The Whispers Hidden in the Night (7)

Merlin, who should have disappeared by now, appeared before her.

Besides... Gray Walls could defend against magic users, which was why they were also known as the strongest walls in the world. Yet Merlin's appearance had triggered no reaction at all. That proved he had crossed Gray Walls without anyone noticing.

"You..." Fatenai stared at Merlin in astonishment, arms wrapped around herself.

Merlin didn't speak to Fatenai right away. Instead, he slowly raised his hand. A brilliant light shone from his staff, then shot toward Fatenai—!

Fatenai froze. She felt the light pass beside her and explode behind her. She immediately turned around. It was as if someone had ripped a hole in space, and a "wreck" slowly "spilled" out.

It was a puppet.

Fatenai's expression darkened as she looked at it. It belonged to Shirey.

"Weren't you supposed to disappear?" Fatenai asked Merlin, pretending not to care.

"Things made of mana naturally fade away after a while if they aren't sustained," Merlin said. "I appeared in the form of a mage, so I can replenish my own mana."

For summoned beings sustained by mana, the mana that made them up was their life. When their mana dissipated, they died.

The mana gathered to form Merlin was dense enough, and he was a mage who could gather mana himself. Was that why he had been able to exist for so long?

Fatenai only half understood. "Thank you."

Merlin had seemed to acknowledge earlier that she wasn't Arthur, but now he still addressed her as Arthur. In truth, they weren't close, and Fatenai usually didn't know how to act around him.

"Arthur, you need training," Merlin said calmly.

Fatenai was taken aback, unable to figure out how he had reached that conclusion.

Though what he said was true.

"This place is too dangerous. It's good to study near the Sword in the Stone, but you're still too weak—you're still threatened by low-level magic," Merlin continued.

"What did you say? The Sword in the Stone is here?" Fatenai asked in surprise, paying no attention to the rest of his words.

In the story of King Arthur, Merlin brought the Sword in the Stone to England as the chosen sword. But that was only what happened in the story, and besides, this wasn't England.

"I'm looking for it. It's here," Merlin said with certainty.

Fatenai thought this was a problem.

As a university for ordinary mages, Starlight University was bound to hold many secrets. Fatenai had no desire to investigate them—not just because she wasn't especially curious. Every place had its secrets, and sometimes it was better not to know.

But... Fatenai glanced at the scrapes on her body. Merlin's presence had put her somewhat at ease, but it still couldn't settle another feeling inside her.

And then there was the Sword in the Stone.

Why was the Sword in the Stone here? Could it be...

A thought flashed through Fatenai's mind. She abruptly raised her hand, rolled up her sleeve, and instructed Merlin, "Don't let anyone come near."

Merlin said nothing. Blue light spread gently outward until it completely enclosed the area.

Fatenai's fair arm was fully exposed. Blood-red markings gradually appeared on the back of her hand. Strangely, they had changed since the first time she'd seen them. At some point, they had spread up her arm and onto her other hand as well.

After a moment's silence, Fatenai pulled her sword out from under the bed. Holding it in one hand, she took a deep breath and slashed it hard across her other arm.

The pain was at least two-thirds less intense.

The slash left a red mark on her arm, but it had only broken the skin. It hadn't caused the kind of damage a blow of the same force would have just moments ago.

The markings had advanced.

Fatenai roughly understood what had happened. She turned and looked at Merlin.

Merlin wasn't a natural summoning. Her advancement must have begun when Darwin disappeared. That was when a game mechanic had been triggered.

The Arthurian Poems—a storyline that involved Merlin.

The game interface was gone, but this summoned being still remained, and the story seemed to be continuing as well.

But how was the story supposed to be completed...? The Sword in the Stone really did exist. It had special properties unlike those in the legend, but obtaining it came at a great cost.

"Do you know what I encountered?" Fatenai asked after a moment's silence.

Merlin's gaze remained calm as he looked at Fatenai. As his lips moved, she understood the answer.

Fatenai said nothing. Her gaze shifted to the puppet remains on the ground.

In Fatenai's understanding, mages were also known as witches. They were said to have the power to summon wind and rain, and people feared them. They had once been targets of purges.

Glory and sin, countless rays of light behind them, and a terrifying sea of blood weighing on their shoulders.

"Where is the Sword in the Stone?" Fatenai asked.

"That old man should know," Merlin said slowly.

He meant Forresten. Fatenai furrowed her brow. If the Sword in the Stone had become something tangible, it might well be something kept under guard.

Fatenai closed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought.

"Nothing is beyond the reach of power, is it?" At last, she opened her eyes and said this as she headed outside. "I understand what you want, so I'll help you. In return, I hope you'll help me. I... want to live."

Click. Click.

The classroom building had stood for decades, perhaps even centuries. Every corridor was laid out in an orderly fashion, and they all looked exactly the same.

"W-who's there...?" A girl's voice echoed through the empty corridor. She walked down the deserted hall, the light falling on her face and revealing Christie.

Christie had been walking for a long time, but she still couldn't find an exit.

Where was she?

Was anyone there?

Getting no response made her more and more desperate, her expression growing increasingly rigid.

"Heh... hehehe..." A faint laugh rang through the quiet, as startling as a clap of thunder. The girl's laughter was piercing.

"Who? Shirey? Is that you?" Christie's face went pale.

"Shirey? Who's that? I don't know..." A figure gradually came into focus. She appeared in the corridor, entering Christie's field of vision—with the familiar face of a former companion.

Christie froze and took a step back.

"Why did you leave?" Shirey moved closer to her.

"Shirey, calm down... control your..." Christie kept backing away, but her words were cut short. As if someone had grabbed her by the throat, she was slowly lifted into the air.

Christie was just an unarmed girl. She clutched the transparent hand in front of her with both hands, but she couldn't stop what was happening. Her head tilted back...

Thud!

The girl was hurled aside and fell to the ground.

"Hahahaha..." As Christie hit the ground, Shirey sat down too, her eyes wide.

Shirey's face was still vacant, but her eyes were filled with madness.

"How pathetic." She abruptly looked up, startled by a voice—A platinum-haired girl had appeared in her line of sight.