Chapter 314
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 314
Chapter Title: Lesson 61. Innocent Sinners - 4
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No wonder my heart kept feeling uneasy even after sending Yu-won off. It was all because of this.
Yumina bit her lip as she watched the towering Babel Tower, which stretched endlessly into the sky, begin to tilt.
At the axis of the leaning tower, something pitch-black, enormous, and ominous kept surging out one after another.
[Groan... Kuhahaha! Finally, finally, today is the day I regain my freedom!]
[Yes... The day of our innocent sinners' great exodus!]
The true bodies of the constellations were trying to escape the tower.
And not just one or two.
Not only the constellations that had sponsored the Exodus, but even a few powerful ones who had been biding their time joined in, seizing this "irregular phenomenon."
There had been plenty of times when insolent fools targeted the tower and Union, but nothing like this had ever happened before. She could say that with absolute certainty!
"No... No..."
She wasn't without thoughts on her teacher's imposition of distorted order, but she didn't want Union to crumble like this.
But even more worrying was her disciple, Ban Yu-won, who had just declared war on the constellations.
Most magic tools or artifacts would break down just from approaching a constellation's avatar, yet the Tike he had created not only vividly broadcast the scene of Ban Yu-won and his group shattering the red moon—it even projected onto Union Net the moment when Ban Yu-won crossed into the prominences and encountered the followers of the Myriad Calamities constellation.
'The other constellations are still pinned down here, so why did only the followers of Myriad Calamities break free so quickly!'
At least it was fortunate that the Union Net, overloaded from the shock to the tower, cut off right there...
Those who had suspected the anomaly in Union Net soon realized what the constellation appearing on the Rebellion channel signified.
'I need to contain this as quickly as possible, but Yu-won might need me right now...!'
No matter how impressive Yu-won was, she couldn't imagine him easily overcoming a constellation's true body.
Aneris, a Platinum member, was with him, but her direct combat prowess was on the lower side...
The more she thought about Ban Yu-won's situation, the more her mind tangled into knots.
In moments like this, she resented herself for ultimately being unable to defy her teacher's will.
—Mina, enter the tower. I'll open a direct path for you to those traitors.
"Teacher."
At the voice whispering in her ear, she reflexively looked up to see a massive eye floating on the ceiling.
To crush the Exodus fleet that had invaded across dimensions, the Chancellor had unleashed a portion of his true body.
The main Exodus force, which had clumsily attempted a diversion, had already been crushed and annihilated before the Chancellor's power. There would be no one left in this universe to refer to as Exodus.
—Blink
[Kuaaah! That eye, that eye! You hateful old hag!]
[No, it's not the hag. It's the main body. He's stepped in himself!]
[Why, why now! Haven't we suffered enough? Isn't it time to let us go?!]
The problem lay elsewhere: the powerful constellations just beginning to escape the tower.
Even the Chancellor, regarded as an absolute being, was now occupied suppressing their movements and couldn't address the root issue at the tower's core.
—Blink
It wasn't just the eye in the sky.
—Blink blink
At this very moment, newly appearing eyes everywhere were unleashing mana to bind the constellations and prevent their escape from the tower.
The Chancellor created one more eye gazing at the tower and whispered to Yumina again.
—Right now, you are my proxy. Execute the traitors and restore the tower's order.
"Are you sure you're okay? If you use so much power now, she might..."
—And you have the power to suppress constellations. Ignite the flame he revived in you now.
Of course, the Chancellor knew who was with Ban Yu-won and what had transpired between him and Yumina.
He even fully grasped what Yumina had gained as a result, and the emotions now embedded in her heart.
—Go. When you return safely, I'll help you become his woman.
"...You're truly underhanded."
As if sensing the turmoil in Yumina's heart while she watched the escaping constellations, he made a remark to spur her into action.
After hesitating for a moment, she wanted to ask about her contracted constellation but held back.
