“A barrier is placed in this chamber. The test will begin now. I will let you know the precautions. If you feel you can’t endure, press the button we just provided. Even if you feel pain, please press that button. The illusions that unfold before your eyes are a kind of lucid dream created by drawing out mana and are a natural phenomenon, so please keep that in mind.”

Pain?

Will it hurt? What is it?

Slightly frightened, Riley gripped the provided button tightly. Why was she nervous about this?

“It’s finally starting.”

Gibnen, who had been watching Riley from outside, frowned.

“Why are you here again?”

“My wife is taking a test, so I had to come and see how well she’s doing.”

The exam room for just one student was filled, for some reason, with the big shots of the academy. Not only the evaluators but also the professors and the tower masters had gathered in one place for the exam. It was a rare and precious sight.

“Do I have to do anything?”

“Just stay still. I’m not sure if you’ll be able to stay still, though. Do you understand all the precautions?”

“Yes.”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

It was disconcerting that she had come to take the exam but didn’t have to do anything.

Moreover, is it common to take an exam in front of so many people? She didn’t know about the others, but the presence of both Gibnen and Libne made her even more nervous.

“Then let’s begin.”

As soon as the word “begin” dropped, darkness came. Thud – in an instant, the light disappeared, and she felt sucked into something, losing consciousness for a very brief moment.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a bluish sphere floating in complete darkness. It was only the size of a palm, but soon it began to swell and quiver. The swollen sphere multiplied from one to two, from two to four, quickly reproducing, and eventually took the form of a person.

The human shape soon became clear, and Riley froze like a wooden statue.

“Fa, Father……”

It was her father. The father she thought was dead opened his arms warmly, smiling.

As if to beckon her.

Just as Riley was running to hug him, a strange woman got there first and embraced Ryston. Riley stopped in her tracks, confused.

Who is this woman? Her face is not visible, only a vague form that feels like a woman.
The father embraced the strange woman, then suddenly began to sob. Tears flowed as he muttered, looking at Riley.

“……I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

The father’s arm turned into a sharp tentacle, piercing the body of the woman he was holding. A large hole appeared in her body, and blood spurted out. The woman, also crying, wiped his tears, assuring him that she was alright.

‘He, he killed someone. He killed someone…….’

Riley was shocked at the murder scene unfolding before her eyes. Her father had killed someone. And that too…… with magic. He had pierced the small, delicate woman’s body!

Her father, his face covered in blood, approached Riley.

“You too…… you too must go. We must go together.”

‘No, that’s not my father. It can’t be my father, no. No, no!’

Riley began to retreat, trying to flee.

But she couldn’t escape. Something resembling her father reached out with a giant tentacle and grabbed Riley.

Thud[dash]

A huge, sharp tentacle penetrated her abdomen.

‘Ah.’

A hot sensation, excruciating pain tearing her flesh, made Riley scream as she looked at the pierced abdomen. Boiling flames enveloped her punctured body. Her skin shriveled and melted under the intense pain and scalding heat, choking her breath.

It’s disgusting, it hurts. Help, it’s agony. Save me…….

Riley immediately tried to press the button in her hand.

They said to press it if something strange happened. But she couldn’t see the button.

‘Wh, where did it go?’

Riley looked at her burning body, engulfed in extreme anxiety and terror. Was she trapped here? Without that button, she couldn’t escape.

So am I…… going to die here?

“Save me, please save me!”

People began to appear around Riley in response to her cry. It was not just one or two. Two, four, six, ten. The number of people surrounding Riley grew exponentially.

「You are a blessed being.」

「No, you are a curse and a disaster! You need to disappear.」

Many people gathered.

Some raised their hands in praise, others pointed and scolded.

「Your existence will enrich the world. Everyone will be fair, and a just world can be created.」

「No, your existence will destroy the world. A horrible war where everyone kills and bites each other may happen.」

「Are you an angel? A demon?」

「Save us!」

「I want you.」

「Give me you.」

「If only we have you…… If only I have you!」

Many people rushed towards her.

Riley crouched down, plugging her ears.

‘Stop, stop it.’

“Stop…….”

Riley, who had crumpled to the ground, wept and writhed, wanting to escape the pain immediately. It was different from what she had felt when she had sought Arpeggio earlier. She might really die. She would really die like this. It was painful to be liberated from this suffering! This frustration!

“Leave me alone…… all of you, disappear from my sight…….”

A pillar of light shot out from Riley’s body.

The pillar of light swallowed up the many people who had been tormenting her in an instant. Her vision turned pure white. It was a cold color that resembled winter.

“What are you doing! Stop it!”

Gibnen’s voice was heard. With it, her strength began to drain.

She lost her balance and staggered. As she tumbled to the ground, something came over and wrapped around her body. Riley slowly opened her eyes, which she had been squeezing shut.

There was a tremendous explosion, and her body was lifted into the air. Shattered glass fragments scattered everywhere and stuck in the barrier, but Riley was thrown out through the barrier.

Something then caught her as she flew.

Riley, on the verge of losing consciousness, saw a familiar face.

‘Gibnen……?’

He was smiling.

But his smile was different from usual. Rather than a neat and beautiful smile, it was closer to a grotesque and twisted grin. His eyes, soaked in some sort of excitement or desire, felt very strange.

She wanted to ask him. Why was he smiling like a madman?
But her lips did not part. Whether she had completely lost control of her body or not, it did not move as she intended. She could only slowly blink her eyes and look at Gibnen’s face, unable to do anything else.

Her mind was dizzy. As if she might lose her mind at any moment, within her fading consciousness,

“……What to do with you, Riley.”

Gibnen’s voice, mixed with laughter, softly scattered.

“……So lovable.”