To Stop an Assassination

After finishing my student council duties, I made my way back to the dormitory.

As I walked, I spotted a familiar figure in the distance. Her hair was dry and frizzy, resembling a worn-out broom. It was Poara, a first-year and the contractor of the Spirit Sovereign. By the looks of it, she was just heading home after classes.

"Poara," I called out.

When she heard her name, Poara turned around. Her face lit up, and she bowed politely. I always appreciated a well-mannered junior.

"Hanon-sunbae! Hello!"

"Hey. Are you on your way back to the dorms?"

"Ah, actually, I'm on my way to the Great Spirit Forest."

Heading to the Great Spirit Forest even after school? She was incredibly dedicated to her spirits.

"You're very diligent."

"Ahaha, it's not really to study, though. The Spirit Sovereign told me something rather strange."

The Spirit Sovereign said something strange? My interest was piqued.

"Is it something you can share with me?"

"Oh, yes! In fact, I actually wanted to ask for your advice, sunbae."

"What is it?"

"It's about the Mystery that once blanketed the Great Spirit Forest."

The Empress of Steel. The very Mystery that had granted me my primary defensive ability, Steel Skin.

"What about it?"

"The Spirit Sovereign said they felt the presence of a Mystery again."

My brows furrowed slightly. Mysteries were entities fraught with danger—corrupted existences that, for one reason or another, had failed to ascend to godhood. For a Mystery to be sensed again meant that something highly dangerous was brewing.

"But there's something a bit strange about it."

"Tell me more."

"Yes. The energy of the Mystery is definitely there, but... it's faint, as if it's shrouded by some kind of barrier."

"Faint?"

A Mystery was essentially a runaway manifestation of power from an entity that failed to become a god. They were forces of nature that couldn't contain their own might, spilling it out in all directions. For a Mystery's presence to feel "faint" was practically a contradiction in terms.

"Yes. I don't know the exact details either, but that's what the Spirit Sovereign said."

Poara was also knowledgeable about Mysteries, so it made sense that she found this anomaly concerning.

"So you wanted my advice because I've defeated a Mystery before."

"Yes. You wield the power of a Mystery yourself, don't you, sunbae?"

As the contractor of the Spirit Sovereign, Poara had likely heard all about my exploits in the Great Spirit Forest. I didn't deny it; I simply nodded.

"The only reason I was able to fight barehanded in that battle was because of that power."

"I thought you might know something more, which is why I wanted to ask. The Spirit Sovereign is quite anxious."

Having once had their forest completely overtaken by the Empress of Steel, it was only natural for the Spirit Sovereign to feel uneasy at the slightest hint of another Mystery.

"Understood. I'll look into this personally."

"Wow, thank you! I knew I could count on you, sunbae."

Poara's eyes sparkled with genuine gratitude. Perhaps because I had only ever shown her my reliable side, I seemed to have earned her absolute trust.

"Well, I'll be on my way now."

"Sure. Take care."

After seeing Poara off, I fell into deep thought. A Mystery appearing out of nowhere... Was there supposed to be an event related to a Mystery at this point in the timeline?

At least, not in my memory.

Then, what coincided with the sudden emergence of this Mystery? There was only one thing. A change that had never occurred in the original timeline of Jerion Academy.

Nia Cynthia.

My eyes narrowed coldly. At the same time, I recalled Princess Iris mentioning Nia's impending assassination. Why had she brought that up to me?

Iris knew that I was the one who dealt with the Empress of Steel.

One of the student council members was Iris's loyal subordinate. He must have tipped her off about the Empress of Steel incident, which the student council had kept under wraps out of consideration for me. In other words, Iris knew I had a connection to Mysteries.

A conclusion formed in my mind.

I don't know how they managed it, but Nia's assassination must involve a Mystery.

Mysteries were unpredictable, conceptual forces. If a Mystery was involved, assassinating Nia would be entirely possible—and they could disguise it as an accident, leaving absolutely no trace behind.

My expression hardened.

Damn it.

I immediately ran after Poara. It didn't take long to catch up to her as she made her way toward the Great Spirit Forest.

