episode_0349

Chapter 349 – Betrayal

The grand auditorium was already bustling with people.

Looking around, I asked Deborah about something that had been bothering me.

“Deborah. By the way, where’s Ursilla?”

My lovely junior, who had come into my life somewhat suddenly but was now my precious lover, was nowhere to be seen.

I thought she might have gone to her seat early since she was a first-year, but even after checking there, Ursilla wasn’t present.

At my question, Deborah seemed to seize the opportunity, quickly pushing Isis aside and clinging to my side.

“Ursilla? I don’t know. She seemed quite busy yesterday. She didn’t even come to the magic tower yesterday.”

“Really? It must be something important then. I hope it’s nothing bad.”

After enjoying a round of 4p at the mages’ banquet, Ursilla had become close with Deborah and Roxana, often visiting the magic tower.

Didn’t she even attend lectures on illusion magic there?

It was a completely different attribute from the magic she specialized in, so I wondered if it was really necessary, but well, the opportunity to receive instruction from an Archmage of transcendent class wouldn’t be common, so I just let it be.

Anyway, if she didn’t even go to the magic tower, which she frequented as if eating, it must be something quite important.

‘It’ll probably be nothing serious.’

If it were a truly serious problem, she would have told me.

I didn’t think the trust between Ursilla and me was so shallow that she couldn’t even confide something like that.

Soon, we arrived at the front of the second-year line.

“Then we’ll go. See you all in a bit.”

“Okay! A kiss before you go!”

“…Smooch!”

I kissed Isis on the cheek, then sat down with Deborah and Pernia.

Not long after, the closing ceremony began.

“We will now begin the 1320th Winter Closing Ceremony of Solias Academy.”

–Whoa!

Amid countless rounds of applause, the host continued with the tedious proceedings.

It was already the 1320th repetition of this event, but I didn’t know why there was still so much to say.

The fortunate thing was that once this part was over, everything else would proceed swiftly. Unlike typical principals on Earth, our Dean-nim is very prompt.

“Now, we will have a speech from our Dean-nim.”

Just as I thought it, the Dean-nim, as if a tiger appears when its name is spoken [a proverb meaning ‘speak of the devil’], ascended the stage.

“Ah, ah. Students. It is a pleasure. I am Gion Cruise, the Dean of Solias Academy. The end of another year is already upon us.”

The Dean-nim skipped all the useless moralizing and got straight to the point.

Every second was precious in order to protect the heart of the immortal magic beast, Levios.

It was then.

“Senior-nim.”

A familiar voice came from behind me.

I turned my head to see Ursilla smiling brightly and waving her hand.

“Ursilla? How did you… get here?”

“I snuck in, avoiding the Professors-nim’s eyes.”

“What??”

She snuck in here?

Startled, I checked the seats behind me and realized that Leona was gone.

It seemed she had slipped in during a well-timed absence.

‘No matter what, this is….’

To pull something like this at the closing ceremony, no less, where even the Dean-nim is present.

Leona might be a clumsy female to me, but in the eyes of the world, she’s a formidable Vice-Dean-nim, so it was impressive she had the courage to do this.

I was about to flick her on the forehead, but seeing her pretty face, I sighed and placed my hand on her head instead.

“Ursilla. Don’t do this again next time. Understood?”

“Yes, Senior-nim.”

“Alright. That’s good then.”

What more could I say when she said she understood?

Moreover, her motive for sneaking in was solely to see me, so I didn’t even want to be angry.

As if she knew my feelings, Ursilla hugged me from behind.

Her ample breasts softly enveloped my neck, and her unique, deep scent filled my nose.

“Thank you, Senior-nim.”

“If you know, then do well. More importantly, what were you doing? I was worried something was wrong.”

“Pfft! I just overslept. I was studying magic late into the night.”

“Studying magic?”

“Yes. Lately, I’ve been taking classes on illusion barriers from Roxana-nim, and they’re very difficult. I tried to figure out a way to break them, but it seemed impossible.”

The level difference between Roxana and Ursilla was a staggering 200.

Ursilla breaking Roxana’s magic was as unrealistic as cracking a mithril ingot with an egg [an idiom for something utterly impossible or futile].

In a way, it was an obvious result, but Ursilla’s expression was subtle, making it hard to simply dismiss it.

It was as if she was slightly disappointed, yet also hiding a trump card, so to speak.

“So you’ll just give up like this?”

“No. Instead, I’ve come up with a slightly different method.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. If a head-on confrontation isn’t possible, then I can just attack elsewhere, right? Like striking at their weak point?”

“Oh, how?”

“That is…”

It was just as the answer was about to burst from Ursilla’s lips.

“What are you doing here?”

Leona, who had returned at some point, separated Ursilla and me.

She tried to act strict and stern, but deep in her eyes, I could glimpse jealousy toward Ursilla.

Having been in a sexual relationship for over six months, she was now completely infatuated with me.

Though it wouldn’t happen, I felt she would readily agree if I irresponsibly ejaculated inside her without contraception and told her to raise the child herself.

“Vice-Dean-nim… Can’t you let it slide just this once?”

“No. Go back immediately.”

“But the closing ceremony is almost over already?”

Ursilla pointed at the stage.

“I hope everyone has a pleasant vacation. And finally…”

The Dean-nim’s speech was coming to an end.

