Chapter 123: A Destined Fate

Hildegard was the exact person that they needed to complete their ritual, and if they played their cards right, then they could get all of the pieces in their hands by the end of the term.

The cult had prepared one of their own and sent him out to perform a [Synchronization] with Hildegard and cause the explosion in the library, and they had also placed some of their members inside the academy to act as instigators to make sure that Hildegard became a pariah within the academy!

As time went on, Hildegard’s position in school dropped, and the cult knew that it wouldn’t be long before she dropped out! But the cult was surprised when Hildegard did not end up dropping out at all! Instead, she was pardoned by Verati, and she began to stay in the library. That was not a part of their plans, and that was why they had to go out of their way to set up a meeting with the only woman who could help them get Hildegard out of school. Hildegard’s mother.

Hildegard’s mother had no love for her daughter, and she was more than happy to sell Hildegard off to the cult for a particular sum of money! It was the worst thing a parent could do to their child, but Hildegard’s mother didn’t care!

So now that Hildegard was out of school, Mirio was the only person who had the qualifications to enter the Eternal Cave, and that was exactly what happened earlier today. Just a few minutes ago, during the celebrations for the festival, the Academy had also been carrying out a ceremony to congratulate Mirio on his position as the best in his year, and they were holding a mini festival of their own to commemorate the moment.

The headmaster had opened the door leading into the cave, and Mirio had gone inside to cultivate with the staff, but it was at that exact moment that one of their members inside the school, the teacher known as Clement, created a Hellfire incident that blew up a major block of the academy dorm! The explosion had ended up killing Clement as well, but it had served its purpose because most of the teachers and even the headmaster were forced to leave the location of the Cave and head towards the flames!

This allowed Mirio to finally walk out of the Cave with the Staff of Verati. Out there, the young girl who was capable of controlling the shadows was waiting for Mirio, and she took him through the shadows out of the school and finally headed straight towards the ritual location!

....

[Hildegard’s Home]

Knock! Knock! Knock!

A calm knock echoed through the night, and Rosaline let out a long, cold breath into her palm before she rubbed them together to try and get rid of the biting chill. Today was the annual winter festival in Andura, and most of the kingdom was in a celebratory mood as they thanked the gods for another successful year. Usually, Rosa would be one of the happiest around this time of year because she knew that this was a festival invented by Verati himself, but Rosa was not happy at all this year, and the reason was really simple: Hildegard couldn’t celebrate with them.

This had been bothering Rosaline for a long time, and although she knew that she should be with the other professors in the Academy right now and helping them out with the Academy celebrations, she just couldn’t see herself having fun while knowing that Hildegard was trapped inside like this.

So Rosa had come here today to try and take Hildegard with her to the festival. Although Hildegard could no longer go to school, Rosa was sure that it wouldn’t be a problem for Hildegard to just enjoy the festival with the other children.

Rosa frowned at the door when she didn’t get any response for a long time, and she knocked again, louder this time. The sound echoed through the large building, and Rosa took a few steps back and looked up to try and see if there were any lights on through a window. Thankfully, there was one light on, and Rosa could even see movement from inside. Rosa stepped closer and knocked again, and it wasn’t long before she heard the sound of someone hurrying towards the door.

Ka-Cha!

"What do you want!?"

The rude voice of Hildegard’s mother echoed through the cold night, and Rosa was taken aback by the sheer hostility she could hear in the woman’s tone. Rosa rubbed her hands together to get rid of the cold hitting her, and she wished she had some sort of fire-based affinity as she spoke.

"H-Hello, ma’am. I was just wondering if Hildegard was free right now. I wanted us to go to the festival together."

Hildegard’s mother narrowed her eyes in annoyance when she heard this, and she turned away to shut the door while speaking!

"Hildegard isn’t available. Go away."

Rosa immediately put her hand against the door to hold it open, and she spoke with a tense look on her face!

"Ma’am, wait! I know you’re not happy with Hildegard for ignoring your letters, but I’m begging you to rethink your decision. Hildegard is just a little girl. She needs to have the right experiences, or she’ll end up going down the wrong path. I just want to take her around the festival for a few minutes, and I’ll have her back before sunrise. I promise."

Slam!

"What part of no don’t you understand!"

Hildegard’s mother suddenly turned around and whipped her tail towards Rosa’s head while screaming, and it was only Rosa’s quick reflexes that allowed her to duck to the floor and avoid getting a concussion! The tail slammed into the door and almost tore it off the hinges from how powerful it was! Rosa’s eyes were wide and in shock, and she looked up at the woman in front of her with fear on her face! But Rosa’s attention was suddenly pulled to the side where she could see a pile of bags standing against the wall.

’Travelling bags? Are they... leaving? But that can’t be possible. Hildegard isn’t allowed to leave the Kingdom without the King’s permission. What’s going on here?’

Hildegard’s mother noticed where Rosa was looking, and her face darkened as she immediately brought her hand up and activated a magic circle that glowed with a dangerous red light!

"You’ve seen too much. I can’t let you leave anymore."

Rosa’s eyes widened in shock when she felt the magic gathering in the air, and she immediately bolted off the ground and ran to the side as Hildegard’s mother activated a skill!

[Flaming Arrow]!

BOOM!

A massive explosion echoed from behind, and Rosa was thrown through the air and crashed into the ground! Rosa saw another red magic circle coming to life with an even greater amount of mana being gathered, and Rosa began to realise that there was something far more serious going on here!

"What the hell do you think you’re doing!? Where’s Hildegard!"

Rosa screamed at the woman as she brought her hand up, and Hildegard’s mother spoke with a deep sneer.

"Why should I care what happened to that abomination? That thing is not a child of mine. She is a curse, and it was always her destiny to die for the future of this world."

"What-?"

[Flaming Arrow]!

Rosa quickly brought her hand up and activated a rune on her palm!

[Diamond Web]!