“… Doesn’t look like my help is needed here either.”
Kwaaaang- Kwaaaang!
A sound unlike any clashing of sword and bone resonated through the air as Erika carefully landed on the roof, dodging the scattered debris.
The leader was engaged in an intense battle with an Undead Wyvern.
Well, “battle” might be too strong a word…
It felt more like… “taming,” perhaps?
“Hm…”
The imposing d*ath Knight that had been riding the Undead Wyvern had already disappeared.
That… thing stuck over there was probably the d*ath Knight.
The leader was still playing around with the now-riderless Undead Wyvern.
Kwaaang-!
“Wow, you’ve got some stamina.”
As the Wyvern’s claw made contact with the Black Shadow Sword, black mana flickered momentarily.
Clearly holding back, the leader was basically just playing with the Wyvern.
“Leader!”
“Yeah? Is everything cleared below?”
“Yup. Yuria’s probably handling everything.”
“Good. This went smoother than expected, huh?”
‘If you can call this “smooth”…’
Hadn’t things already gone pear-shaped the moment the Wyvern crashed into the building?
Swallowing her thoughts, Erika shouted towards the now-relaxed leader.
“Let’s wrap this up and go? No need to stay out here longer than we have to.”
“That’s true. Any sign of Landgar?”
“Nah. Not just around here, but I can’t sense him anywhere within the Academy either. Looks like he fled after the plan failed.”
“Hm?”
Erika cautiously re-focused her senses to double-check for the Vice Chancellor’s presence.
Still nothing.
“Is he not in the Vice Chancellor’s office either?”
“Yup. Even after checking the entire Academy…”
“Hm?”
On a whim, Erika focused specifically on the building containing the Vice Chancellor’s office.
It was odd.
While the magical pulse had certainly passed through, it was like it had skimmed over something…
“Wait, what is it?”
“Hold on. Something feels off…”
Erika closed her eyes and spread her mana more delicately, focusing exclusively on the Vice Chancellor’s office area.
Shwooosh-
“There’s something… masking it.”
“Leader.”
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“It seems like some kind of barrier is up around the Vice Chancellor’s office. Sophisticated enough to fool detection magic.”
“…”
Erika nodded.
The anomaly was incredibly subtle, something most people probably wouldn’t have noticed.
As Erika’s expression tightened, so did the leader’s.
“Thought this was too easy.”
“Shall we check it out?”
“Yup. Let me just… deal with Yongyong.”
“Yongyong?”
Uuuung-
Erika’s question was immediately answered when the leader reached out toward the oncoming Undead Wyvern, which then vanished in a manner suggesting it had been tucked away somewhere.
“Tch. Really? At a time like this…”
“I’ll go alone, just in case. If they attack while I’m gone, you’ll need to handle it.”
“Got it.”
While Erika nodded, the leader had already disappeared.
Looking around, Erika noted with mild surprise that aside from the initial Wyvern’s body slam, the surrounding area was surprisingly intact.
The only real damage was where the d*ath Knight had fallen.
“Thoughtful of him.”
Had the leader deliberately minimized the destruction?
*
Thump-thump
Emily had rubbed her eyes countless times, trying to figure out whether the past few minutes had been a dream or reality.
Yuria Prisis.
The proclaimed genius magician of the Prisis family.
The one whose talents were said to surpass even the current family head.
The one who severed all ties with the family after leaving.
And her one and only aunt.
“Everyone, this way!”
“Who made this path?”
“Maybe that’s Professor Kelsor? This does look like ice magic.”
“You think Kelsor can handle magic of this scale?”
“Is that really important right now?”
Hiding behind the massive ice wall, Emily listened to the professors’ conversation.
All the while, her gaze remained fixed on one spot.
Since her dance with Ryu had ended, Emily hadn’t taken her eyes off Aunt Yuria.
Even amidst the chaos when the loud bang occurred, Emily had followed her aunt more determinedly than ever.
