Ch.130Traitor (1)

Like the lingering afterimage of midwinter, the night of the banquet had passed.

The academy returns once more to its daily routine.

With the one-night celebration of the new semester concluded, the short but intense two-week vacation had come to an end.

It was the season when resumed studies and schedules gave students headaches.

Even the relatively relaxed atmosphere on campus gradually reverts to a fierce competitive arena.

The second chapter begins.

Peacefully.

And quietly.

“I’ve processed all the documents you handed over.”

“Ah… thank you.”

That daily routine included me as well.

It was a peaceful atmosphere after a long time.

As I handle faculty work as usual, the woman in the seat next to me taps my shoulder.

Before I can turn around, a teacup appears on my desk.

A warmth filled with fragrance.

I tilt my head curiously.

“Black tea…?”

“It’s cold outside. My skills are terrible, but I brewed some.”

“For someone who says that, it smells quite good. I had no idea you were knowledgeable about tea.”

“This is the first time I’ve served it to anyone.”

“So I’m your first again.”

“Does that make you happy?”

“Of course.”

A naturally flowing conversation.

After the banquet.

Our relationship had changed, if only slightly.

The distance between us had narrowed, you could say.

Her characteristically cold and lifeless atmosphere remained, but her attitude toward me had softened somewhat.

Her once rigid way of speaking had noticeably relaxed since that day.

A feeling of growing slightly closer.

We continue our work side by side.

“By the way… it seems the workload has increased significantly.”

“It’s a busy time, one way or another.”

The beginning of the winter semester.

It was the busiest time of year for the academy.

Especially since there were many dates that overlapped with external organizations’ schedules, internal staff were frequently dispatched outside, making this the time when the academy was most empty.

It was so bad that even among faculty members, its notorious reputation was well-known.

A hectic week in various ways.

‘Was that why?’

There were also packs of wolves waiting to exploit such gaps.

An event that would mercilessly trample daily life.

None other than the first attack to occur at the academy.

In the original story, it was the starting signal for the real waves to begin, and also the moment when the previously faint nightmare would directly arrive.

Even the brief peace would be shattered to pieces.

The storm would finally rage.

‘Just a few days away now.’

A story approaching right before our eyes.

Perhaps, as I await the beginning of disaster, I needed to make various preparations on my end as well.

One misstep and I would slip right down.

As I briefly ruminate on thoughts of catastrophe, the woman sitting nearby softly calls my name.

Her voice somewhat flustered.

“Student Judas?”

“Yes?”

She was looking at the snake.

More precisely, at the hand that was stroking her purple hair.

Swish, swish-

“…What is this?”

“Ah.”

I belatedly realize.

Recently, I’d received many requests to pat heads here and there, and having grown accustomed to it, my hand seemed to have moved on its own.

I gently remove my hand from her soft hair.

Perhaps she was quite perplexed.

Selena wore a blank expression.

I add an awkward excuse.

“It’s a habit… I apologize. I was being rude.”

“No… I wasn’t particularly offended. I was just surprised by the unexpected action. There’s no need for an apology.”

“Then may I continue?”

“Please refrain from that.”

“How disappointing.”

A playfully returned response.

The woman who had been staring at me intently now mutters in a faint volume.

It was her own impression that slipped out unconsciously.

“Student Judas, you’re strange.”

“Hmm?”

“How should I put it… I feel comfortable when I’m with you, and oddly enough, it reminds me of the old days.”

“……”

Old days.

The nostalgia contained in those fragments—was it speaking of your regrets?

The atmosphere seemed to be sinking gradually.

But the woman quickly conceals her gloomy demeanor.

A hazy inner thought.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Do you have something troubling you?”

“How could I possibly have such things?”

“One never knows. If you do, please rely on me anytime.”

“You really are a good person, aren’t you?”

The drunkard slightly turns her eyes away.

Seeing my smile, her expression gradually darkens.

But I didn’t question it.

From the beginning, this was meant to elicit such a response.

The reason I’m friendly to you, the reason I’m so innocently naive, the reason I’m touchingly docile—from start to finish, it was to stimulate your sense of guilt.

I was manipulating your emotions at will.

With a cunningly teasing tongue.

All under the excuse that it was for the sake of all futures.

I told a lie.

‘So… I don’t deserve to be called a good person either.’

I smile bitterly, if only for a moment.

So you wouldn’t notice.

Covering my mouth with the teacup I briefly tilted, you speak while organizing the processed documents.

