Chapter 636
The Stargazing ritual of Lete ended safely this time as well.
As a result—
Aside from the existing nine who remained on Roke Island, no new holy reaction could be felt.
Once again, Ever Kire’s presence could not be confirmed.
* * *
The next morning.
The 5th day of the Dark Emperor Festival. Morning of the final day of the event had arrived. From early dawn, the students of the Summonology Department were bustling with energy.
"Only one event left each!"
"Let’s crush it and take 1st place!"
Everyone shouted their fighting spirit as they rushed outside for morning training.
And from a little distance away, the Summonology Department representative, Leonard, watched his juniors quietly.
“Are you sure you won’t regret this?”
Leonard, who was just about to get up, froze.
Will had approached without him noticing, his expression grim.
“You rejected Sota’s offer, didn’t you? Worse, you went as far as ruining his plan.”
The Spiritology Department representative, Sota, had schemed to sabotage the entire Dark Emperor Festival and had tried to force Leonard into cooperating.
“......”
Leonard glanced toward his juniors and classmates who were chatting noisily in the lobby.
“In the end, Simon pulled us back up to 2nd place. Depending on today’s results, we might even make it to 1st. Just look at their faces. They’re all so happy.”
He let out a faint sigh.
“I can’t remember the last time I saw them smile like that. How could I, their representative, possibly ruin this festival? This Dark Emperor Festival is our Summonology Department’s stage.”
“Leonard.”
“I trust my classmates, my juniors, Simon. And—”
Leonard turned his gaze to Will.
“I believe in Aizel. Even without us dragging the festival into ruin, Aizel will return.”
Will clicked his tongue and folded his arms.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“If that Simon bastard had ditched the department entirely and focused only on student council work, would your choice have been different?”
As Leonard walked out of the dormitory, his smiling face turned ever so slightly cold.
“If that were the case, of course I wouldn’t forgive him.”
* * *
The 5th day of the Dark Emperor Festival, the last day.
In the morning, one last event would be held. In the afternoon, the closing ceremony would announce the winning department and the festival’s MVP.
And at night, a grand departmental party was scheduled.
The current rankings were as follows:
Katarology – 1st place overall
Summonology – 2nd place overall
Darkness Dynamics & Toxicology – Tied for 3rd
Magical Combat – 5th
Spiritology – 6th
Haematology – 7th
This year’s competition was extremely tight. Excluding the bottom-ranking departments, the point gap between Katarology, Summonology, Darkness Dynamics, and Toxicology was slim.
No one could let their guard down, and depending on who won the morning match, the rankings could undergo a major shift.
Simon had also arrived at the arena for his final match.
“Well then, last match. Do your best.”
Lete crossed her arms with a grin.
“I’ll sit here and observe how my future rival performs. Good chance to analyze your strength.”
Simon scratched his temple awkwardly.
“I appreciate you watching, but aren’t there other arenas you should check?”
“You saw it too, didn’t you? Even after using Stargazing last night, there was no sign of Ever Kire on Roke Island.”
Lete shrugged.
“And if Ever Kire were to appear, logically it would be during the afternoon’s closing ceremony when the crowd is the largest.”
“That does make sense.”
“So just play the morning match without worries.”
“Mm, thanks—”
—Attention, participating students. Please assemble at the arena.
The announcement echoed through the stadium.
“Gotta go!”
“Yeah, yeah. Do well.”
Waving off Simon as he ran down toward the field, Lete seated herself quietly in the empty audience stands.
-For now, it’s better to focus on the present than worry about the future. And I’ll work harder so such a future never arrives.
She pursed her lips, propped her chin on her hand.
“Well, I suppose that’s true.”
Bored while waiting for Simon to appear, she glanced around the venue.
The stone structure reminded her of an ancient colosseum—less an arena, more like a ruin. The spectator walls were pierced with open window-like holes, overgrown with moss, grass, and trees.
‘A classical arena? No wonder it feels so antique.’
“Excuse me.”
