Chapter 94: Council Elections (7)
Boom!
The explosion rang out at the end of the battle with Elvira.
“Wh-What…?”
It occurred in the student dueling facility, located in the basement of Ophelis Hall.
The top first year student, Wade Callamore—who had been enthusiastically challenging every top student in each department—was full of energy.
The combat department’s top second year, Clevius Nortondale, had announced his withdrawal from the fight as soon as he arrived at the facility.
Elvira, who was the top student in the Alchemy Department, had also admitted her defeat as soon as all her reagent bottles were destroyed by Wade’s sword.
All of the onlookers that gathered in the basement of Ophelis Hall shouted their cheers.
Aside from Lucy, who is considered in a league of her own, if he defeated the second-place student in the magic department, Ziggs Eiffelstein… then it would be time to challenge the third years.
“Good job, Elvira.”
“Hmpff.”
In the dueling facility, which was now full of dust, Elvira was off in a corner putting away her reagent bottles as she snorted.
“You’re in good spirits.”
“It was a good match.”
“Saying that it was a good match… It’s obvious that you’re just happy you were able to beat your upperclassmen.”
“Haha. Well, I’m only human…”
Elvira wasn’t very proficient when it came to combat. In the first place, the study of Alchemy itself wasn’t a field that specialized in combat.
However, when it came to a match against an upperclassman that was a top student, usually the difference in combat proficiency would be difficult to close. It showed just how powerful Wade really was.
“Either way, next time all I’ll have to do is beat Ziggs.”
What an arrogant statement. Nevertheless, Wade was actually convinced that he could do it. And the onlookers that had just witnessed the duel couldn’t deny that possibility.
Wade’s swordsmanship was definitely not on the level of a first year. There was a reason that he was able to surpass Joseph of the magic department and Claude of the alchemy department to take the place as the top student amongst the first years.
Ziggs, who had been off in a corner of the room leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as he watched the duel, only shrugged his shoulders.
Either way, it was now too late in the night. There was no longer enough time to have a match, so Wade and Ziggs had to agree to have the duel another day.
The duel between Wade and Ziggs was the battle that all of the students were most excited to see. Realizing that the main event would have to be postponed, the students couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
“By the way, what was with that sound and the shaking? Did something collapse from a thunderstorm outside?”
“I’m not sure. We’ll just have to go up and check it out. It’s almost time for the dueling facility to close anyway. I’m sure the maids will come down any minute to tell us to leave.”
Boom!
Sure enough, before Ziggs could even finish his sentence two maids ran into the dueling facility.
Not even considering the fact something massive was happening at Ophelis Hall, Ziggs and Wade stood around, lazily looking towards the door.
“You have to evacuate now! Outside… Something bad is happening…!”
For it to be ‘something bad’… Just what could it be for her to be panicked and speaking like that?
Ziggs furrowed his eyebrows as he pushed off from the wall, standing straight.
“Saying that something bad is happening… What is it?”
“Th-That’s… Uhm… First, let’s just evacuate…”
All the students in the facility nodded their heads with bewildered expressions.
The large number of students followed the maids that were rushing up the stairs, making it to the ground floor. Then, as they passed through the main hall and walked down the hallway, Ziggs’ jaw dropped as he looked outside.
The courtyard was full of ‘bronze statues’.
Though, upon closer inspection he realized they weren’t actual statues. They were the maids of Ophelis Hall, who were frozen.
The time-related Celestial Magic. Time Prison.
It was a time-based celestial magic that could only be used by those highly trained in Celestial Magic.
Even though it was hard to believe, there were people in the world that could copy the Celestial Magic of someone that devoted their entire life researching it.
The number of maids that were frozen in time, stuck in the courtyard… One, two… There were nearly a dozen of them.
Among them, the one in charge of Ophelis Hall, Head Maid Bell Maya, was also there.
“Wh-What is going on…?!”
Wade shouted. Looking up at the rain, a massive amount of magic power in the shape of a sphere was filling the sky.
