Doggone Academy
Chapter 76 The Blood-stained Entrance Ceremony (11)

Knights, scholars, nobles, merchants, and other prominent figures each took to the stage to deliver their congratulatory speeches.

However, the Duchess did not ascend the platform. She had her envoy convey a brief congratulation instead.

She did not seek the attention of the people. She believed the focus of the people’s attention should rightfully be on the incoming students.

Though she sat with graceful composure, one could surmise that her inner thoughts were tangled in complexity.

Judging from her current circumstances, having been pushed into Eternia under her father’s coercion, it was almost certain.

There was a time when she had intensely desired to enroll at Eternia.

To enter as a student of Eternia, disregarding her status as a Duchess, was a risky venture with considerable danger, and her family had vehemently opposed it for all sorts of reasons.

Further complicated by hereditary illness griping her, and after forming an unfortunate bond with a magician teaching at Eternia, she completely abandoned her aspirations.

Since then, Eternia had become for Vivi an object of both love and hate.

Therefore, one could easily deduce Vivi’s state of mind without delving into inquiries.

And based on the search for the magician’s disciple, it was clear the elegant figure harbored venom within.

Gerald approached Vivi with a heavy heart to report.

“Miss, the Grand Magician’s disciple is not listed among the awardees.”

Vivi did not turn her head to Gerald, lost in thought.

“…Are you certain?”

“I am certain. That student finished the exams at mid-tier or possibly even lower, I’m told.”

A faint smile crept across Vivi’s lips.

The witch’s disciple would hold no glory—that thought seemed to comfort her.

“Quite different from her haughty speech. The disciple she painstakingly chose for a lifetime ended up in such disgrace. It’s their own doing.”

“…”

“After the ceremony, bring them before me. I would like to at least see their face.”

The intention to meet was certainly not born out of kindness.

Gerald moistened his dry lips with his tongue, looking somewhat troubled as he spoke.

“Miss, about that student named Damian… it appears he hasn’t attended the ceremony.”

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“Nobody seems to have any association with him, and no one knows of his whereabouts. We’ve sent people to inquire around, but there’s been no news so far.”

“A new student didn’t attend the entrance ceremony?”

“That’s correct, Miss.”

“Impertinence seems to run in both master and disciple. It seems rather clear. They are not confident in themselves. No need to search any further. We don’t have the time to waste on cowards.”

“Understood.”

“And… please deliver a separate invitation for the banquet to the House of Varienne. No matter how noble Varienne might be, they wouldn’t so lightly disregard the invitation of the Gaius family.”

“I firmly believe Lord Varienne will happily accept the invitation.”

“If I return empty-handed, father will have endless reprimands. Even if Varienne acts a bit haughty, coax him appropriately and bring him. Varienne is just the type of man father would approve—strong, brave, and a man who has proven his worth by his actions.”

“Your insights are most apt. One would be hard-pressed to find anyone more valorous than Lord Varienne even if they search the entire continent.”

Vivi Gaius chuckled softly.

“Though I have no personal affection for him… I do think such a heroic figure deserves ample recognition. That way, the cowards might learn something from watching.”

“…”

***

During the ritual, Silveryn did not move an inch and kept watch over its progression.

Priest Price’s expression was grim. Other priests also began to sweat profusely.

As an hour passed, one by one, the flames around the stone altar in the magic braziers were snuffed out. Another priest hurried to reignite them, but they couldn’t sustain and were extinguished once again.

Then the light from the Rosenthal Cube and the runes began to fade away like dying fireflies, growing dimmer and dimmer.

Silveryn’s gaze wavered as she watched.

Things were going awry.

The reactions of the priests were unusual as if they had never experienced such a situation before.

Finally, all the lights disappeared, and the grand sanctuary was enveloped in pitch darkness.

The ritual seemed to have ended, but none of the priests were able to move or utter a word.

Unable to stand it any longer, Silveryn forced a flame into the brazier.

Priest Price’s face had turned ashen.

He stood with his mouth agape, futilely scanning the runes as if he had lost his spirit.

