Ashen Requiem-Chapter 65: A world in Apnea

[Council Chamber]

The council chamber now stood empty.

The final echoes of President Elsa’s gavel had faded, but the sentence itself... had never fallen.

Johanna remained, alone in the room, her heart in shambles.

She lowered her gaze, gathering her documents with trembling fingers, swallowing her frustration like one chokes back tears.

Her plea... dismissed. Her evidence ? Ignored.

But it wasn’t over. Not until justice was served. Her mother had never taught her to give up.

— "I hope you’re satisfied." The cold voice cut through the silence suddenly.

She froze and a chill ran down her spine.

Goethe Faust.

Still there, leaning against a pillar, eyes gleaming with malice, a predator’s grin curling his lips.

He hadn’t left. He’d been waiting for her.

— "You should learn to give up, Johanna. It would save you a lot of unnecessary pain."

He stepped forward, slow and eerily calm.

— "Back off, Goethe. You’re not allowed here."

— "Allowed ?" He laughed. "Rules are for people without power."

Johanna raised her hands, trembling as she clasped them together.

— "O holy light... let your shield cleanse..." She whispered a shaky prayer to Melania, her voice barely holding together.

But Goethe lunged.

Before she could finish, his fist—sending her flying into a wall.

Her back slammed into the stone, cracking it on impact.

She collapsed to her knees, breath knocked out of her lungs. Her bones screamed in protest, but she stayed upright.

— "You think your little goddess will save you?" His voice warped—no longer human.

Demonic claws now protruded from his fingers.

Cracks formed across his skin, revealing a red texture beneath.

His eyes—slitted like a beast’s—blazed crimson.

Johanna scrambled backward, fear crushing her throat like a vice.

She tried to summon her sword, but a vicious slap interrupted the spell.

Blood trickled from the corner of her lips.

— "What did you think, Saint Johanna? That you could humiliate me?"

He seized her by the throat and lifted her with one hand. His breath stank of corruption.

— "Look at you. Crying? Where’s your god now?"

— "Me...la...nia..." she tried to gasp—but only a gurgle escaped.

— "Someone, please... let this be a nightmare... someone help me..." In her mind, a silent scream.

Goethe leaned closer, flashing his jagged teeth with sadistic glee.

— "Even the heavens are deaf to the prayers of the weak."

A burning pain tore through her chest—he’d slashed her, shredding her clothes.

A hot, red line of blood slid down her skin.

— "No... he wants to defile me..." freeweɓnøvel~com

Her strength drained, heart pounding. She wanted to fight, to scream—but her limbs wouldn’t move.

And around them... the world halted.

Colors bled into crimson. Time paused and gravity vanished.

They had entered the antechamber of Hell.

Goethe dropped her.

Her body hit the floor like a sack of flesh

emptied of hope.

---

[East Wing Courtyard]

On an old moss-covered bench under a twisted fig tree behind the administrative wing, a first-year student finished his fourth burger.

— "Ugh... already the last bite." he muttered, cheeks puffed, fingers sticky with sauce.

His name was Rei Lichtenstein.

Student of House Igris. Red hair tied in a messy tuft. Sleepy eyes. Bag always full of snacks.

He looked like a clueless slacker, constantly chewing something, always staring off into space.

But today, just as he bit into his fifth sandwich—something shattered the air like a spiritual shockwave.

His hand froze mid-bite.

He blinked. Once. Twice. Then stopped breathing.

The wind died. Leaves stilled midair. A breadcrumb hovered at his cuff, unmoving.

The world—literally—had stopped.

The sky turned blood red.

And far off, from the direction of the council chamber... an overwhelming spiritual pressure surged like a funeral tide.

A crushing weight descended. The air thickened.

But Rei didn’t flinch.

He just looked at his burger... and sighed.

— "Damn. I didn’t even finish this one..." he mumbled with a childlike pout.

He looked up toward the crimson sky.

— "So... he finally snapped." he thought, his pupils narrowing like a predator’s.

— "Even in public? Bold bastard."

His fingers tightened around the sauce-soaked bun.

Then, with great care, he wrapped what remained in a napkin from his pocket.

— "You, my little guy... I’ll finish you later."

He stood.

Even gravity seemed to collapse beneath his steps, as if reality bent under the clash of invisible titans.

His body felt lighter—like he was walking between two dimensions.

Cracking his neck, he let out a final sigh.

— "Goethe... You always knew how to make an entrance. But this time... you’ve gone way too far."

Hair floating in the warping air, Rei headed straight into the storm’s eye.

