Traitor (1)
The academy returns to its daily routine, the night of the banquet fading like a lingering image of winter.
The short, intense fortnight of vacation concludes with a single night celebrating the new semester.
A time when resumed studies and schedules plague the students, the relatively relaxed atmosphere within the school also slowly reverts to a scene of fierce competition.
The second act begins.
Peacefully.
And calmly.
"I've processed all the documents you handed over."
"Ah... thank you."
That daily routine included me as well. It was an atmosphere of tranquility I hadn't felt in a while.
As I was handling my usual staff duties, the woman next to me tapped my shoulder. Before I could even turn, a teacup was placed on my desk. A fragrant warmth emanated from it. I tilted my head.
"Tea...?"
"It's cold today. It's not much, but I brewed some."
"It smells wonderful, despite what you say. I never knew you were a connoisseur of tea."
"This is the first time I've served it to anyone."
"So I'm the first, again."
"Are you happy about that?"
"Of course."
A natural conversation flowed between us.
After the banquet, our relationship had changed, albeit slightly.
I’d say the distance between us had narrowed.
Although her characteristically cold and lifeless demeanor remained, she seemed to have softened somewhat in her attitude towards me.
Her stiff tone of voice had noticeably loosened since that day.
We felt a little closer.
We continued our work side by side.
"By the way... it seems like the workload has increased considerably."
"It's a busy time of year."
The beginning of the winter semester. It was the busiest time of year for the Academy.
Especially since it coincided with schedules of external organizations, internal staff were often dispatched outside, leaving the Academy at its emptiest. Its notoriety was well-known even among the staff.
A hectic week, to say the least.
'Was it because of that?'
In the original story, it was the signal flare for the start of a full-scale wave, and a scene where the nightmares that had only been faint until then arrived directly.
In the original story, this was the signal that marked the beginning of the full-scale waves, the point where the hitherto faint nightmare truly arrived. Even the brief peace was shattered. The storm was finally brewing.
'It's only a few days away, isn't it?'
The story was fast approaching. Perhaps as much as I was waiting for the beginning of the disaster, I needed to prepare for it. If I made a mistake and lost my footing, I would slip and fall.
As I was pondering the impending disaster, the woman sitting nearby softly called my name. Her voice was tinged with surprise.
"Student Judas?"
"Yes?"
She was looking at a snake. More precisely, at my hand, which was stroking her purple hair.
Smoothly, gently.
"...What is this?"
"Ah."
I realized it belatedly. Lately, there had been many requests for head pats, and as I got used to it, my hand seemed to move on its own.
I gently removed my hand from her soft hair.
Was she quite bewildered? Selena had a blank expression on her face.
I added a clumsy excuse.
"It's a habit... I apologize. I've been rude."
"No... It wasn't particularly unpleasant or anything. I was just surprised by the unexpected action. You don't need to apologize."
"Then, may I continue?"
"Please refrain."
"That's a shame."
A playful response.
The woman, who had been staring intently at me, then murmured in a faint voice. It was her own spontaneous observation.
"Student Judas, you're strange."
"Hmm?"
"How should I put it... it feels comfortable being with you, and it strangely brings back a lot of old memories."
"..."
Old memories. Was the longing contained in those fragments a reflection of your regret?
The atmosphere seemed to sink a little, but the woman quickly regained her composure, masking her faint inner thoughts.
"It doesn't matter anymore."
"Do you have something on your mind?"
"As if I would."
"You never know. If you do, please feel free to rely on me."
"You're a good person after all."
The drunkard slightly averted her gaze. Her expression darkened as she saw my smile. But I didn't question it.
It was my intention from the beginning to elicit such a reaction.
My reason for being kind to you, my reason for being so naive, my reason for being so touchingly obedient, from beginning to end, was to provoke your guilt.
I was manipulating your emotions as I pleased.
With a sly, teasing tongue.
Simply as an excuse for the sake of all our futures.
I lied.
'So... I don't deserve to be called a good person either.'
I smiled bitterly for a moment, careful not to let you notice. Hiding my mouth behind the teacup I briefly tilted, you spoke as you organized the processed documents. And then you put a period at the end of our work.
"Let's call it a day."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"That's my line. Thanks to Student Judas, we finished several hours early."
"Huhu... Then I'll be going now."
