“How much farther do we need to run, William?” A weary Julia asked as she struggled to catch her breath.

From the moment they entered the labyrinth that swallowed the entirety of quadrant three, she felt they did nothing but move from one location to the next. It was like they were running a marathon with a time limit.

“I can’t really say.” William replied as he took out his ID to check. “The map doesn’t really show the entire layout of the labyrinth, but it seems that it’s only a singular path towards the center.”

“Be careful, given how things have progressed, I would assume we would be encountering her next..” Mary said as she interjected in the conversation.

“The transfer student. Given her disposition, I still can’t believe she, of all people, would agree to this ridiculous charade. That man who managed to get her to his side is scary in more ways than one.” Sharn added.

William’s thoughts then returned to their first encounter with the man who introduced himself as Sylvester Clearsight. His sudden appearance towards the end of the last big battle drastically shifted the narrative of the festival.

A sudden entrance when everyone was down and weak, boisterous and inflammatory dialogue, and revelling in the fact that the remaining participants joined their hands for one last push. The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that they were merely dancing in the palm of his hands.

“I don’t care how many tricks that man has something up his sleeves.” Letisia then joined in all of a sudden, her voice still rife with frustration.

“I will win no matter what!” She declared.

William has started to view Letisia in a much more positive light the moment she showed her indomitable will. Her determination and drive to win is something he has come to respect.

Ironically, he feels like it was what he was missing for the most part.

Soon the group entered another large open and empty room, barely lit up by the sunlight that was allowed to pass through a gap on the roof.

And just like the previous room, there was someone waiting for their arrival. Even though they expected what would happen, it was still a shock to see just who it was who would face them next.

Their opponent stood there facing away, only turning towards their direction the moment their footsteps stopped. There was a certain unexplainable mystique and elegance in that simple and deliberate motion.

Therein she stood, with unparalleled beauty and elegance. Her Silver hair glistened under the limited rays of light along with her pale white skin, her crimson colored eyes pierced through their very souls leaving all their thoughts to bear.

It was the guest of honor of the academy, the girl from another world; Rossa Argentum.

William suddenly remembered his own encounter with Rossa. He tripped over a rock as he was being chased by Letisia, losing all balance and stumbled over. Unbeknownst to him Rossa was apparently in his path, fortunately she managed to avoid his trajectory.

This however seemed to have left a bad impression on the silver haired visitor as she gave him a cold glare, something that Letisia also experienced having been partly the reason for this accident.

Letisia too, remembered her brief encounter with Rossa and this little recounting of events made her tense up and be cautious.

While she hated being looked down upon by anyone else, for some reason she felt a large disparity between their status, so much so that during that time she bumped into her she could do nothing but bow her head.

Rossa meanwhile made no movements. she looked like she was only quietly observing the five people who had come to face her. An intense atmosphere now hangs inside the empty room as William’s ragtag group anxiously awaits Rossa’s next action.

After a few tense seconds, Rossa finally spoke.

“Before we begin I guess it would be polite for me to introduce myself first.” Rossa declared, speaking in a calm and formal tone.

“I am Rossa Argentum, daughter of the Argentum household from the Kingdom of Vanicares.” She said as he did a curtsy bow in front of everyone.

This gesture however prompted only confusion as the 5 people in front of Rossa did not know how to react, thankfully, Rossa didn’t let this awkward time last any longer.

Upon regaining her standing posture Rossa then asked a question.

“Who among you is the leader of your group?” She asked in her still formal sounding voice, prompting a response from Letisia.

“I am the leader of the representatives for the Clarentum Inquisitors, Letisia Nimfell.” She declared. “The rest of my team willingly left themselves behind to face one of you allies.”

“I see.” Rossa responded. “Now then, what about you four over there? Who is your leader?” She asked, her question now directed towards William and his friends.

William wanted to reply immediately but he felt a tremendous pressure over him as Rossa stared directly into his eyes. But, before he could speak, another voice answered for him.

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“Our leader is this guy, William Wright!” Mary suddenly declared as she pulled him closer. William wanted to complain but he was immediately cut off by two other voices.

“Yup, that kind man is our great leader! He helped me out a lot during my first days in Inanis Orbis since I kind of got lost.” The pink haired Julia added.

“He may look completely average and weak, but he is surprisingly reliable despite not being a natural born mage.” Sharn also declared as she gave an uncharacteristic smile.

With these kind words a spark seemed to have lit inside William’s heart. He felt just how much these girls believed in his abilities, and this realization finally gave him the final push that he needed.

However, he also knew of another reason for them to declare him as the leader.

From the information they received during their encounter with Artian, it seems the purpose here was to once again split them up.

“Well looks like I’m going to be facing the final boss with a former rival. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.” William said in a low voice as he smiled.

