Chapter 81: Desperation

“Yes!” Iliya, who saw her name on the publicly listed ‘Exchange Student List’, clenched her fist and exclaimed with excitement. Luca, Grid, Falco, Trisha. When she checked the names of all her friends lined up together, she smiled brightly again. It seemed that the last few days of hellish training with her friends weren’t in vain. “With this, we can go together, Trisha!” “Iliya, I-I can’t breathe!” Iliya excitedly hugged Trisha from behind, causing her to let out a scream. However, Iliya didn’t seem to care at all, as she refused to release Trisha from her embrace. “Thanks to you, I can stay close to Teach too!” Previously, Trisha had said Dowd Campbell would very likely be on this list, pressuring Iliya into taking the selection test to become an exchange student. Not only that, but she also told Iliya that if she didn’t go with him, the other girls would continuously support and pester him. She added that if Iliya didn’t want to fall behind, she had to work hard. Iliya felt like she had made the right decision to follow her friend’s advice. “W-Wait, Iliya. First, we need to come up with a plan.” After all, there were many unfriendly names on the list that was right in front of them. “…The Student Council President, the person you mentioned… Yuria, the Saintess, and even that mad dog…? Wow, this is going to be interesting.” Iliya’s expression slightly darkened as Trisha listed off the names of the selected students. It was true that normally, exchange students were selected based on their abilities, regardless of their year. However, despite that, the list felt oddly crowded with freshmen. Generally, the ‘school year’ was the most basic unit to measure the student abilities within the academy. However, this time, it felt as if they centered their selection around the freshmen.’ Specifically, those people who were related to Dowd Campbell. “That’s why you need to stay focused, Iliya.” Trisha said calmly. “To tame that stud of a man, you need your special weapon!” “…Trisha. Aren’t you a cleric?” ‘What’s with her word choice?’ ‘How could she call a perfectly normal person a stud?’ “Don’t kid yourself, he’s not a perfectly normal person by any means.” “…” “Try asking anyone in the academy about him. Let’s see if they describe him as such.” “…” Even Iliya couldn’t refute that. “That aside, what do you mean by having my special weapon?” “It means you need some unique charm that other girls can’t replicate no matter what.” ‘Do I have something like that?’ ‘I mean, the reason why I became extremely depressed a while back was because I didn’t have anything that could be of help to that man…’ “You don’t necessarily have to do something. As long as you know something about that man that others don’t, you can just start from there.” “…” If that was the case, she did have one thing. Back when Duke Tristan was encroached by an unknown entity and went on a rampage… That man had confronted a ‘monster’ whose form she couldn’t even discern. In a state where time had all but stopped, she vividly remembered the figure of Dowd conversing with it as if he ‘knew it well. There, he pledged to keep everyone from meeting their deaths by ‘sacrificing’ something of his own. ‘…I never asked him about it.’ That event wasn’t something he could easily tell others. As such, there was no way that other people would know about it. “…Hey, Trisha.” “Yeah?” “You know, about Teach…” After getting lost in thought for a while, Iliya suddenly uttered an important point. “I kinda have this feeling that he’s getting along with something extremely horrible.” “…” “Can we work out on something based on that?” “…Why don’t we just slowly think about what your special weapon could be for now?” Trisha was a kind person. And as a kind person, she couldn’t bring herself to shout at her closest friend to stop saying such nonsensical bullshit. “…Hm?” At that moment, Iliya noticed their surroundings had turned unusually quiet. She quickly turned her head around. Only to find out that this phenomenon was caused because everyone’s attention was focused in one direction. And Iliya, who managed to catch a certain someone’s figure in the corner of her vision… Immediately understood why this phenomenon happened. ‘She’s incredibly beautiful.’ Such thoughts came to Iliya’s mind without her realizing. Her height was so short that she could be mistaken for a kid. However… Even in a place where so many people were gathered, the beauty condensed in her appearance grabbed everyone’s attention. Almost as if… She wasn’t the ‘same being’ as others. As if a whole ‘different existence’ was mixed inside that appearance of hers. “…” The student raised her wand silently and dragged it across the names stuck onto the wall. And then Iliya instinctively read the name where the wand had stopped. – 1st Year, Faenol Lipek She had heard of the name before. Even with herself being the Hero Candidate, she was only one of the strongest of the freshmen. And the reason why that was the case was because of this person. When it came to magic, she was dubbed as the greatest genius in history. A monster that even Headmistress Atalante claimed could surpass even herself in magic. “…” ‘So, she was that kind of person…’ But that was the extent of Iliya’s impression of her. Although her appearance stood out, their paths never crossed, so she found no need to care about her. That was what Iliya had thought. At least until Faenol, after having checked her name, frowned while letting out a ‘Hm. ’ As if she didn’t see ‘another name’ that she was trying to find. -… Soon after, she dragged her wand once again, shifting to the other side of the list. Then, her pupils relaxed. It seemed she had found the person she was looking for. Iliya also followed her gaze and read the name on the other side. – 2nd Year, Dowd Campbell. “…” ‘Wait.’ ‘What is this?’ ‘This person too?’ “…As expected, he’s there.” With those words, Faenol smiled. With a face full of decadent allure, she soon walked away. Almost as if there was no worth in paying attention to other people now that she had confirmed that one name. “…” Iliya blankly stared at her, jaws agape. ‘Why?’ ‘Why on earth?’ ‘What has that man been going around doing to tangle with a person like that?’ “…” While Iliya was still lost in her thoughts… Trisha spoke with a stiff voice. “…Hey, Iliya.” “Huh?” “Let’s not get involved with that person as much as possible.” Iliya blinked. “…What?” “Promise me.” “…” At the sight of Trisha’s firm demeanor, Iliya nodded reluctantly. After all, she hadn’t suffered any losses by following Trisha’s advice so far. Of course, Trisha herself had her reasons for saying such things. ‘…I can’t see anything.’ There was no trace of any ‘Color of Emotions’ from Faenol. Regardless of who the person was, it was impossible for someone not to have ‘emotions.’ If such cases were to appear, then from her experience, there was only one conclusion that she could draw. A dead person. “…” Trisha silently stared at the back of Faenol’s head. However, that woman… Was undoubtedly alive and moving. ‘…What is she?” Without a doubt, she was not a normal ‘human’. With such a deduction, Trisha hid her sweaty palms and gazed at Faenol, moving further and further away. As I looked down at the ring on my finger, I gulped. This was only a temporary measure. I had requested Eleanor, who was happily bouncing around, not to publicly announce our engagement. ’ We promised not to let it be known at least until graduating from the academy. After all, if rumors happened to surface, I would be done for. “Indeed, it would only influence you negatively if it became known that you, with your current status, are engaged to a member of the Duchy.” Fortunately, Eleanor also understood where I was coming from. In essence, for now, I barely managed to suppress the bombs that would have inevitably exploded when it came to relationships with other Devil’s Vessels that would come in the future. “…” However, the bomb right in front of my eyes had not been defused yet. I glared at the ticking timer with bloodshot eyes. !!!!!!!!!!! Devil Alert !!!!!!!!!!! [ ‘Devil-Related’ Emergency Event Occurred! ] [ This is a critical event! ] [ If you do not take the correct actions within the time limit, you will de! ] [ Event related to target ‘Yuria’! ] [ Find a way to survive! ] System Message [ Time Remaining ] [ 9: 22: 33 ] No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t find a way to survive. What the fuck did it mean by ‘correct actions?’ In Eleanor’s case, whether it was the Grey Devil or herself, they were both purely filled with favor for me. As such, simply accepting her feelings and returning them properly was enough to solve the problem. However, for this particular case, I didn’t have a clue. [By the way, is there a reason for you to be so anxious about that lady? Isn’t her strange curse being suppressed with the circlet?] “I’m not anxious about her, but the one inside her.” As Caliban had said, Yuria was not a huge problem. However… When it came to her, if this kind of window popped up, it was highly likely that the White Devil would go berserk and come find me. [What?] “There’s a lunatic that would go berserk as soon as she sees an accessory that she hasn’t seen before. ’” […] “If it’s one that was given with ‘affection’ by someone other than her, her insanity would increase twofold.” There was a reason why she was dubbed the Devil of Obsession. The White Devil’s ability to collect information about the target she was interested in was at an unbelievable level. It could seem like the solution was to just avoid her without being noticed. However, the problem was that Yuria was a Vessel that had her Corruption Value automatically increase if she stayed apart from me for at least two days. Moreover, if