The Extra's Academy Survival Guide Chapter 118: Joint Combat Practice 2 (4)
To a warrior, regret was a disgrace.
They lived every single day to the fullest with no regrets. Regardless of whatever opponent they were up against, they faced them with all their might, fairly.
A strong body and a sharp axe. He was a man that could charge in front of any beast as long as he had those two things.
The top student of the fourth-year combat department, Kordek.
He had a square-shaped face with a cleanly shaved head. He gave off a rugged impression with his massive body.
His appearance was so rough that it was hard to tell if he was really a student or a highly skilled veteran that ran wild on the battlefield.
Kordek climbed up onto the arena's stage as he threw off his shirt.
"Kehuhaha! Hey… Are you the magician that's been making a name for himself in that ragtag group of third years? Ed… That's right, your name is Ed."
His intimidating and threatening muscles were proof of his years of training.
The axe he grabbed didn't have a blade, but it was useful enough as a blunt weapon.
Even though it was a practical combat experience, you weren't supposed to injure your opponent. Kordek, with his indecisive personality, wasn't too fond of that fact. He thought that such restrictions weren't important.
That was the only reason he didn't apply for a duel in the Joint Combat Practice. He was similar to a thug that lacked common sense.
Standing still across from him was the blonde-haired magician, Ed Rothstaylor.
He was holding his wrist as he twisted his body around, stretching.
Kordek stepped onto the arena as he glanced around. There were a few other dueling participants, as well as a decent crowd of bystanders that came to watch Kordek's insane battle.
Kordek loved to fight. To him, it was an extremely satisfying environment to be in.
"Yeah, your luck is quite bad. Having to face off against me, Kordek. It would have been better if you had challenged a moderately strong opponent instead."
"..."
"Alright. I've heard quite the rumors about you. They say you're quite strong, but that's only within the third-year magic department. You better prepare yourself."
Kordek wasn't one to easily underestimate his opponent. He just talked a lot.
However, when he experiences the bliss of a duel, his body tended to get heated up, filled with excitement. He couldn't crush and tear apart his opponent like he would when hunting wild animals, but it also seemed like he wouldn't be short of other means to deal with his opponent.
"Keuhahahahahaha…"
As the battle drew near, Kordek could feel his body heating up. In each hand he held a one-handed axe. His hands started to tremble as they held the axes. It was an excitement that came right before a bloody duel.
The third and fourth year's joint combat practice was definitely different from that of the lower grades.
When it still hadn't been long since you entered Silvenia, the school would limit most weapons and magics to try and close the gaps between the students.
Of course, things like sharpened weapons weren't allowed. Most military-grade weapons were not allowed, and there was also a rule that intermediate magic and higher was not allowed.
However, the duels in the higher grades were completely different. If you continued your school life until you were in the upper grades without growing in an area you were strong in, that was only the result of a student's laziness.
It was now a practice duel where all forms of strength were allowed without restrictions. Only the lower grades were protected.
"Keukeukeukeu…! My body… is heating up…! Keuhahahaha!"
The reason all students avoided him was because of how much he truthfully loved to fight.
"Alright. Now, if both sides are ready… You may begin!"
As the professor in charge spoke, Kordek let out a roar.
"Keuhahahaha-! Alright, let's set some things straight before this duel…! As you know, my name is Kordek Veilderk! I never go easy on anyone just because it's a mock duel…! So, if fear is starting to creep up in your body, it's still not too late…!"
Bang!
He talked too much.
As Ed had that thought, he clenched his fist, which was overflowing with magic power. Magic that could never be avoided, not unless you concentrated on dealing with it…
Point Explosion.
It was sent straight into the pit of his stomach.
As he let out a 'Keuk' sound, he staggered in the middle of the smoke. Then, a lioness the size of him roared as it jumped straight at him.
"Keuaaaak!"
Kordek had a lot of experience dealing with wild beasts, but he didn't have any experience dealing with one that suddenly appeared in front of him.
He screamed as he rolled on the floor. Then, the moment he grit his teeth and was about to grab the jaws of the lioness, who was about to bite his shoulder—
Boom!
Spiritual Skill: Explosion.
A bat made of flames flew straight into him. As he was already trapped in a hand-to-hand battle with Lacia, it had already found its way close to him.
As the rising smoke dispersed, the completely defeated Kordek fell to the floor. All that was left of him was the gagging and dry coughing.
The bat made of flames and the lioness slid back to Ed, sitting down.
"Good work."
It only took about five seconds. It felt like he had put in more effort into going easy on his opponent to avoid hurting him than using all his strength to win.
In the crowd that had come to see Kordek's battle, all that was left was an empty silence.
***
In the lobby on the first floor of Glockt Hall, there was quite a crowd, with all the students waiting around for their matches.
I made my way through the crowd of people as I managed to make it out of the building. It was the smallest of the three buildings that made up the Student Center, so it was extremely chaotic—after all, they shoved all the third- and fourth-year's duels in there.
I then looked over at Nail Hall, the largest of the three buildings that made up the Student Center.
The protagonist's generation, the second years, were probably facing off against the first years now.
I planned to head into Nail Hall to watch Taylee's matches. After all, we were allowed to watch other student's matches, and since Talee's matches would already have quite a large number of students watching, I wouldn't particularly stand out by being there.
I'd already come to terms with it. The story was already completely twisted and heading off track.
That being said, what could I even do about it now? All I could do was stand around and watch how things played out. If the flow began to heavily stray from the original timeline, what choice did I have but to adapt to it?
That was why I wanted to see how things were changing, and figure out what I needed to do to survive.
Fortunately, right now there weren't any major changes that stood out.
The Joint Combat Practice was following the original timeline. But with things flowing so smoothly, I was starting to have my own worries…
As I walked along the path towards Nail Hall, I tried to organize my thoughts a few more times.
Thinking about things again, the only part that I couldn't come to understand was… Adele's reaction.
"I know."
She completely deflected my warning about her death.
I didn't think she would have taken me seriously after I said it so abruptly, but Adele had given an unexpected answer before leaving.
As soon as the Holy Father and the Archbishop arrived in Silvenia, the first thing they would do was search for Adele. Adele probably already knew that herself.
Even though she knew she was going to die, she was still planning to go and meet with the Holy Father and the Archbishop?
If she wanted to go headfirst into such a dangerous situation, there had to be some reason… However, there didn't seem to be any visible reason for it.
