BANG!!!
Obell Hall was located on the southwest side of the Student Square. It was a building that Princess Pheonia would frequently visit when she become the Student Council president. It was full of privately owned rooms used as warehouses, along with conference facilities for the Student Council. It was a place of no importance right now, located outside of the current story.
As I ran up the stairs like crazy, I could see the outer wall of Training Hall collapsing outside the window.
Lortelle was able to secure the entry point as Klebias ran away in fear. Then I saw the group in charge of defeating Janica entering the Combat Practice Field. Having confirmed that everything was going according to plan, I continued my climb up the stairs.
Act 1's finale has finally entered Phase 4. The Glasskan summoning ceremony was near completion, and the sun would soon rise in the sky from the east. I thought this would be our last chance. If we were to fail in defeating Janica here, then everything that would happen afterward would completely be unknown territory.
This was such a crazy situation, the Takan and Velosper battles happening at the same time.
It's completely arrogant to have a fair fight against Takan without Elemental Slash.
It would be like trying to burn a person to death when that person was wearing two or three layers of fireproof clothing.
It might be possible to inflict a light burn or have them faint, but if you wanted to completely burn them to death, then there was no choice but to overwhelm them with firepower, or even use magma.
But there wasn't a member among the subjugation team capable of doing that.
Among the subjugation team.
BANG!
I kicked open the door to Obell Hall's roof. The view of the entire rooftop greeted me… and a familiar witch hat caught my eyes.
I would have stopped by Obell Hall first thing if I had the time, but I had to let the group in charge of defeating Janica in first because the summoning ceremony was just about completed. But it's a good thing I got to the roof of Obell Hall just in time to see this girl here. Everything would be okay now.
If we were to discuss the method on how we should break through Takan's scales, we would have to go against the story of Act 1's finale. Instead, we would have to look at the first part of the strategy guide.
■ Phase 1: Gathering your subjugation force
Achievement Conditions:
Please gather these characters at the Student Square!
'The Princess of Benevolence Pheonia'
'The Spear from Nature Ziggs'
'The Golden Daughter Lortelle'
'Companion Ayla'
'Nosy Alvira'
'Gloomy Klebias'
For additional achievements, also gather:
'Romantic Adele'
'Lazy Lucy'
'Senior Maid Bell'
※ Meeting the additional achievement conditions only give a little bit of Likeability for each character. The characters will not participate in the subjugation. But try to meet 'Romantic Adele' since she gives a useful buff for attacking the boss later on.
If you're trying to 100% clear the stage: Adele can be found playing ukelele in the grass behind the Western Archery Center, Lucy can be found taking a nap on the roof of Obell Hall, and Bell can be found next to a statue in Olin Square.
There were barely any players who wanted to clear the additional achievements during the finale's Phase 1. The chapter was already short on time and finding the additional characters didn't mean they would participate in the subjugation, nor was the achievement itself that great in the first place. Additional achievements such as this were usually treated as useless content.
But as I had already cleared this stage countless times, I already knew where the additional achievements were hiding. And I knew that among them was a weapon that would completely overturn the flow of the story.
In front of me was a 'grenade' that could even break through the scales of Takan.
A girl who was able to sleep through the ongoing crisis.
A spear that would break through any shield no matter how thick it might be.
If you were going against something irrational, then there was no choice but to counter it with something irrational yourself. If someone wasn't playing fair, then that leaves you no choice but to not play fair as well.
I hadn't completely finished training yet. And my advantage of knowing insider information wouldn't enable me to defeat Takan.
But there was no reason to be upset. This side was in desperate need as well.
BANG!
I jumped over the handrail and hurriedly picked up Lucy. She was so light that even the piles of firewood I carried every day seemed heavier.
"Eh? Huh? Eghk?"
This girl was taking a pleasant evening nap while the entire academic district was being destroyed. There should be a limit to how lucky someone can be.
"W-What? Ugh, so shaky… Uhhh…"
It wasn't even daytime anymore. It was already nighttime. This couldn't even be considered a nap at this point. I wanted to ask her why she'd been sleeping for so long, but the reason was pretty obvious so I didn't.
For Lazy Lucy, sleeping was a means to restore her power. And given how she ran away from the senior maid Bell last night, she consumed an enormous amount of mana and had not lost her energy.
She used such high-ranking spatial-type magic with quick casting. It allowed her to skip the chanting altogether, and came all the way from Ophelis Hall to the northern forest. The only reason she ran out of magic power was because she did something this crazy. She needed to take a break if she wanted to recover that huge amount of mana back.
