Chapter 84: A Change Of Plans

(A/N: Sorry for the late upload; I have been very busy with my academics!)

"Don’t get in my way!"

Lucius surged back to his feet, the floor detonating beneath him as he lunged again, his sword of light blazing as it arced toward Lillith.

The headmistress looked pleased. She’d clearly known about Lillith’s vampirism and was smiling at Lucius’s direct counter.

But she couldn’t have anticipated what happened next.

"Is that it?"

Lillith laughed, shifting to the side just enough for the blade to cleave through one of her arms. The headmistress’s expression turned euphoric at the clean slash.

That smile faded when Lillith’s severed limb knitted itself back together before it even hit the ground.

"W-What?"

"Surprised, Lord Lucius?"

THWACK!

Lillith backhanded him into the audience. Celeste reacted instantly, conjuring a massive wave of water that radiated outward from her position, evacuating the still hypnotized spectators before they could be caught in the crossfire.

Even she had gotten stronger from the Citadel’s training. ⅇℓ.

BOOM!

"H-How did you do that?"

Lucius struggled upright, planting his sword in the ground and using it like a cane. He wiped the fresh blood from his mouth, the wound healing as he moved.

"No time for questions, Lord Lucius! She’s clearly using dark magic; the Brimstone has already corrupted her as well!"

The headmistress’s voice cut through the chaos. Lucius nodded, his light magic surging even brighter in response.

The theatre had become a battlefield. Seraph had vanished with Anna minutes ago and I hadn’t even noticed. Aqua was still fighting reinforcements, white-robes and black-robes alike, and Lillith was handling Lucius herself.

"Lucius, what’s going on!?"

"Stay back, Celeste! Or you’ll get affected by Lord Brimstone as well!"

Affected? What does he think I am? An incubus meant to turn women evil!?

Lillith and Lucius met halfway across the room, their magic clashing while the rest of us watched, aside from Aqua, who was still busy protecting me.

"Kill her already, Lord Lucius!"

"I-I’m trying, headmistress!"

The distraction was all Lillith needed. She drove her knee into Lucius’s stomach, doubling him over with a wrenching gasp.

But to her surprise, his willpower was absurd. Through the pain, he forced his palm out and unleashed a blast of light magic point-blank.

He was using my technique, a light orb overloaded with mana.

BOOM!

The explosion launched them in opposite directions.

"Yes!"

The headmistress’s triumphant yell died in her throat when Lillith barely moved from her spot. She wasn’t damaged. She wasn’t even winded. Just coughing, looking more annoyed than hurt.

"Nice try, I guess."

"H-How...?"

The headmistress’s face paled. A vampire had just tanked a full light magic explosion at point-blank range. Whatever information she’d gathered on Lillith’s capabilities, it was clearly outdated, or simply wrong.

Lucius hit the ground hard, his sword skidding across the floor. He scrambled for it, fingers closing around the hilt just as Lillith’s shadow fell over him.

"Stay down," she said, not unkindly.

"Never."

They clashed again.

"Lady Celeste, calm him down!"

I yelled from the stage. I’d already told Lillith not to kill Lucius, which meant if she didn’t do something soon, this would just become a very long stalemate. It was time for Celeste to do her job as the heroine and use the power of love to finish this arc already.

Celeste glanced at me briefly, then turned back toward the two titans. She didn’t like me, but she didn’t have a choice but to follow my orders.

"Lucius, listen to me! They’re using you!"

She yelled, but Lucius didn’t seem to hear. He only continued to block and dodge Lillith’s attacks.

Good. This was good. Just keep Lillith distracting him while Celeste worked her magic.

"This isn’t you, look at what’s happening! The students around you are barely even responding. They look like zombies. Lady Aqua is literally fighting assassins while the headmistress urges you to kill people. Snap out of it!"

Lucius still didn’t listen. He managed to cleave Lillith’s body in half, only for it to reknit itself like nothing had happened.

"Lucius! Please, hear my voice!"

Celeste kept screaming, the battle raged on, and the headmistress grew more concerned with every passing second.

I should have been comforted. Everything was going exactly as I’d predicted, Aqua defending me, Lillith distracting Lucius, Seraph evacuating Anna, Celeste snapping Lucius out of it.

But...

Something was wrong.

Lucius wasn’t responding at all. His eyes were still dazed with residual illusion magic.

How? He was the second strongest person in this entire room, yet he was still trapped in the illusion? Even in the novel, Celeste alone was enough to make it falter.

So why was he so steadfast right now?

Don’t tell me...

Is it because of Anna?

The thought hit me like a physical blow. Anna wasn’t just Celeste’s rival for Lucius’s affection. She was his childhood friend. The person who’d known him longest, believed in him hardest, and stood beside him through everything.

Until me.

Until she chose me and straight up told Lucius he had indirectly betrayed her because of Celeste.

The headmistress likely hadn’t just manipulated Lucius with dreams of me as a villain. She’d probably used the one wound that would never fully heal.

Judging by the theatre’s script, Anna as the heroine, me as the villain, I had more than enough justification to believe that might be the truth.

"Celeste, stop!"

I yelled, pushing myself off the stage despite my legs screaming in protest.

She turned, confused and furious.

"What are you—"

"Your voice isn’t what he needs right now. It’s mine."

I staggered forward, each step a battle against my own depleted body. Lillith glanced at me, her golden eyes narrowing, but she understood. She kept Lucius pinned without hurting him, giving me time.

"Lucius."

Celeste wouldn’t be able to snap him out of this. Not while Lucius believed it was his focus on her that had driven Anna away in the first place.

Besides, Lucius was only targeting me, not the academy, not Celeste. To him, he was killing a monster, not betraying the academy or the woman beside him. Which meant Celeste was never going to work as a counter like in the original.

Right now, he needed Anna’s voice. But since she wasn’t here, mine would have to be the second best.

"Listen to me, you righteous bastard!"