episode_0042

-The spirit gate, along with the vampire bloodline… I understand. First, I will call the faculty and evacuate the nearby residents to the academy.

What started out as a way to bring back a friend who had run away from home grew bigger than expected, and I had no choice but to report it to the dean.

“I heard that if that door is destroyed, the surrounding area will be in big trouble. Is there a way to close it before that happens?”

-The Spirit Gate… The correct academic name is Dimensional Crack. In order to close the crack, we must first know its cause.

The dean said that this is what happens when the medium that connects our world to other worlds goes out of control and loses its balance.

“What if you say mediation?”

-For example, a medium that connects the world where spirits live would be a place where the energy of nature has been condensed for a long time, or a spirit temple.

So does that mean that in this case, Julian was the cause? But it’s never happened before, so why all of a sudden?

-The most certain way to force the crack to close is to destroy the medium… .

“… … .”

– This time, the mediator is a student, so let’s try to somehow get the student out so that he can no longer act as a mediator.

“Okay, but does this happen easily?”

-No, if that were the case, the world we live in would not exist. There are very few people who can unite with spirits like the student you reported.

“Maybe, when this situation is resolved… can I ask if you will hold the student who caused the rift responsible?”

-Um… A dimensional rift isn’t something that can be artificially caused. It’s more like an unavoidable accident, similar to a natural disaster.

I felt a little relieved to hear those words, which implied that he would not hold me personally responsible as the administrator of the academy.

– However, that is only before any casualties occur. If the worst happens… it will be the Empire, not me, that will be the one to bite.

“… I will close the crack so that it doesn’t happen like that.”

-That would be the most certain way to tie the knot. However, if a situation arises where you cannot get the student out… Please think about the greater good and make a wise choice.

The communication was cut off without me being able to answer the realistic advice to keep in mind the choice to save the entire city by sacrificing one person.

“Did the conversation end well?”

While communicating with the Dean, he smiled bitterly at Aria’s question as she took care of other things.

“Well, for now. How are you?”

“I analyzed it… It’s not exact, but I think the limit is roughly within an hour.”

While I was reporting on the situation, Aria used all her knowledge to analyze the maximum amount of time the precarious spirit gate could last.

“Actually, that one hour was delayed by using the sealing magic of the sister here and my miracle.”

Rene, who was standing next to Aria, spoke with a noticeably tired look.

As she said, the spirit gate was now covered with a curtain of sacred light and golden threads made of geometric magic phrases that had never been seen before.

While she was secretly admiring the two people’s versatility, Aria lowered her head with a sullen expression.

“I’m sorry, Eugene. I wanted to be more helpful… but my limited skills, which I don’t know why I’ve been honing, were the limit.”

“I don’t feel particularly sorry. Because I suppressed the dimensional erosion with my own power. Rather, I think they should praise me and praise me.”

“Even in this situation, you are really a woman… !!”

As Rene said, even I, a layman, could tell that the two of them had accomplished something amazing and I quickly stopped them from fighting again.

“You both did really well. But right now, the situation is what it is. Let’s not be sensitive to each other.”

For some reason, I opened my mouth to look at the two women who looked as satisfied as puppies who had been petted with just that one word of praise.

“And now I want you two to go back. I’ll handle things on my own from here on out.”

I also asked them to evacuate safely out of the city if possible, but the two responded with serious expressions.

“What? I don’t like it. I clearly told you earlier. No matter what happens, I can’t send you, Eugene, to a dangerous place alone. Even if it means dying, we’ll die together.”

“I agree. Even if I back off, it’ll all be over once this blows up, right? Running away with your tail between your legs, trying to survive somehow, doesn’t suit the dignity of a saint.”

It seemed impossible to break their stubbornness right away.

There is no time to spend trying to persuade them, and the more you do, the more dangerous it becomes.

“… Okay. But since you don’t know what’s out there, promise me that you’ll put your safety first no matter what happens.”

