The tremors finally reached the Academy. Tables in the cafeteria shook, glasses rattled, and the soup in Nina's bowl rippled. "Eh—what's happening?!" Nina reflexively stood slightly from her chair. "An earthquake?"
Althea didn't answer. She had already risen and was striding toward the cafeteria window. Her hand pressed against the glass, her breath held. The sky... was crimson. Cold sweat trickled down her cheeks. "This... this has to be a joke, right?" she murmured.
The memory surfaced suddenly: a crimson sky, flames, and the news of her mother's death—murdered by a calamity demon. Nina anxiously tugged at Althea's hand. "Thea, come on. We need to get out of here. Let's follow the instructors' instructions first, okay?"
But Althea didn't move. Her mind was flooded with memories she desperately wanted to forget—old fears mingled with a rage that had never truly faded. "Damn demons..." she whispered.
"Thea...?" Nina stared at her with concern.
Althea pulled her hand free from Nina's grasp. "This time, I won't run away," she declared firmly. "I'm going to fight that demon."
"Fight?" Nina exclaimed, startled. "But how—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Althea had already sprinted toward the cafeteria exit.
Nina stood frozen for a moment before turning to look out the window. Her gaze fixed on the towering spire of the Great Sage's tower, which loomed in the distance. "...Hey. Hey," she murmured. "Surely not... right?"
Nina watched Althea's retreating figure grow smaller. Other students began scrambling in the opposite direction, following the instructors' orders, but her own feet felt rooted to the spot.
She gritted her teeth and scratched her head in frustration. "Ah, whatever," she muttered. "Stupid Thea." Without another thought, Nina turned and began running after Althea.
"Thea, wait!" Althea stopped and turned around. "Nina? Why are you following me?" Nina halted a few steps behind her, catching her breath. Then she put on an obviously feigned embarrassed expression. "It's because... I love you."
"Huh?!" Althea exclaimed, startled. "What are you talking about?!" Her face flushed. Without waiting for an explanation, she turned and fled.
"Eh—!" Nina chuckled, joining the chase. "Just kidding, just kidding."
She caught up with Althea, running alongside her. "Besides, you're clearly planning something crazy, right?"
Althea didn't answer immediately.
"Are you going to stop me?"
"No," Nina replied. "I know it's pointless."
She glanced at Althea. "You really are careless. That's why... I'll help you."
Althea snorted. "Whatever. But if anything happens, I don't want to know."
"Ugh, how mean. At least show a little gratitude." They resumed running, this time side by side.
-
At the capital's main gate, the clash of weapons and the repulsive sounds of Foreign Creatures merged into a single cacophony. The battle had fully erupted.
The knights fought on the front lines, their swords swinging relentlessly. Each slash felled a foreign creature, but the gap was immediately filled by another.
"Damn it, they're endless!" a knight shouted, taking a half-step back.
"Don't stop!" the commander roared, his sword raised high, dripping with dark fluid. "Keep attacking! Show no fear!"
"Yes, sir!" the knight replied. He stepped forward and swung his sword, cleaving the head of the Foreign Creature before him. "Tch... damn them all. Fireball!"
-
The stairs leading to the tower were steep, and they raced upward. Althea's breath grew heavy, but her pace didn't falter. Above, the silhouette of a massive door gradually came into view, standing sturdy and elegant.
"Thea... over there," Nina said, pointing ahead. Althea nodded. They reached the top of the stairs and stopped right in front of the door. Without waiting for each other, both placed their hands on the tower door's surface.
Then, they pushed it open together. The tower door slowly creaked open.
"Wow... it's quite big, isn't it?" Nina said, her voice filled with curiosity.
The room was illuminated by a blue crystal chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, casting a soft glow across the neatly arranged stone walls. The air inside felt cooler and calmer, as if completely isolated from the chaos outside the tower.
In the center of the room, a magic circle was etched directly into the floor. Its lines were clean and symmetrical, without a single visible flaw. Small symbols surrounded it, arranged neatly and interconnected, indicating a ritual designed with meticulous precision.
"So…" Nina stared at the magic circle, then turned back to Althea. "What are you going to do now? You do know how to summon a Hero, right?"
Althea shook her head. "Not at all."
"Huh?" Nina whipped her head around. "Then why did we even bother coming all this way?!"
"Calm down," Althea said. "My grandfather taught me how to summon spirits using magic. Maybe… it'll work if I try it within this magic circle."
Her gaze lingered on the circle etched into the floor. The lines were too precise—too deliberate. Whoever had designed it knew exactly what they were doing. Slowly, she began to raise her hands.
Nina stared at her. The corner of her eyelid twitched.
"Oi. Oi, oi, oi—hold on a second," Nina said sharply.
Before Althea could take another step, Nina lunged forward and grabbed her wrist.
"H—hey!" Althea gasped, startled.
Nina stared at her, her eyes wide with disbelief. "You're not seriously about to start right now, are you?"
"There's no time," Althea replied quickly. "The Calamity is going to fully open soon. The barrier—"
"I know, I know," Nina cut in, rubbing her temple. "But listen to yourself. You're planning to stand in the middle of a giant magic circle, use a ritual you don't even know how it works, and just… hope it succeeds?"
Althea hesitated. "…When you put it like that, it sounds bad."
"It is bad!" Nina snapped, then sighed. "Seriously. You're unbelievable."
She looked at Althea more closely—the tense shoulders, the clenched jaw, the way her eyes kept drifting back to the circle.
"…You're not going to listen to me anyway, are you?"
Althea didn't answer right away. "If I stop now, I won't be able to move again."
Nina stared at her for a long moment.
"…Figures," she muttered, then let out an exaggerated sigh." Fine. You've always been reckless anyway." She stepped back toward the door. "I'll keep an eye outside. If anything strange happens, I'll let you know."
Althea nodded. "Thank you."
The door closed behind Nina, leaving Althea alone in the room.