Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 333 The Fall of Prista

It ignites the darkness within others, amplifies their already limited negative emotions and malice to an unlimited extent, and then unleashes them.

This appears to be a glimpse of the abilities currently being displayed by the leader of the Darkin, the Wanderer.

These abilities were something the Goddess of Bath had never seen in the "Star Pattern" game. Or rather, when a boss uses a wide-area debuff skill on the battlefield, players generally only think about how to avoid or counter it. They don't wonder how the opponent did it, or what the principles and logic behind the skill's existence in the game world are.

Well, that's true.
The goddess of bathing felt fortunate that Ritas wasn't there, otherwise she would have been criticized for not knowing anything.

"So, as a Darkin Rogue, I was attacked by strangers from an organization I didn't know, and ended up in this strange place?"

"I'm talking," Xia Luoluo said, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, you could say that. But I have a feeling that your attack wasn't just because of bad luck. It's just a feeling, though. How should I put it? Even if the reason you got involved was because the three of you Elsons were close and always hanging out together, and you were close by at the time, once you came in, it was just Millie and me. The three of you Elsons disappeared without a trace, and if nothing unexpected happened, you should all be under tight control like me. Is it possible that this attack wasn't just targeting Little Ri, but all of the 'Elsons'?"

Still not the goddess of bathing in court, she guessed based on her intuition.

"That makes some sense, but not much. Because Elson is an extremely powerful family in the West, this is definitely targeting 'Elson.' Even if it's just one block, there would be more than three people coming in."

Xia Luoluo shook her head and said.

Some members of the Elson family are quite prolific. For example, her grandfather had seventeen recorded children, not to mention the countless illegitimate offspring. Moreover, unlike some noble families in the kingdom, the Elson family doesn't reclaim the "Elson" surname when it splits into branches. Therefore, over the years, the surname Elson isn't particularly rare in the Western Regions. You might even find a street vendor named Elson.

"So, do you three Elsons have any common characteristics that make you stand out from the other Elsons?"

"What's so special about it, like we're both mages?"

With her chest slightly puffed out, Xia Luoluo spoke with a touch of pride.

"."

The goddess of bathing was too lazy to correct Xia Luoluo's fact that she had not yet obtained the formal qualification of a mage.

Even if Xia Luoluo could be considered a mage, the "Mage Elson Elimination Plan" still sounds rather abstract.

So it really was just a coincidence?

Still finding something bothering her, the goddess tilted her head and turned her gaze toward Millie, who was deep in thought.

Millie, is something on your mind?

"what"

Called by the goddess of bathing, Millie snapped out of her reverie.

"I wouldn't say I've figured anything out. I just understand what that wanderer's purpose was during the academy exchange meeting. After all, she just made Melcy's power go berserk, which was purely to cause trouble for others. I feel like you should just take what she said with a grain of salt. Her real purpose was probably to control Melcy by making her go berserk, just like she controlled Miss Charlotte."

"Oh, that makes sense. So, the true power of the Wanderers is actually to control others by inciting their darkness?"

"Hmm! Then there seems to be some clues about her manipulating Miss Xia Luoluo to attack the professor. When Miss Xia Luoluo in that area had a conflict with the professor, the darkness in her heart would inevitably surface, making it easier for the Wanderer's power to take advantage of the situation. In fact, the Wanderer's manipulation of Miss Xia Luoluo to attack the professor might even be an attempt to make Miss Xia Luoluo commit an irreparable mistake, allowing the darkness in her heart to accumulate and solidify, in order to ultimately achieve complete control!"

Listening to Millie's words, the Goddess of Bath suddenly had a very strange feeling.

A flash of inspiration?
No, it goes far beyond that level.

It was as if all the circuits in my brain had become clear, and everything I was thinking about became exceptionally clear and distinct. Many things that were previously shrouded in mist suddenly became concrete.

"Wait a minute. Perhaps the Wanderer's goal is not just to control Charlotte. She may want to control more things through Charlotte."

"More things?"

"Little Li...Little Little Li said it. This world, as a created entity, is filled with many contradictions. Therefore, there may be different wills vying for power!"

Millie, who had initially sensed a sudden change in the atmosphere surrounding the goddess of the bath, didn't suspect anything further after hearing Ritas's name. She simply followed the goddess's words and pondered the situation.

