Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 215 Was this how he did it? [2]

"Haaa… Haa…"

Kaelion felt his breath return. It all came in at once, and abruptly. The sensation was hard to describe and it felt as though someone had punched him in the chest.

Drip. Drip…!

Unknowingly, sweat trickled down the side of his face as he looked around him.

The noise returned, and before he knew it, a cadet with black hair and gray eyes was standing before him.

He seemed to be saying something to him, but he couldn't quite hear what he was saying.

No, rather…

He couldn't hear at all.

Besides the constant ringing in his ear and the sound of his own thoughts, he heard nothing.

'Who…?'

Kaelion did recall seeing him before.

In fact, he probably knew who he was.

It was just that…

'I can't…'

All he could think about was the cadet he had seen a few moments prior in the stands.

His body continued to shudder.

An uncontrollable, almost primal feeling dug its way into his mind, making it hard for him to think properly.

"Where…?"

"Where what?"

Kaelion blinked and looked at the gray-eyed cadet.

Finally, he could hear again.

And that was when he recalled the cadet in front of him.

'Leon was it…?'

Yes… he might know.

"That… cadet. Long hair, black hair. First year. Handsome…?"

"Uh?"

Kaelion could feel Leon look at him with a frown.

"What are you talking about?"

"….Do you really not know?"

"Know what?"

Leon's frown seemed to deepen, and Kaelion recalled all the mana that he had been channeling in the air.

'So he doesn't know…'

The sudden shift in his attitude confused Leon who seemed to be unable to understand what was going on.

Kaelion on the other hand turned around and headed back to the seats.

"I'm done."

"Uh…?!"

Be it Leon, and everyone else present, they all looked at Kaelion in shock.

Wasn't he the one who had just challenged everyone together?

What was up with the sudden change in attitude?

Leon stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait, what—"

But he stopped the moment he caught a glimpse of Kaelion's expression.

His face was pale, to the point where he looked sick. His shoulders were also trembling, and his eyes seemed unfocused.

He was a completely different person than he had been just a few moments prior.

"J-just what…?!"

Leon looked at the scene stunned.

It wasn't because of his state, but more like…

'Where have I seen this before?'

Because he felt like he had seen such a reaction before. And it didn't take long for Leon to figure out.

That scene he had seen before.

….It was none other than himself.

"Ah."

He let go of Kaelion's shoulder.

The moment he did, Kaelion returned without saying a single word.

"….."

Leon stared at his departing back without saying a single word.

Turning around, he headed back to where the others were seated. In particular, he could feel Aoife's gaze on him.

It was bearing holes through his chest.

With just a glance, he could tell what she wanted to say and he pursed his lips.

"…He doesn't want to fight anymore. No."

Leon stopped, turning his attention back to Kaelion who was sitting back in his seat.

He was surrounded by the other cadets but appeared to be in a state of his own.

That was when Leon finally spoke again.

"He can't fight anymore. Not in the state he's in."

"Not in the state he's in?"

It was Kiera who spoke, frowning from the side while chewing on a licorice stick.

It was something she had started doing recently. Apparently, it helped with her addiction.

"Yuck, I hate this."

But she also seemed to hate it at the same time.

Leon nodded his head and took a deep breath.

"I think…"

He paused, finding his chest growing heavy.

"….Julien is back."

Tak—

The licorice stick fell from Kiera's mouth while the area around him turned silent.

Leon didn't need to look to understand what sort of expressions they were making.

But he couldn't be bothered to think about them.

Seeing the state Kaelion was in, he swallowed his saliva.

'When…?'

When did he do that?

***

"I am a mighty Dragon!!!"

A loud voice echoed in the air. It bellowed throughout the entire room, covering every inch of it.

What came after it was a,

"Miao~"

"…..Stupid cat."

Owl-Mighty stood on top of the wooden table while coldly staring at the black cat roaring beneath.

"What did you call me!?"

"…..Stupid cat."

"I'll kill you!"

Hopping onto the wooden table of the room, the cat tried to attack the owl. Unfortunately, it was a futile attempt.

Flapping its wings, Owl-Mighty floated in the air and attacked with its beak, hitting the cat squarely at the top of its head.

"Miao!!!"

The cat flinched, holding onto its head.

Looking up, it cursed.

"Darn owl!"

"I'm a tree."

"….And I'm a dragon!"

"Heh."

"Damn Owl!!!!"

The cat jumped up in the air and tried to swing at Owl-Mighty, but it was all useless as Owl-Mighty easily avoided the attack and counter-attacked.

"Miao…!"

Bang—!

Falling on the ground, the cat lay on the floor for several seconds before it looked up with indignation.

"You…! If only I wasn't in this stupid form."

"….But you are."

Owl-Mighty stood back on the table while staring at the cat with cold disdain. It's gaze seemed to say, 'You? A Dragon?'

"Know your place, cat."

"I…!"

"Stop. Keep it quiet."

It was a certain voice that stopped the two of them from quarreling further.

The moment the voice sounded, the two of them stopped talking, and the cat got back on the ground before meekly walking towards the figure sitting in the middle with his eyes closed.

