Chapter 718
After parting ways with Aizel, Simon began preparing for the final battle.
He finished his meal aggressively, as if it were part of his training, then ran across the rough terrain of Roke Island to raise his condition.
Afterward, he entered the Mutant Club’s basement, pushing forward the last preparations for Chaos.
Woooong–!
A violet magic circle unfolded in Simon’s hand.
“I need to shrink it, more, more.”
Tsusss–
As Simon clenched his fist tightly in the air, the circle rapidly shrank in size. He attached it to one side of his body.
His bare upper body was already covered in various chaos magic circles that were in operation.
“Urk!”
Simon’s pupils blurred for an instant. Working with so many chaos circles attached to his body, even he, the caster, could not escape the sanity-eroding effects.
Simon gritted his teeth and endured.
“Somehow.”
He flung his arms back, then pulled them forward.
Chwararararak!
The chaos circles attached to his body flew off into the air. He arranged them, fitting them into one grand circle.
“Somehow, I’ll cut it off within twenty minutes!”
* * *
Aizel, too, had finished a light session of training at the campus training ground.
Loosening his stiff body after long exam studies, he teleported to a spot a bit away from the dormitory and was enjoying a light stroll.
Suddenly.
His steps halted.
For a moment, he listened to the hooting of an owl in the silence, then, without even moving his eyes, he spoke in a low voice.
“Still have something left to say?”
Srrrr–
From under the dark shade of the trees, a man appeared like a ghost.
“Hello, my best friend, Aizel.”
Sota Psyche, representative of Katarology. He sauntered toward Aizel with a lazy gait.
Meeting him again after the exam period, his state of mind didn’t look quite normal.
His lips were smiling, but in his eyes swirled something vicious.
“Looks like you’ve got something to say.”
“Something to say? I do. No, I’ve got plenty.”
Sota let his arms hang loose.
“This isn’t right. This really isn’t right. We promised never to cross that line.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
A spark lit in Sota’s eyes.
“They say my name isn’t on the list of witnesses for tomorrow’s event. Is that true?”
“......The security of the great Grerion family isn’t much after all.”
“Don’t dodge the question. Answer me, my friend. Hm?”
He began circling around Aizel.
“You know how hard I worked to put you where you are now, don’t you? And yet, you leave out me, your best friend and greatest contributor, while adding that disgusting Leonard to the list? Hm? Hm? Do you think that makes any sense? I feel like I just got smashed in the back of the head. This isn’t right, is it? Must be some mistake, huh? Hm?”
Haah.
Letting out a long sigh, Aizel started walking again.
“No mistake. It’s true.”
“......”
“I’m leaving.”
No sooner had Aizel taken a few steps,
“Hey, you fucking loser.”
A sharp voice pierced the air behind him.
Aizel’s pupils trembled, losing their composure for a moment.
“Hi, shit. F**k, wow–”
As if in disbelief, as if absurd, Sota dragged his hand down his own face while letting out a bitter laugh, then glared at Aizel.
“A dickless retard loser, pretending to be a friend, so easy to push around, huh?”
Clear hatred and murderous intent surged.
“You think I wouldn’t know you were just some pathetic outcast back at your old school? Do you think if you treat me like this your place will stay intact? Want me to expose everything I know to the whole school?”
Aizel’s body stiffened like a statue.
Sota drew closer, and like a snake eyeing a trapped mouse, he hissed softly.
“Why suddenly acting like this, Aizel? We were the perfect partners.”
His tone shifted, the anger melting into a sticky, coaxing voice. He placed his hand on Aizel’s shoulder.
“I raised you, you proved yourself, and now the top seat of Keyzen is right in front of us. You know how much I suffered, don’t you? It was me who gave you authority and strength, me, to a loser like you.”
Chwarak–
With lazy steps, he circled Aizel once more.
“It’s for all of us to succeed together, hm? Did you ever suffer loss doing what I told you? All I want is for you to become the strongest in Keyzen, while I, even in my small way, keep supporting you as vice. Think of the time I’ve devoted....”
“Did you just say devotion.”
Through Aizel’s clenched teeth, a cold voice seeped out.
“Not devotion, exploitation.”
“Aizel?”
“You think I wouldn’t know?”
Aizel stepped forward.
“End of second year, right before the academic schedule meeting, you noticed I was struggling with Senior Phantasus’ long-term mission, and you spread rumors about my past to pressure me.”
Step.
“Start of third year. You’re the one who sent me on a long-term mission, and when my return was delayed, you spread rumors I’d died so you could reshuffle the board.”
Step.
“Start of third year. You used my name to shake up the Spiritology Department politically, drove out Sharier Tenier, and seized the representative seat.”
“Second semester of second year, you used my name to hold a funding event with high nobles, secured a massive budget, and squandered it on your private indulgences.”
“First semester of second year, you told influential female students on campus that I had interest in them, manipulating their hearts for your games. You engineered a false rivalry between me and runner-up Ballack to boost my reputation. You used my name to steal club subsidies, twisted departmental schedules, and pressured noble sponsorships.”
Hoo.
Finishing, Aizel let out a long breath.
“I never wanted it to come this far.”
His bangs fell forward, messily covering his eyebrows.
“All I wanted was to get along with new friends, and not be ostracized again.”
His voice shifted. His posture shrank, as though air had leaked from him, and now he looked up at Sota.
