Inside the cluttered office filled with piles of books.
Aivira lay on the floor, bound, surrounded by black spikes. Drops of pitch-black liquid dripped from the spikes onto the wooden floor.
That inky fluid emitted a stench so foul it was unbearable. Once smelled, it was a scent one could never forget—the stench unique to cultists.
“Aivira, if he didn’t do anything to you, then explain to me—what exactly is going on here?”
Albert subtly took a step back from Aivira, the blue vertical pupils of her eyes beginning to emit a faint glow.
“I… I just…”
“I just wanted to be better. That’s all.”
Aurora, who had been standing behind Beatrice, stepped forward urgently, trying to say something. But her movement was blocked by Beatrice, and her open mouth—somehow—was now silenced by a mute spell, unable to utter a single word.
“So?” Beatrice pressed on. “So what did he do to you that made you end up like this?”
“He had a bell in his hand.”
“A bell? What kind of bell?”
“Just an ordinary-looking one. Yellow. Every time he shook it, it made a jingling sound.”
“And? You’re telling me an ordinary little bell gave you this kind of power?”
“Then… the bell merged into my body. I could feel a power erupting from within me—strong and unrelenting.”
“It merged into your body?”
Albert stepped forward, crouching down to carefully examine Aivira’s body from head to toe.
Finding nothing unusual from the front, she rolled Aivira over to inspect her back. Still, there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary.
“What the hell were those lunatics trying to do to you?”
The cultists were notorious for using human bodies in their experiments. They would embed their own creations—those cursed relics—into people and then observe the effects.
Those dead students from the academy had likely been used as test subjects. And when the experiments failed… they met a gruesome end.
But Aivira was different. She hadn’t died like the others. Even if her mental state seemed off, she was still very much alive and active. That could only mean one thing—the experiment had succeeded. And that… was not good news for the academy.
“I’ll be placing you in solitary confinement for a few days,” Albert said as she stood up. “We need to find a way to extract whatever it is that’s inside you before we can declare you safe.”
“Solitary confinement? Why?!“
Aivira burst out in protest, furious at the decision. She shouted at Albert, “I can control this power! I can even use it to kill those cultists! So please, don’t lock me up—don’t take the bell away from me!”
“Do you even understand what you’re saying? That bell is the cultists’ creation. Nothing they make ever has good intentions. Locking you away isn’t just for your safety—it’s to protect the entire academy. You need to understand that.”
The cultists might not have acted alone. If others were still in hiding, they could very well use Aivira to harm the academy. That’s why her condition needed to be monitored closely.
Albert stood up from the ground and grabbed Aivira, intending to take her away—
Suddenly, a searing pain shot through her hand. Instinctively, Albert let go and jumped back.
She looked down at the hand she had just used to grab Aivira. There was a puncture wound on her palm, and black, corrosive fluid was eating away at the injury.
Clenching her fist, she focused for a second—and the wound began to heal, the black ooze vanishing as if it had never existed.
On the ground, Aivira’s body trembled violently. In a hoarse, shuddering voice, she spoke:
“I finally… finally had a chance like this…”
Her witch’s robe started to bulge in strange places—sharp black spikes tearing through the fabric and growing from her body.
She raised her head. Tears were streaming uncontrollably down her face. Her once-blue eyes had turned into an abyssal black.
“I just didn’t want to be looked down on anymore… I only wanted your recognition… Why are you trying to take this from me?!”
The black spikes continued to lengthen, and her shrieking voice was gradually mixed with a monstrous, guttural growl.
“I knew it wouldn’t be that simple.”
Albert narrowed her eyes.
Horns resembling those of a dragon began to grow from her forehead. A glowing blue magic circle appeared within her pupils. Her right hand became covered in thick, blue scales, and her neatly trimmed fingernails morphed into razor-sharp claws. From behind her, a plump, blue-scaled tail unfurled.
Aurora was frantic. She desperately wanted to run toward Aivira, but the red chain around her neck held her firmly beside Beatrice.
“Mm! Mm-mmm!”
She glared at Beatrice with pleading, tear-filled eyes, but all she received in return was a calm, icy response.
“Don’t get involved in this. Whether she lives or dies has nothing to do with us.”
Aurora knew—this wasn’t the real Aivira.
Aivira had always relied on herself. Even when she ended up soaked through from water training, she never once complained. For her to lose control like this… it had to be the bell’s influence.
She wanted to help Aivira—anything—but she was powerless.
Boom—
Aivira sent the black spikes flying toward Albert. Yet Albert stood perfectly still, unmoved. Just as the spikes were about to pierce her—
A rhombus-shaped barrier suddenly formed in front of her, intercepting each spike one by one.
“Looks like I’ll have to knock you out first.”
Albert’s figure blurred—and the next moment, she was right in front of Aivira.
She raised her blue-scaled fist and brought it down hard.
Boom.
Papers on the desk flew into the air, drifting slowly to the floor. The already messy office now looked like a hurricane had passed through.
Her punch struck Aivira directly on the head.
But instead of the satisfying impact of a solid blow, Albert felt a sharp pain—as though her fist had been pierced.
“Damn it.”
Albert cursed under her breath as she leapt back to create distance. When she raised her hand, she saw that it had been pierced clean through by a spike—one that had sprouted from Aivira’s body.
Fighting an opponent like this would normally be simple for Albert. But she didn’t want to damage the academy building—and more importantly, she didn’t want to kill Aivira. So she had no choice but to hold back again and again, absorbing blow after blow, terrified that one misstep might end Aivira’s life.
She glanced toward Aivira, assuming that punch would have knocked her out. But the girl still stood there—stubbornly refusing to fall.
“I… don’t want… to become like this… Please… help me…”
Her voice was faint and trembling, like the last shred of sanity escaping her lips.
Then—her body began to change.
Spikes erupted through her flesh. Even her eyeballs were now pierced with tiny black thorns. Her blood-soaked face was nearly unrecognizable, torn and saturated with gore.
She reached out toward Aurora as if pleading for help—but the very next second, a thick, jagged spike burst through her neck.
Blood sprayed across the office, drenching everything in red.
The outstretched hand toward Aurora fell limp. And the light in Aivira’s eyes vanished completely.
“Mmmmmm!!”
Aurora thrashed against the chain, desperately trying to reach her. But no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t move an inch closer.
“Tch. She’s beyond saving.”
Beatrice, who had been watching with arms crossed the entire time, finally spoke.
She snapped her fingers lazily toward the air—and at that moment, a purple magic circle appeared above the office.
A massive spear shot down from the circle, piercing through Aivira—whose body had begun to convulse as though something inside her was trying to crawl out.
Whatever that thing was, it stopped moving.
Seeing this, Aurora collapsed to the ground, helpless.
The light faded from her eyes, leaving only tears silently falling.