There Is No World For ■■

* * *It was a tranquil night at the academy.The footsteps of the night patrol guards were quiet enough to maintain the calm, and the sound of the night breeze rustling through the bushes was not long enough to awaken the night.An ordinary night, just like any other, as if the commotion caused by the transfer student had never happened.However, an eerie voice suddenly broke the silence that seemed to last for eternity.“…The Saintess has finally arrived at the academy today.”The voice sounded as if dozens of people were speaking simultaneously.“Everything is just as the prophet foretold.”Each time the voice resonated, the nearby street lights flickered, and winged insects fell dead.Witnessing the surrealist scene, the moonlight briefly illuminated the owner of the voice, but all that emerged from the darkness was a thick robe that revealed nothing underneath.“Now, I will resume the plan that was delayed. Does anyone oppose it?”Amidst the darkness of the night, several figures were standing beside the owner of the eerie voice.“I disagree.”A middle-aged woman with a husky voice spoke up.“…Why?”“Have you already forgotten about the Manchurian affair? The prophecy has already gone awry.”The owner of the eerie voice shook his head.“The Manchurian affair… is unrelated to the prophet’s prophecy.”“How can it be unrelated? According to the original prophecy, the Saintess was supposed to head to Manchuria during summer vacation, not to a perfectly intact Manchuria, but to one that was already burned to the ground!”The middle-aged woman raised her voice in frustration.“And is that all? What about the transfer student who arrived at the academy along with her? Was there any mention of him in that so-called great prophecy?”As soon as the ‘transfer student’ was mentioned, everyone gathered in the darkness fell silent.After a moment, the eerie voice spoke again.“The net of the prophecy may be full of holes, but nothing can escape it. That student must be hiding his true identity, but he is undoubtedly part of the prophecy.”“…That’s nonsense.”“Oh Ava, how could you lose your faith?”The middle-aged woman, whose name had been revealed, flinched but that did not stop her from speaking.“We are not the Church. We must accept the reality unfolding before our eyes, not just faith. If the transfer student is hiding his identity, what on earth is his purpose in doing so?”“It’s such a pity but Ava, it seems like you’ve been associating with the Earth’s evil spirits for a bit too long.”As the eerie voice finished speaking, the darkness in the surroundings began to ripple.Crash! Unable to t withstand the unseen pressure, a street light burst, and the surrounding darkness grew even thicker.“…Wait, wait. Priest, just a moment. Ava’s words do hold some weight, don’t they?”A light voice interjected between the two.“It seems that you already have an idea about the transfer student’s true identity, Priest. So please enlighten us.”“…”“Only the devout, like the Priest, can maintain unwavering faith, even in the face of doubt. You know that as well, don’t you?”As soon as the gloomy voice finished speaking, the pressure exerted by the so-called priest vanished like the melting snow.“Tch, faithless ones…”The priest clicked his tongue softly and explained.“Try to recall where and how the transfer student made his appearance, and what he has been doing so far.”Without needing to be told, everyone present knew exactly what the transfer student had been up to.From the moment the Saintess failed to make her appearance at the entrance ceremony, all their attention had been focused on North Manchuria.“…Did no one really notice? He is a secret escort dispatched by the Holy Knights to protect the Saintess.”“A secret escort? What makes… you think that?”“The prophecy says that the fallen shield of the Holy Knights lies hidden within the academy, protecting the Saintess. And the transfer student has been protecting the Saintess since Manchuria. Could these two connections be mere coincidence?”Though his logic had many flaws, no one present pointed them out.Was it because People of Religion were always like that? No, it was because the hypothesis sounded plausible. It also fitted well with how unreal the transfer student’s achievements seemed.A mercenary suddenly appearing out of nowhere and defeating a dragon alongside the Saintess and then earning the dragon’s recognition? It wasn’t like he was a hero from the legend or something.But what if the mercenary’s true identity was the Saintess’ secret escort? If all this were part of the apostates’ conspiracy… It was quite a plausible story.They would need to activate their information network for a more detailed investigation, but everyone present had a similar thought.