“But you kept throwing trials that made my act falter, pushing me to the cliff’s edge, manipulating me into becoming ‘perfect’. You told me if I didn’t, I’d be outcast all over again.”
Then, he removed his glasses.
“I–”
Aizel is Aizel. Personally, I cheer more for the original you, Senior.
“I never wanted it to come to this, Sota Psyche.”
“......”
Sota looked down at Aizel with a blank expression, then let out a scoffing laugh.
“You fucking loser, you’re really begging to die.”
He smirked, looking at Aizel’s trembling hands.
Obviously frightened.
Fighting against old trauma, against bullies from his past.
No matter how well he acted, human nature does not change.
“My best friend must’ve gone crazy from some strange wind. You need a beating, to remind you of the past you came from.”
Sota revealed his true face. Spirits surged around him.
“You’re nothing but a manufactured strongest. You were only top back in second year. You think the strongest of Spiritology, me, would lose to a loser who wasted an entire semester?”
Aizel clenched his trembling fist, holding it tight. Gales began to swirl around.
“Sota!”
“You fucking loser!”
The two powerhouses raised their arms at the same time, and immense forces clashed violently in the center.
* * *
Dormitory lounge of the Department of Darkness Dynamics.
Uuuhm–
A male student stretched wide with sleepy eyes.
“Ugh, I dozed off the moment I came back.”
He scratched his head roughly. The instant he lay down on the dormitory sofa after finishing exams, he had passed out.
Looking around, the dormitory lobby, which should have been noisy, was completely empty. Everyone must have gone to Rochest to play right after exams ended.
In just two days it would be vacation, so they were probably burning with the exhilaration of freedom after exams. Even the dorm staff lifted restrictions such as curfew for these two days after the end of exams, giving as much convenience as possible.
Kwooooooom–!
“Uwaah!”
“Kyaak!”
At the sudden explosion, the student and the cleaning staff both ducked down in shock. The student blinked and raised his head.
“? An earthquake?”
He crawled toward the window.
“......!”
In a field not far from the dormitory.
A storm had formed, taking on the shape of a colossal skeleton.
“Wh-what the hell is that.”
It was like witnessing the end of the world.
* * *
Dormitory of the Department of Toxicology.
“Good work on the exams, Senior!”
“Good work, sir!”
A man whose face was half covered by a crude metal mask.
Keyzen’s 3rd-year runner-up, Ballack, was walking while receiving greetings from juniors.
His destination was the basement floor, the most dangerous and dreadful part of the Toxicology dormitory, where various deadly poisons were stored.
“Got the water nice and hot for you, Ballack.”
A 3rd-year wearing a gas mask raised his thumb. Ballack slowly nodded, then turned his gaze to him.
“!”
The 3rd-year flinched for no reason, feeling a chill down his spine.
The eyes of a monster. Hard to believe someone the same age as him could look like that.
“Uh, uh, what’s wrong, Ballack? Do you need anything else....”
From behind the metal mask, Ballack’s mouth opened, and a steel-scraping voice came out.
[Have a good vacation.]
Clang–
The sound of the iron door closing followed. Hearing those words, the 3rd-year stood frozen for a moment, then suddenly let out a silent scream and jumped around in joy.
That Ballack had given him a farewell greeting!
He wanted to rush to Rochest immediately, where everyone was probably drinking already, just to brag about it. In his excitement, he hurriedly ran up the stairs.
Meanwhile, Ballack, having removed his clothes before the chamber door, pressed a switch.
Chiiiiii–
The walls revealed a vacuum magic circle. If even a whiff of poisonous gas leaked out, the entire dormitory could be poisoned, so such precautions were natural.
After finishing these procedures, he finally stepped inside.
Glurp, glurp–
A massive cauldron sloshed with terrible toxins bubbling in thick drops. Inside, fiery sulfur flames burned fiercely, and the ceiling was thick with poisonous smoke.
If priests of the Holy Federation saw this, they would scream that hellfire truly existed.
Fwooh–
Ballack inhaled it deep into his lungs as if it were fresh air, then slowly walked into the cauldron itself. Tilting his body, he calmly closed his eyes.
As he was soaking himself and warming his body,
[I smell something.]
Ballack murmured quietly with eyes still closed, enjoying the toxic bath.
[The smell of a loser.]
In the silence of the poisonous chamber, something rustled faintly.
[You really can’t be fooled, can you.]
A boy made of spirit appeared, spinning with a grin.
[Ahaha! My classmate Ballack! How’ve you been?]
[.......]
Sota Psyche, representative of Spiritology.
Without even asking how he had entered here, Ballack silently examined his state.
The form of a spirit body normally reflected the state of the original body.
And Sota Psyche’s condition was abysmal. Cracks and tears were visible all over his form.
[Aizel held back a lot, it seems.]
Sota’s smiling face twitched at the brow. As if he had seen enough, Ballack closed his eyes again.
[Get out before I find your body and melt you alive.]
[I came because I have urgent business.]
[Three.]
Ballack immediately began counting down.
From within the toxins, his massive arm rose.
[Wait! Hold on! This is something even you won’t lose from hearing....!]
[Two.]
As Ballack was about to count the final number,
[It’s about Aizel!]
Sota shouted urgently.
Only then did Ballack close his mouth and glare at him with a murderous gaze.
‘......Got him.’
Sota’s tense lips curled upward.
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