[44.3] May the Holy Light Shine

As we walked down the tunnel, I pulled out my wand to create more light. The stones lit up everything very well, but it was still a bit too dim.

Suddenly, I heard an annoying voice come from behind me, "I can do that too!"

I turned around with a snarl to see Priscilla rushing after me, followed by her Royal Magician and Royal guard. She pulled out her wand and muttered a spell, "Lumen~"

The tip of her wand lit up and she looked at me triumphantly.

I rolled my eyes, "And why do I care?"

"Because mine is better!!"

"Haah? Are you being serious right now?"

Her shoulder hit mine as she waved her wand, "See! Look!"

I pushed her out of my personal space, "Get away from me!"

Cyrus stood off to our side with an indifferent expression as he was bumped and pushed as a result of our shoving match.

Captain Lou quickly stepped in to push us apart, "Stop it you two! You both behave worse than my younger siblings!"

I immediately took offense, "What!? But I didn't do anything! She's the one who won't leave me alone!"

She stuck out her tongue, "You started it!"

"Ugh! See? I'm just trying to mind my own business!"

"You are not!"

"Won't you shut up?!"

"Make me!"

I pointed at her, "Look! She's being violent! Disqualify her!"

Captain Lou's face twitched, "...I don't get paid enough for this."

Cyrus let out a sigh, "Can't you two keep it down? I'm afraid you'll cause a cave-in if you continue shouting."

I jumped on the other side of Cyrus to push him between Priscilla and me, "Just keep her away from me!"

Priscilla and I continued to argue the further we traveled into the tunnel.

Suddenly Captain Lou shouted, "All of you! Stop!"

We all abruptly stopped in our tracks and looked at him in confusion. He took a defensive stance as his eyes darted along the roof of the tunnel.

We all followed his gaze in confusion, but nothing looked abnormal.

I spoke up, "What? What is it?"

His eyes continued to dart around, "Didn't you notice? The other contestants are gone."

We looked around in surprise. Sure enough, we were completely isolated. Even the Royal Guard who was assigned to Priscilla was missing.

Cyrus frowned, "It's not an illusion."

Priscilla gulped, "Then did we step into a trap?"

I narrowed my eyes and took a deep breath, "It's not a trap, it's-"

My eyes shrank back in instinctual fear at the sensation of an invisible hand gripping my throat. The light around me suddenly disappeared, leaving me in an abyss of darkness.

I collapsed as the energy left me.

In the distance, I saw a golden light charging toward me, but it didn't fill me with relief.

-Only fear.

Before the sharp light hit my body, it was suddenly dissipated by an unseen force.

I was left alone in the unbearable silence that was enough to drive me crazy.

I wanted to scream, but I had no voice.

As I started sinking further and further into the abyss, hands suddenly reached out and wrapped around me in a hug.

I blinked in disbelief as Cyrus, covered completely in a golden light, held onto me tightly.

His voice reached my ear in a gentle caress, "Reika…"

I blinked repeatedly and watched as the abyss abruptly receded.

I had never left the tunnel.

The abyss was all in my head.

Cyrus held me protectively in his arms as he glared at the end of the tunnel.

Captain Lou stood in front of all of us with a sword covered in flames. He frowned as he stared ahead at the sudden appearance of a woman in a white cloak holding a blade pulsating with pure white mana.

Captain Lou shouted at her, "Who are you to attack us with Holy Magic!?"

Holy magic?

The woman nonchalantly pointed her sword at me, "Give me the girl."

Captain Lou clenched his jaw, "And why should I!?"

I felt Cyrus's arms tighten around me.

The hooded woman tilted her head, "Why are you protecting her? She must die to preserve order and peace. I am doing this to help you all. Can't you see that?"

Captain Lou stared her down, "Every citizen deserves a trial before prosecution. Until I find evidence to convict her, I will not allow anyone to touch her."

I felt touched despite the cold words he said.

She let out a sigh, "Ah… I will forgive you for your ignorance since you don't know better."

Before anyone could prepare, she launched an attack.

Captain Lou rushed to counter it and met her blade without fear. Sparks flew as the two attacked each other without holding back. Captain Lou's blade burned brighter as cuts started appearing on his face.

He let out a shout as he feigned an attack and attacked her at the weak spot he found.

She staggered back, holding her wounded arm that was now unusable.

However, much to everyone's surprise, the wound on the arm stopped bleeding and healed before our eyes. She made a fist, regaining control of her arm.

She let out a hum, "You're all stronger than I thought you were. Such a shame you went against my benevolent nature. Now I have no choice but to punish you for your sins."

She charged at Captain Lou once more, but before she went to attack, her body suddenly disappeared midair.

Captain Lou's eyes shrank back and turned to Cyrus and me, "LOOK OUT!"

In the blink of an eye, a pure white blade appeared in front of my face.

My heart was racing so violently that I didn't even have time to breathe.

Pure fear coursed through my body and felt like it exploded from within.

Time suddenly slowed down.

I watched as the blade slowly came closer, now mere inches away from my eyes.

In my panic, I didn't even notice the red string become visible and start to pulsate.

Cyrus wasn't as slow as the blade charging at me and was already prepared to knock back the cloaked woman's sword and parry with his own attack.

A brief flash of white light reflected off her blade and caused her to fall back from the force.

She landed on her feet just as time returned to normal.

*drip drip*

The seeping smell of copper filled my nostrils.

The cloaked woman stared at the blood dripping from the wound on her shoulder. Unlike the other wound we saw her receive, this one didn't heal. She stared at it for what felt like hours before she slowly turned to look at me, sending a chill up my spine.

Her voice was sharp, "The Holy Light will always purify Chaos. Fate cannot be escaped and trespassers must be erased."

Her pure white sword was raised to the ceiling.

A burst of white exploded across the tunnel, completely blinding us.

Once the flashes died down, the tunnel started to tremble forcefully.

I flung my hands through the air as I tried to balance and refrain from falling over.

Everyone else was having such difficulty standing that none of us could run away or even notice that the cloaked woman had left.

Cyrus shouted at me, "Rei-"

My mind went blank as I saw the ceiling break apart and buckle as cracks erupted around us. The last thing I saw was the ceiling caving in.