Chapter 235: Reunion (4)

A shadow streaked across the dark sky.

The shadow, which had been circling overhead, suddenly plunged downward and crashed into the forest.

Whoosh!

A woman fell through the trees, sending countless leaves fluttering down around her.

Oh no!

Falling headfirst, Erica barely managed to grab a branch and halt her descent.

However, the impact dislocated her shoulder, and to make matters worse, the branch snapped, sending her plummeting once more.

Thud!

Erica’s body slammed into the ground with a heavy impact.

Her motionless body began to twitch after a moment.

“Cough!”

Erica coughed weakly and opened her eyes.

“Ah… I almost died.”

If I hadn’t grabbed onto that branch, if there hadn’t been any undergrowth below, my neck would have snapped and I’d be dead.

“Ugh…”

After lying there for a moment, Erica forced herself to sit up. As she did, the moonlight gradually began to illuminate her.

Under the blue glow, Erica’s appearance was wretched. Her clothes were torn in several places, her hair singed black, and a crust of dried blood covered her thigh. Her condition was even worse than when Douglas and Floria had barely managed to free her days ago. Erica’s injuries were from the pursuers who had been chasing her relentlessly for the past few days.

“Haa…”

Erica let out a heavy sigh, her face etched with exhaustion. She had snatched brief naps, but they were hardly enough to relieve such overwhelming fatigue.

For days, Erica had barely eaten and had been forced to flee relentlessly.

“Damn them…”

Syron should have been only a two-day flight from Erica’s original starting point at most.

But the relentless pursuit and attacks had stretched the journey far longer.

Erica’s face darkened.

It’s already been four days.

She blankly recalled the past four days.

When she first set out for Syron, she’d had no doubt she’d arrive quickly.

But the trouble had begun with a sudden, violent turn in the weather.

Boom…

For the monstrous intruders who’d ambushed her, it was a stroke of divine luck. For Erica, an unbearable misfortune.

Whoosh…

Erica stubbornly battled through the ferocious wind and rain, clinging to survival.

Even under normal circumstances, she hadn’t been able to reach her full speed, so she knew she had to keep moving forward, no matter how slowly.

The long flight in the rain had caused Erica’s body temperature to plummet. For a moment, she lost consciousness and began to fall.

Luckily, she regained her senses midway, or she might have plummeted to her death.

Afterward, Erica sought shelter from the rain in a cave, where she rested briefly.

But even that respite didn’t last long.

“This way!”

The voice, carried from afar, made Erica doubt her ears.

“What?! Already?!”

Realizing the voice belonged to her pursuers, Erica darted out of the cave.

Just then, an arrow pierced her thigh, inflicting a grievous wound.

Dodging the volley of arrows, Erica had no time to tend to her wound. She had to take to the sky immediately.

Erica’s escape continued for a grueling three days through a relentless storm.

On the morning of the fourth day, as the storm finally broke, Erica soared into the sky with renewed vigor, believing she had finally shaken off her pursuers.

Just as she had managed to lose them and dozed off in a tree, a voice rang out again:

Over here!

The shout startled her awake.

Already?!

She scrambled higher, but an arrow whistled past her back.

Barely an hour earlier, she had narrowly broken through their encirclement and fled.

The relentless chase had taken its toll. Her flight speed remained stubbornly slow due to exhaustion, her body pushed to its absolute limit.

Despite pushing herself relentlessly for her comrades, Erica momentarily lost consciousness mid-flight and plummeted from the sky.

That was exactly what had happened moments ago.

Sitting dazedly on the ground, Erica recalled the harrowing escape and realized something was deeply wrong.

“Their pursuit speed is abnormal…”

Even considering the storm slowing her down, they were gaining on her at a pace comparable to a galloping horse. More perplexing was how they had known which direction she was flying in. Yet they had swarmed her the instant she tried to regroup.

The situation defied all logic.

There’s only one possibility… They knew which way I was heading. They’re… tracking my position!

Erica’s face turned pale, her expression darkening.

How could they possibly have found my location?

Is there something about me giving them clues to my trail?

But all she had with her were her tattered clothes and her lifelong companion, the Righteous Wings (義翼).