In
The final scene in the Joint Combat Practice. The news of Adele's sudden death was certainly a shocking and interesting directional choice, yet the overall narrative and flow of the story still felt like a piece was missing.
In the end, the story of Adele and Clarice was only considered development for the following battle, Lucy's Subjugation.
However, thinking of the other storylines in
The player was unable to learn the full story of Adele's death because Saint Clarice's way of thinking and behavior drastically changed after Act 3.
It was obvious that while the player was in the middle of the Joint Combat Practice, there was an incident with Clarice about being a Saint.
However, even after searching through the entirety of Acken Island, there wasn't even a clue… In the end, the player had no choice but to move on, despite their original expectations.
'The story of Adele and Clarice will surely be explained in a new spin-off at a later date…' was what everyone had predicted. People thought that the story was purposely left untold in order to use it as an additional storyline later.
Most of the players, myself included, were at a loss for words over the situation. The reason for that was because the time the player spent in the Join Combat Practice was, at most, just a few hours.
Many people shared opinions that only a few hours was too short of a timeframe to make an entirely new spin-off. Perhaps there was another element of the story that we could unlock so that the storyline moved in a different direction.
Even though we searched through every corner of Acken Island, we also thought that there really might be a new hidden element if we just kept on searching for it again and again.
In the end, even up until now the hidden storyline had never been revealed. Maybe the rumors of a spin-off were true?
Suddenly looking up, I was nearing Nail Hall.
"..."
Only a few hours.
Not months. Not days. Just a few hours.
People's values, behavior, and way of thinking didn't change so easily.
And yet, after only a few hours, Saint Clarice's good-natured way of thinking and behavior had completely changed.
The image of her completely changing as she became The Saint of Distrust, with a burning revenge towards the Religious Group… At the time, to the players it seemed far too extreme.
It would have been fine if they showed the development of a story that gradually exposed the darkness of the Holy City. So, the question of why they chose to make Clarice change so suddenly never disappeared.
"Wh-What is that…?!"
"What…? Am I hallucinating right now…?"
All of a sudden, the people around me were getting noisy.
I had been walking, completely lost in thought, so my reaction was a little late. When I looked around, all the students were looking at the western sky in surprise.
Wondering why there was such a commotion, I looked towards where the students were pointing.
Rrrrumble. Rumble…
An unusual earthquake… was suddenly shaking the ground.
***
Saint Clarice was sitting in the VIP conference room of Trix Hall.
The plan was that, once the Holy Father and Archbishop arrived, she would first sit down with them to talk. Then, along with Headmaster Obel, they would all have a nice luncheon together.
Afterwards, they would take a tour of the student dormitory, have a speech with students that had time in their schedule about faith, and then hold a baptism ceremony in which the Holy Father would baptize representative students in the Student Square himself. The Student Council President, Tanya Rothstaylor, was also scheduled to be baptized.
Once that was finished, he would give a final speech on the history of the Telos Religious Group and their values before getting back in the carriage and returning to the Holy City.
Just talking about it was exhausting, but for Clarice, who had lived her entire life as the Saint, it was something she was already familiar and comfortable with.
However, the Holy Father and the Archbishop were running a little late. It had been a while since their grand carriage had been seen crossing over Mexes Bridge, but it seemed that they weren't headed straight to Trix Hall.
"Have you not heard anything about the Holy Father's arrival?"
"Yes, Saint. I believe that there was somewhere they needed to briefly stop on their way to Trix Hall."
Even though they were outsiders that came to Acken Island, they didn't head towards Trix Hall, the center of school administration. Instead, they went somewhere else?
She asked where they had gone, but the knight escort only replied saying he didn't know.
Was there really a schedule that took precedence over meeting with the Saint and having lunch with the headmaster? She wondered whether, whatever the business was, it couldn't have been pushed back to do later? However, she sat quietly, believing that there had to be a good reason for whatever the Holy Father was doing.
As long as it wasn't anything dangerous, it was fine. Either way, with the escorting guards around the Holy Father, it was safe to say that he wouldn't fall into any dangerous situations.
The escort personnel he had with him went beyond elite—they were monsters. In fact, five of the seven 'Apostles of Telos', a secret army directly under the control of the Holy Father, were tagging along on the expedition.
The Apostles of Telos were so powerful that each one of them were some of the strongest people in the entire continent. They were people that only followed the orders of the Holy Father. An invincible army that was capable of using various advanced magics with Divine Power to spread their wings and control the battlefield.
Even the talents at Silvenia Academy, which was full of countless geniuses, wouldn't be able to defeat them. Except for a few exceptionally strong students, of course.
"Hmm… Ehhem, Cough…!"
Clarice cleared her throat in preparation for meeting the Holy Father after such a long time. With not much time remaining, she tried to find an appropriate tone of voice as she groaned.
While doing so, she also practiced greeting him politely and listening to every single word of his with an elegant smile on her face. Even without the empty formalities, she already had a graceful and elegant demeanor. It only made her appear even more holy.
After sitting alone in the conference room for a while, she took a deep breath.
It hadn't been all that long, but the months she'd spent at Silvenia had been so tumultuous… It felt like such a distant past.
The life where she constantly prayed, baptized, preached the words of God, listened to confessions, and lived a life of dignity while receiving the respect from people…
The young Clarice that lived a colorless life of abstinence missed the days of listening to Adele's voice, which colored her world.
Thinking of it… I still haven't met with her…
Even for Adele, shouldn't she want to quickly try and meet with Saint Clarice somehow after hearing that she had been accepted into the school? And yet, there was no reaction from her. Clarice started to wonder if she was the only one that thought their relationship was special… She started to become rather depressed.
Still, when she closed her eyes, she remembered.
The keeper of the torch that sat by the window, playing her lute.
From a place higher than the Saint's room, up on the spire she sat, always looking down on the world. That girl's face was already starting to become a hazy sentimental memory of hers.
A girl that had always been enveloped in mystery.
It was unknown where she was born and how she ended up turning to the Religious Group. She had seen documents that claimed she had come from an orphanage in the Commercial City of Oldek. Seeing her talk with Archbishop Verdio sometimes, she wasn't sure if she might be just a believer… Adele had never once personally talked about her personal life.
However, Clarice knew that the job of 'The Keeper of the Torch' wasn't a position that could just be entrusted to anyone.
The torch, which always burned brightly at the top of the Holy Father Building, was a flame that expressed one's aspirations for Telos and the purity of faith. It was something that should always burn brightly in that exact spot.
