“Really bothersome.”
Luca clicked his tongue as he looked at the sword lying on the ground. Putting him down had not been easy.
Even with the powers of the Void and the various magic Luca personally set up, the sword still tried to resist.
‘It’s the lady’s order!’
Had the Apostle of the Void not come when the sword drew his weapon, Luca would have wasted his time dealing with him.
“The barrier has been breached?” Luca, still looking at the sword lying on the ground, was taken aback by the Apostle of the Void’s words and unconsciously repeated the question.
“Yes. We’ve sent a team to handle it.”
“Interesting.”
What surprised Luca wasn’t that part of the barrier had collapsed. What startled him was that it had already been broken so soon.
“Do we know who it was?”
“It’s the Sword Saint.”
“...Pardon?”
“Sword Saint Uden. She’s entered the barrier.”
Upon hearing the identity of the intruder, Luca’s pupils twitched. Why? Why is she here?
...Lady Arlen. It’s her. She must have summoned Uden through some method.
A week ago, when she mentioned her name while targeting me, I had a suspicion.
What is she? How does she know so much about my past?
Has the Lord granted the ability to peer into the past to someone she favors?
“Luca?”
“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking for a moment.”
Luca, stunned by the fact that the one who had made him give up becoming a star had arrived here, snapped out of it when he heard the Apostle of the Void call him.
Calm down. In the end, nothing will change.
The traces I leave on Lady Arlen will eventually bloom and elevate her to a star higher than anyone else.
When that time comes, Uden’s light will be nothing in comparison.
“We’ll deal with this as we originally planned.”
“The situation keeps getting more complicated.”
“Haha, it’s better than Benedict leading his knights to march in.”
The worst-case scenario they had imagined was truly terrifying.
They had to consider the possibility that all the monsters supporting the kingdom of Soladin could appear here.
In comparison, the appearance of a single Sword Saint, Uden, was nothing to worry about.
“Let’s head to the location where the barrier’s magic is. No matter what happens, as long as we accomplish our goal, we win.”
Joy, waking up, immediately jumped up and looked around at the noble ladies. They were all the same.
Everyone was in a deep sleep, induced by the blackened barrier.
From the occasional murmuring, it seemed like they were all seeing visions of hell.
Joy tried to wake her friends using magic, but soon realized it was beyond her capabilities.
This is something I shouldn’t touch carelessly. If I force someone out of a dream, I don’t know what might happen.
If Faye were here, it might be different, but if I interfere...
This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.
That’s it! Faye! First, I’ll go meet Faye! She would have definitely realized the place was a dream and gotten out of it by now!
And Lucy too! Lucy, who had been preparing for this situation, must have already left the dream and is doing what needs to be done!
Maybe it’s because she had already expected something like this to happen.
Even though Joy was in danger, she managed to keep her cool and assess the situation.
What would have happened if I had suddenly faced this crisis without any knowledge? I would have probably done something foolish like others often do.
Thinking of her friends’ playful laughter, she felt reassured.
I should be able to meet them soon, right? She thought as she prepared to leave the building, but then she heard footsteps in the distance and quickly suppressed her presence.
If there are people moving freely in this place where everyone else is asleep, they must be the followers of the Demon God.
The fact that they’re moving urgently means something has happened.
Lucy? Or someone she’s preparing?
“...The barrier... intrusion...”
“The academy...”
“...Hold on...”
The voices were distant, and Joy couldn’t fully make out what they were saying, but the fragments she heard were enough for her to understand.
The barrier controlled by the followers of the Demon God had encountered a problem, and they were moving to deal with it.
She couldn’t know the exact details, but this was enough. Something unexpected had happened, and they were clearly confused.
Once the commotion died down, Joy used magic to conceal her presence.
It was a magic she often used when she wanted to rest after socializing with the noble ladies in the gathering halls. She had used it countless times, so she was as confident in it as she was with any of her other spells.
Phew. Where could Faye be?
She would have escaped the nightmare faster than I did.
