Chap 96-Reunion

 

Emilia, who had been focusing on healing the injured, was horrified by Bella’s miserable state and rushed over.

Her face was as white as a sheet.

“What… what on earth happened…”

Camilla, with her head bowed, silently and carefully laid Bella down on the makeshift bed on the floor.

Emilia, with trembling hands, placed her hand on Bella’s wound.

A soft, green Mana that spread from her fingertips flowed over the wound, but it didn’t heal easily.

“It’s too deep… How could such a wound…”

Emilia gritted her teeth.

If Professor Bella was in this state…

‘Lady Yeon…!’

If it was Yeon she knew…

That foolishly kind and reckless girl…

She would surely be in an even worse state.

Her heart sank with worry.

Even as she struggled to continue the Healing magic, hot tears welled up in Emilia’s eyes.

Camilla, watching her, bit her lip hard with bloodshot eyes.

“…Yeon Bennet.”

“…Because of that woman…”

A voice that seemed to be suppressing anger.

Camilla’s hands were trembling.

And those words soon ignited the students’ anger.

“Is it that woman again?!”

“How many people does she have to hurt before she’s done?!”

“We have to catch her and punish her immediately!”

At that very moment, when the students’ hatred began to boil over again…

Kuuuuuuuuung—!!!

The ground shook, and a massive wave of Mana, as if the sky was screaming, struck the entire camp.

“Kyaaaak-!”

The students screamed and collapsed, and even the professors couldn’t stand upright against the overwhelming energy.

Professor Merlin’s eyes sharpened.

‘This level of Mana surge… Could it be?’

“Professor Merlin! I have an urgent report!”

Camilla cried out desperately, even as she staggered.

“We encountered a Calamity-Class Monster! My mother is holding it off alone right now!”

“The Medici Family Duchess is here?!”

“Yes… She heard the news and rushed here to save me and the students…”

Clear tears welled up in Camilla’s eyes.

A murmur spread like a wave among the students.

“No way… The Medici Family Duchess is fighting a Calamity-Class Monster?”

At that unbelievable news, fear and awe simultaneously bloomed in the students’ eyes.

“But… She won’t be able to hold out for long! Please, send support quickly…!”

At Camilla’s desperate cry, Professor Merlin made a decision without a moment’s hesitation.

“Combat-oriented professors, gather around me immediately! The rest of you, create warp gates! Hurry!”

As soon as Merlin’s order was given, the camp began to move busily again.

Even in the chaotic pandemonium, everyone began to run to find their roles.

Professor Emilia, having finished Bella’s emergency treatment, looked around and quietly approached Camilla.

“Lady Camilla.”

She called Camilla in her usual soft voice.

“Yes, Professor?”

“Are you… hurt anywhere?”

Professor Emilia asked with a kind smile, looking worried.

“Thank you for your concern, Professor. But I’m fine.”

Camilla bowed her head and answered politely.

“Even so, wouldn’t it be a good idea to get a checkup, just in case?”

“It’s alright. I’m really…”

“It’ll be over soon, so please come this way for a moment.”

As Emilia led her towards the treatment tent, Clara chimed in.

“That’s right, Lady Camilla. You should definitely get a checkup, just in case.”

“Alright, Professor. Then Clara should come with me…”

Camilla reluctantly answered, turning to look at Clara.

“No.”

Emilia cut her off gently but firmly.

“I think it would be better if you came alone. As you can see, there seems to be a great shortage of manpower outside.”

Camilla hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“…Yes. I understand.”

In the end, she reluctantly moved her feet and followed Emilla into the tent.

The inside was quiet.

A faint smell of herbs permeated the air, and an awkward silence filled the gaps.

“Please, sit down for now. It’s tea that will help with recovery.”

Emilia skillfully poured warm tea into a teacup and handed it to Camilla.

“…Thank you, Professor.”

Camilla accepted the teacup without any particular suspicion and took a sip of the warm tea.

“So.”

Emilia’s voice sank coldly like ice.

The kindness from just a moment ago was nowhere to be found.

Her eyes were no longer smiling.

Instead, a cold and sharp light, like a snake, was piercing through Camilla.

“Yeon Bennet, or rather… Where is our Lady?”

“What do you mean…”

Camilla reflexively tried to get up from her seat, but her body wouldn’t move.

Not her arms, not her legs, not even a single finger.

“What… what did you do?”

Camilla shouted in an angry voice.

Blue Mana erupted from Emilia’s body like a storm, overwhelming the inside of the tent.

“Don’t talk nonsense and answer me. Where is our Lady?”

“Kugh…!”

Camilla struggled desperately to move her body somehow.

She thrashed frantically on the chair, but her body wouldn’t listen, as if bound by chains.

Watching her, Emilia said coldly.

“It’s no use. You’ll be sitting like that for a while.”

Treating the Lady of the Medici Family in this way…

She was well aware that it could cause a huge diplomatic problem later.

But for Emilia, such things were not important at all right now.

The Lady had clearly said that there was a high possibility that the Medici Family was a traitor.

