“Good. Perfect timing.”

  “That concludes my public lecture. I look forward to a fair vote that proves I’m qualified to teach. Thank you, everyone.”

  The moment Ennis finished, nearly the entire hall rose to their feet, applauding and cheering.

  “No school of magic is inherently noble or lesser.”

  Those words hit home for students and faculty alike, even Antonio felt his chest tighten with emotion.

  His teacher really didn’t disappoint. It had been brilliant.

  Caroline, who had listened from start to finish, found herself clapping too. She had to admit it, Ennis knew what she was doing.

  For Caroline, Ennis was hard to read.

  At first, it was easy to get fooled by her outward act. Even now, Caroline still couldn’t say what Ennis was really like.

  But one thing was certain.

  Ennis was an excellent nature mage. Whatever Caroline’s suspicions had been, Ennis was absolutely someone worth getting to know.

  Caroline thought, “I need to make time and actually talk to her. She doesn’t seem to be nobility either. I should find a way to bring her over. And those old foxes from the other houses, I wonder if they’ve already started moving.”

  Caroline wasn’t wrong.

  Almost everyone there saw the potential in Ennis. She looked like the kind of person who could leave her name in history, and making connections with someone like that never hurt.

  No one had realized she might be the legendary Guide, though.

  The nobles kept it simpler than that.

  Recruit her. If they could pull her into their own camp, even better.

  The more ruthless ones were already wondering if they had an unmarried son, or daughter, they could use as a convenient engagement to tie Ennis down.

  Of course, Enid had no intention of accepting anyone’s “offer.” She had no interest in getting tangled up with nobles more than necessary.

  Right then, she mostly wanted to sprint to the dining hall and reward herself with a proper meal.

  Deep underground in the main tower, in a dungeon far below.

  Howard had already left the lecture hall. Now he stood in a secluded corner with Margot.

  Margot’s face was nothing but terror.

  “Howard, this was all Kasim’s fault,” she stammered. “He wants the Nature Chair more than anyone. He should’ve hated Ennis the most…”

  “Enough,” Howard said.

  He flicked a finger.

  A ring of spellwork flared around him. Chains made of pure mana snapped into existence, cinching around Margot’s throat and hauling her off the ground.

  Margot clawed at the glowing links, kicking and thrashing.

  “N-no… please… sir… m-merc…”

  Howard watched as her face flushed purple from lack of air.

  “You acted on your own,” he said calmly. “And you nearly exposed who you are in front of Antonio.”

  “If I hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have had time to fix the plan you ruined.”

  He released her.

  Margot hit the floor hard, coughing like she was trying to drag air back into her lungs.

  “A mere mortal,” Howard said, voice cold. “A fool who doesn’t know her place.”

  “Trash like you has no right to offer worship to that great being.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “And what happens to failures,” he added, “I’m sure you remember.”

  Margot threw herself at his legs, desperate, shaking.

  “No, please. Give me one more chance. I’ll prove my loyalty, I will, I…”

  Howard kicked her away.

  She folded over, clutching her stomach, and he planted a boot on her, pinning her down.

  “Don’t worry, Margot,” he said. “You’ll have a chance to pay for your failure.”

  “Just not as a living person.”

  From inside his robe, Howard took out a syringe filled with dark brown liquid.

  He plunged it into Margot’s neck and pushed the contents in.

  Then her body began to change.

  Her skin darkened and swelled, stretching until it tore through her clothes, revealing grotesque, bulging muscle.

  Her head warped into something bestial. Two massive horns erupted from her skull.

  A long, thick tail burst out behind her.

  The thing that used to be Margot sprouted bone spines and coarse bristles.

  Its pupils burned with a vicious red glow, and a low, animal growl rumbled from its throat.

  It was on all fours now, forelimbs unnaturally thick, not quite human and not quite beast, just wrong.

  Howard watched, then smiled, satisfied.

  “Excellent,” he murmured. “That refined demon serum really does work.”

  The creature roared, like a starving animal hunting for blood and scraps.

  “Not yet,” Howard said softly. “This isn’t your moment.”

  “Be good and wait. Your time to kill will come.”

  More mana chains lashed out, binding the beast that had been Margot, dragging it deeper into the dark.

  “…Ennis Froland,” Howard muttered under his breath.

  “A high elf nature mage, background unknown, likely tenth tier or close enough to matter.”

  “An unpredictable variable.”

  “She could interfere with the ritual.”

