A Death Row Convict Teaches at a School of Magic

Guards would indisputably be present in the hospital room, and Matthias’ presence would have been revealed to the opposing side given how flamboyantly the battle had played out. In spite of this, their refusal to emerge from the hospital room implied that they were given instructions in advance to protect Karen even if Rain were to be defeated.

It was true that Matthias’ condition was not doing very well at present. With the help of the magic crystal stones he received a short while ago, the frostbite and laceration on his left arm have been healed to perfection, but the wounds he incurred during the battle with Rain remained intact. His right arm and right leg still carried the same wounds, and his body was still somewhat numb. Even the magic crystal stones that were relied upon had already been utilized twice before arriving here and the third one was finally used just a few minutes ago. Only one magic crystal stone remained in his pocket, and Matthias put a premium on that final piece. Not being certain what kind of emergency might befall him from now on, he wanted to save it until the last minute.

Having reached that level of conclusion, Matthias finally arrived in front of the hospital room where Karen was believed to be. Matthias has been suppressing his presence to the utmost, yet silence prevailed in the room as if nobody was in there. Even with walls of such thickness, Matthias’ keen hearing would have allowed him to detect the sound of breathing within.

The thoughts died down in Matthias’ mind at that juncture, and after letting out a small exhale, he quietly opened the door. The sliding door, which was rare in this country, opened smoothly and unobtrusively, leaving Matthias with a small gulp of air as he peeked inside.

“―Do you find my presence shocking?”

From the window, a voice emanated. When Matthias cast his gaze, a bewitching woman seated on the window frame was sporting a fascinating smile.

“…You seem to deviate from the schedule a lot―Xenia.”

“Is that so? Everything has stayed on track up to this point according to my plan though.”

Xenia sprang down from the window frame, sending her black-toned skirt fluttering.

Matthias took another look around the hospital room. In one corner of the room, which could accommodate six beds, lay a single large bed. The room was simple and exactly what one would expect of a standard hospital room, but on the contrary, that was about the only aspect of the room that resembled a hospital room. Right now, in this room, even just as far as the eye can see, five corpses of students were lying around, in a state of utter deformity without a trace of their former selves.

That would explain it. It made perfect sense why no sounds of respiration in the space could be detected. Matthias was the only occupant of the room; everyone else was deceased. This undeniably included Karen, who was laying on the bed appearing to be asleep, as well as Xenia, who was smirking at him.

“You have done another brazen stunt.”

“I knew all the students. I had plenty of opportunities to acquaint myself with them at school. Even if they were excellent magicians, they were still children. There were so many ways to do it.”

“…I see.”

The look on Xenia’s visage and the words she just uttered were in line with one another. In all likelihood, by tomorrow, the students lying here would be discovered horrifically disfigured by their close associates.

Matthias was not impervious to Xenia’s methods, but in the eyes of the world, Xenia and himself would be equally murderers. A sigh of displeasure escaped Mathias, and he decided to make short work of the matter.

“Did you definitely kill the princess?”

“Yes. At this pace, she will perish on her own in less than 30 minutes since I’ve already destroyed one of her lungs.”

“…I can’t afford to play your games this time. Kill her immediately.”

“No. Fina should arrive here soon; I just saw her moving in this direction.”

Xenia turned around as if she were whirling on the spot, disregarding Matthias, who had a sour expression on his face. The skirt she wore fluttered, and the way Xenia gazed off into the horizon was like a maiden in love.

“I am going to take pleasure in seeing Fina’s expression of despondency as she beholds her beloved princess dying there, and then I am going to kill her as well. Her demise will be torturously gradual. Oh, I must perform that in front of Kanaki! Fina is Kanaki’s favorite. I wonder if she and Eto as a set will make even Kanaki cry out and show his emotions!”

I can’t spare the time for your amusement.

The words that had been in his throat abruptly disappeared, and another question floated in Matthias’ mouth.

“Wait, Xenia. Did you just say something about Eto?”

“Hmm?”

The head of Xenia was cocked. Matthias questioned whether he had misheard Xenia at this particular time as he looked at her with what seemed to be no malice.

That was the thought that went through his head.

“Xenia, what you said was―”

“Oh, I have already been exposed.”

The wind roared in Matthias’ ear.

The sound of a wall collapsing behind him ensued. He turned around only to be met by the sight of pieces of finely chopped flesh slipping from the wall and multiple lacerations running down it.

Noticing the discomfort, Matthias looked at his shoulder.

Blood spilled forth as if he had just been reminded of it from his right shoulder down, where a clean cut had been made as if it had never been there in the first place.

“―Xenia…!”

“! Ahaha! I’ve known Mr. Matthias for a long time, yet this is the first time I have witnessed a look like that on your face! I am glad I took this job after all!”

Like a young girl, a smile of nonchalance adorned Xenia’s face. Neither acrimony nor hostility can be deduced in her expression. She was purely relishing Matthias’ reaction. As if elated, she wondered how her former teacher would react to the surprise party she had organized.

It was at this point that, albeit tardily, Matthias came to realize Xenia’s true intentions. Indeed, it was truly too late.

“‘This’ is what you have been after from the very beginning, Xenia.”

“Haha, well, I wonder. Is this really the only purpose, Mr. Matthias?”

This time, Matthias’ face was clearly betraying his anguish, but Xenia maintained a calm demeanor as if she was in no mood to be bothered.

And the words that Xenia had just uttered. If he were to honestly believe her words, in other words, Eto was currently―

At that moment, Matthias gave up being an assassin.

“―I won’t even ask you who hired you or what your purpose is at this point.”

“…”

The composure faded from Xenia’s face. It was only fitting. Until now, Matthias had done his utmost to eliminate any possibility of exposing himself to his assassination attempt of Karen Ortesia. This of course encompassed sound, presence, a fighting spirit, and emotions of all sorts.

When Matthias unleashed them temporarily, his opponents would shrivel up and fall into a phenomenon akin to a “kinbaku” (a kind of bondage). Even Rain was no exception to this “toate”.[i]

From Matthias’ point of view, even Xenia, whose ability was not much different from Matthias’, would not be able to escape from this.

“But, Xenia. For this one time, I will say this.

ㅤ

ㅤ

ㅤ

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――――――Get out of the way!”

Immediately after his final words were delivered, Matthias shattered the last magic crystal stone without hesitation.

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T/N:

[i] In simple terms, it’s a technique of Shintaido (martial art), in which the opponent is knocked out without making any contact with their physical body