The very top of the spire. Perhaps the closest place to Telos, the one who always gave, in the Holy Father Building.
Seeing her always managing the top of the Holy Father Building by herself, excused from all other work… No matter how you looked at it, she was definitely not an ordinary girl.
If she had the chance to meet her, she wanted to have a heart to heart with her.
Rumble, Rumble…
While having useless thoughts… there was a sound that seemed to be the conference room, which she was alone in, shaking a bit.
Clarice got up from her seat, wondering if it was an earthquake. The earth's axis was certainly shaking.
The moment she looked out the window, wondering what it was, Clarice swallowed a gasp.
An incomprehensible scene was unfolding right outside the window.
A large gale with massive wings that stretched out had stormed the academy.
A large open wing covered the sky, casting a massive shadow. And a gaze looking down that was higher than the top of Right Mountain.
The direction was the West Coast.
She could see a splash of water rising from the sea. Streaks of water were falling from the sky. The size of it was unfathomable.
It placed both of its front paws on Acken Island.
Its left foot was placed in the North Forest as its other foot was placed on the shoreline by Mexes Bridge. As a result, the ground began to tremble once more.
Its huge head was visible through the clouds. A protruding mouth and large scales.
Even in mythology, the Blue Dragon was said to have gone extinct.
The shape of the now-awakened dragon… overlooked the entirety of Acken Island.
It was a massive disaster that couldn't be stopped with human forces, not by any means.
***
Causation.
If there was an effect, there must also be a cause.
If the storyline was twisted, then the cause of it must also certainly exist.
The storyline had already begun to twist.
I was already ready to bear any amount of change to the storyline. As long as the cause could be found, it was enough to deal with the situation.
The reason Yennekar's act of running away in a rampage took place earlier was because Lucy and Merilda had made a contract too early.
The reason the Golden King Elte had arrived on Acken Island early was because Lortel's betrayal had been discovered by Elris.
As such, there was always a cause when the story reached a turning point.
That was why there was definitely going to be a new phase of twisting and changing to the storyline. I even thought I was ready to deal with it all, too.
Wasn't an extraordinary event something that happened when something took place that went way beyond one's expectations?
The owner of those wings that cut through the sky… Genesis, the Holy Blue Dragon Velbrok.
A monster from mythology that was sealed in the depths of the sea after its wings were cut off by the Primordial Swordsman, Luden.
In the final chapter of Act 5 in
I would have graduated by the end of Act 4, so I thought I wouldn't ever have to worry about that massive Blue Dragon. The monster's roar… Cut through the air.
Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah !
A roar that grated on my ears as it cut through the blue sky… It engraved fear throughout the unprepared Silvenia.
It was something that human power couldn't deal with. Even if you brought along Lucy or Obel, the only thing they could do was defend against it.
In order to defeat that monster, you would need a Taylee that had reached End Spec level strength and obtained the final swordsmaster's skill, which could cut through a dragon's heart. But even then, he would have to be right in front of its heart. At least, that was the method that I knew of.
Of course, that wasn't possible at that point in time.
That's right. As I said, if there was an effect, there must be a cause.
There were times in which the order of the storyline had been mixed up. However, right now the final ordeal of the entire story, which should have appeared in Act 5, had suddenly arrived… I couldn't even make the slightest guess as to what the cause could be.
No matter how twisted things had become, the reason for such a drastic change to took place… It shouldn't be possible.
But if the main timeline wasn't following the original flow, the cause of it had to be me. After all, the only person that could be called an irregular in the world was me.
However, right in front of me was such an overwhelming change that I couldn't even fathom what the cause could be.
Even when I looked back on the flow of the story up to that point, I couldn't figure out the cause of such a major twist.
"Kyaaaaaghk!"
"What the! That's…!! Kyaaaaa! Run!! For now, just run!"
"Where can we even run to…?! To get out of this island… to leave this place… Everyone, run to Mexes Bridge…!"
Crash, Boooom!!!
With a roar made of magic power, all the windows of the surrounding buildings began to shatter.
***
Kakang, Kagagang!
Rumble, Rummmmble.
Crash, crash.
The glass in the building shattered, the pieces scattering across the floor. A girl continued to hum a song as she stepped on the shards of glass with her leather shoes, walking down the hallway.
A lute was slung over her shoulder, and in one hand was the list of matches for the Joint Combat Practice. Adele hadn't challenged anyone, so she was also automatically assigned a matchup. She was only able to check who it was on the day of.
'Nail Hall 3rd Arena, 1PM. Adele Cerise vs Clarice.'
Below that was a line of text that had been corrected in hastily added letters.
'The 1PM joint practice has been canceled due to a sudden change of schedule by the Saint. Please wait until your next matchup is assigned.'
"It's a shame. I even had a means to meet with you. Though… I wouldn't have ended up meeting you anyway."
As the dragon's roar echoed through the sky, the ground and buildings shook… A girl continued to walk, a bunch of beautiful flowers decorating her hair.
The girl began to weave her way through the buildings without a care in the world, despite the apocalyptic scenery around her.
"The wind will blow again. After all, it's always been like that."
Looking up at the massive shape of the dragon that filled the sky, she said it again in a low voice.
-x-X-x-
A calamity was falling from the sky. The dragon's roar was so loud, it felt as if my eardrums were being scraped.
"Kyaaaaaaaaghk!"
"Run! Everyone, run away! We have to get off this island!"
In a panic, the students started running towards the commercial district, which Mexes Bridge is connected to.
As everyone ran out of Nail Hall in complete fear, I swallowed harshly as I looked up at the sky.
When The Holy Blue Dragon Velbrok raised his foot, a huge storm would rage on.
It wasn't magic. It was simply physics. It was so powerful that, with just a single swing from its front foot, the entire air current around the island could change.
Boom! Screech!
Scratch.
No, it was more like the sound of an explosion.
Velbrok's foot took a step towards the commercial distract, off in the distance. Following that step, a huge storm blew.
And with that, half of the commercial district blew away. It all happened in an instant.
Buildings that were once attached to the ground were now up in the sky, flying around. Occasionally, you could even see people that had been caught up in the air as well.
It was impossible to guess just how many people would be injured. The number would most likely be massive.
The cause of their death was Velbrok's kick. As his foot kicked in the air, all those people died simply because they were in the commercial district.
Conversely, all the people still in the education district had survived because of their good luck.
