Vivienne went outside the wrecked truck while the ethereal version of Nuriel was watching from above.
He watched as Vivienne checked her body for any injuries. After a few seconds, she turned back towards the wreck, observing the unconscious Nuriel.
'She won't... leave me, right?' Nuriel grew a face of concern. This was practically a perfect situation to get rid of his presence.
Before he knew it, she jumped on top of the wreck and walked towards the other side, then crouched in front of Nuriel's broken window and opened the door.
She took out her hand and extended her index finger, which grew sharp as a claw extended.
Hiss.
The airbag deflated, giving her the space to undo his seatbelt.
Like a mother caring for her baby, she carefully held him and undid his seatbelt, then slowly carried his body out of the wreck and towards a dark alleyway.
Seeing the saint-like behavior from her, he almost forgot the possibility that Vivienne might've been the cause of this disaster.
Vivienne observed his body for any injuries. His torso was clear, and so was his head, but there was metal debris stuck on his shins where blood seeped through his trousers. Nuriel grimaced. Seeing his own injured body, he didn't feel the pain—but he could feel it on a phantom level.
After confirming there were no other injuries, Vivienne stood up and took off the tattered robes of her librarian uniform before proceeding to slice long strips of cloth.
'As expected of a secret spy! She knows how to treat injuries.' Nuriel silently cheered.
Vivienne knelt and extended her arms.
Zip.
. . .
Nuriel's face twitched. Well... how else would she gain access to his wounds?
Reluctantly, he decided to leave the area after knowing that his physical body was safe from danger.
For now, he had to deal with the elephants in the room—
The unknown entity who was battling with Yevdokiya in the skies.
And the disruption of the Scepter Network.
Nuriel flew higher to get a better view of the situation.
Since the Scepter could send things like notifications and prompts, it could still function somewhat, but he had to confirm it with the Scepter System itself, and so he asked it:
"Am I right?" Nuriel muttered.
[The disruption limits proper use of projection]
[This applies to projecting unto other scepters]
He nodded at the answer provided, then shook his head as he reread the second answer.
He paused for a bit before asking another question. "Where's the source of the disruption?"
. . .
"!!!"
All around him, Nuriel saw red, ominous clouds that continuously shifted their forms but never truly changed shape or place. Some spots were dyed in a deep red, some pinkish, and some completely devoid of any disruptions.
More or less, the only place not affected by the disruptions was outside the vast land area of the university.
***
In front of the raging fires of the College of Magic.
"I can't believe there's nothing we can do," a professor complained, crossing his arms in front of the ruined road that once led to the spire. "It's as if the essence of the world disappeared."
Another professor was beside him. He had a tired expression as he gazed at his arm."If I procrastinated a bit more... I would still be working at the spire. "He bowed and clenched his fist as he muttered some prayers to the Witch.
Around the two, countless people were watching, and another countless trying to quell the flames before they could spread any further.
"Dammit, what is this fire?!"
"It won't disappear!"
"Just keep getting the water!"
The complaining professor continued watching the unquenchable flame before turning around to see a car approaching their location, then stopped in the middle of the road.
Stepping out of the passenger seat was a middle-aged yet fine woman with long white hair and pink eyes. Despite the chaos around her, she maintained a calm expression.
"C-Chancellor Flourine..." The complaining professor was surprised but quickly bowed in her presence.
"There's no need," Flourine gestured as she walked past him, stopping just shy of the raging flames.
She held her palm up, closing it then opening it a few times—seemingly disappointed when nothing happened.
Looking up at the sky in front of her, she saw two dots whizzing around. The blue dot was much faster, sometimes shooting some orange streaks at a light gray dot that didn't seem to bother with the orange attacks.
"Tell me... do you know who that one is?" Flourine asked, pointing at the blue dot.
The complaining professor stammered but was cut off by something. Behind them from above, they heard multiple screams that drew closer and closer.
"Move, move! Get out!"
"What's happening?!"
"Clear the area!"
To everyone's shock and awe on the ground, fourteen people crash-landed on the street. The poles beneath their feet shook and their thrusters flickered as they lost power.
