Chapter 235: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 235
“What in the world…!”
“This is bad...”
Amid the gathered Astra extermination squad, voices of confusion arose.
A raging beast, scattering flames.
The witch, thought to be dead, had risen again, driving the beast away.
Though the series of events that had transpired in such a short time were shocking enough, something else was causing them even greater concern.
“Lady Sylvia has disappeared! The witch, too...!”
“Could it be that Lady Sylvia went with the witch...?”
Immediately after the blinding flash that had momentarily blinded them, Sylvia, who had been by their side, and the witch were both gone.
That was why they were so alarmed.
It was already a state of emergency with Sylvia having come to such a dangerous place, but to have vanished along with the witch was even more distressing.
The group, briefly thrown into panic, soon regained their composure and quickly began thinking of ways to find Sylvia.
“Elder! If the young lady went with the witch, we should be able to track their location!”
“I’m already checking. As for the witch’s location...”
The First Elder, checking the magic tool that tracked the witch’s location, confirmed the direction and let out a low sigh.
“Huh... of all places.”
“Don’t tell me Lady Sylvia went deeper into the forest?!”
Someone shouted in horror.
The place Sylvia had headed toward was further north, into the burnt forest.
That forest, once the homeland of the elves, had been scorched by the Witch of Wrath 500 years ago, and ever since then, it had become a demonic land filled with beasts of rage.
When an expedition had been attempted years ago, many heroes, including the former commander and vice-commander of the 4th Division, had died, and the forest was declared forbidden. That such a dangerous place was where Sylvia had gone...
The First Elder’s expression hardened for a moment as bad thoughts crossed his mind, but he bit his lip and muttered.
“...She’ll be fine. You saw it earlier, didn’t you? The beast of wrath seemed to be following that witch. If the witch truly has friendly intentions toward Sylvia, like she claimed, then as long as Sylvia is with her, she won’t be harmed.”
“...Are you sure she’ll be alright?”
“There’s no choice but to believe that for now.”
If there was any silver lining, it was that the most dangerous entity in the forest, the beast in the form of a giant phoenix, known as the Bird of the End, appeared to be listening to the witch.
But even so, the current situation was far from ideal.
Sylvia was an irreplaceable symbol for Astra.
They couldn’t allow the last star of Astra in this era to fade away, so they had a duty and an obligation to ensure her safety, no matter the cost.
“Regardless, we’ll now head into the forest to find Sylvia.”
With that, the First Elder commanded the extermination squad to advance into the forest.
These soldiers had already resigned themselves to death when they set out, so there was no hesitation in heading toward an even more dangerous place now.
“As of this moment, the mission is changing. The top priority is rescuing Sylvia. We’ll deal with the witch after that. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
The First Elder, standing at the front, spoke in a determined voice.
“Then let’s go. We’re going to protect our star.”
And so, the Astra extermination squad, now turned into a rescue team, took their first steps toward their old homeland.
*
While the Astra squad entered the forest, full of determination, Beatrice, watching them from a distance, curled her lips into a smile and muttered.
“How amusing. So weak and yet so arrogant.”
Did they even know why they were still alive?
Beatrice scoffed at the elves of Astra as she watched them.
The beasts of wrath that roamed that forest—what kind of creatures were they?
Much like Evangeline, who tried to burn the whole world down 500 years ago in revenge, they were always burning with rage.
Their ancestors, who had once been so powerful, had ultimately been forced to abandon the forest in the face of Evangeline and the power of those beasts. So what could these weaker descendants hope to achieve by acting so brazen?
Normally, the moment they stepped into the forest, they would have been burned to nothing, not even bones left behind.
But the only reason they were still alive was for one reason alone.
The master of the beasts didn’t want them to be harmed.
Beatrice could feel it.
When Scarlet had been injured, the beasts in the forest had looked ready to storm out at any moment. But now, they were holding back their rage and retreating.
