〈 Glast Subjugation (12) 〉
“You have to go straight in this direction. If you walk a little, you’ll find it, right?”
“Hmm~. The further we go, the more it leads in a darker direction.”
Lortel must do everything in his power to restrain and keep Elte in check.
I told him that he could go back to the store and do some work, but he quickly followed the group.
He seemed anxious for no reason. It happened all the time, but this time the direction was a little different.
Unlike the fiery gaze he always gave Jenica, Lortel’s strange gaze today was directed at Lucy.
For some reason, Lucy, who was following me while clutching my sleeve, seemed very uncomfortable… Lortel was exhausted and did not return to the store. Well, now that Elte escapes, there are no mercenaries to assist him. There wouldn’t be much anxiety since I would most likely be caught again before I could get off the island…
In the end, Yenika continued to guide with a somewhat liberated look on her face.
An astrological magic circle said to have been discovered in the northern forest by high-ranking spirits. I didn’t know how to disarm it right away, and I didn’t know its purpose in the first place, so I was heading towards the law camp that was said to have only been placed under surveillance. Even after monitoring for several days, there was no significant reaction, so it was judged that it was not that dangerous.
In the first place, if one was going to build as many as fifteen magic towers, it was necessary to draw astrological formations here and there around the temple. I didn’t pay much attention to it, thinking it was definitely a magic formation that Professor Glast had prepared in advance… but the problem was that not a single magic tower rose from inside the northern forest.
If the Beopjin had a purpose other than building a magic tower… I thought that Professor Glast might have other intentions.
Looking at the sky, many magic towers were cracked and collapsing.
Now that the Glast subjugation battle is over, Tailley and the others will be rescuing Ayla and making their final escape from the Magic Tower.
There is no need to delve further into Glast’s inner thoughts at this point, but there is no harm in being thorough…
Deep in the northern forest, where we arrived following Yenika’s guidance… there was a drawing of an astrological formation that was not very large but had a definite shape.
“There are signs that it was activated recently. I guess the spirits were so focused on the commotion at the school that they didn’t check it out.”
Yenika said that and started looking around the area near the temple. Even so, there was no way he could decipher the Aspect Beopjin so easily as there were still many incomprehensible areas.
“This is a movement magic. By using the magic power of the aspect, we have maximized the efficiency of the magic power consumed for imprinting. The magic efficiency is better than the already injected spirit formula, so it would be good to use it for escape in a crisis situation.”
Surprisingly, it was Lucy who explained in a calm tone.
I tilted my head as I looked at Lucy, who was still clutching my sleeve tightly.
“okay?”
“okay.”
And then he lets out a big yawn.
By the way… I knew what he was so dissatisfied with, so I was about to tell him to let go of his collar and talk slowly.
“There’s blood.”
Yenika discovered a strange trace.
The thick blood trail that came from the outskirts of the camp stretched towards the outskirts of the forest.
It was a sign of someone seriously injured walking out of the mobile camp and heading into the forest.
We exchanged glances and nodded once.
It goes without saying whose work this Beopjin engraved with Aspect magic is.
Close your eyes and think about the last scene of the final act of Act 2.
The end of Professor Glast, who touched a taboo in order to revive a great man who would realize his ideals for the advancement of the world.
His last appearance was as he committed suicide, covered in wounds and leaving behind an unknown will. I thought that was the end of Professor Glast, but he had left a way out.
Did he pretend to jump to his death and escape by manifesting an astrological formation in the air with his last remaining magical energy? If you just run away, you will be chased, so it is a wise choice.
I wonder if he’s planning to run away like this and cause something more… Considering that nothing much has happened since then, I don’t think there’s any need to intervene… Still, I wonder if I should at least check… That’s it
. I continued to worry and followed the blood trail. And when I found Professor Glast at the end, I realized why nothing much happened after that.
Bright moon late at night.
Professor Glast, who was sitting under an old tree and exhaling, was already in a dying state.
*
Torn faculty robe. Hair that was stuck to the blood. A haggard look. Dark red blood seeping into the surrounding dirt.
The wounds on the body… went beyond stab wounds and were completely pierced. Now, you have to make a fuss and escort the person, but that has already been decided. I was trying to stop the bleeding with the little magical power I had left, but I couldn’t expect any other effect other than slightly increasing my life span.
“Hoo.”
In a voice that made my blood boil, Professor Glast finally raised the corner of his mouth in interest.
“It must be curfew in the dormitory. What are students doing here?”