And yet Camilla, the heir to that family, had appeared carrying the wounded Bella and was blaming all the sins on the Lady.

It was a very suspicious situation.

“You…! Could it be that you betrayed us, like Yeon Bennet?!”

Camilla pressed, enraged.

Crackle-!

A fragment of Mana that sparked from Emilia’s fingertips flew like lightning and sharply grazed Camilla’s cheek.

A red wound split open on her white skin, and a stream of blood slowly flowed down.

“Don’t try anything funny, and I’ll ask you one last time.”

Emilia’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.

“Where… did the Lady go?”

It was then.

Camilla’s pupils began to change.

The clear ruby light disappeared in an instant, and a pitch-black abyss filled its place.

And…

An evil energy that erupted.

An overwhelming presence, on a different level than anything before, instantly consumed the inside of the tent.

“This is…!”

Emilia instinctively tried to step back.

However…

The moment she made eye contact with Camilla, or rather, the thing in Camilla’s form.

Her body froze.

As if a huge mountain was pressing down on her, she couldn’t even move a finger.

The situation was reversed in an instant.

Camilla, as if Emilia’s drug had no effect on her, easily stood up from the chair.

And then, slowly, very slowly, she moved towards her.

“Hoo…”

A wicked smile appeared on her lips, as if she was intrigued.

“It seems that you… know the ‘real story’.”

…

“Hehe, how is it?”

Anaide, with her arms crossed and her chin slightly raised, asked with a confident expression.

In front of her, in the middle of a ruined, chaotic space.

Around a slowly rotating golden magic circle, the space was tearing apart, creating a huge Mana rift.

Beyond the pitch-black darkness, the familiar energy of Terra was slowly leaking out.

Here, in the heart of the Domain of the Evil God.

She had finally completed the Dimensional teleportation magic circle.

“Th-That’s amazing!”

I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

The Witch of Destruction.

Because of that name, I had vaguely thought that she, like Master, the Guardian Witch, who specialized in defense, would also only be skilled in offensive magic.

“Yeon.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed with a whoosh.

The playfulness disappeared from Anaide’s face, which had been so proud just a moment ago, and seriousness took its place.

“Do you really… have to go back?”

“…Pardon?”

Why suddenly now?

“If you go back… it will be difficult and painful. Maybe even more so than now.”

At those words, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Ah, she was just worried about me.

“So, rather than that, why don’t we just stay here, just the two of us…”

“I can’t.”

I shook my head before Anaide could even finish her sentence.

“There’s still… a lot of work I have left to do.”

“Yeon.”

A look of pity crossed Anaide’s eyes.

“You don’t have to carry everything on your shoulders.”

“Yes, that’s right. I don’t have to carry everything.”

I answered with a faint smile.

“But, I want to carry as much as I can.”

And…

Difficult and painful, she says.

That’s exactly my taste.

I swallowed the thoughts that I couldn’t bring myself to say out loud.

“Haa…”

Anaide let out a deep sigh.

“Yeah. I knew you’d say that.”

She smiled faintly, as if she had resigned herself to something, but as if she couldn’t help it.

“Then.”

As she raised her hand, the magic circle in front of me activated with a roar.

The golden hole rotated fiercely, sucking in the pitch-black space.

It hadn’t been long since I left Terra.

But thinking about going back, it felt like returning to my hometown after a long time.

Beyond the fluctuating gate, familiar scenery slowly began to take shape.

The gray dawn air, the smell of soil and grass, and…

Kwaang—!

A sudden loud noise and a wave of Mana that erupted from beyond the gate shook my body violently.

What is it?

The scenery beyond the gate was a complete mess.

And within it…

A familiar face slowly came into view.

But a human I didn’t want to see at all.

“Isaac… Bennett…?”

That face, which was not welcome at all, was being relentlessly battered by the magic that a red-haired woman was pouring out.

Should I help him…?

It’s none of my business whether he lives or dies.

But I need his help for now anyway.

I had told Isaac in advance that there would be a big incident during the midterm exams.

The fact that he remembered that and showed up like this…

It seems he’s not a completely heartless human after all.

And next to him.

Another fight caught my eye.

The crimson flames that Lagriel was spewing and the sword energy that a young, gray-haired swordsman was wielding were mixed together, turning the surrounding forest into ashes.

Who is he…?

Gray hair.

Red eyes.

And even that imposing aura.

Strangely… his appearance reminded me of Isaac Bennett, that bastard.

I frowned without realizing it.

I felt… disgusted.

“Those guys are the ones who were bullying you, right?”

I turned my head at the sudden question, and Anaide, who had already come to my side, was looking down at the battlefield with a dissatisfied expression.

“…Well, you could say that.”

At my answer, Anaide put her chin in her hand and pondered for a moment.

“I don’t… want to help them.”

“……”

“But I can’t just let them die.”

“Haa…”

She reluctantly raised her hand and began to gather Mana.

Author’s Note

I will normalize the serialization cycle again after this week…