Published at 13th of December 2025 7:30 pm

Chapter 311

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

204 people?

At the unbelievable number of missing persons, someone spoke in a dazed voice. The fact that the mobilization plan was changed was a problem, but for now, the mass disappearance of Mages was the bigger issue. Starting with that, voices erupted from students sitting everywhere.

"How did this happen? How could they go missing?!"

"Don't tell me the professors are also...."

Mages who are scholars of Magic Studies are practically the Empire's power, whether viewed in terms of skill or otherwise. Although being a scholar does not unconditionally mean having a large amount of Magic Power, compared to New Humans born with only a core who are no different from Non-Mages, they naturally have more, and such Mages determine the Empire's magical national power.

'...This is serious.'

My mouth went completely dry.

The Empire has now failed to defend the core of its core. In this situation where France and Austria are standing in confrontation just like in World War I.

As the international situation, which had barely found peace, is racing toward the worst again, the government must be on high alert now, just as it was during the Pentalon.

Whirrrr―

An alarm began to sound. A bright blue light entered from the outside, which had been dark at 10:30 PM. A state of emergency was officially declared, turning the outside world an artificial blue. A staff member spoke with a face full of tension.

"We are searching for the whereabouts of the professors. From what I heard, about 150 people went missing from a small-scale Magic Studies academic conference held in Berlin today. It is being speculated that there was a spy inside, but since the remaining 50 or so did not even attend the conference and their regions are all different... that part is currently being investigated."

Feeling a chill on the back of my neck, I said to Narce.

"It seems they were in quite a hurry."

Narce nodded.

No matter how I think about it, the possibility of it being Pleroma's crime is high. Let's assume there is a group like Pleroma in France and they came here. For those unfamiliar with German geography or society to kidnap 204 Mages from different regions relying solely on the ability to neutralize security is a bit problematic when weighing realistic possibilities. I will consider all possibilities, but for now, it is more rational to place a higher probability on it being a crime committed by Pleroma, who were born and raised in Germany.

The fact that they kidnapped our Empire's Magic Scholars following the tampering with Emanuel means that they themselves want to develop technology comparable to what is contained in Maria's parure. That a group that had been holding its breath since the Pentalon is acting so radically can only mean that Pleroma is very anxious right now, can't it? Then why are they anxious?

It is as I thought earlier.

'...If there is an element that endangers Pleroma's existence or groundbreaking growth.'

If a group related to the d'Orléans family, another group comparable to Pleroma, has revealed itself in France. Other conceptions are possible, but this is the hypothesis I consider most likely right now, and I have already explained it to Emanuel that way.

'If I don't consider this likely... then this must be viewed as Pleroma's declaration of war against us.'

We are currently in a situation where we fear a France-Austria war in a composition similar to World War I, and at the same time, we have encountered a situation where we must prepare for a war with Pleroma.

In this case, Pleroma would have finished full preparations. The Empire missed the right time to root out Pleroma, and thanks to that, unlike 10 years ago, they possess a sophisticated diocese system and the number of believers now reaches hundreds of thousands.

Perhaps realizing that my thoughts were becoming complicated, Narce reached under the table and touched my hand resting on my leg. He shook his head.

"Calm down."

"......."

"There is nothing we can change. It was something that was bound to happen."

He whispered.

That there is nothing we can 'change'. Would it be the same even if I turned back time?

Unable to stop my thoughts, I looked into Narce's eyes and recited the Berlin Warp coordinates book starting from A. Narce understood my meaning and turned his head. Now, reciting the Warp coordinates book has become a sort of signal for both him and me.

I also turned my head away from him. The staff member was reciting Warp coordinates.

"We are activating Warp coordinates for 2 minutes starting now until 35 minutes past. Here, move immediately to the place I call. It is 255:786:094. 255, 789, 094."

As the Warp coordinates were announced, students who had been frozen in shock disappeared from their seats one by one. Narce glanced at the increasingly empty conference room and said.

"We should go too."

***

The fact that the dark sky had turned an artificial blue was more visible from here. I am in the hall of the First Academy's Militia Operations Center. Everything visible through the large window down to the ground is entirely blue.

When a state of emergency is declared, darkness is intentionally erased for a while. Since it consumes a considerable amount of Magic Power, it won't be maintained for long. The sound of whistles restricting passage rings endlessly outside the building.

When the article came out about the mass disappearance incident breaking out, Leo, who was holding a countermeasure meeting in Bavaria, came out in the middle and arrived in Berlin. Even though he arrived at the hall prepared like a presentation venue and saw me, he didn't say anything particular.