If you do not agree to this, I plan to use force to subdue you and request your return as a top priority through the communication channel to the Dean.

The two people also seemed to have read my expression as if they could not yield to me either, and nodded their heads relatively obediently in agreement.

“Okay, then let’s go together.”

To save Julian.

***

The scenery that greeted us as we passed through the door and entered the world where spirits live.

It’s not a sight that goes against common sense, like the heavens and the earth being turned upside down, as befitting the name of another dimension.

Rather, it was a familiar place to me. Perhaps Aria felt the same way, if not more so, than I did.

That’s understandable, because what appeared before us as we passed through the door was none other than the mansion of the Dustin Count family.

However, if there is one thing that is different from reality… .

“It’s a ghost mansion.”

As Renee noticed, not knowing that this was Dustin’s mansion, it had turned into a long-neglected ruin.

I don’t know why they brought the ruined Dustin Mansion to the place where the spirits live.

I didn’t bother to dig into it to understand it or try to figure it out, because it wasn’t important at the time.

It was best to just let it go, thinking that this was something that happened because Julian was involved for some reason.

‘More than that….’

From the moment you set foot in this world, it would be best to be wary of the hostility you feel from all sides.

“Eugene.”

Aria also noticed this and slowly moved her gaze, coming face to face with those things that filled the empty space.

“… Spirit.”

Ordinary people cannot see spirits, who are beings from another dimension.

Only a select few people are born with a special talent that allows them to communicate with them… .

Because they were usually called spirit sorcerers.

But in my case, I had a vague idea of what it looked like through a drawing Julian had drawn on paper.

And the paintings from that time also included those tiny beings that filled the empty space.

They were lower-level spirits of the four attributes who had made a contract with Julian.

Intruder! Kill him!

Should I take out the intestines and decorate them nicely?

How about cutting off the limbs and replacing them?

It’s annoying, so let’s just kill them all!

Of course, I ate something bad and dyed my body black from its original color.

He spoke words that were so hard to believe they came out of the mouth of a spirit.

“… When I hear what they say, it sounds more evil than the devil in the Bible, right?”

Aria and I could only express silent agreement at Rene’s words, which were accompanied by a furrowed brow.

“This is the first time I’ve seen it with my own eyes, but the spirits are originally good beings that the goddess invited to maintain nature after creating the world… .”

I don’t know why such a bad vibe comes from such a being.

As she was pondering such questions, the spirits also looked at her in an eerie unison, as if they were exchanging opinions and making a decision.

I’ve decided! Let’s exterminate all the uninvited, rude intruders! Women too! Men too! Kill them all!

There was a woman who reacted surprisingly sensitively to that decision, which was somewhat expected given the current mood.

“… How arrogant of you to kill someone in front of me right now?”

As Aria opened her eyes and began to draw on her mana, her white hair and the hem of her uniform skirt fluttered.

“You’re the ones who are talking nonsense without even knowing the subject of death.”

When the flow of mana felt from her reached its peak, the entire space was heavily weighed down by the overwhelming mana.

The moment after Aria, who was reciting the spell with her lips quivering, finished reciting it.

Meteor.

Above the heavens of the spirit world where the concept of heaven does not exist.

Kugugugugugu―!!

A massive asteroid crashed through the sky and began to fall.

Gyaaaah!! Stop it! You have to stop it!

That kid is hurt! That kid might get hurt!

You can’t get sick! You can’t get hurt!

Then the spirits clung to the falling asteroid, making a noise that was difficult to understand… .

BAM! KRAW! KWAKWAKWANG!

It took the bold step of self-destructing, slowly eating away at the asteroid, and trying to somehow reduce the aftermath.

Eventually, when the asteroid hit the ground, it was a fraction of its original size.

“… … .”

The spirits that had filled the air had completely disappeared.

“Let’s go.”

I swallowed the strangely bitter aftertaste and headed toward the Dustin family’s front gate.