Bastion had been suspicious of his Rituals professor since the very beginning. There was a strange vibe he kept getting that wasn't exactly evil. Just something about the man gnawed at him in a way he could not quite explain. In the end, he assumed it had to do with the professor's tendency to explore darker rituals in the name of research.
He even brought it up with Seraphina, but she told him not to worry. So he didn't push for anything more. If she said it wasn't a problem, then it truly wasn't a problem.
Still, his suspicions lingered, so he continued attending classes as usual but kept a close eye on the professor's every move. He even made frequent trips to the library to verify everything the professor taught in class.
In the end, his efforts turned up nothing, and he gradually began to relax.
That was until the ritual prompted Seraphina to add powerful-looking components and catalyzers Bastion knew nothing about. What he did know, however, was that the balance of the components Seraphina threw was off. It required an equally powerful component to complete the balance.
Similar to the catalyzer the professor tossed in at the end before activating the ritual.
It felt oddly more powerful than the ritual called for, which heightened Bastion's suspicions. But since Seraphina was subjecting herself to it as well, it had to be something good. And when combined with the components Seraphina tossed out, it truly was something good.
Once the mana seeped deeply into the students and the light died down, the professor stared at the students with absolute fury.
"What happened? What have you done?" he screamed while retrieving his staff from his magic bag.
Before he could even think of casting a spell, however, he received a Backstab that stunned him just long enough for his attacker to disarm him completely.
"Haha! Well done, Eli!" Seraphina shouted while shoving a sleeping potion down the subdued professor's throat.
She immediately cleaned up her contributions to the ritual. She had no plans of explaining herself the way it had happened in the game. Anonymity was her best ally.
The students, meanwhile, were still elatedly distracted by their new overpowered status, especially those with lower pedigree like Lilia.
"Bastion! Bastion, look! My status increased so much. I feel so much power welling inside me!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I feel like I can destroy a mountain!"
"Calm down, little minotaur," Bastion soothed Lilia. "The high will disappear in a while, so try not to move too much or you may hurt yourself."
Unlike Bastion's already high status, which was minimally boosted by the ritual, Lilia's status had increased by an average of 33%. It was a massive boost with the side effect of overconfidence.
Elyra quickly dashed out of the room to get staff to handle the cleanup while the students slowly came down from their status high. Bastion, meanwhile, replaced Elyra by guarding the professor in case he woke up.
"So that's why you borrowed Eli from me," Bastion said to Seraphina. "And here I was, slightly disappointed that she might have missed this status boost."
Seraphina had borrowed Elyra the day before. Bastion had assumed it was for another girls' talk that Elyra had told him about.
As for why Bastion hadn't known about the ritual beforehand, it didn't matter. He trusted Seraphina that much. More accurately, he trusted her obsession with him to ensure they were safe while she executed her plans.
"I did well, didn't I? Are you impressed? Are you moved?" Seraphina gloated.
"Yes," Bastion said as he approached, placing a palm on her cheek. "Well done, Sera."
And just like that, Seraphina melted into a puddle in Bastion's hands. No longer was she proud of her successful plan. She was drifting off to cloud nine from the compliment and the surprise nickname.
Soon, Elyra returned with a professor who noticed the unmistakably powerful mana still lingering in the air. Whatever ritual had taken place was beyond anything the academy had paid for.
The professor quickly began interrogating the students while inspecting the remains of the ritual. In the end, the academy discovered that a very powerful catalyst had been used to enhance the students, resulting in a status boost beyond anything in their records.
They tried to interrogate the Rituals professor, but he imploded into a mound of writhing flesh, confirming their suspicion of foul play. This had been the work of demon worshippers, they concluded. They just didn't know why it had strengthened the students without any side effects.
Based on their investigation, the ritual should have sacrificed the students to the Demon Lord. Yet, they were strengthened instead. It was a conundrum the professors couldn't resolve without pushing the students for answers, and since the students were considered the supposed victims, they swept it under the rug.