I didn't feel like openly grabbing Leo in a place where militia students from the whole school were present. I don't have the energy to respond to questions about when we became close. The moment I snapped my fingers slightly, Leo flinched and looked back at me. Leo, who understood my intent and cast a sound-proofing Spell, walked looking only forward and spoke calmly.

"Let's wait a little longer."

He knows well what I called him to ask.

"The basis?"

"We have to move differently depending on the opponent's movement. If it were the first incident, maybe, but from the moment the second incident occurred, blocking it at the source became close to impossible."

"......."

"Among the missing is a teacher who taught me Magic Studies when I attended the Third Academy. Since I learned from him for over 6 years, he is like family to me."

Leo's low voice is heard. Leo's Magic Power felt around his core is settled as if holding its breath. It is different from the time with Emanuel, but he is clearly in a state of extreme tension. Perhaps noticing that I was reading his Magic Power, he said this.

"If it's you, you would know what emotions I am feeling right now. I'm saying this in case my intentions are misinterpreted. So... even if you try to turn back time to change the future, I won't stop you. Because if we can find out the culprit, that is a meaningful thing. However, we already turned back time once and lay in ambush, but no one was discovered around His Highness Emanuel's residence."

"......."

"Since they are likely moving systematically, it will be hard to catch them. Furthermore, now that Pleroma has expressed the will to continue crimes, you and I alone cannot stop everything, and we have to think a little more about whether stopping it might cause a bigger event to occur. I'm not arguing not to turn back time or that you absolutely must, but to see how the incident flows... let's wait a little longer."

He always awakens me whenever my thinking ability stiffens. I looked at Leo's back and thought silently.

I prevented Emanuel from going berserk, and perhaps I could prevent the disappearance of 204 people as well.

However, I know. If they had attacked only Emanuel, there might have been meaning in turning back time to stop it, but Pleroma committed a crime again less than 24 hours after their crime was discovered. Now that they have committed an insane act transcending imagination, this is not a problem to be solved simply by turning back time, but a problem where Pleroma's resolve must be overhauled. Or the resolve of a specific diocese within it.

'Perhaps....'

Did this happen because I saved Emanuel, who should have gone outside the mansion as a Berserker?

My head turns cold. If I block this incident, another incident will occur, and if I block another incident, a new incident will occur again. From the moment they targeted only the Royal Family and not commoners in this crazy class society, it was preordained that their resolve was extraordinary. They personally confirmed during the Pentalon that the act committed by just one place, the 'Freiburg Diocese', worked successfully, and they know the influence they can exert on the Empire is immense. The Empire has already crossed a river of no return. This is what Narce meant when he said 'there is nothing we can change'.

As all students of the First Academy Militia arrived and sat in their assigned seats, the lights on the stage that had been off began to turn on. Although it would have been a place noisy with students' laughter and chatter in normal times, only silence flowed in this space without a single small voice now. Everyone is tense.

[Can you hear me?]

A New Human I had never seen before was on the stage, wearing a Ministry of Magic official badge. The Ministry of Magic official, checking if the Amplification Magic was applied, opened his mouth again.

[I am Henriette Gneisenau from the Ministry of Magic. You must be aware that a total of 205 Magic Studies scholars have gone missing across the Empire so far. Our Ministry of Magic judges this to be the work of Pleroma.]

He mentions the incident as soon as he starts. The number of missing persons has even increased by one. The mention of a state of emergency in the announcement broadcast heard earlier was not mentioned for nothing. There is no reason to kill time kindly cracking jokes when the Empire's core personnel are missing and a state of emergency has been declared.

[Therefore, until the situation is resolved, students of the Second and Third Academies will gather at the First Academy campus and receive protection from the Ministry of Magic. The Militia dormitory reassignment is scheduled to be finished before 12 o'clock, and if you submit necessary luggage to the dormitory supervisor who will be assigned soon, the Ministry of Magic will directly move it to the First Academy.]

At those words, Elias, who was sitting to Narce's right with a hardened face, mumbled.

"It's strange they aren't telling us to guard Berlin. I thought they would tell us to go out and do public security guard duty, even if not other students."

"...Don't say things like that...."

"......."

I'm scared it might become reality. At my words, Narce smirked and covered Elias's mouth. Anyway, this was necessary guidance so far, but this is not the main point.

[Now, I will guide you on the changed mobilization plan.]