The advanced fire magic, Scorching Sphere.
The most famous advanced magic in the field of pure fire magic. A spell that could burn an entire area through pure firepower alone.
Less than five minutes had passed since the first explosion was heard. What had happened during those five minutes could be inferred by just seeing what was outside.
The center of the square.
A young girl with her hat pressed tightly down on her head.
A familiar face.
“Lucy… Mayreel…?”
Was she out of her mind?
Even Lucy, who was known to be the biggest freak there was, was still by no means a person that would do such a crazy thing.
However, looking at what was happening, it seemed that Lucy might even be willing to destroy the entirety of Ophelis Hall at any moment.
There were still students inside. If she was really planning to use magic of that level to destroy Ophelis Hall, a catastrophe would happen.
“The word is that the third-year magic department student, Ed Rothstaylor, has died.”
“What did you say?”
“At the very least, that is what Lady Lucy said.”
The maids quickly led the students as they ran across the hallway towards the back of the first floor. Through the backdoor, they planned to evacuate everyone they could.
They continued to explain the situation.
“Right now, the Head Maid and other high-ranking maids have all been attacked, so we are in a state of chaos as well. For right now, all the maids still available have been focusing on evacuating the students. We have to move fast.”
There were about twenty students that had come from watching the match in the dueling facility. For the maids, leading all of those students to safety was the most urgent task at hand. It had to be taken care of immediately.
“Ed… He’s dead…?”
Running across the hallway, looking out the window at what was behind Lucy, two vassals that were trapped by her telekinetic magic were floating in the air.
“Yes. It seems that he was assassinated by the vassals of House Rothstaylor.”
“If it was the vassals of House Rothstaylor… Then… It was Tanya Rothstaylor…?”
“That’s… not something I can say for certain.”
The maids continued to run as they opened all of the locked doors. If there were any students that were still in their rooms, they would take them along as they continued to run.
The group of students following the maids were terrified, watching the Scorching Sphere resonate high in the sky.
“Then, where is Tanya?”
“That… I don’t know…”
“……”
Ziggs, who was following the maids, suddenly stopped. They glared back at Ziggs, as if asking what he was doing in such a chaotic situation.
“Go on ahead.”
“What? Young master Ziggs, the situation right now…”
“I know. Right now, make sure to evacuate everyone.”
Ziggs could sense it.
If Lucy really wanted to, she could finish her casting of that Scorching Sphere in an instant and send it flying towards them.
She was only using it as a means to threaten them, to make them bring Tanya to her. But if all of the students did escape and she was sure there would be no student casualties, she might actually finish casting.
Lucy was in a state where she had lost all sense of reason. But still, she hadn’t let go of that last string.
The reason she had defeated the maids using the inconvenient magic Time Prison was because she didn’t want to harm them. Even if the Scorching Sphere were to be cast towards them, they wouldn’t be harmed in any way as their time was separated.
However, destroying all of Ophelis Hall… By any means necessary, it has to be avoided. No matter how careful and prepared everyone was, it wasn’t safe to assume that there wouldn’t be a single casualty.
“I will act on my own.”
“You can’t.”
“I understand, but…”
“Two of the top students in the fourth-year class have already lost.”
When Ziggs heard those words, he quickly looked towards the courtyard again. Among the numerous statues, he could see Dorothy Whitefeld, the top student in the fourth year’s alchemy department, and Traycana Bloomriver, the top student in the fourth year’s magic department.
How much longer would it take for the school’s faculty to arrive? Ten minutes? Thirty minutes?
Even when they did arrive, would they even be able to handle that monster?
At least inside Ophelis Hall, there wasn’t anyone that could currently take on Lucy Mayreel.
Looking out the window, Lucy was floating in the air with magic power all around her.
Floating in the air right next to her was Ed’s recurve bow. Dozens of magic arrows were already prepared by Lucy. Each one of them was engraved with a magic circle that utilized the power of a high-ranking magic.
The courtyard was filled with elemental magic circles that were all so complicated that it would take three days and three nights just to figure out one.
