The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 129

Remote Hallway of Glockt Hall.

Since it was aside from everything else, only a few people used it. But there, a girl leaned against the wall, looking up at the ceiling.

Blood flowed from her body, forming a puddle on the floor.

“C-Cough… Keuk…”

Even after coughing, the feeling of something blocking her throat didn’t go away.

Adele brushed her blood-stained hair back as she looked down at her right wrist.

It was originally engraved with the Holy Blessing, but at some point, the engraving had disappeared.

It had done its best to protect Adele by reverting time over and over again. However, no matter how strong the Holy Blessing was, it couldn’t withstand the repetitive use of such large-scale sacred magic.

Now, Adele had a body that ‘could die’.

A goal that she had finally achieved only after regressing dozens of times. She felt strangely refreshed at that fact, but she wouldn’t be happy with just that.

Adele leaned against the wall as she smiled slowly.

Blood continued to flow from her. It felt as if her mind was getting more and more fuzzy.

***

“Ed…? What’s wrong, Ed…?!”

Headaches and chills took over my body. I felt nausea rising in me, but I clenched my teeth and held it together.

The memories that were passing through my mind… They were the records of the past that had been overturned by Adele’s Celestial Magic.

Celestial Magic reversed time fairly for everyone, but that didn’t mean it was impossible to stop one from keeping their memories. Had all of the memories of the repetitive times I had spent with Saint Clarice returned?

The reason Clarice was able to resist Adele’s Celestial Magic was because it was a spell based on sacred magic.

Because it was Celestial Magic that was cast with Adele’s divine power, the Holy Blessing—resistant to all sacred magics—was able to stop it from fully affecting her.

Plus, there were also cases where Celestial Magic wouldn’t fully work on those with a certain level of resistance. Even if they didn’t have the Holy Blessing.

That was something I had read in Glockt’s final book,

Knowledge was power.

If you had the ability to use Celestial Magic, then youalsoprobably had the ability to resist it.

Of course, if there was a massive difference in strength or scale, it wouldn’t be possible to fully defend yourself from it. However, you could still weaken it, create an opening, or struggle until you were able to withstand it.

In the first place, there were so few people that were actually able to properly use Celestial Magic in that day and age, so it was a meaningless fact.

“Keuk…”

The memories that ran through my head were mostly painful.

Dying by being crushed by a building, burned to death, pierced by a spear, the scales that fell down, and slowly dying from excessive bleeding…

The memories of the deaths that I had experienced dozens of times felt like a vivid reality. I clenched my teeth and fists, which were on the table.

Yennekar patted my back in surprise, but I could only endure the pain by clenching my teeth tightly.

Then, Saint Clarice approached me.

Her pure white hair, contrasting with her bright red eyes, gave me chills. A red bow-shaped hairpin hung crookedly on the side of her head. As memories of that girl, who I had shared a cruel fate with over and over again, ran through my head. Seeing her only added to the pain.

“E-Ed…”

Snatch.

I grabbed Clarice’s wrist. It happened in an instant.

I staggered as I sweated profusely. The eyes around us all turned to me, but I continued to look at Clarice, speaking surely.

“This time, it’s probably our last chance.”

Hearing those words, Clarice’s eyes slowly widened. Her expression clearly showed her disbelief.

“E-Ed… Y-You… Remember…?”

“Time.”

I somehow managed to gather my breath as I clearly responded.

”This is a race against time. Quickly. As fast as we can… We need to steal the tooth necklace.”

Of course, I was introduced to Celestial Magic through Glockt’s book.

However, I wasn’t able to raise my resonance with Celestial Magic power yet. So, I wasn’t sure why I was able to resist Adele’s Celestial Magic. However, I had to do whatever I could.

“Ed…!”

As I stumbled, Yennekar held me up, supporting me.

Clarice also looked restless. The students around kept on staring with their eyes wide, looking at an image of me in between Clarice and Yennekar.

Clarice also seemed to be completely puzzled that my memory was still intact, but right now she couldn’t afford to ask me questions. She had thoroughly learned that fact after suffering countless times.

Since she was short on time, she needed to prioritize her goal.

The urgent task that she needed to take care of at that moment was stopping the Holy Father and the Archbishop.

“Ed… Then, let’s go by carriage…!”