"So, that's what the Wanderers really want to control."

Carrier pigeon!

Millie suddenly had her answer.

In the following time, the goddess of bathing began to guide and organize the various things the two had seen and experienced during this period.

Finally, the operation and formation logic of the "Elson Mansion" area were roughly sorted out.

The Wanderer first stirred up the darkness within Charlotte's heart and separated her body from her soul. He then combined her soul, which she could already control to some extent, with "Carrier Pigeon," the area leader.

The power of the carrier pigeons, along with the memories and perceptions within Charlotte's soul, together formed the Elson mansion area.

Sending the twisted, black, misty bird to attack Little Ritas is akin to a "ritual." Once this ritual is completed, the darkness within Charlotte's heart will erupt completely. Then the Wanderer will be able to fully control Charlotte's soul, and further, take control of the carrier pigeon, a corner of the fairy tale world.

Furthermore, looking at the bigger picture from the specific details, one can vaguely sense that the origin of this incident may very well be Viin, the future "bedtime story," or rather, Viin's creator. Under the influence of the wanderers, the darkness within them was awakened, unleashing its power to drag Ritas and the others into the fairy tale world.

However, just as Xia Luoluo could still send out distress signals even when being manipulated, although "Bedtime Reading" had its own power activated, in its own world, it was unwilling and did not relinquish all control to the Wanderer.

Therefore, the Wanderers are likely trying to weaken the control of "Bedtime Reading" by taking control of the regional leaders of the four major areas, and in turn seize this fairy tale world.

"."

"."

As the goddess of bathing finished speaking, a brief silence fell between the two.

After a while, the previous atmosphere faded, and the goddess of the bath, whose eyes once again radiated an aura of "wisdom," stared at Millie for a moment before pausing.

Not to mention Millie, even she herself couldn't believe that she had deduced so much step by step.

However, there may still be a lack of evidence. And there are some rather forced interpretations.

However, these things are generally plausible.

"I"

"Sister Yu, if your guesses hit the nail on the head, aren't we in a really bad situation right now?"

While the goddess of the bath was still bewildered by her performance, Millie had thought of much more.

The reason they still possess the Golden Apple, a tool for resurrection, is likely due to the resistance of their bedtime stories. But once the Wanderers completely seize control of the fairytale world, they'll probably only be puppets.
Fortunately, they rescued Xia Luoluo in time, preventing the pigeon area from falling into the hands of the wanderers.

Otherwise, it might already be the finale by now!
Almost simultaneously, they swallowed hard, and without prior agreement, they turned their gazes to a person who was perhaps more important and crucial than they had imagined.

The key figure, who had long been unable to participate in the discussion and was simply passing the time, was now intently staring at the golden apple in his hand. He then turned it over, took a bite from the other side, and murmured, "Mmm..."

It's not that I can't eat it, it seems, because of the wrong location.

The key figure conveyed this message to the two through tears welling in his eyes.

"I don't understand anything too complicated, so basically we just need to find Kurt and rescue her, right?"

It was around noon.

Realizing that time might be more pressing than they had imagined, the Goddess of Bath and Millie, along with Charlotte who was no longer competing with the Golden Apple, embarked on a journey to conquer the second area.

"Um"

The goddess of bathing replied with her eyes slightly lowered.

At this moment, she seemed to understand what Ritas and Millie had felt when facing her all along.

"Among us, you and Kurt are definitely the closest. So, do you know that if Kurt also has a 'darkness' in his heart, like your guilt and regret, what is it?"

The goddess of bathing asked.

If these things could be figured out, it would undoubtedly be a huge help to Cortriñe's "strategy".

"Darkness...? Does Kurt have such a thing?"

Xia Luoluo frowned, tilted her head, and muttered to herself in confusion.

The goddess of the bath, who had spent relatively little time with Cortriene, indeed couldn't sense any gloom about her.

Although Cortrienne encountered setbacks in her studies and work, she eventually overcame them.

Normally, Cortriene appears to be a cheerful, easy-going, and beautiful older sister who gets along well with everyone.

Although the goddess of the bath felt that Cortriene might have some inner turmoil regarding the matter of Ritas, even if the wanderer could amplify the darkness in others' hearts, it wouldn't be enough to turn Cortriene into a terrifying monster because of those minor emotional entanglements.