“Do you even say that in a situation like this?”
Jenica covered her mouth with both hands and her pupils were trembling, and Lortel also looked calm at first glance, but his eyes were narrowed. Of course, Lucy seemed to have no idea. In the meantime, the sleeves do not let go.
Yenika asked with a trembling voice.
“Here… what…”
“I was looking up at the moon.”
The shade of large old trees prevents surrounding vegetation from receiving sunlight.
Therefore, the area near such a huge tree is always empty with no other undergrowth.
That may be why the sky is clearly visible through the leaves.
“Did you plan this escape route in advance and fight until it got to that point?”
“Hehe… I tried until it worked, and when it didn’t work, I tried to run away, but it didn’t work out the way I wanted. I ended up fighting until it ended up like this… As expected, people don’t know it even if they know it.”
Professor Glast, who was completely devastated, quietly lowered his gaze and chuckled.
“Why? Is it funny?”
“No, it’s not funny.”
“That’s so strange. I think my appearance is funny.”
Professor Glast looked up at the night sky again and continued speaking in a self-deprecating tone.
“In the end, it seems like I knew that my plan would end up like this in some form or another. Well, I guess it was too reckless. I never thought I would be overpowered by a group of students…” “Who said
I knew? ”
“well.”
Professor Glast’s words were slurred, but that was enough for me to understand.
The back of Obel Forcius, the school’s top leader and principal, who must have been looking down at the teaching building from the Trix building, seems to flicker before my eyes.
Professor Glast looked at my expression and let out a small sigh. He must have sensed the fact that I had gained some insight as he continued speaking in an honest tone.
“I devoted dozens of years to studying at Sylvania, but I am in a situation where I am not able to receive any severance pay… I guess the reason I turned a blind eye for a while was in lieu of severance pay.”
“I don’t think it was the right thing to do. I’m not in a position to judge what others do.”
“Well, the fact that my relationship with Principal Obel has lasted so long… is strictly due to the circumstances between us. Even if that were the case, if I tried to cross the line, they would have come to stop me. Anyway, I am a needlessly cruel person. I would not serve as principal. It doesn’t suit me.”
What Obel, who had been the principal since Glast was a first-time professor, must have been thinking when he saw him greeting Glast with these words… I couldn’t guess.
Also, seeing Glast covered in blood, I didn’t feel like questioning him further.
“I took advantage of Principal Obel’s hesitation, but surprisingly, I don’t feel guilty.”
“Because we ended up in this situation.”
“Correct point, Ed Rosstaylor.”
Glast continued speaking in a sly tone, similar to when a question posed to a student during class was answered correctly.
“As expected, you were a better student than I thought. I guess I discovered it too late, which is uncharacteristic of me.”
“…Why did you kidnap me in the first place? Don’t I really need you in Professor Glast’s plans?”
Although there may have been some big or small surprises, the main flow went as expected.
What this means is that even if he hadn’t kidnapped me in the first place, there wouldn’t have been any setbacks in Professor Glast’s plans.
“I didn’t have time. The sensitivity was immediate and there was a lot of work to be done, so I just didn’t have the time to recruit and persuade you. As a result, I had no choice but to become violent.”
“…What do you mean?”
“You sent me a letter once, but didn’t you collapse from overwork and not be able to reply?”
On the day I received the letter from Lortel and Princess Fenia, a letter from Professor Glast was also sent from the academic department.
In the end, I collapsed after a ridiculous forced march… and in the end, I never had a chance to have a conversation with Professor Glast.
“I had a premonition too… After this incident, regardless of success or failure, I will no longer be able to set foot in this school.”
He lifted his blood-covered hand and with difficulty put it into his arms.
Then, with hands that seemed to be about to lose strength at any moment, he took out a key covered in blood.
“I probably won’t be able to respond to the seal. Since I left the seal there, it will fall back into the hands of the bachelor. Well, that’s something that can’t be helped. You escaped first in the first place.”
“Then that key…”
“It looks like you stole it from the soul library I had set up in a pretty flashy manner, but it was useless.”
Professor Glast gathered his last strength and threw a key into the grass in front of him.
“Did you really think that a few legendary recipes were the most valuable items in the library?”
“Are you saying there’s more?”
“There is a secret safe under the table that Banshee Rayna was guarding. Go slowly and open it later. The library is yours now anyway. You went on a wild rampage, but it’s a good thing. I’ll have to clean it all up again by myself, so I’m self-employed. is not it.”
I looked at Professor Glast with my eyes wide open.