Meanwhile, in Bastion's living room, Seraphina explained the situation.
"So? How was this supposed to happen?" Bastion asked.
"This was supposed to be a dramatic scene where Aurelia saved Bastion from the ritual sacrifice. If the player completed certain side quests, they would unintentionally alter the ritual into the stat-boosting one we just went through. If they didn't, Aurelia would have released her domain in a cutscene that prevented the sacrifice. It would save everyone, but the party would suffer a status debuff that required another side quest to remove," Seraphina explained. "The first side quest just gave status points. The second would've given Aurelia plenty of time to bond with Bastion. Obviously, I picked status points."
"You chose wisely. It would've been pointless to get any more points from me when you already have all of them," Bastion flirted.
"Stop it. You're making me blush."
"I can't help myself when you're making it this easy."
They basked in the lovely atmosphere for a moment before Bastion brought the conversation back on topic.
"What do you know about the Rituals professor? I would've normally identified him as an enemy, but for some reason, my intuition was off."
"The demon worshipers have a ritual that corrupts the minds of their victims. They used it on the original Seraphina when she left the academy because of Prince Julius. It doesn't necessarily turn them into demon worshipers, but it makes them more easily convinced to act in the cult's interest."
"For example, Seraphina wanted revenge, so the ritual heightened that desire while enhancing her status, making her quite the formidable secret boss. The professor would likely have gained something from that sacrificial ritual, so he might have been convinced to perform it during class."
"You were a secret boss? Impressive," Bastion complimented.
"I know, right? Anyway, he wasn't necessarily targeting you. He just wanted the power he'd get from the ritual."
"Makes sense."
Another comfortable silence passed before Bastion asked the question that had been bugging him from the very beginning.
"So, how much longer will this go on?"
"What do you mean?"
"The game. How much longer will the game continue?"
"We're about 75% of the way there, I believe. I have a few more plans to ruin and a few to execute before the big finale begins."
"What do I need to prepare? What do I need to do?"
"You're all level 50, right?"
"Yes."
"Then you're all set. Just do what you normally would, and it should be over before you know it."
"I was worried you'd say that."
Bastion trusted Seraphina, but it still bothered him that he hadn't been kept in the loop. He understood, of course, and even made an effort to keep his schedule as normal as possible, but that didn't change the fact that he felt helpless in the face of the so-called big finale.
"This was the first installment of the Crownbound series, which had a level cap of 100. It's also just an otome game, so of course it ends quickly. The main focus is on character interactions after all," Seraphina suddenly revealed, catching Bastion off guard. "Based on the difficulty so far, reaching level 50 is more than enough to guarantee survival. So you and the girls are good to go."
"First installment? Series? You mean there's more? More Demon Lords? Or the same one? When? How?" Bastion asked in a growing panic.
Cold sweat broke out across his forehead as his chest tightened. It was suddenly hard to breathe, and his surroundings felt distant and unreal. His comfy, luxurious lifestyle was suddenly in danger. He did not like being on the hook during his 21 years here, and he certainly did not enjoy forcing the dread to the back of his mind every time it appeared.
His thoughts spiraled. He had trained relentlessly despite the pain, the torture, the mental anguish, the strain, the stress, and the continuous, nonstop effort to grow in power. He had endured it all in pursuit of peace.
He thought he had almost reached the finish line. Now, he realized he was still at the start, still struggling to rise from his kneeling position. Everything he had built, all his effort, pain, and growth, suddenly felt like it had been for nothing.
"Bastion? Bastion!" Seraphina shouted in a panic.
This was a side of Bastion she didn't recognize, and it made her panic too. She tried to soothe him in his semi-delusional state.
Before she could, however, Elyra emerged from the shadows, climbed onto Bastion's lap, and gently cradled his head against her chest. She said nothing, simply stroking his hair in quiet comfort.
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