"Could it be related to Miss Cortelene's decision to abandon swordsmanship for a time? There must be some reason why the former successor of the Sword Saint would give up swordsmanship, right?"

Millie, who knew even less about Cortriene than the goddess of the bath, made this guess.

"Well, now that you mention it, I still don't know why Cortelne suddenly went to become a mage."

"Eh?"

The goddess of bathing looked at Xia Luoluo in disbelief.

She truly felt it; she felt the same way Ritas did when she heard Ritas say, "It's really not my fault!"
"It's not that I haven't asked, but I always get shrugged off. And even when I ask the old man, his attitude is weird. So what can I do? Suddenly one day, Kurt went back to her hometown without saying goodbye, and then I heard that she went to the magic academy. I didn't see her again for almost a year."

"I said with a hint of resentment."

One can imagine that when something seemed to happen to Cortrinie, she wasn't entirely idle. But in the end, she only felt powerless and completely excluded.

"Indeed, it's quite difficult to find out unless she says so herself."

The goddess of the bath nodded and offered Xia Luoluo some words of comfort.

"To be honest, when I first met Kurt, I was quite afraid of her."

After frowning and pondering for a while, Xia Luoluo slowly spoke.

"Well, you might not know, but the first time she came to the Cross Hall, she severely injured the person she sparred with. You guys have been to the Cross Hall before, so you should know. Although that place can be quite extreme at times, it's ultimately for training. The students are all careful when they spar, and the children use relatively light wooden swords, and there are people watching them. But even in that situation, it seems like the teachers in charge couldn't stop her in time before Cortrienne struck hard."

"Hey~"

The Goddess of Bathing, who hadn't practiced any Elson style at all, was completely oblivious to the special nature and seriousness of the matter, and simply replied absentmindedly.

But Millie, standing to the side, frowned slightly.

At least, even she couldn't do those things now. And even if she could, she probably wouldn't intentionally seriously injure her simulated battle opponent. No matter how annoying the opponent was normally.

"There's something else worth noting. Kurt initially had a really bad relationship with everyone in the Cross Hall. So I thought she was quite difficult to get along with, but surprisingly, she seemed to like me from the very beginning. After we got to know each other better, I asked her out of curiosity. I forgot her exact words, but it was something like she didn't feel threatened by me, that I wasn't her enemy, or something like that. By the way, she and that guy Ritas had a similar relationship. They've been on good terms since they first met."

"Tsk tsk. Kurt was quite a chuunibyou when he was a kid."

"So, is this information useful?"

Having already racked her brains, Xia Luoluo scratched her head and asked.

"Well, to put it more politely, it's still uncertain." "Perhaps, maybe, it might be useful?"

The goddess of bathing and Millie said, not entirely sure.

On the rest of the journey, Charlotte continued to recount her childhood memories with Cortelene.

In retrospect, Charlotte and Cortelene actually met quite early. But during their early childhood, when they knew virtually nothing, their understanding of each other was limited to that of ordinary relatives.

Cortrine was sent to the Elson manor because she was "unable to teach" the Elson-style swordsmen in her own village, and it coincided with the time when Roland first wanted to retire.

Upon arriving at the Cross Hall of the Elson mansion, Cortrinet quickly became Roland's personal apprentice. This coincided with the period when Charlotte's condition had just improved and her resentment towards Ritas was at its deepest.

As for Cortrienne and Ritas's formal acquaintance, it would be almost another year later.

And naturally, Cortelne went from being Charlotte's reliable cousin to becoming a reliable older sister figure for both Charlotte and Ritas.

Then came the amazing story of how the swordsman Roland's biological daughter, adopted son, and Sai's daughter's disciple all became mages.

ah~
The goddess of bathing and Millie could almost hear the sigh of an old father in the void, filled with utter helplessness.

Only those who know Roland know that this situation is not his fault.

In short, from Xia Luoluo's perspective, the two of them didn't actually gain any information that might help their current situation.

As they continued their conversation, the three arrived at Prista Town, a town in a fairytale world.

It wasn't until they got closer to the town that the three of them couldn't help but show expressions of surprise.

Because this town, the place where the Bathing Goddess and Millie first encountered the shadow of the black mist, and where they were first reincarnated due to death, is now completely blocked by a thick, towering, semi-transparent blood-red wall.

(End of this chapter)