The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 125

The condition of the horse wasn’t that good.

They had only grabbed the least injured horse of the ones that were pulling the carriage. The sound of its hooves clacking against the ground continued for a while, but before long the sound of it started to become irregular.

They could feel the horse’s body wobbling bit by bit. It seemed that it would die soon. Still, it was loyal enough to keep pushing forward for the sake of the person on its back, until the very end. Perhaps it had been pulling the Saint’s carriage for its entire life.

Rooooooooooooooooooar!

The Holy Blue Dragon’s roar, whose screeched ripped at one’s ears, started to echo again. Running across the education district’s square, they could see the entirety of the education district, which was covered in blood.

“Listen carefully, Saint. This round is hopeless.”

Ed clenched the horse’s reins as he shouted to the Saint, who had her hands wrapped around his waist and her face buried into his back.

“I’ll help you discover the truth behind it as much as I can for when time rewinds again… So right now, we have to get you prepared to finish things ‘perfectly’.”

The wind blew past her ears. Clarice, who had buried her face in Ed’s back, nodded her head.

Then, an earthquake started to erupt on Acken Island once more. Obel was casting an advanced Elemental magic that covered the sky. Lucy was blocking Velbrok’s massive claws, which were aimed towards the commercial district.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A massive defensive magic circle, one that was too large to fully see, covered the entirety of the commercial district. But every time it deflected Velbrok’s front claws, the shape of it was distorted a bit more.

Clarice trembled in fear, hugging Ed tightly, but then a feeling of incongruity hit her chest.

Ed’s arms, which held the reins of the horse, were trembling strangely. She lifted her head to look at Ed, who was clenching his teeth as he rode the horse straight ahead with solemn eyes. It looked as if he had made the resolution to sacrifice his life.

Clarice remembered once again.

As time kept repeating itself, Clarice continued to run into that massive dragon over and over again.

And once that round came to an end, she was likely to run into it again.

But every single time it happened, it was the first time for Ed.

He was just a normal person that had suddenly come to face a disaster that appeared out of the blue.

For Clarice, it was just another repeat. But for Ed, his life was on the line every single time.

Even though he knew time would rewind, putting his life at stake was terrifying beyond one’s imagination.

He clenched his teeth as he held the reins tightly… He acted as if that was the natural choice to make.

He never showed fear. He pushed away his desire to run away from it all. He knew that if he was shaken up, Clarice would be the same.

Clarice squeezed her arms from where they were wrapped around Ed.

Neeeeigh!

At that moment, the horse screamed as it collapsed. It had done all it could.

As their bodies flew up, they could feel themselves falling in the air. Ed quickly grabbed Clarice’s arm, hugging her tightly as they rolled on the ground.

Fortunately, they had fallen into the flower bed and avoided getting seriously injured. However, since Ed was already quite injured, he let out a big gasp as he tried to bear with the pain.

Clarice, who was in Ed’s arms, looked up at his face as she felt as if her heart was being ripped apart.

“Ed… Blood from your arm…”

“It’s fine. I’ve had quite a few injuries worse than this before.”

Ed wiped the blood off his arm as he stood up, brushing off his pants. After helping Clarice up, they looked towards the school Cathedral. They had finally arrived.

Boom! Boom!

The magic of the Holy Blue Dragon, who ran wild as it destroyed Acken Island, still covered the sky.

In front of that background, which filled the night sky, there was a large cross standing tall.

It wasn’t a particularly large building, but it was also difficult to call it small. The walls were made of a nice mixture of bricks and marble. There was a stained glass installed beautifully in the center, along with a simple cross symbolizing the blessings of the God Telos.

“Somehow, it looks like we made it to the right place.”

Ed said that as he looked up at the cross on the spire, high in the sky.

There was one man that stood in front of the background of the starry sky, where magic was flying. It seemed that he was trying to hide himself as much as he could with stealth magic, but as they walked closer to the cathedral he began to be revealed.

Although he was wearing a dark red robe with a gilded frame, it was still possible to guess his age from the vaguely visible silhouette.

A middle-aged man that showed signs of aging. Looking at his sharp jawline and the muscles in his slightly bulging forearm, it was clear that he had trained for a long time.

There were wings sprouting from his back. The wings protruded through the back of his robe as his silhouette resembled the cross behind him.

The weapon he held in his hand was a spear. Just at a glance, it looked luxurious.

Clarice swallowed as she realized it was a familiar silhouette.

‘Apostles of Telos’. A separate unit that was directly under the control of the Holy Father, Eldane.

Among the magicians that used Sacred Magic at the Holy Father’s Building, which was massive with a long history, there were only eight people that had the honor of being granted such a position.

