Chapter 36: Cecilia Everglenn (6)

It happened in the blink of an eye.

As if they had been waiting for that moment from the start, the instant the words ended, they all rushed straight toward the opponents they had chosen.

And those opponents were none other than the three spirits shaped like a woman, a dog, and a turtle.

Since those three possessed the greatest strength among them, it seemed an unspoken agreement had been reached that they must be eliminated first.

[Such arrogance…! Kuhuhk!]

Was it because of a bad match-up, or because too many had swarmed onto it?

The turtle vanished in an instant, not even leaving behind a trace of its form.

The dog, on the other hand, swiftly bit another spirit to death, and the spirit of ice skillfully fended off the ones that had leapt at it.

Paradoxically, that moment marked the beginning of a reversal.

As soon as one of the three disappeared, signs of division began to spread among the other spirits who had been bound only by an implicit pact.

The situation soon devolved into utter chaos.

The spirits that had killed the turtle bared teeth and claws at one another, and in the middle of that, just when two of them seemed to ally together, a shard of ice fired by the spirit of ice suddenly pierced through the dog’s torso…

‘What a mess.’

During all this, I lifted Cecilia to her feet and shielded her behind my back.

I worried that a stray attack might fly our way, but fortunately it seemed they hadn’t lost their reason to that extent.

‘Come to think of it…’

I glanced toward where Rahma had been.

And I became certain once again that he was dead.

After all, no human could survive after having his entire body crushed to pieces.

Even I, who had seen all manner of things, felt bile rise in my throat at the grotesque sight.

Even if Rahma had been a troll or a slime, with his body in that condition…

There was no longer any need to worry.

The end was so anticlimactic that all the days of fear and concern I had harbored seemed meaningless.

“Tsk.”

Realizing anew why there had been no trace of him found the last time, I turned my body deliberately to block Cecilia’s sight.

But I quickly realized there was no need to bother.

“……”

She was so focused on the battle of the spirits that she wouldn’t have noticed even if something happened right beside her.

It was as though she felt she had to personally witness their mutual destruction with her own eyes.

“…It’s over.”

At Cecilia’s words, I nodded.

Barely a few minutes at most.

In that short span of time, spirits who had lived hundreds, perhaps uncountable ages, had met their deaths.

[Hhh… huu… ahhh…]

Only one remained.

The half-shattered, cracked spirit of ice let out a groan as it looked around.

Around it were sticky fluids of unknown nature, charred heaps of ash, and shattered fragments of rock—remnants of what had once been spirits.

At last, realizing it was the sole survivor, it turned its head toward me.

[I am… the one.]

“Yeah, it looks that way.”

When I nodded in agreement, it spoke urgently.

[As you said, only one of me… remains. So you must… keep your promise.]

“Promise? What promise?”

[Don’t play dumb with me now!]

With a crack, part of its body broke away.

It was already so gravely wounded that it wouldn’t be strange for it to die at any moment.

[Hurry, connect me with her! My wounds are severe, I must soothe my body at once…!]

“Ah, so that’s what you meant.”

I nodded as if just realizing it.

Then I shrugged toward it and said,

“It was a lie.”

[…What?]

“I said it was a lie.”

I let out a small laugh, almost incredulous, at the spirit of ice staring blankly at me.

“You didn’t actually believe that, did you?”

[What…]

“It’s absurd for the liar to say this, but… shouldn’t you know your own place?”

I whispered toward the still-bewildered creature.

“Know your place. Things like you would never be given such a sweet opportunity.”

A sudden cracking sound rang out.

Unable to hold back its rage, fissures spread across its body.

[You bastard!!!]

With a furious roar like a scream, sharp ice shards shot toward me.

I quickly swung my mace, deflecting the shards.

Its power was nothing compared to what it had been at the start, so it wasn’t hard to block.

[You bastard, you bastard…! I’ll kill you, I’ll tear your body apart into pieces and scatter them!]

The spirit glared at me with murderous intent, as though ready to kill me that instant.

I gripped my mace again, my hand trembling from the freezing cold that seeped in.

“Cecilia?”

Suddenly, Cecilia stepped out in front of me.

She walked forward slowly, then stopped right before me.

It looked as though she meant to shield me with her own body.

“If you want to kill this man.”

Her voice was quiet and calm as usual.

But beneath it was an undercurrent of anger and contempt.

“You’ll have to kill me first.”

At her words, the spirit of ice shuddered as if struck by a shock.

Frost gathered around it, and the ground began to freeze.

[You wench, I treated you like my own child all this time, showed you respect…!]

Though its body was breaking apart, it poured out energy like an explosion.

It was shocking that it still had that much power left even at the brink of death.

[Fine! I’ll grant your wish! I’ll kill that man, and then I’ll tear your limbs apart with my own hands!]

Its eyes rolled back in madness as it hurled curses of rage even toward Cecilia.

Yet Cecilia did not retreat.

Her unflinching composure only provoked the spirit into greater fury.

[Let’s see if you can still defy my will in that state!]

For one who incurred the wrath of a spirit, there were only two endings.

Be killed by the spirit, or kill it.

That was why from the very beginning there had only ever been one choice.

“Now that I think about it, there’s one thing I didn’t tell you.”

Saying so, I gently took Cecilia’s shoulder and pulled her back from where she had stepped forward.

