Chapter 27: A chance not to come

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence hung between Hestia and Arie.

Though they were in the same class, they hadn’t had any particular interactions until now, so it was hard to say they were close.

The one who broke the silence between them, which seemed like it would never end, was, as expected, Elisha.

“Oh, Holy Maiden, you’re here? If you are, quickly heal me.”

“……?”

Arie looked at her with a bewildered expression.

However, Elisha merely gestured for her to come quickly…

She acted as if she had no idea what the problem was.

“……You’re a peculiar person. I think I briefly saw you sparring with the Hero, and your name was… Elisha, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right. Feel free to call me Elisha. Is it okay if I call you Arie, too?”

“Hmm, that’s fine.”

Arie, who had been looking at Elisha, who treated her with unusual familiarity, as if she were a strange creature, first began healing her as requested.

Arie’s pure white magic permeated Elisha’s entire body.

With a relaxed smile, she closed her eyes and entrusted her body to the Holy Maiden’s magic.

“…There are no major injuries. There won’t be any lingering aftereffects either.”

“If I’m done, please check on Hestia too.”

It was Hestia’s turn to be examined.

But she shook her head, indicating her refusal.

“I’m fine.”

“Hehe, really…?”

“Yes. I’m simply out of stamina.”

Hestia’s arms were still trembling as she answered nonchalantly, but upon closer inspection, the shaking was gradually decreasing.

Arie briefly examined her arms and seemed to decide she was fine, then lost interest and turned her head.

“Alright. Then, first of all……”

“Holy Maiden.”

“……?”

Suddenly, Hestia interrupted her, with a look as if she had realized something.

Arie tilted her head, focusing on Hestia’s words.

“That pure white energy from before… Did the Holy Maiden help us, by any chance?”

“Pardon?”

“When the pillar shattered, I thought I saw an energy similar to the Holy Maiden’s magic.”

“…Hehe, well now.”

Arie gave a mischievous smile.

It was an ambiguous answer, not quite an affirmation, but seeing her chuckle softly, Hestia was convinced that it had been Arie who helped them then.

“……Thank you.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Arie maintained her feigned ignorance, but Hestia was truly grateful to her for blocking that attack.

If it hadn’t been for Arie, she would have suffered the terrible fate of taking her friend’s life with her own hands…

Of course, Elisha had moved with Arie’s intervention thoroughly calculated, so she hadn’t considered it a particularly dangerous situation…

It was natural for Hestia, who couldn’t have known this, to bow her head in gratitude.

The short conversation between them eased the atmosphere a little, and Elisha, who had finished recovering, suddenly stood up and stretched.

“Ugh…! I’m tired.”

“I, the latecomer, will handle the cleanup, so you two who worked hard don’t have to worry and can rest comfortably.”

“Shall we…?”

At Arie’s suggestion, Elisha immediately prepared to leave without a moment’s hesitation.

“I have things to do, and I need to unlock the doors again, so… I’ll head back first.”

“……Hehe.”

Arie smiled, exuding a suspicious aura, but Elisha, as if it was nothing, simply passed her and headed for the dormitory.

Hestia followed her, repeatedly asking if it was really okay to leave it to the Holy Maiden, despite being grateful, as she seemed a bit suspicious, but Elisha only repeated not to worry.

As Hestia and Elisha left, Arie was left alone at the scene…

She sighed, her expression completely devoid of amusement.

“Honestly… They’re such uninteresting people.”

In truth, Arie had wanted their suspicious glances.

So she had deliberately appeared at a precarious moment… but the reaction she received was more lukewarm than she had expected.

The Hero’s reaction was decent, but that was too predictable, and conversely, Elisha’s complete lack of suspicion was disappointing.

‘One can’t be full on the first bite… Hehe, I’ll have to aim for next time.’

Arie vowed to herself that she would come up with a more ingenious method soon.

– *cough*

At that moment, hearing a small cough from behind, she turned her head.

“I caught a faint biological response, so I wondered… It seems that person can be saved.”

Arie’s pure white magic mixed with divine power, activating a wide-area healing spell.

Numerous living beings who had been caught in the fight but luckily survived received the Holy Maiden’s warm healing.

The Holy Maiden, who was feeling a certain satisfaction in saving lives, suddenly noticed something strange.

“…Oh?”

Why does it seem like there’s one missing corpse…?

****

The stage of transcending the limits of mortals and truly becoming a part of history.

When one reaches that position, often called a Transcendent, they can see many things.

Flows and histories that were invisible during their mortal days.

They become able to see what they couldn’t see, and read what they couldn’t read.

Of course, the depth of this understanding varies depending on the Transcendent’s abilities and level of enlightenment, but compared to an ordinary mortal with nothing, it shows a terrifyingly vast difference.

