Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 220 Fog of the thousand illusions [2]

"....What do you think?"

Delilah looked up. Fay, sitting with her small legs dangling over the chair, leaned back and stared at Delilah.

Putting her pen down, Delilah tilted her head.

"Think about what?"

"About him."

There was nothing else that she needed to say for Delilah to understand.

By 'him' she was referring to Julien. Ever since he woke up again, she started to reveal real interest in him.

She had been interested in him before, but currently, her interest was at an all-time high.

"How did he do it...?"

Even now, Delilah could see Fay still thinking about him.

But it wasn't as though she didn't understand where Fay was coming from. Ever since waking up from his strange state... he had changed. It was almost as if he had become a completely different person.

Or at least, that was what Delilah thought at first.

'He hasn't changed. He's the same. It's just that he has no choice but to change.'

Such were the words Fay had told her the moment she came to visit Julien after waking up.

Delilah could still recall the somber and tense expression she wore on her face back then.

'I don't know what happened, but...'

Fay's hand was pressed against Julien's temple as she looked back to her.

'....I can't read him anymore. All I feel is an endless surge of emotions that will swallow me up if I dive deeper into his mind.'

"Delilah."

"....Hm."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Delilah looked towards Fay who was looking at her with her head tilted.

"What's wrong? You seem lost in your own thoughts."

"No, I was just thinking about the words you told me in the past."

"Which ones?"

"....The ones you told me after you checked up on him. About how you would be swallowed if you dove deeper into his mind."

"Ah, that."

Fay smiled helplessly.

"I really don't know what happened. The moment he woke up, I saw something that I'd never seen before."

Extending her hand forward, she looked at it.

"Even now, thinking back to that moment..."

Her hand started to tremble.

"All I feel is goosebumps."

Fay closed her eyes.

"His control over his emotions is still severely lacking, but his power and intensity... they are at a level that I can't gauge. He might even have surpassed me in that aspect."

"....."

Delilah listened in silence.

She wasn't too surprised by the revelation.

Thinking about the expression she had made back then, Delilah could more or less tell that Julien had reached an entirely new level of Emotive Magic.

But,

"It's a pity that the power is consuming him,"

Fay said while leaning back on the chair.

Delilah closed her eyes.

Indeed, Julien was being consumed by his own emotions. This was something that everyone who had been present could see.

At certain points, he'd start to display extremes for each emotion.

It took several days for him to completely stabilize, but even then, he was still struggling to keep himself from lashing out.

....It was for that reason that they didn't want him to attend the classes.

He was just too dangerous.

"Well, it's not like the situation is completely helpless."

Fay spoke while drumming her fingers over the armrest of the chair. Scratching her chin, she thought for a moment before saying,

"There's actually a special pill that he can consume in order to stabilize his condition. I wanted to request it for him, but you know..."

Fay scratched the side of her cheek, and Delilah nodded.

Just like her, she also didn't have a good relationship with the royal family. Her request would probably be rejected without a thought.

Especially since the pill was extremely expensive and rare.

There was only one way for Julien to acquire the pill.

Win the Four Empire Summit. Or at least, display enough talent to attract the attention of the Royal Family.

'It's possible.'

Delilah knew of Julien's capabilities.

If it was the current him, then...

"Actually, it's not like that is the only way that he can be cured."

Delilah's thoughts were abruptly cut short by Fay who was speaking to herself.

"It's not like he has to get the pill to be completely healed. There are other ways for him to suppress the overload of emotions, but they are going to take way too much time."

Listening from the side, Delilah tilted her head.

How come this was the first time she learned of this?

"What?"

As if she could read her thoughts, Fay frowned.

"You're thinking why I never mentioned it, right?"

"...."

"....It's because it's not something that he can do and will probably take a lot more time."

"I see."

"What? You don't believe me?"

Fay sat up.

Her demenour turned extremely serious.

"He needs to let go."

"....Let go?"

"Yes."

Fay nodded her head seriously.

"If he wants to heal the other way, he needs to let go of himself entirely."

***

It was an unexpected situation.

In one moment, everything was calm and in the next moment, the surroundings changed.

A dense fog covered the surroundings.

"What's going on?"

"Professor?"

"I can't see anything."

The cadets were naturally confused, but there wasn't much panic to begin with. Everyone was able to remain composed, and order was quickly regained.

Leading everyone was Kaelion who was quick to organize everyone.

"Make sure you hold the hand, or something, of the person next to you. It's so that we can be sure that we don't lose each other."

This situation, although unexpected, wasn't something that left him flustered.

He had been in far worse situations and was able to retain his cool because of it.

