Chapter 336: Succession of the Academy Exchange (4)

It was a sea of fire.

I scanned the area around me.

A snow-white mountain range—the Alps, so dazzling they hurt the eyes.

Yet here and there, black fungus-like growths marked scorched spots. Beyond the jagged peaks, a faint reddish glow flickered.

The sky was a whitish gray, veiled in suffocating smoke, and the earth was completely stained a deep crimson.

If you looked up, it felt like you’d go blind. If you looked down, your eyeballs seemed like they’d boil.

That’s how radiant Parsy Academy had once been.

That’s why I couldn’t reconcile this hellish scene with that one.

If not for the statue of Parsy’s headmaster, I probably wouldn’t have recognized it so quickly.

Even that statue was melting like ice cream, revealing only the metal framework beneath.

A monstrous form, like a six-meter-tall anatomical model from a laboratory, looked as if it had been pulled from a horror story.

But compared to the crowd filling the academy grounds, that anatomical figure was no more than a child’s toy.

Fwooooosh!

People bowed in prayer toward the rising flames. Some wore thick robes, their lips moving nonstop. Simultaneously, they snapped their fingers repeatedly.

“Are they… using magic…?”

I shuddered.

Humans can use magic.

Like the villains of the past who made contracts with Corp Commanders.

If this was the work of those remnants causing chaos, it would almost be preferable. You’d just need to hunt and crush them.

‘But this isn’t contract magic.’

They weren’t villains. They were drawing mana on their own to cast spells.

I could see it.

Tiny light particles flowed as if attracted to their hands. My eyes picked up the stream of mana.

If I had to give them a name they would be mages.

A class that doesn’t exist within Miracle Blessing M.

Among humans, only villains pretend to use magic. The idea is to use their lord as a fuel tank to borrow mana.

Because the human world isn’t an environment where mana naturally flows.

That’s why this is an illusion.

A scene that breaks the world’s logic like shattered glass.

A falsehood. How many of the universe’s foundations are being shaken right now?

No way.

‘This can’t be real.’

At that moment, my vision wavered. I raised a hand to my temple.

“Ugh…”

My head throbbed from the inside. The scene was too vivid.

This technique was indistinguishable from reality.

‘This isn’t just an illusion…’

Then, from ahead, as if responding to my thoughts, a voice rang out.

“It’s not.”

It was Chaerina.

“You know this isn’t just an illusion, ■■. No matter how much you run from reality, nothing will change.”

It’s the future. That’s what Chaerina meant.

“You have an incredible talent… Even with the Poet of Media’s Blessing, you can only glimpse fragments of the future, but you… you, even under suppression, can draw it. Your ability is practically cheating.”

I cut her off.

‘Under normal circumstances, I would’ve drawn my sword before speaking.’

But I couldn’t now. My body wouldn’t budge an inch.

It felt like seaweed had wrapped around me from ankles to waist, immobilizing me. Seemed like Chaerina had done something.

Did she call it “Gleipnir”? [1]

“What you’re bound by now isn’t Gleipnir. It’s Humbaba, the dimensional chains.”

…Can she read my mind?

“It’s a suppression measure designed to restrain a demigod like you. Or perhaps a limitation you placed on yourself.”

Chaerina spoke with her usual indifferent tone, saying incomprehensible things.

But her gaze held an odd sympathy. As if she pitied me. As if she regretted something.

“How long do you plan to stay stuck in your adolescence? If you keep this up, everyone will suffer.”

“…Coming from someone who introduced herself as a herald of hell, you sure care a lot about others…”

A trickle of blood ran from my nose. Before it could hit the ground, it instantly evaporated.

That’s how scorching the heat was beneath both Chaerina’s and my feet.

Humans were using magic. Worshipping an unnatural fire, born of mana.

If the world had been destroyed by a demonic assault, we could rebuild.

After all, the Joaquin Academy had done it before.

‘But if humanity itself has fallen…’

Then there is no salvation.

I didn’t know if she was a regressor, a possessed, or a reincarnated being—but that damn beautiful girl whose true identity was unknown, who claimed to have seen “hell”—

She spoke of a world where the laws of the universe, its foundation, had crumbled.

“I saw this damn hell. It’s not that I am hell itself. In fact, I want to stop it. And for that, ■■, I need your help.”

A plea filled with layered meaning. With no explanation or context, she asked for cooperation.

Even so, the message was clear between the lines.

Though incomplete, I am the God of the Sword. Fragments of the truth rest in my mind, allowing me to roughly grasp Chaerina’s words.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m no mythology expert, but I at least know that ‘Hel’ is part of the end-of-the-world myth.”

I wiped the blood from my upper lip with the back of my hand and, blood still on my lips, spat words at Chaerina.

“Just because my affinity is hell doesn’t mean I’m evil. Just as you, even as a God of the Sword, are desperately trying to hold this crumbling world together.”

I had no rebuttal to that.

“This world is falling apart.”

“…”

“■■, the fact that you’re still shackled to your adolescence is what’s slowly rotting this world. Though…”

Chaerina looked down.

Below, a crowd of humans lifted their heads as if struck by an anti-aircraft cannon. Their eyes were fixed on us.

