71 – A Nightmare Reunion
After the encounter with Sirius, things went pretty one way.
The guy was in a hurry to block Lizerote’s magic, but he let out a rough breath without even being able to counterattack.
After all, the name student council president didn’t come from playing cards.
As with all academies, it is said that there are cadets who compete for the top position in the original novel, and there are also existences that surpass the faculty.
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Among them, the fighting power of Lizerote, arguably the strongest cadet in the academy, was truly unmatched.
Of course, there is a possibility that Sirius has exhausted his mana for the ground work beforehand, but even taking that into consideration, it is very overwhelming.
When I think of how four people, including me, were almost unilaterally beaten by one Sirius in the Wizard’s Forest, I realize the difference in my skills with the student council president.
However, perhaps because Sirius didn’t even have time to escape, Lizerote’s attacks were too fierce for my eyes.
If this guy is the only enemy, there won’t be much of a problem, but there’s definitely a phantom behind it.
With that in mind, I stopped Lizerote from casting magic again.
“Senior, you never know when and where another guy will come out. Please save some strength.”
“Hmph, this much doesn’t even count as an axis of exertion on this body. Don’t worry about anything.”
Despite being dissuaded, Lizelote snorted with his characteristic arrogant tone and summoned the red long spear he used in the first attack.
As expected, bloodlines are bloodlines, so one mana must be filthy.
Having poured so much magic into it, even a decent professor would be exhausted.
Well, if I can get rid of this guy here, it’s a good thing for me, so I have no intention of stopping it.
It’s just that even if I could be the opponent of Sirius, I wouldn’t be of much help in the battle that follows, so I just tried to make Lizerote’s power more intact.
‘The phantom will eventually appear.’
It is a question of when.
Since long ago, when I thought my work was all over, I couldn’t let go of my mind.
Besides, most of his followers are like that, but he has no such thing as camaraderie, so he’s the type to use it to buy time whether his allies are dying or not.
Perhaps he is rolling his head somewhere while watching the situation Sirius is going through.
It’s not an assumption, that’s for sure.
Considering that, I think it’s more urgent to turn a blind eye to this guy who’s already collapsed and find the phantom.
The problem is that there is no way to find the one who is determined and hidden right away, and it is halfway to turn your back unless you finish Sirius anyway.
“Bell!”
“Hmm?”
In the end, I was about to draw my sword, thinking that I should finish the battle quickly with a pincer attack.
A familiar voice came from the entrance where Sirius was holding his back, filling the underground workshop.
When I moved my gaze with a feeling of unbelief, I saw Aden and Marie gasping for breath and looking this way.
What is it? Where is Lorne going and why are only those two here?
My head was momentarily complicated by the unexpected scene.
I wondered if it was a phantom illusion, so I tried to ask Lizerote to confirm.
“You look like a commoner! I’ll pay you back for the hard work you did today!”
He quickly recognized that it wasn’t hallucination at Marie’s words and put on a bitter smile.
The sense of reality in the way of speaking and this crisp feeling can never be saved unless it is the original.
Come to think of it, did someone say that in the original work, one’s senses are the most important in seeing through hallucinations?
Now I think I know what that means.
“You’re late. And what about Lorne?”
As soon as I realized it wasn’t hallucination, the first thing I asked was Lorne’s whereabouts.
Apparently, I went alone to help these two, but for some reason, only the two of them came back.
After hesitating for a while at my question, Arden rolled her eyes as if looking at me for some reason and quietly opened her mouth.
The words that came out of her mouth were far beyond what was expected this time, too.
“I’m dealing with Professor Melissa, who is being manipulated from above. We said that we would stay too, but since it’s enough for us alone, go ahead….”
“… I told you not to overdo it.”
A sigh came out of my mouth when she told me about her story.
Of course, it’s true that Lorne was a late-stage character in the original work, but that’s only a story after his talent fully bloomed.
In addition, in her original work, through her experience of her Arden almost dying in front of her eyes, the shock surrounding her begins to break her shell, but there was not even such an episode here.
That means that the current Lorne has the ability to deal with Professor Melissa.
I can’t help but let out a sigh when I see that guy like a cartoon character saying things like ‘Leave me here and you guys go first!’
But it’s not enough time to go rescue him right now, so I guess I’ll have to leave it alone for now.
Since the old days, he did stupid things sometimes but never did anything dangerous, so let’s trust him.