Other principals might continue speaking for another 30 minutes after saying that, but if our Dean-nim says it’s the last, then it truly is the last.

Even if I sent Ursilla back, it would probably be over before she reached her class.

Leona also noticed this and kept silent.

“Vice-Dean-nim. Please. Just this once, please? Yes?”

“……”

“Please~”

Ursilla, contrary to her appearance, displayed aegyo.

The gap between her appearance and her actions was immense, creating a tremendous effect. The problem was that this effect occurred not on Leona, but on me.

‘Why am I getting so turned on?’

If this weren’t the grand auditorium, but at least a mountain, I might have immediately thrown her to the ground and violated her.

Just as this non-confrontation continued.

Rumble!

The ground shook with a deafening roar.

As everyone panicked at the sudden anomaly, I pulled Deborah and Pernia, who were on either side of me, closer.

And then, just as I was about to embrace Ursilla—

Squish!

Leona’s chest enveloped me.

She chose to protect me rather than alert everyone to the danger.

For Leona, her happiness as a female was more important than her duty as Vice-Dean-nim.

Flash!

Simultaneously, gray and brown magic covered everything around us, plunging our vision into darkness.

And when our vision returned to normal, we stood in an unfamiliar space.

“Where… are we?”

Looking around, I saw that not only us, but everyone who had gathered in the grand auditorium was also here.

As I examined my surroundings more closely, I realized something felt familiar. However, no matter how much I thought about it, I had never been to a place like this.

Leona provided the answer to my confusion.

“This is inside the illusion barrier.”

“Illusion barrier?”

“Yes. It seals the heart of the immortal magic beast, Levios. You might not know, but a year ago, there was an attack by the Dark Cult during the summer. This space was created to evacuate everyone when the Dark Cult attacked.”

“…I see.”

I was once again impressed by the Dean-nim’s loyalty.

They had agreed to keep it a secret, but I hadn’t imagined he wouldn’t even tell Leona, the Vice-Dean-nim.

Well, this doesn’t matter either way.

Contrary to my worries, everyone’s safety was secured, which was a blessing in disguise.

‘Wait. Everyone?’

Just as I was about to relax, I suddenly remembered that only two people were in my arms.

‘Ursilla!’

I had missed only Ursilla at the very end.

I hurriedly raised my head and searched for Ursilla among the vast crowd.

During that time, other lovers shared emotional reunions, but I couldn’t find Ursilla until the very last moment.

This meant one thing.

‘Only Ursilla was left behind!’

Whether she was sent to another space or remained in the grand auditorium, the important thing was that she wasn’t here.

In the worst-case scenario, Ursilla might currently be exposed to the Dark Cult’s assault alone.

I ran towards Roxana, who was talking with the Dean-nim on the stage.

“Roxana!”

“Ruan? What’s going on here?”

“Ursilla is missing. It seems she might have been left behind or transported to another location alone.”

“Ursilla? Can you wait a moment? I’ll search for her right away.”

Roxana closed her eyes.

Although this was a space she created, it seemed she needed to concentrate to search it thoroughly.

Soon, Roxana’s eyes opened.

“Ruan. Don’t be surprised, but Ursilla is currently held hostage by the Dark Cult.”

“Hostage? Is she hurt? Is she safe?”

“Calm down. For now, there are no visible injuries. However, she’s being thoroughly monitored, so intervening rashly could cause problems.”

“So you’re telling me to just watch?”

Was it because I was too agitated?

I unleashed my aimless anger on Roxana, who had done nothing wrong.

Late regrets pained my chest, but my guilt towards Ursilla still wouldn’t subside.

‘I should have held onto her then.’

Then at least she wouldn’t have been left behind alone.

As I clenched my fist, trying to suppress my rage, Roxana gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

“I have a plan. Their objective is Levios’s heart. That means it’s clear where they’ll come.”

“You mean…”

“We just need to go there in advance, set up an ambush, and rescue her. I have a strategy.”

Do you know the saying that emotions are contagious?

Seeing Roxana’s calm demeanor, my own mind seemed to settle down.

Having regained my composure, I pushed aside the anxieties clouding my mind and focused on the rescue effort.

A short while later, having completed our strategy, we left the sanctuary and moved towards the deepest part where Levios’s heart resided.

Thump! Thump!

As we drew closer, the sound of the heart’s pulsation grew louder.

The heart’s pulsation wasn’t just a sound; it reverberated throughout the space itself, shaking everything around us.

As we drew nearer, an inexplicable repulsion and unease intensified.

Finally, I came face to face with Levios’s heart.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The heart alone was 20 meters in size.

Just imagining how massive it must have been in life sent shivers down my spine.

It couldn’t even be compared to the adolescent Behemoth I had seen on the front lines.

Idly staring up at the heart, I remembered Ursilla and turned my head to Roxana.

“Roxana. Where are they now?”

“…Not too far. They’ll probably arrive within 10 minutes.”

“Then let’s set up an ambush right away.”

“Leave it to me. Dean-nim, please handle the decoy.”

“Understood.”

The strategy was as follows.

While the Dark Cult’s attention was fixed on Levios’s heart and the Dean-nim, we, who were ambushing them with illusion magic, would rescue Ursilla.

It was a very simple strategy, but precisely because of that, there was no room for variables.

As soon as Roxana’s magic was complete, we took suitable positions and lay in wait.