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“Adin? Adin! Where did you go!?”
Early in the morning, one day after the grand celebration in Ezera, the School President would be seen frantically running through the hallways again.
Only this time, she’s properly dressed. And she’s not the only one in a panic.
“What do you mean you couldn’t find Adin anywhere!?” Karin, the Second Lieutenant of the PSC, is running back and from every hallway.
“I don’t know! I was having breakfast with her one moment, then turned around to talk to a student, and the next thing I knew she’s gone like the wind!”
“Where did you check!?”
“Literally EVERYWHERE she could’ve gone to! Maybe she got kidnapped!?”
“LIKE HELL I’D LET ANY KIDNAPPER TOUCH FOOT IN THIS PLACE!”
…Though there’s another person here that, by all accounts, should be panicking as well.
“…”
“Taeyou! How are you still so calm about this!? Your friend just disappeared!”
“Did you see where she had gone to?”
“…No. But I have a guess.”
Meanwhile, just a couple hundred meters away…
“Woah, is this what you call a ‘vending machine’?” Adin’s eyes fixates at the sight of the three-meters-tall mechanical shelf, filled with all kinds of strange cans and bottles inside. Not once in her entire life did she imagine a drink that would be called “Grape Sucker Punch”, but it only makes her even more curious to try it out.
And lucky for her, a girl named Judith is also here to show her how it works.
“Looks awesome, isn’t it? Here, let me get you a drink.”
She watches the simple act of putting a gold coin in the slot and punching the numbers with starlit eyes, as the can of soda is pushed out of the row and falls into the tray below. Taking the can out and crack it open, she takes a big sip.
“PFFFFFFFFFFFT-! Tastes like electricity.”
“Haha, I was pretty weirded out at first as well. Yuna says it’s “carbonated water”? I’m still not sure what it is, but it has a really funny taste.”
“Mmm… I’m not sure if I like drinking this… It’s sweet, but I feel like my teeth are going to rot…”
“Just drink every once in a while, and you’ll be fine. Oh, speaking of Yuna – have fun, I’m going back to my duty!”
“Hmm?”
Adin turns around. Three people are staring straight at her soul.
At least two of them are very unhappy.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…You guys want a drink?”
__________________________________________
“Owwwwww…” Adin rubs her head where two big bumps pop out like a pair of panda ears.
“Don’t run around like that, you had us worried to death!” Yuna was about to give the young girl a full lecture before another student calls her from behind her – “Oh, what is it? I’m coming!”
“So this is what you have to deal with everyday, Taeyou? No wonder why you’re so calm about it.”
“Not everyday,… but about two to three times per week, yeah.”
“*sigh* Seriously, you’re lucky that I’m the one watching you, Adin. Major Katis would’ve made you stand still until lunch as a punishment.”
“Sorry…”
“…Well, anyway, I don’t think I’ve properly introduced myself, have I? You know, because of -” Karin closes her right eye – “Her. I hope she didn’t give you too much trouble.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. She’s…not nearly as evil as I’d thought.”
“…Glad to hear that. Well, I’m Karin Fantaria, protector of justice, truth, and… Ah, what comes after that again? I think my memory’s getting worse…”
“You’re probably just tired from yesterday. Don’t stress yourself out.”
“Yeah… Probably so. But I can’t be tired for long! Especially when my duty today is to make sure nothing can harm you two during our tour around Reingar!”
“…Is it really that dangerous around here?”
“You have no idea! It’s not just the bandits and criminals that could be hiding in the dark corners – it’s all the students asking you to be part of their insane experiments as well!”
“Insane experiments?”
“Come to think of it, you’re quite bad at saying “no” to people…”
“They’d ask you to do anything, from testing the concotions they made on a whim, to using you as a practice dummy for their machines, to even drawing your DNA to give life to abominations! They might even turn you into a catgirl!”
“…Well, that doesn’t sound too bad –”
“YES. YES IT IS. AND THAT’S ALREADY AT A CONTROLLED LEVEL.” Karin grips Adin’s shoulders in a manner that’s oddly reminiscing. They haven’t noticed every student around them nervously turning their backs and leaving.