She truly was a genius that had received the blessings of heaven. He wondered if there really was someone that could stop such a monster.
There in the rose garden, the reckless act to stop the disaster she would create…. Could be expressed with just one word.
Impossible. It would be impossible to prevent such a thing.
Still, Lucy had yet to cross that last line. She was still not attacking Ophelis Hall, which was still full of students, directly… But if she really did end up losing all sense of reason and crossed that line…
“We tried to talk to her, but it didn’t work. She keeps on demanding that we bring Lady Tanya to her.”
“I see. You need to go on ahead.”
When Ziggs spoke, the maid couldn’t help but frown. It was an understandable response.
“You’re too reckless, Ziggs.”
That time, Wade had spoken up to try and stop him. Afraid, Wade frowned as he spoke, blocking his path.
“How are you going to stop something like that…? Just evacuate with us…!”
“When the time comes, I will evacuate on my own. Leave first.”
“Why are you like this, young master Ziggs?!”
They really were the maids of Ophelis Hall, who are always polite and respectful. It was really hard to see them raising their voices.
It was understandable enough. If there were any casualties, who knew what responsibility would fall upon them.
Ziggs bowed his head with a regretful heart.
“I am sorry.”
After saying that, he broke away from the group, running off. It was obvious why he was acting so stubborn.
Because of this current situation in itself… Ziggs couldn’t understand it.
* * *
Boom!
As soon as he sprinted through the door, Ziggs was met with the cool air that came through the destroyed exterior wall. The third room on the third floor of Ophelis Hall, Tanya Rothstaylor’s private room.
Given the situation, Ziggs had broken through the door without knocking. It was a cute, girlish room, but it was also very luxurious.
It was ridiculous to see that the outer wall had been broken open as the rain and wind blew through, but at least the shape of the room was still intact.
Ziggs took off his clothes as he looked around. The fact that the maid, who was leading the way from the dueling facility, was running around meant that most of them had already checked all over the place.
There was no way that she would go out late at night in the rain, so the only place Tanya could be in was her room. The room was already in such a horrendous state that it was difficult to even still call it a room, but there had to be at least one place she could hide without being caught.
A few pieces of furniture were still in good condition. After searching a few places, Ziggs came across a large closet and opened it up… And from inside, Tanya Rothstaylor popped out.
“Uh… Uhhhhh…”
Locked in her closet, holding onto her knees and trembling… the girl herself was in an absolutely frightened state. Seeing her all curled up, even though it sounded ridiculous, she looked more like a hamster than a human.
“……”
“Uh…. Uhhhh… Wh-Why…? Why did things end up like this? Wh-What…? Why…?”
Ziggs turned his head again, looking towards the half-destroyed exterior wall. Looking straight across the central courtyard, he could see Lucy, who had lost all sense of reason.
It was a terrifying sight to see. Ziggs couldn’t help but gulp.
The idea of jumping out and heading towards Lucy from where he stood was impossible to do without courage. Rather, doing so is no different than suicide.
Looking at Lucy, it wouldn’t be strange if he were immediately killed after jumping out and running towards her. It was a natural and reasonable decision for her to hide.
“Listen up, Tanya Rothstaylor.”
Ziggs took a deep breath as he took a chair from the corner of the room, placing it in front of the closet and sitting down.
He looked straight in her eyes as he spoke.
“You must answer me with the complete truth. If you shy away or lie to me, I won't let you go. At this point, I am the only person who can guess what Ed would have wanted. And the only person who can help you.”
Tanya nodded her head.
“Then… Did you order the assassination of Ed?”
A person with a rational mind wouldn't be able to nod their head to that question.
Nevertheless, Ziggs didn’t care and asked the question. That was because he couldn’t quite figure it out.
Ed Rothstaylor had never shown any hostility towards Tanya. In fact, he only helped her.
The unique nature of Ziggs, which came from living in the wilderness, was ringing. Believing in his gut, he had asked Tanya that question. It seemed that Tanya did have some kind of resentment towards Ed, but he thought it wasn't all that serious.