“Saint, you should get on the carriage and head to the cathedral right away. I will go first, by myself.”

“What?”

“There’s no time. You need to leave quickly. Please take care of things, Saint.”

It seemed like she wanted to ask why I was going to go on my own, but she didn’t have the time or leisure to ask. So, I only told Clarice briefly and confidently what she needed to do.

She nodded her head as she quickly ran towards the carriage.

In an instant, she gave orders to the horseman and the escort knights as the carriage ran towards the school’s cathedral.

“Ed… What was that just now…?”

Of course, the eyes of the students nearby poured down like arrows. All of a sudden, the Saint had appeared, spoken to me, and quickly moved according to my instructions. It must have been a strange situation for anyone to witness.

The same went for Yennekar, who looked at me with a puzzled face. After I got ahold of my body, I put my hand on Yennekar’s shoulder.

“Ah… All of a sudden why…!”

“I have to go to the cathedral right away.”

Throughout the countless repetitions, it always started the same way.

Saint Clarice told me how time was rewinding, as well as my military service number. She would then drag me to the carriage, saying we couldn’t waste any time.

Then, I would travel with her in the carriage, organize my thoughts, and struggle to fully grasp the situation.

However, the carriage was also much too slow. That was why the help of Yennekar’s spirits, who could ignore terrain and quickly fly over it, was desperately needed.

“All of a sudden…? But Ed… You have the Joint Combat Practice…!”

“I can’t explain the details right now, but this is extremely important.”

“If you’re saying it… I guess it can’t be helped, but… Still, this is…”

If I were going to explain anything, it would have to be while we moved.

The surest solution to the issue would be to go to the North Forest and call on Lucy. That was what I had done in the previous reset.

Lucy Mayreel was a massive weapon that no one within the school could deal with. She was like a bulldozer that could push through any obstacle that blocked her path. Her existence itself was like a cheat.

With Lucy alone, both the Apostles of Telos and Archbishop Verdio could be defeated in an instant.

However, the goal wasn’t to defeat them. It wasn’t a battle between people, but rather a fight against time.

We needed to steal Velbrok’s Tooth Necklace as soon as possible and place it as far away from Acken Island as possible.

How far away it needed to be placed to not react with the seal… I didn’t even know the answer to that. Maybe just a few kilometers would be enough, or it might even need to travel across full territories.

I couldn’t guarantee how much time it would take to succeed. If I could go back in time and try various means, I would be able to find an exact answer. But now that Adele’s life was at stake, I didn’t have that option.

I really have to figure it out, as we were on our last chance.

That was why I didn’t have time to run all the way to the North Forest to ask Lucy for help. It would be better for me to run straight to the cathedral and steal Velbrok’s Tooth even a second earlier.

After that, I’d need to run as far away from Acken Island as possible with the tooth. I’d have to worry about the Apostles of Telos afterwards. For now, I needed to stop the resurrection of the Holy Blue Dragon above all else.

And… At the start of every reset, Yennekar was always the person closest to me.

Saint Clarice, who was the one that returned in time, wasn’t acquainted with her in the slightest.

That was why she couldn’t do anything other than focus on convincing me and taking me with her.

And I couldn’t do much as I was dragged around in a confused state. But now… things had completely changed.

“I know you are busy, but… Ed, your condition doesn’t seem great. Aren’t you overdoing it…?”

After saying that, Yennekar gathered the power of the spirits. It was a fairly large amount of magic power, enough to summon a mid-ranking spirit, though it didn’t look like she had much trouble in doing so.

In terms of Elementalism, she was a girl that had a phenomenal level of resonance.

Not long after, a large hawk made of water spread its huge wings. A moist wind then blew, covering the benches.

Yennekar quickly climbed on it. It wasn’t massive in size, but it was large enough for two people to ride it.

Yennekar got on top of the hawk as she helped me up. As soon as its wings started to flap and we rose into the sky little by little, I found it difficult to balance myself. I wrapped my arms around Yennekar’s waist.

“Heek!”

Yennekar squirmed as she let out a noise. I wondered if it was because I suddenly touched her, but right now I wasn’t in the mental state to worry about such things.

As we flew through the sky, I saw the Saint’s carriage moving quickly below us.

Yennekar and I rode on the back of a hawk, ignoring the building and roads that stood in the way, as we flew straight to the school’s cathedral off in the distance.

