Advent of the Three Calamities

267 Understanding [6]

"Ah!!" Screams of shock echoed throughout the grounds as everyone watched Julien fall over. The scene had occurred so abruptly that none were able to see exactly what had happened. However, in the eyes of those from the Haven side, one thing was clear. "You cheated!" ".....You didn't wait before throwing the fifth attack!" "This maniac!" "Wait, calm down." It was Aoife who held everyone back from complaining. Staring at the Vice-Chancellor, she could see that his expression was still not relaxed. And as expected. "Look." Right after Julien's body fell onto the floor, it started to scatter under everyone's vision. "Ah!?" Seeing that, the eyes of many changed. Before they even had the chance to wonder what had happened, a shadow cast right behind the Vice-Chancellor. It was neither fast nor slow. However, it was the suddenness at which it appeared that took everyone aback. Everyone but the Vice-Chancellor. 'An illusion, interesting.'

Indeed, when he attacked, he didn't feel it hit anything. But that was merely a feeling. There was something else that confirmed his thoughts. ....It was the image of Julien's face right before the attack landed on him. 'It was almost perfect.'

The Vice-Chancellor trusted his eyes, and while it almost did feel like he had hit Julien, upon closer look, Julien's nose was crooked. Not only that but so were his eyes. His left eye was blurrier than the other. If one didn't pay close attention, they wouldn't notice such changes. And most wouldn't. Swoosh! Turning his head slightly to look behind him, the Vice-Chancellor caught a glimpse of a silhouette preparing to make a move to attack him. It was rather quiet, and if not for the fact that he knew he was there, he probably wouldn't have heard it.

"....Unfortunate." Without much thought, the Vice-Chancellor waved his hand back and confronted the ambush head-on. Woom! The air seemed to split apart with the subtle movement of his hand, as a powerful wave of condensed mana shot in the direction he had waved.

His attack was so fast that the cadet had no time to react. 'It's over.' "This should do—" It should've been over. And yet...

Swoosh! "Hm?" To the Vice-Chancellor's shock and surprise... His attack missed. No, rather. It did hit, but... nothing came out of that hit. The silhouette split in half when it came into contact with his attack. Such surprising development was met with a brittle voice coming from behind him. 'When!?' "....T-that was close." The voice was extremely hoarse, and the Vice-Chancellor felt something press against his back. "Ah." When he turned his head, his eyes fell on a bloodied figure half kneeling behind him. Julien's finger was pressed against his back, and he could hardly keep one eye open. Their gazes met for a brief moment. At that moment, the Vice-Chancellor had a lot of things to say, and at the same time, didn't. He was shocked. 'This...' How did he appear here? How was it possible? How was it possible! His shock, however, didn't last for long. "I won, right?" Julien's voice broke him out of his thoughts, and as he lowered his head to stare at him, the Vice-Chancellor found himself swallowing his saliva. 'I've been tricked.'

What had happened finally dawned on him. As his mind cleared from the confusion, and he sorted through his memories, he started to see clearly what had happened, and when he did, he suddenly found himself bursting into laughter. "Hahaha." His laughter echoed throughout the area. ".....So that's what happened." The Vice-Chancellor looked at the cadet with praise. The subtle blemishes in his features before—the blurry eye, and crooked eye.... Those were not from the fact that he was still not great at casting illusions, but the opposite. Julien had purposely made his face that way so that he would be tricked into thinking that it was an illusion. And he had fallen for it. "Haa." The Vice-Chancellor raised his head and let out a long breath. ....It was subtle but effective. He could feel the gazes of everyone on the two of them, and he was already feeling a headache coming. However, "Yes." Nodding his head, he looked at the cadet before him. "You've won." He was no sore loser. A loss was a loss. While he was unharmed, and the cadet was on the verge of fainting, he had managed to last five attacks and even made an attack of his own. "...." 08:02

Lowering his head, the Vice-Chancellor's gaze paused on the finger that was pressed against his back. A layer of mana coated his back, and yet... 'It stings a bit.' He wasn't sure what he did, but it did bring him pain. This much was good enough. "....Nice attack too." "Thanks." Julien retrieved his hand back. Then, as if he was completely fine, he stood up and patted his clothes. The scene was one that left the eyes of many of those watching wide-open in shock. 'He's fine after all that?'