If Velbrok had come towards the education district first, it would have been the students in the buildings that would have died first.
In just a single kick.
A massive wind raged on as it knocked all the students down. As the panicked crowd fell down to the floor, many of them were crushed, injured, or broken.
"Euaaaaak!"
"What's going on? Get up, quickly…!"
Some students got up with their teeth clenched as they ran away, but most only looked up at the sky, unable to say a single word.
Everyone thought the same thing. Could we even survive if we ran away? In fact, we may already be dead.
Fwoosh!
As I sprinted, kicking off from the floor, I pulled out the golden ring from my pocket. 'Glast's Golden Phoenix Ring'.
Utilizing every single function of the ring, I drew out all of my magic power to its limit.
I didn't even know what the limit was. Since the penalty was so dangerous, it was an item in which you had no choice but to control the amount of power you used when using it.
However, now wasn't the time to worry about such penalties. I had to use every means available to me.
It was impossible to know just how strong the backlash would be. Aside from not being able to use magic power for several years, my senses when using magic power might burn or deteriorate. Or, at worse, it might threaten my life.
However, if I just stood around doing nothing, I would die.
"Keeeeeuk!"
I clenched my teeth as I bore the strain on my body from the overload. Still, I didn't stop running.
Fwooooooooooooooooosh!
Then, releasing the mana around me… I manifested a complete version of the high-ranking wind spirit, Merilda.
In my normal condition, she was a spirit with whom the magic power efficiency to just manifest her incomplete human form was very burdensome.
However, giving up on my future and gathering magic power to the limit, even after the massive wind wolf was manifested, I still had much magic power left to spare.
Awooooooooooo!
After Merilda was fully manifested, she let out a massive roar. The massive stature of that wolf was the same as always.
"What about Yennekar?"
[I don't know…! She should still be in the arena… For now, we don't have a choice but to leave it to Takan…!]
Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahk!
A roar echoed through the sky again. But this time, it was from the dragon that covered the sky.
Fwooooosh!
It rained. Of course, it wasn't real rain.
Dragon scales started to pour down from the sky. As if watching an old blockbuster war flick, it looked just like a massive storm of arrows being fired by hundreds of thousands of troops at once.
The thin scales that filled the sky began to smash into the ground without mercy.
Bo-Boom! Craaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Fragments of the marble floor were flying in the air as the trees that lined the street began to fall. Benches and fountains near the square started to crumble, and the glass on the buildings shattered.
I poured a large amount of my remaining magic power into a defensive magic spell, but it immediately broke.
Hwaaaak!
However, the falling scales were blocked by a blowing wind. Storm's Blessing. Even without me having to do anything, it was a passive skill that blocked an enemy's fatal attack, making it futile.
[Keeeeeuk!]
Merilda, who barely managed to block the scales that came towards her, groaned for a moment before speaking.
[Where are you going?! Are you going to join Yennekar?!]
"No. There's something I need to check…!"
I had to figure out why Velbrok, the final boss of the storyline, had suddenly appeared.
The flow of the storyline was already completely tangled up. No matter how twisted things became, I had made up my mind that I would take care of it as much as I could.
But wasn't it just way too messed up?
If the story began to change, the chances it was because of me were quite high. If I could find the cause, there just might be a way to put that dragon back to sleep.
But there was no time. There was a limit to what I could do.
"Keuk!"
I pulled out the scales from my body that Storm's Blessing couldn't block. The few scales I pulled from my shoulders fell on the floor, along with my blood.
Right now, weren't we supposed to be in the middle of Act 3? So… I needed to go and look for the main characters of Act 3 first. After all, it was difficult to say that the characters that are supposed to show up later than Act 3 were the ones that had an influence on the situation.
The first ones that came to my mind were Adele and Clarice. Adele's whereabouts were difficult to guess, but I knew where Clarice was.
"For now, I need to run to Trix Hall."
Pain started to rush up from the ring that was on my hand. I had to pay a price if I used magic power beyond the limit that my body could handle. Right now, that price I had to pay was only being postponed.
But I had no choice. With all my strength, I suppressed the magic power as I climbed on top of Merilda's back.
***
"You must run away, Saint."
With a crashing sound, the door slammed open as two Knight Templars entered the conference room. They had a tone that resembled begging.
"With the situation outside now…"
"I-I know. Take care of the other people quickly… We have to move quickly…!!"
Clarice was also looking at the situation outside her window. A dragon of unbelieve size. An existence that had only been spoken of in myths was now appearing in the sky right above Silvenia Academy.
The moment Clarice stood up from her seat, an earthquake hit Trix Hall. It was the aftermath of Velbrok destroying half of the commercial district.
"Kyaaaaaaaaghk!"
Clarice screamed as she slipped, falling onto the floor. The Knight Templars also stumbled back and forth.
The various office supplies and documents that were on the conference room table had fallen to the floor. Antique paintings that hung on the wall were unable to withstand the shaking as they fell. All the glassware had cracked as the windows shattered, unable to withstand the impact.
"Saint! Please, take my hand…! I'll escort you to the prepared wagooo…!"
Hwaaaaaak!
It was the sensation of the Holy Blessing that surrounded the activating Saint's body. As soon as Clarice felt it, her skin began to crawl.
Turning her head, she saw that there were a few dragon scales that got stuck in the bottom of the Saint's back. There was a slight scratch on the surface of her skin, but somehow almost all of the scales' force had been nullified by the Holy Blessing.
A parade of scales that penetrated through the broken windows.
They weren't able to make their way to the girl's body because of her blessing, but had she just been an ordinary girl, she would have surely suffered a fatal wound.
However, the soldiers were different.
"Euahk. Keuk… Huff…! Heuk…!"
"M-My ear… My ear….!"
One of them had his entire right ear cut off. The other had been pierced straight through his throat.
Seeing the blood flowing out, Clarice felt shivers go down her entire body. If it hadn't been for the Saint's Holy Blessing, she would have also ended up like that.
The knight's throat had been pierced and was rolling on the floor in pain. The other knight, who had his ear cut off, clenched his teeth as he pressed on the bleeding to stop it. He dragged the Saint out by her wrist.
"We… need to… get out…"
Clarice's legs trembled, unable to move. The knight somehow managed to lead Clarise to the hallway of Trix Hall.
However, even the Knight couldn't help but fall over after clutching his side. She only saw it now. A large scale had also pierced straight into his side.