“Is there anyone who still opposes the plan?”There was no answer. In a situation like this, silence was equivalent to agreement, and the priest nodded.“Then, as the prophecy foretold, the academy will burn to the ground.”“…When will it start?”“Today, the moment the day breaks.”No further explanation was necessary. The figures in the darkness turned away without saying a word.As everyone disappeared without a sound, only the middle-aged woman called Ava remained behind, staring blankly at the priest.“Why did you stay?”“Priest, about the transfer student. As you said, there is a possibility that he is the Saintess’ secret escort, but…”“…”“Is it entirely impossible that he’s just an earth-born mercenary? And what if he is the master of fate in the prophecy…?”The term ‘master of fate’ made the priest turn his head sharply. His eyes, darker than the darkness itself, fixed on Ava.“… Under no circumstances can an Earthian ever become the master of fate—just like the Saintess, who has been tainted with commie blood.”It was the most confident he sounded among everything he had said so far.Ava did not say anything in response and simply turned away.As she walked away, the priest slowly turned his head to look up at the broken streetlight.The shattered bulb spewed sparks intermittently, as if a dying person were spitting out blood.After watching it for a moment, the priest raised his hand. Then, the next moment, he clenched his fist.Crack.With that, tranquility returned to the night .Two types of winter uniforms, two types of summer uniforms, gym clothes, and even religious garments like a veil and a shoulder cape were all placed beside each other.She contemplated over each piece of the academy-provided uniforms, picking them up and putting them down one by one.Hmmm… How should I wear this…Should she go with the top of the winter uniform and the bottom of the summer one, like the trends she saw on social media?Or should she wear a winter skirt and summer blouse like the celebrities did in dramas?There were even some cheeky examples like using the academy pajamas and swimwear, but… she couldn’t wear those to school, so she dismissed those thoughts.Anyway, after contemplating over uniform combinations for over two hours, she finally decided on her outfit with just 10 minutes left before school started.A navy-colored coat with silver accents and a neat pleated skirt.It was the standard winter uniform combination of Lord Howe Academy, and it was the exact outfit that Seti had worn yesterday.After giving her outfit a once over, the Saintess hesitated about whether to wear the pure white shoulder cape that symbolized the five gods’ priests. And only after hearing the dormitory head’s call to hurry to school did she leave the room.Fortunately, since there were many other students besides her who were also rushing to school at the last minute, it did not look odd.Of course, she did attract the attention of students who recognized her with a blindfold and shoulder cape.Normally, she would have probably felt a bit intimidated by all the attention… but the Saintess was quite pleased with it at the moment.She walked confidently. As she neared the main building for the first-years, her heart pounded with the realization that she had finally arrived at the academy she had dreamed of.I wonder if Seti and Yeomyeong have already arrived?She thought of her sole… no, her two treasured friends as she passed through the main entrance of the building.Even if she wasn’t sure about Yeomyeong, the diligent Seti must have arrived early.Although she didn’t get the chance to greet Seti yesterday because the girl was dragged away by the disciplinary committee as soon as the fight came to an end, she was determined to catch up with her today…Huh?The moment she entered the hallway, she saw two female students walking side by side.A blonde girl chattering away in a friendly manner and a black-haired girl listening to her in silence.Seti…As she watched the two, the Saintess felt an unexpected surge of emotion.The sight of them walking shoulder to shoulder was exactly like the academy life she had always dreamed of.Of course, it wasn’t strange for Seti to make friends besides her, but still… still, she felt…As she struggled to contain the unfamiliar emotions rising within her and her hands trembled, Seti made eye contact with her.The Saintess, who felt a pang of sadness, smiled brightly and waved, and Seti…Only gave a slight bow in her direction; a formal greeting with no sense of familiarity.