Aftermath of the B-7 Collapse
B-7's forest was collapsing. The moment I was flung out the door, the first thing I felt was the coldness of the ground. Having fallen on my back, the breath was knocked out of me. The wound at my side screamed belatedly, and the holy mark on the inside of my wrist burned hot. “Kh…….” I exhaled shortly. My body refused to obey. I had just fought the Black Knight, escaped the collapsing core, and run desperately to avoid being swallowed by the black rift. In the process, I had forcibly squeezed out my already damaged mana circuits. Of course I wasn't fine.
“Lord Kyle!” Aria's voice came from right beside me. She dropped to her knees next to me as if she might fall over. Her pure-white hair was disheveled, and faint tear tracks from the illusion still lingered on her cheeks. Even so, she grabbed my wrist without bothering to check her own condition. Warm holy power flowed into me. “You overdid it.”
“This time…… we all did it together.”
“Still, you did the most, Lord Kyle.”
“That's unfair.”
“It isn't.” Her tone was gentle yet firm. Aria checked my wrist and then my side in turn. Warm light bloomed each time her fingertips brushed near the wounds. In the past I would have looked away awkwardly during treatment, but now I lacked even the strength for that. Strangely, when Aria's hand touched me, some of the tension eased. She seemed to notice and spoke quietly. “Don't hold your breath anymore. I'm watching.”
I couldn't answer. Siella spoke lowly from beside us. “You acted like you were dying, yet you still have the strength to talk.” She wasn't unscathed either. Fresh bandages wrapped her hands, and her red hair clung to her nape with sweat. Yet she hadn't let go of her sword. No, she was gripping it more naturally than before.
Aria turned toward Siella. “Show me your hand too, Lady Siella.”
“I'm fine.”
“No, you aren't.”
“Saintess candidate.”
“Please listen to me this time.” Siella stared at Aria for a moment. Normally she would have added another remark, but this time she quietly extended her hand. It was miraculous. Still holding my wrist with one hand, Aria channeled holy power into Siella's hand with the other. An awkward silence settled between them.
Siella muttered softly, “Thank you.”
Aria's eyes widened. “Pardon?”
“Don't make me say it twice.”
Aria blinked blankly for a second, then smiled faintly. “Understood. I won't.”
Watching the scene, I felt something strange. In the original story, the two of them became friends. But now they regarded each other differently. Aria had seen Siella's fear of letting go of her sword, and Siella had witnessed Aria's guilt over choosing someone. They had seen each other's weakest points. That kind of relationship was more dangerous—and deeper—than anything in the original.
Rhea stood a little apart, gazing at the stone gate of B-7's entrance. Her silver hair was disheveled, but her posture remained straight. Only the faintest tremor lingered at her fingertips. I tried to push myself up.
“Lord Kyle, you still—”
“Your Highness.” At my call, Rhea turned her head. Her blue eyes met mine. “Are you injured?”
“It's just a scratch.”
“By your standards, perhaps.”
Rhea fell silent for a moment, then let out a very small sigh. “Mana overuse. Not enough to make me collapse.”
Aria spoke immediately. “I'll check.”
Rhea's eyes narrowed slightly. “Unnecessary.”
“You just said it wasn't enough to make you collapse. That doesn't mean treatment isn't needed.”
Siella chuckled. “The saintess candidate is being assertive today.”
Without looking at Siella, Aria replied, “Not just today.”
Rhea stared at Aria for a long moment. The air grew strangely chilly. Treatment versus pride. Just as the familiar tension between the princess and the saintess candidate threatened to rise again, I spoke quickly.
“Your Highness, please let Lady Aria check.”
Rhea's gaze shifted to me. “Are you giving orders?”
“No. I'm asking.”
“Asking, is it.” Rhea looked at me for a moment, then slowly extended her hand. “Make it brief.”
Aria carefully placed her hand on Rhea's wrist. Pure white light bloomed between them. Rhea kept her expression neutral, but I could tell she had relaxed ever so slightly. The princess who had reached out to her younger self inside B-7's illusion. After that, she no longer completely rejected holding hands. A small change. But for Rhea, it was significant.
Just then, Edan approached. He was staring at the stone gate. “Lord Kyle.”
“Yes.”
“The emblem we saw at the very end. Did you see it?”
I nodded. “Five intertwined lines.”
“What do you think it means?”
“Honestly, I don't know.” That was the truth. The black lion. The blue crown. The pure-white cross. The red sword. The nameless sword. Five emblems woven into one. It had never appeared in the original story. Nowhere in the novel I knew did such an emblem exist—not in the early parts, and not even in the later parts I remembered. Proof that the original had changed. Or proof that something outside the original had been born. Either way, it couldn't be taken lightly.
Noel crouched in front of the stone gate, fingertips tracing the residual mana left on its surface. Her violet eyes were serious. She wore her usual smile, but wariness outweighed amusement within it.
“Senior Noel.”
She answered without looking up. “Yeah. I saw it.”
“Do you know what it is?”
“I'd like to say not knowing would be more fun, but this time it's a bit serious.” Noel stood. “B-7's core recognized the five of you not by your original roles, but by new relationship lines at the very end.”
“What does that mean?”
