I got into school for nothing - Chapter 314
I got into school for nothing (314)
Lesson 61. The Innocent Sinner - 4
I knew I felt uneasy even after sending Yuwon off; so it was all because of this.
Professor Yumina bit her lip as she watched the endlessly soaring Tower of Babel tilt.
From the tilted axis of the Tower, she saw black, gigantic, ominous things erupting one after another.
[Hmph, kyahahahaha! Finally, finally, today is the day we reclaim our freedom!]
[Yes... this is the day of our great escape (Exodus), the innocent sinners!]
The true forms of Constellations were attempting to break free from the Tower.
And it wasn't just one or two.
While there had been countless times when those who didn't know their place tried to target the Tower and Union Academy, it could be said with certainty that nothing like this had ever happened before!
"No, no..."
While she wasn't entirely without thoughts regarding the Chancellor who imposed a distorted order, she didn't wish to see Union Academy collapse in such a way.
But more than that, what worried her was Ban Yuwon, her disciple, who had just begun a war against a Constellation.
Most magic tools or artifacts would break down just by getting close to a Constellation's avatar, but the Tikke he created not only vividly broadcasted the scene of Ban Yuwon and his companions destroying the red moon—it even showed Ban Yuwon, who had crossed over to Prominence, encountering the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas on the Union Net.
'Other Constellations are still trapped here, so why did the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas get freed so quickly of all things!'
If there was any silver lining, it was that the Union Net, overloaded by the impact on the Tower, immediately cut out right there...
However, those who suspected an abnormality in the Union Net would soon realize what the Constellation appearing on the Rebellion channel signified.
'I need to handle this as quickly as possible, but Yuwon probably needs me right now...!'
No matter how incredible Yuwon was, she couldn't imagine him easily winning against a Constellation's true form.
Anneri was with him, a platinum member, but her direct combat capabilities were rather low...
The more she thought about Ban Yuwon's situation, the more her mind felt tangled.
At times like this, she almost resented herself for ultimately being unable to defy the Chancellor's will.
—Yumina, enter the Tower. I will open a direct path for you to them.
"Chancellor."
Involuntarily, she raised her head at the voice in her ear and saw a gigantic eye floating in the sky.
To defeat the Exodus fleet that had invaded across dimensions, the Chancellor, too, had released a part of his true form.
The main Exodus fleet, which had clumsily attempted a feint, had already been crushed and annihilated before the Chancellor's power, so there would be no one left in this universe to call themselves Exodus.
—Blink.
[Kyahahaha! That eye, that eye! That hateful old hag!]
[No, it's not the old hag. It's the true form. That person has come out personally!]
[Why, why! Shouldn't it be time to let us go?!]
The problem lay elsewhere, with the powerful Constellations just beginning to break free from the Tower.
Even the Chancellor, regarded as an absolute being, was currently occupied suppressing their movements and thus unable to solve the fundamental problem plaguing the Tower.
—Blink.
It wasn't just the eye floating in the sky.
—Blink, blink.
Even at this moment, newly appearing eyes all around exerted their magical power, holding the Constellations back from escaping the Tower.
The Chancellor created another eye, gazing at the Tower, and whispered to Yumina again.
—You are my proxy now. You must eliminate the traitors and restore the Tower's order.
"Are you sure? If you use too much power now, she will..."
—And you possess the power to suppress Constellations. Ignite the flame he reawakened within you now.
Of course, the Chancellor knew who had been with Ban Yuwon, what had transpired between him and Yumina.
He even saw through what Yumina had gained as a result, the emotions that had become deeply etched in her heart.
To Yumina, who remained silent, unable to form a reply, the Chancellor's voice came flying.
—Now, go. If you return safely, I will help you become his woman.
"...You truly are despicable."
To utter such words, inciting her actions as if he had noticed her complicated feelings while watching the escaping Constellations.
She hesitated for a moment, wanting to ask about her contract Constellation too, but then decided against it.
But the Chancellor, knowing even what she hadn't asked, answered her.
—When he stands at the summit, all your desires will be fulfilled.
"So, you mean Yuwon is safe?"
