Chapter 124

Twisting

“……Who might you be?”

When Noel Astrea Simus slightly furrowed her brows and asked, the other party bowed her head politely once more, as if apologizing for the discourtesy.

“No, I’m nothing special, just an ordinary student. I would be grateful if you at least remembered my name.”

“…….”

To call herself nothing special, yet maintain this level of composure in front of me, was already strange enough.

Above all—

I could see it.

“……Black.”

That sticky, clinging blackness permeating her body and every one of her gestures caught in my sight.

If asked what it felt like, even I couldn’t explain it in detail.

But there was one thing I knew for certain.

This woman.

She was absolutely not a good person.

If anything, she was closer to someone rotted through with sheer malice.

“By the way, Lionhearted, I would like to ask your opinion on one matter.”

The way she spoke as though she already knew my identity made me nearly snort.

My face twisted even further.

Regardless, she continued speaking calmly.

“To be honest, aren’t you a little bored?”

“……Excuse me?”

“The succession ceremony I knew wasn’t such a warm and friendly event.”

Bailey Varga said that while glancing around.

“To see everyone competing so harmoniously without a single casualty… it feels like this place has grown quite soft compared to the old days.”

“…….”

“By this point, at the very least, the death toll should have reached three digits.”

I narrowed my eyes and naturally placed my hand over the sheath.

The succession ceremony, once a living hell where casualties poured out in heaps, had been completely eradicated centuries ago.

And yet, this woman—

Why was she speaking as if she had witnessed such scenes herself?

Something.

Something felt dangerous.

“……What exactly are you trying to say?”

“I simply thought it lacked a bit of spice.”

A faint smile appeared on Bailey’s face.

—Courtesy.

That rotten black light melted into her expression so intensely it hurt my eyes.

Truly.

Truly.

As if she found it unbearably disappointing that not a single person had died.

“It would have been nice if Lionhearted agreed with me.”

“……That’s enough of your incomprehensible—”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter. I’ve prepared something of my own.”

“……?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Those words dropped abruptly toward the bewildered me.

“We’ll be seeing each other again.”

It sounded like a declaration that it would certainly happen.

And that interpretation was quite accurate.

……Because that conversation had taken place merely dozens of minutes before the very first ‘casualty’ of the succession ceremony appeared.

▣

Moving together with a commoner student turned out to be far more restrictive than I had expected.

The difference between those who could use supernatural abilities and those who could not was so vast that it might as well have been the difference between heaven and earth, starting from something as basic as physical stamina.

In fact, anyone who could use divine power could easily stay awake for several days and nights without issue, but the students grew exhausted quickly. The terrain near the Grand Sanctuary could hardly be described as anything less than rugged, even if one were being generous.

Some grew anxious at the sight of the students collapsing so easily, while others tried to encourage them, but the problem was that even that was part of the test.

Properly managing the ‘people’ attached to oneself and guiding them through each obstacle.

‘Compassion, insight, leadership…….’

Well, it was probably meant to test something along those lines.

Most likely, protecting and leading the student assigned to me was the core of this ritual.

I vaguely remembered hearing a noble explanation that the student served as a metaphor for the people I would one day lead. In any case.

Even amid all this, the fact that they placed absolutely no restrictions on checking other participants or engaging in small-scale combat truly made it feel like that infamous succession ceremony.

Thanks to that, everyone was on edge somewhere deep inside. It was inevitable that a thick layer of paranoia would settle in, never knowing which nearby person might suddenly turn into an enemy.

And indeed, the Black Night ritual was the event with the highest number of casualties among the entire ceremony. While its progression resembled the preliminary labyrinth breakthrough, the level of brutality was on an entirely different scale.

■ Origin

You can share your skills with those affected by the skill ‘Weaver of Fate’.

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.

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※ You come into contact with ‘Divinities’. Additional effects are added to the skill.

※ Some individuals related to the targets may be constantly affected.

※ Targets ‘Noel’ and ‘Katya’ meet the conditions. The targets are strongly influenced by your abilities.

