It was obvious what was going to happen next. Velosfer would cast another large-scale Berserk on all the spirits once Janica and the subjugation force face off. This would push the team into a corner but, at that moment, Taylor would use his Swordmaster Skill and cut down Velosfer in one fell swoop. And just as Velosfer was about to die, he would use Janica to trigger the incomplete Glaskan summoning circle.
Of course, summoning Glaskan with an incomplete circle was not possible. However, Velosfer would succeed in summoning the demon's right arm. Glaskan would begin to wipe out the subjugation force with his magic emanating from his right arm, how whole power covering the entirety of the academic district. But then Taylor would ounce again use his Swordmaster Skill and cleanly cut off the right arm.
And at that moment, Taylor would realize the way of the sword, kicking off the rest of the story.
If the story returned to progressing like in the original timeline, then I would only need to take care of myself from then onwards.
Anyhow, this was a chance for me to defeat a named boss, the high-ranking fire spirit Takan. I couldn't waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The best thing to do right now was to defeat that lizard and exponentially increase my Spirit Skills proficiency, the proficiency that was just barely short of reaching my goal a while ago.
"I'm going now."
I took a long deep breath as I walked out of the Student Square. Lortelle had already prepared an ice spear and nodded her head. The relaxed atmosphere between the both of us a while ago was nowhere to be seen. She completely believed that I was putting my life on the line and entrusting it to her.
This was something that required a great deal of courage, but it wasn't impossible. I knew Takan's stats like the back of my hand, and he was also in a weakened state. This meant I could easily win as long as Lortelle backed me up on time. The key was the attack Takan's weakness. To cut its throat.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Klebias was still running around like crazy, having completely lost his mind by now. It looked like Takan had slowly realized that Klebias wasn't that easy to take care of, even though he completely looked easy, to begin with.
As I quickly approached them, Takan turned toward me.
Both Takan and I were in a state of total exhaustion.
We both realized this fact.
Then Takan roared as he charged at me. The ground shook beneath my feet, my ears pounding, Seeing Takan turned directly at me, I understood why Klebias was scared beyond his wits. Even though it was completely exhausted, Takan ran like crazy, dragging along its injured body with the determination to kill its opponent.
No.
Not yet.
I needed to be closer.
Lortelle knew as she waited to fire her ice spears. I had to get closer, even closer, to make sure that his neck would be in the range of my magic.
Then–
BOOM!
Something unexpected happened all of a sudden. Glaskan's summoning circle embroidered itself in the sky.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAH! WHAT IS THAT?!"
The first person to scream was Klebias.
Glaskan's summoning circle emitted a dazzling light in the morning sky as dawn rose from the horizon. And then a humongous right hand ripped through the circle covering the entirety of Nail Hall.
Velosfer had been defeated.
It was the sound of the start of Phase 5. And once Taylor cut down Glaskan's arm, then the entire Act would be over.
No matter where you were in the academic district, chances were, you could clearly see the disaster unfolding. The sight of a demon's right hand coming out of a summoning circle high up in the sky, a dark energy emanating from it, definitely would look like it was the end of the world.
I knew this was going to happen, but the timing of it wasn't good.
It was a sight impossible to take your eyes off regardless of who was watching. It looked like the apocalypse was upon us. It would be weird if you weren't paying attention to it.
But Takan wasn't like that, and that was a problem.
Seeing Takan still charge at me like a madman, I looked at Lortelle. But even though she was probably distracted, the moment I shouted at her, an ice spear flew.
The ice spear struck Takan right on its face, stealing its sight and hearing. Takan screamed.
Lortelle turned around and looked at me, her face serious. Even in the midst of such a crisis, she focused on me. Her lips were clearly saying 'Do it now,' entrusting me with the rest of the work.
The next part wasn't hard.
I turned back around and looked up to see a giant flaming lizard writhing in pain.
I cast Wind Blade, a spell I must've used hundreds of thousands of times by now, and drove it right into its neck.
" You have defeated the high-ranking fire spirit Takan! "
" Spirit-type magic 'Spirit Resonance' level has increased! "
" Spirit-type magic 'Spirit Understanding' level has increased! "
" Spirit-type magic 'Spirit Resonance' level has increased! "
" Spirit-type magic 'Spirit Understanding' level has increased! "
" Spirit-type magic 'Spirit Resonance' level has increased! "
" Spirit-type magic 'Spirit Understanding' level has increased! "
" Spirit contract slots have opened! You can now sign contracts with spirits! "
"I have seen so many people sincerely risk their lives throughout my life. Though they were all cowards."
The manifestation of Takan had completely dissipated, leaving no traces behind.
I, along with Lortelle, Klebias and Lucy, sat side by side under a Zelkova tree just outside the Student Square.
Klebias was weeping terribly for a while until he completely passed out on the grass in exhaustion. Lucy was munching on jerky as she leaned on me, until she fell asleep. This stray cat would probably go off and disappear again anytime soon.
The sun was rising over the half-destroyed Nail hall. Up high in the sky, there was a crack in the barrier covering the academic district.
I didn't need to explain what happened after the right arm of Glaskan was summoned. Taylor jumped into the air and cut it down in an instant using his Swordmaster Skill. It was so straightforward that I couldn't help but let out a laugh. Of course, there must have been a really dramatic scene happening at Nail Hall, but this was all the view we got from the outside.
