Inside the Guest Hall, there was a deathly silence.
Allison Cromwell and the several Captains of the Imperial Guard behind her froze at the doorway, their minds blank.
Their gazes shifted back and forth between the Little Queen, who held a Demonic Sword with an unreadable expression, and the slowly dissipating hellish landscape.
They were completely unable to comprehend what had just happened.
“Your… Your Majesty, are you all right?”
Allison was the first to break free from the extreme shock.
she rushed to Yekaterina’s side, her eyes full of anxiety and concern.
She looked the Queen up and down, fearing she had suffered even the slightest injury.
“I am fine, Prime Minister,”
Yekaterina responded coolly.
The wickedness and fanaticism in her eyes vanished the moment she spoke, replaced once again by the majesty and calm belonging to a Queen.
The Demonic Sword, Greed, also restrained its light, its obsidian blade returning to its ancient, simple appearance.
“Just now, a powerful Demon disguised as General Claudia came to assassinate me.”
She lifted the Demonic Sword, her tone flat as she provided a reasonable explanation for the thrilling scene that had just unfolded.
“However, she failed. And this sword is the trophy I took from her hands.”
A trophy?
Allison’s gaze fell upon the strangely shaped black longsword, and her heart involuntarily tightened.
The lingering aura on it made every cell in her body scream a warning.
This was by no means a weapon of Justice.
Moreover, Her Majesty… also seemed different in some way.
Though it was still that same youthful face, the natural sense of absolute confidence and the powerful field of control she exerted gave the Prime Minister an unprecedented feeling of strangeness and pressure.
However, noticing the others standing around, she ultimately bowed, planning to inquire further in private later.
“It was my dereliction of duty that placed Your Majesty in such danger…”
“It has nothing to do with you.”
Yekaterina sheathed the sword.
“Go and invite the real General Claudia here. I have questions for her.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Allison gave a deep bow and withdrew with the guards, her mind full of doubt.
Silence returned to the Guest Hall.
Yekaterina walked slowly to the window, watching the guards becoming busy in the courtyard.
A faint curve appeared at the corner of her mouth.
She could feel a thread of pure energy merging into her body through the blade, filling her soul that had been empty for far too long due to weakness.
“Mother, thank you for your protection…”
She whispered softly, her fingertips brushing against the Ice Blue Necklace emitting a faint glow on her chest.
It was the Purification effect of this necklace at the critical moment that had prevented her from being completely ensnared by that Succubus.
But immediately afterward, she could not help but stroke the blade of Greed, feeling the trembling Power coming from within.
Her long-hidden ambition also began to burn quietly in her heart.
‘Elder Sister… Wendy…’
***
A few days later.
Rolling mountain ranges and vast forests flashed by beneath them.
The sea of clouds churned, and the gale was biting.
Wendy sat on the broad back of a Griffin, held in Astreia’s warm embrace, which shielded him from all the cold of the high altitude.
After these past few days, he had gone from his initial excitement to a state of numbness.
Finally, at the edge of the horizon, a massive lake as green as jade appeared.
Beside the lake, leaning against a lush pine forest, stood a gargantuan castle that defied verbal description.
Dozens of towers of varying heights pierced the clouds.
The grayish-white city walls reflected a light of Sanctity under the sun.
The entire castle was like a sleeping giant beast sprawled across the land—ancient, majestic, and saturated with the sediment of history.
“We have arrived. Ahead is the Continental Center Academy of Erathia.”
Dean Layana, who was in the lead, turned her head, her voice carrying clearly into everyone’s ears.
The Griffin Guard slowly lowered their altitude, finally landing on a wide lawn located outside the Academy.
“My mission ends here.”
Layana dismounted and nodded to Astreia and Wendy.
“There is a Barrier laid down by the Ancient Three Saints within the Academy grounds; it is absolutely safe. Laxana, take them around to get familiarized first, then settle them into the dormitory area. Vivian, let us go.”
Having said that, she and the Captain of the Griffin Guard turned into two streaks of light and flew straight toward the tallest Magic Tower in the Academy’s Magic Division, clearly having official business to attend to.
“Hmph, finally gone.”
Laxana muttered under her breath as she watched the two leave.
She then put on a warm, enthusiastic smile and made a ‘please’ gesture to Wendy and Astreia.
“This way! I’m telling you, our Academy is the most incredible place on the entire Continent!”
Under Laxana’s guidance, the group walked toward the city-like Academy.
The closer they got, the more Wendy could feel its grandeur.
The city gates, dozens of meters high, were carved from a single massive stone, depicting a magnificent relief of an ancient War.
Human Mages holding Staves summoned meteors and thunder; warriors clad in Enchanted Armor brandished Holy Swords to slay Demons; and devout Priests sang holy hymns, bestowing divine protection upon their comrades fighting in the bloodbath.
“This is the mural of the Battle of the Three Saints,”
Laxana said, noticing Wendy was lost in thought.
She immediately puffed out her small chest and introduced it proudly.
“During the darkest ages, it was the three great predecessors—the Mage, the Warrior, and the Priest—who led all races to resist the invasion of the Demon Race and the undead. That is how we have everything we do now. This Academy was built upon the ruins of that war!”
‘The dark ages?’
The Prince pondered secretly while examining the mural.
This information was never mentioned in Witch’s Conquest.
In the past, within the Game, the murals here were merely locations where players changed their classes…
However, after passing through the heavy city gates, the internal scene surprised Wendy even more.
This was no mere Academy; it was clearly a prosperous city!
People came and went on the wide cobblestone streets.
Both sides of the street were lined with various shops: blacksmiths, Alchemist shops, inns, and taverns—everything one could need.
Students wearing different colored school uniforms walked in groups of three or five, filled with youthful vitality.
“How is it? Impressive, right!”
Laxana stood with her hands on her hips, looking triumphant.
“For thousands of years, the Grand Archmages, Kingdom Marshals, and Cardinals who have graduated from here are too many to count!”
“Yes,”
Astreia suddenly spoke up coolly, interrupting her boasting.
“It has also produced a large number of incompetent Kings who were incapable of ruling and were ultimately pushed onto the guillotine by an angry populace.”
She gave Laxana a playful glance and added,
“Therefore, the Central Academy has another nickname: ‘The King’s Graveyard.'”
“Uh…”
Laxana was instantly stuck.
Her proud little face turned beet red.
After a long moment, she muttered defiantly,
“Well… those people didn’t come from our Magic Division anyway!”
She hurried to change the subject, pointing toward a bustling square ahead.
“We’ll reach the dormitory area once we cross through there.”
As they entered the Square, they saw a group of clergy members in white Priest robes preaching Doctrine.
A crowd of citizens and students had gathered to listen.
But right then, a very young male Priest Apprentice suddenly spotted Astreia’s group.
As if he had discovered some sort of heresy, he lunged out of the crowd and pointed at Astreia, shouting in an extremely excited, high-pitched voice: “Look, everyone! It’s her! That fraud who claims to have repelled over 100,000 Orc Legion soldiers at Sunset Fortress!”