Tanya was in a position to greatly benefit from Ed. She wasn’t the kind of person to stab Ed in the back like that in the first place. That all stemmed from the fact that she was Ed’s younger sister.
That was why Ziggs wanted to make sure of the truth.
“No… Really… I didn’t…”
Tanya cried as she shook her head.
Upon hearing that, Ziggs lowered his head for a moment as he fell into a deep thought. He then came to a conclusion.
If she were to show herself in front of Lucy, he had no doubt that Tanya would die.
Ed Rothstaylor… He wouldn’t want that to happen.
Getting blood on Lucy’s hands, Tanya being killed in such a way… It didn’t seem like a situation he would ever want.
“Alright. I’ll have to listen to your detailed explanation later.”
Ziggs looked back towards the courtyard again. Lucy was so furious that if Tanya wasn’t brought to her immediately, she really was going to destroy Ophelis Hall.
If Ed really did die… It was understandable that Lucy would be so angry.
That was because Ziggs had a vague understanding of just how special Ed was to Lucy. Ziggs himself also felt a similar feeling.
“Listen, Tanya Rothstaylor. If you go out to the courtyard now… You might actually die.”
“……”
“That’s why it’s best to stay hidden here for now. I don’t know where this misunderstanding came from, but… After Lucy comes back to her senses, we can talk about it.”
From Lucy’s point of view, it was obvious that Tanya would be in charge of the assassination. All of the circumstantial evidence compelled her to think so.
No matter what he told her, it wouldn’t be easy to convince her. First off, until she was able to come back to her senses and they were able to properly figure out what happened, it was better for Tanya to stay hidden no matter what.
“First off, I’ll stop Lucy.”
“You can’t do that, Ziggs.”
Wade came in through the broken doorway. Wade had also left the group and followed after Ziggs.
The maids must have been suffering from a major headache. Ziggs felt sorry inside.
“There’s no need to challenge the impossible now. For now… the right choice is to listen to Lucy’s demands. That monster… How would you even go against her…?!”
Wade, who had followed after Ziggs, blocked his path as if to stop him.
“Can’t you properly understand this situation? Right now… That… Who knows what that monster will do if we keep hiding Tanya. Let’s just… bring Tanya in front of Lucy.”
“I do as I want, Wade.”
Wade’s words were reasonable and made sense. Ziggs knew that fact well.
However, Tanya Rothstaylor was Ed’s younger sister. Even though there wasn’t much reasoning behind it, that fact was enough to not overlook the matter.
Also, if Lucy was still the same as Ziggs knew… No matter how much she lost her reasoning, she wouldn’t ever cross the line and send advanced magic towards the rest of the building.
Ziggs decided to trust his faith and stay true to the plan.
“You are making an unreasonable judgment… Ziggs.”
Wade drew his sword.
“Then… even if I have to use force, I will carry out my plan.”
“……”
“Please send Tanya over there.”
* * *
Boom! Boom!
Several more explosions were heard. One side of the pavilion in the rose garden had been destroyed, and a statue that was hanging off the roof had been smashed to the ground.
“Waaaaaaaaahhhhh!”
As Clevius ran behind the rose garden, he started rolling on the floor at the sound of an explosion.
The maids that were leading the students were trying to escape with as many students as possible. That was why the route they were taking was too long.
Frightened, Clevius couldn’t stand it anymore and ran away from the group, making his way back to the back of the courtyard alone.
Clevius, who tried to run away by hiding in the flower beds outside of the building, slipped and fell onto the floor in the middle of the rain. Rolling down the hill, he ended up all the way back at the central courtyard.
“……”
“…Eeek…!”
Lucy, who was surrounded by an unbelievable level of magic power, glanced down at Clevius from the air.
However, showing her disinterest and no intention to attack him, Lucy completely ignored Clevius.
That was because Lucy already knew Clevius’ cowardly temperament well.
Clevius, who was barely able to get up with his trembling legs, screamed as he ran away.
