So, Here You Are.
"This way."
"Are you sure this is the right path?"
"Yes."
Meanwhile, Selene and the other two were wandering inside the building, which was thick with mana. The building, which looked like a simple warehouse from the outside, had a highly complex interior.
"There's no end in sight."
"This way now."
"P-Professor Selene. Do you really know the way?"
"Yes."
"I-If you're not sure, wouldn't it be better if the three of us split up?"
"No. Splitting up. Not yet."
"Not yet?"
Leonia looked somewhat doubtful as she watched Selene walk slowly with a blank expression. However, it seemed too dangerous to move alone here.
"Professor Viera. Is that tracking magic no longer possible?"
"Yes. The... the mana density inside the building is still rising."
"Can't be helped. Moving alone might actually be more dangerous."
"I-Is that so? T-To be honest, I prefer being alone."
"If you think like that in enemy territory, you might end up alone with someone far more unpleasant."
"......"
"Hm? What is it, Professor Selene? Stopping so suddenly..."
Selene, who was leading, suddenly stopped. The back of Selene's head buried into the chest of Leonia, who was following behind. Despite this, Selene didn't budge and pointed forward with her finger.
"...That."
"Eek!"
"My word... I expected this, but..."
In front of their eyes were familiar faces. The ones wearing school uniforms were undoubtedly academy students. They stood there, swaying as if they had lost their minds.
"Looks like at least twenty of them."
"They... they seem to be hypnotized."
"What kind of hypnosis?"
"T-That is probably..."
The students in uniforms turned around one by one. Their eyes, devoid of life, focused on the three of them simultaneously. With a metallic shring, they drew their weapons and began to approach.
"...Must we make the worst choice?"
"T-The worst choice...?"
"The mana filling this warehouse. What do you think it means?"
"......"
"We cannot break their hypnosis here."
"To be precise, even if the hypnosis is broken, the mana here will just plunge them right back into it."
"Then we would have to fight them forever."
The two slowly backed away. But there wasn't much room left for them to retreat.
"B-But the students..."
"I'm not saying we kill them. But... if we can just incapacitate them so they can't move even while mindless..."
Time was running out. They had to choose. To fall here, or to inflict near-fatal wounds on their own peers.
"B-But without a doctor here, if they suffer severe injuries, their lives..."
"Otherwise, we will die. I'm sorry. This was my error in judgment. I will take full responsibility!"
Deciding that the other two couldn't bring themselves to do it, Leonia drew her sword first.
"Huh?"
But Leonia couldn't move. A small hand had grabbed her arm with a fierce strength that belied its appearance.
"Professor Selene."
"No."
"This isn't a matter of—"
"Professor. Must protect students. Mona said so."
"Professor Selene! This is..."
"Viera."
Selene spoke to Viera, ignoring Leonia's protest.
"Y-Yes? Me?"
"Get ready."
"For what?"
"Leonia."
"Huh? Me?"
"Watch out for fakes."
"What?"
Leaving behind those cryptic words, Selene began to walk forward.
"What?! Selene!"
Selene picked up a shattered mana stone lying on the floor.
"Leonia."
"Yes?"
"Lend. Mana."
"What?"
Then, she pressed the mana stone against Leonia's body.
Wuuuung.
The mana stone glowed, absorbing Leonia's mana.
"What are you trying to do?"
"Will save."
The glowing mana stone, now charged with mana, was held in Selene's hand.
"Students. Must not get hurt."
Whoosh!
Selene immediately hurled the mana stone toward the students.
Clack!
The flying mana stone struck the forehead of the student at the very front.
"Ah!"
At that moment, Viera saw it.
"Ugh... Where am I?"
The student who was struck first snapped out of the hypnosis. Viera instinctively knew it.
"Viera. Get ready."
"Yes?"
Ping!
At the same time, the mana stone that had struck the forehead moved. Emitting the mana it held from Leonia, it began to fly through the air.
Crack! Clack! Crack!
The mana stone zipped rapidly through the empty space, striking the forehead of every single student present one by one.
"Did she... disrupt the hypnosis magic?"
Viera finally understood Selene's actions. The mana-infused stone wasn't just flying around for show. It was making contact with the students' heads—their Upper Dantians—and injecting Leonia's mana. By doing so, the flow of the hypnosis magic that had been injected into the students' minds began to be disrupted.
"Ugh!"
"Ah!"
The moment Viera realized the principle behind it, she knew she couldn't just stand there.
"Viera."
"Y-Yes! Lady Leonia!"
"What?"
Viera immediately rushed into the midst of the students.
"P-Please, come quickly and lend me your mana!"
Wuuuung.