“*ahem* The point is, you must ignore and reject anyone trying to ask you a favor, and leave it to me to handle it instead. You two got it?”
“Got it!”/”Understood.”
“Alright then!” Karin quickly returns to her usual cheery self – “Once Yuna is done, we’ll head off right away! …Where did Yuna go, actually?”
“Over here!” Yuna hurriedly runs towards them from behind Adin. “Let’s go!”
_________________________________________
“Welcome to Reingar, Ritania’s hub of technology and magical experiments! I’m sure Karin has already made you familiar with what we do around here?”
“Yeah. Mostly she told us about not consenting to partake in experiments – Ah, I’ll have to pass, thank you.”
“Haha, don’t worry too much about it! The students here are just eager to make new discoveries. If anyone steps out of line and endanger others, we have these giant robots and the Public Security Club to manage.”
“The Public Security Club?”
“Ah, I haven’t mentioned that, have I? Our club is always at work enforcing regulations, capturing criminals, and maintaining safety! I’m the second-in-command of the club, which effectively makes me Second Lieutenant Karin. The one in charge is –”
“Come back here this instant! Practicing Homunculi magic on school grounds is strictly prohibited!”
“…Is that the Katis guy you mentioned earlier?”
“That’s him! Mayor Katis!”
“Does he always patrol with that giant machine by his side?”/“He looks scary. I definitely don’t want to break any rules when he’s around.”
“Oh if you think that’s scary, wait till you see where we keep the criminals!”
“Wanna take a quick look? It’ll be fun!”
“…No thanks.”/”I’m good.”
__________________________________________
“Ah, you must be the new visitors I’ve heard about! I was wondering why the President don’t let us see new visitors these days… One question before you go though: What’s your opinion on creating life?”
“Hey, you two over there, one second! Can I test this new spell I just developed on you for a bit? Don’t worry, it won’t hurt!”
“Here, take a sip of this vial and tell me if you feel anything. …Why is it so green? It’s just from the Skorpions, it won’t kill you.”
“Hey, stop biting your other head like that – Oh, hey there! Wanna play with my babies here? Sorry, I don’t know why they’re so aggressive today…”
“Please, you have to help me, I’m running out of time, help me destroy all of these – Ah! Karin, it’s just normal trash, I swear!”
“Tell me it’s not a waste of time! Tell me that the world will accept adopting these little creatures as the norm! They will, right!?”
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…”
“Adin? Are you feeling alright?”
“…Too… many… rejections… I can’t handle it…”
“That was just the Magic Research Department we walked through.”
“Really…? There were like thousands of students in there…"
“…Come to think of it, isn’t Reingar just one giant school?”
“You’d be right! We have hundreds of departments and clubs, big and small, dedicated to researching any field that you could think of!”
“Hundreds… of… departments…?”
“Ah! Adin collapsed! I guess her conscience wasn’t built to withstand so much rejections…”
“Hmph… Well, maybe we can get a lunch break first.”
_______________________________________
“Hmm…”
“Something wrong with your food, Adin?”
“No, it’s good. But… how is it noon already? I don’t remember spending that much time touring around…”
“You fainted thirty minutes in, remember?”
“Yeah, that’s fair…”
“Though, if there’s something strange… I thought the cafeteria would be a bit more lively around this time.”
“Right? The few students around here walk like zombies – even the cafeteria girl is barely awake. She looked like a raccoon with those eyes.”
“Oh, the students here frequently pull all-nighters when it’s time to crunch for their research. Don’t worry about it.”
“Yuna, stop appearing out of nowhere like that! You did this yesterday as well!”
“Come on, don’t be such a scaredy cat~ Haha!”
“Wow Yuna, you seem much more excited than I thought. Even I’m feeling a bit weary.”
“Am I? Well, you don’t have to worry about me. …I’m just feeling quite curious today, that’s all.”
