Chapter 116: You'll Be Okay
Despite being tired from their journey here, the trio spared no effort in getting back to the Academy.
When they returned, they were instantly greeted by a bloodcurdling sight. In front of them, the entire Academy was in flames. The campus buildings was wrecked beyond full recognition, and the area around was lit up in flames.
It was a scene from hell, it was. Dignitas could even slightly make out the horrified screams of the students from inside the Academy as they were killed.
"How the… hell. How the fuck did this happen?!" Dignitas shouted in anger.
Surely, the Academy would've detected a mass invasion before it even occurred. The school was equipped with so many high tech devices that they could map out the entire ocean floor in less than a week! And yet, the seemingly impenetrable Academy district that didn't let anyone in or out was invaded?
"We have to look for them!" John snapped him out of his daze. "They're in danger!"
Danger, indeed. But if even the school couldn't detect what happened and fell to this, how could the three of them hope to defeat the ones who caused this?
Part of Dignitas was telling him to take John with him and leave. He was simply too important to the story, and he couldn't risk him dying.
And yet… he stood his ground. A bigger part of him was telling him to stay. Stay, and fight for this world. This world that he created.
"After all… it's my fucking responsibility to see the story to its end. And I'm not letting it end this quickly."
Without even entering into battle, Dignitas didn't think twice before stabbing himself with Dainsleif. He was going to need the energy to keep himself from dying without even knowing how.
"You don't have to come, Eva. You can just wait for us outside." John tried to convince the Lunalite to leave this to the two of them.
However, the elf had other plans. "No… I'm helping. It's my turn to return the favor."
"She's not gonna relent, John. Let her come."
"Dignitas… you're doing that again. Please don't push yourself." John warned the author after noticing the deep gash on the side of his waist.
"I won't pass out that easily. Come on, we've got to salvage as much as we can from this shitty situation we've found ourselves in."
***
From then on, no thoughts of the past entered Dignitas' head. He didn't question why and how this whole thing came to be. He didn't curse his luck, nor did he curse Fate. He simply kept his head in the game.
It was only through living in the present did he feel that he could do more.
As John led Dignitas and Evangeline through the bloodied hallways of the Academy littered with corpses of fellow students, they made sure to follow the sickening mana signature they felt the moment they entered the main campus building.
Oddly enough, while on their way there, they did not encounter a single enemy. No demons, no beasts. It was as if Death itself had simply decided to pass by the Hero Academy and take as many lives as it could.
The mana signature would then go on to lead them to the rooftop, where the door was forcibly sealed by runic magic.
"Fuck! Open up!" Dignitas shouted as he slammed himself at the door.
"The runic symbols are corrupted, Dignitas. We can't break through without having demonic mana." John said as he inspected the door. He had come across locks like this many times before, and knew how to open them if given the key.
A key that they did not have at the moment. In this case, the key they needed was Devil Ashra.
"Screw demonic mana. No such thing will stop me."
In his haste, Dignitas had forgotten to tell John to close his eyes. That was when the protagonist noticed him pull out a book seemingly from nothing.
Pulling out the pen, he then began scribbling something hastily onto the book. Pting! The rune on the door seemed to have released itself, just like that.
"Dignitas… What is that book?"
He ignored him, however. Moving backwards, Dignitas placed his entire weight into his shoulders and rammed the door with all his strength.
With a loud bang, the door burst open from his strength. The trio poured out from it the next moment, like ants in a nest.
That was when Dignitas spotted perhaps the most spine-chilling figure he hadn't hoped to see. Their appearance was no different from a human, aside from the wings that lined their back.
From this, Dignitas concluded that it indeed was a demon that caused this. But judging based on how similar it looked to a human… it was definitely S rank, or at least about to break the threshold to become one.
Its figure was huge, and built like a bodybuilder. Muscles were abundant in almost every part of its frame, somehow doubling its size. The demon's hair was long, and dyed a lustrous brown, the same color as Lorelai's.
"You bastard…"
Speaking of Lorelai, she was indeed there. However, she was on the ground, flailing about in extreme pain, her hands on her eyes. Her screams echoed throughout the wind, ringing in Dignitas' ears for what seemed an endless period of time.
He could feel it. The demon in front of him could erase him from existence at any moment it pleased. It simply needed to release enough pressure.
But it didn't. Instead, it inspected the small, ball-shaped objects he held in his hands. Then, without even saying a word… his wings flapped and he flew away.
"Lorelai! Lorelai! Are you okay!?"
Dignitas approached the still shaking Lorelai. She was throwing herself around, and kept her hands to her head. It was almost as if they were glued to her… eyes…
"Is–is that you, Dignitas?"
Without hesitation, he threw his arms around her, and responded softly. "Yes, it's me. You'll be fine, you'll be okay."
"I can't… see. Where are you…?"
That was when realization struck Dignitas like a bullet piercing through him. His heart turned heavy once he registered what she said.
"I'm right here… I'll always be right here."
"Do you promise?" She weakly asked.
"I do. Just rest easy for now. I've got it all under control. When you wake up… you'll be able to see how beautiful you are again."
Lorelai's lips curled into a smile as she heard that. "I'm holding you to that."
On this day, the girl known as Lorelai Seraph lost both her eyes to a demon. The things that defined her as a member of the Seraph family… was taken away from her so easily.
In his head, Dignitas silently vowed to track down that demon, and eventually exact revenge on what it did today.
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