She looked at me silently, and I gave her a small nod as if to say it was fine.

“Just earlier I asked if you thought I’d act that way without having something to rely on. Do you remember?”

Plenty of time had passed.

The charm I had been holding to send the signal began to glow faintly and tremble.

It meant that the charm paired with this one had arrived close by.

“That wasn’t a lie—it was true.”

Before I even finished speaking, a man dropped from the sky and revealed himself.

Thud!

He landed right between us and the spirit, holding a spear in one hand and a sword in the other.

“You finally came.”

The hero of the Plains War.

The guardian of the Empire.

And the one-legged sentinel.

“My reliance.”

Ras Sink Shagas.

He had arrived.

The incident ended so quickly it felt anticlimactic.

Though wounded, Professor Shagas who had instantly annihilated a high-ranked spirit, immediately led me and Cecilia outside.

By the time we stepped out, the incident was already in its final stages.

The professors were busily moving to contain things, and on one side I could see Sister Roberta with a roster in hand, counting the students.

Relieved by the sight of so little damage compared to my previous life, though only for a moment, Cecilia and I were sent straight to the infirmary under Professor Shagas’ protection.

As I was being taken away, the last thing I saw was Professor Windy May in the air, unfolding some kind of large-scale magic, before I slowly closed my eyes.

…Yes, it was over.

Compared to the desperate struggle, it ended so swiftly that it left me feeling hollow.

“Haa.”

To think I would end up in the infirmary, a place I had never visited even once in my previous life except to feign illness.

With a heavy heart, I glanced at the elderly professor beside me muttering incomprehensible words one after another.

“Um… professor, do you really mean I have to rest for half a month?”

The elderly professor, famed as both head of the infirmary and a healer, looked down at me lying in bed with a displeased expression.

“Do I need to remind you again that you nearly lost your leg?”

He let out a loud, disapproving cough.

“Frankly I wanted to keep you in bed for two months, but I restrained myself.”

“What if we use healing magic or miracles….”

“Rely too much on those and your body will be ruined.”

The old professor spoke firmly, leaving no room for argument.

“Be glad your body is sturdy enough as it is. Besides, likely because of the spirit, the flow inside your body is twisted and tangled. In such cases, the best course is not to meddle but to leave it time to settle back on its own.”

With him saying that much, I couldn’t argue further.

When I kept my mouth shut, he finally nodded with satisfaction.

“Understood? Then just keep quiet and stay in bed. Rest well for a few days and you’ll recover quickly, so don’t worry too much.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Then get some sleep. I must go check on the other students.”

“Professor.”

“Hm?”

I hesitated for a moment before asking him.

“Is Miss Everglenn alright?”

He looked at me silently.

Then he shook his head slightly and said,

“No student is in worse condition than you right now, so don’t worry too much.”

With those words, telling me to truly rest, he left.

Feeling a bit reassured, I buried my head into the pillow.

“How’s your body, any better?”

Tap, tap, went the sound of a cane.

As I tried to rise, Professor Shagas, who had come right beside me, gently pressed my shoulder to stop me.

“Stay lying down. Even on the battlefield, patients are treated with care.”

Professor Shagas, who had come to see me, as always sat upright and composed in the chair.

And as soon as he sat, he went straight to the point.

“No one died.”

At his words, I finally felt sure that I hadn’t made the wrong choices.

“There were some injuries, but none severely wounded. If we must say, you and Lady Everglenn are the most seriously injured.”

“That’s…”

I nodded slightly.

“That’s really fortunate.”

“Yes, truly a great relief. Had we not prepared in advance as you advised, dozens could easily have been killed or hurt. Perhaps even more.”

Professor Shagas nodded.

“Even without serious injuries, many students were hurt. Some faced mutants, and above all, when swept into a distortion, one never knows what side effects might occur. So everyone who entered the dungeon is subject to examination. Because of this, Dungeon Field Classes are temporarily suspended.”

“……”

“And as for the details of the incident… for now it is being concealed under the excuse of ongoing investigation. The fact that you and Lady Everglenn were attacked by spirits has also been hidden.”

“That too is a relief.”

If rumors spread that spirits had run wild, Cecilia’s reputation would have been further ruined.

In my previous life, whenever something related to spirits happened, gossip always blamed her.

Professor Shagas rested a hand on my shoulder.

“…You’ve done well. For now, rest. I’ve told them you two were simply unfortunate victims caught up in the incident, so you won’t be bothered further.”

With that, he began to rise.

“You must be tired, so I’ll be going. I’ve told you all I needed.”

“Professor.”

At my call, he looked at me as if asking what was wrong.

I pushed myself up from the bed and bowed my head respectfully.

“Thank you for helping us.”

“Hm?”

“It’s all thanks to you, professor.”

“Heh.”

Professor Shagas let out a short laugh.

“You sound like some old troll.”

“…Excuse me?”

“It’s praise, of course. Praise.”

For some reason, he suddenly burst out into hearty laughter.

“I don’t know how you knew about this, or how you coaxed that girl Yuran into persuading me….”

But let’s save that joy for later.

Saying so, he stood up.

“I really should go now. I feel I must give up my seat.”

Professor Shagas glanced toward the door.

“If I linger here any longer, I’ll be treated as an oblivious old man.”

There, Cecilia was waiting for us.

In her hands she carried a small basket of fruit she had found from somewhere.

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