______________________________________
“Hey! No fighting in the hallways! What’s going on here?”
“This guy… He dared to spit on my lifelong work, calling it a massive waste of time!”
“Since when did I say any of that!? YOU’RE the one that told everyone that I was wasting my life!”
“Calm down, you two! Which one of you started –”
“Ahhh, that hurts! Why are you attacking me all of a sudden!? I thought we were friends!”
“Since when did I become friends with a follower of the Archdemon!? Get out of my sight!”
“W-What are you talking about!? It’s me, your childhood friend!”
“Hey! You can’t just cast destructive spells in the –”
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHH! FIRE! FIRE! EVERYTHING IS BURNING!”
“Dammit…! No matter what I do, these skeletons won’t stop coming! Go away!”
“Wait… Childhood friend? I’m not a childhood friend of anyone! I’m the Solo Mad Witch of Destruction! AHAHAHAHAHA!”
"What's going on...? Why is everyone losing their minds? What's Katis doing!?"
“Yuna! This isn’t good! We have to get to somewhere safe!”
“…”
“…Fine. Let’s go to the library.”
“…Huh? Hey, wait!”
“Adin! Don't run so fast!"
___________________________________
"..."
“…Well, we did get away from all of the chaos, but…”
“…It’s so quiet in here. I only hear our footsteps.”
“…The sun…Isn’t it moving too fast?”
“…”
The pace of footsteps slows down...
and then stops. There’s only silence.
“…”
“…Yuna?”
The girl in front claps her hands together. She speaks with great elation.
“Well, this is the end of the tour! I hope you enjoy it!”
She makes a move to turn around. But her legs remain in their place.
Her torso shifts. The sound of cracking bones reverberates in the empty library.
Her arms twist. They jank and jerk, like a broken wooden puppet.
Her whole body tilts more and more to the left, until –
One final crack from her neck.
Sunken black eyes stares directly at the three behind her, a contorted, stretched smile with thick blood seeping out.
“Because you will never wake up from this nightmare.”
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” They scream and step back in fear, but she wasn’t done.
With those broken arms of hers, she grips her own face and tears herself in two like ripping a sheet of paper, from which a black mass, with eyes and mouths everywhere on its surface, bursts forth. It keeps growing more and more, towering over its prey, melting and crawling like sludge. Ear-piercing shrieks emits from its many mouths.
With a spirited leap, Taeyou slams his spear down on the monster -
“Wait!”
- but instead of his weapon touching the skin of the monster, it touches a strange floating card instead.
“Gotcha.”
A massive flash of blue light consumes both the monster and Taeyou, leaving nothing behind but the card. From the shadows, a dark-haired woman with demon horns appear, and picks up the card with an annoyed expression.
“Hmph, I expected Karin to jump in first… Oh well, not like it makes any difference –”
A flash of light cuts her sentence midway, but the attack simply phases though her, as if she’s made of air.
“You… What did you do to Taeyou!?” Adin’s rage towards the woman is barely held back by Karin.
“Wait, Adin! This is not someone you can just rush in! She’s a master of illusions!”
“Illusions?”
“Right, you haven’t had the chance to know me, right? I’m Tenebria, Acolyte of the Archdemon, queen of illusions and nightmares.” She gloats while happily floating above their heads. "A pleasure to see you all tonight."
"Now, I know exactly what you're going to say next. "Oh Tenebria, why did you think of coming back to this place?" The dramatic enactment gives way to a burst of elated cackle. "Well, shouldn't it be obvious by now?"
A wicked purple light shines from her eyes. A smile like the everlasting crescent moon.
"I'm just settling the score. I will sink every last student here in a maddening nightmare, and then, I will destroy this city. That meddling President won't be here to stop me anymore."
The illusionist cackles again, and with a snap of a finger, turns the card into a burst of butterflies. Karin and Adin could only stare helplessly as they vanish into thin air.
“Dammit… All the rampage out there… I should’ve known it was your doing!”