And then put a period on the continuing work.

“Let’s stop here for today.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“That’s my line. Thanks to Student Judas, we finished several hours early.”

“Hehe… then I’ll be heading back now.”

I head out of the research lab.

Shadows spreading stealthily.

Darkness settles in each step I take.

The surrounding air sinks instantly.

‘Soon.’

Evil approaching in the near future.

As we were at the point just before its beginning, the remaining time had to be used for preparation.

It was a moment of wandering through darkness once again.

Even for someone like me.

This episode wouldn’t be easy.

***

The academy attack.

The episode that begins the tragedy of the original story.

[EP23. Stirring Evil]

-Blood and malice seething, life crying out for death-

In the original work, this was where the real hardships began.

As if everything before was nothing.

The black magicians who had disappeared after the Great Purge target Gallimar Academy, where the empire’s finest talents gather, to make their debut spectacular.

By awakening the [Disaster] sleeping deep beneath the academy.

A plan to completely destroy the surroundings.

In the original work, it was an absolute success.

‘Those rats.’

An ancient forgotten secret passage.

After long research, those who discovered the academy’s weakness secretly dug in, awakened [Death], and fled quietly.

The awakened disaster utterly destroyed the area.

A brutal tragedy.

After half the faculty sacrificed their lives, they succeeded in sealing the disaster again, but the academy had already suffered irreversible damage.

They had to take comfort in the fact that there weren’t many casualties among the students.

Land splattered with countless blood.

Regardless.

The cultists who seized the opportunity step onto the stage.

To achieve the revival of the Demon God.

‘Many… too many died.’

It was a story beyond mere shock.

Until then, though there had been a dark atmosphere, at most only a few extras died, and familiar supporting characters rarely exited.

But even that unwritten rule completely flipped starting with this attack.

Nearly half the supporting cast didn’t survive.

[Category: Free Board]

[Title: Wait, Professor Rafael dies here???]

Why do so many die in this episode?

I didn’t expect this guy to die too

Damn, feels like about 40% of the named characters got wiped out

Especially the faculty executives, they’re practically annihilated

With the situation like this, the headmaster doesn’t even step up

Is he really such a useless character?

[The headmaster’s incompetence isn’t news]

-> The incompetence for the {TXK1}th season

-> You again… JOAT

-> Wow, future-seer doing your thing again

[Rafael was seriously badass until the end]

-> Dying while protecting students, for real

-> That man’s departure was artistic

-> A true professor… we won’t forget you…

[Nofuckingwayrafaelpleasedontdiejustgetupplease]

-> But the result was a donut

-> A hole right through the chest~

-> Good ventilation though

-> Iwilltearallyouapart

Characters I often faced.

NPCs I occasionally greeted and got along with were dying, so the shock of this episode was bound to hit particularly hard.

That’s why many multi-playthrough players also emerged trying to prevent this event.

But the result was…

[Category: Question Board]

[Title: Is this really preventable?]

I’m a user with over 300 playthroughs

Trying to prevent the attack episode, twisting my whole body

But there’s a problem

The developers seem to have blocked all solution routes.

It’s completely sealed from beginning to end

The secret passage where the cultists break in doesn’t even have its location properly revealed

The altar where the disaster is sealed is covered with some ancient thing so detection magic can’t find it

Plus there’s not enough firepower to suppress the disaster early on

Is this really the end??

Can we do nothing but watch the disaster’s revival?

[I think something might happen if you just find the passage location]

-> The problem is I can’t find it, damn it

[According to the setting, only headmasters through generations know the passage location]

-> But this generation’s headmaster is mute?

-> So there’s no way to find out

-> Ugh, useless as always

[Can’t you just spread all prophecies to the world, bear the restrictions, and heroically die?]

-> I think that doesn’t work because of some guide role for the protagonist

-> What guide? There was no guidance

-> Just Indo?

-> Another peaceful day in Rindo Rindo

[Even the strategy guide guy failed]

-> Well if no one can find it

-> How are we supposed to find what someone streaming 16 hours a day couldn’t?

-> After seeing this post, I tried {TXK2} times

There was no method.

The location of the underground passage wasn’t properly disclosed, and due to spatial characteristics that even detection magic couldn’t penetrate, even detecting an intrusion wasn’t easy.

As such, preventing the disaster was considered impossible.

Even my past life self couldn’t succeed.

Of course.

‘This time is different.’

In this life, there was a way.

A way to save the academy and people from being engulfed in destruction.