Huge Undead Wyvern roared and stamped its foot, causing the ground to shake ever so slightly.
Whoosh!
In protest, Skeletal horse, Green, cloaked in emerald flames, snorted and shot fire, trotting in place.
‘Hmm. These two don’t seem to be getting along as well as I’d hoped.’
Green had been with me for a while, and now I introduced another pet — Yongyong.
Both undead, I assumed putting them in the same space would mean instant harmony, but nope. That wasn’t the case.
Instead, Yongyong and Green stared each other down with distrust, growling ominously at each other.
At least with me standing right in between them, neither made any attempts to pounce.
“Green.”
Taptap!
Green listened to me now. Very well. It didn’t hurt that I made it a habit to stop by and play with her between my busy schedule.
When called upon, she trotted to me and offered her head for a pat.
Even though she was undead and nothing but bones, her actions were indistinguishable from those of a live horse.
‘Guess it must’ve been a real horse at some point.’
I petted her bony head as I glanced over at Yongyong who grumbled unhappily, pawing the ground as if to say, “What’s with that skeleton?”
But this was progress. When I first brought Yongyong here, she was constantly lunging at me, making things very inconvenient.
After a bit of disciplining, though, she seems to have learned the ropes, and no longer attempts to attack me unprovoked.
One day, she’ll follow my orders just like Green does.
‘And one day, I’ll get to ride these two into the sky!’
It’s a distant fantasy, but I could already picture myself galloping atop Green, cape flowing behind me as we soared through the clouds. In this daydream, I gave her a more vigorous pat.
“Are you two playing nice?”
Whoosh!
Green responded with a burst of green flames and a satisfied trot.
With one last glance at the two of them begrudgingly respecting each other’s space, I turned and walked back to my office.
It’s been three days since I caught Yongyong, three days since my fight with Landgar.
In that short span of time, the continent has erupted into chaos.
The incident at Crescent Academy wasn’t a big deal, all things considered. Landgar caused some trouble, Dean Binuar sustained injuries, but no lives were lost, so the event fizzled out of the public eye pretty quickly.
The appearance of the undead wyvern was the only part that seemed interesting enough for gossip, but without a main body to attribute it to, that rumor also quieted down—Yongyong’s already under my control after all.
Meanwhile, much larger events have shaken the continent:
The m*rder of the highest-ranking knight in the Goddess Church.
The annihilation of the Luna Knights, the strongest knight order in the O’Neil Kingdom.
A sudden war breaking out between minor kingdoms in the western region.
All these incidents occurred simultaneously within one night, spreading panic across the whole continent.
In the wake of these catastrophic events, the small scandal of a vice chancellor’s betrayal at Crescent Academy is all but forgotten.
“Leader.”
“Hm? Got any news?”
“Not yet on Landgar. Yuira-sama is interrogating him, but he refuses to talk.”
“I see.”
Well, I didn’t really expect Landgar to open up easily, but with Yuira personally overseeing the interrogation, I had hoped for a bit more progress.
“Anything else?”
“It seems your suspicion was correct, Leader.”
“Really?”
Ever since Addison entered my office, her expression gave away that something big was up.
She took a deep breath before continuing.
“First, the m*rder of the high knight in the Goddess Church—no evidence.”
“No evidence?”
“Yes. There are signs of a battle, but nothing specific to identify the culprit.”
“Hmm.”
“And the Luna Knights’ demise in the O’Neil Kingdom?”
“Hmm. They’re trying to cover it up, but it seems like black magic was involved.”
“Black magic?”
When she mentioned black magic, I couldn’t help but recall my fight against Landgar.
The sick, unpleasant feel of that jet-black mana wrapping around me like tentacles. Definitely not the kind of mana one easily defends against.
Had it not been for my gloves, I might’ve been in a world of trouble.
Black magic has a nature that cannot be countered directly, leaving even the most well-prepared individuals vulnerable the first time they face it.
Makes sense, then, that the Luna Knights were wiped out by it.
“It’s hard to confirm, but word about black magic is floating around. However, no talk of the undead.”
“I figured as much. Could they all be the work of the same group?”
“Yes. Especially considering the assassination that triggered the western war also involved black magic.”
Of course. It all tied together neatly.
Four major incidents rocking the continent all happening in one night. Even if the m*rder in the Goddess Church is unrelated, the other three definitely share a common thread.
Black magic.
*
“Alright, let’s have a vote.”
With both the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor absent from the academy, the decision-making authority falls to the academy’s most senior professor, Camilla.
Camilla stood in front of a gathered circle of professors and, in a commanding tone, raised her hand.
From her gesture, a small bag appeared mid-air, floating into the center of the room.
“In this bag, please write and submit your vote. Choose either Yes or No.”
Mumble mumble…
After Camilla’s order, murmurs filled the room.
“Young Professor Amillion, how do you plan to vote?”
“I’ll…support Yes.”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Amillion responded, though they had already made up their minds.
“The incident has been resolved, no major damage was incurred, and nothing else has happened since. If we can just get through to the closing ceremony, it will all be fine.”
“Mm.”
Cassius, who asked the question, tilted his head, clearly surprised by Amillion’s response.
The situation is dire: the Chancellor is out due to injury, the Vice Chancellor is arrested for treason, and yet Professor Camilla has convened a meeting to make a decision—about the academy festival, no less.
With the recent incidents, continuing the festival seems foolhardy. But should it be ‘suspended’ or simply ‘ended?’
It might seem like a trivial difference in wording, but the professors gathered knew this decision mattered.
Externally, it would just seem like the academy festival was cut short due to an outside attack.
History, however, paints a different picture. If the festival is officially ‘suspended,’ the records would read: “The academy festival was suspended due to attack.”
On the other hand, if the festival is simply ‘ended’ by pushing through to the closing ceremony, the narrative changes: “Despite the attack, the academy festival was successfully completed.”
“Won’t gathering all the students in one place again be dangerous, given what happened?”
“It’s a valid concern. But with enhanced security measures in place, we can mitigate the risks. Plus, three out of the six great families have already volunteered to help with patrols.”
“Hmm…”
Indeed, having the St. Claire, Bernstein, and Prisis families united to protect the academy gives some reassurance. Even the strongest enemies would think twice before facing the collective might of these three great families.
“Understood.”
Cassius, seeing Amillion’s unwavering stance, finally nodded in agreement, dropping his own vote into the floating bag.
Amillion, watching the action, frowned lightly. Normally, they would’ve voted for ‘suspension,’ without a second thought.
After all, there was damage, two buildings destroyed, and the Chancellor injured. Why insist on hosting a ceremonial closing event under these conditions?
This wasn’t in alignment with Amillion’s personal beliefs.
Amillion opted for continuing the festival and moving forward to the ending ceremony for one reason only—Yuria and Ryu’s request.
For some reason, these two had expressed their wish to see the festival go out with a proper end.
Perhaps even this meeting itself was initiated thanks to Yuria’s influence behind the scenes.
‘It’ll be fine. Yuria knows what she’s doing.’
Amillion placed their trust in Yuria Prisis, especially after witnessing the incredible wall of ice summoned that day.
The thought brought some peace of mind.
‘And besides, we’ve captured Vice Chancellor Landgar. If what Yuria says is true, he was part of the organization she’d been tracking for a very long time. They shouldn’t be able to cause any more trouble.’
Amillion firmly reminded themselves of this as they nodded in agreement.
“Now that the votes are in, time to wrap it up.”
The professors’ decisions were collected quicker than expected.
After observing the tone of the room, Amillion was fairly confident that the festival would indeed see its proper ending, just as Yuria and Ryu had hoped.