Among the hundreds of thousands of runes, not even one responded to the light.

Sensing something was wrong, Silveryn strode up to Price.

“What is it?”

“…”

When Price did not answer, Silveryn grabbed him fiercely by the collar and shouted,

“Speak, what’s going on!”

Price avoided her gaze. He was hesitant to speak to Silveryn.

“I’m aware something’s wrong, so tell me what it is!”

“It’s not just something wrong…”

“Speak.”

“None of the runes are reacting. There’s just emptiness. The child’s star… it doesn’t exist in this world. It belongs to no constellation.”

“What does that mean?”

“…”

Silveryn glared sharp as an axe, insisting.

“Just tell me, I’ll handle whatever it is.”

Price’s face contorted as if conveying the message was excruciatingly painful.

“It means, it means… the child has been forsaken by the gods. That child is… long dead.”

Silveryn’s grip on his collar slackened at the revelation.

“…What?”

***

“Do you know… Zverev?”

“Of course. He offered me great assistance. And he’s still with me now.”

“…!”

“Say hello, to Zverev who helped with your academy entrance.”

The dark mage gestured as if on a theatrical stage and anticipated someone’s arrival. Then, a pair of golden eyes pierced the mist.

At first, Damian thought the figure was small, but he was mistaken.

It was walking on all fours. Not a human but a ghoul.

Broken glasses, a shirt reduced to tatters and a gruesome color. The ghoul bore remnants of its human past.

Was that, Zverev?

Damian’s heart lurched.

Zverev, a ghoul, the griffin potion. Everything was entwined with the dark mage. Too much was arriving too suddenly, and it was all too much to grasp.

“Regrettably, that potion is not efficient for humans. It’s better suited for ghouls.”

Following that, countless eyes glinted along the horizon within the mist.

Their number was so immense that they defied count. It was fair to say the labyrinth had been taken over by ghouls.

There was no winning to be seen.

Everything was telling Damian to run. The necklace, the bracelet, the shattered potion bottles, Zverev, Ella, Silveryn, and even the librarians now dead…

If he ran with all his might, maybe he could preserve just a breath of life.

But Damian did not flee. He couldn’t.

Memories of Liza imposed themselves obsessively, and thorns embedded in his soul steadied his legs like stakes.

The nightmare of falling off a cliff devoured his consciousness like quicksand.

He shut his eyes and shook his head, trying to cast off the memory, but to no avail.

Liza, reaching out to him as he fell. He met death impotently, and Liza was left alone.

And he failed to protect anything.

Taking a deep breath, Damian gazed skyward.

The wraiths were tightening their circle around him.

If Damian begged for his life and fled, Trisha would be left alone to face the wraiths, the ghouls, and the dark mage.

Staying as an entity that protected nothing would mean another kind of death for Damian.

He couldn’t run away.

Annoyed, Damian ripped off the ringing necklace and discarded it aside.

He then unfastened the potion pouch from his waist and pierced a hole in the bottom with a shard of glass.

Squeezing the pouch, he poured all the remaining liquid into his mouth, forcing it down.

He crunched on the glass shards; his tongue and esophagus felt like they were being torn apart.

Fighting the wraiths, having his insides punctured, drying up from the leeches, being torn apart by ghouls—it was all terrifying without exception.

But an anger so boiling it seemed to stew his very soul neutralized all that fear.

The potion began to circulate in Damian’s blood, and his eyes radiated a golden light.

The atmosphere of mist surrounding him changed. Following the magical pressure around Damian, vapor cascaded like a waterfall, settling low on the ground.

The leeches climbing up his shoe and calf couldn’t withstand the powerful magical pressure and exploded. Following that, all the leeches writhing on the ground detonated.

The sword of light resonated with Damian’s soul, crying out stronger than ever before.

It urged him to fight with everything he had.

As if he had been born for this very moment.

Damian was not in the labyrinth; he was standing atop the cliff once again, facing the specters of his past.

“As long as I draw breath…”

A blinding radiance burst forth from Damian’s hand.

“You won’t get what you want.”

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