---

The doors exploded behind Goethe.

— "Stop." A calm, firm voice.

Rei walked in, a half-eaten burger in one hand.

His eyes were downcast, as if none of this surprised him.

— "Goethe. Not now."

— "Get lost."

— "No." He looked up.

— "If you keep going, this ends here. Archon and others are coming."

His gaze—scarlet too—held a cold, cutting hostility.

Unlike Goethe’s chaotic fury, Rei’s spiritual pressure surged like a bladed gust, howling between the two demons.

— "Pull yourself together."

Goethe growled. His claws extended, aura flickering.

But after a moment—he stepped back.

Whether from fear, resignation, or a brief lapse of clarity... no one could tell.

He cast a final glance at Johanna, trembling on the ground.

— "You got lucky. Next time... you’ll beg for death."

---

[Broadcast Room]

Dante looked up, dazed.

Youpi, who’d been standing a moment ago, now floated mid-motion—frozen in a half-blink.

Dante alone remained standing.

His heart pounded wildly.

The seal on his forehead burned like fire, every nerve burning.

— "AAAAAH!" He cried out, clutching his eyes, tears of pain spilling freely.

He staggered, one hand pressed to the floor to keep from collapsing.

Gravity itself had unraveled.

It was like swimming through molasses—every move an effort against an unseen tide.

— "Could Klein’s have found me already?!"

His teeth clenched. A shudder ran through him. He knew this sensation too well.

Demonic spiritual pressure.

That crushing force that warped space and bent reality to its will.

He stood, trembling.

Everything was frozen : cameras mid-rotation, holograms flickering in the void, a technician eternally sipping a soda.

He stumbled forward, mustering all his strength.

Then opened the door—and gasped.

The entire academy... suspended.

Students mid-conversation, a soccer ball floating between two players, autumn leaves halted in midair.

Beyond the windows : a bleeding sky.

Dante trudged forward.

His legs moved sluggishly, scraping the ground like they refused to obey.

Because gravity... no longer mattered.

The world was drowned in a heavy stillness under the fist of a demon.

And in this suspended reality—he alone moved.

He alone bled.

He alone felt his heart thudding like a war drum.

— "Please... let her still be breathing."

His throat was dry. His thoughts screamed silently and no one can heard.

— "Ginny?!"

His Soul Link lit up—by itself.

Ginny was near. Too close to the eye of the storm.

He slipped—his knee struck a pillar—pain lanced up his leg.

But he rose.

The seal on his forehead flared.

Everywhere around him, students remained frozen—like wax statues.

Smiles suspended. Movements paused mid-gesture.

Even the clocks had stopped—same hour, same minute, same second.

The world had become a memory.

And he... a survivor trapped inside it.

— "Hold on, Johanna... Just a little longer..."

Every heartbeat unbalanced him.

Each step pushed him closer to madness.

But now he saw it—the building where the student council met.

And the pain inside him... had changed.

It had become fear.

Not the kind that screams.

The kind that slithers under your skin.

The kind that whispers : you’re already too late.

— "If he touched her... if she’s... No. No. No—"

He ran—or tried to.

The ground beneath him gave like wet clay.

His vision blurred. Breathing—shallow, broken.

The closer he got, the more his seal reacted.

But at last... the door.

His trembling fist grabbed the handle.

He stepped inside—and his heart stopped.

The council chamber was in ruins.

Papers floated midair.

Toppled chairs hung above the ground.

The floor cracked—vomiting tendrils of black energy.

And at the center...

Johanna.

She lay motionless. Blood at her temples, her lips, her elbows.

Her eyes closed. Lids twitching with nerves.

Her breath—so faint, it was hard to tell if she was even alive.

— "No..."

Dante rushed forward. Legs buckled. He collapsed beside her.

He lifted her face gently. Her skin—ice cold. Her aura—flickering.

Rage surged—nearly tipping him into mutation.

But instead... he closed his eyes.

— "You’ll be okay. Do you hear me ? It’s me..."

He tore his cloak, pressing it to her wounds.

— "Empathy."

He placed his hand on her forehead—red light burst forth.

He absorbed her pain, moaning silently. It was all he could do.

In his mind, memories flashed—the garden, the apple, her smile, her ridiculous courage, her stubborn faith in him.

And then...

The world resumed.

Figures appeared in the doorway :

Director Archon Thymeris. House Representatives. Professors.

And they saw one thing :

Dante, kneeling—cradling the bloodied body of a student.

And all at once—they summoned their energy.

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