02x04 - Kuroi Tou

[bunniefuu]

Stop! Don't close it!

Let me out!

Hey!

You're kidding.

Insects! Insects again!

Get away! I hate insects!

No!

You said you captured the
girl posing as the hero,

Alicia Glenfall?

Alicia Glenfall?

Yes. Her soul is trapped
within the mirror.

As long as this book remains closed,

she will never be able to escape.

So you've mastered
the use of the Book of Toah.

Of course.

This book

was passed down through my family,
who served as bishops in the Village of Origin.

After meeting you

and receiving your guidance,

I have now fully regained my power.

All of this is to achieve
our long-cherished wish.

To achieve our goal,
we must gather all of the books.

The last one, The Book of the Furnace,

is in Clevatess's possession.

I need you to seize it
by any means necessary.

I will, General.

As long as we are within Solsein,
the former Village of Origin,

no one can defy the power of this book.

Not even the Lord of Dark Beasts.

Please wait just a little longer,

the Great King of the North.

Come to think of it, I never imagined
the hero Alicia would turn into such a beast.

And the one who captured her

was our very own Andrew Hwyp.

This just got interesting.

Welcome back, Andrew.

I'm back, Ray.

Did you catch something again?

A mouse.

This one should live a bit longer.

I really admire your thirst for knowledge.

You even went so far as to
build a basement using magic.

Is it bothering you?

Not at all.

Merry Merry and I

are fond of your quiet
but passionate personality.

Fel.

Sometimes I hear
what sounds like people talking.

But I can't make out what they're saying.

Is this a dream?

Is someone showing me
this dream on purpose?

Was I placed somewhere?

On the floor, or on a table?

What is this place?

What is he going to do with me?

Now… what's this?

What's wrong?

The dark ichor's signal
was already faint in this land.

Now it's gone completely.

Could she have been captured?

Clevatess?

Let's talk later.

I understand what happened
in the past now, more or less.

And I also understand you're
a piece of work, Zavtier.

I'm sorry I kept quiet about
what happened before you were born.

I thought it was all over.

But I was wrong.

The revival of the hero legend?

We must stop this at any cost.

Absolutely.


took its current shape,

there were massive sacrifices.

With your predecessors
falling one after another,

the one who ended
our 200-year w*r against the hero

was Vordin,
the Northern Lord of Dark Beasts.

So all those scars covering his body
were from that time?

So that's how strong a true hero is.

A hero evolved to the final stage
far surpasses us in power.

It was a nightmare.

And the one who knows this best

is Vordin,
who fought the hero most fiercely.

So why would he help
revive the hero legend?

His reasons don't matter at all.

He is my enemy who invaded my domain

and bared his fangs at me.

Anyone connected to him
is an enemy as well.

That's all I need to know.

I will continue to do things my way.

You better be careful, Clevatess.

You're outside your domain.

Things won't go as smoothly
as they did in Haiden.

That's why I brought a servant.

Just like you, Zavtier.

You noticed?

Of course.

I didn't bring anyone with me.

My servant seems to be
out of communication range right now.

Where is she slacking off?

Oh, no! He undid the barrier.

I feel dizzy.

So he and the hero Alicia…

No, he lost contact with Alyssa?

Is she alright?

Alyssa Sleihunt is absent again today.

Clen, have you heard anything?

Not a thing.

I see.

Maybe she's already gone back
to her own country.

There are people like that sometimes.

They can't keep up with the classes
and end up running away.

No way that's true.

How many days have I gone
without food or water?

It feels like
everything is slowly decaying.

This isn't the real world.

The reason I'm so sure

is because of that.

My reflection in the glass

is a beast that looks like a mouse.

The scenery behind me
doesn't seem out of place,

which means…

this is my appearance in reality.

It means the giant who captured me

is someone of human size.

It has to be that person who was there,

the guy who's ranked third in our year.

Is that frog food for me?

Does he want to keep me as a pet?

No, that's probably not it.

Because…

this is his cultivation ground.

And I'm the feed for this thing, aren't I?

Your visit always surprises me.

Gart.

I provide you with wings.

And you provide me with information.

That's the contract, Rhode of Eslinn.

You must offer a result
equal to the effort of my flight.

Please call me Barnes here.

I'm the new history teacher here.

I know you're here
to expose Drel's secrets.

My goal is the same.

Have you found anything?

I'm still investigating.

So far, all I know is that

there's no hidden room
in the school building.

Miquel looked into this.

He's an expert in infiltration,
search, and reconnaissance.

If he says so, it's definitely correct.

And according to what I've heard,

students at this school
often disappear without warning.

Often?

Rumor has it most of them
eventually return safely.

And it seems that's a ritual
necessary to learn magic.

So no one considers it a problem.

The more excellent the student,
the more they look forward to it.

The returning students
might awaken some kind of magic aptitude.

And if they have no aptitude,

they end up mentally and physically broken
like Nathan Franc a few days ago,

and eventually take a leave of absence
or drop out.

Simply put, it's a screening process.

The problem is
we don't know how it's done.

I believe it's connected
to Drel's Chamber of Secrets.

Then the key is the missing students.

Who's the student missing right now?

A foreign transfer student from Haiden.

Alyssa Sleihunt.

Finding her is the key
to solving this mystery.

She's been missing for three days.

She could be screened at any moment.

I'm more worried
she'll be k*lled as a spy.

