Gacha Kingdom Building

Our successful escape from the freezing room granted everyone their well-deserved relief... However, it didn't last long.

The brief respite was almost immediately interrupted by the visage filling our eyes.

Everyone was confused by it and I could hardly blame them for it.

Even after focusing my sight and positioning it squarely in the center so it had all my attention... It was like it simply didn't belong there.

Like a shadow in the corner of our eyes... Every minuscule movement our eyes made, even blinking... would see it disappear for a brief movement.

However, that being wasn't moving at all... Its existence was simply too hard to capture properly.

The sentiments of our group were mixed. But many would stare at each other, almost as if asking for confirmation that their eyes weren't playing tricks on them or that their mind wasn't hallucinating.

I could hardly blame them for that.

With what information they had, mass hallucination might as well be a comforting idea.

Those wishes were crushed quickly though. As soon as I called her name, Raella responded.

No words could be heard, but the action she took confirmed her existence to any doubters.

The silently and calmly moving pen, still writing what we could only assume to be another tale of hers... Suddenly stopped.

Her red eyes, even though also quite faded, were the biggest indicator of her existence, and as they focused on us, her actions became clearer.

Their movement showed that she had stood up.

And her intention became even more obvious a second later.

She was moving in our direction.

Fear-filled hearts can possess strong wills. Even against the better judgment, in their current state, the minds of some weren't able to process the situation, and their animalistic instincts kicked in.

An unknown entity was approaching... To protect themselves, they chose to fight.

Relying on their best weapons, they went on the offensive before anyone else.

Sabrina: "May the innocent bear sight of the miracle they have longed for. As the bell tolls the promise is fulfilled and I shall become the shining light that banishes the wicked from this land. Begone... For The Holy Bells of Volan End The Saint's Pilgrimage!"

Three giant bells of light appeared above us.

Inside this domain, [Light Magic] became stronger, and everyone's natural healing and physical abilities were strengthened, alongside any element of magic aside from dark.

All the while, any form of attack that would be strong enough to pierce the barriers created by the bells was immediately negated.

This effect required one bell to be sacrificed, reducing the power they applied on allies, but being able to do that three times without spending more mana to fuel the spell was incredibly worth it.

Even better is how the bells act as sentries, releasing small beams as they ring.

While predictable due to their rhythm, the power and speed certainly made up for it.

It was certainly impressive... Both its power and the fact that she managed to cast it successfully.

She should only have unlocked this late-game spell during the first-semester break as in her route, she's tasked with visiting the city of Volan in Cobierzh, a country bordering Terith in the north.

By completing the pilgrimage and ringing the bells there she'll receive the teaching from their church.

Since the bells' locations are unknown, it is said that only true Saints, guided by the Gods, can ring them.

Thus, when someone attempts the pilgrimage and manages to ring the bells, the church of Volan will recognize them as a Saint, no matter their background or affiliations.

This is pretty important for Sabrina and Terith during the later parts of the game as that city is known for being the birthplace of the continent's first Saint, and thus, holds immense authority over these matters.

Which is why it is so strange for her to know that spell. If she had gone to Valon, she would have definitely completed the pilgrimage, and everyone would be commenting about her being recognized by other countries.

The most logical explanation I had was that... Perhaps the excessive number of monster encounters caused by Isabella's Gift caused a deviation or a special event.

More specifically, it might have been the case that the nobles of this country or the church sponsoring her decided to bring a priest from Valon to teach Sabrina the spell to protect the students.

It would still be a little reckless to have someone under-leveled try this spell though...

It's a complex spell, so the chances of a backfiring happening are immense due to how hard it is to comprehend and visualize it.

Still, whatever the case, precisely because it's such a difficult spell, I had to give her props for casting it while tired and mentally strained.

Not so praiseworthy however was Nathan, the playbo- One of Edmond's close aides.

He decided to charge at the ghost with all his might, his fist prepared to land the strongest blow he could offer, perhaps to name up for the frustrating defeat he suffered at the door handle earlier.

Sadly, his desperate attempt led him nowhere.

He's clearly received training to become a knight, his form showed that he wasn't a complete amateur, but...

That desperate attack, which showed more weakness than courage was easily stopped in its tracks by Mia.

It was astonishing... She managed to outrun him and block his attack before Bea and I could completely destroy Sabrina's spell.

Sabrina: "W-what are you doing? Why are you protecting it?" your chapter source MVL EMPYR

Miwen: "I'm interested in what she has to say.."

Raella, the ghost haunting this school for decades... There's no way she doesn't know a secret or two.

