——The Imperial Professor candidates… they’re missing.
The words rang out from the corridor just as Margaret and Ezra arrived on the same floor after hearing the earlier explosion.
“….!”
Without hesitation, Margaret bolted in the opposite direction.
“Grand Knight, where are you going—?”
“Didn’t you hear?” she called over her shoulder, barely slowing. “Vanitas is missing. Someone might’ve taken him!”
Ezra paused, processing her words. That shouldn’t have been possible. There were four capable mages guarding him. Even if the others left to assist in the defense, Charlotte and Silas would’ve stayed by the professor’s side.
Ezra nodded. “Understood. I’ll head to the evacuation point and reinforce the suppression effort.”
“Alright.”
Without another word, they split paths. Margaret disappeared down the hall as Ezra turned the other way.
He still had a few more floors to ascend before reaching the evacuation zone. Fortunately, the path ahead seemed clear. Judging by the silence and the fading echo of battle, the professors and Headmaster Elsa had likely regained control over most of the University Tower.
But then, he paused.
“….”
The corridor before him told a different story. The bodies of professors and instructors lay strewn across the floor, scorched and disfigured. Many bore the distinct marks of high-level Pyro spells.
Ezra’s eyes moved toward a man slumped against the wall with a gaping hole through his chest. His robe was unfamiliar and was embellished with fine gold embroidery. It resembled the garments of the Churches of Lumine, yet… something about it felt wrong.
His eyes drifted upward, noting a clean, circular hole in the ceiling—like a puncture made from below. With a quick breath, Ezra muttered a wind chant and launched himself up through it.
Landing several floors above, he took in the new surroundings. Students moved in groups, some bearing scratches or torn uniforms, others wielding staffs or blades with dried blood.
“Ezra Kaelus…?”
Ezra turned. “Senior Clyde.”
Clyde Eltenol. A third-year with no noble background, but widely respected for his competence and leadership skill. Around him, a group of students had formed.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Clyde said. “We’re just about to head to the evacuation point. The Professors issued a protocol. Every student was told to gather there while the staff clears out the last of the chimeras. We’ve helped hold a few wings, but things are starting to settle now.”
Ezra gave a small nod. There were still signs of skirmishes in the distance. The remaining monsters were seemingly being picked off by those still capable of fighting.
“Let’s move,” Ezra said. “I’ll cover the rear.”
The group began moving in formation. As they navigated through the hallways, Ezra’s eyes flicked over his shoulder. His gaze settled on the one person he had been quietly looking for all day ever since the chaos began, ever since he’d stepped foot in the tower.
And as if sensing his thoughts, she spoke.
“Yes, Ezra?”
He met her eyes. “I was just… concerned about you, senior. I heard you had a new sibling born yesterday. And now, to be caught up in something like this… Your parents would be worried sick if they knew what was happening here.”
“Oh, that…” She chuckled, brushing a few strands of hair behind her ear. “Yeah… I haven’t even gotten the chance to hold him yet. Mother wouldn’t let me. Haha~”
Naturally, with her position as one of the top student council candidates, the birth of a new sibling in the Pittsburg family had been a wholesome, widely-discussed topic among her peers and supporters.
Audelle Pittsburg.
The first daughter of the Marquess Pittsburg household. A name he didn’t choose to forget.
And the child born into that family… came at the cost of Ezra’s grandmother.
“….”
Ezra’s fingers curled slightly, nails digging into his palm.
He had already made his decision.
….The Pittsburg Marquess family would be punished by his own hands.
* * *
To— Tok.
A sudden knock on the door jolted everyone to attention.
Astrid was pale and visibly exhausted, but still held her magnetism around the room with. The walls were cracked, marked with shallow holes from previous skirmishes as monsters had attempted to breach the space, drawn by their presence.
But Charlotte and Cassandra had held the line, even clearing the surrounding floor to ensure safe passage for wandering students.
“Who is it?” Charlotte called out, eyes narrowing with suspicion.
At this point, it was no mystery that the university tower had been attacked. The possibility of enemy forces masquerading as allies couldn’t be dismissed.
——It’s Professor Eamon! I’m here under Headmaster Elsa’s orders! We need to move Professor Vanitas to the evacuation zone!
The girls exchanged quick glances. None of them had been told about an evacuation point before. But if the Headmaster had issued such an order, it meant the situation was escalating, or stabilizing enough to begin moving key personnel.
But still, they were suspicious.
“I’m also under direct orders from the Headmaster to keep him safe,” Charlotte began, “and at the moment, this office is the most secure place in the tower. Doesn’t this… conflict with your orders?”
———I’m not sure who’s speaking in there, but haven’t you heard? There’s been a change of plans. The situation is stabilizing. What we need now is to locate scattered faculty and students and bring them to a central safe zone.
Astrid narrowed her eyes. Something felt off. Charlotte picked up on it immediately and responded instead.
“You’re saying the Headmaster gave new orders?” she asked, her tone laced suspicion.
——Yes. I was informed directly.
Charlotte exchanged a quick glance with Astrid and Cassandra, subtly motioning with her hand: ‘Be ready. Cassandra, back me up if something happens.
Though both looked slightly confused, they nodded.
“But professor,” Charlotte continued, “wouldn’t Headmaster Elsa have told you who exactly is with Professor Vanitas right now?”
——You?
“Did she not mention…” Charlotte’s voice trailed off as her eyes began to glow prismatically. Wisps of several colors gathered around her. She turned to Astrid and gave a small nod, signaling to lift the magnetism in the room. “…that Charlotte Astrea is with him?”
At this point, Charlotte didn’t see a reason for Astrid to continue straining herself further. If the professor outside truly posed a threat, or if it was an impostor, they could easily destroy the office with a single spell, considering Astrid’s weakened state.
——Of course she did. It’s only natural the professor’s little sister would be nearby… But this isn’t the time for suspicion! You’re compromising—
“I understand, professor.”
Click.
The door unlocked with a soft click as Charlotte slowly turned the handle.
She understood her brother better than most. She knew exactly how he operated.
A man who would intentionally corner himself to the brink of failure, just to force an outcome. A man who provoked enemies deliberately, using their reactions to lead them actions where he wanted them to.
A man who was always thinking. Two steps ahead. Three steps. Maybe even more.
Charlotte couldn’t even begin to guess how many moves he planned against his enemies.
But she had learned from it., and had made those lessons a part of herself.
So as the door creaked open, she made sure the others were ready. Cassandra and Astrid were already hidden, waiting just out of view.
And stepping into the room… was Professor Eamon. It was really him. But that didn’t mean they would drop their guard.
Vanitas would never.
Naturally, neither would Charlotte.
“Please guide me, Professor,” Charlotte said, “I’ll carry my brother.”
“No need,” Eamon replied with a reassuring smile. “I can handle him.”
Charlotte nodded slowly, then glanced back at Vanitas’s sleeping form. Eamon approached and hoisted Vanitas onto his back.
With no further words exchanged, the two stepped out of the office and moved down the hallway.
“Where’s the evacuation point?” Charlotte asked, keeping pace beside him.
“Just down this hallway.”
“I see… And the students? Are they safe? Has the faculty figured out who’s behind the attack?”
“Yes. And yes,” he said. “There were several suspicious individuals in ceremonial robes roaming the tower, but the professors and senior students handled them. I finished the screening test earlier and was instructed to help search for any remaining people.”
Charlotte remained silent for a moment, eyes scanning their surroundings as they passed empty classrooms and scattered debris. Her instincts were still on edge.
She eyed Eamon sideways.
“And Headmaster Elsa?” she asked. “Is she at the evacuation point?”
There was a brief pause.
“…No,” he replied. “She’s still out hunting the intruders.”
Another silence settled between them before Charlotte spoke again.
“What about the princess? Is she at the evacuation point?”
“You’re asking a lot of questions,” he said. “But yes, she should be there, keeping the others calm.”
“…Is that so?”
“I don’t know,” he added. “There were too many people for me to notice. But she should be there, if she’s not somewhere else.”
“Why were you sent alone, though?”
“Proper distribution of resources. I am an Imperial Professor candidate. Naturally, I was sent alone so there’s more floors to cover.”
“And you chose to find… my brother?”
“Why do you keep asking the obvious?” Eamon grunted. “Because I took the screening test too. Naturally, I would think of my fellow candidates.”
