Ch.10Change – 4

“A crazy bitch?”

Priscilla nodded, indicating she had more to say.

“What did she do?”

“It’s a long story.”

According to her explanation, ‘Rosaria Leone de Michaela,’ a potential saint candidate who might soon appear at the academy, was the daughter of a devout high priest, born with an immense amount of holy power.

Recognizing her talent, the Pope praised Rosaria as a blessed child and raised her personally.

From the time she first began to walk, Rosaria displayed holy power brighter than most priests, showing remarkable talent. However, she had one fatal and fundamental flaw.

“She had a cruel personality to begin with, but being raised with special treatment as a promising saint candidate, she became completely out of control.”

Simple acts like beating the serving nuns because she didn’t like them became commonplace, and she often fabricated crimes to accuse others, then personally administered torture-like punishments for her own enjoyment.

The fact that over a hundred nuns had been replaced in the past ten years gave a rough idea of just how twisted her personality was.

“She’s lived her entire life that way. There’s no way she’ll change just by coming here.”

Even at Bellium Academy, she continued her arrogant behavior, picking fights with everyone, until she eventually clashed with the protagonist, Aria.

I guessed she was probably the typical villainess role that often appears in novels.

“She messed with the wrong person. Aria is the protagonist. How dare a supporting character like me try something like that?”

Priscilla laughed with cloudy eyes and squeezed my hand tighter. I wrapped my hand around hers in return.

Aria endured Rosaria’s endless harassment with her characteristic broad-mindedness and kind personality, but Brunhilde was different, and eventually, unable to stand by any longer, Brunhilde confronted her.

“After that, she held a grudge against Aria and tried to kill her.”

“If Brunhilde was the one who fought her, why did she try to kill Aria?”

“Because Brunhilde is a hero.”

Typical strong-weak-weak-strong style, I suppose. The more I heard, the more unlikable she seemed.

“So she poisoned Aria’s water, and that’s when the divine oracle came down.”

It was surprising enough that the oracle descended upon the academy rather than the grand cathedral where the Pope resided, but even more surprising was the fact that the goddess chose Aria, not Rosaria, as the next saint.

Rosaria’s status plummeted from the sole saint candidate to just a nun with strong holy power, and because her past actions had made countless political enemies, no one was willing to help her.

No one except Aria, the new saint.

Even though Aria knew Rosaria had tried to poison her water to kill her, she tried to reduce the severity of the punishment. But there were too many people who disliked Rosaria.

In the end, Rosaria was branded with the ‘Heretic’s Mark’ on her lower abdomen and inner thighs, becoming less than a tool, with her right to life or death transferred to Aria. She essentially became a slave.

“Aria opposed it at first, but eventually accepted.”

“Why?”

“Because no one is punished for how they treat someone branded with the Heretic’s Mark. Would people leave alone a woman with a pretty face and good figure who’s been branded?”

“She’ll pay for her sins eventually,” Priscilla muttered softly.

“Pay for her sins?”

“Yes. She dies fighting the Demon Lord. Like me.”

Despite the Heretic’s Mark, Aria continued to treat Rosaria kindly, and perhaps because of this, Rosaria had a change of heart. During the final battle with the Demon Lord, she created an opportunity with her own life.

She absorbed the Demon Lord’s poison into her body to clear a path.

Poisoned, Rosaria died saying, “I’ve repaid my debt,” as her melted internal organs spilled from her mouth and rear. It was a cruel end, as if she had received her karma in return.

“…I understand. So, such a woman might come to the academy?”

“If things follow the original story, yes. But it’s not certain. As you know…”

“The original storyline has essentially lost its meaning now.”

“Yes. And the monsters appeared too early.”

I wasn’t expecting it anyway. It would be too shameless to twist the original plot with all sorts of unexpected actions, then conveniently hope for this part to follow the novel.

“…But Mira, why do I have to die so horribly?”

Priscilla hugged her knees and curled up.

“Why did I have to die so horribly?”

Her light brown eyes began to moisten.

“That woman did terrible things, but I didn’t do anything.”

Priscilla, still curled up hugging her knees, nestled into my arms and rested her head on my shoulder.

She had mentioned that shortly after Rosaria’s death, Priscilla also died taking the Demon Lord’s curse in someone’s place, so those memories must have resurfaced.

“I was just trapped here, unable to do anything… but why…”

“Priscilla.”

I cut in before she could burst into tears. She answered with a voice that barely held back her sobs.

“…Yes?”

“This time, I won’t let that happen. You won’t go back to being 15 again, and you won’t die taking a curse for Aria. Absolutely not.”

The reason I came here was to gain freedom from my parents’ overprotection. It was only after a considerable amount of time that I realized this was the world of that romance fantasy novel I had only read the prologue of.