“Listen, Yenekkar.”

“Hm?! Yeah! I’m listening, Ed!”

Yennekar looked flustered, maybe because my arms were wrapped around her waist. I wasn’t all that comfortable about it either.

“Right now, I’m going to go and chase after the Holy Father and the Archbishop.”

Hearing those words, Yennekar’s ears—which had been slightly red—reverted back to their original pale color.

“What?”

“If you don’t get out of here quickly, you’ll also get caught up in things. So, when we arrive and I jump off, you need to quickly take flight again before anyone sees you.”

Only then did Yennekar realize the situation was much more serious than she had thought. She turned around as I continued to hold onto her waist. It now looked as if we were hugging each other.

Yennekar trembled a bit from the sudden eye contact, but there was something more important to take care of.

“That means… You want me to leave you behind and go back to Glockt Hall?”

“Even though a year has already passed, you still have a record of being severely disciplined by the disciplinary committee. If you end up getting in even more trouble…”

“Ed.”

Unlike her usual self, she stopped talking. Looking at her, I could tell what she meant.

“Judge the situation for yourself then, Yennekar. But if something goes wrong, you’ll get expelled.”

“I don’t know what you’re planning to do with the Holy Father and the Archbishop, but you also have a record of severe disciplinary action, Ed. So, you’re the exact same. If something goes wrong, you’ll also get expelled.”

“I’m already prepared to face that.”

“And I’m the exact same.”

Yennekar looked straight into my eyes as she spoke.

“Even if you end up on the run, I won’t let you do it by yourself.”

Her usual self, always nervous and afraid of the opinions of others, was nowhere to be seen. There was a strong determination in her eyes.

“If you are going to get expelled, let’s do it together. It’ll feel less unfair if the two of us suffer together.”

“Aren’t you speaking of these things too carelessly…? If things go wrong, I might really end up a fugitive, constantly pursued by the Religious Group.”

“Then, if that happens, we can figure out what to do about it. If you end up a fugitive… I’ll run away with you. My hometown, Pulan, is rather remote. If we go there, we can hide together.”

She continued to look me straight in the eye. Perhaps she was being sincere.

If I were to fall into the abyss, she was prepared to fall, too.

Hearing her talk so confidently, it was clear there wasn’t any sense of doubt.

“Or, maybe it would be better for us to walk through the desert or a lawless district. We can wear robes that cover us and do mercenary work, making sure to keep our mouths shut.”

“Hey…”

“I’m already thinking things through, so don’t even think about going off by yourself, Ed.”

Yennekar seemed to be reading my thoughts.

“You’re suffering through something by yourself again?”

“What?”

“I can tell just by looking at your face now.”

What was imprinted in my memory were the deaths I had experienced dozens of times. All of them were painful, and just remembering them all made me feel like I was suffocating.

“I hate seeing you suffer.”

“……”

Ignoring the terrain, we flew through the sky. It didn’t take all that long until we started to approach the school’s cathedral.

“Are you prepared?”

“If you say it twice, you’ll be nagging.”

“…Then… Let’s enter by breaking through the stained glass.”

My sudden request to break through the huge stained glass on the school’s cathedral…

For Yennekar, who didn’t know the full story, it might have sounded crazy.

However…

“Alright.”

Kaaaw! Craaaaaaaaaaaah!

The hawk’s body crashed through the stained glass of the school’s cathedral.

***

After that, it all happened in an instant.

The key to a surprise attack was the beginning.

The moment the huge window shattered, pieces of glass crashed onto the floor.

I jumped off the hawk, rolling on the floor as I looked up towards the podium.

The Apostles sat in the chapel as Archbishop Verdio stood by the podium. And on the other side of the podium was the Holy Father Eldane, sitting and looking over their plans.

Everyone was stunned by the sudden situation. That moment, while they were flustered, was the only chance I had.

I jumped up towards the podium as I kicked Verdio in the stomach, pushing him away.

Unable to even think of defending himself from the sudden attack, Verdio groaned as he rolled off of the podium.

As soon as they saw it, the Apostles of Telos drew their weapons and stood up. I checked Velbrok’s Tooth Necklace, which was tucked away on the podium.

