Though his words sounded nice on the surface.
If possible, Greg actually hoped he could sneak into the Academy's Dungeon with Ellie.
With a level 68 powerhouse like her helping him, he could completely clear the first floor in minutes.
Unfortunately, the Dungeon's entrance had a restriction that allowed only students of Glory Kael Magic Academy to enter.
So that hope was doomed to remain unfulfilled.
Still, he had more or less achieved today's goal of placating this somewhat obsessively devoted maid.
Greg asked for nothing more.
But another problem soon occurred to him.
Ellie had made it clear that she would continue following him, but he was no longer a noble and could not bring her into the Academy as his attendant.
What was he supposed to do with her?
Was he supposed to let her wander aimlessly around Yenil City, waiting longingly every day for him to sneak out of the Academy again, whenever that might be?
That seemed a little too... pitiful.
Besides, given Ellie's personality, heaven knew what trouble she might cause if he left her idle for too long.
Just as Greg frowned, considering what arrangements to make for Ellie, his damned negative ten luck stat struck with uncanny precision once again.
CRASH-!!!
Overhead, the enormous bronze bell that had hung there for countless years, serving as one of the city's landmarks, suddenly let out an overburdened groan from its ancient metal fittings. Then-they snapped.
Weighing several tons, the massive bell plunged straight toward where Greg stood, bringing years of verdigris and the cold breath of death crashing down with it!
Its shadow swallowed him in an instant.
"Young master-!!"
Ellie noticed almost simultaneously. Her azure eyes contracted sharply, and her hand instinctively closed around the hilt at her waist.
But the distance, the speed of its descent, the angle of a slash that would spare Greg... she calculated everything in an instant, and the conclusion was cold and hopeless.
Too late.
Whether she pulled Greg away or cut the enormous bell apart, she would be too late.
The bell's verdigris-covered wall rapidly expanded in the reflection of Greg's pupils.
I'm going to die.
Greg's mind went blank, leaving only that thought.
He could even feel the pressure of the air driven down by the falling bell.
Just then-
A voice so calm it bordered on indifference spoke directly in the depths of his mind:
"The gift I bestowed upon you is no mere ornament."
Almost the instant that voice sounded, his survival instinct overrode his frozen mind.
Greg did not even have time to think about what to use. His body had already followed an instinct branded deep within his soul, activating a power he had yet to truly master.
LV1 · Dark Bracer.
His will stirred, and mana surged.
A pair of bracers as black as the deepest night instantly appeared on his forearms.
Their surfaces were not smooth metal, but thick black mist that constantly churned and flowed as though alive, emanating an ominous, unfathomable aura.
There was no time to feel that power, no time to marvel at its form.
The enormous bell was already upon him.
Yet the bone-shattering agony and tremendous impact he expected never came.
The instant the heavy bronze wall touched those black bracers, the thick mist on their surfaces boiled and spread like a monstrous beast roused from sleep. A living tide of shadow swallowed the entire enormous bronze bell in an instant.
There was no deafening crash, no sparks from colliding metal, only the silent surge of black mist.
A moment later, the mist receded like an ebbing tide, drawing back onto the bracers' surfaces, where it continued flowing slowly.
And the enormous bronze bell that should have crushed Greg into pulp-was gone.
Without a trace.
Not even a flake of verdigris remained, as though it had never existed in that spot.
The night wind still blew across the empty top of the bell tower.
Greg stood frozen with his arms crossed in a blocking posture, staring blankly at the black bracers on his forearms as they gradually turned transparent and finally vanished.
Ellie's hand remained clamped tightly around her sword hilt, her body leaning slightly forward, still poised to leap to his rescue.
Her face held a mixture of utter shock, disbelief, and a hint of... bewilderment.
What... just happened?
Where was the bronze bell?
That huge, heavy bronze bell had fallen, and then... a cloud of black mist had "eaten" it?
She slowly straightened, her gaze locked firmly on Greg-or rather, on the arms where those black bracers had appeared.
Her usually clear, composed azure eyes were now filled with shock and uncertainty.
She could not understand it at all.
When had this young master, whom she had watched grow up... mastered such strange, ominous, and powerful abilities?
What exactly was that black mist that seemed capable of devouring everything?
She had never seen such an uncanny ability, or even heard of one.
Greg himself looked just as bewildered.
He had figured the dark-attribute abilities he gained after becoming Nightmare's other half would be decent, but... wasn't this effect a little too overpowered?
It had outright devoured a bronze bell that big?
No one had actually used dark-attribute magic in the original story, so he had never expected such simple, brutal erasure.
Silence spread across the top of the bell tower for several seconds, broken only by the howling night wind.
At last, Ellie recovered from her shock first.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, but her voice still carried an almost imperceptible tension:
"Just now... what was that power? That black mist, and those bracers... I've never seen you use them. No, I've never even seen magic like that."
"Uh... well..."
Greg lowered his arms, his mind racing as he faced Ellie's questions.
There seemed to be no need to hide this from Ellie, nor could he.
Even a blind man could have noticed something was wrong with what had just happened.
Besides, Ellie was currently the only person he could trust completely, and she was capable of helping him handle certain unusual matters.
"It's a long story..."
Greg gathered his thoughts and decided to reveal part of the truth.
Of course, he did not intend to mention their linked fates, shared divinity, or the possibility that they could both die at any moment. Those things would probably only make Ellie worry even more.
"To put it simply..."
He cleared his throat, trying to sound a little more convincing. "I... was chosen by an ancient being. Well, you could say I've become her emissary."
"An ancient being?" Ellie frowned.
"The Goddess of Night, Nightmare." Greg spoke that name.
Ellie's pupils contracted slightly once more.
The Goddess of Night... Nightmare.
She had only seen scattered references to that name in fragments of extremely ancient texts, ones all but regarded as myth and legend.
She was one of the ancient deities who had long since disappeared into the river of history after their faith died out.
In the orthodox scriptures of the Church of Light, her very existence was even deliberately obscured or disparaged.
And now Greg was telling her that this goddess, who existed only in legend, had chosen him?
He had become her emissary?
Before you continue