Chapter 226: Light and Curses...

Chapter 226: Light and Curses...



"Please wait for a moment..."

It was dead at night....

Cold and dark.

The hallway of Killian Hall was practically deserted, a cold silence filling the space as I stood awkwardly in front of Emilia's dorm room.

The magical dim lights cast eerie shadows against the walls, flickering ever so slightly as the moonlight seeped through the massive, open windows.

The door in front of me was familiar enough-just like every other one in Killian Hall with its high-standard design and intricate markings.

This was the door leading towards Emilia's dorm room...

And beside the door, flanking it, were two figures who made the situation all the more uncomfortable: Anna and Amon, Emilia's personal guards.

Both of them stood rigid, their faces stern but uneasy.

Except for their first request of making me wait for a moment...

They hadn't said a word since I arrived, merely glancing at me with tight lips and avoiding direct eye contact.

Fifteen minutes had passed since I'd shown up, but Emilia still hadn't let me in.

The silence between us was almost suffocating, the occasional flicker of the magical stones on the walls the only sign of movement.

Their discomfort was almost palpable as well.

They couldn't even look at me properly, their eyes shifting away every time I caught them stealing a glance.

'Just how long was she going to make me wait out here?'

I understood the need for precautions—after all, she had already cast some sort of divine barrier around her room, locking the space between us to ensure that whatever happened inside and outside the vicinity of her room remained invisible to anyone passing by.

But there had to be a limit to its effect.

Divine magic this strong couldn't go unnoticed for too long, and if the dorm master or anyone else in authority caught wind of the anomalies surrounding this area...

Well, let's just say that wouldn't end well for me. Being caught lingering outside a girl's dorm room late at night with magical barriers in place was practically a death sentence.

The rumors alone would be enough to destroy whatever little reputation I had left. Clank!

Click!

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the dorm room door creaked open.

A head poked out, and there she was-Emilia, looking completely disheveled.

Her face was flushed, and her hair was a mess, strands falling across her face in chaotic spirals.

It was clear she had been flustered, probably rushing around inside to prepare for this moment.

Despite her usual graceful demeanor, right now she looked more like someone who had just scrambled to put out a fire.

"Y-You can enter now, Senior R-Riley... Sorry for the wait," she stammered, her voice shaky as she blushed deeply.

She was out of breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly, as if she had been running around for the past several minutes.

The sight was so uncharacteristic of the saintly image she usually projected that it almost caught me off guard.

But just as I took a step forward, eager to finally get this awkward waiting game over with, two blades swiftly slithered across the tip of my neck, their cold steel resting uncomfortably against my skin.

"Please know the limits of your actions, Sir Riley,"

She was nervous-her stuttering and fidgeting made that very clear.

Her room was surprisingly ordinary, considering who she was.

It wasn't all that different from mine, in fact-unlike the other heroines, whose dorm rooms

had been customized to suit their personal preferences.

Some had lavish decor, training facilities, or even specialized layouts to accommodate their

abilities or status.

Enna's room, however, was just... standard.

From the plain wooden furniture to the bed, the same simple desk near the window, and even

the small kitchenette tucked away in the corner, it all looked exactly like my own dorm.

There were no grand adornments, no special features, nothing that stood out.

It was almost as if she had chosen to blend in, to remain modest, despite her status.

But as my eyes swept the room, one thing did stand out.

Right in the center of her room, drawn hurriedly and with clear intent, was a massive magic

circle.

Its intricate patterns and glowing runes radiated a soft, divine white light.

I didn't even need to activate my mana sense to recognize that it wasn't just any ordinary

circle.

The sheer intensity of its divine properties was unmistakable.

"S-Senior R-Riley, sir... I know you're very curious as to why I asked you to come here all of a sudden," Enna stammered, her voice shaking as she wrung her hands together nervously. "And honestly, I'm very thankful that you accepted without any problems... but before I explain everything to you, can I ask you to do one more thing...?"

I raised an eyebrow, already sensing where this was going.

The room hummed with power, and I had a good guess that this was the same purification ritual she had used in the game on Lucas.

Back then, it was to cleanse him of the dark abnormalities placed upon him, allowing him to

resist the influence of the evil god, Erebil as well as remove the curse Liyana placed on him when they first fought against each other...

So, if Enna had summoned me here for the same reason, she must have realized that there was

some sort of abnormality lurking in me.

A darkness that needed to be purged.

"Go ahead..."

Enna shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her face turning an even deeper shade of

red.

The divine light from the magic circle illuminated her features, casting her expression in a serious, almost desperate, glow.

Her eyes locked onto mine with a strange mix of determination and hesitation.

"S-Senior Riley... P-please take off your clothes..."

My mind stuttered to a halt as her words sank in. 'Okay, I take it back. I had no idea what she was up to.'