----------------------------------------
681. The Only Solution
“—as long as the barrier remains standing—”
“...there is nothing we can do.”
“We must trust in Headmaster Skyshredder.”
“But why are they here?”
Edithe overheard the susurration— she listened to the worried voices of the [Mages] of Mavos Academy, all of them speaking with the same level of confusion. The questions they asked were the same questions that lingered in the redhead’s mind. Like why were the Centinels here? What were they after? And how were they going to be defeated?
The last question’s answer seemed obvious after a fraction of a second of thought— they weren’t going to be defeated. This was an army of monsters that dwarfed anything the Human lands could even offer. But that was not all. The number of Elite Ranked threats that joined the swarm of Centinels was probably in the hundreds, more than the total number of Elite Ranked Humans combined.
And that was not to mention the presence of the Matriarch Centinel of the Bloodied Gulf too.
So fighting back against these monsters was a ridiculous notion. It should not have even been considered. That was why Edithe stormed her way through the Tower of Truth of Mavos Academy, in search of Headmaster Clayton Skyshredder, as Faith El and the Salvos clone followed in tow.
“Wait up, Edithe—”
Faith called out. Meanwhile, the Salvos clone happily skipped behind the two women, drawing the attention of a handful of [Mages]. They gaped at the Salvos clone, some pointing and whispering her way. But she just waved back at them.
Edithe marched on. Because there was only one thing that could be done right now.
“Excuse me—”
She called out as she reached the office of the Headmaster of Mavos Academy. She swung the door open, before pausing as she was met by not the man she was looking for.
Instead, a lady with glasses stood there, facing Edithe with narrowed eyes.
“And who might you be?”
“I—”
Edithe started. And Faith finally caught up.
“You still haven’t told us your plan, Edithe. You can’t just run off without us!”
The Fallen Queen of the Elutra Kingdom exclaimed, reaching Edithe’s side. The lady with glasses standing inside of the room eyed them suspiciously.
“What do you two want?”
“Sorry for the intrusion, my name is Edithe Dawnrise—”
Edithe spoke up quickly, before shaking her head.
“And we’re looking for Headmaster Skyshredder. Do you know where he could be?”
The lady with glasses huffed and adjusted her glasses.
“Clayton is not present here right now. But I am his [Secretary], Marie Schofen. If you have a message you’d like to leave him, I could forward it to him for you.”
“Mavos Academy could soon be destroyed if we don’t do something now. I need to speak with him— I have a plan that can save us all.”
Edithe spoke seriously, meeting Marie’s gaze. But the [Secretary] just shook her head.
“We had a meeting with every significant member of the faculty, and not a single one of them were able to offer us a substantive solution to our problem. Everything from teleporting out of the school to leading the Centinels away from us. None of them will work. So why would a random girl like you be able to help us?”
“Because—”
Edithe opened her mouth. But then the Salvos clone finally caught up. She peered into the room curiously, looking around, her presence immediately drawing Marie Schofen’s attention. The Salvos clone just waved cheerfully as the [Secretary] frowned.
“That’s… Salvos? No— an apparition of her?”
“That’s me!”
The Salvos clone exclaimed, yet somehow still spoke in a soft voice. Edithe shook her head as she corrected Marie.
“Not just an apparition, but a clone.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“And what is a clone of Salvos doing with you?”
The [Secretary] asked curiously. Edithe glanced over at the Salvos clone, before meeting Faith’s gaze. The two women nodded at each other, then faced Marie confidently.
“I am Edithe Dawnrise. And this is Queen Faith El of Elutra. We are here to answer Mavos Academy’s call for aid.”
That made the [Secretary] furrow her brows. After a moment of consideration, she finally sighed and nodded.
“To think someone actually answered that… very well, I shall lead you to Headmaster Skyshredder. I am also quite curious to hear what you have to say.”
And Edithe smiled at that.
“Thank you.”
----------------------------------------
“Hand yourself over to the Matriarch?”
Oriur repeated after Centina as he stared in disbelief. Novis and Bellum exchanged a glance, confused at what that entailed.
“So what happen?”
“Will be ok?”
Novis and Bellum asked with round eyes. But Oriur gritted his teeth and shook his head.
“No, Ms Centina will not be alright. The Matriarch will kill her. This is a terrible plan!”
“Oriur…”
Centina pursed her lips. Or at the very least, her illusion did.