Especially the Righteous Wings—they were like an extension of herself. Since she created them, she had never entrusted them to anyone else.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, a thought struck Erica:

…Could it be?!

There was one time. About two years ago, the leather straps that secured the backpack-shaped wings to her torso had worn out, and she had replaced them. Since the leather straps didn’t require any special craftsmanship, she had asked someone else to do it.

No… that can’t be… that’s impossible.

Erica examined the leather strap, praying her conjecture was wrong. As her fingers traced the leather, they brushed against a metal buckle at the seam.

…?

In that instant, she could feel it—the hairline crack in the buckle.

Her face hardening, she grabbed a nearby rock and struck the buckle with it.

Clang!

Once.

Clang!

Twice.

Clang!

Three times.

After just three blows, the buckle split open, and a small object popped out.

True to her reputation as a Grand Master, she instantly analyzed the ritual etched into the tiny object.

A low murmur escaped her lips.

“Paula…”

The inscription on the small object turned out to be a location-transmitting ritual.

And Paula, the one who had brought the leather strap, was none other than…

“You dare…”

Erica’s disciple.

Her face twisting in fury, Erica smashed the location-transmitting device against a stone.

Crunch—

Moments later.

Whoosh— whoosh—

Erica soared skyward once more, streaking across the heavens at breakneck speed.

Toward the north, where Syron had taken refuge.

The grueling semester was finally coming to an end, with only one day left until vacation. As everyone buzzed with anticipation, Louis and his travel party were returning to the academy after a tour of the Tower of Wishes, a perk for academic excellence.

Clatter-clatter.

The six-person carriage carried Louis, the Twins, the Flame Siblings, and Shiba. Those riding with Louis couldn’t help but notice his unusually gloomy mood, whispering among themselves as they stole furtive glances at him.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Maybe… he didn’t enjoy the tour?”

After the tour of the Tower of Wishes, Louis had uttered only one sentence:

And for good reason. The tour had been nothing like what he had expected.

They hadn’t seen any of the Labyrinth’s main facilities, and the only decent part of the tour was the Level 4 Transcendent technology production process.

Louis had been grumbling throughout the entire tour, and as soon as it was over, he promptly ducked into the carriage.

And he’d been in such a foul mood ever since.

Louis must be angry.

I don’t know. It’s best not to bother him when he’s like this.

The rest of the travel party hurriedly averted their gazes, afraid of accidentally making eye contact with Louis.

Meanwhile, the reason for Louis’s low spirits had nothing to do with the wasted time on the tour.

His mood had been soured ever since he’d followed William the other day.

What could the plan they mentioned be?

It was good that I managed to tail William and eavesdrop on their conversation, but I couldn’t figure out what their plan was.

Getting Victor’s Legacy is just a condition of the deal… they must have another plan.

I didn’t know what that plan was, but I’d bet my entire fortune it wasn’t for anything good.

Even though I hadn’t uncovered the details of their scheme, Louis hadn’t returned empty-handed.

Thanks to the trap he’d laid—one of the items inscribed with a Location Transmission Spell—the blond man had taken it, allowing us to pinpoint his location.

But that location was another problem.

Castle Siron…

Astonishingly, the book carried by the man suspected to be William’s accomplice was now at Castle Siron.

The persistent, unchanging signal over the past few days confirmed that William’s collaborator was definitely connected to the Syron Family.

That revelation left a foul taste in Louis’s mouth.

So it’s the Syron Family who’s been colluding with that bastard William?

Thanks to the Tower of Wishes, the Syron Family had transformed from a backwater village into one of the wealthiest families in the land.

And now, this same Syron Family was scheming with that little brat William?

It was only natural that Louis’s eyes narrowed into slits.

”…How should I take these bastards down to make it a proper spectacle?”

The chilling killing intent in Louis’s murmur sent a shiver through his companions in the carriage.

“S-sorry! I-I won’t do it again!”

“P-please! Spare me! I-I made a mistake!”

Kendrick and Shiba, always quick to apologize first and ask questions later, had already started their apologies.

Louis’s fierce expression softened into a bewildered pout.

”…Did you two do something wrong to me?”

“W-We thought we should apologize first and figure it out later!”

