83. The Neverending Night (1)

“All students are to gather at the Ereln Hall! Alchemy Department students, join them!”

I issued the order to the students. Their faces were tense, but thankfully, not as fearful.

‘Good thing I reacted quickly.’

It was an emergency situation with no instructors or professors present. Just moments ago, these students were caught up in the festive atmosphere.

I looked around. The time had already passed 6 AM. It was heading towards summer after spring, so the sun should have been rising. But this place was still night.

This place, turned into a Dungeon by the Witch Cross Society’s barrier, had even altered reality and time. And in this never-ending night, it was I who had to lead the students.

After giving the instructions to the students, I moved inside Ereln Hall and fell into thought. I felt a headache coming on.

‘Huu… this headache keeps…’

I wasn’t nervous, but I was responsible for the lives of all the students remaining in the Magic Combat Training. And as long as I stood above them, I had no intention of losing even a single person under my command.

‘Like my ancestor, Sword Empress Aylin would have.’

Aylin, who led the last stand of Essenmund as a Frontier Count. She didn’t want to lose a single subordinate. That sincerity was conveyed to me as well.

But in the end, that last stand sacrificed all their lives to send Aylin to Graiel.

The Polar Night of First Enlightenment was created from that despair, and the Ultimate Enlightenment of White Night finally bloomed to not let those lives be in vain.

White Night was Aylin’s requiem dedicated to the sacrificed.

‘Is it time for me to consider the weight of those lives too?’

Of course, the remaining students weren’t the last stand of Essenmund, but right now, they all believed in me.

If so, I, as a member of the Reinhardt family and representing the Pantheon that contained my mother Agnes’s will, had a duty to repay that expectation in the position of representing the Pantheon’s students.

‘Now that the Pantheon has been turned into a Dungeon like this, even if the weight is different, it’s the same as Aylin’s situation.’

So, I would make sure that not a single student lost their life.

As expected, Agnes’s Rosary emitted a light green glow. It meant my thoughts were correct. And this Rosary was calming the terrible headache I had been feeling since the Magic Combat Training began.

‘But this headache… why is it happening?’

Especially as the barrier surrounding the Pantheon was completed, the headache worsened. The Pantheon had already become a Dungeon, and the overflowing Demon Power all around seemed to be affecting me.

‘Could it be the voice? Does that voice have something to do with me?’

It felt like the screams of demonic beasts were echoing in my head. And it felt like that voice was talking to me.

I shook my head violently. I felt like I should never listen to that voice. Fortunately, Agnes’s Rosary, with its mental stabilization, was making the voice and headache disappear.

At that moment, Erti on my finger buzzed.

[Yulian. Time… may be running out.]

[What do you mean, Erti?]

[I’m not the main body of Ciertia either, so I can’t explain it exactly. It’s just a feeling…]

[Are you talking about the destruction of the Isrand continent?]

[No. Not Isrand… it seems to be about you…]

Along with the shining Rosary, Erti told me.

[This item left by Agnes seems to be reaching its limit too. It’s only because you’re wearing me that the Divine Power contained in the Rosary is still being maintained…]

[Limit? Could you explain in more detail?]

[It’s just a premonition. But you are the one and only being who holds the will of Jedin and Yunir together. So the will of that child contained in the Rosary is just saying, “Believe in yourself.” Your destiny and mission…]

My mission was to revive the Holy Sword and ascend to the Demon King. Erti agreed with my thoughts.

[Erti?]

And at that moment, Erti fell silent. No, rather than being silent, it seemed like she was focusing all her power on helping the Rosary calm my headache.

‘The fact that the Holy Sword Erti said this means…’

I had a feeling that something ominous, not just Reinhardt’s blood and the Demon King’s blood, might be inside me.

‘The delinquent Yulian. So the reason he changed like that… it clearly means there was some kind of trigger.’

I heard that he wasn’t that much of a delinquent when he was young. But at some point, the owner of my body, whose nature had worsened to the point where even Frontier Count Wilhelm couldn’t control him.

And now that I was already nearing synchronization with that Yulian.

The reason he was a delinquent beyond common sense might not just be due to his personality, but something more.

At that time, Agnes’s Rosary resonated again. As if saying it was okay. As if telling me not to worry. It felt like I could hear a kind voice.

And I spoke to the Rosary, or rather to Agnes, about the anxiety I always had.

‘I am the one who stole the body of your son, Yulian von Reinhardt. Even so?’

I asked her with the remaining consciousness that hadn’t been synchronized yet. But the Rosary enveloped me with the same warm light green Divine Power as always.

Within that cozy Divine Power, my subconscious answered Agnes.

‘Mother.’

The warmth of the Rosary. That was the will of my mother, Agnes. Right now, I was Yulian von Reinhardt.

With the help of the Rosary and Erti, my mind cleared, and I entered the conference room of Ereln Hall.

The expressions of the students gathered in the conference room were serious. The unprecedented attack on the Pantheon, and the situation where only the students were isolated without the guidance of instructors and professors. It was only natural.

‘Demon Power is everywhere. There’s no way the Divine Priests among the students wouldn’t feel it.’