“This is the only way. Even if we flee by teleporting out of Mavos Academy, the Matriarch of the Bloodied Gulf will only follow us. Until she gets her hands on me. Because of what I have done.”
“But can’t we do something else about it?”
Oriur exclaimed. He glanced back helplessly to his siblings, before his gaze drifted towards Rachel. She was standing towards the back, also with a wide-eyed look on her face.
“Don’t you think we’re being too hasty? Like, can’t we just teleport everyone within the barrier of the school to somewhere safe?”
Oriur suggest as she gestured helplessly around himself. But it was Headmaster Clayton Skyshredder who spoke up, shaking his head.
“That is not possible. The barrier at its current state prevents teleportations from either the outside or the inside. We will need to reduce it down to the sixth layer to even allow individual teleportations from a handful of [Mages]. To teleport such a large mass of individuals, the barrier will have to be reduced to five layers. And that will collapse under the weight of such a massive swarm of Centinels continuously tearing at the barrier.”
The Headmaster of Mavos Academy explained as he wore a grim look on his face. Oriur clenched his jaw.
“So what if we flee? What if Centina escapes somewhere the Matriarch can’t reach her? If we fly high enough—”
“There are some [Evolved Centinels] who can fly.”
Centina cut him off, before lowering head her.
“There is nothing we can do.”
“But that can’t be true, right?”
Oriur asked, before looking with a pained look towards Rachel. It was evident from the face he wore that he wanted her to back him up.
“Right?”
Rachel shifted her feet uncomfortably, then she piped up in a meek voice.
“Could we maybe barter with the Centinel Matriarch?”
Oriur blinked when he heard that. Clayton’s brows snapped together when he heard that. Even Novs and Bellum could only stare in disbelief.
Kron, who was hiding in the corner, shrank back at that.
“You crazy?”
She exclaimed. Rachel cocked her head.
“What?”
The young girl didn’t seem to understand what she suggested. And Centina just sighed.
“The Matriarch is not reasonable. She may be more intelligent than an ordinary Centinel, but at the end of the day, she is still a Centinel. Just like the rest of them.”
“But you are a Centinel too, and you’re reasonable!”
Rachel tried to protest. But nobody wanted to hear it. Even Oriur thought it was ridiculous. Clayton turned to Centina as he wore a morose look on his face.
“I shall reveal the truth of why the Matriarch Centinel is here once Centina turns herself over, and I shall step down as Headmaster of Mavos Academy.”
Oriur glanced between them as he just gaped. Someone needed to say something— do something. This was madness. It was rash. It couldn’t be happening.
Centina had been the one to raise him after Salvos had left to the Netherworld. Well, it wasn’t Centina alone. But still, she was like an aunt to Oriur. He couldn’t let her do this.
The baby Wyvern— no, juvenile Wyvern— looked up at the only figure who hadn’t spoken just yet. Willy. The [Will O’ Wisp]. And a Grand Spirit.
“Uncle Willy…”
Oriur pleaded as Novis and Bellum also faced the [Will O’ Wisp]. But his flames flickered as he said nothing. Centina gave a melancholic smile.
“I understand you don’t want this, Oriur. I don’t want it too. But this is what’s necessary.”
Raising her head, she faced the ceiling as she closed her eyes. She placed a hand on her chest and spoke softly.
“At the very least, for these last few years, I was—”
Centina started. But then the back door swung open as a group of figures entered the room. It was Marie Schofen— she was Clayton’s [Secretary] who almost killed Oriur. But after an explanation of things from the Headmaster since then, she was now aware of what was going on up here— how it had become a safe haven for intelligent monsters.
But she wasn’t alone. She was accompanied by three women. The first two were a pair of familiar-looking Human women. And the third was…
Rachel perked up when she caught a glimpse of the flaming. Novis, Bellum and Oriur also momentarily stared in shock.
“That’s—”
Oriur’s jaw dropped. Rachel whispered.
“Salvos?”
The Salvos clone tilted her head at them. But the redhead woman stepped forward as Marie Schofen spoke up.
“Apologies for the interruption, Headmaster. But Edithe Dawnrise has arrived to offer us her aid, and she claims to have a solution to deal with our Centinel-problem.”
“Edithe Dawnrise?”
Clayton frowned when he looked at her. He gave her a quizzical look.
“And what is your solution to our predicament?”
“It is simple—”
Edithe started as she came to a halt before them all.
“We shall ask for aid from the Spirit Lord.”
And Willy’s flames flickered when he heard that as everyone else just blinked.