"Poara! I realized something about the Mystery. Could I meet with the Spirit Sovereign?"

I didn't know which Mystery was being used to assassinate Nia. I needed to gather more information to fill in the blanks. Fortunately, Poara readily agreed to my request.

We entered the Great Spirit Forest. Once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠inside, Poara began her preparations. Soon, responding to her high spirit sensitivity, a hazy form began to materialize above the canopy.

What appeared was a colossal, jade-colored bird. With its arrival, the wind began to dance and swirl, as if a divine blessing of the gale was washing over the clearing.

Yet, within that wind lay a pressure so immense that my primal instincts screamed at me to shrink back. My hands and fingertips trembled. Goosebumps erupted across my skin, even over the Steel Skin engraved into my body. I fought to suppress the reaction, realizing anew just how terrifyingly majestic a Spirit Sovereign truly was.

It was a belated expression of gratitude.

So that was why I hadn't seen a single spirit that day. My abysmal spirit sensitivity had made it impossible for me to perceive them in the first place.

Still, I suppose the Sovereign must have lingered by my side for a moment after the battle.

My memories of that day were hazy, so I couldn't be sure. Regardless, the Spirit Sovereign was incredibly amicable toward me. Even though my lack of spirit sensitivity meant we couldn't communicate without Poara acting as a medium, the Sovereign clearly remembered that I had saved the Great Spirit Forest.

Thanks to that, I was able to ask a few questions without any trouble.

According to the Spirit Sovereign, the Mystery was already inside Jerion Academy. But as I thought before, a Mystery was a wild, uncontrollable storm of power. If a raw Mystery had entered the academy, someone would have noticed immediately.

"Does that mean... it exists in a form similar to mine?"

I harbored a Mystery within me in the form of Steel Skin. Although the Empress of Steel's consciousness was gone, her mystical power was undeniably bound to my very being.

The Spirit Sovereign agreed with my hypothesis. As expected, rather than a raw Mystery invading, someone or something was harboring its power.

Is the assassin targeting Nia harboring a Mystery?

But according to the student council's records, no new individuals had entered the academy recently. Knowing Nia was in danger, I had meticulously reviewed all the student council documents. Yet, the only person who had newly arrived at the academy this year was Nia himself.

If we're talking about existing students or staff who would want to assassinate Nia...

To be frank, there was no one. I had played the Flame Butterfly Chapter countless times. I knew the personalities, traits, and pasts of every major character inside out.

Of course, it could be an extra I know absolutely nothing about.

But Nia was an active-duty Magic Knight. Even if the assassin possessed a Mystery, it was hard to believe he would be taken down by a mere extra.

In that case...

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked up.

"Spirit Sovereign, forgive me, but I have one last question. Exactly when did you first begin to sense this Mystery?"

One week ago. It perfectly aligned with the day Nia Cynthia arrived at Jerion Academy.

"Thank you."

The moment the realization struck, I spun on my heel, sprinted out of the Great Spirit Forest, and pushed my legs to their limit.

Just as Steel Skin was engraved into my body, there were items in this world that harbored the power of Mysteries. It was purely a guess, but there was a high probability that Nia himself was carrying such an item.

And there was one specific object that immediately came to mind.

That staff.

The staff Nia had recently acquired through an acquaintance. It was a piece so meticulously crafted that even Nikita had taken notice of it.

Was it really a coincidence that he obtained a new staff at this exact time? Nia's original staff had broken. Right on cue, his usual staff-maker had been injured in an accident. Then, an acquaintance conveniently recommended a new craftsman. A sinister, creeping sensation washed over me.

Nia's assassination was a fixed event in the game's plot. If so, there had to be a mechanism at work to force that inevitability. A series of carefully orchestrated coincidences, layered so perfectly that even Nia wouldn't suspect a thing. The moment I realized this, my pace quickened.

Before long, the Magic Engineering building of Jerion Academy came into view.

I didn't know the exact moment the assassination would take place. Even if I stopped it this time, there was no guarantee he wouldn't be targeted again. And if I considered the canon storyline, the correct choice was to let him die.

