Chapter 273: Crossroads (14)
When Lian arrived, the first thing that entered his sight was the Room of Memories, now reduced to utter chaos—so thoroughly wrecked that not even a trace of its former appearance remained.
Moreover, the door of the room, which should originally have been firmly locked, hung open limply as if it would yield without even being touched.
“This is….”
Could something really have happened in the short time it took him to get here?
With that thought, Lian walked inward with a hardened expression. In the corner of the room, Professor Windy May, who looked as though she had been deeply absorbed in thought, slowly lifted her head.
“You’ve come.”
“Professor, what exactly is this….”
“There’s no need to worry. It was already like this before I arrived.”
She added with a small nod.
“And besides, this was how it was originally meant to become.”
“You mean its original purpose?”
“Yes, well….”
Splash.
Lian stepped on something and felt an indescribably strange sensation.
It was certainly some kind of liquid, yet it didn’t quite feel like one. Rather, it resembled smoke… no, perhaps something like sticky tar.
“It’s Ether.”
Seeing Lian look down at his feet, Professor Windy May shrugged.
As always, she floated in the air, so there was no chance of her stepping on it like Lian.
“Ether.”
Though it was called Ether, Lian knew well that the term was often used as a blanket name for things whose true nature was unknown or too ambiguous to explain clearly.
In other words, it meant that even she found it difficult to explain—or that even if she explained it, Lian probably wouldn’t understand.
“It flowed out when the reservoir burst. It won’t harm the body or the mind, but there’s no benefit in staying in contact with it for too long, so be careful.”
“Understood, Professor.”
Professor Windy May gestured toward him.
Lian carefully closed the door behind him and approached her.
The door still refused to shut properly.
“What exactly happened here?”
“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure either. As I said earlier, it was already in this state when I arrived.”
Professor Windy May shrugged.
“All I knew was that someday it would become like this. I just didn’t expect that day to be today.”
“…….”
Another prophecy or something like that?
Just as Lian was thinking that to himself, Professor Windy May stared at him quietly.
“So, what exactly have you been doing?”
“Ah.”
Rarely, Professor Windy May’s expression visibly changed as her brows knitted slightly.
Various emotions were mixed within her eyes, but the most prominent among them was concern.
“Murdering a Cardinal—if things go wrong, it’s a grave crime that could implicate even your family and have them punished through collective responsibility.”
“So what happened was….”
Lian immediately began explaining the situation to her in broad terms.
That the Holy Sun Church—namely Cardinal Bruyent and those who followed him—had suddenly begun hostile actions inside the Academy.
That they had each headed toward the Headmaster’s Office, the Forbidden Forest, the Library, and the Room of Memories.
That Lian encountered one group, and they already seemed to know him and attacked without warning, forcing him to retaliate.
And finally, that Cardinal Bruyent—who should have been heading to the Headmaster’s Office—appeared and began uttering incomprehensible things.
After hearing the entire story, Professor Windy May nodded slightly.
“I had expected that they were harboring some unpleasant intentions, but….”
Her voice trailed off, as though she had never imagined they would take actions so close to a declaration of war.
Naturally, she didn’t seem to suspect Lian of lying in the slightest.
“Would it be alright if I read your memories for a moment?”
“Uh… I didn’t omit or distort anything when I explained it.”
“It’s not that I doubt you or don’t trust you.”
Professor Windy May said calmly.
“Even the same words can change their meaning drastically depending on tone, expression, or small gestures. As you know, what has happened—and what you’ve become entangled in—is no ordinary matter. We need to understand the situation thoroughly and respond with absolute certainty.”
“…Understood.”
Lian carefully bowed his head toward her and leaned it forward so she could place her hand more easily.
“….”
Professor Windy May gently placed her hand on Lian’s head.
Then she calmly began reading through his memories.
“Hmm….”
The Cardinal’s strange ramblings.
The curse.
And the Agents who suddenly attacked.
Up to this point, nothing differed from what Lian had said.
‘But….’
There was a section that seemed intentionally erased.
Without revealing anything, Professor Windy May searched deeper into the memories.
‘…This part is completely blocked.’
Lian heading underground with Lord Valen Zeisho to attend the auction house.
For some reason, meeting Second Princess Velita there and attending the auction.
And Lian discovering something….
From that point onward, every memory from the auction house had been completely erased.
‘I don’t even dare touch this.’
Without realizing it, she let out a small laugh.
Berenistella—now that she thought about it, she had openly hinted that she had some connection with Lian.
It was almost certain that Berenistella had taken measures to prevent anyone from retracing Lian’s memories.
‘…At least it doesn’t look like she did anything strange.’
While she was at it, Professor Windy May carefully examined Lian’s body and quietly let out a sigh of relief.
A faint aura lingered around him, but… it was so faint that it didn’t seem likely to harm him in any way.
“I won’t ask for details, but could you answer two questions for me?”
“Yes, Professor.”
“Are your memories from the moment you entered the auction house until now intact?”