She's much too valuable to upset so early.

Sabrina: "Are you crazy? She tried to kill us with her curse!"

Right, there was that.

However, this was a mistake on Sabrina's part.

Not only because the victims hadn't been killed, but also...

Miwen: "That's impossible. She can't use [Dark Magic]."

The curses hadn't been placed on us by Raella.

I thought this was obvious, but I got quite a few shocked and confused reactions, so I had to explain further.

Miwen: "...You're supposed to be a Saint, right? Tell me, what's the characteristic most associated with them? Aside from their purity and connection to the Gods."

Sabrina: "Light and Holy magic...?"

She was right for the most part, but... her answer was lacking.

Miwen: "...It's not just the [Light Magic]. It's the healing power."

When I spoke with Elizabeth about her battle against Nissa, she made a comment that stuck with me.

Liz said she was disappointed with Nissa's healing ability. She had expected a Saint of her level and ability with [Light Magic] to be able to heal an arm much quicker.

The only explanation we had was that, while Nissa is a master at [Light Magic], she's no Saint.

Miwen: "...Think about what I said. The state the victims were in while still alive. To do that would already require a healing ability even the peak of [light Magic users in this world can't offer. But to do that to so many people at once? That must be the power of a Saint."

I saw for myself how strong a Saint's healing can be when Angelica and I were helping Lenard.

His situation wasn't as critical as Raella's victims, but it still was far from an easy case, and yet, even though Gabriella's magic couldn't outrule Nissa's Gift, it was obvious that she could keep him alive as long as she had mana.

Sabrina: "But... Can another Saint even exist while I'm here...?"

...Huh?

How self-important of her.

And also, quite ignorant.

Of course, other Saint can exist. Does she think only this world has them?

I thought this should be common knowledge... Maybe the church's education isn't that good in this country.

Or maybe the reason lies elsewhere.

Whatever the case, there was an easy way to confirm it.

Miwen: "Can you communicate?"

The ghost standing before us had two books floating by her side.

One of them was the one she was writing in earlier.

The other had appeared when one of the bells launched a beam against her before Bea and I managed to destroy the spell.

That second book released a vortex of wind that redirected the beam to the ground.

However, when I questioned her, a new book appeared, and the pen she had floated in its direction.

When she was finished, the book descended and slowly revealed to me her answer.

[I can't speak. But I'd love to talk.]

A few shrieks and disturbing sounds could be heard... She was proving to us that she couldn't speak like a human anymore.

But this was not a problem.

Miwen: "The book you were writing... is it a tale about one of us, or is it about you?"

[This one is dedicated to one Nathaniel Gerard.]

Nathan: "W-what? Release me. I'm going to-"

No matter how much he struggled, Mia was more powerful than a door handle, so there was no chance of him escaping.

Miwen: "That's what you get for playing around."

Nathan: "...She's after me... Because of that?"

Miwen: "Maybe not precisely because of that, but all the victims seemed to deserve punishment for one thing or another. And quite a few of them were playing with girls' hearts, so I'd advise you-"

[I chose to write his first since I didn't know how to start yours.]

When I heard that, I was prepared to be judged by Mia and Nathan. It was deserved and expected.

But the one that got me the most was Isabella.

I had just agreed that this was happening in part thanks to her Gift, but the one who seemed to be at fault the most for this happening to us was actually me. And Nathaniel.

Miwen: "...I see. I'm more interested in yours than Nathan's though."

[It's too embarrassing...]

I couldn't believe I was hearing that from a ghost.

Miwen: "...Consider it thanks for breaking the curse placed on you."

Since we weren't the targets, that left one option left.

I wasn't sure about the details since I wasn't the one who broke it, but I had a rough idea.

I'd only be able to confirm my suspicions once we read her side of the story, but that was the most difficult part.

She was keen on not telling us where the first book was hidden.

We only managed to convince her thanks to Isabella promising that only the girls would take a look.

As for the contents... They didn't disclose too much to us.

The important bits were related to her identity as a Saint and a student of this school, much like Sabrina.

The girls also said she had a valid reason for her tendency to punish playboys, but they refused to go into detail about that.

Like the others, her own story focused on her time at the school, only to abruptly change course in the later chapters.

Near the end, the book goes into detail about Raella's death.

It seems to have been quite a disturbing development, especially since even after her soul had departed from her body, she wasn't able to rest and had a curse placed on her.

Thankfully, the identity of the person responsible for this was also written in it.

It was our first clue to unveil at least one of the mysteries of this school, and yet, it seemed like Raella had even more to share with us.