Reading flows and history means understanding and seeing through an opponent.

It’s not easy for an ordinary mortal who cannot do this to defeat a Transcendent.

It’s a miracle that only a select few, like the Hero or the Holy Maiden, might barely achieve.

“From that perspective… you’re truly a lucky fellow.”

“Gah, ugh…!”

“There’s no way a half-wit who has barely stepped into transcendence could neutralize Savina with such a simple method, is there? It’s quite a miracle.”

Well, it seems he himself can’t even imagine how absurdly low the probability of this was.

I released my hand from his neck and threw him onto the floor.

“Cough, gasp…!”

Only then able to breathe, he glared at me with confused eyes.

Indeed, it was surprising.

He thought he had finally transcended and shed the limits of his body, yet he was utterly helpless just from being grabbed by the neck…

Compared to the stories about Transcendent beings that had been passed down until now, it would be even more incomprehensible to him.

“You… W-what exactly are you…?”

“What a cliché question.”

To return a equally cliché answer to a cliché question, it would be ‘I have no obligation to tell you.’

I slowly approached him, who still couldn’t get up.

He tried to struggle with the demonic energy remaining in his armor, but the uncontrolled energy no longer moved according to his will.

I stomped hard on his arm, which was thrashing in fear.

– *CRUNCH!*

“KYAAAAAAAH!!!”

The sound of bones breaking filled the surroundings simultaneously with a piercing scream.

The already shattered dark crimson armor could no longer protect his body.

I bent down, picked up a fragment of the armor, and spoke to the suffering Kal Myers.

“That’s what happens when you try to wield something you can’t control.”

“…What do you know, you…!”

“Still, I understand. To your eyes, this must have seemed like your last hope.”

It was an undeniable fact that he had been hasty, but to put it off for later, it was uncertain if his body, already ravaged by the curse, would last until then.

He must have judged it better to take a low-probability gamble than to endlessly wait for hope that might never come.

In fact, his judgment was somewhat accurate.

When the Academy was bustling with major and minor incidents, and the Academy Head was suffering from overwork…

‘Coincidentally’ a magic of strange properties was discovered, and that information, which should have been treated as top secret, ‘happened’ to reach Kal Myers’ ears.

He ‘just so happened’ to learn through his son, Pascal, who was attending the Academy, that the properties of that magic could neutralize the curse passed down through their family for generations.

While he was constantly looking for an opportunity, ‘just in time’ someone damaged the Academy’s barrier, and the Transcendent guarding it, the Academy Head, suffered severe internal injuries.

Soon, another Transcendent, an enemy of the perpetrator who damaged the barrier, urgently arrived at the Academy, but before he could gather detailed information, he quickly left, citing that he shouldn’t interfere with the barrier’s repair.

And that news was quickly delivered to Kal Myers, who was ‘coincidentally’ outside for an appointment……

Even up to this point, it had already surpassed extremely low odds, and the moment he succeeded in neutralizing the Academy Head.

He had truly achieved nothing short of a miracle.

But unfortunately, as long as the Regressor exists… no matter how hard he tries, the outcome won’t change.

Kal Myers himself had no idea, but even in the first regression cycle without Elisha’s intervention, his plan was thwarted by the Holy Maiden.

It was a plan that was impossible to succeed from the start, and reaching this situation itself was immense luck.

This is his limit.

Yes, originally, it would be right to have Kal Myers exit at this point.

In all previous regression cycles, Kal and Pascal always died instantly on the spot, and I finished up by secretly retrieving the dangerous magic that had permeated Kal.

Even now, if I wanted to, I could wrap up the incident inconclusively, but this time……

I think I’ll give them, who might be facing their last chance, one opportunity.

Kal will die soon anyway.

An incomplete transcendence achieved through a family heirloom as a medium… and since even that medium, the dagger, was taken, his body will soon lose its balance of energy and completely dissipate, leaving only traces of demonic energy and magic.

Of course, there isn’t absolutely no solution.

A simple but very difficult solution will be his last lifeline.

I clenched my hand in the air and slowly moved my arm.

– *CRACKLE!*

“W-what is this…?”

At the same time as an unimaginable sound was heard, Kal’s eyes, which had just been writhing in pain, trembled greatly.

Following the trajectory of my arm, space tore open, and a man-sized hole appeared.

I lifted him with one hand and threw him into the hole.

He couldn’t land properly and rolled miserably on the floor.

“This is your last chance, one that may never come again.”

“Gasp!”

“Survive till the end. This is a special opportunity I give you, your earnest luck. And……”

I spoke softly to him, who still hadn’t regained his senses.

“This is your son’s last request, the one you tried to protect until the very end.”

At that moment, a massive magic circle floating in the sky was reflected in his eyes…

I quietly wished him luck and closed the torn space again.