Chapter 830
-Brother, I’m tired.
Merida would always run joyfully across the fields, but when it was time to go home, she would plop down and whine like that.
Then her brother would silently turn his body and offer her his back.
The pleasant walk down the mountain path on the way home.
Leaning against her brother’s warm back, enjoying the drowsiness that tickled her into sleep, watching a drifting piece of cloud, a single butterfly fluttering by, it was a special feeling.
Those times were good.
But after their parents passed away, her brother changed a little.
It felt like he had begun to understand something called responsibility.
-Merida. You too, must live a life of your own.
She wanted to always be with him, yet her brother constantly emphasized that she should one day leave him.
-Am I a burden? Are you trying to push me away? Will you leave me too, just like Mom and Dad did?
On the first day Phantasus entered Keyzen, Merida said something cruel.
But Phantasus did not get angry. With his bag on his shoulder, he patted her head and said,
“One day, I believe the time will come when you can understand my words. By then, you’ll be able to find someone greater than me.”
Her drowsiness faded for a moment.
Her eyelids pushed upward.
Her brother’s back.
Warm and comforting.
“Rida…!”
And then a buzzing shout in her ear.
“Merida!”
Her eyes snapped open. She felt the cold wind, and the first thing she saw was a back.
‘It wasn’t brother?’
The warm back that allowed her to sleep so comfortably.
Of course she thought it was Phantasus, her brother, but thinking about it, that was impossible.
Her brother had already left this school.
“Huff! Huff! You’re finally awake?”
The boy carrying her was panting roughly. All around them came the sounds of violent clashes of metal and explosions, the tearing of something, and screams echoing along.
Simon, dripping with sweat, glanced back and said,
“Now, how about you get down and help me?”
For a moment, Phantasus’ face overlapped faintly over Simon’s, then disappeared.
“!”
Merida felt a strange emotion surge up inside her and hurriedly leapt down from his back. Wrapping herself even tighter in the blanket she had draped around her, she asked,
“How long did I sleep?”
“Pretty much half a day straight.”
Simon swung his arm. Overlord rose with a thunderous roar, slicing down the soldiers of the Volcanic Lord.
“And as you can see, we’re inside the volcanic castle.”
Hector and Jule were holding off Aseraz and Meridiana, who had blocked the raid party.
Meanwhile, the rest of the members had broken through the second and third floors, reaching the fourth. Now they were racing toward the fifth. Exhausted to the limit, many had already dropped out.
“Do something! I really don’t have any Darkness left!”
Elisa shook her twin ponytails and screamed. Transparent cannons around her fired Spirit shells without pause.
Merida turned her head.
“Simon.”
“Yeah.”
This was a battlefield, yet the two still had unfinished words.
Simon, without pressing her, calmly met her gaze.
“Defeat Ballack.”
Simon’s eyes widened.
“Huh?”
“I’ll only acknowledge you when you reclaim the student council presidency that was stolen by Ballack. If you lose to him, and disgracefully inherit the presidency through defeat, then…”
Her jade-colored eyes gleamed.
“I’ll drag you down myself.”
Simon gave a faint smile.
“Fine, let’s do that.”
Merida extended her small hand, as if offering a handshake, and Simon clasped it.
“!”
Perhaps it felt different than she expected. She suddenly startled, yanked her hand away, and quickly pulled the blanket over herself like a cloak as she scurried off.
For some reason, the tips of her hair tingled with heat.
“Kyaaaaah! Do you two really have time for that now? Do something already!”
Elisa kept screaming, and raid members were collapsing one by one.
At that, Merida threw off her blanket with a flutter, raised both arms high.
<Phantasus’ Original – Sleep>
Nothing but that gesture.
What happened next, the students couldn’t clearly see.
A storm howled, countless bundles of Darkness shot like beams of light, blinding flashes burst, and after that—
Thudududududu—
The Volcanic Lord’s soldiers, who had been swarming like gnats, dropped to the ground like bugs.
All of them, deeply asleep.
“Let’s go.”
Merida turned back and spoke in a calm voice.
The surviving raid members stood with mouths agape.
“…She’s really strong.”
“It makes our crisis look ridiculous.”
Elisa whined beside them, “If she had that kind of strength left, she could’ve helped sooner!”
Simon chuckled and stepped forward.
“We’ll reach the fifth floor soon.”
Simon and the raid members rushed ahead, but Merida remained standing in place, her eyes blinking wide.
Simon turned back.
“What’s wrong? Merida.”
Without a word, she stretched out her arms.
Simon gave an awkward smile.
“Again?”
“While casting curses, I’m defenseless. I want to focus only on curses.”
“The chief already wore himself out carrying you!”
One of the raid boys came over, saying that, turning his back, kneeling on one knee, stretching his arms behind him.
“Climb on! Rep!”
Whack!
Merida kicked his backside with a cold look.
The raid boy toppled over.
Merida fixed her gaze only on Simon, stretched out her arms again.
“…Alright, alright.”
With no choice, Simon carried her on his back and ran, the raid members surrounding them protectively.
“Urgh.”
The boy who had been kicked looked wounded, as if his pride had been crushed.
“They’re coming!”
With a buzzing roar, the winged guards of the Volcanic Lord dove down at deadly speed. Merida, perched on Simon’s back, braced her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward.