They were even clearing out any other beasts in the area that might harm the intruders, just in case they accidentally hurt them and caused their master grief.
It was truly a strange sight.
Scarlet Evande... Was this particular incarnation of Eva unusually unique?
As Beatrice briefly recalled the scene she had just witnessed, her expression grew curious as she muttered,
“No... Maybe not.”
Beatrice understood.
Eva who had driven the beasts back just now.
The look in her eyes before she left... Those were not Scarlet’s eyes but Evangeline’s.
And that made it all the more intriguing.
Despite being aware of Beatrice’s presence, Evangeline hadn’t attacked. Even the words she spoke earlier...
“Regretting hurting people, huh...?”
Beatrice, having overheard the conversation between Evangeline and the beasts through her magical senses, felt a strange emotion stir within her as she murmured to herself.
She had always thought Evangeline acted purely out of vengeance against the world. But to think she had such thoughts...
It was new knowledge, but somehow, it didn’t seem all that strange.
Those Beatrice called Eva were, at their core, always fond of people.
In this incarnation, in the previous one, and even the one before that.
Briefly reminiscing about memories of the past, Beatrice closed her eyes and muttered again.
“Well, anyway, that’s not what’s important right now.”
While the past Evas were an interesting topic, Beatrice’s focus wasn’t on that right now.
Something different had happened with this Eva.
That was what mattered.
In the past, whenever Eva found themselves in a crisis, they were always alone.
Whenever they were faced with situations they couldn’t handle alone, no one ever stepped in to help.
She had thought it would be the same this time.
When she saw Scarlet’s neck being sliced, she thought once again, “So it ends like this.”
But then, Sylvia appeared.
Her arrival had changed everything.
How would her presence affect this Eva?
“Will I see something different this time?”
Muttering with hope for something to break the monotony of this dull world, Beatrice watched with anticipation.
*
I rushed out because it looked dangerous this time, but I won’t be able to help like this for a while.
Given how long I’ve been suffering, I need some time to rest too.
...It seems I’m nearing my limit.
I’ll leave it to you again, so please take better care of your body.
Okay?
Scarlet Evande.
*
...
...
...
I vaguely felt like I could hear someone’s voice.
What was it? It felt like I’d just heard something important...
As if I’d forgotten something I mustn’t forget, I tried to recall it, focusing my mind.
“Ah...”
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through the back of my neck.
Thanks to that pain, the memories came flooding back vividly.
The feeling of the blade digging into my neck.
My memory cut off right as my neck was slashed.
...Could it be, I died?
...
When I forced my eyes open, everything was pitch black around me.
Was this the afterlife I had only heard about?
As I was thinking that,
“Oh...! Scarlet, you’re awake!”
Light poured in, like a door opening in the darkness, and Sylvia appeared through it.
She rushed in, muttering nervously as she checked my condition, and I blankly asked her,
“...Where are we?”
“Oh, we’re in the middle of the forest. I figured we needed to hide somewhere where we wouldn’t be easily spotted, and this seemed like the best place. The trees block the view pretty well.”
Looking past the door-like opening Sylvia had come through, I could see the charred remains of dead trees in the dark forest outside.
As I glanced out, Sylvia gave me an awkward smile and murmured,
“I’m sorry, Scarlet. This must be uncomfortable, right? I couldn’t just leave you lying in the middle of the forest, so I carved out a little hideout inside the trees, but it’s my first time doing something like this, so the result’s a bit rough.”
Sylvia continued to explain, but her words didn’t really sink in.
My head was spinning, overwhelmed by the situation.
So, I hadn’t died, and Sylvia had saved me and brought me here?
Well, it was good that I had survived.
But that wasn’t the most important thing right now. I needed to ask.
“...Why.”
Why?
Sylvia looked at me intently, as if waiting for me to continue, as if I had something to say.
Her casual gaze made me feel like I was going to explode with frustration as I shouted,
“Why did you come here, you idiot!!”
ðŸ˜
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