Cordelia, who had been unconscious until just before class, stayed very close to Seraphina all day, though she herself avoided her gaze every time they met.
But just as she avoided Seraphina’s gaze, she was doing something else: for some reason, she spent much of the day watching Selene and Eira with her piercing gaze.
Whenever she had the chance, she couldn’t stop watching them both, and that continued even now in the room.
This led to the earlier exchange, where Eira finally lost her patience, unable to understand what Cordelia wanted from her and her sister; even for her, it was impossible to fathom Cordelia’s intentions.
Their interactions throughout the year had been very few...
Eira wasn’t the type to actively seek out conversation with others, and Cordelia herself was even less talkative.
Apart from those few occasions outside of class or club activities, the closest thing Eira could remember was that, every now and then, Cordelia would feed Selene and even try to give her something to eat.
When Eira asked what that was about, Cordelia just looked at her without saying a word, staring at her intently, without answering.
Eira had always categorized Cordelia as a weirdo it’s best not to get close to, although Selene seems to like her because she gives her food.
In any case, it seemed like this was the first time they’d actually interacted, though it wasn’t exactly pleasant.
But after listening to Alice, Eira understood a little better; if Seraphina had told her everything, then Cordelia must now realize that technically she and her sister were also involved with her.
Now Eira could understand a little why Cordelia was looking at her that way; she herself had been very cautious with the other girls when she joined the group.
"Tsk!... that bastard should’ve said something to me..." (Eira)
Even so, Eira was upset; the whole day had gone by and there had been opportunities, yet she hadn’t been told anything. She couldn’t help but plain.
"Don’t call her that." (Cordelia)
"Huh? Do you have a problem with how I call her?" (Eira)
"Yes..." (Cordelia)
"Oh, screw you, I’ll—hmngh!"
"e on, Eira, remember Ira’s anger management classes—dialogue always es first."
Just when it seemed like a conflict was about to break out anyway, due to the clash of their personalities, Seraphina, who seemed to have woken up, positioned herself behind Eira and hugged her from behind, stopping her from going any further.
"Ah, big sister, are you done with what you were doing?" (Alice)
"~Tsk... what a thing to ask. She was just sleeping to avoid her homework."
’Yeah, it didn’t turn out to be a big deal after all—just some nutcase using poison.’
Seraphina mentally answered Alice’s question, ignoring Aurora’s mutter, who was probably jealous that Elena was letting her act so carelessly.
"So, what’s going on here? Cordelia, are you picking a fight with Eira? What did you say?"
"That I don’t like her..." (Cordelia)
"￣へ￣ Hmm, so, are you picking a fight?"
"No..." (Cordelia)
"Then?"
"That’s none of your business." (Cordelia)
"￣へ￣ Yeah, I guess a person can’t change overnight, but the important thing here is that you’re not looking for a fight, right? And not with me either, right?"
"No (ㆆ_ㆆ)... but I don’t like it when you call me a bastard either." (Cordelia)
"Oh, so you were defending me? How sweet... though you don’t need to. Eira has her own way of loving me, hue~."
"I understand... (ㆆ_ㆆ)" (Cordelia)
"Hmph! Stop talking nonsense. Hmph... I feel like you’re way too happy about this. I guess, since it’s the first time anyone’s bothered to stand up for you, you must be, right? That’s the kind of girl you like, isn’t it?" (Eira)
"Oh, are you jealous? How cute. If you weren’t Chris’s girlfriend, I’d make you mine. Hmm... should I e up with a plan to get rid of him?"
"Seriously, stop that nonsense and stop hugging me. Unlike you, I have homework to do. Actually, Elena, now that she’s awake, give her her share so she can do it." (Eira)
"My lady, as Miss Eira says, since you’re awake you can—" (Elena)
"Wait! Elena, the situation is still a bit uncertain, so I have to keep an eye on things."
"My lady, I can see that’s just an excuse." (Elena)
"Ugh!, s-seriously, I have to— huh?... wait a second... huh!? Something really did e up!"
Seraphina, who originally seemed to just not want to do her homework, stopped mid-sentence.
It looked as if her attention had drifted elsewhere, and her face grew increasingly serious and somewhat somber, and before she could offer any explanation of what was happening, she stopped moving.
Her eyes seemed to go blank, as if she were now an empty doll.
"She just doesn’t want to do her homework." (Aurora)
Aurora said that, but those who knew there was actually something behind her actions had a bad feeling.
Judging by her reaction—and by the fact that she had left without even having her doppelganger pretend to be asleep—it meant that something urgent enough had happened.
That caused a feeling that something bad was about to happen to arise among those present, and that feeling didn’t take long to e true.
..
"Shit, this is bad!"
Not long after, Seraphina moved again and stood up abruptly, in a very agitated manner, alerting everyone present.
"My lady, has something happened?" (Elena)
Elena, seeing Seraphina’s agitated state, was the first to ask.
"Yes, it has. The situation is potentially dangerous and deadly. Argh!, it’s hard to explain in detail, but, in short, I’m facing three Ninth Metamorphosis types and I need help."
As she said things that made many frown, Seraphina moved toward her storage and began taking out some items.