“Uaaaaaaaaak!”
Clevius ran behind Lucy as he escaped from Ophelis Hall. He didn’t have anywhere to go, but he didn’t want to stay in such a dangerous place.
If you could escape, then you had to. That was Clevius’ first rule.
“Really… What the fuck…? Why…? Why is this happening…? Shit…. Fuck…! I didn't come to Silvenia for this! Is there really no moment of peace in my life?! Fuck this! Fuck all of this…!!!”
Clevius continued to tremble as he spouted nonsense and ran away. After making it to the exit of the rose garden, Clevius fell back down onto the ground.
Splash!
Shwaaaaaaaa!
Clevius, who had collapsed onto the ground in an unsightly manner, stretched out his body as he lay in the rain.
The pouring rain fell onto Clevius.
“Seriously… If something like that suddenly shows up… Of course, I’m going to be fucking afraid… Seriously… Fucking… Shit… Fuck…”
Laying down, he thought of what his body looked like. He had been completely drenched from running away in the rain, and after hiding in the flowerbeds and rolling down the hill, he was also covered in mud.
He already looked gloomy but seeing how he was drenched in water and mud, he couldn’t look any more pathetic than that.
“Seriously… What the fuck…?”
Laying down on his back, Clevius clenched his teeth as he wiped his face, which was covered in rainwater.
But he couldn’t move his feet. He was completely out of strength. Clevius wiped his face again as he laid still, spitting out profanity over and over again.
“What are you doing, stupid Clevius?”
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from beyond the rain. It was Nosy Elvira, the alchemy department’s top second year student. The one who had just been competing in a duel.
She had been the same since the Glasskan Subjugation. The same old top student in the alchemy department that made fun of Clevius for acting so pathetic.
“Doing this and that… Now you’re lying around in such a place.”
“You… Weren’t you fighting in that duel a little while ago…?”
“Yeah. But I ended up losing all my reagents while fighting. I needed to go and grab a few more from the lab.”
With that, even Elvira had run away from the group.
“With the current situation as it is, who aside from the top students would be able to stop that monster? And until the school’s faculty and staff arrive… Shouldn’t it be at least another thirty minutes? That’s why I decided to join forces with the other top students.”
Saying so, Elvira then kicked Clevius in the shin.
“It seems that you ran out of strength in your legs. When you get your strength back, you should run towards the education district. If there are any faculty still there, you should call them, too.”
Most of the high-ranking faculty members working late at night were still out in the northern cliffs, investigating the incident.
They were extremely far away, and since Ophelis Hall was originally managed independently by the maids, their system in case of emergencies wasn’t closely linked.
It was obvious that it would take longer than thought until the school’s faculty would arrive.
Elvira also thought it would be difficult to fix the situation right away. Despite that, she ran off towards the lab with her bag full of alchemy-related things.
Elvira ran away as Clevius was once again left alone… Laying on his back, he stared up at the rain falling down on him.
“……”
“Seriously… What the fuck…?”
“You pathetic bastard… useless piece of shit… You… fucking… ugly bastard…”
Clevius couldn’t do anything other than lay down in the rain for a while.
He clenched his teeth and as he used his clenched fists to press down on his eyes.
* * *
“Ed!”
Yennekar ran into the cave where the campfire was lit.
Since I was completely out of magic power, and my physical condition wasn’t great, I had no choice but to greet her while laying down.
“S-Something bad happened, Ed…! Firstly, the academic faculty that were here had already left… and Merilda is also on the move… Just in case, I think you also need to move, Ed…!”
“What?”
“I couldn’t tell her… Lucy… the fact that you died… before I could explain it to her, it seems she had already found out…! I don’t know how she found out… But she already knew about it…!”
My body, which was screaming in pain, wouldn't move as I wanted.
“So, what happened…?”
“I think she went to Ophelis Hall to find Tanya…!”
Hearing those words… I didn’t have a choice but to force myself to stand. That… It felt like it’s something I was going to have to take care of myself.