—As always, he is now. And he always will be.
"Alright, then... I'll be going."
Yumina let out a soft sigh and threw herself into the oval gate that had appeared before her.
The gate leading to the Tower's depths, perhaps due to the irregular phenomenon currently afflicting the Tower, momentarily resisted accepting her, sparking and sputtering—but ultimately, it could not overcome the Chancellor's Authority and allowed her entry.
—Oh, my. You've come. I thought Zenon would be here.
The moment she stepped into the dark, colossal corridor, a sticky female voice echoed in Yumina's ears in a space devoid of even a single torch.
She knew her identity well.
The Observer of All Things, the Constellation who had shown immense interest in Ban Yuwon the moment he entered the Tower.
...Just as she had in Yumina in the past.
When Ban Yuwon first told her about the Constellation's contact, how hard she had tried to pretend not to know.
Ban Yuwon might not know it yet, but that was also why she had become more emotionally invested in him and cherished him.
—Has he chosen you as his new proxy?
Dispelling her thoughts, Yumina replied in a cold voice to the Constellation's persistent questioning.
"I don't see Zenon. Perhaps... he has sided with the traitors."
—That loyal child? Interesting, he's probably jealous of 'that child.'
"Zenon... jealous? Of Yuwon?"
She inadvertently raised her voice at the Constellation, finding such an emotion unfitting for that stone-faced man.
The Observer of All Things, as if seizing the opportunity, leaned in close to Yumina's ear and whispered again.
—Aren't you jealous of that child too?
"Perhaps, but I love him even more."
—Oh, my. How much like me.
The Constellation scoffed at Yumina's resolute reply and created an eye.
The glowing eye illuminated the dark corridor, unraveling the Tower's intricate maze even in that very moment.
—Then, for now, we must cooperate to protect the one we love.
"Whatever your scheme, I won't fall for it."
Unlike the Chancellor, the Observer of All Things was a clear enemy.
To Yumina, who was holding Starlight in one hand, ready to burst the eye at any moment, the Observer of All Things chuckled and said,
—That child is still too young to harvest. He's already shining brightly, but soon he'll shine even brighter—
"I won't let that happen."
—Yes, and for that, we must combine our strengths now.
...Perhaps the Chancellor had known the Observer of All Things would react this way.
No, he must have known.
No matter how potent Starlight was at suppressing Constellations, if Yumina were to confront the rampaging Observer of All Things, she wouldn't have any strength left to eliminate the traitors.
But if the Observer of All Things allied with them—
"Very well, let's combine our strengths."
—A wise choice.
It was all just to protect Yuwon, after all.
Whispering that to herself, she stepped forward.
The Observer of All Things truly guided her to her destination in an instant, illuminating the path with its eye, and Yumina soon arrived in a larger Pit—a room like the inside of a machine with countless gears turning everywhere.
And in the center of its floor, a colossal monolith was embedded.
It was densely inscribed with characters, but now it was cracked in many places, with some characters erased and black smoke billowing from those spots.
'The register of names...'
It was the register of Constellations' names, and at the same time, a prison that confined them.
Who wouldn't be surprised to learn that Constellations, hailed as transcendent beings, were entities bound within the Tower of Babel?
The Constellations who called themselves innocent sinners.
Cracks were slowly spreading across the prison that held these sinners within the Tower.
"Oh, my. My love, a sadly blind rose!"
The one who had erased the monolith's characters—Professor Cantone—also stood there.
Unexpectedly, no one else was present; he had likely killed them all.
It was obvious.
Exodus and Cantone had cooperated from the start, intending to use each other, and now that they had achieved their goal, only one would be needed to claim the spoils.
And Professor Cantone, though pathetic, petty, and a delusional patient who couldn't accept reality even after being dumped by a woman, was one of the top-ranked full professors in the Academy in a one-on-one fight.
Whatever means Exodus had prepared, it would have been difficult to overcome him.
And the Constellations who had supported Exodus were now...
"How do I look, Yumina?"
"I don't recall ever permitting you to call me by my first name, Professor Cantone."
"No, you will have to permit it. Because I will make you."