No, maybe she never even got caught in the nightmare.
But then again... no. Wait a minute.
Let’s think about this from the other side. From their perspective, Faye is definitely someone to be wary of.
As the Saintess, she has caused countless things to happen. Of course, they’d be on alert for her.
So, it’s entirely possible that the followers of the Void are trying to eliminate her as a variable.
“Faye!”
Immediately jumping to a conclusion, Joy moved quickly, using wind to silence her footsteps as she hurried toward where Faye was staying.
Because of the academy’s request, they had no choice but to place Faye in one of the higher-ranked rooms in the noble dormitory to avoid criticism from the Church of the Great God, despite not treating her any differently from the other students.
Having visited her room several times, Joy arrived there in just a few minutes.
“I’ve been waiting, Joy.”
Faye was smiling softly in her room, but the scene around her was far from soothing.
“You’ve been... attacked, haven’t you?”
“As you can see.”
Several people were lying around Faye.
Each of them wore bizarre masks, from which foamy saliva was dripping out of their mouths.
“What did you do?”
“Do you know that if you heal someone using recovery magic, they’ll feel extreme pain?”
“Why?”
“It’s possible to manipulate the senses to remove it, but can we amplify it?”
Upon hearing Faye’s words, Joy felt a chill run down her spine.
She amplified the pain from recovery magic?! If she did that, they might die from the pain!
“By repeatedly healing the injuries with purifying light, they eventually fell into a deep sleep.”
“...Could you not say that with a smile? It’s really terrifying.”
“Is that so? I was trying to reassure you with my expression.”
“No matter how good your expression is, it doesn’t change the fact that the situation around us doesn’t match it. Saintess.”
“Hiyah... Ugh. Ughhh!?”
Faye, who seemed not to understand why it was terrifying, tilted her head when suddenly a voice came from behind Joy.
Startled, Joy screamed, but her voice was muffled by a hand covered with calluses.
“Calm down, Lady Partlan. I’m not a bad person.”
“Why are you here, Sword Saint?”
As Uden calmed Joy, Faye, having regained her composure, voiced her confusion.
“I was summoned by Lady Arlen. I’m not sure of the details. I’m being manipulated by her plan.”
“Lady Arlen?”
As soon as Faye heard Lady Arlen’s name, her face broke into a wide smile, causing Uden to step back slightly.
When I met the Saintess before, I thought her maturity and reliability were so great that I felt I might naturally develop faith in her, despite not having any before.
But now...
Hmm.
It hasn’t changed that much, but somehow, there’s a somewhat dangerous air in her faith.
No. Never mind. This isn’t the time to think about that.
“Did you not hear anything from Lady Arlen?”
“We heard that something would happen, but we don’t know the details.”
“Ugh! Ughhh!”
As Faye shook her head, Joy gripped Uden’s hand tightly.
“Oh, sorry, Lady Partlan. My apologies.”
“That’s fine. Lucy told us something recently.”
“What was it?”
“The academy’s barrier. How to fix it.”
Although it was technically Archmage Erginus who taught them, Joy didn’t mention him. She knew it would only make things more troublesome to bring it up.
“The problem with the academy right now is the barrier. So, if we fix the problem with the barrier, we should be able to resolve the current situation.”
By now, Lucy is probably heading toward the location of the academy’s barrier. She should know even the most secret places in the academy.
So, if we head to the location of the barrier, we’ll naturally meet up with Lucy and help solve this.
“Do you not know where the barrier is, Lady Partlan?”
“...Well...”
“...Don’t you know?”
“No! Faye! Please, sense where Lucy’s divinity is! You can sense it, right?”
“I’m sorry, Joy. But this place is filled with the power of the Void, so it’s difficult for me to sense anything right now.”
“...Then what do we do?”
“Ask me that?”
As the group, having lost their way, blinked in confusion, Uden placed his hand on his sword.
“You don’t have to worry. There are idiots coming here who want to give us information.”
“Huh?”
“Simply put, there are idiots who are desperate to die.”