A calm voice made Lete turn her head.
A short-haired brown-haired girl in a Keyzen uniform was staring directly at her.
“That’s my seat.”
Students without badges on their collars were said to be 1st-years of Keyzen. Behind her stood several others, likely her friends.
Lete hesitated before standing up.
“Seats are assigned here?”
“Only in certain sections. This row is reserved, you have to buy it at the ticket booth.”
No wonder it was such a good spot.
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. You wouldn’t have known.”
As Lete stepped aside, the brown-haired girl sat down, her friends quickly filling the surrounding seats, chatting noisily about the upcoming match.
“Hmhm.”
The brown-haired girl pulled out a hand mirror, examining her reflection, then frowned slightly at Lete.
“Do you still need something?”
Lete was straining her memory.
That face… she had seen it somewhere. Not in person perhaps, but familiar.
Crackle!
Suddenly, the necklace sealing the Saint’s power around her neck reacted violently. With sharp pain, her holiness threatened to surge out.
‘What? Why is this happening?’
This had never happened before, and she panicked. Clutching the necklace, she forced the power back down.
Why would the Saint’s power react to a necromancer?
The brown-haired girl noticed Lete struggling and rose from her seat.
“Are you alright? What’s wrong?”
“I-It’s nothing.”
Her attempt to help only worsened things as she came closer. Lete quickly stepped back.
“Sasha!”
One of the girl’s friends called out.
“What are you doing? The Student Council President is coming out!”
“Really?”
At that, Sasha whipped her head around and, as if nothing had happened, her eyes sparkled as she ran toward the railing.
Waaaaahhh!
Below the waiting area, Simon, wearing his student council coat, was passing by. His mere appearance sent the crowd into wild cheers. Sasha and her friends screamed along.
“Student Council President!”
“Over here!”
As Sasha moved farther away, the artifact finally calmed down.
From her distant seat, Lete quietly watched Simon’s entrance.
Meanwhile, Sasha and her friends waved a banner that read Milky White Handsome President, shouting at the top of their lungs.
“President! You’re so cool!”
“Ahhh! Skipping class was worth it!”
“Look this way!”
With Sasha’s group causing such a racket, Simon was completely blocked from Lete’s view.
Her lips twitched with annoyance.
‘Ugh. What’s so great about that idiot anyway, to be that popular…’
Simon, marching through the arena, waved his hand in the direction where Lete was seated.
‘What? That’s directed at me, isn’t it?’
Lete’s eyes widened. She hesitated, then shyly started to raise her hand.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“The president! The Student Council President waved at me!”
“No, it was at me!”
“President Simon!!”
Sasha and her friends screamed with ecstatic faces, hopping up and down. In an instant, Lete’s view was blocked, her expression crumpling.
‘Oh, for crying out loud.’
She swallowed down her urge to kick them in the back of the head and instead rose from her seat.
She caught a brief glimpse of Simon. At last, she waved back, and perhaps noticing, Simon lowered his hand.
“Ahhh! He waved at me!”
“No, it was me, I’m telling you!”
As Sasha and her friends continued bickering, Lete sat down crossly, legs crossed.
‘Those little brats are so damn noisy.’
Normally, her temper would have flipped the whole section upside down for some discipline. But since she was in foreign territory, she endured.
Closing her eyes, Lete calmed her anger.
* * *
-We are live at Valkese Arena! Covering the final 2nd-year match on Day 5!
The announcer Conrad clutched the amplifying crystal sphere with an excited face.
-Today I’ll be commentating alone without professor support, since all staff are preparing for this afternoon’s closing ceremony! Please also look forward to the highlight of today—the afternoon finale!
-Only one department can become the protagonist of the Dark Emperor Festival! Everything is riding on this morning’s match! And we have surprising news! Simon Follentia, Student Council President, is competing in our arena! Will the Summonology Department surpass Katarology and take 1st place?!
Simon dashed frantically across the floating platforms inside the arena, scanning his surroundings.
