Chapter 69: Chapter 66: Down in the Basement
Deep under the academy, inside a room that had been built especially for her, lurked Alexia and her guard. Her faithful companion, Oct, wasn't by her side at the moment, so she couldn't help but feel lonely. Still, Alexia felt much better than she had in ages. Color had returned to her cheeks, and she was slowly but surely turning back into the beauty she'd always been.
The reason behind this sudden shift was Dias's last message: "Do not worry, Lady Alexia. Oct's trick has worked. The saint has left the academy."
Oct had left the basement brimming with confidence and promising to lure the saint away from the academy. Apparently, his plan had gone without a hitch. He'd manipulated a student with a twisted adoration for Ellize and had made her out to be the witch. Ellize had fallen for it and had gone after her.
Knowing Ellize's strength, Alexia was pretty sure she'd already taken down Elizabeth, the girl Oct had used. Since her companion had yet to come back, there was only one conclusion she could draw—Oct had lost his life alongside Elizabeth.
Losing a faithful retainer who'd been by her side ever since she'd become the witch pained her, but her relief far exceeded her sadness. If anything, Alexia was overjoyed—the terrifying saint had finally taken her eyes off the academy.
She couldn't afford to be complacent, though—there was no telling when Ellize's suspicions would lead her back here. Alexia needed insurance, and what better way to do so than capturing a few of Ellize's favorite students? She'd turn them into puppets that obeyed her orders, just like that woman called Farah she used to control. If Ellize ever came back, she'd have hostages ready. Alexia patted herself on the back; she truly was a genius.
She'd told Dias to send the students down to the basement and he'd answered with a date. Finally, today was the day.
Dias had pretended that there was a second underground arena most teachers didn't know about right under the first one. He'd organized a special lesson there, so as to send the unsuspecting students and their teacher right into Alexia's trap.
Including the teacher, nine people were to enter the basement. It was a bit of a large group, but Alexia didn't mind. If anything, she was pleased—the more hostages, the better. If she only secured one or two of them, she'd be forced to handle them carefully, as they'd be her only trump card. With a bunch of them, she could use a few as meat shields, or even kill some to pressure Ellize if push came to shove. These hostages would be her lifeline. The greater the number of students, the more leeway she'd have.
Alexia was certain that hostages were the best way to checkmate Ellize. That pure-hearted goody two-shoes might even commit suicide to save them if she were to order it.
Needless to say, Alexia was aware that she was in for a fight. She'd be faced with one teacher and eight future knights. Still, she felt quite confident. She was the witch, and she had four powerful monsters by her side. A spider's web wouldn't break under the weight of a couple of flies. They'd all be at her mercy before long.
Unfortunately for her, Alexia had yet to realize that she was already trapped in a much larger web.
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"Whoa! I never knew there was such a place under the underground arena!" John exclaimed with a cheerful tone as he looked around. The young man was as nervous as could be, but he couldn't let it show. He had to look like a clueless student convinced he was there for yet another mundane class.
The success of Ellize's entire plan rested on the group's ability to act. They couldn't let the witch suspect that they'd been sent here under the saint's order. If Alexia suspected that something was amiss, she'd flee at once. They needed to lure her into fighting them and tire her out without arousing suspicion.
The students led by Supple continued to advance until they arrived in a large, open space. There stood a woman clad in a lengthy black dress, her long silver hair almost entirely concealed by her black hood. Her cheeks were sunken, she had deep-set dark circles, and her darkened purplish lips stood out against her pale skin. Strange, dark miasma floated around her, and Verner was immediately reminded of his past—it was the same horrible miasma that had plagued him in his youth. She looked every bit like a heinous witch.
Around the witch were a wyvern, a minotaur, a hippogriff, and an orthrus. Each of these monsters was a force to be reckoned with, and even seasoned knights would struggle to fight them.
Wyverns were grotesque monsters that had the head of a dragon, the feet of an eagle, the wings of a bat, and a snake for a tail. They could fly and breathe out fire. They were one of the witches' favorite creatures, and countless of them had been created over the years. The first ever sighting of a wyvern had occurred in Fuguten, and to this day, they were the most infamous monster on the island, where they were seen as a symbol of the witch's dominion.
Minotaurs had the head of a bull and the body of a human—a very large human. They were over three meters tall and wielded a gigantic battle-ax. The minotaurs' proximity to humans made them quite similar to archmonsters, but in truth, they were failures—monsters that hadn't succeeded in evolving to the next step. As such, their intellect was fairly low. The one that accompanied the witch glared at Verner and his friends, breathing heavily through its huge nose.
The upper part of a hippogriff's body looked like an eagle, while the bottom half was horselike. They were quite similar to griffons, only much calmer. That tranquil appearance didn't mean they weren't fearsome beasts, though. Their favorite activity? Feasting on human or horse meat.