“I see, then Miss Letisia and Mr William, you two may pass through.” Rossa said as she stepped out of their way.

Letisia already expected this to happen and at this point she had given up on trying to rationalize the other team’s “strategy”.

She walked forward without saying a word leaving the other leader trailing behind.

As William slowly walked forward he turned his back and gave a glance towards the girls who stayed behind. The three of them simply gave him a smile and a few words of reassurance.

“Don’t worry about us William! Do you best! Victory is on your hands now!” Mary shouted as she gave him a thumbs up.

“You can do it William!” Julia exclaimed.

“Have faith in yourself!” Sharn too joined the voices of motivation.

William smiled and gave a reply in return.

“Thanks guys! I will win, I promise!” He shouted with confidence.

As the two figures disappeared into the exit, Rossa then once again stood in front of the girls who remained to face her, but something was off.

There was an ice cold glare present on her face causing the three girls to reel back a few steps. Rossa seemed to have caught on to her sudden change of expression and immediately reverted to her former demeanor.

“I apologize for that.” She suddenly spoke. “ The way you exchanged goodbyes with that man named William brought back some unpleasant memories.” She said.

“The three of you reminded me of a person that I deeply despise, while forcing me to look into a broken mirror.” She continued while smiling.

“At first, I really wanted to see more of the spells born from your world, but your actions made me think otherwise.” She said as she seemed to radiate an intense aura of anger.

“Normally, I wouldn’t let such petty feelings get to me as there is a certain elegance I am expected to uphold at all times. However, this is still your world and not mine, am I correct?” She said as mana started to condense around her, forming a barely visible blue aura.

“I always kept myself in check, always held back, as I blindly followed the path laid out before me. But now, those chains are gone. I am directionless, I am free.” Rossa said as she raised her hand up to gather mana.

“Luminous barrier!” She declared in a sullen tone as the three other women seemed to have been frozen in place, however her next actions seemed to puzzle the group more than scare them.

Rossa then repeated the same spell ten times, stacking ten defensive layers around her, at first they simply thought that she would hide inside this overly zealous defense and attack from within, but her next few words sent a chill down their spines.

“If I recall correctly, the headmaster said that the traitor barrier can protect people from a spell four chant spell correct?” Rossa said in a serious tone as she raised her hands.

“Shall we test it out?” Letting out a mischivous chuckle as before she continued.

“Oh blinding and righteous light of the goddess!” Rossa then started to chant her spell and paid no attention to the panic stricken faces of her opponents.

From inside the 10 layer barrier, she witnessed the desperate attempt of the three girls as they threw everything they had at her.

“Cleanse the world below from a dark taint.” Her chant continued to the next line as the three’s attacks continued to intensify.

“Purge all that is seen to be unclean.” Rossa has now reached the third line, with the barriers she created were barely dented by the unrelenting attacks from outside.

“And may the world be purified as you see fit.” The final line was declared without hindrance as the three felt a massive surge of mana from all over their surroundings.

“Leggera Epurazione!”

And then, there was light.

---

William and Letisia felt an unbelievable amount of mana suddenly surge from behind them. Letisia felt a cold sweat run down her neck as William forced himself not to look back. He knew all too well that his friends had been defeated in a one sided fight.

“I’m sorry everyone.” William silently lamented. “I promise to all of you, I will answer your expectations, I will win!” He declared from within his heart as he and Letisia finally entered the room where the box was.

But this time, there was something noticeably different.

It was pitch black, except for the abnormally bright pillar of light that was shining over the clock post that stood in the middle of the room, and yet, the box was nowhere in sight.

“What? That can’t be!” Letisia shouted as she took out her ID. Then all of a sudden, the light that was shining over the clock post disappeared as a beam of light was suddenly pointed towards them.

And from the darkness, a voice rang in their ears.

“Alas, the two clashing sides who once thought of each other as bitter rivals, joined forces to face a common foe.” The voice declared in a grand tone.

“What the?!” William shouted as he looked around trying to find the source of the voice.

“But the price they had to pay to reach the end was steep, as their allies and friends chose to sacrifice themselves in order to push them forward!”

“Where are you? Show yourself! I’ve had enough of your games!” Letisia screamed in anger.

“Will our heroes prevail? Or will the dastardly cunning and devilishly handsome villain snatch the final victory? Come one come all! I welcome you, ladies and gentlemen, to witness the conclusion to this thrilling tale!”

Suddenly, the pair could see two spotlights illuminating a figure from above.

“Yoohoo! Guys! Up here!” The figure exclaimed as he can be seen riding a unicycle supported by barely visible strings that floated in mid air.

A faint and barely visible mist hung over the dark room as the heroes faced their final opponent.