One of them landed right in front of Flourine, to which she helped the young lad get up on his feet. When he noticed who she was, he struggled to bow or salute, switching between both awkwardly.
She could tell who they were, judging from their uniform and equipment.
"Calm down. Now tell me, do you know who that person is?" Flourine calmly asked, pointing upwards at the blue dot.
"Our Major, Yevdokiya Nochnaya, currently a student from the College of War!" he shouted and awkwardly stood straight up since one of his legs was still attached to his metal pole.
Flourine raised her eyebrows at the answer. She turned to look at the skies again before sighing, puzzled on how Yevdokiya could still use her essence despite everyone else being unable to.
The young lad spoke in a curious tone. "Chancellor... do you know why we can't use essence and what that 'thing' is?"
"..." Flourine didn't respond or rather...
'Chose not to. How suspicious,' Nuriel thought as he was above the whole scene, silently listening to the conversation.
Nuriel looked at the memories of his body. 'This talk about essence... it seems no one can use it other than Yevdokiya. Is it because of her scepter?'
He thought for a while before nodding. Now that he confirmed she was completely alone in the fight, he had to do something.
Nuriel wasn't about to let the scepter he gave to her go to waste.
He had an idea.
If essence was disrupted for everyone, it didn't mean that certain technology was also disrupted.
Nuriel quickly leaped and flew towards the College of War. There, he tried looking for any warehouses or large storage areas.
Remembering the half-track vehicle he saw back when he visited the place with Edward, it was possible that other military equipment was present—ones possibly used for training and learning.
Nuriel floated above the college, noticing a track and field. But what was most important was that it wasn't affected much by the disruptions.
Just near the track and field were some large houses for storage. Without hesitation, he moved in and peeked through a window.
Anti-aircraft guns!
Nuriel could only hope there was at least live ammunition.
Since he couldn't use them himself—let alone know how to use them—he needed the help of the students from that specific college, which were easy to find.
Since it was the College of War, and given that most students had already served their kingdom, the university could get some leeway into making much cheaper and compact dorms with the excuse of: "It's what they're used to."
Nuriel noticed hundreds of students crowding the windows of a long, low building with their heads poking out as they watched the fiery duel in the sky. Dozens more had stepped outside, all gawking upward at the chaos unfolding in the sky.
He looked back at the track and field, the warehouse, then the students. His plan was to somehow get all of them to make an aerial killzone.
Although he wasn't sure how much damage they could do to the entity—or what even happens if it was successful—would it revive? Or would the lack of disruptions slow it down and also give him the chance to project unto Yevdokiya's scepter to deliver a much more permanent wound?
"Could I project all the scepters I have into Yevdokiya's if she's at the track and field?"
. . .
[50/50]
Nuriel blinked at the answer then sighing at the odd response.
He touched his throat. Since he had to convince hundreds of students, why not do so with the voice of their Lord and Savior, the Steel Witch?
He cleared his throat and imagined himself to have a voice that would match that description, and went to work.
Nuriel spoke to the first victim—telling a freshman to go to the warehouse. He quickly noticed that his divine voice had a strong effect on their psyche.
Surprisingly, there was no need to directly tell each and everyone.
He told a man to ready the cannons. Another beside him to retrieve rounds of ammunition and another to move to the track and field.
"Huh? Did you hear that?" Someone asked with a fearful expression.
"You too?" They replied, with an ecstatic face.
Given that all of them were packed in the hallways, rumors quickly spread like a disease. Already, some groups were formulating and piecing together what they heard to form a coherent story.
What surprised Nuriel was their speed and initiative—but then again, although students, some few held officer ranks in the military and they were quick to whip everyone into action.
But what concerned him...
"Ah~ that was the voice of our god! Praise the Witch!" a senior student praised, followed by many more believers.
Nuriel cleared his throat once more. The voice he used was the same voice he used to wake Yevdokiya, although he used a feminine version. He didn't know it could be so effective to this extent.
'Thank goodness they can actually hear me... now then...'
He turned towards the blue dot that was whizzing around the skies, then below to see the hundreds of students rushing toward the warehouses.
Now he needed to lead Yevdokiya here—and by that time, they should've prepared the killzone.