At the same time, Viera began to emit enough mana to envelop all the students.
"W-We must prevent the students from being controlled by the hypnosis again!"
"Understood!"
Meanwhile, Selene began to run forward without looking back.
"Ah? Selene?"
"Rubelia. Going to find."
"A-Ah, yes!"
Wuuuung.
As Selene vanished from sight, Viera felt a sudden weight.
"What's wrong?"
"Ugh, a sudden heavy pressure settling down... A-Ah, could it be..."
"What is it?"
"It seems... we were receiving help."
"Help?"
Viera focused even harder to prevent the collapsed students' minds from being stolen again.
"C-Come to think of it, I was wondering why we were completely unaffected by the hypnosis magic..."
"Now that you mention it, if this environment was created using the mana from shattered mana stones, we should have been affected too."
"I think... Professor Selene was helping us."
"Professor Selene? Was she protecting us with magic after all?"
"U-Um... I don't think that's it."
Viera analyzed the mana flowing through her own body and came to a conclusion.
"This is my ability."
"Are you saying Selene used your ability, Professor Viera?"
"To be precise, I think she made me deploy my protective magic much more efficiently. Just like when I used the tracking magic."
"Oh? Making someone else cast magic instead of using her own?"
"The... the more I see, the more amazing she is."
"Is that Professor Selene's ability?"
Leonia, who was pressing Viera's hand to her own chest to transfer mana, nodded in wonder. But Viera murmured with a lingering look of doubt.
"Something... something feels different."
"Different?"
"It's as if... she is intentionally avoiding using her own abilities..."
"Why would she go out of her way to..."
Leonia, looking puzzled, suddenly stopped talking and turned her head.
"Professor Viera. Prepare for combat."
"Ah, a presence?"
"Yes."
Leonia drew her sword and pointed it into the darkness.
"Ah, it's me. Please lower your sword!"
"Hm?"
And the one who appeared from there was...
"Rubelia?"
"Yes! You've come to save me?"
It was Rubelia, looking somewhat frantic.
"N-No... No... Nanny... Nanny, please don't die..."
What happened before her eyes was real. She wished it were a fake created by hypnosis, but it couldn't be.
"It's not true... It's not true..."
"Nanny... Father..."
"No. Stop it!"
"Shut up..."
"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
"Ah, stop! Stop it!"
The voice flowed in endlessly. But it wasn't brainwashing. This declaration wasn't a command. It felt like persuasion. Persuasion to return to her original place. A plea.
"Shut up!"
But Rubelia knew that the end of that path was ruin. She had not forgotten the outcome of the day she had secretly followed Cassian behind her family's back. Even if she tried to erase that memory afterward. Even if she loathed the name of the Reformists and tried to turn a blind eye to all the dirty deeds of the Empire.
In truth, she knew. How rotten this country was. On what foundation she enjoyed her luxurious life. And in truth, even now, deep in her heart, she still agreed with the words Cassian used to teach her. She knew it all.
"Shut up..."
"That doesn't change the fact that you tried to traffic other children..."
"......"
"Do you need me?"
"Do you want me to be your tool?"
"I see."
And so, Rubelia made up her mind.
"Then I will make absolutely sure things do not go your way."
Rubelia raised her hand.
"Even if I must take my own life!"
Though it was invisible, she already realized that a dagger was held in her hand.
The persuasion turned into a command. The command coursing through her body attempted to paralyze her muscles.
"Get lost!"
Before Cassian's magic could completely take over her body, Rubelia reversed her grip on the dagger and thrust it toward her own heart.
"......"
She tried to stab herself.
"What? The sensation of stabbing..."
But she failed.
"Ah... Have I been... brainwashed?"
She failed again. Not only had she failed to save her nanny, but she couldn't even achieve a glorious death by her own hand.
"Sob... Once again..."
Cassian had won again. Just as he had toyed with her with his serpent's tongue. This time, his magic had completely conquered her.
"Fine... You... You've won again."
"I get it. Do whatever you want. Use me as your tool, do as you please!"
"......"
"Huh?"
Rubelia, who had tightly closed her eyes, opened them. She looked down. She could look down? She could move?
"This... is?"
The dagger was stopped. The dagger that had been plunging toward her heart had stopped midway.
The hand holding the dagger was stopped. A small hand was tightly gripping Rubelia's hand, refusing to let go.
Only then did Rubelia realize. The binding words of the brainwashing magic were not directed at her.
They were directed at the expressionless girl standing in front of her.
"You are...?"
"Professor... Selene? How are you here?"
As she finally recognized her, the small hand slowly took the dagger away from her hand.
"Truant student. Came to scold."