The only fortunate thing was that the attack on the Pantheon was carried out secretly at night. So all the students from the Art Department and Technology Department, who were practically non-combatants even though they were students, had left the Pantheon.

Aylin and Cecilia too.

‘So all the remaining students are combatants.’

The Magic Department and Alchemy Department were obvious. In addition, there were students from the Combat Department and Medical Department. All of them were students who had actively participated in the reserve squad, so they were a great help to the combat power.

I entered a conference room in Ereln Hall. All the student representatives and the Magic Combat Training committee members were gathered there.

A temporary headquarters was naturally created. There were students with squad leader authority, especially in the Golden Wing reserve squad, so the organization wasn’t difficult.

‘Those two are serious too.’

Chloe and Rosette, who would normally be growling at each other, were now sitting quietly in their seats.

At that moment, Chloe and I made eye contact. And I was puzzled by the look in her eyes. No, more than puzzled, I was surprised.

‘Can Chloe even make that kind of expression?’

For a moment, the word “innocent” came to my mind.

Chloe, who always looked at me with shining red eyes and plotted something sinister. But now, she looked at me with a shy expression that was completely different from her usual self.

The shoulders and collarbones revealed above the noble lady’s dress. I could see the back of her neck turning red. Chloe couldn’t meet my eyes and soon covered her face with a fan.

‘Well… it can’t be a bad thing.’

I had already experienced many women, so I noticed that her eyes were filled with affection for me. I was a little embarrassed because of the situation.

And I naturally stood next to Lilia. Lilia was the vice-chairman of the committee. I had a place to go first, leaving the students to her for a while.

“Your Highness Lilia. It seems we should start the detailed tactical meeting after surveying the overall situation of the Pantheon. We can’t set up a plan without reconnaissance.”

“I suppose so, Yulian-nim? But it seems this place has already turned into a Dungeon. And it seems to be stuck in the night. Even if there are witch students who can fly in the sky, it’s too dangerous to send out reconnaissance recklessly…”

“I’ll go myself. Please take charge of the students until then.”

“But that’s dangerous…”

“If it’s dangerous for me, it’s much more dangerous for the other students.”

Rosette answered to that.

“That’s right. Your Highness Lilia. The Demon Power felt around Ereln Hall is equivalent to a Type 2 demonic beast Dungeon at the very least!”

The students in the conference room buzzed. At the student level, it was impossible to conquer a Type 2 Dungeon. Even me, Rosette, and Chloe, who were the best students, had only managed to scout it before.

And Rosette continued.

“So I’ll go with you! If we scout by flying, we can definitely reduce the risk!”

Rosette said what I wanted first. I was planning to go on reconnaissance with Rosette anyway.

“Still… to send Yulian-nim to such a dangerous place…”

As expected, Lilia seemed hesitant. Unlike her image, Lilia was smart and had enough decisiveness as a leader, but her affection for me was too much.

‘She wouldn’t want to send her fiancé to a death trap.’

But my mind was already made up. Seeing my expression, Lilia finally made up her mind.

“Then I’ll ask the two of you. Until the two of you finish the reconnaissance, the rest of us here will protect Ereln Hall together.”

Keuaaaaaak-

And beyond the windows of the conference room, the screams of demonic beasts could be heard. Ereln Hall had already been made into a solid castle form because of the Magic Combat Training, so it wouldn’t be easily captured.

The students’ faces became even more tense.

I greeted Lilia with the respect due to a princess.

“Then I’ll hurry back.”

Rosette stood next to me and greeted her together. At that moment, I made eye contact with Chloe. She also had a worried expression on her face.

Soon, she made a resolute expression as if to tell me to trust her. I sent her praise with my eyes and left the conference room.

The two hurried up to the ramparts of Ereln Hall. Beyond the ramparts. A large number of demonic beasts and monsters were summoned.

It was dark all around, but because of the glowing eyes and Demon Power they emitted, I could guess the number of them.

At that moment, I heard Rosette swallow hard.

“T-there’s too many. The Demon Power is Type 2 Dungeon… at this rate, it’s almost a Dungeon that’s been completely territorialized.”

As Rosette said, the Witch Cross Society had been preparing this plan for a long time. An indicator showing the danger level of a Dungeon. To explain it according to that classification method, the power of the Dungeon boss was at least Count-level.

The scale of the demonic beast soldiers under his command was also at the level of the elite soldiers of a County.

‘They must have been able to create a more active Dungeon through a contract with the voice.’

So those demonic beasts were different from ordinary demonic beasts. Like elite soldiers waiting for the orders of a legion commander. They were thoroughly arrayed and staring at Ereln Hall.

‘There are about 200 students gathered in Ereln Hall. But the enemy soldiers are at least three times that number.’

The only fortunate thing was that the students were on the defensive. And Ereln Hall, which had been fortified by the students of the Magic Department, was truly comparable to the castle of a small territory.

Rosette, holding the Black Magic Wand in her hand, looked at me and said.

“Then shall we go, Yulian! Those guys who tarnished the name of the witch… I can never forgive them. So I will definitely protect the students with you!”

Rosette’s eyes became determined. Behind her, the system notification popped up.