"Oh? Congrats." He smiled faintly at her words. "When exactly did you defeat a vengeful spirit that could have killed a hundred people?"
Emily’s Class Quest had four requirements:
Have three powerful ghosts swear fealty to you and gain their Beast Bond
Subjugate five different ghost types using Spirit Conductor abilities
Defeat a vengeful spirit that has slaughtered at least 100 people
Survive a death trial, where you face the spirits of those you’ve slain
"The N’theris Serpent’s spirit. I subdued it before making a Beast Bond with it. That completed my quest."
"I see."
The spirits she created using the Phantom Core Extractor were counted toward quest requirements.
That alone made things much easier for her.
Combined with the other item he had given her, it wasn’t surprising that she had finished everything so quickly.
"What about the death trial? Did you complete it too?"
"That’s the only thing left," she said. "But Aunty said it would take only half a day to a day at most to complete it. And..."
She crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly, clearly thinking something over.
"I feel like I can start the death trial at any moment. I just need to wish for it, and it will start."
Isaac was surprised. That was unexpected.
It sounds like the death trial takes her to another location where she has to complete a test.
He thought about it a bit longer.
It reminded him of how instance dungeons worked.
Those, along with permanent dungeons, were scattered across different wilderness areas.
Not much was known about them beyond the fact that entering one could transport people to another dimension, where they had to complete trials or challenges to claim rewards.
"Don’t start the trial yet, okay?" Isaac told her.
"Why?" she asked curiously.
"Your death trial will make you fight against everything you’ve killed until now. So we need to prepare for it."
Truthfully, he was confused.
If the trial worked like that, then ideally she should have been avoiding killing altogether to make it easier on herself.
But neither Professor Catherine nor Vice Principal Eleanor had stopped her from fighting or killing enemies.
They must have some kind of plan, he thought.
...
Celia POV
She stood on the roof of a tall building.
The sky above was a dark expanse without a single star in sight.
The winds tugged at her hair, whipping strands against her cheeks.
She didn’t move to brush them away. Her attention was fixed on the device in her hand.
The screen was filled with missed calls and unread messages. Her brother’s name appeared again and again, along with multiple members of the Titan Edge guild.
She hadn’t answered a single one.
"...Haaah..."
A deep sigh slipped from her lips.
She was stumped.
What was she supposed to say to him when she finally faced him?
Should she tell him she had ignored his orders because it was her choice?
Should she prepare herself for an argument?
Or should she lower her head and ask for forgiveness?
A faint, humorless laugh escaped her. "Heh. I’m being so indecisive. This is what happens when you leave all your decisions to other people for too long. You will never grow up."
Her voice sounded smaller against the wide emptiness of the night sky.
After several more seconds of silence, she made her decision.
A dark cloud began to form in the air in front of her, twisting and expanding until it was large enough for her to walk through.
Without hesitation, she stepped inside.
Her vision blurred.
In the next moment, she emerged in her brother’s office.
He was sitting behind his desk, one hand tapping the tabletop in a steady rhythm. The silence was loud, and it filled all corners of the room.
The moment she saw his face, her chest tightened.
It was the first time she had ever seen him direct his anger at her.
Vale had always been cold to other people, often distant, but never to her. To her, he had always been careful, and protective. He always treated her like a fragile flower that needed sheltering.
Now, his gaze on her was as cold and sharp as the one he used on strangers.
"I thought I told you to stay away from today’s conflict," Vale said.
"I couldn’t let people die." Her voice wavered slightly, but she kept speaking. "It was our responsibility to take down the N’theris Serpent. We brought it here."
"But we didn’t bring the people here. They came to the N’theris Serpent on their own. Their lives are their own responsibility."
"...What?"
His words hit her harder than she expected.
She had always believed there was a softer side to him, even if he rarely showed it. But right now, she wasn’t sure what she was hearing.
"...What do you mean by that?" she asked, her voice turning quieter.
"We don’t have the responsibility to protect others. If they die to the N’theris Serpent, it’s their own fault."
Celia opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her mind was struggling to process what he had just said.
Vale didn’t seem interested in explaining further. "How did you kill the N’theris Serpent?"
"Isaac did."
"Did you ask him for help?"
"...No. He called me."
"And did he ask for anything in return for killing the serpent?"
"...No." She was answering in a daze now, still caught on her brother’s earlier words. "But I promised to become his Subject if he took down the serpent."
Vale exhaled sharply.
It was almost like a scoff.
"I told you not to do that. And yet you went ahead and did it anyway?"
"Brother—"
"Silence."
The single word froze her in place.
He stared at her in silence for a long moment, his expression unchanging. Finally, he spoke again. "Leave."
"...What?"
"Leave. Since you like taking your own decisions, go and live by yourself. Don’t come back until I call for you. And you are forbidden from contacting any members of the Titan Edge guild or asking for their help."