It’s not like we’ve been together for nearly 20 years as a form.
Above all, this situation itself is the composition I wanted, so it’s not just heartbreaking.
Actually, I tried to induce Aden to meet Sirius somehow at this exchange meeting.
“Rather than that, Bell, that guy… ?”
Aden’s pupils, noticing the existence of Sirius, gradually widen and approach us.
In the original work, except for the members of the followers, Sirius was the only one who knew the bare face of Sirius, who always covered his face with a robe, so it might be a natural reaction.
It’s rare to see a man with such an unusual hair color and pale skin.
Even as a puppeteer, he has no choice but to remember it even more clearly because he has a body that does not age because he manipulated his body.
I nodded my head toward the guy who gradually approached Sirius with a confused expression to properly check Sirius’ face.
“As you think. Aden.”
“…… !”
Arden never told me who her father died.
Nonetheless, when I said it as if I guessed what he was thinking, he must have looked surprised.
Sirius, who had been half-corporeed by Lizerote’s magic, slowly turned his head toward that guy.
The moment their eyes met, Aden’s body stopped in place.
“This is [Puppet Master] Sirius, the man who killed your father.”
At the same time as my sure answer continued and sparks rose in Aden’s pupils that had been shaken.
Serung.
The sword was pulled from the guy’s waist with a sad sound.
As if I couldn’t even hear my voice, he poured out cold flames called anger toward the target of his revenge.
Facing that gaze, Sirius’ eyes were indifferent to the point of indifference.
* * * *
It was about 10 years ago that Aden experienced the death of her father right in front of her eyes.
Aden was very respectful of her father, who belonged to a righteous group that destroyed the remnants of followers scattered after the Great War, and pursued her own path.
Someday, when I grow up, I want to become something like that.
Even if she couldn’t expect a big reward, she once dreamed of burning herself for the sake of many people.
However, like the flip side of a coin, good things always bring about hidden evil everywhere.
Dillard, Aden’s father, was no exception.
In the nest one night that felt only peaceful, Aden fell into her short sleep.
Floating above the clouds, gaping happily, never knowing in a dream that someone would break into the house.
Cudangtang!
What woke him up from his sleep was a loud noise coming from somewhere in the house.
A loud sound, like a closet or a huge object collapsing, made Aden wake up and cautiously leave her room, her eyes flashing.
Like a night guest, she was walking around the house where she was staying, keeping her footsteps as quiet as possible.
She heard the sound again and this time went straight to the source of the sound.
It was the study that Dillard, her father, frequented when he was alone with something to think about.
Kiki.
Looking at the situation on the other side of her through the gap in the door made as small as possible, a shocking view awaited Aden there.
Dillard, covered in blood, lay leaning against his furniture.
Even the thought that she has to help her father is erased from her mind, and Aden is just blank, and there is nothing she can do but watch the scene.
For a child who couldn’t even hold a sword properly, the shock of that moment was so great that she couldn’t even lift her feet.
In her young Aden’s consciousness, even the sounds around her were erased, leaving only her bloody father in front of her and the profile of a mysterious man looking at him.
At that time, she can’t remember what kind of conversation was going on at the time.
The moment when she just couldn’t do this or that, reflecting on her own powerlessness.
She tried to escape by a follower who sensed a presence outside, but she was caught in the end.
Fortunately, however, she felt that her comrade’s safety was in trouble, and she was able to save her life thanks to a member of her death squad that arrived albeit belatedly.
Since that day, before Aden took her own life, she entrusted herself to the society and lived a life similar to them, with only the thought of finding the killer who killed her father.
It was a harsh life for a child who was busy playing around in the arms of her parents, but Arden had no doubts that without that opportunity, she would have taken her own life long ago.
And in the tug-of-war between the fugitive and the pursuer that seemed to last forever, fruit came out.
Arden poured magic power into the sword, spewing out an obvious murderous intent toward the enemy in front of him.
“Is it true that you killed Dillard Feltner?”
“… He was a kid who couldn’t be killed then. Did you manage to endure the death of your father without being disappointed?”
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At Sirius’ answer, which expressed a roundabout affirmation, the hand holding the sword was filled with energy.
Although her strength and stamina must have been gone for a long time because of the passionate battle she had just fought, Aden felt a surge of strength somewhere deep inside her.
Perhaps that is the source of the power called anger.