Ed also knew of that group all too well.

Every single one of them was revered as the best Sacred Magic magicians in the Holy Father’s Building. If all eight were to gather in one place, even Lucy Mayree!—who had inherited the lineage of an Archmage—wouldn’t be able to defeat them easily.

Paang!

The man jumped down to the entrance of the cathedral, a cloud of dust rising up. The wind blew around him as his collar fluttered.

Their fatal weakness was none other than their faith.

No matter how powerful they were as Sacred Magic magicians… They wouldn’t dare stand up against the Saint that had received Telos’ Blessing.

They had to…

“I apologize, Saint Clarice.”

Hierarchy was something that would always change depending on the situation.

If the person that gave him instructions was in a position higher than Saint Clarice, he had no choice but to block her way even though she was the Saint.

“This was an order from the Holy Father Eldane. Behind me… Nobody is allowed to enter.”

Clarice’s eyes trembled heavily.

The apostles that she had met in the Holy Father’s Building were always reliable allies to her.

Whenever they met the Saint, they bowed their heads politely as they knelt down to show their deep faith.

They were people that were honored to have a conversation with the Saint. They lived every day

So, seeing him suddenly guard the entrance to the cathedral, Clarice swallowed harshly.

Ed whispered something into the ear of the Saint, who was panicking.

“We need to break through. Our goal is to go through the door of the cathedral and learn the truth behind it all. Don’t worry about anything else.”

“Ed…?”

“I can make a small chance for you to get through.”

Ed pulled out his dagger from his thigh sheath. The blade of the dagger, which was engraved with a spiritual skill, shone brightly in the moonlight.

Clarice looked at him as she aggressively shook her head. Ed was already seriously injured.

Plus, his opponent was an Apostle of Telos, one of the most talented individuals in the Holy Father’s Building. It may have been different if he were facing off against the Saint, but against Ed, he wouldn’t hold back one bit… If they were to fight, the result would be obvious.

Clarice clenched her teeth as she ran forward, yelling at the Apostle.

“Get out of the way immediately…! I need to go inside and see for myself what is going on…!”

“Saint.”

The man lowered his head with eyes that looked strangely regretful as he said.

“I apologize, but I cannot let you pass. All I can say is… This is all for the sake of the Saint.”

“That… I will judge it myself.”

Despite her words, the man shook his head quietly.

“Saint. Even if you pass through, there’s nothing you can do…”

Boom!

Before he could finish speaking, Ed’s dagger flew right towards his eyes. Ed, who had jumped towards him, tried to strike his body with the dagger he was holding.

Of course, the man had the reaction time to easily defend against it. He lifted his spear, blocking the attack. Ed wasn’t able to push through any further.

“You… What is with you…?”

Of course, Ed also knew that an attack like that would be easily blocked.

Ed released his grip on the dagger as a large crystal ball fell from his hand. It was a Magically Engineered Item that he had crafted himself. ‘Shock-Enhanced Wave Ball.’

The man’s eyes widened, but he wasn’t able to stop himself from being swept away by the shock that erupted near his face.

“Keuk!”

In the first place, Ed’s goal was only to clear the way.

The man that was pushed away by the instant shock wave fell. He then stood, trying to balance himself using the walls of the cathedral.

Slam!

Clarice had already broken through the entrance and entered the cathedral.

“Shit…!”

The man clenched his teeth, trying to chase after her, but a wind blade flew towards him and blocked his path.

Boom! Boon!

Sacred magic used Divine Power by borrowing the strength of Telos. Most would use Divine Power to replace it with magic power, but the man was instead using the majority of his divine power to strengthen his body.

He then threw Ed to the side using strength that was several times that of a normal human. Ed flew through the air for a while before falling on the ground and rolling over in the dust several times. He could taste his blood as he coughed.

“You’re already bleeding to death.”

The man swung his spear as he stood on the steps of the entrance of the cathedral and looked down at Ed, who had rolled on the floor and was completely battered.

“Just lie there and rest. I don’t know what your goal is, but if I think that you are going to cause a hindrance to our goal, I may end up taking your life. But I… Don’t want to kill you.”

After he said that, the moment he turned around to go after the Saint he felt a heavy blow to his shoulder.

Three arrows from Ed’s magic power bow flew into his shoulder, though it didn’t penetrate his skin.

“…You…”

The man’s eyes were furious as he looked back.

Ed quickly finished gathering all of his power. He already knew information about the Apostles of Telos.

There was no way that Ed, at his current level, would be able to defeat one of the best Sacred Magic magicians in the Holy Father Building. Since that was the case, he had to come up with another plan.