An ability that allowed me, once per day, to share my abilities with targets whose Affection Level had accumulated.

However, after coming into contact with Divinity, the special effects listed at the end had been additionally inscribed.

Just as Sia and Karva, whom I had encountered, were deeply connected to Noel and Katya.

“…….”

Well, I suppose.

Considering that they resembled that side as if enlarged from the outset, it was only natural, but at this point it became necessary to dig into that identity at least once.

It looked like I was about to study theology despite never having had the fate for it, but in any case.

Thanks to this skill, whatever I could do, they could accomplish without much difficulty as well.

“…….”

Having reached that conclusion, I glanced back at the Pontiff riding on my back.

Come to think of it, certainly.

This person, too, was someone affected by Weaver of Fate and held enough goodwill toward me to receive a copied skill.

If that was the case, then it meant he also met at least the basic conditions to create a new skill under the influence of the Unique Ability: Origin.

‘……Perhaps this is a good opportunity.’

And whatever the reason, opportunities like this—where the two of us could stick together and ‘cooperate’—would not come easily.

If the timing was right, I would probably be able to wield a skill as remarkable as the divine power Katya Heinkel Craven had once created under the influence of the Origin skill.

And sure enough, words had a way of becoming reality.

“Up ahead is the ‘Nest.’”

At that, I straightened my posture.

The Nest was the very first obstacle encountered by the first seeker who set out to meet the God of Purification.

In myths and fairy tales, it was famous as the dwelling place of dragons, frequent villains of legend.

According to the tales, the seeker had wisely persuaded the dragon that had fallen into madness, calming its frenzy and even making it a friend.

“And how exactly did you recreate that?”

“Since we couldn’t bring a real dragon, we replaced it with the artificial beast you saw in the labyrinth.”

The Pontiff grinned and whispered that into my ear.

“It may be artificial, but you can look forward to it. Around this time, they always prepare something truly grand as a sort of welcoming ceremony for the kids.”

And the roar that erupted next—so close to an explosion—undoubtedly proved his words true.

-!

-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Oh, there it is.”

Amid the students screaming in terror all around us, the Pontiff broke into a savage smile at the sight of the enormous dragon roaring in the sky.

Elegant curves, dazzlingly beautiful scales, and a body so massive that anyone would proclaim it the ruler of the heavens.

It wasn’t quite the size of a true dragon, yet it far exceeded that of a mere drake. The dragon descended, coiling itself around the mountaintop as it landed, releasing a roar that seemed to freeze the blood.

“The engineering department worked hard on that. They practically clung to it for an entire year.”

At the pride in his voice, I let out an involuntary bitter smile.

He looked like a child proudly showing off a Lego collection he had painstakingly built. No matter how artificial it was, it still imitated the dragon that had once ruled the Old Continent.

“……Still, this is the succession ceremony. Won’t people get hurt fighting that?”

“They will, sure. But they’ve adjusted the output properly.”

In that case, even the immense concentration of mana gathering in its mouth right now was probably closer to a performance.

A kind of showmanship—warning us just how powerful what we were about to fight would be.

Most of them grew tense at the sight, but the majority were simply admiring its grandeur. Some even cheered.

Without absolute certainty that it wouldn’t truly drive them to death, such reactions would have been impossible. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Right.

“……?”

That was how it was supposed to be.

“……??”

But.

For some reason, a chill ran down my spine, and I flinched as I stared at the dragon gathering mana in its mouth.

Something.

Something was wrong. There was a sense of incongruity.

As if leaving it as it was would be a mistake.

“……?!”

It was around then that the dragon’s ‘eyes’ met mine.

That thing, just now—

It had clearly looked at me. As if it were aware of me.

That—

It bore movements far too vivid to be considered merely ‘artificial.’

“……Wait, that.”

Around that moment, someone else who seemed to be feeling the same unease as I was muttered in a daze.

“Could it be… a real Dragonkin……?”

And before the sentence could even be finished.

Immediately.

-……

-…………!

-…………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From the dragon’s mouth.

Death was fired in a straight line.

Directly at me.