Chap 37-Dissolution

 

The Bennet family’s old catacomb was silent and still.

The dust-covered stone walls seemed on the verge of collapse, and a faint smell of blood lingered in the cold air.

Dorothy, who had come to investigate the Bennet family’s misfortune, now leaned weakly against the shattered fragments of a stone statue beneath the altar.

Her pure white robe, which had symbolized her, no longer retained its color.

Blood, so vivid it was almost blackish-red, soaked the entire robe, creating a grotesque pattern, and the wounds exposed through the torn fabric were all extraordinary.

Wounds that seemed as if their very existence had been cut away by something extremely sharp.

The cross-sections were unnaturally smooth, and around them, the remnants of her divine power-infused defensive magic scattered powerlessly.

“Kuh…”

A ragged breath burst out.

Each breath caused her torn lungs to scream.

Coughing mixed with blood erupted, staining the floor.

An intense pain, rarely experienced by a transcendent being, pressed down on her entire body.

The price for breaking the Geass and leaving the academy was far more severe than expected.

Weakened, she was helpless against the surprise attack of that being.

‘That divine power…’

Dorothy closed her eyes.

A few faces faintly surfaced.

Possibilities she had desperately wanted to ignore for a long time, amidst countless doubts.

‘Damn it. I prayed so hard that at least that bastard wasn’t a traitor.’

Dorothy pressed her bloodied hand against the deep wound in her side.

Instead of healing, she felt an eerie sensation as if her very existence was fading from the cut surface.

But she couldn’t give up.

Dorothy squeezed out the last of her strength.

A faint magical power flickered at her fingertips, repeatedly appearing and disappearing.

Barely, a very faint connection was made.

Dorothy managed to send a final warning to Richard Benett.

Only then did she let out a faint sigh of relief.

Although it was a weak warning, she had at least achieved the minimum reason for coming here.

In addition, she wanted to inform the other transcendent beings of the traitor’s identity, but…

It was impossible.

Even her will to utter ‘information’ about that being had been severed.

She couldn’t open her mouth, nor could she leave a message through magical power.

A thorough enforcement of silence.

‘Yeon…’

Since she was in this state, she was worried about Yeon, who would be left alone at the academy.

The scars etched into her soul probably hadn’t healed yet.

There was no telling what might happen in her absence.

Pfft-

‘Who’s worrying about whom?’

In any situation, it would be Yeon who will win in the end.

It was funny to think about it.

Someone like me becoming her teacher.

Red blood spread across the cold floor, forming a puddle.

Her consciousness gradually faded.

Although she was a transcendent being with immense power, the backlash from the Geass and the wounds caused by the fatal divine power were too much for even her to handle.

‘…I’ve been completely had.’

Dorothy gazed at the firmly closed door of the catacomb beyond her fading vision.

The traitor who had brought her to this state was probably waiting for her to slowly die.

In this isolated space where she couldn’t even move, the great Guardian Witch slowly accepted ‘death on Terra.’

‘I wonder who the next guardian will be. I’m worried because they’re all such eccentric characters.’

Dorothy smiled faintly as she took her last breath.

‘I’ll look forward to the day we meet again, Yeon.’

…

…

…

…

In the quiet headmaster’s office, Emilia Gale was buried in a mountain of paperwork.

After concentrating on the documents for a long time, Emilia suddenly felt a strange sensation and looked up.

That aura that had been gently enveloping the entire academy, so familiar and powerful.

Dorothy’s presence, which had protected this place for hundreds of years.

It was… very faintly, but definitely wavering. Like a flickering candle.

“…!”

Emilia stopped what she was doing and held her breath.

An uneasy premonition gripped her heart.

And a moment later, that warm and powerful aura that had been gently embracing the entire academy completely vanished.

Only an empty void remained in its place.

“So, it has come to this.”

Emilia looked out the window at the now ordinary-looking sky of the academy and gave a bitter smile.

Her expression was a mixture of resignation that what was coming had come, and sadness for the departed master.

It might have been inevitable from the moment she broke the Geass and wandered Terra.

The last order the Grand Elder had left her before departing echoed in her ears.

『Hold on until the next guardian arrives, Emilia.』

『And… be a source of strength for my disciple… that child.』

As ordered, she was prepared to run the academy without Dorothy.

She had already activated the emergency system and reorganized the administrative system and defense system.

But the problem was the second order.

The Grand Elder’s disciple.

