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nThe presence said in an urgent voice, cheering on the stunned boy.

n”Protector?! Plan?! You can no longer what?! What bastard?! What the hell is going on?!”

nZoemi was shouting his lungs off but at the same time, he felt like he wasn’t speaking at all.

n”Only you can save me from him, Zoemi.”

nAs Zoemi’s body stiffened, the presence sounded as if it was smiling shyly…but more importantly, he recognized that tone. He wasn’t sure from where or when, but he knew deep within that he must do everything in his power to protect the owner of this voice.

nAnd probably nothing could make him more confused than that realization, because normally that sort of feeling was reserved solely for Miriette.

nBefore he could voice any more questions, he felt that he was getting teleported away.

nAnd…

nZoemi and Valto were transported right in front of the gates of hell.

nSimply said, that place couldn’t be described in any other way.

nWhile the two of them were still standing on a soft, neatly trimmed grass, mere feet in front of them the earth was erupting and spitting fire in a primal rage.

nIf not for the handful of magicians facing off with the blazing inferno everything else would have already evaporated.

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n|Whoa… I would make a bet that it is Vanterl’s doing… but since he wasn’t mentioned at all it might also be Ehmi. I don’t really care about the relationship connecting the other me with that other timeline’s version of Ehmi. But considering what she did to my sentinels together with Vanterl and Arisu, I hope that she will die painfully and I will be inspired about how to make her suffer in our timeline.|

nZoemi’s voice dropped and filled with ice-cold hatred at the sight of the crimson flames burning on the other side of the screen.

n|I doubt that is the reason that Bellcephora is showing us all of this.|

nThe original personality already pulled himself together after hearing the direct voice of his master.

n|Maybe, but it shouldn’t harm anyone – except trash who helped hunt down my poor little ones – it should be okay.|

nZoemi heard and understood him clearly, but was certainly not going to listen to the advice.

nIf his body was visible in the borderless world of murky darkness, it would be easy to tell how agitated he was with just a single glance.

n|Wouldn’t it be more natural that Zoemi from the other timeline did his best to rescue her instead? He might have gone through a different experience but in the end, he is still you…|

nThe artificial soul found himself in a situation where he wanted to calm down the black-haired boy and pointed it out.

n|…true…|

nZoemi sounded as if he rolled his eyes and sighed, focusing back on the screen that was bright red because of all the flames on the other side.

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nIn his confusion Zoemi looked around, they were in between the Aspakeony Academy…

nMore precisely, the Academy’s dormitory building.

nAt first, he was too stunned to move, but then it hit him.

nThe people in front weren’t facing off against some sort of natural disaster approaching the Academy.

nThey were protecting just the Academy grounds while SURROUNDED by the madness of raging fire.

nAnd those few in front weren’t the only ones there either, in a small distance from each other, hundreds of Aspakeony’s corpse-puppets were reaching their hands into the sky, each of them firmly holding a shining mana crystal casting a protective film over the academy walls.

nOnly that was keeping the buildings and people from being turned into ash.

nUnfortunately, it looked like more and more corpse puppets were unable to hold on and slumped to the ground with their visages scorched by the extreme heat.

n…they were losing…

n”…!”

nWhile Zoemi was wasting time merely observing, Valto rushed into action, his arms glowing icy blue, and even though they were in the center of a raging magic firestorm, Zoemi and everyone else started shivering.

nWithin the next heartbeat, giant ice walls were erected into the sky, swallowing the existing thin barrier and creating a dome of security from the hellish heat.

n”You, you’re young Horeo, aren’t you? What is happening here?”

nValto used the silence that has befallen the surroundings to push himself closer to the group, only his words made Zoemi realize that those people were actually a few teachers, maybe two or three familiar students, and the first prince Horeo in person.

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n|Why isn’t Horeo using his actual power? Our Horeo might not want to show up, but he at least isn’t willing to die just to keep his strength a secret…|

nZoemi let out sight and wanted to cross his arms, but he couldn’t feel a thing, as if he didn’t have a body.

n|It is possible that he didn’t awaken the same way that the one from our timeline. Bellcephora bloodline has the potential to be the strongest of all, but the chances of them awakening to it are actually astronomical.|

n|Is that so…?|

nThe original personality informed him in a polite manner, making the boy let out a short, curious gasp.

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nThere were even more people there, three to be specific, but at first, Zoemi missed them because they were shielded by the rest.

nThe heroine Buru**to was kneeling over Veo and Patishi and casting a healing spell on their heavily burnt bodies.

n”You idiot! If you use ice it will…!”

nBut as soon as Horeo opened his mouth to answer another person, the blue-haired teacher Rokiana shouted at Valto in horror…

n*CRASH!*

nAnd she herself was interrupted by the ear-splitting explosion that shattered the ice and sent it flying everywhere as if a volley of deadly projectiles.

n”FUUUUUUUUUCK!”

nShe shouted in a fit of powerless rage a split second before the power of the shockwave send everyone flying.

nEveryone except Zoemi.

nEven the icicles sharper than the strongest spear passed right through him and pierced the ground behind.

nBut only he was left in a pristine condition, the rest suffered heavy casualties, the previously injured Veo and Patishi were, ironically in the best condition after Zoemi as both of them got shielded by the heroine and the first prince.

n”GHHHHHHGH…!”

nBut because of that Horeo’s back looked like a hedgehog and Buru**to had her stomach and legs pierced by more than seven icicles, she groaned and spit out a mouthful of blood mixed with vomit.

nTeacher Rokiana got her left arm torn off by a particularly large piece of ice that also managed to crush the head of one of the other teachers.

nA red-haired teacher, whose right leg was twisted in a completely unnatural way was staring at the headless corpse with despair.

n”No…! You fool…! My sister is waiting for you, why would you…?!”

nAll the rest was already dead or dying.

n”Well, isn’t that embarrassing…”

nValto groaned and started crawling towards his wheelchair which tumbled away. His legs looked more like minced meat – a lump of frozen minced meat, mind you, he froze the wounds to stop them from bleeding – but since he lost any feeling in them years ago, he didn’t find their current state particularly annoying. At least not more than usual.

nHe was more ashamed that his spell got used against him.

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