…?And that was the end of her reunion with Seti. There was no heartfelt conversation or hug. Seti simply entered the classroom with her friend.Left alone in the hallway, the Saintess stood there blankly, gazing alternately at her hands and the classroom Seti had disappeared into.What was this? What was happening?Her mind was in turmoil, unable to accept the reality. Was she having a nightmare?“What are you doing standing in a daze?”As she stood there frozen, a familiar voice pulled the Saintess back to reality.“…Yeomyeong.”She turned towards Yeomyeong, who looked unusually neat in his school uniform, but she was unable to offer any compliments or greetings. Her mouth just wouldn’t open.“Uh… well… uh…”‘Did I just get dumped?’ was the first thought that came to mind. Following that were all sorts of harsh words, but she couldn’t bring herself to say any of them out loud.So she just kept her mouth shut and was about to enter the classroom.Or rather, she tried to.However, the moment she opened the back door of the classroom, she was greeted by the sight of Seti standing there with her arms crossed.A corner of her mouth was slightly raised, and her blue eyes had a playful look in them.“Yo!”“…”“Long time no see.”As soon as Seti uncrossed her arms and stretched out her arms, something burst inside the Saintess’ heart.“You, you can’t be serious… were you trying to mess with me…?”“Did it work?”“Y-You…! You bad bitch!”The Saintess jumped into Seti’s arms. Ignoring the curious gazes of the other students in the classroom, she hugged her long-lost friend tightly.“I really, really missed you…”“But I didn’t really miss you though?”“Hmph! You’re saying that again!”Unfortunately for the Saintess, their emotional reunion didn’t last long.Just as she started to rub her face against Seti’s uniform, Yeomyeong cleared his throat and said.“…Do you really have to do that right at the door?”At the top of the towering building was a room known as the Central Security Room.This place managed not only the surveillance cameras installed throughout the academy but also the detection magic that covered all four islands.Though it was considered to be an impregnable fortress, it was not without its weaknesses.For instance… what if an explosion occurred in the commoner guard’s night duty room, located just four floors below the Central Security Room?The mana source leading to the Central Security Room would be cut off, and the island’s detection magic would be instantly neutralized.Of course, the neutralization wouldn’t last long. The mage residing in the security room would quickly restore the magic.However, even the shortest recovery time needed would take over 5 minutes.And five minutes was more than enough time to turn the whole world upside down.John didn’t particularly agree with this assessment… but at least, that was how the organization he worked for saw it.“…John? Why do you look like that? Is something wrong?”Seeing John fiddling with his bulky bag, a fellow guard asked.John was about to say that everything was fine.After all, it would be foolish to tell him that this bag contained a massive bomb that would not only shake the night duty room but even the security room above.However, what came out of his mouth was… something entirely different.“Chief Kim, you said something about seeing your grandson recently, didn’t you?”“My grandson? He’s so adorable, just like his mother. But, forget about that, and we need to talk about your condition first…”“You should get out of the management department immediately.”“What? John, why are you saying this?”John squeezed his eyes shut.As the priest said, it seemed that he had spent too much time mingling with the Earth’s evil spirits.“Damn it, can’t you hear me? Get out immediately!”Drawing his pistol from his waistband, he aimed it at the other guards in the night duty room.Though they were taken aback, Chief Kim and the other guards did not attempt to subdue him.Fortunately for John, they seemed to catch on to the situation and slipped out of the night duty room furtively, likely intending to call for a superhuman from another department.Well, even John would have done the same. That was the only way to ensure that no one got hurt.Bang!Once he confirmed that all the guards had left, John locked the door to the night duty room.Although he wasn’t sure if this would allow the other guards to escape the explosion safely, he was at least grateful that he wouldn’t have to witness their deaths with his own eyes as he opened the bag.“Hail to the Empire\'s independence!”With those last words that no one would hear, the night duty room exploded.