Yet the Chancellor answered even what she hadn't asked.
—When he reaches the top, all your desires will be fulfilled.
"So that means Yu-won is safe, right?"
—As always, he is now, and he will be in the future.
"Got it... Then I'll be off."
Letting out a soft sigh, Yumina threw herself into the oval gate that had appeared before her eyes.
The gate leading to the tower's depths resisted her entry due to the irregular phenomenon plaguing the tower now, sparking in protest—but ultimately, it couldn't overcome the Chancellor's authority and let her in.
"Oh my, you came yourself. I thought Xenon would come."
A sticky female voice tickled Yumina's ear the moment she entered the dark, vast corridor devoid of even a single torch.
She knew exactly who it was.
The Observer of All-Seeing Eyes, the constellation who had shown immense interest in Ban Yu-won the instant he entered the tower.
...Just as she had once done to Yumina in the past.
When Ban Yu-won first mentioned her contact, how hard had she pretended not to know?
Ban Yu-won didn't know yet, but it was partly because of that incident that she had grown more emotionally invested in him and cherished him.
"Did he choose you as his new proxy?"
Facing the constellation's persistent questioning, Yumina dispelled her thoughts and replied in a cold voice.
"I don't see Xenon anywhere. Perhaps... he's sided with the traitors."
"That loyal child? How intriguing. He must be jealous of 'that child.'"
"Xenon... jealous? Of Yu-won?"
An emotion unfit for that stone-like man made her raise her voice at the constellation without thinking.
The Observer of All-Seeing Eyes seized the opportunity and whispered right into her ear.
"Aren't you jealous of that child too?"
"Maybe I am, but I love him even more."
"Oh? Just like me, then."
The constellation snorted at Yumina's firm retort and created an eye.
The glowing eye illuminated the dark corridor, unraveling the tower's complex maze even now.
"Then we should cooperate now to protect the one we love."
"I won't fall for whatever scheme you're plotting."
Unlike the Chancellor, the Observer of All-Seeing Eyes was a firm enemy.
Yumina gathered holy light in one hand, poised to burst the eye at any moment, but the Observer cackled and said,
"That child is not yet ripe for harvest. He's shining brightly enough already, but soon he'll shine even brighter—."
"I won't let that happen."
"Exactly. So for now, we must combine our strength."
...Perhaps the Chancellor had anticipated the Observer would react this way.
No, he definitely knew.
No matter how much it was holy light specialized in suppressing constellations, clashing with the rampaging Observer would leave her no strength to execute the traitor.
But if the Observer became an ally—
"Fine. Let's combine our strength."
"A wise choice."
Only to protect Yu-won.
Whispering that to herself, she stepped forward.
The Observer lit the path with her own eyes and guided her straight to the destination without detour. Yumina soon reached a vast chamber—resembling the interior of a massive mechanical device where countless gears turned here and there.
And at its center floor stood a enormous stele.
Crammed with densely written characters, cracks now spiderwebbed across it, some letters erased with thick black smoke billowing from those spots.
'The Ledger...'
It was the ledger inscribed with the constellations' names, and simultaneously their prison.
Who wouldn't be shocked to learn that the transcendent beings called constellations were bound to Babel Tower?
The constellations who called themselves innocent sinners.
Cracks were slowly spreading across the prison that had confined those sinners.
"Oh dear. My love, it's such a pity, you blind rose!"
Alex de Cantone—the one who had erased the stele's letters—stood there as well.
Surprisingly, no one else was in sight. He had probably killed them all.
Obvious enough.
Exodus and Cantone had cooperated from the start, each intending to use the other, and now that their goals were achieved, only one needed to claim the spoils.
And Professor Cantone, pathetic, sniveling, delusional patient who couldn't accept rejection from women though he was, ranked among the top Full Professors at the Academy in one-on-one combat.
No matter what means Exodus had prepared, surpassing him would have been difficult.
And the constellations supporting Exodus... were now...