I quickly snatched the necklace, taking it with me… Then, I hung it around the neck of the hawk Yennekar had summoned. Velbrok’s Tooth Necklace was a legendary relic, so the string’s length would change according to the size of one’s neck.

It was a bit of a tight fit, but it still fit around the hawk’s neck.

“You… What is the meaning of this…?”

I quickly got up on the hawk’s back. Originally, I had planned on using magically engineered items. However, since Yennekar was willing to help, things had become a completely different story.

Riding the hawk, we could fly out of Acken Island. Right now, preventing the resurrection of the Holy Blue Dragon Velbrok was top priority.

I’d have to think about the aftermath of things later. It wasn’t the time to get distracted and take a gamble on finding the most efficient route. After all, Adele might not be able to survive going back in time again.

I threw my dagger to the floor. As it stuck in the ground, the Spiritual Skill activated. An explosion appeared from the spot, the podium hidden by the smoke.

The Apostles of Telos quickly cast magic to remove the smoke, but Yennekar’s hawk was already flying high in the sky.

Cutting through the sky, I hugged Yennekar tightly as we flew on the Hawk’s back.

The Apostles of Telos spread their wings as they took flight. With those gigantic wings of theirs, they could also fly through the sky. I thought they wouldn’t be able to close the distance quickly, but the Apostles were closing the gap much faster than I had expected.

“Yennekar!”

Since the sound of the winds and the flapping was so loud, we had to talk as if we were yelling.

“If we continue like this, we’ll get caught….! For now, lower the altitude!”

What did our altitude have to do with being pursued? Yennekar wanted to ask, but it was quicker to just look down.

An excellent flying ability that could even carry people. Such a spirit was extremely useful, but it would also consume a lot more magic power than normal spirits when it came to manifesting and maintaining it. A normal elementalist would have been completely exhausted just by maintaining flight for even a few minutes.

Of course, Yennekar was someone with an unbelievable magic power efficiency when it came to Elementalism. She was able to fly for several kilometers without any problems. We continued to fly for a while as our foreheads crashed against the wind.

“Just ten minutes ago, I was sitting blankly in front of Glockt Hall—!”

It must have been like a bolt out of the blue. And yet, Yennekar continued to focus as she clenched her teeth.

Six apostles flapped their wings as they cut through the sky. They started to shoot all sorts of elemental magic our way as we tried to dodge them.

She was barely avoiding the attacks, but there was a limit to how long she could keep it up.

Eventually, the beginner wind magicWind Bladehit the hawk’s back. The hawk we were riding on instantly reverted back to an element as it disappeared.

There was the refreshing feeling of floating in the sky for a bit, but shortly after gravity started to play its role again.

Flap. Flap. Flap.

The sound of our flapping collars.

While falling through the air, I quickly grabbed onto Velbrok’s Tooth Necklace.

Just as we were about to fall on the ground, Yennekar, who was holding my collar, pulled me into her arms.

As we fell together, she whispered in my ear.

“Ed, you’ll take care of the aftermath, right…?”

“What…?”

“I trust you Ed, so I’ll do it.”

What she took out of my pocket was… Glast’s Golden Phoenix Ring.

As Yennekar reached towards the sky with the ring clenched in her hand… the sky disappeared.

Although wings were all considered the same, there were in fact many different types.

From small insects, sparrows, bats… Eagles, pterosaurs, skeleton birds… Wings of all different shapes covered the entire world.

However, the one that boasted the most overwhelming majesty among them all was…

A whale.

It was a clear day, yet the sun didn’t fall on the school.

A huge shadow cast, darkness across the school.

Elemental spirits were diverse in terms of entities and types. However, there were also entities that could only exist for one specific element.

Elementalist called them ‘Ultimate spirits.’

Some even called them the original spirits… Among the spirits that corresponded with each element, those were the first that gained life.

The ultimate water spirit, Friede.

A gigantic whale, floating in the sky above the school, roared. It sounded like a magnificent horn.

Among the various spirits flying in the sky, it was the most majestic. It looked like a mothership, with many escort ships around it.

Even the Apostles of Telos that were chasing after us… could only look at it as if they were awestruck.

Snatch.

A wind spirit in the form of a pterosaur flew by as it snatched Yennekar and me up. As soon as I got on its soft back, the feeling of falling that weighed heavily on my body disappeared in an instant.