Seraphina had always been cautious, and whether for a situation like this or one where the girls were in danger, she always kept many things prepared.
"W-what do you mean? Who—?" (Silvia)
"Mitrass, Oryx, and Noha."
Silvia, who was also aware of the situation, asked, and Seraphina replied concisely, as if knowing that she would understand just by hearing those three names.
"N-Noha, that demon...! Wait, Oryx? and Mitrass—that Mitrass!?" (Silvia)
"Yeah, I don’t get a damn thing either. Anyway, I might need reinforcements. You, Eira, Selene, Aurora, follow this and lay the groundwork for the magic circle. Astrid will be here shortly. Ah!, I need to focus my attention elsewhere—damn!, it’s already starting. Girls, the sooner the better."
Seraphina handed Silvia—who was the best at runes and magic among those present—a green gem and other materials.
She seemed to be in a hurry, and without further explanation, her expression went blank again.
"W-we have to move; this is really dangerous for her. We need to clear a space in the center of the room." (Silvia)
Silvia, who had received memories from Seraphina, understood the identities of the three mentioned and just how dire Seraphina’s situation really was.
She took the gem, which contained information about a ritual-type spell, and since it wasn’t a gem capable of automatically imprinting the spell on her mind, she read it carefully and quickly memorized it.
The others were also confused and a little shaken, but they followed Silvia’s lead, since there must be a reason why Seraphina left the items with her.
Elena and the others began moving to clear the center of the room; even so, they couldn’t help but ask.
"Seriously, what the hell is suddenly going on?" (Eira)
"Is Big Sister in danger?" (Alice)
"Is something wrong?" (Selene)
"Phina needs me." (Cordelia)
"How bad is the situation?" (Elena)
"I think it’s really bad, and like she said, she really needs us. Learn this circle and help me draw it on the ground; use this powder—I don’t know what it is, but it seems like that’s what she wants us to do." (Silvia)
"Are you really not going to explain? No... I guess this isn’t the time for explanations. Alright, I’ll help too." (Aurora)
"I don’t understand either, b-but I’ll help as much as I can." (Eirlys)
There were many questions swirling around—some had more than others—but they still did what Seraphina asked of them.
Silvia really didn’t know what the circle was about, and it was hard to create just by observing it once, but the situation seemed to require it.
She took the powder, which was Tharothan dust; it was what Seraphina had managed to recover the time the demons used it to poison and invade the palace.
With her purification and Ciel’s skill, she was able to recover enough to use long-range spatial magic, since that powder was a material with excellent patibility with spatial runes.
Silvia began drawing, and after reading the gem’s information, the most rune-versed among those present joined her, trying not to make mistakes.
..
.
It was after a short but tense moment, in which everyone was focused on drawing runes or preparing for what was to e, that—
BANG!
"ufff!... we’re here... haaah~... I ran as fast as I could..."
Almost breaking down the door, three people arrived: one was a sweaty and breathless Leyla, who looked like she’d run a long distance, giving it her all.
To the surprise of some, she was carrying another Seraphina, and the instructor Astrid.
"Mother, help Phina."
When she saw them arrive, Cordelia—focused only on Seraphina’s safety—asked Astrid for help.
Astrid, looking a little worried, got off Leyla’s shoulders and approached.
"I know, Lia, that’s why I came... Ah!, a teleportation spell. I see,hmm... Do any of you know spatial magic, or at least runes?" (Astrid)
""..."" (Everyone)
Astrid quickly grasped the situation at a glance and asked.
Unfortunately, no one in the room had practiced such a plicated branch of magic.
It wasn’t that Seraphina hadn’t wanted to teach them; it was just that each of them had their own specializations and magical branches to focus on, and only Astrid , with her skill set, could be taught many things without being overwhelmed.
Astrid, realizing they were merely following instructions without truly understanding what they were doing, got down to business and took over from Silvia.
She didn’t understand much of what was happening either, but Seraphina suddenly seemed to have encountered something urgent, and Astrid realized her life was in danger, so she had to act.
She quickly corrected and aligned the girls who were forming the girls forming the circle and drawing runes without knowing what they were doing, and swiftly got everything in order and up and running.
..
The two Seraphinas remained impassive and blank, very calm, as if nothing bad were actually happening.
But that very fact caused the tension in the room to rise, and the sense of urgency became increasingly palpable and pressing, as if losing a single second were decisive, and it was at that moment of peak tension when suddenly both Seraphinas—
"AAHH!" (x2)
Almost in unison, both Seraphinas began to move; once again they seemed agitated, but more than anything else, confused.
"What the hell? Did I die? No?... but I can’t go back. What’s happening? Why don’t I feel any connection now?" (x2)
Both Seraphinas spoke in unison; they didn’t understand what was happening.
Just a moment ago, they had been helping their original body, but their demonic core had been shattered by Noha’s artifact—something that, in their situation, was a death sentence.
And as if that weren’t enough, almost immediately after that, a colossal and unavoidable attack came at them, but before they could prehend anything, both of them entered the bodies of their doppelgängers.
They were both very confused and tried to return and make sense of it, but it seemed they couldn’t; for a brief moment they felt a kind of barrier, but then they simply seemed to lose all connection, as if it had been cut off.
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