I headed out of the research room. Shadows spread around me. Each step I took was shrouded in shade. The surrounding air instantly grew heavy.
'Soon.'
The evil that would soon arrive. Since it was just before the beginning, I had to use the remaining time to prepare. It was time to wander in the darkness once more.
Even for me.
This episode wouldn't be easy.
***
The Academy attack. The episode that begins the tragedy of the original story.
[EP23. The Stirring of Evil]
-Seething blood and malice, the birth that cries out for death-
In the original story, this was where the true hardship began. As if everything before was nothing.
The dark mages, who had disappeared after the Great Purge, aimed for Gallimard Academy, where the Empire's best talents gathered, to make their debut a spectacular one.
By awakening the [Disaster] slumbering deep beneath the Academy.
Their plan was to completely destroy the surrounding area.
In the original story, it was a resounding success.
'Rats.'
An ancient, forgotten secret passage. After extensive research, they discovered a weakness in the Academy, secretly infiltrated, awakened [Death], and slipped away. The awakened Disaster devastated the entire area.
A senseless tragedy.
After half of the faculty sacrificed their lives, the Disaster was successfully sealed once more, but the Academy had already suffered irreparable damage. The only consolation was that there weren't many casualties among the students.
The earth was splattered with blood.
Regardless.
The cultists, seizing the opportunity, stepped onto the stage.
To achieve the resurrection of the Demon God.
'So many... Too many died.'
The word "shocking" was an understatement. Although there had been a dark atmosphere before, at most only a few extras died. Friendly supporting characters rarely exited the stage.
But that unspoken rule was completely overturned starting with this attack. Almost half of the supporting characters didn't survive.
[Category: Free Board]
[Title: No way, Professor Raphael dies here???]
Why are so many people dying in this episode?
I didn't expect this guy to die too
Damn, it feels like 40% of the named characters got wiped out
Especially the executive-level faculty, it's practically an annihilation
With the situation like this, the Headmaster isn't even stepping up
Is he really a useless character?
[The Headmaster being incompetent isn't exactly new]
-> Incompetent for the 2914645th season
-> Is that you again... JOAT
-> Look at Mr. I-told-you-so doing his thing again
[Raphael was so badass till the very end]
-> Dying while protecting the students is real
-> That guy even goes out in style
-> A true professor... We will never forget you...
[No fucking way this can't be happening Raphael don't die please get up]
-> But the result was a donut
-> My heart feels empty~
-> Good ventilation though
-> I will tear you all to shreds
Characters I often saw. NPCs I sometimes greeted and became friendly with died, so the shock of this episode was particularly intense. Because of this, many multi- playthrough players tried to prevent the event.
But the results...
[Category: Question Board]
[Title: Can this really be stopped?]
I'm a user with over 300 playthroughs
I keep trying everything to stop the attack episode
But there's a problem
It seems like the developers blocked all the solutions.
It's completely blocked from start to finish
They don't properly tell you the location of the secret passage where the cultists invade
The altar where the Disaster is sealed is covered by some ancient something, so detection magic and such don't work
Furthermore, there's not enough firepower to suppress the Disaster early on
Is this really the end??
Is there nothing we can do but watch the Disaster revive?
[If we could just find the location of the passage, it might work]
-> The problem is that we can't find it, damn it
[According to the setting, only the Headmasters throughout history know the location of the passage]
-> But the current Headmaster is mute?
-> That's why there's no way to find out
-> Ugh, incompetent fool
[Can't we just spread all the prophecies to the world, bear the restrictions, and die a glorious death?]
-> I think they said that's not allowed because it's some kind of protagonist's guide role
-> What guide? He hasn't guided anything
-> Just a guide?
-> Another peaceful day in Lindo Lindo
[Even the strategy guide guy failed]
-> So no one can find it?
-> What are we supposed to do when the guy who streams 16 hours a day can't find it?
-> I tried it 2553983512 times after reading this post
There was no way.
The location of the underground passage wasn't properly disclosed, and due to the spatial characteristics that even detection magic couldn't penetrate, it wasn't easy to even detect the intrusion. Therefore, preventing the Disaster was considered impossible.
Even I couldn't do it in my previous life.
Of course.
'This time is different.'
In this life, there was a way. A way to save the Academy and the people engulfed in ruin.
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