The Constellations, for whom freedom was the only thing that mattered, were gladly lending their power to Cantone.
Erasing the characters on the monolith must have taken immense power, so they were surely providing unconditional support, asking for their names to be erased first.
It was a moment where the relationship between Constellations and humans had been reversed, but Yumina felt pity for Cantone, seeing him wield such power.
"That's not your power."
"Not yet, yes. You are right. But if I obtain the Tower, it will inevitably become my power, sooner or later."
"You still don't understand. What it means to gain the Tower's Authority..."
"Yes, then will you tell me?"
The moment Cantone reached out—psychokinesis, easily two or three times more powerful than before, surged towards Yumina, threatening to crush her.
But as a large eye appeared in the air and blinked once, that pressure vanished as if it had been washed away.
Cantone's eyes widened in horror.
"That's the Chancellor's—no, that can't be. He should be outside right now?!"
"You haven't even met the Observer of All Things, have you?"
"The Observer of All Things? I've heard of it, a ghost story about how anyone who gains interest inside the Tower inevitably dies before graduating—no, surely not."
—It means you lack talent.
The Observer of All Things cruelly declared.
Instead of replying, Cantone immediately unleashed psychokinesis at maximum output, bursting the eye.
Seizing that opening, Yumina completed her Starlight Magic.
"Suppression."
"What?!"
Dozens, hundreds of dazzling Starlight chains shot out from the magic circle Yumina created, binding Cantone's entire body.
Not only that, they coiled around the monolith, capturing the smoke escaping from the erased characters and pushing it back into the monolith.
"Yumina?"
"I told you not to call me by my first name, Professor Cantone."
"What is this? It feels like it's stealing only the Constellations' power. Why does such power exist? Yumina, Professor Yumina! Answer my question!"
—You have judged the Tower and the Constellations too carelessly. The Tower's dominion and the Constellations have no relation whatsoever.
The Observer of All Things laughed.
Creating another eye in the air, she applied pressure to Cantone.
Still bound by chains, Cantone skillfully manipulated psychokinesis to burst that eye again, but it was clear that his output had significantly decreased compared to before.
"Professor Yumina! If you don't release me now, you'll regret it! I can destroy this monolith at any moment!"
"You can't, Cantone."
Yumina, finally dropping the "Professor" honorific, radiated Starlight again.
A flower of Starlight bloomed around her—the fusion of her innate power and the starlight she had acquired illuminated The Pit brightly, causing all the distorted Authorities of the transcendent beings to wither like flowers greeting winter.
And on the monolith, the owners of the characters began to be imprisoned once more.
"No, no! Yumina, even you, there are some things I cannot forgive!"
"It's too late."
Cantone's full-power psychokinesis, in the form of a gigantic blade, swept towards Yumina—and the petals and vines that bloomed from her entire body softly received and annihilated it.
Seeing this, Cantone's eyes widened in astonishment.
He had exhausted himself freeing the Constellations and had lost the power they sponsored him with, so his condition couldn't possibly be good right now.
Even so!
Just a short while ago, such a disparity between them would not have existed...!
"During my student days, I had a contract Constellation, and after losing her in an accident, the power within my body became terribly entangled, leaving me half-crippled."
"Professor Yumina..."
"Even in that state, I became a full professor. And now, thanks to the one I love, I've regained my power."
Do you understand what that means?
Yumina smiled wryly and spread her hand.
Her Authority, united with Starlight, bloomed from the ground and ceiling simultaneously in the form of brilliant golden thorny vines, piercing Cantone's entire body from top to bottom.
"Kuk!"
"The Chancellor intended to raise me to be the Vice Chancellor."
And given Zenon's betrayal, it seemed she would indeed end up in that position—
Smiling wryly with such thoughts, her expression hardened as she saw the monolith beyond Cantone, now a corpse, vibrating.
It wasn't Cantone. He had already lost his qualification.
Then who?
"No, not Yuwon...!"
—Kukuku, magnificent!
She frantically rushed forward and grabbed the monolith.
Just as she was about to confirm the newly etched characters—
The Tower, having resolved the irregular phenomenon, expelled her outside.
Comments