He tried to suppress the bleeding, but the knight's consciousness was starting to become hazy.
"Down there… Run down the hallway… In the central hallway… go through… the back door…"
He was telling her to leave him. Clarice tried to say something to the knight, tears running down her face, but the knight shook his head desperately. He then pushed Clarice on her back, saying there wasn't enough time for her to hesitate.
With a face full of tears, she forced her trembling legs to take her down the hallway. She continued to run for quite a while, repeatedly falling over from the earthquakes, until she finally reached the crowded lobby of Trix Hall.
As she ran towards the back door, she found the carriage. Even though it had also been damaged by the scales, it was still in relatively good condition. The Saint's carriage was placed behind Trix Hall, so the building acted as a shield, protecting it from the scales.
Of course, the front of the building was in miserable shape. It was fair enough to call it a sea of blood. The Saint forced her eyes open as she ran, but she couldn't' help the chattering of her teeth from her overwhelming fear.
"The carriage is broken, Saint."
The horseman relayed the bad news. The only thing that was fine with the carriage was how it looked on the outside.
No matter how much the outer walls of the building acted as a shield, it wasn't a perfect defense. One of the wheels of the carriage had fallen off.
Still, one of the horses managed to escape. The horseman, with a trickle of blood dripping from his head, walked towards Clarice and grabbed her. He then put her on top of the remaining horse, passing her the reins.
Clarice had never ridden a horse before. It didn't even have a proper saddle because it was a horse that was meant to draw a carriage. Just sitting on its spacious back, her body already started to tremble.
"Hold onto the reins tightly, Saint. She's a well-trained horse. She will take you across Mexes Bridge and out of Acken Island."
"I-I… Riding a horse is…"
"Just keep a hold of the reins and hold onto the horse's neck tightly."
There wasn't any more time to explain. The horseman hit the horse's butt, making it take off.
The horse started to run like crazy, letting out a loud 'Neighborh.'
"Kyaaaaaghk!"
Trix Hall sat on a small hill. The speed of the horse galloping downhill was incredible. Clarice grabbed ahold of her fading consciousness as she looked around, soon regretting it.
The main entrance of Trix Hall, which had become covered in blood… It was so horrific that it would be difficult to describe. The number of casualties just from the storm of scales that had fallen down… There were surely at least a hundred people.
Somehow managing to keep ahold of the horse's reins with her trembling hands, Clarice looked up at the sky.
The head of the massive Holy Blue Dragon looked down upon the entirety of Silvenia Academy.
Long ago, he was sealed away by the Primordial Swordsman, thus living out his countless days in the deep sea in great torment. During that time, the Great Sage of Acken Island had maintained and repaired the broken seal so he could never escape.
Spending his day looking at the academy that the Great Sage had built, it felt an unbearable rage building up. This was the result of Velbrok's wrath.
An astronomical amount of magic power gathered in the dragon's mouth. The amount was so tremendous that it was impossible to miss the sight of the magic power, even from far, far away.
A magic that only appeared in myths. Dragon's Breath.
Even though it was just gathering magic power to release… It was a magic that had the power to easily blow away half of Acken Island.
A magic circle large enough to fill the sky started to form around the dragon's mouth… Most of the people in Silvenia Academy had already started to expect their inevitable death. Clarice was one of them.
Kwaaaaaaang!
It was so massive that you could mistake it for the sun rising again.
The direction it was facing was Silvenia Academy.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!
However, the Dragon's Breath never reached Silvenia Academy. There was another unbelieve level of magic cast against it.
The ultimate defensive magic. A large-scale magic power neutralization barrier.
Clarice raised her head, looking towards Trix Hall. There, she saw the Headmaster of Silvenia Academy, the war hero of the Kroel Empire known as 'Guardian Obel', standing on the roof as he looked straight at the dragon's face.
A gorgeous and long-lived robe that only the headmaster could wear. Lowering the hood, his short hair was exposed. He was wielding a gigantic wand.
No matter how much of a hero Obel ranked in the all-time greats, he still wouldn't be able to completely block magic of that size. He just needed to change the direction of it as much as possible to send it elsewhere.
Kwaaaaaaaaang! Booom!
Soon, the Dragon's Breath bent its direction as it was sent off into the blue sky, far away.
With that, the destruction of the academy was postponed. Albeit, just for a short while.
Kwaaaaaang!
There was no time to rest. Next, a physical attack was incoming.
Velbrok's attack was dangerous enough that a single strike could destroy the entire school. The heavens and earth trembled as the tremendous dragon lifted just one of its legs.
Then, it moved across the sky towards Obel, who was standing on the roof of Trix Hall. The moment Obel was about to recast the ultimate defensive magic—
Booooooooooom!
A girl floating in the air cast a massive barrier that blocked the dragon's huge hand.
She was petite. To prevent her witch's hat from flying away, she held onto it tightly with one hand. The size of that hat alone was enough to cover her entire upper half.
Her beautiful white hair was tied neatly as it fluttered in the wind.
Even from such a distance, Clarice easily recognized her.
The top second year magic department student, as well as the greatest genius at Silvenia Academy. A girl gifted with such enormous talents, to the extent that the greatest individuals throughout time could only lower their heads in acknowledgement of her talent. Lucy Mayreel.
That exceptional genius magician now looked up at Velbrok's head in deep thought.
"One day, if the school faces a massive obstacle that they are unable to handle themselves, you must lend out your hand."
That was Glockt's final will.
She had promised to do as he asked, but she never imagined her opponent would be the Holy Blue Dragon from the myths.
Still, Lucy looked up at the sky as she drew magic power from her body.
To fight with all her might. It was, perhaps, the first time she would do such a thing in her short life.
In the first place, from the beginning up till now, there was never such an opponent to do so against.
Paaaaaaaaaaaaak!
Then, Lucy's Ultimate Telekinetic Magic aside threw the massive dragon's hand.
From that, a tremendous wind swept through the area. The trees swayed as much as they could as everyone in the education district stumbled.
Kyaaaaaaaghk!
Even the horse Clarice was riding on had fallen from the wind. Clarice was still holding onto the horse's back as it fell over, but she only fell on a soft patch of grass.
In the first place, her body was rather light, so she could handle falling over on the ground a few times. She didn't get particularly hurt or break anything.
However, Clarice still groaned after falling down and rolling on the ground. It took a few minutes before she was able to pick her body back up.
