Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 73

Chapter 73

At this moment.

The activity plaza at Holy Island Academy, where the closing Hunt Banquet was being held, was filled with a tense, chaotic, yet eerily silent atmosphere.

Most of the Surveillance Orbs distributed throughout the Maze had been destroyed by those inside; only a small fraction were still operational.

However, even this small number of Surveillance Orbs were no longer under the Academy’s control due to a disconnection.

The only exceptions were the Surveillance Orbs that had been programmed from the start to follow the Hunters.

The remaining few Surveillance Orbs drifted aimlessly through the Gloomy Maze.

Dean Madeline had announced early on that some troublesome issues had arisen with the closing Hunt Banquet. She had dispersed the spectators on the middle tier, ordering all students to return to their respective dormitories and stay there.

The highly anticipated annual closing Hunt Banquet had barely begun before it was suddenly and unexpectedly suspended.

The students were extremely dissatisfied and threw massive tantrums over the situation.

After being dispersed, they began to act out and cause trouble throughout the Academy.

The Academy’s management currently had no spare time to deal with these troublemakers.

This was because the Academy’s instructors and other mages were all occupied with repairing the Teleportation Array connected to the Gloomy Maze.

However, as time passed, the instructors discovered that although the mages sent by the three kingdoms appeared highly skilled, they were actually hindering the process.

Whether it was drawing the magic runes incorrectly or causing issues with the transmission of Mana, these individuals ensured that the repair progress remained at a total standstill.

If any individual instructor could no longer stand it and tried to drive away these useless mages, the result was being met with ruthless magical attacks.

Seeing this, the instructors gradually stopped participating in the repair of the Teleportation Array.

Perhaps these people simply didn’t care about the safety of their own kingdoms’ princes.

The instructors reached this conclusion and felt deeply perplexed by it.

***

With such events unfolding during the closing Hunt Banquet, it was already difficult for Dean Madeline’s wrinkled face to maintain her usual kind and amiable smile.

Her gaze swept back and forth across the images on the Magic Screens in the air, her eyes filled with anxiety and urgency.

She was like an ant on a hot griddle, unable to sit or stand still.

She speculated-

The driving force behind this current state of chaos might be related to a certain kingdom.

Or perhaps all three kingdoms had a hand in it.

Some had cut the connection between the Hunt Feast grounds and the Academy, while others had tampered with the Defensive Magic Pendants worn by the students…

It was like a perfectly assembled, exquisite jigsaw puzzle where three different hands had each removed a section, rotated the pieces according to their own will, and then forced them back into place.

Though the puzzle remained whole, the pattern it presented had become eerie and distorted.

But regardless of what methods the three kingdoms had employed during the closing Hunt Banquet, the punishment falling upon Dean Madeline’s head was inevitable.

***

Dean Madeline turned her head to look at the high-ranking bishops behind her.

The wide brims of their hats concealed their eyes.

The Red Cardinal of Sainthos, the Golden-robed Bishop of Tilisha, and the Brown-robed Bishop of Nauze.

No matter how many times Dean Madeline looked back, they remained silent.

At a time like this, they had lost their right to speak; they served only their respective Kings.

Their Majesties were right behind them.

They were within those Magic Screens framed with magnificent patterns.

“Madeline, you look far too flustered,” someone said.

His Majesty the King of Sainthos set down his teacup and looked toward Dean Madeline through the Magic Screen.

“Don’t worry, the children will be fine.”

He said in a gentle voice:

“I have a feeling they are going to have a wonderful time.”

A mask-like smile sat upon his aged face, though the mirth did not reach his eyes.

Just then.

The instructors remaining on the middle tier let out a collective gasp of surprise.

One of the Magic Screens floating above was slowly revealing a new scene-
Within a thick, grayish-white fog, strange silhouettes loomed indistinctly.

Then, a girl with chin-length hair, dressed in magnificent finery, met a tragic end upon a wall.

Her chest was a mangled mess of flesh and blood, with two daggers plunged deep into her body.

“Oh…”

Seeing this image, Dean Madeline’s face turned as pale as paper. She slumped into her chair, powerless.

“This… Hahahaha-!”

A burst of laughter suddenly erupted from within the Magic Screen, which was bordered with patterns of dark brown water lilies and pickerel weed.

The laughter of the King of Nauze plunged both the middle and top tiers into a deathly silence.

On the screen, the pommels of the two daggers were inlaid with dark brown agate.

That was a mineral abundant in the Nauze Kingdom, having practically become the nation’s symbol.

The laughter gradually subsided.

The King of Nauze stroked his somewhat bloated and aged hand.

“Forgive me, everyone… Please excuse my loss of emotional control… Haha, what I meant was…”

His words carried an apology, but his eyes were filled with smugness and pride.

“As you can see, the children are indeed having a wonderful time,” he said.

***

Inside the Gloomy Maze.

Everyone expected Lance to scream out in agony, but he didn’t.

Lance was very quiet.

He gritted his teeth so hard that not a single cry of pain escaped him.

His face was deathly pale, and veins throbbed on his forehead.

His pitch-black pupils shook violently, and his eyes were instantly bloodshot.

The teardrop-shaped crystal pendant worn around his neck had completely shattered.

He touched the crystal fragments scattered across his collar and let out a sigh of relief. Then, he lifted his narrow fox-like eyes and said in a weak voice, “That’s good… My Magic Pendant… was also… a defective product…”

A defective product… was that a good thing?

Beili was still puzzled as to why Lance would say such a thing when she noticed the crystal shards scattered like stardust on his collar were melting like ice.

Immediately following that.

A burst of blinding golden light erupted, enveloping the red-haired, black-eyed youth.

Beili only squinted for a moment as the golden light dazzled her, before feeling the weight on her arms lighten.

In the blink of an eye, the youth who had been leaning in her arms vanished.

Susanna, who had been focused on healing just a second ago, was stunned by Prince Lance’s sudden disappearance.

Her eyes widened, and she stood there at a loss.

Beili was also caught off guard.

She blinked somewhat blankly, withdrew her stiff hands, and looked at Cyril. “Was Prince Lance… teleported back to Holy Island Academy?”

Cyril remained silent for a while before saying slowly, “It appears so.”

After speaking, he reached up to touch the pendant around his own neck, a thoughtful glint flickering in his purple eyes.

So, not all Defensive Magic Pendants were defective products.

At least the one Lance wore wasn’t.

But not every prince’s pendant could teleport them away after breaking.

Because Prince Boris’s pendant had also broken, yet he was still in the Maze.

While he was lost in thought, the entire patch of grass suddenly shifted another inch toward the Withered Tree Pool.

The three of them knew how eerie the pool water was, so after returning to the camp, they moved the tents to a spot between the green hedge wall and the pool.

They were positioned between the spreading grayish-white fog and the gradually shrinking, sinking pool water.

Cyril told everyone to stay quietly inside the tents, then summoned an orange-red fireball ahead of time.

This was to prevent anyone hiding in the surroundings from launching a sneak attack if the Maze suddenly plunged into darkness.

After being warned by Miss Bartholomew, Lisa had stayed in the tent for most of the time without causing any trouble.

Upon hearing Cyril’s words, Susanna also obediently walked into the tent.

“So…”

Seeing the grey-haired, red-eyed Bartholomew standing quietly across from the fireball without moving, Cyril frowned, a hint of irrepressible irritation in his cold tone.

“Are you planning on acting alone again after dark?”