I thought it was hilarious how the final chapter of Act 1 was about Glaskan's subjugation, and yer Glaskan was defeated in just one cut scene. I wonder if they had the same impression as when I played the game.
Even still, the entirety of the academic district was engulfed in a gale as the manifested right arm of Glaskan was cut down, truly worthy to be part of the main character's story arc. Everyone was looking at the brilliantly splendid scene, well except for Lucy who was already dozing off at that time.
And just like that, the curtain fell on Act 1.
"Of course, the main force of the subjugation efforts was the group who went inside the field, and they must have fought with their lives at risk. But didn't we also go out and risk our lives out here as well? We could go ahead and be proud of what we did. We really did risk our lives for this one."
Lortelle said uselessly as she smirked.
"Well, in a life dedicated to business, risk is inevitable. Though this was my first time in such a situation. It was quite an experience."
She had so much audacity for someone who nearly died just a few moments ago. Well, I guess her life wasn't any less difficult than Taylor's. She must have experienced a few crises similar to this one already.
"Yeah."
I nodded as I looked up at the bright sky.
Perhaps Lortelle didn't like my simple reaction because she sat up with a grumpy expression on her face and pushed toward me.
"What's the matter? We overcame a life and death crisis but you don't seem too happy about it."
"Well, I'm so tired I feel like I'm going to die. I also couldn't sleep at all. It should be the same for you too, no?"
"I guess that's true. I'm not even sure what's going on…"
The sun rose as the light of dawn lit up the day. It had been a long night.
Finally, I saw one of the subjugation team walk out of the half-destroyed Nail Hall.
Taylor was walking up front. Having acquired the Swordmaster Skill, his black hair was not light gray and the color of his eyes had turned bright red. He was followed by Ayla, Princess Pheonia, Ziggs, and Alvira. Ziggs must have gone through a lot as the team's vanguard because he came out limping, and even Alvira looked as if she was on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
At least everyone seemed safe. Things seemed to have followed the original story, somehow.
Lortelle stood up as she greeted and congratulated the subjugation force for their victory.
Only to stop and suddenly look back, as if she had remembered something, She then reached her hand out to me as if to introduce herself, and cunningly said her own name.
"Lortelle Kecheln."
"I know…"
"I'm officially introducing myself again. Well, I won't pull any crazy pranks against you. From now on, that is."
When she said crazy pranks, she was probably talking about the last time when she suddenly approached me and gave me money.
I knew it. She approached me then with hidden intentions. I already expected it, of course.
"Alright… Good choice."
I thoughtlessly accepted Lortelle's handshake since I was tired. But I didn't expect what she would do next.
Lortelle wrapped her small hand around my own and shook it a few times, before quickly letting go and putting her hands behind her back.
She looked like a downright troublemaker with the way she was walking backward.
"I won this time."
That fox-like smile was her trademark.
I opened my hand and saw three gold coins inside. She had taken revenge on me returning them to her last time.
"You let your guard down, didn't you? Now, you owe me a favor. What should I do now?"
Lortelle kept grinning at me like the troublemaker that she is before she turned around to greet the party.
"See you again, Ed."
Lortelle left me with such words before she walked towards the subjugation team first.
I sighed as I looked at the sun rising up in the sky.
I knew Lortelle had a foxy side to her. Well, just because I got some money while I was in debt didn't mean I would be swayed. Lortelle knew that too, and yet she gave me the money anyway. She must have wanted to remain in contact in the future, and use this as justification for it.
"An investment… That's my specialty."
I can't help but want to give her a round of applause in admiration for putting her words into practice.
Anyhow, the Glaskan Subjugation chapter had ended well.
This was the perfect time to make such internal monologues while watching the subjugation force walking out of the hall with their backs against the rising sun.
It was a difficult hurdle, but we got through it pretty well. As I watched the sky slowly turn brighter, I wanted to congratulate myself.
Good work, me. Though it's just Act 1, I somehow managed to get through it all quite well.
"…so what about Janica?"
I suddenly felt like a core piece of the story was still missing. There was an indescribable emptiness left, as if an important part of the story had been completely skipped over.
It was the empty puzzle piece that had changed Janica's every move, and it still remained empty.
The Glaskan Subjugation chapter ended well, and even though there was an unexpected hiccup in the middle, ultimately, the story returned to the original flow of the game. And there were no casualties. Shouldn't this mean that everything ended well…
And yet, there were so many things I was worried about that I couldn't just let things end like this.
"Come to think of it, I don't see our upperclassman Janica."
From this distance, I couldn't see Janica with the subjugation force. Since they had defeated her, wasn't it only natural that someone carried her out on their back?
"Well, everyone's focus was completely on Glaskan's right arm during the battle. I'm sure Janica was just left behind."
Lortelle tilted her head at me as she walked away from the team.
"Come to think of it, I think I know what happened to Janica for her to do this."
"What?"
"I happened to run into Janica in the hallways of Ophelis Hall some time ago. We made up with each other for what happened at the Joint Combat Practice."
And as if it was nothing, Lortelle continued to talk.
"I just happened to take a look into her room…"
Lortelle continued to take slow steps forward as she talked.
"Would you like to hear my story? Hmm, Ed?"