“Hey…! How much magic power did you draw out…?!”

“I don’t know… I’m going to be bedridden for a while…”

Staggering and struggling to stay up, Yennekar slowly stood up on the pterosaur’s back, holding her wand.

She didn’t even hear any other explanation behind it. It was too unreasonable of her to do that much just because she believed in me.

A deep sense of the debt that remained… it weighed on my chest.

The six apostles stopped chasing after a moment. It seemed to be too unexpected of a situation for them.

The school had to be in chaos already.

The ultimate water spirit Friede was considered a calamity that had killed two great heroes in mythology.

It was such a feat that killing the forcibly manifested Friede was considered one of the greatest achievements Archmage Glockt ever achieved. Its very existence was a means of horror in human history.

And right now, it was under Yennekar’s control. However, there was no saying how it felt towards the other people in the school.

The Apostles completely changed their expressions as they took formation, trying to jointly cast sacred magic. In that instant, they realized it as well.

It wasn’t going to end in a simple chase. We were someone they had to take seriously.

***

“Saint. There is something that only you can do.”

“You are someone who remembers everything that happens. You are one of the only people that understands the entire situation. So, while I try to stop the Holy Blue Dragon’s resurrection by whatever means necessary, Saint… Please try and pursue the Holy Father Eldane.”

As she got off the carriage, she saw the school’s cathedral, which was completely wrecked.

Clarice brought her knights with her as she walked into the open door of the cathedral.

There… standing around were the people that sent off the Apostles, waiting to hear of the news from them.

A student had attacked them, suddenly running away with Velbrok’s Tooth Necklace as if he knew the plans of the Religious Group. The actions he took were natural and impressive.

Afterwards, all sorts of elemental spirits began to cover the sky… Things were definitely strange.

Archbishop Verdio stood at the podium, giving instructions to the Knight Templars. Holy Father Eldane sat behind him, looking up at the sky. The sky far above the school was reflected in his eyes.

Most of the Religious Group’s actions were led by Archbishop Verdio.

Holy Father Eldane… He was a bystander that entrusted the judgment to him.

However, a bystander was no different than someone that took part. There was no such thing as moral superiority.

However, Clarice knew.

Holy Father Eldane wasn’t a helpless person. He had just become tired from the passage of time and the change in trends.

He was a man that struggled with keeping his faith and facing reality. Though, that weight gradually ended up leaning towards reality.

“S-Saint…?”

“Wh-What are you doing here…? No, things are a bit complicated now, so…”

The stained glass was broken, and chairs were scattered across the floor. The place could no longer be considered a chapel.

Clarice waved her hands towards the knights that tried to block her way, walking up to the podium.

“Saint Clarice.”

It was a crazy situation, yet he continued to thoroughly show his respect and honor in front of the Saint.

Verdio bowed his head as he greeted her, trying to tell her to wait off to the side because there was something he needed to take care of.

“We…”

“Sit down, Archbishop Verdio.”

Finally, she had reached it.

A small table above the podium. It was used for placing candlesticks and holy water vessels for worship, but… Clarice pushed it all to the side as she sat down.

Only then did Archbishop Verdio feel that something was off.

Clarice… She didn’t care that others were watching her.

All she thought about was the effort she put in to make it that far.

A man had died dozens of times. Despite time repeating over and over, he devoted himself to helping her until the very end. And he was the one that made it possible to reach the end of all of it.

The weight of the debt she felt towards him couldn’t be explained in words. She didn’t need to feel so indebted, but it was still obvious that she had received far too much from him.

A place no different than the top of Telos Religious Group.

The Holy Father, the Archbishop, and the Saint.

Sitting in front of them, Saint Clarice spoke softly towards Eldane.

“Holy Father Eldane.”

Eldane, who sat on a wooden chair behind the podium, continued to contemplate the situation without responding.

Still, Clarice looked up at the collapsed ceiling as she spoke.

“You know it as well. You will end up in constant agony. So… you can’t just stay as a bystander forever.”

“……”

“Archbishop Verdio is a cancer that is devouring the Religious Group.”

Murmurs began to spread through the cathedral. Verdio’s eyebrows narrowed sharply.

Before even asking what in the world she was talking about, Clarice answered him first.

“You must expel him.”