“Ahh! Look! The brothers of the apocalypse!”

“Oh, ruler of Niflheim, oh wolf who devours heaven and earth! We can only thank you for granting us this equalizing power…!”

Within the illusion, the people praised us with tears in their eyes.

“Oh, almighty one in the form of a boy!”

“Unleash your power!”

“Show us true magic!”

Chaerina watched them from above. A bright fire burned in her astonished eyes.

“All worlds are destined to be destroyed, but if we join forces, maybe we can hold everything together.”

“What the hell are you—”

“We are the agents of the apocalypse.”

Chaerina suddenly stepped closer. A sweet scent drifted through my hair.

“I am the dominator of Niflheim. That woman who pretends to be a saint is the serpent that coils around Midgard. And you are the wolf that devours the universe.”

Her delicate hand brushed my chin. It felt rough.

“We, the agents of the apocalypse, will swallow the force of suppression. And if we stabilize the phenomenon with that—”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“…Huh?”

I looked straight into her wide, black eyes.

“I get it now. You’ve got impressive skills. Hel? Gleipnir? Whatever. You even trapped me in this illusion and tied me down. But I’m the God of the Sword, and being bound by a kid is humiliating.”

My hair began to lift slowly.

“Chaerina, instead of thinking about how to prevent the apocalypse, you should be worried about what happens when I break out of this illusion. When you pretended to be my cousin, I let it go. But if this continues, I won’t just sit back.”

“…When this illusion ends, you’ll lose your memory too.”

Chaerina bit her lower lip with barely contained anger.

“Do you know why? Because even though you’re close to omnipotent, you gave up omniscience by choosing pathetic humanity. You could have been great. Why did you throw that chance away?”

“Because I’ve always done whatever I wanted. In my past life, and in this one too.”

As I spoke, still bound by invisible threads, I only shrugged.

And then, suddenly, a screech interrupted the moment.

Caw!

***

I’m happy.

I know that blind love isn’t always returned. I’m no longer a child.

That blonde human, Rachel, she’s just too developed. I’m also a full-grown woman now.

I learned at Joaquin Academy that what matters isn’t physical development, but mental growth. I spent three autumns with him, and I’ve matured too.

Thank goodness that, despite my family’s and my grandfather’s opposition, I decided to join the Wolf Class.

It was the best decision of my life.

No, on second thought, it was the first time I ever made a decision on my own and acted on it.

How did I get the courage? There’s no need to explain.

There’s someone I’ve always wanted to be with… Even though we’re a little distant now, I’ve been watching him from afar.

Still, I’m happy. Because he’s alive, because if I want to, I can go see him.

Really?

Yes, really!

Losing him was entirely my fault. I can’t blame anyone else.

I was immature back then, and thinking I was being a burden to him, I avoided him. Being unable to imagine a future with him was entirely my own mistake.

And so, you’re going to give up?

I…

I…

From now on, I’ll give it my all.

I’ll clear every obstacle in his path with my own hands. I didn’t like getting my hands dirty before? So what?

Ah, ah, right! I’m not saying I’ll hurt his friends!

The people who protect him are precious friends to me too.

This isn’t a coward’s excuse.

It’s sincere—completely sincere, without a single lie.

And I truly believe this sincerity will reach him.

I couldn’t express it when I was clumsy and naive, but this time, I’m sure it will reach him.

And if someone gets in the way?

T-those things don’t matter.

Why?

Because I’ll eliminate them all.

You know what? Crows survive by feeding on corpses. People only see that and think they’re bad omens, but not in Mongolia or Tibet.

There, they have a funeral tradition called “Sky Burial.”

They believe the soul of the deceased ascends to the celestial palace with the crows.

Don’t tell me you—

“….”

Heavenly Sword.

I love you.

“So…”

Love me too.

***

“…Hugin? Munin? What are you two doing here?”

As soon as Chaerina muttered that, a large crow positioned itself between us.

It ruffled the feathers around its neck and fiercely shoved Chaerina back.

Caw! Caw!

Chaerina had no choice but to move away from me. I felt a slight weight on my left shoulder.

A large crow landed gently on it.

Caw!

Another crow gripped my other shoulder with its talons, like a claw.

The crow on the left stared intently at Chaerina, as if to keep her at bay, while the one on the right pecked me gently with its beak.

It didn’t wound me. In fact, as it moved its head like a woodpecker, I began to regain my freedom of movement.

At the same time, I started to break free from the bond that shackled my soul.

Whisper.

I closed my eyes, feeling a sense of release. The illusion shattered like glass struck with a hammer.

The fragments reassembled to form reality once again.

Crackle…

The scent of fresh grass brushed against my nose. I felt the pure air filtering through the folds of my mind.

When I opened my eyes, a red hue filled my field of vision.

Grrrrk…

A familiar figure passed by my side, dragging a katana along the ground.

Whoosh!

Her red hair fluttered in the night breeze.

“Heavenly Sword, are you alright?”

The gaze that landed among my hair was murkier than a pomegranate seed.

This wasn’t the Chloe I knew.

“This time, I’ll save you.”

Ten years had passed.

T/N:

(1): In Norse mythology, a magical rope used to bind the monstrous wolf Fenrir.