In his grasp was a black cube that was continuously changing shapes.

"That… human."

The cat's attitude was a stark contrast with how it had been with the owl.

It was a lot more meek, and all the previous arrogance it held was gone.

"About my name…"

"You don't like it?"

"Ah, that."

The cat didn't need to finish its sentence to make its intent clear.

Yes.

It didn't like its name.

"Too bad."

Julien coldly said while the cube in his hand continued to take different shapes.

"….!"

"I'm not changing your name. I'll think about changing your name after you repent for what you've done. I'm in this state because of you, Pebble."

"Human!!!"

The cat shouted in despair. Flicking its head, two piercing red-

yes met its gaze, and the cat noticed the corner of Owl-

Mighty's beak curl into a mocking smile.

"You darn Owl!!!"

The cat charged at the owl once more.

Staring at the interaction from the side, Julien lowered his head to stare at his hand which was faintly covered by a layer of mana.

"Die you owl!"

"I'm a tree."

"Akh…!"

In the background, he could hear the sound of Owl-Mighty and Pebble fighting.

Pebble was the Rock Dragon.

….After the gruesome experience, he had managed to subdue the Rock Dragon and forced it to submit to him.

Julien's memories of the time he had spent in the will's world were blank.

For his own safety, he had to seal all the memories of the event.

Every time he was brought back to that time, he'd start to lose his state of mind.

He was… just a thin thread away from insanity.

No, perhaps he had already gone insane.

But how could he know?

A lot of the time, mentally ill people didn't even know they were ill.

He could very well have already gone insane.

Not that it particularly mattered to Julien.

He was already insane, to begin with.

"Hehehe."

A laugh escaped his lips.

Rather quickly, he covered his mouth.

Drip…!

And that's when a tear fell. Staring at the tear that stained the wooden floor beneath him, Julien frowned and his chest started to boil.

He felt anger surge from deep within him.

"Calm down."

It was a certain voice that brought him out of that state, and he felt a cold touch over his shoulder.

Only then did his emotions subside and he closed his eyes.

"Thank you."

"Mhm."

Delilah walked past him and sat down on the chair of the room.

"Stop floating around you owl! Miao~"

"Koo!"

Looking at the spectacle on the side, Delilah turned her attention back to Julien.

"I'm amazed by the sight every time I see it. Who would've thought there was such usage to the bones?"

Julien remained quiet.

It had been over a week since he had awakened from the nightmare, and he had been unable to hide Owl-Mighty and the Dragon from Delilah who had sharp eyes.

In the end, he told everything to her. He, of course, omitted a few things, but she now understood what they were.

With that being said, he knew she wasn't here to admire the two of them.

And as expected, she got right to the point.

"Why did you do it?"

"…..Because I felt like it."

Julien didnt dodge the question and answered right away.

He had been told by Delilah to not interfere in the match or go meet the other cadets

There were mainly two reasons for such an order.

For one, Delilah didn't think his mind was stable enough for human interaction.

He was extremely sensitive to emotions in his current state. All it took was a certain trigger for him to be swallowed up by that emotion.

….It was for that reason that he wasn't allowed to meet with anyone.

But that wasn't the only reason Delilah didn't let him out.

The current Julien.

He was dangerous.

Too dangerous to be let out.

Even Delilah felt this way, and she was way stronger than him.

The current Julien, although lagging behind significantly compared to the other top cadets in tier as there had been no significant increases there, was far more dangerous than any other cadet.

Delilah wasn't sure what had happened during the months he was stuck fighting the will, but she knew that if it were to come down to it, he'd be able to beat anyone he faced.

Right now…

He truly embodied what the Black Star signified.

Power above all.

But…

It was an unstable power.

If not controlled properly, Delilah was afraid he'd break everyone on sight.

For that reason, she had to limit his exposure to the other cadets.

At least, until he was stable again.

Delilah closed her eyes and took a small breath.

"The exhibition match ended early because of your actions. We ended up winning. Leon managed to defeat their top two cadets alone."

"….He did?"

Julien looked up with a smile. It was a rare smile, and Delilah found it hard for her to get used to it.

The current Julien was simply too different than the Julien that she knew.

He was a lot more expressive, and his face was no longer blank.

And yet,

Delilah found it way harder for her to read him.

The changes were shocking, and Delilah found herself asking the same question over and over again.

'Just what level did he reach with his Emotive Magic in the past five months, and how did he do it?'

It was a question Delilah wanted to know the answer to.

'Perhaps, I can also… No.'

But she stopped herself each time.

Closing her eyes, she pushed such thoughts away.

"Get ready. We will be departing in a couple of days for Bremner. The two of us will go in advance."

Standing up, her figure started to fade.

"….Remember the words that I told you. Don't interact with the others until you're fully healed."

Such were her last words before she left.

Julien stared at her disappearing figure with a blank look.

Then, once she was fully gone, he raised his head to stare at the empty ceiling of the room.

"That… might be too late."

***

A/N : It really is a struggle to upload in china. Took over an hour to get the VPN and website working for upload.

If in the future chapter is late, it's because of this.