It was definitely strange that this gap had narrowed drastically in such a short time.
"How is Bella's condition?"
"She's fine. Unlike Veriana, there were no visible abnormalities in her body, and she didn't lose her sanity. There were no special abnormalities after the duel either."
"Is that so?"
"It could have simply been my misunderstanding or misperception, but..."
Gerhard cut off her words.
"But you want to check properly just in case?"
"Yes. It's not just anything, but a demon."
"I agree. If there's something strange, it should be checked."
Honestly, Gerhard had thought he could easily learn about demons by capturing Veriana.
But that wasn't the case. Even after investigating Veriana, known to be a demon's minion, or directly questioning her after her demonization, nothing substantial emerged.
"...I shouldn't be saying this as the one asking for help, but do you have a method?"
"No."
Still, it was right to try everything possible.
Assuming Bella was indeed using demonic power, there was one commonality between Veriana and Bella.
They both neither met a demon nor made a contract.
"It seems to have seeped in without her knowledge. Honestly, I question if that's possible, but let's investigate by comparing their paths and looking for common places they visited."
"That's the best we can do in the current situation. Thank you for your help."
"The problem of demons is a continent-wide issue. Of course I should help."
"Then I'll go to Bella and..."
"No, there's no need for that. Everything will come out by tomorrow. For now, go back. I'll call you again tomorrow."
After sending Luina away, Gerhard called Hyde.
"I'll find all of Bella Hoenne's past movements."
"Veriana's too. Even before you started following her."
"Yes."
Subsequently, it took less than a day for a detailed report of both their movements since the start of the academic year to be placed on Gerhard's desk.
"...Dormitory, Academy, downtown."
"Yes, at the Academy it's mostly just classrooms, dueling rooms, and the library, and downtown it's just restaurants and bookstores."
"The same as that Veriana fellow."
But there was nothing strange about that. Students who didn't live this kind of life were rather rare.
It was the extremely ordinary daily life of an Academy student.
"I'd like you to arrange a meeting with Luina and Bella."
"Have you found a clue?"
"No, because there are none, I want to meet her directly."
He could have just dismissed it as coincidence. But a deep unease remained in Gerhard's mind.
Of course, the possibility that it was nothing was higher.
However, having confirmed the existence of demons through the prophecy book and through Veriana, if there was even a small possibility for Bella, it was right to verify it for sure.
After all classes ended, Gerhard met Bella with Luina at a café.
"Gerhard? Why are you here...?"
"Bella Hoenne. It's the first time we're meeting like this, having arranged a separate place. I asked Luina."
"You wanted to meet me? Why?"
"It's nothing special. Luina..."
—!
At that moment, a roaring sound echoed in Gerhard's head.
Along with terrible pain, dormant prophecies surged in.
A sky red like blood, terrible stench and demonic energy.
Gerhard felt a sense of familiarity with this situation. It was the same as that day, when he saw the prophecy about Andromalius.
The Academy was no different from hell.
In the distance, a magic circle red like blood emitted light, and monsters and humans who had lost their sanity were rampaging everywhere.
They were students. People from the Academy. Residents of the island.
Aint's surprised face was visible.
["Everyone is strange!"
Not just students, but Academy staff and island residents too.
Demonic energy that had been unknowingly absorbed had been dormant in the students' bodies, and with the advent of the demon Andromalius, it began to activate.
There were easily hundreds of them.]
[- It's demonic energy! They're infected with demonic energy!
"Are you saying the students made contracts with a demon?"
Nevertheless, students infected with demonic energy were making the Academy even more chaotic.]
Time accelerated.
Aint was placing his hand on the chest of a fallen student.
[Aint followed Gardner's instructions and injected mana into the fallen student to examine their interior.
The First Noble Knight, who had slaughtered more demons than anyone except the Empire's first emperor, finally figured out the cause after much consideration.
The surroundings changed again abruptly.
Aint was suddenly running toward the source of the ominous demonic energy, the red magic circle.
[- Goodness. That's not just a demonic energy triggering circle! That's...! A summoning circle! A summoning circle!
The cry of Lord Gardner Alpenfassen struck Aint's head.
And again, the flow accelerated. Aint was closer to the magic circle than before, and he met a knight he could trust with his back.
["Aint! Help me! Bella, Bella!
"Calm down, senior. It will be fine."
"Bella is strange!"
"She's infected with demonic energy. If we defeat the demon, she can return to normal. I will make sure of it."]
["Absolutely."]
'So it really was demonic energy...?'
He had suspected it, but wasn't certain.
But the prophecy book was telling him. Luina's anxiety was correct, and if those infected with demonic energy were left unchecked, a great calamity would occur.
'This connects to what came before.'
More precisely, it was the story of a time before then. Before Aint fought Andromalius, and before Luina turned her back to him and made the knight's oath.
'I must prevent it.'
The Academy in his memory was complete chaos. Since the infected humans were students or island residents, they couldn't bring themselves to kill them, which caused even greater damage.
That situation had to be prevented at all costs.
"...Gerhard? Are you okay?"
"Is your head hurting again?"
"I'm fine."
Gerhard blinked a couple of times and shook his head.
After enduring the gaze of two pairs of eyes on him, he took a moment to catch his breath and organize his thoughts.
"Luina."
"Yes."
"How much can you trust Bella Hoenne?"
"She's a friend I've been with since childhood. I trust her the most."
"What are you two suddenly talking about?"
Bella asked about their unexpected conversation.
"Bella Hoenne, the reason I asked Luina to arrange this meeting..."
Originally, he had planned to just meet her directly and conduct an investigative inquiry. Even though Luina trusted Bella, just to be sure.
But after confirming the prophecy book, his thoughts and plans changed.
"is because your head is full of demons."
"What?"
"There's a need to beat those demons to death."
With clear evidence before his eyes, the solution was also clear.
"Let's go to the temple."
To show evidence to those who cannot coexist with demons and collaborate with them.