Yet, my legs refused to stop. A person was going to die. Knowing that, I couldn't just stand by and watch.

I told myself I'd do whatever it takes to keep the story on track.

But when faced with the reality of it, my body moved on its own. I was a complete fool. I needed to be cold and ruthless to secure the ending, but I couldn't do it. If the world strayed from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the canon path, it would almost certainly face destruction. And I would die along with it. If I wanted to survive, I had to force the scenario back onto the tracks of the official storyline.

But... there was someone who would grieve Nia's death more than anyone else.

Back when I played the Flame Butterfly Chapter, Nia's assassination was an event that could never be prevented, no matter what the player did. It was the catalyst that triggered Nikita's corruption route. For the sake of the next act, and the act after that, this tragedy was deemed necessary. Nikita was destined to die as the boss of Act 3. Once Nia's assassination was set in stone, her descent into darkness became an unavoidable fate.

My fists clenched tightly. I had played the Flame Butterfly Chapter countless times. I was, without a doubt, the ultimate veteran of this game.

With Lucas already dead...

The canon timeline had already fractured long ago. I was merely soldering the broken pieces together to force it forward. Even so, I was struggling like this just to avoid the bad ending where the world was destroyed. I was trying to reach the happy ending of the Flame Butterfly Chapter even without the protagonist.

If Nia doesn't get assassinated, can I really not guide this world to its proper conclusion?

No. I could do it. I knew I could. I had witnessed countless endings of the Flame Butterfly Chapter. I had already patched up this broken story over and over again. If something was lacking, I would just patch it up again.

Since I've set my sights on a happy ending anyway...

My eyes flared with fierce determination.

Then surely, even in the Flame Butterfly Chapter...

There could be a single happy ending where everyone finished with a smile on their face.

Today, I revised my goal. If I was going to force an ending without the protagonist, then I might as well make it the most ideal happy ending possible.

Strength surged back into my legs. With my resolve cemented, I ran even faster.

I leaped up the stairs of the Magic Engineering building and arrived near the faculty offices. Just as I was about to search for Nia in a panic—

Slide— The door opened, and a familiar face stepped out. Her hair, which looked as though it held the Milky Way itself, shimmered as she tilted her head upon seeing me.

"Hanon... why are you running like that~?"

The girl asking with a sleepy expression was Sharin Sazaris, the top second-year student in the Magic Engineering department.

"Haa... haa... Sharin."

I bent over, resting my hands on my knees as I gasped for air, looking up at her. I was so out of breath I could barely speak.

"Looking at me with such passionate eyes is a bit ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠troubling, you know~"

"Cut the nonsense. Is Assistant Professor Nia inside?"

Sharin shook her head.

"No, he left~"

Damn it, I missed him. Having finally caught my breath, I straightened my back.

"Do you happen to know where he went?"

"Probably to the Demon Palace~? He said he finished preparing for the magic exam."

The moment those words left her mouth, I spun around. Nia's assassination was already in motion. Of all times, the timing had to clash like this.

Right then, a sensation of weightlessness enveloped my body. As my feet dangled in the air, Sharin floated up right beside me.

"I don't know what's going on, but it's urgent, right~?"

Urgent didn't even begin to cover it. A man's life was on the line.

"I'll help you~"

With those words, Sharin immediately changed direction, heading straight toward the window.

Whoosh! Sharin's wind magic flung the window open. Carrying me with her, she soared straight out into the open sky.

The scenery below blurred past in an instant. It was a speed incomparable to my running. I realized anew just how incredibly convenient magic could be.

"To the Demon Palace, right~?"

"Yeah. Thanks for the help."

"Next time, I want curry bread~"

Was she helping me just to turn me into her personal bread shuttle?

"Once this is over, I'll buy you cream bread and red bean bread too."

"Wow~ I'll have to work even harder then~"

With a delighted expression, Sharin accelerated. The Demon Palace, which had been a mere speck on the horizon, rapidly loomed closer.

Staring at the massive gates of the Demon Palace, gaping wide as if to swallow the sky itself, I prayed with all my heart that I wouldn't be too late.