  “If I can recruit her, that would be ideal,” he continued, eyes narrowing. “But nature’s power has always been our enemy…”

  Howard’s eyes rolled back until only the rear of his eyeballs showed.

  What should have been nerves and veins behind the eye were simply gone. In their place was a flat, pitch-black sclera and a symbol that made your skin crawl just looking at it.

  “If I could offer a being like that directly to my Lord, I’m sure I’d be rewarded… but no. The ritual comes first.”

  Meanwhile, at the very top of the main tower, in the headmaster’s conference hall.

  After leaving the public lecture, Antonio returned here immediately.

  He sat in the central chair, one hand propping up his head, the other resting on the armrest. His fingers tapped out a steady rhythm, like he was working through a knot in his thoughts.

  He spoke as if to himself.

  “…If I want my teacher to meet that kid, how do I make it happen… drag the kid over by force? Throw a celebration banquet? Or…”

  The hall was empty aside from Antonio, yet a woman’s voice drifted in from nowhere, faint and eerie in the vast space.

  “…Are you really sure you want that kid to… get close to the Divine Envoy…? If the curse on the Divine Envoy…”

  Antonio cut her off.

  “We’re out of time. We can’t keep wasting it.”

  “The cult’s infiltration has gone further than I expected. Still, that might not be a bad thing.”

  “Too much haste ruins the whole job. And you can’t rush a hot meal. I haven’t forgotten what Enid taught me back then.”

  “The more impatient the cult gets, the more mistakes they’ll make. And when they slip, that’s when we wipe them out in one clean strike.”

  The mysterious voice went quiet for a long moment.

  “Besides, that kid’s potential is still dormant. If we want to wake it up, we need a strong stimulus, something sharp enough to act as a fuse.”

  “And the curse inside Enid… is the easiest to control, the safest option.”

  “It’s also the most vile.”

  Antonio asked, “So what about the Holy Spirit Church? How are the oracles doing?”

  “They’re basically ready. The prophecy rite can be started at any time.”

  “Good. Then I’ll have my people keep a close watch on the cult.”

  The woman hesitated.

  “…Do you think the Divine Envoy, after losing so many memories, will still remember us?”

  Antonio laughed softly. “Relax. Enid isn’t old. She’s sick. That’s not the same thing.”

  “After all these years, she still remembered me the moment we met.”

  “…That’s because you’ve got no shame,” the voice said dryly. “When the Divine Envoy was resting, you still kept showing up just to remind her you existed.”

  Antonio waved it off. “Trust me. If that kid meets Enid face-to-face, the odds are she’ll remember.”

  “And remember this, Ilena. Her condition isn’t forgetting.”

  “…Fine,” Ilena said. “But are you really sure? Once we start, it’s like firing an arrow. There’s no pulling it back.”

  “And the Divine Envoy might end up resenting you for it.”

  Antonio chuckled. “That part you really don’t have to worry about.”

  He stood and looked up at the massive dome in the center of the hall.

  The ceiling was covered in beautiful murals, legends and religious tales from the Stahir Empire and its state faith, the Holy Spirit Church.

  And right in the middle, where your eyes naturally landed, a single famous line was carved into the stone.

  Antonio stared at it for a long time.

  Then he rubbed his neck, stiff from looking up, and continued.

  “You know I swore an oath with him. We vowed to protect this empire he founded, and to keep watch over it.”

  “You did too, didn’t you.”

  Ilena said nothing.

  Antonio walked slowly around the center of the hall, through the pillar of light pouring down from the enormous windows.

  “For me, ‘protect’ means there is no retreat.”

  “In the last five hundred years, when has there ever been a way out?”

  “And if those nobles want to make a fuss afterward, let them. Honestly, I’ve been ready for a long rest.”

  “…If that’s your decision, I won’t stop you,” Ilena said at last. “But be careful.”

  “I can feel it. Where you are, the holy light is fading. The darkness is getting thicker.”

  Antonio’s tone softened. “Thanks for the warning, Holy Father. I’ll be careful.”

  “Now then, I should go celebrate with Enid. Her public lecture went off without a hitch.”

  He picked up his staff and left the hall.

  Ilena’s presence vanished as well.

  When the doors closed, silence returned, as if no one had ever been there at all.

  Only the light remained, passing through the glass and spilling across the polished marble floor. The reflected beam rose upward, perfectly aligned, illuminating the words carved at the center of the dome.

  They read:

  “One who guards all lives should fear nothing.”

  Stahir Empire, First Emperor

  Alexis Drake Stahir