I know the Protagonist was destined to intervene with the most unexpected and threatening scenarios in the world.
Afterall he was the main protagonist of this world meant to save it from its doomed end.
Every encounter every situation was designed by fate itself to help him grow and get stronger.
That was only for scenarios that affected his main scenarios at a certain point.
“What did you do?”
Lucas, in all his white knightly glory, was glaring at me with such intensity that it was almost laughable.
Granted, we weren’t exactly on the best terms, but did he really jump straight to the conclusion that I had somehow wronged Janica?
Sure, the scene might have looked questionable, but was I really that villainous in his eyes?
Smack!
“O-Ow! Janica?” Lucas’s face twisted in shock as Janica’s hand, glowing faintly with mana, made direct contact with the back of his head.
“What the hell are you doing, glaring at Riley like that?” she scolded, her tone sharp.
Watching Janica lay into him was oddly satisfying.
For someone so taken with knightly valor, Lucas looked completely out of his depth when it came to dealing with Janica.
Though, to be fair, she had probably infused a bit too much mana into that slap.
Lucas might be strong, but the slight tear forming in his right eye suggested it hurt a lot more than he was letting on.
I shrugged, half-amused by the whole thing. “It’s fine. I get it. He’s just looking out for you, I guess.”
Lucas, rubbing the back of his head with a sour look, muttered something under his breath, clearly still stinging from both the slap and Janica’s reprimand.
Despite the theatrics, I could sense his frustration subsiding, if only slightly. He finally glanced away, seeming a little embarrassed for overreacting.
Janica’s face turned an even deeper shade of red. “W-What are you talking about?” she stammered, her flustered expression betraying that she’d halfway understood what I was hinting at.
But I guess Lucas fits the dense protagonist trope for a reason.
I wanted to cheer her on a bit more, maybe give her more advice on breaking through that dense wall of his, but for now, this little push would have to be enough.
“L-Let’s go now, Lucas…” Janica muttered hurriedly, reaching for his arm and clearly eager to make an exit from the increasingly embarrassing situation. But before they could take off, Lucas, with a surprising steadiness, held her back.
“Yes,”
For a moment, he seemed to be working through something in his mind, the sharp edges of his earlier distrust melting into an odd mix of hesitation and intrigue.
Did something happen between Lucas and Reina beyond the typical rumors?
No, that couldn’t be it.
Janica’s words were abruptly cut off as an immense, suffocating presence of mana descended on us, filling the library like a crushing wave.
Instantly, the atmosphere shifted as alarms echoed through the building, and panicked voices erupted in the once-quiet aisles.
Damn it! I’d gotten so caught up with these two that I’d momentarily forgotten why I was even here in the first place.
My gaze snapped around as I tried to pinpoint where the oppressive mana was coming from, and without a second thought, my body moved on instinct.
I navigated through the towering shelves and intricate corridors of the vast library, disregarding the clear signs prohibiting mana use inside.
The gravity of the situation overshadowed any thought of academy rules, demerits, or consequences.
Finally reaching the source, I stopped, and my eyes widened at the unexpected sight.
“Rose?”
She stood there, a faint, proud smile lighting up her face as she faced a gigantic circular portal, stark white and rippling with energy.
When she noticed me, her expression softened just a little.
“I found what you were looking for,”
Rose extended a hand, gesturing toward the portal behind her.
“This dungeon was the thing you were after, right?” she asked, tilting her head slightly with a knowing look.
As the initial panic settled, I finally noticed the intense golden aura surrounding her.
Mana radiated off her in waves, creating a soft glow that wrapped around her form.
Her hands were crackling with golden energy, and along her fingers, delicate yet potent runes appeared to be disintegrating, scattering into the air like specks of dust.
“It took me a bit of time,” she admitted, flexing her fingers slightly, “but I finally managed to break the runes and sigils hiding this thing.”
I blinked, barely suppressing my surprise.
In a surreal, otherworldly realm bathed entirely in white, the White Queen sat regally on her throne, dressed head-to-toe in pure, unblemished white.
Her face, as still and impassive as marble, betrayed nothing as she sipped delicately from a white porcelain cup, savoring the quiet and the peace that enveloped her world like a pristine veil.
This rare tranquility filled the very air, a moment of serenity that seldom visited her domain. But as her pale eyes flickered, widening just slightly, the fleeting peace shattered.
Her gaze returned to its usual, cool detachment before the tea cup even left her hand.
With a snap of her fingers, a figure appeared at her side in a flash of white light, bowing deeply on one knee.
Clad in armor that glinted like polished snow, he waited, reverent and vigilant.
“Lancelot,” she said, her voice as composed as the still air around them, “one of my spells has just been destroyed.”
Lancelot’s face tightened in shock. “D-Destroyed?” he stammered, his disbelief palpable.
He had served his queen for centuries, witnessing her unparalleled magic.
To imagine anyone capable of dismantling her spell was inconceivable. “Is it the Red Queen?”
A faint shadow of curiosity flickered in her gaze, though her expression remained composed.
Despite his long service, Lancelot had rarely glimpsed any hint of his queen’s inner thoughts or feelings.
With a silent command, she traced a few cryptic lines in the air, and as her finger finished the last stroke, a portal appeared behind Lancelot, glowing with an unearthly light.
“Lancelot. bring me the one who dared unravel my spell.”
He straightened, determination igniting in his eyes. “As you wish, Your Majesty!”
Without hesitation, he stepped toward the portal, disappearing into its depths, his singular mission clear.
As the portal she created faded, sealing the path into her realm, the serene quiet of the White Queen’s world returned.
A formless being cloaked in pure darkness loomed there, defying shape yet possessing it, both silent and somehow eternally vigilant.
It was an anomaly, something that simply did not belong within her unblemished domain.
And yet, there it remained, like a stain that could never be erased.
“When are you leaving?”
The creature’s eyes, draconic and ancient, shifted toward her, glowing with a predatory intensity that seemed to swallow light itself.
It held her gaze, but offered no answer.
“…..”
“…..”
The silence that followed was deeper than any she had known, pressing against her in a way that the tranquil stillness of her world never did.
‘Children….’
The fragmented image of a child resurfaced on her mind as she recalled the similar exhaustion she felt with the darkness intruding on her world.
Her eyes in deep wonder trying to remember the child’s face.