"Once everyone is holding a hand, I will shout a name to make sure that everyone is present."

Looking around, he held onto a hand with his left hand and reached out for another with his right hand.

"You..."

But his expression changed slightly when he noticed who the hand belonged to. Closing his eyes, he was about to curse silently, when he realized that his presence was a good thing.

'Right, he's also strong.'

In that case, he felt his burden lessen slightly.

"I will start with the lowest rank."

He looked around at the fog and shouted.

"Jeffrey!"

"...."

His words were met with no response.

Frowning, Kaelion shouted again.

"Jeffrey!"

"...."

But yet again, he was met with silence.

He waited a few more seconds before feeling his heart drop.

'Not good.'

He was just about to shout again when he blinked his eyes. For some reason, his left side felt light...

Just wha—

"!?"

Kaelion's expression twisted as he looked towards his left hand.

He was holding onto a hand, yes...

But it was a severed one.

Drip..! Drip.

Blood oozed from the stump, revealing the bone of the arm within. The grotesque sight made his stomach churn uncontrollably.

Turning his head hastily to look to his right side, he was relieved to see that there was no problem there.

"Whoever is close to me say something...!"

"...."

His words were met with silence.

"....It can't be."

Kaelion was still not panicked.

Looking around and seeing that there was no response, he closed his eyes and was quick to come to terms with the situation.

"We've been separated."

He turned to look towards Julien.

"Do you have any idea of what's going on?"

"I do not."

Julien answered with a shake of his head.

He also seemed confused by the situation, but there seemed no trace of panic in his expression. It was still as relaxed as Kaelion remembered.

....Or was it?

Looking closely, he could see his pupils shaking slightly.

No, not just his pupils.

His hand too.

'Just what in the...'

Xiu!

"....!"

Kaelion quickly ducked down.

There, a black head emerged from behind him, separating the fog away briefly as it reached out to grab onto the air.

Twisting his body, Kaelion pointed his finger at the hand where a small magic circle formed.

"Hieek—"

A scream echoed and a hand was severed.

"This..."

Staring at the hand, Kaelion's expression turned serious.

"....I wasn't able to detect it until the last moment."

He felt his heart grip with a certain anxiety. This had never happened to him before, and as he looked around, he realized that all of his senses had started to dull. Be it his vision, sense of smell, and hearing.

They had all been dulled to the point where he could hardly focus.

"Oh no."

Ba... Thump!

He started to hear the sound of his own heart.

It drummed loudly within his mind.

"What is going on?"

Despite everything, he was still able to force himself to keep calm. Taking a few deep breaths, he cast a small shield around him and Julien.

"That should stop the enemies from—!!"

Kaelion's expression changed dramatically.

As he turned his head to look at Julien, his blood ran cold. Instead of Julien, a gaunt woman with hollow black eyes and a skeletal frame stood there, gripping his hand. Her long white dress flowed like a shroud, adding to the eerieness of the situation.

"W-what...!?"

For the first time, he started to feel hints of true panic as he hastily let go of her hand.

Or at least tried.

She didn't let go.

"L-let go!"

He held his hand in her direction.

A multitude of magic circles formed right behind him as the mana surrounding the two started to become denser.

He was just about to unleash the spell when a cold, clammy hand shot out from behind, wrapping tightly around his neck.

"Akh...!"

Kaelion's eyes widened.

As he turned his head, his blood ran cold. Another woman had appeared, her lifeless eyes boring into him with a chilling intensity.

She too...

Was wearing the same white clothes as the girl before him.

Their clothing was tattered, but Kaelion could just faintly make out a golden insignia among the rags.

His curiosity was short-lived. Without warning, a cold hand shot out from behind him, clamping down on his mouth, silencing his breath with a grip of icy dread.

"Hmm...! Hmm!"

He wanted to shout, but the words couldn't leave his mouth.

A sudden sense of despair overtook his mind at that moment as his entire body started to grow numb.

The last thing he saw before his mind blacked out was an aged and sunken expression.

"...."

His world turned quiet shortly after that as he passed out.

Skrrr... Skrr...

Standing up, the women held onto his hands and dragged him away. Only for them to stop shortly after.

Crack! Crack!

A bone-chilling crack echoed through the air as the women's heads twisted unnaturally, snapping one hundred and eighty degrees. Their dead, vacant eyes locked onto a certain figure behind them.

As his hazel eyes scanned the group, Julien's eyes paused on Kaelion.

"So that's where he was..."

Quietly mumbling to himself, Julien's eyes started to twitch.

Then, staring at the women in front of him, he closed his eyes.

"Right..."

He raised his foot.

"I might as well try the new skill."

And pressed it against the ground.