Chapter 108: Countdown to Chaos [1]
While Luina was spending several sleepless nights blaming herself for betraying her honor.
In Gerhard’s mind, the future was being drawn once again.
["People are acting strange!"
<It’s magic energy! They’re infected with magic energy!>
"Are you saying the students made contracts with demons?"
<No, that’s not it. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have missed it.>]
When the content revealed by the prophecy ended, the next future would emerge. This time was no different.
[- It’s Andromalius! These crazy fools, summoning a demon in the middle of the academy!
"We have to stop it...!"
The aura of a real demon, not a demon species or a magic beast, was incomparable.
The suffocating pressure and thick magic energy that came just from its existence frightened Aint.
"Huff, huff, huff...!"
His heart rate increased and his breathing became rough.
<Are you alright?>
Nevertheless, Aint slapped both his cheeks and barely held onto his sanity.
"I have to be. I came here to stop that thing."
He had no certainty that he could do it, but he felt a sense of duty that he had to.
It wasn’t some petty sense of justice or a chosen people complex.
If he didn’t stop it, everyone would die. The continent would perish, his future would disappear as well.
It was an instinctive attachment to survival.]
There was also the hero’s internal conflict.
[- It’s the branch of the World Tree! The branch of the World Tree is becoming the most powerful source of magical power for the summoning circle!
<Damn those academy people. When did they bring it in? No, did they fail to properly manage such an important thing?>]
["Senior! What are you...!"
"Aint Armian. You said it."
To become your knight.
And I had refused it.
"It was because of pride, but not anymore. I’ve come to know you, and your cause."
So this is my destiny.]
[Luina charged toward the demon, Andromalius. The blue sword energy shone brilliantly.
"No...!"]
There were futures that Gerhard already knew.
["...Senior, Senior!"
At the sight of Luina slowly falling, Aint shed tears of blood.
At that moment, the aura that he thought had completely dried up began to surge.
Inspired by Aint’s anger, it continuously welled up like an inexhaustible spring.
<Aint, it’s dangerous!>
It was the power of light sealed in the sword. It exceeded the level that his body could handle, but that didn’t matter anymore.]
There was also a future he was seeing for the first time, but that was certainly hopeful.
"So it really begins now."
Are we really going to fight against a demon?
Even for someone like Gerhard, it was inevitable to feel tension.
And there were also questions.
"Yes. Ariadne Florian is protecting the branch of the World Tree."
Gerhard got up from the bed, grabbing his head. His clothes and bed were soaked as if he had taken a bath in sweat.
"But why did the academy get caught off guard in an instant without knowing anything?"
Ariadne Florian was a character who would become Aint’s companion, so the conclusion was one of two possibilities.
Either she was a demon species disguised as a companion, or she had been overcome by demon species and handed over the branch of the World Tree.
Considering that Aint Armian had a way to find demon species, the latter possibility was higher than the former.
That’s why, even though he knew, he deliberately didn’t mention that part. It was something that had to happen eventually, and Aint had to grow more because of it.
Though he had attached Veriana as a precaution against the worst, he didn’t think it could perfectly block the demon species.
"Young Master, are you awake?"
Knock knock, Hyde opened the door and entered.
"Are you feeling ill? Your sweat..."
"I just had a bit of a restless sleep."
"It seems more than just a bit..."
"Nevermind. What is it?"
"A letter has arrived from Luina Berchef."
A reply, perhaps. Gerhard unfolded the torn letter stamped with the seal of the Berchef family.
[I’m sorry. I failed to keep my promise to maintain the secret. I have no excuse, even if I had ten mouths.]
At the unpleasant beginning, Gerhard’s brow twitched.
[I had no choice but to tell my father everything. About what happened at the academy, about the magic beasts and demon species.]
[I will certainly pay the price for this.]
She told him everything?
What if things go wrong and the future gets twisted? What if Aint doesn’t grow as foretold in the prophecy book?
A person calling herself a knight breaking a promise made on her honor?
’No, calm down.’
Luina is a steadfast knight. If she broke a promise made on her honor, there must have been a compelling reason.
Gerhard calmly read the rest of the content.
[...Do you remember why our family was in danger? The incident where the domain was devastated by an unprecedented large-scale invasion. I didn’t know, but my father had been investigating it.]
[...It was magic beasts.]
...What?
Crumple, Gerhard’s hand clenched as he read the letter.
[In the north, far north of the Berchef domain, traces of magic beasts nesting were discovered. Father thinks monsters were pushed away by the magic beasts. I think the same.]
"...If that’s the case, could it be."
On the first day when he was struck by lightning and learned about the prophecy book, the two things that remained most vividly in Gerhard’s memory were:
The falling Gerhard.
And the large-scale magic beast legions moving south from the north.
"Is it starting from the north of Berchef...?"
Gerhard was filled with joy. When the cause of a problem is known, it’s as good as half solved.
Moreover, the location was good.
If the Berchef, who have lived by battling monsters from the beginning, deliberately prepare defenses?
’Perhaps we can block the advance of magic beasts more easily than expected.’
Just knowing this fact was a significant achievement. Enough to overlook Luina’s breaking of the promise.
’Of course, that won’t do.’
It was a thoroughly understandable reason, but since she said she would pay the price herself...
What should I take from her?
"What’s in the content that makes your face unfold after being wrinkled?"
"It’s about demon species. And it’s not particularly bad news."
Gerhard got up from the bed.
"I need to wash up first. Bring my clothes."
"Yes."
"And prepare immediately. I’m curious about how things are going."
Everything he wanted to accomplish after returning to the family had been achieved.
It was now time to return to the academy, and the moment of the decisive battle was approaching.
In the broader context, this was just the beginning, but it was the first encounter with a demon.
***
If there’s something lost, there’s also something gained.
Due to an unexpected variable, Barosu was seriously injured, and an unexpected person learned about the demon species, but just as he obtained unexpected information from Luina.
"...I’m sorry."
And just as her trust in Luina was somewhat broken, he could gain her sense of guilt and regret.
While returning to the academy and unpacking in Lavidus Hall, a visitor came.
Luina Berchef immediately bowed her head in apology.
"Regardless of the reason, it was my oversight not to keep my promise."
"It’s fortunate that you’re aware of it."
Honestly, if Gerhard were in the same position, he wasn’t confident he could keep the secret either. He had even spoken to his father first.