It was very like her to be sleeping on the rooftop of Obell hall, but now is not the time to sleep.
Besides, how many pieces of my jerky had she already eaten? She even ended up breaking my drying rack, something I had painstakingly made. She had to do something in return for it. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
But I'm not that cold-hearted. I took out the leather bag from the reading room and opened it. It was full of strips of jerky.
"Hmm… Jerky…? Something smells like jerky."
She was still half-asleep, so she didn't seem like she was conscious just yet. And yet she could still smell the jerky like some ghost.
I grabbed a handful of the dried meat and stuffed it into Lucy's small mouth.
"Eughk–! Eugh–!"
"Eat a lot."
I then picked Lucy up once again and jumped over the railing once more.
"Mughk! Mudhka!"
'My jaw hurts! Too much!'
At least, that's what she sounded like.
I could see the high-ranking fire spirit Takan over the handrail. And running away while crying from it was Klebias, who was excellently performing his part. Meanwhile, I could barely see Lortelle, who seemed to be casting the largest ice spear she had ever made.
Lucy's magic power probably hasn't fully recovered yet since her capacity to store mana was as deep and vast as the sea. It was likely she had only been able to recover a small portion of it.
But that should be enough. Just like how Takan's existence was irrational, Lucy herself was also an irrational existence.
"Once you're done eating, I need you to take care of that thing's scales!"
"W-What?"
I positioned Lucy properly. She couldn't say anything properly because of all the jerky stuck in her mouth.
Good thing the target was a lizard on fire, so we could clearly see it even in the dark.
Would this distance be enough?
There was nothing to worry about. I had already done this a bunch of times in the military.
First, check the target.
Second, remove the safety clip.
Lastly, take out the safety pin and throw it!
"Everyone! Get down!"
I shouted with a voice so loud it spread across the Student Center.
Then, I threw Lucy over the railing using all of my strength, straight to where Takan was visible.
"Muumama!"
Lucy screamed, finally awake.
"Mahfahaf Mafmad-!"
I think she said, 'This is too much!'
Sorry, Lucy. But from my point of view, this was the only way out.
Lucy's screams, impeded by her mouthful of jerky, slowly echoed across the Student Square the farther she got away.
This is too much– too much– too much–
There was a moment of silence as Lucy sailed across the sky.
And then–
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!
It was the high-ranking lightning magic Divine Judgment.
The lightning magic spread around Lucy, covering the entire field. The shock happened in an instant, leaving behind a huge gust of wind that I had to hold onto the railing for support as it flew by.
"Hah!"
Now that its scales have been blown away, us alone should be enough to take Takan down.
I stood and climbed back onto the railing.
It was about time to wrap things up.
All this while, I'd been worried my plan would fail, but having come this far, there was only one important thing left.
It might sound a bit selfish considering the situation, but this was a serious matter.
Takan was a high-ranking fire spirit. The amount of spirit-type experience I would get should be enormous… I couldn't let this go to waste!
This was, somehow, the most important moment.
"Last hit…!"
Last hit!
I needed to get the last hit!
I wouldn't give this up!
**********
"I'm so proud of you, my beloved daughter, Janica."
"I'm so proud to be your friend, Janica."
"You're the hope of the second-years. You were the only one who properly showed off your skills this Joint Combat Practice."
"Of course, you can trust Janica."
"Without you, us second-years would be the worst year. I'm glad you're here, Janica."
The memories leaking into her consciousness made her heart ache.
Beyond the collapsed wall of Obel Hall, the sky had gradually begun to brighten.
In the young girl's eyes, the twinkling stars had disappeared like melting snow.
She couldn't help but sneer at herself as she witnessed such sentimental scenery.
The number of students who came to defeat her was not as large as she had expected.
She quietly stood up from chatting a choral song in the middle of the Combat Training Field.
The oak wand she always carried was now stained black.
The eyes of the spirits protecting her were different from usual. They were glaring. And those who saw it couldn't help but have their hairs stand on end.
Hidden among the many fluid spirits, the low-ranking spirits, and the spiritual spirits… the young girl who was chanting a spell slowly glanced back.
Shedding tears, she looked for the face of a certain boy.
But that boy wasn't there. That was an obvious fact.
The faces of the students who came to stop her were all stiff.
Velosfer's curse had embroidered itself all over her body like chains that bind her. She gave a regretful smile and quietly kept on reciting the mantra.
"Welcome."
Act 1 Finale's final battle.
The subjugation of Janica Faylover.
Sadly, there wasn't much time left to talk things out with each other.