"Ughk… Keukk…"
Clarice, who barely managed to stand up with a body full of light scratches, made her way towards the fallen horse. Right now, the most important thing was to run away as far as possible.
However… when Clarice saw the condition of the horse, she couldn't say a word. She didn't see it due to the chaos of the situation, but the horse had a dragon scale stuck in one leg and a part of its stomach.
The horseman had only given her 'the better' horse that was available. He must have hoped that it would have been enough to escape Acken Island, but unfortunately, when the horse fell over, the scale pierced even deeper into its body until it reached its vitals.
The blood of the horse constantly flowed out to wet the ground. Even the hem of the Saint's pure white dress was soaked in its blood.
"Ahhhhhh…"
Looking up at the sky, it looked like the apocalypse.
That petite genius magician had been struck by the Dragon's attack. She fell down, crashing into the middle of Right Mountain. She quickly got back up, brushing off her body as she soared back into the sky again.
An unbelievable amount of magic power began to swirl around Obel as he began to cast the ultimate elemental magic.
All of the magic being cast at once looked like a firework display in the sky. It was so bright that it could be seen clearly throughout all of Acken Island.
"Eughk, Keuk…"
Sitting on the side of the hill Trix Hall stood on, there was nothing Clarice could do. She forcefully held back her tears as she clenched her teeth, trying to come up with another plan.
If there wasn't a horse, she would just have to walk towards Mexes Bridge. Then, the moment she tried to force herself to stand back up…
Fwoooooooooooooosh!
A warm wind, different from the gust from before, slowly started to spread down the road she was on. What appeared was a massive wolf that had hastily rushed over.
Merilda, who was the size of a house, landed light on her feet. She then laid down on her stomach so that Ed, who was riding on her back, could easily jump down.
Ed jumped off Merilda's back as he ran towards Clarice, who was sitting near the corpse of the horse.
"E-Ed…"
"You are safe, Saint."
Ed didn't look all that great either. There were traces of being struck by the scales, and it looked like he was quite exhausted, running out of magic power.
Despite that, he ran all the way over to her… Clarice's voice trembled as she spoke.
"H-How… did you know I was here…?"
"I ran over to Trix Hall. Obviously, the distinguished guests from the Holy City would have gone there. But it doesn't look like we have the time to talk about such details."
Ed grabbed her wrist as he helped her stand up. Clarice, who had never been pulled up by the mere strength of a man, was startled and let out a strange yelp.
"Are you hurt?"
"N-No… I… Just… The horse I was taking to Mexes… Towards Mexes Bridge…"
"There's no point in going towards Mexes Bridge right now. You'll definitely be killed if you go now. You'll get trapped in the massive crowd of people that are trying to leave the island."
Ed had run up the hills with Merilda, so he was able to look down at Mexes Bridge. She could have also probably seen the situation at Trix Hall, but she must've been unable to check due to the urgency of the situation.
"Th-Then… Another bridge…?"
"They're all the same. And there's no way we would be able to get out of the dragon's attack range just by running for a short while."
If it really wanted to, it could destroy the entire island in an instant. Thinking of things like that, she started to wonder if there was even a point in trying to run away. Clarice started to become overwhelmed with fear as tears started to well up.
Ed quickly gave her his coat as he wiped Clarice's tears with the collar of it. He then grabbed her wrist tightly as he led her along.
"For now, the best thing to do is for us to evacuate to a safer place."
"A safer place…?"
"Ophelis Hall. A place that is surrounded with advanced defensive magic. Normally, it wouldn't be activated. However, given the current situation, the Head Maid Bell Maya should have activated all the magic spells inside the management office."
Still, no matter how advanced that defensive magic was, if Velbrok really wanted to he could easily break through it.
Still, at least the probability of being killed off by another scale attack or the aftermath of another massive magic attack would be minimal.
Also, from Ed's point of view, the best destination to visit next was none other than Ophelis Hall.
After finding the Saint, the next best thing to do is to find and check on the other important characters. In that regard, Ophelis Hall was the best place to go, as all the important students within the school gathered there.
"Th-Then…"
"Saint Clarice. Try to calm yourself down.:"
Ed's hand gripped Clarice's wrist. A red handprint was left on her thin and slender wrist.
It seemed that his intentions had gotten through to Clarice, as she was now able to control her heart despite being in great pain.
Ed then hugged Clarice tightly as he helped her get up onto Merilda's neck. Pushing her up from below, Clarice was able to pull on Merilda's fur, albeit with difficulty, and climb onto her back.
Ed then quickly grabbed her hand, jumping up sitting down on Merilda's back.
"Hold on tightly."
Ed then pushed down on the Saint, who was clutching onto Merilda's fur tightly, with the back of his elbows. Merilda raced towards the still-intact section of the commercial district.
There stood Ophelis Hall.
-x-X-x-
"E-Eeeek…!"
Ophelis Hall's condition also wasn't normal.
Ed and Clarice jumped off from Merilda's back as they quickly checked the condition of the rose garden. Clarice had lost all strength in her legs.
Across the garden were scattered corpses. Half of them were maids, and the other half were students.
"Euu…Eughk…"
Clarice, who had already reached her limit, was now barely holding back her tears. She grabbed onto Ed's elbow as she covered her mouth…Trembling, she forced herself to continue walking.
Ophelis Hall was much closer to the dragon than Trix Hall was. The moment the disaster struck, they were in a situation where they were still unable to properly activate the defensive magic.
The outer wall was full of holes, remnants of the scales that had come pouring down.
The inside was also horrendous. The lobby and hallways were full of blood. Not just Clarice, but even Ed—who was usually always calm—couldn't help but swallow a gasp.
"The advanced defensive magic circles… are activated…"
Ed said that as he looked up at the ceiling in the central lobby indoors.
In a wide-range attack, the strength of it should have been limited. So even though the scale's attack might have been powerful, it still shouldn't have been able to break through the advanced defensive magic.
That… It seemed that only after the first attack, which was much too late, was the defensive magic circle activated. That also meant that there were still survivors inside.
The Saint's room was on the highest floor, and the room that managed the defensive magic circles was also on the way up.
Ed then went up the stairs of Ophelis Hall, holding the Saint's arm as she busily wiped her tears away with her sleeve.
He then quickly looked around the floor halfway up the building. He ran down the hallway to the section the maids were living in. There were corpses scattered all over. It was a terrifying scene to witness, but he continued to clench his teeth as he moved forward, ignoring it.