she felt that she had been apart from me for too long, she would aggressively look for me. And, if my memory was correct… Because of the incidents with Riru and Eleanor, she and I had been separated for at least three days. This meant that the time limit was the period until Yuria would set foot in my room. And the moment she entered my room and saw this ring… “…” The outcome was written on this system window. I would die. But this time, I didn’t know how to finesse out of this…! “…Within nine hours, at least something…” While muttering as such, I got up from my seat. If it was a plan, I could roughly sketch it out in my head. Considering Yuria’s routine these days, she was probably working hard right now with Lucia to release her curse. This time limit probably signaled that she would come after finishing that matter. If that was the case, what I needed to do was… Within the remaining time, I had to devise the optimal condition by taking into account all three manpower and resources– […You know…] Right as I was about to continue such thoughts… I heard Caliban’s voice. [Don’t you think you’re acting too leisurely for now?] “Huh?” [If your words are true and that Devil has tremendous prowess in gathering information, don’t you think she’d somehow be able to find out about this without meeting you in person?] “What do you mean?” [I don’t understand on what basis you think that the lady will come to find you after exactly nine hours.] Caliban spoke with an incredulous voice. [Someone is coming in the corridor right now. A woman.] Chills ran down my spine. As I turned my gaze urgently towards the door, I could hear someone’s footsteps. Though, thanks to Dame Ophelia’s temporary repair of the door, I couldn’t see who was on the other side. As I stared in that direction, completely frozen, I could hear someone knocking on the door. “…Mister Dowd.” It was Yuria. Sweat dripped down my face. “Are you inside? There’s something I want to ask you.” “Uh, Yuria. I’m sorry, but I’m a bit busy right—” “…Why?” Her voice sounded as calm as usual. However, something felt different. Normally, if she said something like this, she would only inquire about the reason with genuine curiosity. But now… I could feel sticky and viscous emotions underlying her sentence. “Why are you busy?” “…” “Please tell me. Why are you busy?” “…Well, you see…” “I saw the President at the Student Council Room earlier. I happened to see her by chance while walking through the corridors of Garrison Hall.” My heart dropped. By the way, Garrison Hall was the name of the building where Yuria and Lucia were always sticking together. It was a distance away from that place to the Student Council Room. So far away that it would be difficult for them to even notice each other. However… “She was wearing a ring on her finger.” Yuria accurately said such a sentence. “…” At that distance, Eleanor would almost look like a dot. Yet, she ‘accurately’ noticed the ring on her finger somehow. Even if it was the White Devil who boasted an almost supernatural ability when it came to gathering information about the target of her obsession, this was way too—! “But as soon as I saw that…” The chill in Yuria’s voice thickened even further. “Strangely… Strangely, you see. It felt like I should immediately come to find you.” Before I knew it, I had taken a step away from the door. I haven’t even seen her directly yet. “I. Continuously. Hear. Voices. In. My. Head. Continuouslycontinuouslycontinuously.” Then… With a Crack… The entirety of the temporarily repaired door twisted. Yuria, standing on the other side, had struck it with her fist. “It said. It said. Mister Dowd would leave me. That you would. That you would. Form an eternal love with someone else.” Crack. The door spat out fragmented pieces, and its shape became crumpled. “You’re not, right?” Again, Crack. She peeled off the entire plywood, creating a ‘gap. ’ And through that gap… Both of Yuria’s hands came in. With a screech, that gap grotesquely widened. From the cracks of the broken door, I could see Yuria’s face. Her eyes were completely blank. The face that always let out a faint smile at me was now expressionless. Not only were her pupils white, but her hair was also dyed in the color of the Devil she was fused with. A white aura that seemed to freeze the entire surroundings spilled out from her whole body. [You’re not, right?] Instead of a ‘voice’, ‘text’ flowed out. The meaning was crystal clear. The ‘evil aura’ entrenched in her body was getting stronger to the point where even the Starsteel Circlet she wore couldn’t suppress it. System Message [ Corruption Value of target ‘Yuria’ is about to exceed 100%! ] [ Confirmed details regarding change in progress! ] [The time limit will be changed! ] !!!!!!!!!!! Devil Alert !!!!!!!!!!! [ Time Remaining ] [ 9: 17: 19 ] → [ 0: 00: 30 ] “…” ‘System, you motherfucking piece of shit.’