Who that being was,

Emilia still had no idea.

‘Who could it be…’

The recognition magic hanging in the headmaster’s office remained silent.

‘Do I have to bring every single person in the academy into this room one by one?’

The thought of having to use such an inefficient method made Emilia’s head throb.

It was then.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The quiet headmaster’s office door was suddenly pounded on like crazy.

It was a desperate and urgent sound, as if they were about to break down the door.

Emilia frowned.

To come here as soon as the Grand Elder returned to the spirit world…

Could it be a mere coincidence?

She didn’t know who it was, but she needed to be on guard.

Carefully gathering her magical power, she turned her gaze towards the door.

It was at that very moment.

Kwaaaah—!!!

With a tremendous roar, the heavy door of the headmaster’s office burst inward as if it had exploded.

Solid wooden fragments flew in all directions, and thick dust instantly covered the room.

“…!”

An intruder!

And that an existence with this much destructive power had entered the heart of the academy?

Emilia had no time to hesitate.

She immediately fired a concentrated magic bullet towards the intruder’s silhouette, which was faintly visible beyond the broken door.

With a sharp whistling sound, the blue magic bullet was sucked into the darkness.

Thud-!

With a dull thud, the intruder’s body flew straight into the hallway wall.

It was a fairly strong blow, but Emilia didn’t let her guard down.

If it was an opponent who would fall from this level of attack, they wouldn’t have been able to break down this door in the first place.

She gathered magical power in both hands again and glared fiercely at the intruder.

The dust gradually settled and her vision cleared.

Emilia cautiously checked the intruder’s appearance, who was pinned against the hallway wall.

And the moment she confirmed their identity, her eyes widened in disbelief.

There… was Yeon Bennet, covered in blood and gasping for breath.

The neat school uniform she usually wore was torn to shreds, and her exposed skin was covered in gruesome scars.

But what shocked Emilia even more was not just her appearance.

The Mana felt from Yeon Bennet’s body was not at a level that could be emitted from a student.

A fierce and powerful energy.

At least on par with her.

“You… you are…”

A warning sounded in Emilia’s head.

This child is dangerous.

She has an unknown power, and right now, at this moment, she could be a threat to the academy.

With the Dorothy absent, she had to stop her.

Emilia gritted her teeth and gathered the remaining magical power.

There was no time to hesitate.

She fired a concentrated destruction magic towards Yeon.

A blue flash cut through the hallway, flying as if to pierce Yeon’s body.

But Yeon didn’t dodge.

Rather, as if she had been waiting for the attack, or as if it didn’t matter, she took it head-on.

Bang!

The magic exploded, leaving fatal wounds on Yeon’s body.

Flesh burst and blood splattered, but Yeon didn’t back down at all.

Rather, using the impact as a stepping stone, she charged towards Emilia with her wounded body.

“…!”

Emilia was horrified and quickly deployed defensive magic, but her speed was beyond imagination.

Her fist contained blood flowing from her wounds, along with an enormous Mana that Emilia couldn’t even fathom.

Crack!

The defensive magic that Emilia had hastily created was torn apart like paper, and Yeon’s Mana-filled fist struck Emilia’s abdomen directly.

“Cough…!”

With a shock that took her breath away, Emilia’s body flew backward powerlessly.

She only managed to stop after crashing violently into the wall of the headmaster’s office.

Her vision blurred and the strength drained from her entire body.

Amidst the pain of her insides twisting, Emilia barely opened her eyes and saw Yeon looking down at her.

A bloodied body, empty eyes with a deep sadness, and…

It was at that very moment.

Dorothy’s recognition magic, which had been faintly shining inside the headmaster’s office, suddenly emitted a brilliant light and began to operate.

And the light, completely deviating from Emilia’s expectations, gently enveloped the bloodied Yeon Bennet.

Disciple.

‘Could it be that child…’

Faced with the unbelievable truth, Emilia’s mind went blank.

At the same time, she felt a cold and rigid magical restriction being added to her own body.

The connection to the Akashic Records was forcibly cut off, and she felt a sensation that the utterance of certain information was prohibited.

‘Ah… so that’s why…’

Only then did Emilia realize.

Why Dorothy hadn’t directly revealed the identity of her disciple.

Why she had told her to confirm it only through recognition magic.

‘You didn’t trust me until the end… Grand Elder.’

Emilia smiled bitterly and slowly lost consciousness.

Author’s words:

Thank you for reading!