Novel Full Chapter 241: Summit [4]
Chapter 241: Summit [4]
“Cough…! Cough!”
Vanitas gripped the edge of the sink as his whole body convulsed. A metallic taste flooded his mouth before a thick stream of blood splattered against the edge. His vision blurred as each breath scraped through his lungs.
He waited for the wave to pass while his shoulders were trembling. Lately, the episodes had grown more frequent.
Every two hours, sometimes less, his mana pathways would seize up and trigger violent asthma-like attacks.
And every attack came with the same symptoms, such as blood loss, chest constriction, dizziness, and a burning pressure behind his eyes that felt like his mana core was declining.
Even lifting his head made a sense of vertigo, nearly knocking him off balance. His fingers felt cold and numb.
When the coughing finally subsided, Vanitas rinsed his mouth, though the water turned red almost immediately. He stared at his reflection for a long moment.
Pale skin. Darkened eyes. A tremor in his hands that never fully went away anymore.
“Tsk. I’m running out of time.”
He splashed his face, gripping the sink again as another bout of dizziness hit him. The mana inside him was swirling out of sync.
Every attack reminded him that he was decaying from the inside out.
And yet, despite the ringing in his ears and the blood staining the corners of his lips… he wiped the last trace of red from his mouth and fixed his breathing.
“One year,” he whispered to himself. “I just need one year more.”
When Vanitas stepped out of the bathroom, Ezra was standing there with his hands awkwardly clasped in front of him as if unsure whether to speak or flee.
“What?” Vanitas frowned.
Ezra cleared his throat. “Uhm… Prof—Marquess… I’ve been meaning to ask. Where is Astrid? I heard she went to the north with you, but after that, no one has seen her.”
“Give her some time.”
“Pardon?”
Vanitas adjusted his coat. “She’s not in a good place right now. Don’t go looking for her. She’ll come back on her own.”
“…Is that so?”
Vanitas walked past him, only to pause a few steps ahead. Without looking back, he added, “And don’t tell anyone what you saw today.”
“Ah, of course.”
Of course, Ezra had heard the coughing from outside the bathroom. Even without seeing the blood, it wasn’t hard for him to guess Vanitas’s condition had worsened. The request to use the staff washroom now made perfect sense.
Ezra had suspected for quite a while that Vanitas’s health was far from normal. Today confirmed it.
“Got it.”
Vanitas continued down the hall.
“Please. Keep living, Professor.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
Vanitas didn’t turn around.
* * *
On the third day of the Summit Festival, the atmosphere across the Silver University Tower buzzed. This was the day of the Featured Scholars’ Circuit, the day when the brightest minds of the era were meant to stand before the youth and show them the peak they should aim for.
And this year, the expectations were even higher than ever.
Vanitas Astrea was scheduled to appear. Alongside him were three other Great Powers. Elsa Hesse, Iridelle Vermillion, and the Archmage herself, Soliette Dominique.
Soliette drew the largest crowd. For aspiring scholars and mages, she was the closest thing to a living legend. A role model who had defined the standards of magic for an entire generation.
Every graduating student waited for even a few words from her. Elsa, meanwhile, attended purely as an overseer, fulfilling the dignified role of the Silver Tower’s Headmaster, all while maintaining her habit of meddling with whatever she wished.
And Vanitas, he was not here as a dignitary nor as the Emperor’s right hand.
Today, he was simply one of the featured scholars. A mind that had advanced the era with his research. Someone whose achievements made even veteran professors sit on the edge of their seats.
In truth, the Featured Scholars’ Circuit had become an anticipated spectacle because of him.
“It’s been a while, Astrea.”
“…You are?”
Vanitas narrowed his eyes. He searched his memory, but there was nothing. Whoever this man was, why did he look offended?
“Maximillian,” the man said in disbelief. “Good grief… How do you not remember? We met two days ago! Two! Days! Ago!”
Vanitas stared at him blankly. “Did we?”
Maximillian looked as though he had aged another ten years on the spot. He ran a hand down his face.
“Unbelievable… Kids these days… No respect for their elders… You bash me into the ground one moment and forget my name the next…”
Vanitas clicked his tongue. “Ah. Right. The old guy who blocked the entrance.”
“Old…! Watch your mouth, boy!” Maximillian snapped. “I’ll have you know I am a respected Headmaster! I’ve spent forty years of my life refining the minds of budding scholars. Forty years! And you treat me like some street broom left out in the rain?!”