The man fixed his grasp on the spear as he spread his wings. He intended to quickly dispose of Ed and follow the Saint.

Ed took out ‘Glast’s Phoenix Ring’ from his pocket. Since time would rewind anyway, there wasn’t any of the pressure that came with gathering magic power from the future.

The flow of magic power in the future. If he was determined to never use magic again in his lifetime, just how much magic power could he draw from it?

As Ed had such thoughts, he began to put magic power into the ring as he braced himself once more. The dagger engraved with a spiritual skill flew back towards its owner. Then, magic power emerging from the ground began to wrap around him.

The man had good intuition. After recognizing that things weren’t going to be so easy, he raised his hands and offered a prayer as he gathered Divine Power. Sacred Magic, strengthening one’s body and making them much more agile, turned him into a monster that transcended humanity.

Magicians and Warriors. Naturally, the man wanted to try and close the distance between them.

Noticing that his opponent’s fighting sense was unusual, the man tried to defeat Ed in one blow.

The man jumped from the floor towards him in an instant. The spear flew, aiming straight towards Ed’s heart. In terms of speed alone, it was nearly as fast as a bullet.

The man moved at a speed that surpassed a human’s cognitive ability. But right as he was convinced it was going to pierce through Ed’s heart—

He pushed the spear forward even more, ignoring the guilt of taking a life.

Shink!

“Keuheuk!”

But right before the blow could land, Ed twisted his body, and it missed his heart. However, blood still gushed from his body, as it had struck his chest.

Red blood splattered on the robes of the high-rank clergyman. Watching him, the man offered a quiet prayer.

Once again, he had taken another’s life. He confessed his sins from the bottom of his heart.

Paat!

Then, at that moment—

Ed’s blood-stained hand quickly grabbed hold of the man’s hand that held the spear.

The man looked down at Ed in surprise… as he swallowed his breath.

With a spear stabbed straight through him… Ed’s eyes widened. Blood bubbled over his lips, but he endured the pain as he held the dagger in his other hand.

The dagger was aimed towards his own right hand, which held onto the man’s.

Shink!

The dagger cut through Ed’s hand as it made its way to that man’s hand as well. Their blood began to mix together.

The dagger was stuck through both of their hands, binding them together like handcuffs, not letting them go.

Ed’s trembling hand grabbed a hold of the back of the man’s hand. He stopped him from moving so that he couldn’t pull his hand back hastily.

“This… This boy…?”

A grinning smile wasn’t the usual expression of someone that was about to die.

“When it’s impossible to narrow the difference in specs…”

Again, blood began to spurt from Ed’s mouth. He continued to talk despite bleeding.

“You just have to rely on your luck and make a gamble.”

“This… Crazy… Bastard…!!”

Ed asked the question. He was staking his own life, so what was that man willing to bet?

His answer was to steel himself, planning to give up his hand to create distance from Ed.

However, that moment of hesitation before doing so caused him to be pushed into a corner. When you fought with your life on the line, a slight hesitation in judgment could change the outcome of a fight.

Whoooooooosh!

A spirit summoning was barely able to be cast. Then Merilda, a high-ranking wind spirit, jumped from the ground as she opened her mouth and bit him.

“Keuk! Aaaaaaaghk!”

Blood gushed from Merilda’s mouth. Despite having advanced Sacred Magic surrounding his entire body, he was still human. Even marble would shatter if it went into a giant wolf’s mouth.

His body, which was covered in blood, fell from Merilda’s mouth and rolled on the floor. He was barely breathing.

Thud.

Ed fell to his knees with the spear still inside of him.

The entire time, blood continued to pour from him and covered the ground.

Whooooosh!

Ed was already fatally wounded. Even burdening himself with the slightest bit of magic power would exponentially increase his bleeding.

Merilda quickly canceled her original form, returning to her humanoid form to lessen the load of magic power as much as possible. As she landed on the floor, she ran towards Ed.

[Are you crazy? Are you in your right mind? You can’t! Stay awake!]

She held onto Ed’s wounds, covering them tightly, but it looked like it wouldn’t be enough to have any effect.

[Why did you do such a crazy thing?! If you had just summoned me from the start and fought with him head-to-head, then…]

“Be… quiet… my ears are ringing…”

Ed held onto Merilda’s collar as he coughed up blood.

Ed already knew that man’s name. And he already knew of the Apostles of Telos.

The most elite separate unit, composed of eight members that were under the direct command of the Holy Father. Among them, he was the swift Taldarek.