‘Of course I want 1st place!’
As soon as he paused for breath, curses fired from all directions. Simon flipped backward with a nimble tumble, landing on another platform.
‘Just as I thought.’
The pressure was heavier than expected. Every single student here was watching him.
The event was called “Stepping Stones”.
Valkese Arena was a giant water-filled pool arena. From the central statue, a great torrent of water gushed endlessly.
Students could move by stepping on the floating platforms drifting on the water’s surface.
Above the arena, enchanted shuriken hovered in the air. If a student grabbed one and embedded it into their department’s pillar at the center, points were scored.
Splash! Splash!
Simon leapt from one platform to another, dodging the barrage. Then he soared into the air, right toward a flying shuriken.
‘Bare hands won’t work!’
Touching recklessly would shred his palms. Gathering Darkness into his fist, Simon smashed the incoming blade.
<Hongpeng’s Original – Chwita>
Craaaaang!
The shuriken’s spin and speed dropped drastically. Simon snatched it midair.
“The president’s got one!”
“Block him!”
At once, a barrage of dark flames and curses rained toward him, while a Magical Combat student sprinted across the platforms head-on.
‘So that’s how it is, huh?’
Simon jumped toward an area with no platforms and opened subspace.
“Come out, Deimos!”
His hidden trump card, a summon specialized for water battles.
Deimos, crafted from the bones of a young Underworld Whale, surged forward carrying Simon, slicing through the current and dodging projectiles with ease.
Swaaaaaaash—!
Simon gripped his wind-blown hair, eyes fixed forward.
‘There!’
Seven pillars stood in the arena.
Aiming at one, Simon hurled the shuriken.
“No way!”
A Magical Combat student lunged to intercept. Simon twitched his fingers.
The Bone Armor he had pre-attached to the shuriken activated, altering its trajectory. Yet the student’s arm brushed the tip by a hair’s breadth—knocking it off course.
‘Damn, so close...!’
Aaaaaaagh!
‘!’
Suddenly, Simon felt a chilling sensation in his body.
‘A scream?’
He whipped his head around, but saw only the students clashing mid-match.
All he could hear were splashes, whirling shuriken, and the crowd’s cheers.
Crackle—
‘Something’s off.’
With a dazed gaze, Simon scanned the arena.
Crackle... crackle...
‘Wait. Haven’t I... been here before?’
A sharp headache rose, as though his mind rejected remembering. Simon pressed his forehead, stubbornly forcing the thought.
‘This water arena. The grand statue pouring water... It feels too familiar.’
Crackle—!
-Hey, isn’t this too messed up? The preservation state of this arena is garbage! Especially beneath the water, there’s way too much to fix!
Through the static, a woman’s voice echoed in his head.
‘Whose voice is that?’
-Those are human bones. They weren’t starved or drowned—they were murdered.
This time, it was Simon’s own voice.
He focused harder on the phantom words.
-Return the arena to its original site. We won’t hold the Dark Emperor Festival in an arena that nearly jeopardized student safety.
Another woman’s voice.
The entire arena blurred, then returned, flickering in and out.
-Investigate every Keyzen official involved in certifying Valkese Arena. They couldn’t not have known the rumors. There must be a connection.
‘What is this? Memories? Did I really have such memories?’
Valkese Arena.
That was the name.
But wasn’t the contract canceled?
‘......’
Slowly, Simon folded his fingers.
‘That’s right.’
There were exactly fifteen arenas for the festival.
Simon ticked them off one by one in his mind. After so many endless duties as Student Council President, he had all fifteen memorized.
Woodville Arena, Boilstone Arena, Ringcastle Arena, Serut Stadium...
But no matter how many times he counted all fifteen—
‘There is no Valkese Arena.’
The 16th arena.
Simon realized he stood in a place that should not exist.
And at the very moment he recognized that fact—
Craaaack!
Craaaash!
The surroundings split apart, the scenery shattering.
And through the cracks, something began to show.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters