Chapter 69: Heist (9)

Woo-woong – with a faint vibration, a warm pink light spreads out. It was mana with a different nature from the black mana that Sian had been using.

The first to notice the change was Yelena. For her, a skilled warrior, distinguishing the nature of mana was not that difficult.

“In the end, you’re going to reveal your second Stigmata?”

Nod.

Instead of answering, I lightly nodded and turned my gaze towards the water pillar.

I didn’t want to reveal the fact that I had a second Stigmata. And I especially didn’t want to reveal it to Benedicto of the Dark Cult…

Still, saving my friend came first. In the end, I’m doing all this to save my friends, so if I lose a friend to hide my Stigmata, it’s putting the cart before the horse.

“…”

Yelena didn’t add anything. She probably thought that I wouldn’t listen even if she tried to stop me.

Revealing the second Stigmata will put me in danger in many ways in the future. Still, if I’m willing to take that risk, Yelena had no authority to stop it.

To Yelena, the girl named Elissa was just a stranger, but to Sian, she was one of her really precious friends.

“No, if I think about it, she’s not a complete stranger.”

Yelena muttered quietly and recalled Regina. A friend who was drawn to Sian’s warmth, just like herself. And, a girl who could someday become a competitor.

Sian is indeed a charming child. Seeing how she attracts people around her like this.

It was a strange feeling.

She didn’t dislike the feeling of being acknowledged that the girl she had her eye on was so attractive… but she didn’t feel good when she thought that the number of competitors might increase.

Yelena, with such contradictory feelings, silently drew her sword.

[Yelena Frost (Lv.50) activates the Stigmata ‘Winter’s Boundary’]

“If that’s your choice, I won’t stop you.”

Kiiiing-

The sound of cool mana gathering was heard softly. Yelena mustered her last strength and muttered quietly.

“Instead, wait. I’ll open the way for you.”

“Thank you.”

I answered Yelena with a light smile.

Thinking that I should be good to Yelena in many ways in the future.

The one who helped me the most. The one who became my first friend at the academy, and the one who made me realize that this world is a real reality, was the girl in front of me. Yelena Frost.

“What a useless thing to do.”

Benedicto, who doesn’t know about Sian’s second Stigmata, sneered at the two. Elissa in a fake Stigmata runaway state cannot be stopped by just two first-year students.

High-level magic pouring down without delay and an infinite amount of mana that doesn’t run out. And, accurate attacks without a single error.

If the caster himself doesn’t think about the pain he has to bear, even Benedicto can’t guarantee victory against that.

“It’s time to clean up.”

The core of the fake Stigmata runaway state is to break down the emotions. If she kills the friends who risked their lives for her with her own hands, she will be able to break her down sufficiently.

Now the important thing is to end this battle.

Unexpectedly, the initial loss was too great. One Crusader-class was killed by a teacher, and the remaining one is barely fighting, but the situation is precarious.

The army that had been poured out at the beginning had been reduced to more than one-fifth. All but one of the gates have also been closed.

“It seems like the teachers are gathering, so I need to clean up quickly.”

It was dangerous in many ways. It was because they were opponents that he could not kill even after unfolding ‘Endless War’. If he couldn’t kill them here, it would have been very annoying in many ways.

With that thought, he reached out to the sky. The ‘seed’ flickered once, and a huge amount of mana is released into the air.

Crack-!

The sky shatters like glass, and cracks appear in space. Normally, it is impossible to use space movement inside the academy, but the barrier has already been weakened by the appearance of the transfer magic circles.

Benedicto unfolded the barrier and looked back at the water pillar. Thinking that she would be in a panic by now, having killed her friends.

“…?”

And, a beautiful cherry blossom garden unfolded before his eyes.

“Huuu…”

It’s cold.

As soon as she saw the chilly sky-blue jewel in the necromancer’s hand, she felt like her whole body was freezing.