“Yes.”
Lian answered.
Professor Windy May asked again.
“And was there perhaps some incident or encounter that would be difficult for you to explain to me in detail?”
“…Yes.”
“I thought so.”
Professor Windy May slowly removed her hand from Lian’s head.
“Then that’s enough. Since you’re safe, that’s all that matters for now.”
“…….”
Lian looked slightly puzzled at how readily Professor Windy May withdrew.
As if he had braced himself for something but suddenly lost the tension, he stood there awkwardly. Pretending not to notice, Professor Windy May continued speaking.
“I roughly understand the situation now. In that case, shall we head to the scene?”
“What will you do about this place?”
“This place has now lost both its purpose and its meaning. But we can’t simply leave it as it is….”
Even as she spoke, Professor Windy May flicked her fingers.
At her gesture, the room—which had been in complete disarray—began restoring itself as if reversing time, becoming clean once again.
Except for the reservoir and the three doors.
“For now, we’ll seal it as it is. Once the incident is resolved, we’ll deal with it properly then.”
Soon afterward, the two left the room and began heading toward the place where the Cardinal and the Agents should have fallen.
“…Professor.”
“Yes.”
Lian, who had been silent and deep in thought until they exited the building, finally spoke.
“Will the situation become much worse?”
“It will become terribly worse.”
Professor Windy May replied casually.
“To put it bluntly… it’ll probably deteriorate horribly.”
She shrugged and added.
“But that doesn’t mean you did anything wrong, Lian. You can’t just calmly offer your neck to someone trying to kill you, can you? It’s just that….”
She paused for a moment.
After briefly considering what words to use, she spoke again.
“The position of the person who came after you happened to be troublesome. That’s all. Don’t worry, Lian. I’ll help you no matter what it takes.”
“…Thank you, Professor.”
“No need to thank me.”
She shrugged again.
“If the circumstances are properly revealed, they’ll be the ones who bow their heads instead. You might even receive another Indulgence.”
“…Haha.”
Lian let out a brief laugh before speaking with a worried expression.
He glanced at the group of Dragons floating in the air.
“More importantly, earlier I saw several Dragons descending toward the Library.”
“Ah.”
“…Wouldn’t it be better to deal with that situation first rather than my matter?”
“Considering that my other self hasn’t sent any reaction or message, it’s probably not a major problem.”
Professor Windy May looked at Lian.
“Come to think of it, you didn’t know what happened on this side.”
She then briefly summarized the situation.
Behad and Menoruka.
Amaruah and Junongren….
And even Urkubar being involved.
After hearing it all, Lian couldn’t say a word.
‘He ate a Dragon’s heart….’
What left the strongest impression was that Menoruka had fed her own heart to Behad.
In Lian’s previous life, Behad had indeed fought a desperate battle against a Dragon later known as the Evil Dragon, and that Dragon had torn out and bitten into his heart while he was still alive….
“Then what happened to Urkubar?”
“Dead.”
“What?”
Lian asked in shock.
Dead? That Ancient Dragon?
“…Did you kill him, Professor?”
“No.”
Professor Windy May shook her head at Lian’s cautious question.
“He was already killed by someone.”
“Someone…?”
“Well, who knows.”
Professor Windy May muttered.
“So many things are happening simultaneously in different places right now that my mind is quite a mess as well. I don’t even have the leisure to dwell on some unknown being.”
“…….”
“Oh, speaking of Dragons.”
She began explaining quietly.
“I’ve been thinking about why so many of them gathered here at once. And eventually I came up with a hypothesis.”
“What is it?”
“If they made a Vow, everything makes sense.”
Professor Windy May continued speaking almost in a whisper.
“No matter if a child’s life is at stake, if they received a call for help from their own kind, or even if there was a traitor among their species… it still wouldn’t make sense for not only their entire lineage but even other lineages to gather like this. And even if they did, it wouldn’t explain how they appeared so quickly. It’s almost as if they already knew this would happen.”
“That’s true….”
“I assume you still remember what happened with Airos.”
She murmured.
“He made a Vow with a Saintess in the past, and Sage Arpentia acted as the representative who demanded its fulfillment. Because of that Vow, he accepted the duty of guarding the Sanctum for the rest of his life as its Gravekeeper.”
“…So you’re saying that all these Dragons appearing might also be because of a Vow made in advance by someone?”
“It’s only a hypothesis. But nothing else explains it clearly.”
After finishing, Professor Windy May stared up at the sky.
“Otherwise, I simply cannot understand why they’ve been watching the situation for so long without doing anything.”
“…….”
Lian remained silent.
Perhaps uncomfortable with his silence, Professor Windy May cleared her throat softly.
“Ahem. We should arrive soon.”
“Yes. Just around that alley and—?”
Lian’s words trailed off.
His legs, which had been moving nonstop, suddenly stopped.
The corpses were gone.
Even the traces of the fierce battle had vanished completely.
New Elements and Characters
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