Vanitas walked past him with the complete disinterest of a man stepping around a puddle.
“If you want me to remember your face, try being less forgettable.”
Maximillian sputtered. “Forgettable?! You insolent…! By the heavens, children nowadays have no manners…”
He struggled to keep up, grumbling as he followed.
“Young people… No humility… No reverence… No shame… Back in my day, when a Headmaster walked into a room, students fainted out of respect…”
“Why are you following me?”
But Maximillian didn’t hear a single word.
“All this rushing around nowadays… No one takes their time to appreciate proper academia anymore. Everything is speed this, efficiency that. Ridiculous. A proper thesis should take seven years of your life, minimum. Seven. If it doesn’t cost you youth and three mental breakdowns, then it’s not worth publishing!”
Vanitas pinched the bridge of his nose.
Maximillian went on.
“And don’t get me started on how the students dress now. In my time, we had grooming standards! Grooming! You couldn’t even step inside the tower if your shoes weren’t polished. Polished! Do you see polished anywhere nowadays? No, you do not!”
Vanitas stared straight ahead.
Maximillian kept monologuing.
“And another thing! Every generation thinks they’ve invented magic. Hah! As if! We were casting dual-element circles before half these children’s grandparents were born! Do they understand the foundations of mana theory? No. But they can throw sparks around and suddenly they think they’re prodigies!”
Vanitas stopped walking.
Maximillian didn’t notice and simply kept talking, sweeping his hand through the air as if lecturing a class.
“And the worst of all, respect! A Headmaster says a word now, and what do students do? They argue! They question! Back then, if you questioned a Headmaster, you got thrown out the window. Literally. Third floor. And we thanked them for the lesson!”
“…Why am I still listening to this?”
Maximillian continued without pause.
“Because you should be grateful! Wisdom like mine is rare these days. Very rare. If anything, you should be taking notes. In fact, where is your notebook? Great Powers should carry notebooks. That’s basic etiquette—”
Vanitas walked away mid-sentence.
Maximillian kept talking, oblivious that he had been abandoned.
“And furthermore, the entire structure of academia is built on—Huh? Astrea? Astrea! Are you even listening…? Good grief! Children! Absolutely hopeless!”
Perhaps it had to be said, but Maximilian was also one of the featured scholars.
As the morning settled over the campus, Vanitas took a slow glance at the university tower.
Some things truly never changed. Even after all his time away, the tower still housed professors who terrified the youth into submission. It had become a culture of its own.
Many first-years, blissfully unaware of the terror known as Professor Vanitas Astrea, had no idea just how unforgiving he had been. He had overheard enough stories to know what the seniors said whenever a first-year dared to complain.
“That’s nothing. You wouldn’t have survived Professor Vanitas.”
It almost made him laugh.
He watched a group of freshmen hustle across the courtyard, flinching at the distant sound of a professor shouting through the windows. One student nearly tripped, another dropped their books, and a third whispered a shaky curse.
It was the same every year.
“Are you Professor Vanitas?”
Vanitas turned. A female student stood there, clutching a notebook to her chest as if approaching a wild animal.
“I’m not a professor anymore,” Vanitas said. “But what do you want?”
The student swallowed, then bowed so abruptly her glasses nearly fell off.
“I—I’m terribly sorry! I didn’t mean to bother you! I just wanted to say… thank you!”
Vanitas blinked. “For what?”
“For your Red Moon Thesis! My family lives near the eastern border. Before your research, we never knew how to prepare. Last year, our home was almost destroyed. But this year… thanks to the prediction model you laid out in your paper… we were safe. Everyone was safe.”
Vanitas remained silent, watching the student try and fail to stop herself from shaking.
“My father told me to thank you,” the student continued. “He said if I ever saw you, I should bow until my forehead hit the ground.”
“Don’t do that.”
“R-Right. Sorry.”
She stepped closer. “I actually wanted to ask… Will you be presenting something today? The rumors say your circuit piece is groundbreaking. Everyone’s talking about it.”
Vanitas looked ahead toward the auditorium. Students were already flooding the entrance, some peeking out the doors, trying to catch a glimpse of him.
“I’ll present,” he said. “Just don’t expect anything miraculous.”
The student shook her head. “Coming from you, sir, even the bare minimum is a miracle.”
Vanitas narrowed his eyes. “Are you mocking me?”