“Simply put, the casting chart of the original story has been torn up.” She pointed at each of us in turn. “Villain, protagonist, princess, saintess candidate, knight's daughter. Originally, each of you had a predetermined position. But B-7 didn't see you that way at the end.”
“Then how did it see us?”
Noel curled her lips. “As one group.”
I blinked. “That's it?”
“The words are simple, but the meaning is huge. Whether it's the Correction Force, the Black Moon, or the narrative structure of this world, it means they can no longer push you forward in the old way.”
“Then isn't that a good thing?”
“It is good.” Noel immediately added, “Except for the fact that the Black Moon now knows it too.”
Everyone fell silent at once. Rowen's final words echoed in my mind.
— Relationship line redefinition confirmed.
— Proceeding to the next scene.
The next scene. Those words bothered me especially. The Black Moon had failed. But they hadn't ended it there. Instead, they had confirmed that our relationships had been redefined. And they had declared they would prepare their next move accordingly.
Rhea spoke coldly. “Then their next attack will be more direct.”
Siella gripped her sword hilt. “Whoever they target, I'll cut them down.”
Still holding my wrist, Aria said, “This time, I won't run away either.”
Edan spoke quietly. “I'll be with you as well.”
I looked at the four of them. It was strange. This was a combination that should never have stood together. The original villain. The original protagonist. The princess. The saintess candidate. The knight's daughter. And even the dangerous magic-department senior who observed it all with amusement. Yet now we had experienced the same event and witnessed the same emblem. That fact felt strangely heavy.
Footsteps approached from outside. Professor Graham and the faculty, along with the imperial knights, came running. A black rift still lingered above B-7's stone gate. When the faculty layered sealing magic over it, the rift slowly subsided. Professor Graham's face was grim.
“All survivors confirmed.”
Aria answered at once. “No critical injuries. However, Lord Kyle is suffering from mana circuit strain, Lady Siella has a hand injury, Her Highness Rhea has mana overuse, and Edan is experiencing significant mental fatigue.”
“And you?” the professor asked.
Aria paused briefly. “I'm a little tired as well.”
Siella said, “Not just a little.”
Aria smiled faintly. “Caught me.”
Professor Graham sighed. “Zone collapse on the very first day of practical training. This will go down in academy history.”
I spoke carefully. “I'm sorry.”
The professor looked at me. “You didn't cause the zone to collapse.”
“Probably not.”
“Don't say 'probably.' It makes me more anxious.”
Noel burst out laughing. Professor Graham glared at her. “Ignis. This is no laughing matter.”
“I know. But it's so very like us.”
“Don't include me in that 'us.'” The professor swept his gaze over us again. “Practical training ends today. B-7 is to be sealed immediately. Everyone undergoes a full examination at the infirmary before submitting reports. And you, Lord Diaren.”
“Yes.”
“You will have to appear before the committee separately.”
As expected. There was no avoiding it. “Understood.”
“Edan Gray will accompany you.”
Edan bowed his head. “Understood.”
At that moment, murmurs from the surrounding students began to rise. Other practical training groups had already gathered near B-7's entrance. Though the faculty tried to maintain control, their eyes were fixed on us.
“That group collapsed B-7, they say.”
“Diaren and Edan Gray's group?”
“The princess was there too.”
“The saintess candidate and Lady Bayern as well.”
“What, were they really a subjugation party?”
The rumors had begun. And within a day, they would spread throughout the entire academy. That Kyle Diaren and Edan Gray had collapsed a mana zone on their first day. That the princess, the saintess candidate, and the knight's daughter had been present. The appearance of the unprecedented emblem would be omitted from the official announcement, but the Black Moon would surely already know.
I looked up at the sky. The blue mist of B-7 was fading. In its place, a very faint trace remained above the stone gate. Five intertwined lines. It vanished when I blinked. But I had seen it clearly. Edan seemed to have seen it too. He spoke quietly to me.
“Lord Kyle.”
“Yes.”
“I still don't completely trust you.”
“I didn't expect you to.”
“But today I learned one thing.” He extended his hand. “Even while wanting to run away, you're not the kind of person who ultimately turns his back.”
I looked at his hand. We had shaken hands before entering as well. That time, it had been to confirm each other. This time felt a little different. I took his hand.
“And you're not the kind of person who cuts people down with talk of justice either.”
Edan smiled faintly. “I'll do my best not to become that.”
“And I'll do my best not to die like a villain.”
“That's a fine goal.”
It was a strange conversation. Even stranger between protagonist and villain. Yet the moment our hands clasped, I felt a cold gaze from the right. Rhea. Aria's hand tightened slightly around my wrist. Siella tapped her scabbard. Noel covered her mouth and laughed.
“Hmm,” she said. “Things are about to get truly interesting.”
I felt a sense of foreboding. And it was not mistaken.
Just as the faculty began moving us toward the infirmary, a black bird soared across the sky. It circled once above our heads and dropped a single feather. A black feather. Everyone froze at once. The feather fell at my feet. Then it melted like black ink, forming words.
— First practical exercise concluded.
— Next target: the protagonist's choice.
Edan's face hardened. I clenched my teeth. The next scene. Its meaning was now clear. The Black Moon was not trying to kill me this time. They were trying to shake the protagonist, Edan Gray.