When someone in black emerged from the room Yuria entered, Emily instinctively knew it was her aunt, despite the obscured face.
Since then, Emily had doggedly followed the black-clad Yuria.
Despite several close calls, she managed to keep up, helped in no small part by the chaos that allowed Yuria to remain unaware of her stalker.
When Yuria broke through a window and headed toward the building entrance, Emily barely suppressed a scream at the sight that greeted her.
An endless horde of skeletons and d*ath Knights were marching toward the entrance.
And standing guard at the gate was another figure in black.
The black-clad woman was deftly wielding her sword to keep the undead at bay.
Yuria approached this woman familiarly, speaking to her in an amicable tone that Emily couldn’t hear.
What followed was nothing short of astonishing.
With a single spell, Aunt Yuria froze all the undead in place.
The power of the magic was so far beyond Emily’s current capabilities that she couldn’t even begin to gauge its intensity.
“Now?”
Following this, Yuria began creating massive ice walls.
From the building entrance, she constructed a secure path toward the rear.
Having completed the ice wall-encased path, Yuria briefly gazed at it before disappearing into the forest untouched by her frost magic.
“Come on…”
Even after entering the woods, Aunt Yuria hadn’t reappeared.
Though Emily knew there was no real need to worry, she couldn’t help it.
After briefly touching the frigid ice wall, Emily stepped into the forest.
The path was lined with countless frozen skeletons and d*ath Knights.
Perfectly preserved undead.
Instinctively, Emily calculated how precise the magic must have been to produce such intense cold.
Way beyond anything she could hope to replicate at her current level.
Thud-thud
Emily soon reached the unfrozen area.
Whether intentionally created by Yuria or not, the forest began untouched by frost precisely at its edge.
And just as Emily stepped onto the unfrozen soil…
“…Emily.”
“Uh?”
From deeper within the woods emerged a gentle voice and its owner.
Aunt Yuria.
Not in her black attire or hood, but in the same dress Emily had seen her wearing at the party.
“Aunt…”
“You need to evacuate.”
“…”
“Come on.”
Ignoring her aunt’s attempts to lead her away as if nothing had happened, Emily spoke up.
“I saw everything.”
“…”
Looking at her aunt who showed no signs of attempting to deny or explain, Emily understood.
“Had you anticipated this?”
After so long, seeing her aunt up close again…
There had been so many questions she’d wanted to ask, but the words wouldn’t come out.
Gathering her wits, Emily asked the question she most wanted answered.
To Emily’s eyes, Aunt Yuria had seemed to act as if she’d expected tonight’s events from the moment she changed clothes upon hearing the commotion.
“…Have you been doing well?”
“…”
Emily was momentarily speechless at her aunt’s unexpected question.
Both when she’d asked it earlier and just now, Yuria’s tone had been kind and gentle, but not like this.
Now, her aunt’s voice carried the warmth and softness Emily remembered from her difficult childhood.
The comforting voice that had soothed her younger struggles brought back vivid memories.
“I’m sure it was tough for you.”
“…”
Yuria’s voice conveyed deep regret.
Emily still couldn’t respond.
As a child, all she had felt was resentment toward her aunt who had suddenly disappeared.
The resentment toward the aunt who had left her in that difficult place.
But as time passed and she grew older, Emily began to understand Yuria’s actions.
Hadn’t she herself left home despite having changed her surname?
“I’m sorry for leaving without a word.”
“…”
At Yuria’s apology, Emily nearly broke into tears despite herself.
Understanding though she might have, a foundation of grievance and hardship still remained.
Yet somehow, those simple words of apology seemed to wash away years of resentment.
Plop
“A…”
Before Emily could suppress her rising tears, Yuria moved first.
With similarly trembling eyes, Yuria hugged her niece.
Despite the sharp cold emanating from Yuria’s magical aura, Emily felt anything but coldness.
Instead, it felt warm… even hot.
After so many years since they had last embraced…
A single tear finally escaped Emily’s eye.