<Phantasus’ Original – Sleep>
The moment the curse battery showed its true power.
From her body, countless streams of curses stretched outward, leaving black arcs in the air, striking down guards as soon as they approached.
Even the ones trying to flee were chased relentlessly by the curses until they hit. Simon looked at her in admiration.
‘Before, she needed to be Lost in a Dream just to fire off Sleep at this scale.’
Now, the scale of Lost in a Dream had grown immensely, and curse-barrages had practically become her basic skill.
“There! The door!”
Elisa pointed ahead. The entrance to the fifth floor, the final level of the volcanic castle.
Creeeeaaak—
At that moment, the gates of the volcanic castle opened on their own. Simon, eyes half narrowed as he stared forward, suddenly shouted urgently.
“Everyone, move!”
The moment the gates opened, magma surged in from inside the volcanic castle like a tidal wave. Simon, moving almost purely on instinct, stamped on Darkness and leapt upward, bracing both legs against the ceiling, fixing himself in place with Bone Armor.
Aaaaaaaaah—!
[Burnley Imiter has been eliminated.]
[Cindy Vivace has been eliminated.]
Even the raid members who had made it this far together were eliminated. Simon, cold sweat dripping down, looked back.
“Kh!”
Elisa was clinging to the ceiling, trembling violently.
“Elisa! Are you alright?”
“Burnley…”
Her face stiffened as she swallowed hard.
“Burnley threw me to safety, and got caught in the lava himself.”
“……”
At that moment, Simon felt Merida, on his back, tugging hard at his collar.
“Simon, in front.”
“?!”
Simon’s head snapped around. Through the open gap of the door, magma was settling, and behind it, a red circle was being drawn.
Kiiiiiiiiiiing—!
The sign of an attack from the Volcanic Lord.
‘Danger! Is it aimed at me? Or…!’
Simon’s head turned. Merida, who was seeing the Volcanic Lord’s attack for the first time, was craning her neck forward.
‘No way, at Merida again…!’
Boooom!
Simon’s pupils widened.
Above his head, with a roar, a red blast exploded upward.
He couldn’t block it.
‘Damn it!’
Simon squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them—only to see that the one collapsing forward wasn’t Merida.
Elisa, arms spread, her twin tails flying, was falling. A crimson arrow was lodged in her chest.
“You two, seriously…”
Slowly sinking into the magma, she pointed a trembling finger at them.
“I’m betting my political life on you! Don’t you dare lose!”
Her body sank into the magma, ripples spreading out.
[Elisa Celine has been eliminated.]
No one had expected Elisa to sacrifice herself for someone else, but Simon pulled his mind together.
All for victory.
“Let’s go, Merida.”
“Mm.”
Merida’s expression grew more resolute. The two of them crawled along the ceiling and slipped through the open gate.
Beyond the door was nothing much. Only a staircase leading to the fifth floor. Merida climbed down from Simon’s back, saying she would go on her own feet from here.
The two climbed quickly up the stairs.
[Remaining Time – 00 : 32 : 56]
There wasn’t much time left.
Simon, who reached the top of the stairs first, pushed open the door to the fifth floor.
‘Ah.’
A place where the ceiling opened to the sky. Moonlight streamed in, and within it sat a woman in crimson armor, resting her chin on her hand upon the throne.
At the unfamiliar, crushing presence, Simon felt his breath catch.
[Are you the only two.]
A cold voice echoed from within the helm as the Volcanic Lord rose to her feet.
Her oppressive aura spread across the vast chamber.
[Challengers.]
The Northern Grand Duke was the enemy.
Such a situation had never been imagined. She had always been thought of as an ally, which only made the present reality, her standing as the enemy, all the more terrifying.
“Yes, we came to challenge you.”
Simon forced a smile as he greeted her. The pupils within the helm gleamed.
[Are you prepared.]
There was not the slightest sign she would hold back.
She would truly fight with everything.
“Let’s go, Merida.”
“Mm.”
Simon drove one syringe of the Bloodmew Clan, Elishia’s, into his thigh. Blue blood seeped in with a hiss, his eyes gleamed bright.
‘Now, only one thing left!’
Not only Elishia, but countless others had helped bring him this far.
At least, the opponent could not use the power of the Legion, and more importantly, her Darkness seemed sealed.
The Darkness flowing from the Volcanic Lord was different from the true Darkness. There was a chance.
[Do you think you have a chance?]
As if reading his very thoughts, the Volcanic Lord raised her arm.
[Despair, again and again.]
Ruuuuuuumble—!
The walls of the volcanic castle’s fifth floor shone with light.
A magic circle. At once, magma monsters poured out in a flood.
“That won’t, be enough.”
Merida pulled a new blanket from subspace, floated it in the air, and lay down upon it.
Her eyes closed, and the world shifted.
<Merida’s Original – Lost in a Dream>
Fwoooosh!
The magic circle that had been spewing magma monsters vanished in an instant, the surroundings dyed black. From the ceiling, a massive arm of a stuffed animal dropped, slamming its palm down upon the magma monsters.
Boooom!
The magma monsters were flattened in an instant.
[This is now, my dream.]
The surroundings transformed into a toy world, doors flinging open with bangs. Toy soldiers and dolls poured out in droves.
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