Part 8
Alexia and the other students left the school building and traced the magic power of the collars.
The ghost attacks have calmed down since then, with only small scattered sporadic battles.
“Who is he……?”
Alexia asks in a small voice as she lines up next to Christina.
“A distant relative of the Hope family. I’m sure he had no talents worth mentioning. But ……”
Christina’s eyes were on Suzuki, who was walking at the end of the group.
“He is no ordinary man. It is not easy to acquire the courage to face high-ranking nobles head on.”
“He was using taijutsu I had never seen before, even in combat. He may have been hiding his abilities.”
“I wonder if there is any reason…..”
“I don’t know. But I intend to keep him in the custody of the main family from now on.”
“That would be good……”
It was too wasteful to let him go unchecked. Besides, he was dangerous.
“You should be careful. He knows too much. He’s like a different person.”
It was Isaac, who had been standing in front of the lineup for some time, who said so.
“What do you mean?”
“About the collar. He said he looked into it himself, but I don’t believe he could have looked into it that much in the short time he was in the classroom. He was also the one who noticed the magic power coming from the collar. Perhaps he knew all this from the beginning. It makes sense if you think of it that way.”
Isaac’s eyes narrowed sharply as he said so.
“He was calm about the situation and the white fog that made him a different person …… because he was the inside man.”
“…… Do you have any evidence?”
“I don’t have definitive evidence yet. But I will surely get it. Princess Alexia, please be careful.”
Saying that, he quickened his steps.
Indeed, Isaac had a point.
Suzuki’s sudden change after the white fog appears makes sense enough if he’s a member of the cult.
If that’s the case, they’re being guided by Suzuki.
“……What a shallow man.”
Christina muttered so.
Christina looks at Isaac walking in front of her.
“Shallow?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Christina shook her head in response to Alexia’s question.
“…… It seems the magic power continues inside of this thing.”
Claire stopped at a small, old church on the edge of the school.
“I didn’t know there was a church here.”
“It didn’t.”
It was Nina who answered Alexia’s question.
“What do you mean?”
“Like I said. There was no church in this place. Not before the white fog enveloped it.”
Saying so, she opened the door and went inside.
The church was quiet, as if people had forgotten about it. The chairs were covered with dust.
With caution, Alexia moved forward to a pedestal-like area at the far end of the room.
“Down here.”
Claire said. Feeling a faint trickle of air coming from under the pedestal.
“Hmph!”
Claire kicked the pedestal without hesitation. But only a dull sound echoed.
“Ouch~! What is this!”
“Magic barrier……It’s an artifact. You need a key to move it.”
Nina said, touching the pedestal.
“What is the key? Where is it?”
“I don’t know either. It would be nice if it was nearby……”
“Let’s look for it.”
For a while, everyone searched the area. However, no clues were found.
“No good. There’s nothing here.”
Alexia said.
“Me, too. Is there really a clue?”
Isaac was dissatisfied.
“We’re running out of time. If we do not hurry……”
Alexia had 500 magic power left, even though there had been battles along the way, she was more depleted than she had imagined.
The students in the auditorium will have less magic.
“It seems difficult to decipher the artifact. I’m not an expert.”
It was Nina who said so.
“There’s nothing here, either.”
Christina and Suzuki didn’t seem to find it either.
Then there was a heavy silence.
All they could do was stare at the pedestal. They were stuck.
At that moment, they heard a small thud. They looked and saw that Claire had slammed her right fist on the pedestal.
“It’s no use, Claire.”
Alexia tries to stop her.
But Claire slammed her right fist again. The sound was duller than before.
“Please……lend me your strength. I have something to do. I can’t let it end here……”
Claire then unbands her right hand. Isaac and Christina gasped at the ominous magic circle engraved there.
“It’s……”
“Please, Aurora, lend me your strength. You’ve been quiet for a while now, but I know you can do something about it.”
Claire just speaks to her right hand.
“What is she doing?”
“Who is she talking to?”
“Shh, be quiet.”
Alexia silences Isaac and Christina.
“Please……please, Aurora……answer me, answer my voice!!”
At that moment, Claire’s magic circle began to glow.
The light turns the area red and carves countless ancient letters on the pedestal.
“T-This is, what is this power?!”
It’s Isaac’s startled voice.
“Open, opeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!”
The red magic enveloped the pedestal and burst.
And then —— the pedestal disappeared without a trace. Underneath the pedestal, a staircase leads to the basement.
“Amazing ……”
Christina mutters dumbfounded. The enormous amount of magic power that Claire displayed was out of the ordinary.
“You’ve answered me, Aurora…… Kuh…… my right hand is aching…… So this is the price of power…….”
Claire let out a rough breath and pressed her right hand painfully.
“Are you okay? Claire”
Alexia supports Claire’s shoulder.
“I’m fine. Let’s move on. We don’t have time.”
Claire forced herself to catch her breath and act strong.
“Let’s go——to help everyone”
Then, with Claire in the lead, they descend the stairs.
It was a long, long staircase.
Because of the darkness and fog, there is little visibility in front or behind. There is only silence and the sound of footsteps echoing.
Eventually, by the time they reached the end of the stairs, Alexia’s magic power, which had been 500, was down to 450.
“It’s a big door.”
In the dimly lit basement, a huge door appeared.
Alexia and the others all opened the heavy door and proceeded.
Beyond that was a slightly open space. On either side were rows of broken prisons. The prison was empty.
“Is this …… a dungeon?”
Alexia and the others proceeded with caution. After a while, they heard something heavy moving behind them.
“What is it……”
Claire muttered curiously.
In the darkness, she could not see what was happening behind her. Alexia turned around, feeling as if she had forgotten something important.
“The basement of the church …… Descend the long stairs and the secret room …… And then the door behind closed”
Alexia recalled the words of the head librarian. The situation was very similar to the present.
“——! Go back. This is a trap!!”
Alexia ran to the back in a panic. But there was a loud bang and the door closed.
At the same time, gas comes gushing out of a small hole in the ceiling. A sweet aroma filled the area.
“Hold your breath!”
But it was already too late.
One by one, they lose consciousness and collapse. And the last one left was Alexia.
“In, in a place like this……”
In her fading consciousness, Alexia saw a boy wearing a gas mask.
“Yare yare, I didn’t expect you to be able to infiltrate this far, Princess Alexia.”
“No way, you’re ……”
“That’s right, I’m the inside man.”
Isaac sneers in his gas mask. Alexia tried to reach for her sword but her consciousness let go of her.
HELP! This volume is incomplete ;’( ... some chapters are missing