“Well, I can’t blame you for not knowing. I had some… special help with me this time, after all.”
With a clap of hands, another figure show themselves from the shadows.
“Come on out, Destina! Don’t be shy!”
“…” One step at a time, without a word.
“…D-Destina?”
Adin almost drops her weapon.
What she’s seeing with her own eyes are clashing with what she remembered just yesterday.
That cannot be the gentle Spirit Lord that she knew, that blessed her with light.
That is a puppet tainted by Tenebria’s darkness. From her hair to her clothes, all has been dyed in purplish black. Only the slightest hint of green can be seen in her soulless eyes, amidst the purple void.
“…”
Those eyes stare at Adin’s soul.
“…Destina? The Spirit Lord? THAT Destina?” Karin finally caught on to what’s happening, but she can’t pull Adin away.
“That power... is mine.”
A faint whisper precedes the growth of thorny vines from the ground, wrapping around Adin and rooting her to the place.
“I can’t… move! Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!”
She screams, for the light in her body is being siphoned. Streams of light energy flowing through the vines becomes tainted with darkness before returning to Destina.
Karin frantically tries to free her, but the vines immediately grow back from being cut. She tries to attack Destina instead, only for a poison blast from Tenebria to blast her flying into the bookshelves.
“Ahahaha! Where do you think you’re going? Shouldn’t you be trying to take me out instead, Miss Second Lieutenant?”
“Tch! You…!”
“Destina… Wake up…!” Adin’s plea falls on deaf ears, as her light continue to dwindle. Right now, not just her power, but her lifeforce is being eaten away.
The dimming blade in her hand feels three times heavier than it actually is.
Just then –
“LIEUTENANT KARIN!”
“CLEAN THE ENVIRONMENT BY EXTERMINATING HUMANS!”
Mayor Katis breaks in through the other side of the library, and his companion Kikirat wastes no time showering the uninvited guests in bullets.
Destina raises a wall of vines to protect her and Tenebria just in time –
- leaving the precise window for Karin to strike from behind.
“Flash!”
“…!”
The attack staggered Destina just enough for the vine to retreat, and for Adin to be released – but her power is no longer enough to maintain her Savior form.
“Adin! Adin, wake up!”
“…” Unresponsive and cold, but she’s still barely breathing.
“Stay with me! I’ll get you out of here!”
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going – Ow! You little…!” An attack managed to connect and interrupt Tenebria’s charging – the swipe of a flagpole spear.
“Captain Rikoris! Don’t rush in recklessly!”
“I’ve managed to rally students that kept your sanity… You won’t get away with this!”
Behind Rikoris and Katis, about twenty students – Hazel, Judith and Adlay, among others - are standing against the Acolyte.
“Ahahaha! That’s all you could gather against me? With those trembling legs and dazed eyes?”
“Maybe we can’t defeat you…” Rikoris grips his weapon with his full strength. “But if we can but even a second for those two, it’ll be worth it!”
“Lieutenant Karin! You are to carry that visitor girl as far away from here as possible!”
“But…I can't leave you all here!”
“Do it! That’s a direct order!”
“Enough fooling around.”
All the students suddenly falls to their knees, grimacing and clutching their heads.
“Not… this again…!” “Everyone… Where… are you going…?” “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Armin…” they cried.
“Destina. Take care of those two. Make sure to drain every last bit of their strength, won't you?"
"..."
Watching it all unfold, Karin’s legs tremble as well.
She has no hands with which to swing a sword. She can’t leave Adin here.
But she can’t leave her friends in pain there. She has to do something.
But she can’t. She can’t move. There is nothing rooting her down. But she can’t move. She can see Destina walking towards her.
But she can’t.
She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t.
Hey. You want me to take control again or something?
“…!”
What, are you crying? Are you just going to stand there and wait until she gives you a disgraceful death?
You want to save Reingar?
Either you go back in there and fight until you’re dead, or…
“KARIN! RUN AND DON’T LOOK BACK!”
RUN LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT, YOU IDIOT!