If he were to face him head on from the start, it was obvious he would end up being outclassed due to his extremely quick speed and dominance in the air because of his wings.

There was already a massive gap in their specs, so if he were to fight when his opponent had a tactical advantage as well, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

That was why it needed to be a short, decisive battle. What he put at stake was his life. And what he had won was a victory that surpassed the massive difference in their specs.

Victory in a duel was not always determined by strength and weakness alone.

Ed Rothstaylor was a competitor that only made moves that led towards his victory, regardless of the cost. And when it came to putting something at stake that would end up coming back regardless, even if it was his life, he would be able to throw it away without batting an eye.

Simply put, he had the mental strength to overcome any fear.

[You… Seriously…! Hey… You can’t…! Stay awake…! You can’t die! I said you can’t die!]

Merilda cried as she covered Ed’s wounds, which were pouring blood.

Ed was barely able to raise his head as he looked at the cathedral’s open entrance.

And then… with a satisfied expression… he slowly closed his eyes, as if to sleep.

***

The structure of cathedrals were all pretty similar. Once you went through the entrance, there would be a small hallway before you would come across a large chapel.

All cathedrals were the same. The most important area inside of it was always going to be the chapel.

However… the door at the start of the hallway was locked. It felt as if it had been locked from the inside.

Clarice had been to the cathedral several times before as the Saint of the Telos Religious Group. When there was an event that took place over the weekend or during the semester, it was natural for her to come out and show her face once in a while.

Because of that, she already had a rough idea of what the internal structure of the building was like. Knowing that there was a fairly wide hallway behind the door, Clarice gathered her Holy Power as she smashed through it.

Booom!!

She didn’t like the idea of gathering Holy Power and using it to destroy an area of a space where God’s energy was present. However, now wasn’t the time to question anything, not even her religious beliefs.

Once she passed through the hallway and entered the chapel…

“…Huh…?”

“…….!”

After breaking through the door, Clarice saw a girl staggering at the other end of the hallway leading to the Chapel.

Various flowers were beautifully weaved into her yellow hair.

It had been nearly two years, but Clarice still remembered her face clearly. The one that always played her late from the window of the Saint’s room at the top of the Holy Father Building… It was that young bard.

Clarice was frustrated at the fact that, even though it has already been quite some time since she started school, she still couldn’t see her.

“A… Adele…”

But right now, Adele was Clarice’s upperclassman. At least, according to the school.

However, Clarice was completely shocked at seeing an unexpected face. So, she ended up calling out her name like an old friend.

Adele staggered as she walked out of the darkness… She was covered in blood. And it looked like all of it was Adele’s.

Her body was covered in all sorts of wounds. Some looked to be quite deep, as the blood continued to pour from them.

“Adele… Adele…!”

“Ah… Ugh…”

Clarice ran forward with her arms held out, as if she were going to jump forward and hug her.

But she tripped, falling onto the floor as she looked at Adele with tears rolling down her face.

“Adele… What… Just what in the world happened…?! Why are you like this…”

“Saint…”

Tears welled up in the corners of Clarice’s eyes as they sat side by side. She held onto Adele’s shoulders, hugging her tightly.

How in the world did you end up like this? What happened inside the cathedral? Why did you come all the way here? There were a lot of things she wanted to ask, but the most urgent thing to do was check on Adele’s condition.

But when Clarice asked Adele if she was okay…

“—You came earlier than I expected.”

Hearing those words, Clarice’s breath caught.

“…What?”

“Still… There was no need for you to come here.”

Adele clenched her teeth as Clarice held her in her arms.

“I’m sorry… For making you go through such a difficult experience…”

“Adele… What… Are you saying…?”

“Still… There’s not much left… It’ll be over soon… So, for just a little longer… If you can hang in there…”

At that moment, an enormous amount of light began to erupt from Adele’s body. The shining thing that was engraved on her arm… It was certainly the ‘Holy Blessing’ that was only given to Saints of the Telos Religious Group.

The Holy Blessing that protected one’s body from all Sacred Magic, as well as any intentional harm that came to one’s body… It was the highest blessing that they could give. It required an archbishop, six bishops, eight apostles, and the Holy Father’s Holy Magic. It was completely impossible to obtain unless you were a Saint.

A gigantic magic circle made of ‘Celestial Magic’ began to rise. The huge time-reversal magic that had been cast had come from Adele’s body… It was trying to rewind the world’s clock once more.

A talent that let her turn divine power into celestial magic power. Adele was a girl with a rare talent that had never been seen before in the history of the religious group.

Regardless of what disaster and accident came upon Silvenia, she was always playing her lute and singing a song leisurely in the breeze… All because she was a girl unprecedented in history.