Then, when he reached the deepest part of the management office… He saw a maid sitting on top of the defensive magic activation ceremony, panting for a breath. A survivor.
When he got closer, he noticed her extravagant outfit… It was none other than the head maid.
"Miss Bell…!"
"Hueughk…"
Ed shouted out as the Maid, who was covered in blood, raised her head slightly. Clenching her teeth and trying to stand up, she collapsed again, falling over.
Four or five massive scales were stuck in her shoulder blades and abdomen. She was already in critical condition.
The dragon's scales magic rained down on them without any time to respond. As soon as Bell Maya had noticed something strange, she ran to the management office and tried to activate the defensive magic. Unfortunately, the dragon's attack was a little faster.
The dragon's attack, which had broken through the outer wall, slaughtered the people that worked there. It must have been a horrific sight to witness.
During all of that, Bell had suffered to the extent she nearly died as she entered the deepest part of the management office… She then activated the advanced defensive magic in case there were any survivors left.
"This is… unbelievable…"
Bell Maya struggled to raise her head as her blood dripped to the floor. Clarice gave a loud gasp as she covered her mouth with both hands.
Upon seeing the two of them, Bell Maya forcibly moved her body… She then took out a bunch of keys from around her waist. Maybe it was because she didn't have the strength to pick the right key and hand it to them, she ended up dropping the keys on the floor as she fell into Ed's arms.
She didn't have any strength left in her body. Ed clenched his teeth as he closed Bell Maya's eyes, gently laying her down on the floor. He then picked up the bundle of keys as he led Clarice out by her arm.
"Eughk….Heuukkk…"
Clarice had already reached her mental limit.
However, thanks to Ed—who was somehow able to maintain his composure—she was still able to move.
They ran across the hallway as they made their way back up the stairs, reaching the Saint's room.
Ed began to put the keys into the lock, turning them in the door one by one in his rush to find the right one. Only after struggling for a bit did the door finally open up with a click.
As the door squeaked open, he was able to look at the grandest private room in Ophelis Hall. It was the room of the Saint.
Ed entered the room with Clarice as he shut the door, turning the lock. He then put the Saint on top of the bed.
Ed put his hands on the Saint's shoulders as he spoke, looking straight at her.
"You must stay strong, Saint."
"Eugh… Sniff… Eugh… Y-Yes…"
"Since the advanced defensive magic has been activated, as long as you stay in your room you won't get caught up in the aftermath of any magic or attack. Though, if it's a direct attack or a ridiculous level of magic, you will also be swept away… So, let's hope that doesn't happen. Within the school, there isn't anywhere safer than here."
Ed said that as he stood up.
"I still have many things I need to do. There are many other places I need to check out. Please wait here. You must never leave Ophelis Hall."
As soon as he finished speaking and was about to take his hand off of Clarice's shoulder, she grabbed his hand and held it tight.
"N-N… No… O-Outside… is d-dangerous…"
Her tears didn't stop. Still, Clarice caught her breath as she continued to speak. She spoke about how going outside was dangerous, so it would be better to stay there together.
Clarice was much too frightened. It was too cruel an ordeal for Clarice to face, as she had lived her whole life in the somber world of the Holy Father Building. If he left her there, it seemed she wouldn't be able to stop the fear from engulfing her completely.
"Saint. In order to solve this issue, I need to figure out this situation…"
Booooooooooooooooooom!
Another explosion went off outside the window. Along with it came earthquakes. Then, as if a light had been turned on, light came pouring in from outside the window.
Clarice threw herself into Ed's arms as she looked up at his face. Tears were flowing down her face in clumps.
Ed patted her on the back a few times for a bit… but soon after, he grabbed her slender shoulders again, removing Clarice from his arms.
"Saint. Look out the window. Just because we are sitting still and waiting here like this doesn't mean…"
…Anything would ever get resolved.
As he was about to say as much, a strange sight outside the window caught Ed's attention. A magic circle was begging to soar high up into the sky.
It wasn't cast by the Holy Blue Dragon Velbrok, nor was it by Lucy or Obel, who were defending against the dragon. In the first place, the direction it came from was deep within the education district, not on the battlefield.
Tadadak!
Deureureuk!
Ed ran over to the window, opening it up and sticking his head outside. He could see the entirety of the magic circle from just a glance. It was one that was formed from an entirely different field, beyond simple magic spells.
"…Ed…?"
Clarice called out to Ed with a wet voice, but he didn't respond. He was clearly captivated by the magic circle's formation, as he then ran back into the corner of the room.
In the first place, Ed already knew the structure of the room quite well. That was because there was an opportunity to enter the top floor of Ophelis Hall during Act 4 of
He pulled out a sliding bookshelf in the corner. It was full of all kinds of holy scriptures, magic textbooks, and reference books. Most of them were about the studies of God.
Ed then lowered his head as he continued to pull out books on Sacred Magic. He put them all on a table in the center of the room as he began to flip through the books.
"Ed…?"
She tried calling out to him a second time, but her voice didn't reach Ed's ear. His brain was already preoccupied, working at its limit.
For a few minutes, he continued to flip through the books, desperately looking for something. Then, after a while, his hand stopped at a specific page.
He lay open the page of the book on the table as he took out another book from his pocket. A magical book of astronomical value. The Archmage Glockt's 'Introduction to Celestial Magic.'
He flipped through the book, looking for something before stopping on a specific page. He then read it, comparing and contrasting with the book on Sacred Magic he had laid open.
After a long while… Ed then flopped down on an old-fashioned wooden chair next to the table.
"This… okay… I think I get it…"
He was murmuring quietly. The slight tremble that was in his voice had subsided somewhat.
"In the first place… it wasn't twisted…?"
"Ed, is something…?"
"In the first place this was just… part of the 'original timeline'…?"
Boom!
After all his thoughts were put together, Ed hit the table and stood up. The Saint looked at him before asking a question.
"Ed, did you figure something out…?"
"Listen well, Saint. Whatever happens… if you think things aren't looking good, you must ask me for help…"
"Pardon…?"
"So…"
Booooooooooooooooooooooom!
From that moment, it all happened in an instant.
Just as Ed was about to explain something, the Holy Blue Dragon's breath struck the defensive magic around Ophelis Hall. It was the aftermath of the fight taking place outside.
Even Obel couldn't block such a massive amount of magic power. In the end, the only choice he had was to forcibly change its direction and send it off elsewhere.