'....Isn't he covered in blood? How can he still be standing?' Even the Vice-Chancellor was surprised. "How are you still fine?" "....." Without responding, Julien turned in the direction of those from the Haven side as they approached him cautiously. "Are you okay?" "....He doesn't look okay." Everyone seemed a little worried. Everyone but Leon sighed. Then, under everyone's confused expressions, he stepped forward and arrived before Julien. The two stared at each other for a brief moment before... Thump! Julien knelt down on the spot. "Ah!" "....What the fuck!" "He's fine." Leon lowered his head to look at Julien before shaking his head. "This guy..." He didn't know how to feel. Julien was not fine. His body was falling apart, and he was most probably in a lot of pain. And yet... 'He's still conscious.'

It was just that he couldn't speak. He was also most likely in a lot of pain. But...

'He probably doesn't feel it, does he?' "....." Closing his eyes, Leon sighed and shook his head. "Crazy bastard." Just as he was about to extend his hand to help him, Leon noticed a subtle change in the atmosphere. It suddenly felt like the surroundings had grown a lot tenser and colder. Surprised, he lifted his head to look up. "What's...?" The moment he did, his expression changed significantly. Especially since he found a figure standing a few meters away from him. Her appearance took his breath away, and he found himself unable to breathe under her suppression. But that wasn't the only thing that grabbed his attention. Her appearance was... alien. He had never seen someone look that beautiful, but at the same time, he also felt like he had seen her before. Where exactly had he... "Ah." Then he remembered. "Chancellor." Immediately, he lowered his head to greet her. "...Chancellor?" "Isn't that?" His words brought on a chain of reaction as the others immediately recognized her and lowered their heads. Delilah was an incredibly important figure, and the moment she appeared, everyone had no choice but to lower their heads. Everyone but a single person. "....." Clench. In silence, she stared at Delilah with her fists clenched. Just subtly, her body trembled as her gaze fell on Delilah, but none of it reached Delilah's attention as she silently stared at the bloodied-up Julien. "....." It was unknown what she was thinking.

When had anyone been able to tell what she was thinking? At least, that was what Leon thought at first. However, shortly after staring at Julien, her head turned in the direction of the Vice-Chancellor, and while Leon wasn't able to see what she did, seeing how the Vice-Chancellor started to tremble the moment their gazes met, Leon paused.

"Hm?" He scratched his head. ".....I'll bring him back to heal." A soft and crisp voice brought him out of his thoughts. When he turned his head, he saw the Chancellor stand before Julien and Leon blinked his eyes. '.....Something is off.'

The more Leon looked at her, the more he found that something was off. Flick. His gaze paused on Julien. Flick. And then paused back on Delilah. "....." As if noticing his gaze, her head turned and their gazes met. Leon suddenly found his entire body growing slack as his mind momentarily blanked. It was as if he had suddenly sunk into the deepest part of the ocean with no way up. All that he saw was darkness. A deep and unreachable darkness. But within that darkness, he was reminded of a scene he had seen not too long ago and he snapped out of it. Suddenly, his eyes started to sting as he looked at the Chancellor. Flick. His head flicked back to Julien. Flick. And then to the Chancellor. Flick. Flick. Flick. Flick. Flick. Flick. Flick. As if his head had a mind of its own, it flicked back and forth between the two. Unknowingly, his expression stiffened, and his eyes turned completely bloodshot.

...His expression only worsened when his gaze lowered and fell on Julien's hand. "....." Leon suddenly felt his heart stop beating as his eyes turned completely red.

As if he was a machine that hadn't been lubricated in a long time, his head rigidly lowered in the Chancellor's direction. "....." Drip! Something dripped from the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, he tasted iron in his mouth.

In such a state, Leon stood still and watched as Delilah and Julien's figure disappeared shortly after. Even as the minutes passed, he remained on the spot without a change in his expression. "Leon?" It was only when his name was called out that he finally snapped out of it. When he turned his head, he realized that almost everyone was gone. It was just him and Evelyn now, and when he looked at her, he saw the worried look on her face. "Are you okay?" ".....I am fine." He wasn't. "Are you sure?" Evelyn seemed to be able to see right through him. Or at least, he thought at first. However, pointing at her chin, Evelyn squinted her eyes. "It doesn't seem like you're fine at all." "...." Leon wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and looked down. "...." Silently, he stared back at Evelyn and closed his eyes. "....I'll be fine." *** Next chapter at usual schedule from before. We are back to two a day.

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