Professor Glast’s secret laboratory is an unofficial facility that has not been made public even by academics. Well, it’s mostly a monster lab, and there’s almost no research material that I can use in my line to begin with… but at least that soul library was a different story.
Lucy has even drilled a direct hole on the outskirts of the forest, so as long as you install a ladder and hide the hole well, it becomes a secret hideout and treasure trove that you can enter at any time.
It’s a facility where a huge number of magic engineering supplies and manufacturing recipes can be found even if it’s only briefly stolen. Does this mean that I can slowly restore it and make it completely my own?
“Only get over it when an investigation comes out at the academic level.”
Lucy’s destruction turned out to be a benefit. The academic staff probably doesn’t know what’s buried inside the half-destroyed library.
I slowly walked up to Professor Glast… I carefully lifted the key.
“Why are you giving me this…?”
“Are you dissatisfied if I give it to you?”
“Aren’t you the type to place more value on talented students?”
Professor Glast smiled bitterly at those words.
“There are many talented students in Sylvania.”
I let out words that I thought could never come out of his mouth.
“I thought I would be scolded if I went to see my dead daughter like this.”
“…
” “Yes, I lived a somewhat buried life. When I was young, I often made romantic statements about not judging a student’s value based on talent or ability. It was a long time ago, but looking back now, it makes me really sad.”
Wiping away the flowing blood, Professor Glast mocked himself again.
“But it wasn’t wrong. At least, I was sure of that when my daughter was alive.”
I thought it would be cold when the blood drained, but it actually felt warm.
After saying those kind words, Professor Glast relaxed his body.
“But… the 17 years I spent with my daughter. It wasn’t that bad…”
“You were 17?”
“Yes… 17 years… If it’s long, then it’s long… If it’s short, it’s short…”
After talking to that point, Professor Glast coughed up blood. Yenika I was so startled that I trembled… but I couldn’t voice my concerns.
Even the mana to maintain the hemostasis had run out. In the first place, my body wasn’t in a state that could be resolved by stopping the bleeding. I had overloaded the mana of all aspects and completely lost my body. He’s reached his limit. He
probably doesn’t even have the energy left to speak anymore. Even then, the corners of his mouth aren’t lowered, which is truly excruciating.
He chuckled a few times and grinned, making a sound that made his blood boil.
“It’s so lonely to die like this. If you think of it as a punishment, it’s not a bad exchange compared to the crime committed.”
Professor Glast gently closed his eyes.
There was no one around him as he sat leaning against a zelkova tree and slowly reflected on his life.
He was worried about the student’s life anyway . He is the one who arbitrarily took over as collateral. No one can deny the fact that he is the one who ultimately went astray.
“I came to meet Assistant Professor Claire. They grumbled about this and that, but in the end, they acknowledged Professor Glast. I was surprised that Professor Glast cried a lot while saying that Professor Glast was the most scholarly person.”
Professor Glast did not respond, as if he did not even have the energy left to respond.
“Don’t you have a long relationship with Assistant Professor Claire? Completed 4 years of teaching while pursuing a degree and then 5 years. Professor, if I had stayed until the end of my retirement age, I would have known you for 17 years.”
“…”
The moon looked up through the leaves of the zelkova tree and it was warm.
“17 years… If it’s long, it’s long… If it’s short, it’s short. …”
Professor Glast’s eyes widened at those words. He
tried to raise his voice to say something, but… he no longer had any energy left.
He was mocking himself for dying in solitude, but that was only his perspective. It’s just a narrow thought.
Glast doesn’t have to think of himself as lonely. This death… definitely won’t be a cold death with no one to mourn.
In the first place, humans’ field of vision itself isn’t that wide. They only look back. When you walk, you don’t know what’s right next to you.
Even if you’re an authoritative scholar who’s read countless books in the field of magic, you don’t know what’s inside the people on the street. Even if it’s your own mind.
Supporting your eyelids, which are growing under weight, you can’t see through his vision. The last person to come in was Lucy.
What kind of expression did Lucy have on her face as she looked at him, clutching my forearm tightly?
Unfortunately, I couldn’t see it from my field of vision.
“Yeah… that’s wise…”
He said that and closed his eyes as if he was falling asleep. I could only infer it through the Glast.
Act 2 closes and the world slowly falls asleep.
The body lying comfortably in the zelkova tree with the moonlight falling on it… at first glance, it looks like it was in a deep sleep.
We waited like that for a while. I was just watching.