“N-No! Absolutely not!” The student paled. “I—I mean it as praise! Respect! Deep respect!”
“Then don’t waste it. Study properly.”
“Y-Yes, sir! I’ll study! I swear it! I’ll make you proud!”
“I don’t need you to make me anything.”
“R-Right! I’ll still do it, though!”
Vanitas scrunched a brow. His mood soured all at once, and the reason revealed itself the moment the girl’s figure disappeared.
“…Charlotte.”
Because the girl looked oddly similar to Charlotte.
“If you frown too much, Professor, you’ll age half a century at this rate.”
A familiar voice reached his ears. He turned, startled by the unexpected intrusion.
“Cassandra?”
“Yes, hello, Professor Vanitas. Do you still remember me?”
“How could I not?”
Among Charlotte’s close friends, Cassandra had been the one who stayed with her through everything. Vanitas had never once harbored any malice toward her. If anything, seeing her only returned that ache inside him a little tighter.
It was a bitter feeling, but he suppressed it the moment Cassandra got closer
“Is now a good time, Professor?” she asked. “I’ve been wanting to speak with you for a while now.”
Ever since Charlotte’s death, Cassandra had kept her distance. And with a lot on his plate recently, Vanitas had never checked on her either.
“I have a bit of time,” he said. “What is it?”
Cassandra led him toward an empty corner of the courtyard where no students were around. Only when she was sure no one would overhear did she finally speak.
“I’ve been studying hard.”
“…?”
“If you didn’t know,” she continued, “I’m at the top of our department now. Just below Astrid and Ezra. And the difference between us isn’t even that big.”
“….”
That meant far more than it sounded. Astrid was the kind of prodigy Vanitas was certain had the potential of becoming the next Archmage. Meanwhile, Ezra was a natural-born talent whose potential, according to Vanitas’s memories of the game, bordered on absurd.
And Cassandra, who had been a meek, quiet girl trailing behind Charlotte only a year ago, was now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the future pillars of the Tower.
She must have worked herself to the bone.
“And are you here just to brag?” Vanitas asked dryly.
Cassandra shook her head. “Professor… I want to help you.”
“Help me?”
“Kill them,” she whispered. “All of them. The cultists. Your enemies. The bastards who dared to take Charlotte away.”
“….”
“I want to be strong enough to make them pay.”
“Academics is a different thing—”
“Make me your apprentice, Professor.”
“….”
“I know Ezra has been learning from you in secret. Silas too. Let me join them. I’ll do anything you ask.”
“Cassandra—”
“I’m serious. I’ve built my own network here. I know things even Ezra can’t get his hands on. If you need information, I can get it. If you need someone to move quietly, I can do it.”
She clasped her fists.
“Just give me a chance. Let me be useful to you. Let me help you destroy them.”
“No.”
“I’ll even learn dark magic—”
Vanitas cut her off with a hand on her shoulder.
“Think about your family,” he said. “If they heard you say something like that… If they learned you were willing to throw yourself into the dark… Kill them? You can’t say that lightly when you’ve never had your hands stained with blood before.”
“Professor Lena is working with the cultists.”
“…?”
Who the hell was that? It had to be one of the newer hires.
“I’ll kill her,” Cassandra said. “And I’ll prove it to you, professor. My resolve.”
“Cassandra—”
“No. I mean it. If you want proof, I’ll bring it to you. If you think I can’t do it, then I’ll show you. I’ll make her pay. I’ll make all of them pay.”
Vanitas had always felt something was slightly off about Cassandra, even a year ago.
She had always been a meek girl with a soft voice, yet there was something unsettling about her, like she was someone who could kill without batting an eye if pushed to the edge.
There were even instances when her gentle smiles sent a chill down his spine. It reminded him of a news case he once read back in South Korea, where a bullied girl had murdered her tormentors without mercy.
Vanitas had always suspected that if he hadn’t stepped in during Cassandra’s lowest point a year ago, she might have done the same and thrown her entire future away.
“Professor Lena, was it?”
“Yes. I’ve been observing her for a while,” Cassandra said. “If I’m right, there are a few more cultists who’ve infiltrated the university. The Summit… it might be their target.”
Vanitas’s eyes gleamed coldly. Cassandra… her information was exceptional. He had to admit, she was a potential asset that might prove valuable to keep around.
“Have you told anyone?” he asked.
“Only Silas.”
“Good. Have them gather before me.”