It's too cruel for children so young.

Did he not realize she's the hero?

If you find anything,
please be sure to tell me.

All I can do
is observe from the sidelines.

But nothing escapes my eyes.

I'll notify you immediately
if I find anything new.

Please.

Though he's not necessarily an ally,

he's really reliable.

What should I do?

Why did that hero vanish?

"We might be able to learn the truth
about the Chamber of Secrets."

That's the last thing she said.

I was wondering why she ran off,
and then she just went missing.

I'm looking for that place too.

If I don't find it,
the Emperor might actually k*ll me.

If the Emperor finds out I gave her a hint
and she ran off with the secret,

I'll definitely be k*lled.

No, it mustn't happen.

Just seeing the t*rture tools
would scare me to death.

Since I can manipulate iron, they'll definitely
execute me using something other than iron.

Hot!

What on earth should I do?

I have to find her. I must find her…

Remember, Naie Shifonlitz.

What else did the hero say?

She said she'd destroy the secret
that could spark a w*r before it's too late.

She also said she's cooperating
with the twins from Eslinn.

Why the twins?

Is she not connected to the two
who came as teachers?

To avoid w*r,

she deliberately teamed up with the twins,
who aren't soldiers?

I'll never find her on my own.

I need help from someone
who understands my predicament.

Not that guy. He's too terrifying.

There's a dread about him
that I just can't stomach.

Then I guess
I really have to ask a student.

Asking a local student
will only make my situation worse.

If I ask a foreign transfer student…

Idiot! Why would I leak the secret
to even more people?

All I can do now is…

Alright.

I'm getting out of here.

Tell me more about that.

It's you.

How… How did you get in here?

The windows are closed,
and the door was locked!

Besides, this is the dormitory
for female teachers!

I followed the shadow carrying her scent.

The longer you talk to her,
the stronger the scent gets.

S-Scent?

After three days, it naturally fades.

But since she hasn't returned,
I had no choice but to investigate.

Tracking people by scent? Are you a dog?

I am not a dog.

But even my nose
can't track her actual body.

That's the biggest problem.

Her scent vanished in the botanical area
on the east side of the school building.

Even if she were k*lled,
there would still be a lingering scent.

But she disappeared without a trace.
It's baffling.

She is a hero after all.

But there were no signs of a struggle.

If she ran off after talking to you,

that means she found a crucial answer
in her own way.

Speak. Tell me everything you know.

Tell me about the power people gain here,

its connection to the beasts that appear,

and every single word
you exchanged with her.

If necessary, I'll scramble your brains
to make you talk.

What… What is wrong with you?

How can you say something so terrifying?

You were serious about
scrambling my brains, weren't you?

And you mentioned shadows
and tracking people by scent.

Are you really human?

Well…

Will you talk now?

You've seen this form.
You should understand now.

If you don't obey me,

you will die.

And I'll make sure it's a painful death.

I'm doomed.

It's so over for me.

If you understand, speak.

Don't you faint on me.

That hurts…
- You're awake?

That hurts…
- Then speak.

Yes, Master.

I don't care anymore!

I see.

What's happening here

is modeled after part of the hero legend.

The Village of Origin, huh?

Zavtier mentioned this too.

I'll ask my servant in person later
what she noticed.

Next, about people turning into beasts.

Yes. In my generation,

students who couldn't adapt to Crystal Magic
would always take on the appearance of a beast.

Back then, they almost never returned to normal,
but it seems different now.

I have no memory of that time,
so I heard it all from others.

I heard the trial tests
whether the subject can subdue the power.

If you subdue it, you gain the power.

If it consumes you,
even your soul becomes that of a beast,

and you'll be hunted down
by teachers or other students.

My servant might have been caught up
in that trial you mentioned.

Then there should've been a huge uproar
about a beast appearing by now.

If she had gained the power,

she would have shown herself already.

It's also possible
she's imprisoned somewhere in her beast form.

If that's the case,

the question becomes who did it and why.

If they know she's the hero
who defeated Drel and still did this, that means…

Is this their goal?

They might think now that she's gone,

and I'm outside my domain,

they can easily snatch this from me.

I… I think I've seen this book before.

They underestimate me.

The roof!

What happened?

Clevatess, is he…

What is that?

A black tower?

The thing you desire is here.

Right in this place.

If you want it, come and take it yourself.

What is that tower?

That voice came from there, didn't it?

It's that guy, Andrew.

My "runic" symbol incantation is stirring.

This feeling,

I've felt it
since the first time I saw him.

He's behind this. No doubt.

Well.

Looks like the Southern one
is up to something interesting.

Hey, look!

Mr. Barnes.

I'm seeing it too.

And that voice just now.

What's going on?

That tower wasn't there
during the day, was it?

Hey, go check it out.

No way.

Could it be the trial to get a rune?

Seriously?

Silence.

I am Dean Elro Romain.

Students

and all staff working on campus,
please remain calm.

This is a drill.

A drill?

Those who cannot resist this voice

return to your dormitories immediately.

Lock your doors
and fall into a deep sleep.

Yes, understood…

Is it okay to make a move now?

Even though it's an emergency,

there are many spies
in the school right now…

No matter how many spies,
they are powerless before this book.

But we cannot allow that thing here.

Placing such a filthy foreign object in Solsein,
the sacred ground of the Village of Origin,

is absolutely unforgivable.