"How do I look, Mina?"
"I don't recall permitting you to call me by name, Professor Cantone."
"No, you will. I'll make it so."
The constellations, content as long as they gained freedom, were gladly lending their power to Cantone.
Erasing the stele's letters required immense power; they were unconditionally supporting him, asking him to erase their names first.
It was the moment when the constellation-human relationship reversed, but Yumina pitied Cantone even as he wielded that power.
"That's not your power."
"Not yet. You're right. But once I claim the tower, it will be mine, sooner or later."
"You still don't understand. What it means to gain the tower's authority..."
"Then will you tell me?"
The moment Cantone reached out, psychokinesis at least two or three times stronger than before surged toward Yumina to crush her.
But a large eye appearing in midair blinked once, and the pressure vanished as if washed away.
Cantone's eyes widened in shock.
"That's the Chancellor's—no, impossible. He should be outside right now?!"
"You've never even met the Observer of All-Seeing Eyes, have you."
"Observer of All-Seeing Eyes? I've heard of it—the urban legend that if she takes interest in you inside the tower, you'll die before graduating—wait, no way."
"It means you're lacking in talent."
The Observer declared cruelly.
Instead of responding, Cantone unleashed maximum-output psychokinesis and burst the eye.
Seizing the opening, Yumina completed her holy light spell.
"Suppress."
"What?!"
From the magic circle Yumina created, dozens, hundreds of dazzling chains of holy light erupted, binding Cantone's entire body.
Not content with that, they wrapped around the stele, seized the smoke escaping from the erased letters, and shoved it back inside.
"Mina?"
"I told you not to call me by name, Professor Cantone."
"What is this? It feels like it's stripping away only the constellations' power. How can such a thing exist? Mina, Professor Yumina! Answer me!"
"You judged the tower and constellations too lightly. The tower's dominion has no relation to the constellations."
The Observer laughed.
She created another eye in midair to pressure Cantone.
Even bound by chains, Cantone skillfully wielded psychokinesis to burst it again, but she could confirm his output had clearly diminished compared to before.
"Professor Yumina! Release me now, or you'll regret it. I can shatter this stele any moment!"
"You can't do that, Cantone."
Finally dropping the "Professor" title, Yumina unleashed holy light once more.
Holy light bloomed like flowers around her—her innate power fused with starlight she had acquired later, illuminating the chamber brilliantly. All powers of the distorted transcendents withered like flowers in winter.
The stele's letters' owners began to be resealed.
"No, no! Yumina, some things even you can't be forgiven for!"
"Too late."
Cantone's full-power psychokinesis formed a massive blade and lunged at Yumina—but petals and stems blooming from her body gently received and dissolved it.
Witnessing that, Cantone's eyes bulged in horror.
Having exhausted himself liberating the constellations and now stripped of their support, his condition couldn't be good.
Even so!
There hadn't been such a gap between him and her until recently...
"During my student days, I had a contracted constellation. After losing her in an accident, the power in my body tangled into a mess, leaving me half-crippled."
"Yumina... Professor..."
"Even in that state, I became a Full Professor. Now, thanks to the one I love, I've regained my strength."
Do you understand what that means?
Yumina smiled bitterly and spread her hands.
Her authority, fused with holy light, bloomed as radiant golden thorny vines from the ground and ceiling, piercing Cantone's body from top to bottom.
"Kuhk!"
"My teacher intended to raise me to Vice Chancellor."
And with Xenon's betrayal, it seemed she would end up in that position after all—
As she thought that and smiled bitterly, her expression hardened upon seeing the stele beyond Cantone's now-corpse vibrating.
It wasn't Cantone. He had already lost the qualification.
Then who?
"No, not Yu-won...!"
"Kukuku, splendid!"
She rushed frantically and grabbed the stele.
Just as she tried to check the newly inscribing letters—
The tower, having resolved the irregular phenomenon, expelled her outside.