Charlotte chuckled. It was fun seeing professor Eamon skillfully answering every question.
“Who do you think sealed the university tower, professor?”
“Again with the obvious…. Those intruders, obviously. Do you normally ask so many questions in the lecture hall, too?”
“I’m normally a quiet girl, professor.”
“Then it’s best you stop. Unless you want us to be spotted.”
“You’re right.” But just as quickly, Charlotte asked again, “Did the Headmaster really not tell you Astrid was with professor Vanitas?”
“Huh—?” Eamon said. “I don’t know. Maybe she did say something like that. I was too preoccupied with my own thoughts.”
“Didn’t you say the princess might be in the evacuation point?”
“I did. So what’s your poin—”
Before he could finish, the spirits that had remained hidden around Charlotte glowed to life. A gust of wind exploded outward, slamming Eamon back and forcing him to drop Vanitas.
Charlotte had planned it perfectly. She’d deliberately separated the terms “princess” and “Astrid” in her questions, testing his knowledge, baiting his inconsistencies.
This was indeed Professor Eamon’s, but something was undoubtedly wrong. Her instincts, heightened from working with the Gambinos these past few months, especially under Anastasia’s mentorship, screamed that something was off.
An evacuation point just down the hall? With no other professors or knights in the vicinity?
No. The moment he slipped, Charlotte was ready.
From around the corner, figures, cloaked in ceremonial robes embroidered with gold, stepped into view.
“Haa…” Eamon exhaled, scratching the back of his head. “You could’ve just remained suspicious. Would’ve made it easier for you.”
“Was it that obvious?” Charlotte asked with a slight tilt of her head, tapping a finger against her lips.
“You weren’t even trying to hide it.”
“I wasn’t.”
Eamon’s smirk dropped into a sneer. “Not very bright, are we?”
Charlotte’s expression didn’t change. Instead, she slowly raised her hand, prismatic wisps of mana starting to spiral at her fingertips. Around her, cloaked figures began to rush in, while others began murmuring incantations.
But Charlotte had already finished her own spell.
“—Flash Freeze.”
———!
In that instant, the charging enemies crashed to the ground, as if a magnetic force pulled them down. Just as a blast from Eamon’s staff flew toward her, it collided with the cold burst of Charlotte’s magic.
The two spells crackled and canceled out midair with a thunderous shockwave.
———!
At the same time, the cloaked figures who had just finished their chants were hurled backward, crashing into the walls and columns.
From the far end of the corridor, Astrid and Cassandra appeared. Astrid raised her hand midstride, her expression pale from overexertion, but her golden gaze glared.
A pulse of dense force surged through the hallway, flattening several of the attackers into the walls with a bone-jarring slam.
Charlotte’s and Eamon’s spells collided in the center, unleashing a freezing mist that consumed the corridor. Seizing the moment, Charlotte lunged forward through the haze and reached for Vanitas.
But before she could secure him….
Thwack—!
Eamon’s silhouette burst from the mist, landing a brutal kick squarely into her chest and sending her staggering back.
Simultaneously, Eamon’s figure was launched down the hallway by a concentrated burst of Astrid’s magnetism.
Charlotte grit her teeth, coughing hard as she clutched her ribs. Still, she grabbed Vanitas again and shouted, “Astrid, take him!”
Astrid nodded, blood now trailing from her nose. She raised her hand and pulled Vanitas toward her with magnetism, gritting her teeth as the strain worsened her conditions, causing her knees to buckle slightly.
The smoke began to thin, and shadows stirred. Several of the attackers were already rising to their feet.
Cassandra quickly muttered a chant and fired a barrage of Frost Bolts. Each bolt flew with pinpoint accuracy, forcing the fanatics back and clearing space.
The corridor flared with chaotic ripples of magic, prismatic light, as spells collided with spells. Astrid and Cassandra moved instinctively, finishing off the remaining attackers in tandem.
As they turned to catch their breath, their attention shifted to Charlotte, now facing Eamon alone.
“Ugh…!” Astrid gritted her teeth, clutching her head. Her vision blurred from the exhaustion of magnetism crushing her from within.