Honestly, I thought this possession might be a gift for all the suffering I went through in my first possession. Since being possessed here, I’ve done nothing but play and eat.

‘Not anymore.’

But from now on, I need to change my thinking. I’ll defeat the Demon Lord with my own hands and somehow break this curse-like cycle.

This was for Priscilla, but also for myself.

“I promise.”

“Promise…”

Priscilla was dazed for a moment, then nuzzled her face against mine and nodded with a smile.

“Yes.”

And the next day, we received news that the saint candidate, Rosaria Leone de Michaela, would be visiting the academy in a week.

“What do you think is the purpose of establishing Bellium Academy?”

A female professor with a visibly bored expression looked around at the students packed in the classroom. Since it wasn’t a question demanding an answer, the classroom remained quiet.

“Let me be honest. You could all be deployed to the front lines right now and do your part sufficiently. Sitting here means exactly that.”

Pride appeared on the students’ faces. “Since you’re at Bellium Academy, you should naturally be capable” was an expression professors used quite often, and it was quite effective.

“However.”

Bang! The professor struck the podium to focus attention.

“Neither the chairman nor the people outside expect you to merely do your part. That should be a given. You must absolutely do more than that. The academy was established for that purpose, and that’s why you receive this support.”

Her face briefly became clear before boredom settled in again.

“Your goal is simple. Make numerical differences meaningless. Once the gap between you and your opponent exceeds a certain level, numbers become irrelevant. Let me give you the best example. Think of the Empire’s First Sword. Would all of you together stand a chance against him?”

‘Empire’s First Sword?’

That’s a person I’ve never heard of. I should ask Priscilla about it later. I need to at least know if they’re an enemy or ally.

“Someone who makes numerical differences meaningless. Someone who can change the tide of battle single-handedly. Someone whose mere appearance raises soldiers’ morale. Someone whose name soldiers chant like a victory spell. In my lecture, you will learn how to become such an existence.”

The students, their honor, pride, competitive spirit, and dignity all stimulated by these words, stared at the professor with burning eyes of enthusiasm, waiting for what would come next.

“She really knows how to speak. No wonder her lecture evaluations are so good,” Aria whispered.

“Indeed.”

Students were already quite proud of being admitted to Bellium Academy, and with their sense of honor further stimulated like this, they couldn’t help but listen attentively.

There was a reason why this theoretical lecture, scheduled for the afternoon like a practical session, had such fierce competition. The competition rate was about four or five times higher than other lectures.

Of course, this didn’t apply to Aria, me, and Brunhilde.

The top three students in each grade were given priority in selecting lectures, so we could choose freely, and Brunhilde, being a hero, could attend any lecture she wanted.

Yet Brunhilde didn’t take this one. She said she wasn’t much for theory.

“In other words, it’s also called area annihilation magic.”

The professor, still with a bored expression, wrote something on the blackboard. As magical formations were completed one after another from her fingertips with blue light, exclamations of admiration erupted from around the room.

After completing a magical formation that looked complex and was about the size of an average person, the professor finished by writing the name of the spell beside it.

“Eternal Karmic Flame?”

“It’s a top-tier fire magic. Also the most representative area annihilation magic.”

“Since it’s the first day, we’ll keep it light. This is a test to see how you perceive area annihilation magic. Though I call it a test, it won’t affect your grades, so don’t discuss with each other and just analyze this as you know it. Begin.”

Having finished speaking, the professor brought a chair, crossed her legs, and began to doze off. But no one pointed this out. Everyone was busy analyzing the magical formation.

I glanced around. The expressions weren’t very good, suggesting this might be a completely different concept from regular magic. After finishing my observation, I copied the magical formation and projected it onto my magical tool.

‘Wait. This…’

I paused at the familiar feeling.

‘I think I’ve seen a similar magical formation before.’

I searched my memory. It seemed like a structure I had seen in the world of my first possession.

I analyzed the magical formation, recalling my previous memories.

‘This works.’

In the end, I was able to complete a magical formation that, while slightly different in form, produced almost identical results.

I thought it might just have a similar structure but be completely different in practice. But no matter how I checked, the magical formation floating above my magical tool seemed like it would work perfectly.

‘I wonder if other things are possible too.’

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, my hands moved first. It was a method I often used during my first possession: mixing multiple magical formations to create a spell that could produce multiple effects simultaneously.

I was begged countless times to stop before I blew myself to pieces, but in the end, I never failed. That means I won.

—Crack.

‘Oh, this might work if I do it right.’

Sparks flew from the magical formation. Now if I just adjust the center a bit more—

“What are you doing right now?”

Suddenly, the voice that had been lecturing from the podium moments ago came from right in front of me.