“W-Whatever it is, we’re probably guilty of something. Of course!”

Louis rolled his eyes at their shifty, darting glances.

Just then, Kani, who had been watching the scenery outside the window, noticed the gradually approaching Transcendence Academy and turned to Louis.

“Louis, Louis! What are we doing during vacation?”

Her bright, hopeful eyes, clearly eager for vacation fun, stared directly at Louis.

Khan chimed in immediately.

“Yeah, where should we go during vacation? Where’s the fun going to be?”

Louis effortlessly deflected their coordinated, pleading gazes.

“Where do you think you’re going? Just stay here. Why waste money on something pointless?”

Many students returned to their family homes as soon as the semester ended.

However, the dormitory remained open for those who stayed behind.

The dormitory offered top-notch meals for every meal and premium accommodations.

With such excellent facilities available for free, why would anyone bother spending money elsewhere?

“Ugh… you cheapskate!”

“Cheapskate!”

“Quiet.”

As Louis and the Twins bickered, Tania spoke up with a serious expression.

“Hey, Louis oppa.”

“What?”

”…Don’t you think something’s odd?”

“What’s odd?”

“It feels like we’re forgetting something… um… I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“No, really, I think we are forgetting something… It feels really unsettling…”

All eyes turned to Tania, who was now clearly struggling with her thoughts.

They all looked at Tania as if they had no idea what she was talking about.

After a moment of deep thought, as if recalling something crucial, Kendrick slammed his fist into his palm.

“Ah! Right! She’s not here!”

”…?”

“One person is missing!”

“What nonsense? Everyone’s here!”

“No, you idiot, Kendrick! One person is missing!”

“How dare you call your own brother… Anyway, what do you mean she’s not here? Teacher, you, me, Auntie Kani, Big Bro Kan, Shiba. Everyone’s here, right?”

“See! She’s not here!”

“Who?”

“Elder Sister Lavina!”

”…”

A heavy silence fell as soon as Tania finished shouting.

Kendrick blinked. ”…Who’s Lavina?”

Tania stared at him with unconcealed disgust, and Kendrick flinched.

“Ah, I know! It was a joke!”

Meanwhile, Louis, who had only just remembered Lavina’s existence after hearing Tania’s story, scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“Ah, right… I’d completely forgotten.”

News of Nabi often reached me on its own. After all, he’d become something of a celebrity at Transcendence Academy.

Nabi had made the academy garden his home, spending his days sprawled out in lazy naps. He lived comfortably, reportedly accepting treats from adoring female students who found him adorable. Some students had even built him his own custom house.

While I remained aware of Nabi’s antics through these secondhand updates, I’d completely forgotten about Lavina, the maid I’d hired myself—for months, no less.

Noticing my slightly flustered expression, Tania asked awkwardly, “You forgot about her, didn’t you?”

“She’s probably upset, right?”

“I’d bet 100% she’s furious.”

“Hmm…”

Louis scratched his cheek.

Even though he had been the one to hire her, he felt a twinge of conscience and thought he should at least go and show his face now.

“Let’s see… where is she?”

The carriage had just passed through the main gate of Transcendence Academy.

Louis expanded his sensory perception, seeking Lavina.

His awareness stretched out to every corner of the academy.

As Louis scanned for her, his eyebrows twitched.

Something had caught his senses.

“Huh?”

Louis’s face stiffened slightly.

“Wait a minute…”

But then his expression abruptly brightened, completely opposite of his initial reaction.

Louis sprang to his feet, his voice ringing with cheerful surprise.

“He’s here!”

With that, Louis’s newly manifested form vanished in an instant, and Kendrick murmured as he watched:

”…He must have gone to Lavina.”

“Probably…?”

“But he said ‘He’s here!’ not ‘I found him!’”

“Could it be that Elder Sister Lavina went somewhere?”

And so, Louis vanished, leaving Kendrick and Tania in deep puzzlement.

He had arrived at the underground labyrinth beneath the Transcendence Academy.

There, Louis was not alone.

“Who’s there?!”

A wary shout echoed from the far end of the dark tunnel. Louis grinned brightly and replied:

“Who do you think?”