Still, she extended her hand one last time and pulled Vanitas fully into her arms.
She collapsed to her knees, holding him tightly in her embrace and refusing to let go.
Cassandra blinked, caught off guard by the desperation of the scene, but quickly refocused her attention to Charlotte and Eamon.
“Go,” Astrid said through shallow breaths. “She won’t be able to handle him alone.”
Cassandra quickly nodded and ran, joining Charlotte.
* * *
“This doesn’t make any sense….” Elsa muttered, her eyes fixed on the wreckage before her.
Professor Dahlia’s office, or what was left of it.
The corridor was stained with blood. Several knights she had stationed to guard Dahlia now lay lifeless.
“Tsk.”
She clenched her fists.
She had sent Eamon, supposedly the first to awaken from the screening test. to ensure Dahlia’s safety. But now, the gears were turning.
“So Eamon was… the traitor,” she said under her breath, though it pained her to admit it.
Perhaps he had never undergone the test at all. If so, then the entire story aligned too well.
….The real targets were the Imperial Professor candidates.
And perhaps… herself.
A knight approached, blood and soot staining his armor.
“Headmaster,” he reported grimly, “it’s as we feared. The other candidates are… gone.”
Elsa exhaled slowly, rubbing her temples, the pressure mounting behind her eyes. She had managed to pull the university tower back from the brink, but the damage had already been dealt.
An attack. Injured students. Dead staff. And now… the disappearance of the most valuable candidates.
“What about Professor Vanitas?” she asked.
“A search team is en route to his office now,” the knight responded. “But… I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Professor Vanitas is the top candidate this year. He’s likely a high priority target.
Elsa’s mind spiraled, racing to connect the remaining pieces, until one hit her in that moment.
“Damn it.”
The princess. Astrid Barielle Aetherion. She had been with Vanitas. And if he was in danger…
“….”
Then so was she.
Or worse, she was already gone.
Crackle—!
Without wasting another second, Elsa unleashed a powerful spell.
The magic surged beneath her feet, as she tore through the floor, launching herself downward toward the level where Professor Vanitas’s office was located.
* * *
“Consider yourselves unlucky.”
Inside a dimly lit lecture hall, the lights flickered on and off across the blood-soaked floor.
At the center of the carnage stood a lone figure.
“….”
Ezra Kaelus.
Four seniors lay dead around him, none of whom had been directly involved in his grandmother’s case. But that didn’t matter anymore.
“….”
His gaze settled on Audelle Pittsburg’s lifeless body. He closed his eyes… then slowly opened them again, feeling his rationality slowly slipping away. He had just eliminated Astrid’s rival for candidacy. Surely, she would be delighted with this, right?
“Haaa…”
Running a hand through his hair, he let out a long breath. There was no room for compromise.
The punishment had been dealt. The Pittsburg Marquess Family had paid its price. The other students had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But Ezra didn’t care. Not anymore.
The narrative was already set in stone. These students died during the chaos of an ambush by the robed attackers. In that confusion, Audelle Pittsburg was killed tragically, and pathetically.
A pitiful death in exchange for the life of his grandmother.
He felt his sanity fray as Audelle’s voice echoed in his head. Her pleas, her desperation. The hostile stares of the seniors after he backed Audelle against the corner.
——Please! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’ll compensate you. Whatever you want!
It didn’t matter.
Ezra had dispatched them all. Noble or commoner, innocent or guilty, it made no difference anymore.
This world was cruel. It took without mercy. So a few more lives, in exchange for justice? For closure?
He’d already made peace with it.
Professor Vanitas would understand. He, too, was a man of sin. But Professor Vanitas took no sides and was relentless in pursuit of his own ends.
And so was Ezra.
But he knew. Vanitas Astrea was a criminal, too.
Still, there was a saying, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
And if that ever changed—if Vanitas’s back ever turned against him—Ezra wouldn’t hesitate to pass judgment on him either.
For now, though, he was a blade. A blade wielded by Vanitas Astrea.
And so, there was loyalty.
Loyalty to the man who had given him an opportunity.
“The professor will understand…”
Without another glance, Ezra turned and walked out of the hall, leaving behind the aftermath of a massacre.
Tak. Tak—!
….As if nothing had happened at all.