At the same time, reason is gradually paralyzed. A cold sensation engulfs the whole body, and emotions gradually break down. My mind is getting complicated.

Why… did I not use the Stigmata?

It started with a simple question. No matter how strong that guy is, it seems like I could easily step on him if I just released the fake Stigmata.

Elissa’s sapphire-colored eyes gradually begin to lose their light. Emotions freeze, and the Stigmata that had been suppressed all along flickered.

Memories gradually fade. From the memories of escaping from the Dark Cult’s base as a child, it gradually shatters like it was crushed in a crusher.

Happy memories freeze coldly, and the terrible cold fills the void. Elissa trembled and tried to hold onto the fragmented memories.

However, the more she struggled, the more only the memories of the past came to mind. The things that that jewel called ‘seed’ did to her keep coming to mind.

Memories of the time when she was called ‘Experiment 17’ began to eat away at her mind. Memories of being restrained all over her body and being subjected to various experiments by force.

“N, no…!”

Various surgical instruments appear in front of her eyes. The executioners of the Dark Cult, who brutally mutilated her body like a lump of meat, come to mind.

Elissa instinctively activated her Stigmata to protect her body from them. An overwhelming amount of mana that is not properly controlled swirls around.

Sian and Yelena’s voices are getting farther away. No, wait. Who is Yelena…? Who is… Sian…

The thread of thought stretches like taffy. Cognition and spirit fade, and endless emptiness and fear enveloped the body.

When her thoughts reached that point, Elissa’s body flinched. Sian, I don’t want to forget Sian. How much I like that girl.

The girl I longed for. The really grateful girl who was the only one to reach out to me, who was alone. And, the girl I want to move towards a relationship beyond friends someday.

I could forget everything else. Anyway, she didn’t have any particularly important memories. But, but the memories with her… I absolutely can’t forget.

Her. So, that… that…?

When her thoughts reached that point, Elissa suddenly felt goosebumps all over her body. The name of that girl no longer came to mind.

There are precious memories intact. I definitely have a memory of being with her on the back mountain. I’m with her…

“What did I do…?”

The frozen emotions of the girl could no longer recall the memories of what she had done. The girl, whose mind was messed up, muttered painfully.

“Anyone, will anyone help… me?”

As she muttered that, she groaned softly. Come to think of it… who can help me?

Someone said they would help me. Someone said they could get me out of the runaway state. Why can’t I remember. I feel like her face will come to mind. There was definitely a happy memory.

There was someone precious I wanted to protect.

All emotions freeze, and the only thought remaining in her mind is one. The compulsion that no one should approach her.

“Don’t, don’t come…!”

Elissa, who wrapped her whole body in water pillars, unconsciously wiggled her hand. Several sharp water arrows appear in the air. The girl, who closed her eyes tightly, stuck the arrows into the nearest opponent without thinking.

But the two girls seen beyond the blurry vision did not stop. A black-haired girl with a somehow familiar appearance approaches.

“Ugh…!”

With that, a memory came to mind. In some space, the words that the black-haired girl in front of her muttered to her.

‘If you have the will to resist, I can heal you.’

The will to resist…?

There was no such thing for a girl whose emotions were frozen. I wanted to clear everything around and be comfortable.

But, somehow, I felt like I had to follow that word. The firm will to follow that word was felt somewhere deep in my heart.

It was a strange thing. Other emotions were all paralyzed, but only this will remained alive.

But how…?

Elissa looked around. The forcibly manifested Stigmata was gradually eating away at Elissa’s body. The intense water barrier that unfolded around her was a prison that trapped her.

Nevertheless, Elissa decided to follow her instincts for now. While suppressing the mana of her whole body as much as possible, she intentionally ruins the formula for activating her unique magic.

A burning pain was felt all over her body, but it didn’t matter. To quickly get out of this pain, I thought I had to follow my instincts.

Crack-

At the same time, a part of the water barrier froze.

And a warm spring breeze blew.