem destroy Linea Hall or the academy. We have to stop it here, no matter what."
"...Pfft."
A mocking laugh rang out louder than anything else.
"And how exactly do you plan to stop it, Your Highness?"
Miriel Adrian.
The only one here who could raise her voice to the princess.
Perhaps wielding even greater power than the princess herself, she stepped forward with a sneer.
"Your loyal escorts couldn't even handle that monster. What do you think we mere students can do?"
"Miriel, senior...!"
"Or does Your Highness have some other brilliant plan?"
Celestina bit her lip hard.
It was hard to argue back. She didn't have any special ideas herself.
But even so.
"Are we just going to run, then? Running won't solve anything. If it gets out, the damage will be even worse."
The ancient magic golem was weakest right now.
With its trait of growing by absorbing ambient mana, it would devour more and more as time passed.
The princess's claim that they had to act now, before it was too late, wasn't wrong.
That didn't make it the right call, though.
"At least we have to hold out until help arrives..."
"And who plays the holding role?"
Miriel's voice grew louder.
Any pretense of courtesy was gone.
"That's just sending students to their deaths."
Miriel's fingertip pointed to the fallen escort knights on the floor.
No telling how many lives would be lost just to buy a few minutes or hours.
"Buildings can be rebuilt, but the dead can't be brought back."
A few students nodded with terrified expressions.
Not even royal authority could stand against the fear of death.
"You think running guarantees survival? Haven't you considered how many more will suffer once the golem rampages?"
"If you issue a royal command forcing us to sacrifice ourselves, we'll obey gladly. But Your Highness, you'd better be prepared to bear the weight of every life here."
The air in Linea Hall froze solid in an instant.
As the two faced off tensely, the other students caught in the middle hesitated to side with either, merely watching nervously.
In the explosive atmosphere that could erupt any second.
Suddenly, a massive fireball shot through the hole in the floor and slammed straight into the golem's body.
-KABOOM!!
With the deafening explosion, a girl dashed across the lobby and leaped down the stairs.
All eyes turned to her.
Her ash-gray hair fluttered in the wind, and another fireball floated above her head.
Soon, another explosion rocked the space.
"Lu-Lunaris... Hah, hah...! I'm coming toooo!!"
Before the ringing in their ears faded, a brown-haired girl came running from afar.
"Hey, everyone here! Lunaris says stay up top and wait. She says you'll just get in the way if you try to help!"
Delivering the ash witch's message, the girl headed underground as well.
She panted heavily, carefully descending the crumbling stairs in a precarious climb.
"Wait... what did that girl just say?"
"Something about Lunaris, right?"
"Lunaris... that top first-year overall?"
"The upper mage! The one who matched the Magic Department Head!"
Amid the spreading murmurs, Lunaris stood before the golem at the bottom of the stairs and yawned lazily.
"You're late, Claire."
Her drowsy voice was relaxed, as if she were out on a picnic.
*
The basement of Linea Hall was utterly wrecked.
Stone decorations had been reduced to roadside pebbles, rolling around, and wooden walls were splintered beyond use as firewood.
"Haa..."
A sigh escaped first thing.
Somehow, things had gone to hell.
The enemy before her eyes was all too familiar.
A golem formed by layers of blue mana stacked around a transparent core, forming a massive shape.
Yeah. Identical to the ancient magic golem described in the original story.
The full story was easy to piece together. Estelle-senpai must have made it, no doubt.
The first thought in her head was how the hell did it end up like this.
This rampage, Estelle-senpai's screw-up—it shouldn't have happened for at least another year.
She hadn't even had a chance to intervene.
If she'd known, she would've confiscated the blueprints or whatever from Estelle-senpai ages ago.
And the timing was the absolute worst.
Of all times, when all the key forces were out for external exams.
...Wait a minute.
Maybe this was actually a good thing?
In the original story, this incident got Estelle-senpai expelled from Elterion Academy. Piling on massive debts, too.
But if she could wrap this up and clean it up right here...
Maybe the punishment would be way lighter?
"Yeah, she's got so many magic tools to make for me going forward."
Just finishing the apology phone would need senpai's help badly.
"Can't let her get expelled like this."
Not when she's trying to exit the story on her own, leaving me behind.