Chapter: 123. The Arrival of the Anomaly
On the top floor of the administration building of the Infinite Academy, the light was obscured by thick clouds, and the indoors was filled with a tranquil yet oppressive atmosphere.
As Adam walked into the office located at the deepest part of the building, he took off his coat and casually hung it on the back of a chair.
The call was connected, and Adam began the teleconference with other members of the Special Circumference SEMA board through his headset, reporting on the work done during today’s inspection.
“Did you see the target?” came a cold voice from Adam’s headset, a query from another member of the SEMA board.
Today, Adam had come to the Infinite Academy as a representative dispatched by the SEMA board to assess the “new protagonist candidate.”
He gazed solemnly out the window, where heavy clouds blocking the sunlight made the entire campus appear somewhat gloomy.
“To be honest, at first glance, he seems very ordinary, so ordinary that he might just blend into the crowd and disappear,” Adam answered candidly, his low voice echoing in the quiet office, his tone showing no fluctuation.
This was his first impression upon seeing Souji today.
“The impression he leaves is worlds apart from that of the former Elemental Sovereign,” Adam continued.
As soon as he finished speaking, a faint chuckle came through the headset; a small number of board members seemed to find Adam’s comparison overly humorous.
“Well, if we are using the former Elemental Sovereign as a benchmark, then surely no one would qualify,” another board member added, lacing their tone with sarcasm.
“What about his strength then? How does he compare to the former Elemental Sovereign?” someone raised a new question.
“Regarding the strength of the new protagonist ‘Tsukimi Sou’, I have already watched the match footage sent over yesterday. Although his abilities are indeed unheard of…” came the voice of another board member through the headset, tinged with resignation, “to be honest, his strength is simply not on the same level as the former Elemental Sovereign.”
After a moment of silence, another board member chimed in, “Speaking of his abilities, has a definitive name been established yet?”
“Not yet. Neither the naming group of the SEMA nor the research teams from the three major academies have reached a conclusion.”
…
Soon, members of the SEMA board began to express their opinions on the teleconference, with several members even engaging in heated debates, while Adam sat quietly in his chair behind the desk, his brow slightly furrowed, his gaze once again drawn to the window.
Until one board member brought the topic back to Adam and posed a question to him—
“So, Adam, in your opinion, what do you think is the likelihood of Tsukimi Sou being the new protagonist?”
After hearing this, Adam fell silent for a moment, and the entire teleconference seemed to grow particularly quiet along with his silence, as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting for his answer.
“Regarding Tsukimi Sou, I believe—”
Just as he was about to speak, a gentle knock on the door suddenly interrupted.
“Mr. Adam, there’s a student named Tsukimi Sou from the Ark Academy who wants to come up and see you—”
————————————-
In the audience stands of the competition venue.
Since this was the first match of the day, even the participating contestants could choose to go to the audience stands to watch.
However, Nagino’s attention was not on the competition, but rather scanning the area left and right.
“Um, Hoshimiya-kun, what are you looking for?”
Since Sou had specifically instructed him to keep an eye on her, Uemon quietly observed Nagino beside him.
Although he wasn’t clear on what Sou was planning, he would naturally do his best not to let Nagino notice anything odd, as per her instructions.
However, such small tricks did not escape Nagino’s notice.
Nagino merely acted as if she were searching for something, and Uemon approached her for a conversation, which was not his usual style, reinforcing her conviction that Sou was not here and was secretly doing something dangerous.
Although with Sou’s current strength, she should not encounter any real danger within the Infinite Academy, Nagino still hoped that she would not engage in any reckless behavior that might attract the attention of fantasy monsters.
The ongoing match remained intense; the battle between Mana and Amane was far more fierce than expected, even exceeding the scope of normal students. The magical impacts and flashes of light shook the arena, drawing everyone’s attention to these two talents.
—Am I the only one left in the dark?
This thought surfaced in Nagino’s mind, followed by a fleeting image of the confrontation between Garuda and the Shadow of the Apocalypse back at the Ark Academy.
In the past month, Nagino hadn’t summoned Garuda or any other fantasy creatures again; she had merely allowed them to remain in a slumbering state within her soul.
While she yearned to know the truth from that year, she also feared discovering it.
This contradictory emotion felt like an invisible shackle, winding tightly around her heart, leading her to seek refuge in the extraordinarily stable daily life of the past month, as if she had entered the elopement route from the original plot of “Star Pull,” enjoying that forbidden peace.
—Once I hand over those extraordinary items to Sou and Mana, perhaps I can embark on the journey to find the truth in peace.
In this month, Nagino had thought long and hard and realized many things.
She did not intend to believe what Nanjo Akane and the Shadow of the Apocalypse had said; rather, she resolved to find the truth behind the death from that year herself, to recover those lost memories.
Since Sou had awakened her abilities, and Mana had also awakened for the second time and thoroughly grasped virtual kingship, with their combined power, they were more than capable of protecting the high-risk character “Tsukimi Yukino” from “Star Pull 2,” and self-preservation was certainly well within their means.
Although Sou’s ability had only seven uses, far from sufficient to save the world, since she was still alive and had resolved the issue of the Apocalypse contamination, her lack of power could be compensated for by her own efforts.
Thus, Nagino’s next plan was quite simple: after this academy league ended, she intended to make a comeback, whether as the “Fox Priestess” or the “Elemental Queen,” with only one goal in mind—to clarify the truth hidden within the memories she had lost and to address the mess left by the Apocalypse completely.
The so-called Curse of the Apocalypse could be resolved if she figured out the nature of its fragments and the method of recovery. This time, Nagino was confident she could handle the remaining fragments of others’ souls without being contaminated herself.
In that case, she would no longer need Sou to take on the role of the protagonist for her.
Moreover, she finally had a place to return to.
During the day, she could be a normal student alongside Sou and everyone else, and at night, address world crises.
Although it sounded like she had transformed back into a “corporate slave,” still busy saving the world, as long as she could “save” it——Strange… why do I feel this strong desire to save this world? It’s clearly just a mediocre galgame world called the “Star Pull” series.
This doubt emerged in Nagino’s mind; she vaguely felt it was related to her arrival in this world, but no matter how she recalled, she couldn’t remember the specific reason.
Every time she attempted to clarify this question, her attention would unintentionally drift to other matters.
“Um, Uemon-kun, you keep an eye on things; I’ll go find Sou.” After speaking, Nagino smiled slightly and then stood up.
“Eh? W-wait! Hoshimiya-san—” Uemon called out, wanting to stop Nagino, but just then, the entire audience stand rose in excitement due to the spectacular clash below, forming a wall of people that blocked him.
Taking advantage of her agile movements, Nagino slipped into the crowd, disappearing from Uemon’s sight in the blink of an eye.
“Oh no…” Uemon muttered to himself as he anxiously rushed toward the exit of the audience stands.
Nagino did not immediately seek out Sou; instead, she took a moment to look around the venue.
Upon spotting Kurokawa and Midelash, she felt a bit relieved.
“Well, since Midelash is here, there shouldn’t be too much of a problem…” she mused softly to herself before turning around and quietly slipping out of the underground area.
However, just as she stepped out of the underground area—
The anomaly arrived.
A completely different magical wave descended from the heavens.