Along with the Holy Blessing that protected her body, she was protected from any attack that held murderous intent.

“This… This…”

Clarice’s eyes trembled as she looked at the magic circle that was being cast.

The entire world was covered in a bright light. In that brief moment… She was barely able to see that Adele was struggling to put on a smile.

“Adele…! Adele…!”

Clarice shed tears as she somehow managed to grab ahold of herself.

Ruthlessly, the world wouldn’t allow her another round.

***

“Saint. You said you had something to talk about… What is this about…?”

The afternoon on the day of the Joint Combat Practice. A wide blue sky, warm sunlight, sitting at the wooden table.

Ed put his book on the table as he looked at Clarice, confused.

“……”

Suddenly, Clarice stood from her seat as she slammed her hands into the table.

Then, for a while… She continued to stare off into space with a blank expression on her face.

Ed and Yennekar looked up at the Saint with matching dumbfounded expressions.

Then, after a minute passed, Clarice turned her gaze to Ed.

He was like her savior, who had tried to come up with the answer for her despite dying over and over again.

Thanks to his help, she was close to finding the truth behind the entire matter. But the pieces of the puzzle had not yet been fully put together in her head.

Then, Clarice… walked over to Ed like usual, sitting next to him and holding onto his arms tightly. She then started to feel a strange sense of reassurance reside in her chest.

She started to think about what she had just seen… over… and over again.

“……..???”

“……..Ehhhh?????”

Of course, for Ed and Yennekar, it was like a bolt from the blue.

***

“It seems that the Holy Blessing has been established successfully into your body. Now, once you complete the ‘stigma ceremony’ to announce you as the new Saint in front of the public, you will officially reign as the Saint that sits at the top of the Holy Father Building, Adele.”

“Yes. I can definitely feel my Holy Powers are rising more than usual.”

“The Holy Blessing will allow you to use the Divine Power in your body to the utmost. Since you can even use your divine power to use Celestial magic power, you will be able to raise your name as the most powerful Saint in the history of the Holy Father Building.”

“You’re exaggerating too much, Archbishop. It feels like much too much of a luxury, since I’m the only one with the Holy Blessing, which requires so much magic power.”

“It is a blessing that befits the nobility of you, the Saint. The Holy Blessing will protect your body forever. Since you also have the aptitude to bring out the full powers of the blessing, it’ll feel like you are constantly wearing a sturdy shield.”

Opening her eyes, she was in a gloomy hallway that led to the practice arena of Glockt Hall.

She was sitting down, playing her lute… It was a memory that felt far in the past.

When she sneezed, blood started to trickle down to her lips.

The blood dripped into a puddle on the ground next to the lute.

“Ahh.”

Seeing that sight over and over again, Adele felt that gut feeling that she had gone back in time as she let out a laugh.

The sight of the Holy Blue Dragon destroying Acken Island and slaughtering all the students, right in front of her eyes… All of it had disappeared.

The Holy Blessing that surrounded Adele’s body even overturned the passage of time.

Adele rested her body for a while longer.

“When everything that happens disappears and no one remembers a thing…”

Ten minutes later, after she had regained her energy, she slowly stood up.

And just as she had already repeated dozens of times before, she picked up the lute and staggered away… Slowly heading towards the cathedral.

“Rather… I won’t be lonely.”

No matter how many times she repeated it, she could never get used to the moment she quietly left the hallway.

“Hey.”

“Yes, Ed?”

“You will die soon.”

“I know.”

It now felt like a distant story. The conversation she had in that very hallway with Ed.

She didn’t know what he meant, but strangely, he was able to predict Adele’s fate.

It was weird. The world always went back as it did before, but Ed never appeared in front of Adele aside from that first time.

There must have been some reason for it, but Adele didn’t give it much thought. There was no time to have such thoughts.

As she stood up against the wall, she headed for the cathedral.

“Sigh……”

Finally, she started to feel her body running out of Divine Power. She couldn’t even remember just how many times she repeated it, but the end was finally in sight.

It was a long journey. But whose fault was it? It was a choice she made herself.

Adele walked out of the Glockt Hall, staggering.

The night before the stigma ceremony, when she looked up at the dazzling night sky…

That day, Adele had finally succeeded at peeking into her own future.

And afraid of that future, she had given up on becoming the Saint. For many reasons, Adele ended up running away, gaining a position as the torch keeper.

Yes, there wasn’t any other choice.

The future that she had seen in the distant starry sky…

It was the future where she was sacrificed as the Saint in order to counteract the resurrection of the Holy Blue Dragon.