CHAPTER 65: AROUSAL OF THE VAMPIRES [7]

"Dorian?", Monica appeared, cutting my line of thought.

I was going to search for her anyway, so it was better to meet her here, as my goal for this scenario has modified a bit.

Originally, I thought just to conquer Laurel after she has been defeated, but now that things have gotten this messy, I can only assume that there is one more force at work here.

Someone pulling the strings of Laurel, or maybe helping her in this conquest.

It was not in the original novel, nor in any of the regression timelines.

So, crushing them has become my bonus task, in this event.

This, I would need to work fast here.

Monica arriving here was a real help, since I would have tried to search for her anyway.

But, looking at her face now, she had an inexplicable expression on her face, like she was somehow astonished and angry at the same time.

Now that I think about it, the girl holding me is completely naked.

That thrall tried to defile her too, for which her clothes are torn apart.

It might look reasonable from my point of view, but it can’t be the same from someone else’s point of view.

Someone as upright as Monica would think that I am trying to take advantage of her.

So, it would be better to explain the situation to her first, before anything goes disarray.

"Hey, it’s alright now, so can you leave me a bit now?", I told the girl in a polite tone, as if to reassure her of devoidance of any danger.

The girl trembled slightly, her arms still tightly wrapped around me. Her body was cold, and I could feel the aftershocks of fear in her every movement. She had clung to me not out of affection, but desperation—a broken soul grasping for the only thing that hadn’t tried to kill her.

Her cracked voice whispered, "...please don’t leave."

"I won’t," I said gently, prying her arms loose with care, "but I need to stand. You’re safe now."

She hesitated, then nodded, slowly letting go. I caught her gently and helped her sit on a nearby crate half-buried in rubble. I took off my outer coat and draped it around her shoulders, concealing the exposed parts of her torn clothes.

I turned back to Monica.

She hadn’t moved. Her eyes flicked between me and the girl, lingering just a moment too long. I didn’t need mind-reading magic to know what she was thinking.

"You’re misunderstanding," I said, tone calm and even. "She was attacked. I stepped in just in time to stop him from turning her. That’s all."

"...I know that, you don’t have to explain.", she quickly shifted back to her serious mode.

Monica’s boots crunched over broken glass as she stepped closer, her expression grim.

"The remaining thralls... they’re all moving toward the academy."

I froze.

"What?" I blinked, letting genuine shock paint my face. "The academy?"

"Yes. All of them," she said, urgency creeping into her voice. "It’s like they were given a single command. They’re headed straight there."

I kept my eyes wide for a second longer than necessary—just enough for her to feel I hadn’t seen it coming.

Then, with a sharp breath, I schooled my expression, shifted my weight, and gave a quiet nod. "...That’s bad. Really bad."

My voice came out low, with just enough tension to pass as concern. "If they breach the walls... the students, the faculty..."

She clenched her fists. "We need to warn them, or better—go there now."

I stepped forward, placing a hand lightly on her shoulder—not to comfort, but to pause her.

"Monica," I said softly, "if they’re targeting the academy, then they’re after something—or someone—specific."

Her brows furrowed, wary.

I let my voice drop slightly, pretending to think aloud. "Someone important... someone who can turn the tide."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Are you saying they are after the Saintess candidate?", she asked, with a voice laced with wary.

I remained silent, wrapping the naked girl with some clothes I found in the street.

The Saintess Candidate,

Ariana.

A first year at the Academy, just like us.

She is from a noble family, which has been serving the church since their foundation.

They don’t have a family name, as a gesture of honor for the preachings of the Church.

So, the people, or the commoners call them the Devotees.

Ariana—her full name is simply Ariana of the Devotees. A quiet girl, easily overlooked in a crowd, with pale silver-blonde hair and those glassy blue eyes that never quite looked at anyone directly.

She was a first-year, just like us. Sat in the corner during most theory classes, avoided dueling practice, barely spoke unless addressed.

Most thought she was just another sheltered noble girl—fragile and faint-hearted.

But I knew better.

Because hidden beneath that soft voice and gentle aura was something extraordinary.

Ariana was the Saintess Candidate.

Chosen not by ritual or vote... but by birthright. Born during a lunar eclipse in the Temple of Highvale, her body has a dormant affinity for divine mana that surpasses any known records.

Yet, even the Church doesn’t know it.

They never tested her.

They never suspected the quiet girl they sent off to the Academy as a formality could one day stand as the Saintess of this era.

She was hidden... perhaps by someone powerful within the Church itself, to protect her from political exploitation. Or maybe, they wanted to delay her emergence until the time was right.

But time has run out.

Because now, something—or someone—has found out.

And they’re coming for her.

The thralls, the coordinated attack, the timing—it all fits.

She’s not just another student to them. She’s a key. A source of divine light, or if tainted, a vessel of holy destruction.

If Ariana falls into the wrong hands... the tide of this war will change completely.

And I won’t let that happen.

Not because I want to protect her.

But because she might become the sharpest dagger I can steal... and point at the heart of this cursed world.

The only problem is her personality.

She is like the complete opposite of her family members, you might call, an atheist.

Moreover, she is someone who thinks of only herself, a completely nasty character, of I must say.

That’s why I decided to hint Monica at Ariana, to find out about her before this incident happened, so that she would be able to somehow convince Ariana.

The mission starts right now, with Ariana being the target for both sides.

Let’s see who gets to her first.

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