As for orthruses, they were essentially two-headed black dogs with a snake for a tail.
(Unrelated side-note: there was indeed a strangely high ratio of monsters with a snake for a tail.)
None of these beasts could compare to dragons and archmonsters, but they were still dreadful creatures in their own right. If you took their position as the witch's guards into consideration, though, it was plain to see that something was off. They were obviously too weak for that role. The witch's back was up against the wall.
"Wh-Who are you?!" Verner screamed, feigning panic. He had to look terrified so that the witch would lower her guard. He was a poor lamb faced against a pack of wolves.
"G-Guys... I don't think we should stay here..." Eterna whimpered, taking a step back.
"Teacher! What is going on?!" Fiora yelled, blaming Supple.
"I-I don't know!" Supple exclaimed, acting out his part as the foolish teacher tricked by his superior. "I have no idea what's going on! The monsters were supposed to be in cages, not running around freely! And who in the world is that woman?!"
His acting was a tad too dramatic, but the witch seemed to buy it. Her darkened lips had curled into a sadistic grin, and she took one step forward, shortening the distance between herself and the students.
Verner and the others retreated, cowering, as Supple let out a high-pitched scream.
"There's no need to be scared, children. If you don't resist, I shall not hurt you," Alexia said, sending a blast of mana into the air to intimidate them.
"Th-This mana..." Marie stuttered. "No way... The witch?"
Alexia smiled, as though to confirm the girl's deduction.
"I'm not staying here! I'm leaving! Right now!" Crunchybite yelled, running away.
"We need to let Lady Ellize know at once!" Aina exclaimed, following right behind him.
Naturally, this was also part of the plan. Had they immediately decided to fight her, Alexia might have realized that something was strange. Trying to flee made a lot more sense.
The human psyche was simple: people instinctively wanted to chase those who ran away. Conversely, people wanted nothing more than to flee when someone chased them. Another important touch was Aina's choice of words. What she'd just said implied that Ellize didn't know yet, which cemented that idea in Alexia's head.
"My, my, who said you were allowed to leave?" the witch said.
The two stone statues that decorated the entrance of the room moved in unison, blocking the only exit. Alexia created a barrier, making sure their escape path was cut off for good.
Naturally, the students were secretly grateful—Alexia had just wasted a ton of mana, and they hadn't even started fighting.
"I'm sorry to break it to you, but no one escapes from the witch's clutches," Alexia said with a warped smile.
Their plan was a success. They'd made Alexia believe that she was the one in control—the hunter who'd managed to entrap her prey.
Alexia had only one fear: Ellize finding her. She'd do anything to ensure the students couldn't escape and tattle.
The students' masterful acting had made Alexia throw away any thoughts of escaping. Now that the stage was set, the second act could begin.
"Hmph. There's nowhere to run for—" Eterna and Fiora both smacked Alfrea's head to stop her from derailing their plan. There was no telling why that idiot had thought it was a good time to talk back to the witch, but Eterna and Fiora's quick reaction had saved them from failure.
"If we can't run away...we have no choice but to fight, everyone!" Verner exclaimed, taking out his sword.
"Verner's right! We can't falter, we're future knights!" John agreed, following suit.
Crunchybite joined them. "We can do this! We definitely can!"
"No! This is madness!" Aina screamed.
Alexia looked at the group of pathetic fools, her warped smile growing. They couldn't even tell how big of a gap existed between their abilities and hers.
A misguided sense of superiority sometimes led people astray. Things they should have been able to see slipped right past them. In this case, Alexia was so certain that she was leagues above these measly students that she'd based every one of her decisions on that fact. It was self-conceit at its finest.
"Let's do this together, guys!" Verner exclaimed.
They split into two groups. The first thing they needed to do was split the witch and her monsters. The first team, Verner, Marie, and Supple, would be in charge of keeping the witch occupied, while the others killed the monsters. Their goal was to take out the monsters as swiftly as possible and isolate the witch.
The saints could doubtlessly handle these beasts, even one-on-one, so Alfrea was left to take the wyvern. Meanwhile, Eterna faced the minotaur. While they did so, Aina, John, Fiora, and Crunchybite would handle the other two monsters. As soon as they were done, the saints would assist them. Then, they'd all join forces and focus on tiring the witch out. Alfrea and Eterna would attack the witch at the same time. If they could force her to create a barrier to defend herself, they'd have won.
A spell was only as powerful as the amount of mana you poured into it. If Alexia wanted her barrier to handle the powers of two saints fighting together, she'd have to use more mana than the two of them combined.
According to Ellize, she surely wouldn't have enough mana left to teleport if she did that.
We can end this era here and now, Verner and the others thought as they prepared to fight the witch.
(2k word count)
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