And one of the strands that had bounced off… Had directly hit Ophelis Hall.
Boom! BoooooooooooBoooooooooom!
Ed reflexes helped him quickly react.
As the building had already reached its limit, in case it was about to collapse… he took the safest stance he could.
Ed held the Saint in his arms as he gathered magic power, jumping straight onto the bed as if he was diving. As they felt themselves bounce on top of the soft bed, the ceiling began to collapse.
Craaaaaaaaaash!
The rubble of the building poured down.
***
Drip, Drip.
She woke up from the sensation of some type of liquid dripping down onto her cheek from the tip of her nose.
Clarice screamed as she tried to raise her upper body, but she was barely able to move.
"…Heub…!"
She then grabbed her mouth with both her hands… She was trembling all over.
She was in the rubble of the collapsed building. She saw Ed, who had forcibly used his magic power to support the wreckage.
And in his chest… There was an iron pole that was used as a support beam for the building. It was thicker than any short spear.
The liquid that was dripping onto her cheek… It was the blood flowing from Ed's chest.
"N-No… No…"
Ed was kneeling, down on his knees. It looked like he was going to fall over like that, but he was supporting the weight of the wreckage. He then tried to say something to the saint.
"Nine… Numbers… you… Have to…"
"No… Ed… You… Can't… You can't…"
Tears began to flow from her eyes.
Clarice tried to press on Ed's wound with her slender hand, but Ed's blood continued to gush out, showing no sign of stopping. Blood continued to flow through the crevices of her fingers, only dying her white hands red.
"No… Why… something like this… why, just why… me… instead of me… would you die… you can't… No…"
Ed continued to say something. It seemed like he was saying some numbers.
"One… six… zero…"
The hand that pressed against his wound was useless. Without even having the time to wipe away her tears, Clarice somehow gathered strength in her hands.
Clarice had done nothing to Ed. She was only caught in this situation, unable to adapt to the sudden disaster—led by his hand, only for him to eventually die instead of her.
That fact ate away at Clarice's heart. Looking at his face, which was losing its vitality, continuously pushed her brain.
Too many people died sacrificing themselves for Clarice. None of them had time to even worry about themselves.
She didn't want any of them to end up dying, especially Ed. He is still barely breathing.
However… that light of his life was starting to run out.
Ed used all of his remaining strength to send away the collapsing building's rubble that poured down from the roof. Without the magic power drawn from Glast's ring, it would have been impossible to do in his current condition.
And then… the remaining strength of his body was depleted. His body sank down into the Saint's lap with a thud.
"Eugh… Eughk… Sniff… Eugh…"
In a room where the ceiling had collapsed, and the inside was completely exposed… The saint wrapped her arms around Ed's head while shedding tears. Ed's eyes started to grow pale as the blood started to leave his face.
"No… You can't… Please… No…"
And like that… Ed no longer breathed.
The Holy Blue Dragon let out a roar that filled the sky. Lucy and Obel were struggling.
The strange magic circle that rose from a corner in the education district began to cover the entire sky.
Suddenly, it felt as if the entire world was covered in light. Was that how they were going to die?
Clarice hugged Ed's head tightly as she wept.
"I'm sorry."
Constantly repeating that…
That was how she faced the end of her life.
***
It felt like the black curtain had finally been lifted.
She had no choice but to squint as a bright light suddenly stung her eyes.
Clarice swallowed harshly.
"I-It's the Saint. What is she doing here…?"
"Today is the Joint Combat Practice. Didn't she come to check on the list of matches…?"
"Idiot…! The Saint is meeting with the distinguished guests from the Holy City today…! So, she isn't going to the joint practice…!"
"Ah, that's right… Then why is she here…? Don't tell me, did she come here to meet that man, Ed…?"
"Those two know each other…?"
"I'm not sure… I don't think I've ever seen the Saint talk with that guy before, though."
"In the first place, the Saint never comes in close contact with others."
"That's true…"
She could hear whispers from all around her.
She was near the main entrance of Glockt Hall. A wooden table for the students to rest.
Sitting across from her was a person that caught her attention… Ed Rothstaylor. Sitting next to him was Yennekar Palerover.
"..."
Clarice couldn't breathe. In the first place, the situation was impossible to comprehend.
Just before… the image of Ed slowly turning cold as he laid in Clarice's arms, it still hadn't left her mind.
However, right now Ed Rothstaylor was right in front of her… He closed the book he was reading, putting it down on the table as he looked at the Saint with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Saint. You said you had something to talk about… What is it about…?"
As he responded to her, Ed Rothstaylor looked straight at Clarice.
"..."
At that moment, the image of that blonde haired boy standing in the rubble of the building suddenly flashed through her mind. The iron rod that pierced his chest as the blood continued to gush out… Seeing him hold up the rubble to protect Clarice, despite dying. That memory of him overlapped with who she was seeing now.
Barely holding back her feelings and the tears about to flow down her face, Clarice quickly stood up from her seat. In an instant, she approached Ed.
Suddenly, she started to unbutton Ed's shirt as she tried to take a look.
"...??"
"Wait, right now, what… Are you doing…?"
Unable to touch the Saint's body recklessly, Ed asked her what she was doing while keeping both his arms raised in their air, completely perplexed.
Yennekar, who was sitting next to him, started firing off question marks as her ears turned bright red. All the students that were watching also came to complete standstill.
The Saint undid a couple buttons on Ed's shirt as she looked inside, but there was no puncture wound or blood.
Yennekar quickly jumped up from her seat with a flushed face.
"S-Saint…! Even though you are the Saint… In broad daylight, in a place like this… Doing something like this is a bit…!!"
The moment she said those things to try and stop Clarice, she let Ed go.
Taking a step back… She slumped down into her seat.
Was it a dream? Maybe a hallucination? Have I just been so tired these days that I'm starting to see ridiculous things?
Clarice shook her head after thinking such thoughts… Suddenly, she started to feel a pain in her lower arm.
At that feeling, Clarice raised her right arm to check her wrist.
She gasped.
On her slender wrist… She didn't know why, but it was still there.
The handprint that was left behind when Ed had grabbed her as they ran towards Ophelis Hall.
The memory of his face growing colder as he died protecting Clarice. It all started to bloom in her head, becoming a vivid memory.
Wiping Ed's face, who was standing right in front of her, over and over again… Tears started to flow down.
Of course, all the students that were watching… couldn't help but freeze, still as stone.
-x-X-x-