Tsheringen, who was sitting in the front row, turned her head slightly. Our eyes met. Although she was showing a smile, her expression was not good, like mine.

[Currently, 53% of the 50th to 90th classes of the Imperial Mages' Association who are active have gone missing, causing a setback in Berserker handling. Since the age range of the missing persons this time is concentrated between 40 and 100 years old, our Imperial Ministry of Magic has judged that Mages of those classes are easy targets for the criminal group, and has decided to completely exclude those classes, who concurrently hold duties as Imperial soldiers, from Berserker handling duties to prevent neglect of national defense.]

"......."

"...Then?"

Ulrike, sitting in the front row, whispered.

Mages between 40 and 100 years old are the most core existence even among New Humans who are practically classified as Mages.

As can be seen from the fact that Eszett, recognized as having the most outstanding skills across the Imperial First and Second Academies, handles Grade 8 to 9 Berserkers, the most core and high-risk Grade 1 to 3 Berserkers are handled by Mages of those 50th to 90th classes. Declaring to kick them out from the front lines for a while is a will not to let the Empire's precious human resources go missing anymore, given the situation. They will also be under the government's direct protection now.

While doing so, bringing up the military is a way of saying, 'don't die unfortunately doing secondary duties', that is, handling Berserkers, 'but be used to preserve national power'.

The problem lies elsewhere. If they say they will exclude everyone from the 50th to the 90th class, what remains is....

[Imperial Mages' Association 101st Class belonging to the Imperial Academy. Where are you?]

"......."

Across universities and high schools, the Imperial Mages' Association is only us. Even more so if it's the 101st class.

I bit the inside of my lip. From the First Academy to the Second Academy Militia, the bewildered gazes of all students focused on us at once. Leo opened his mouth slightly, then composed his expression, stood up, and spoke.

"101st Class, Eszett."

The Ministry of Magic official nodded and spoke without a change in expression.

[Good. The Imperial Mages' Association 101st Class will handle the disposal of Grade 1 to 3 Berserkers nationwide starting from 12 PM tomorrow.]

"...?!"

Sounds of holding breath are heard from everywhere. The noise generated by them looking back at each other swelled in an instant.

"...Pardon?"

A question that seemed uncalculated flowed from Leo's mouth. Even though he expected it, no other words would come out except that question. Grade 1 to 3, and nationwide at that. Even though it was a statement I also fully expected, my head goes numb.

'...They are scrapping the agreement like this.'

Since it is a state of emergency, existing agreements can change at any time. I know that since the international situation is not good, they must protect adult Mages with outstanding experience, knowledge, and skill in preparation for war. Furthermore, isn't it a situation where we have to consider not only war between New Humans but also Pleroma? Even if we blame the government, there seems to be no Plan 2 more 'rational' than this. If one accepts the inhumane calculation method of simply converting people into numbers.

Even if I speak sarcastically like this, it doesn't matter if I deal with Grade 1 dangerous Berserkers. I am not being sarcastic about the government to avoid my duty.

But the problem is that the safety of friends who haven't even reached adulthood yet is at stake here.

"Grade 1?"

"...Oh no...."

I feel students from other teams glancing at us. The noise created by the students swelled more and more. The Eszett team members were looking only into the air with hardened expressions.

It is understandable, as students have never practiced against Berserkers of that grade, nor learned how to handle them. At best, Grade 4 during the 3rd test was the highest grade. Furthermore, since the government does not release analysis articles about Grade 1 to 3 Berserkers to the media, they don't properly know the danger. One cannot compare a Grade 4 Berserker and a Grade 3 Berserker because the difference in ability between grades is substantial. It is practically entering completely unknown territory.

Since I cannot use Divine Power outside, I cannot conquer the labyrinth either. It means I have to handle high-risk Berserkers of Grade 1~3 solely through combat.

"I wondered what level Grade 3 and above was for them to even block reports."

Ulrike's muttering was heard. It must mean she can't believe she's finding out like this.

The official, perhaps having complicated feelings upon seeing the students' reaction, did not restrain the commotion but just waited for it to calm down. Then, when everyone was waiting for his words, he answered Leo's short question.

[Since Pleroma is currently trying to draft the Empire's core Magic Scholars, changing the system during that time was inevitable. The Ministry of Magic and the Imperial Family have established an elite unit to handle the highest danger Berserkers in the Imperial Army in response to Pleroma, and highly evaluating the outstanding capabilities and performance of the 101st Class belonging to the Imperial Academy, decided to include the 101st Class in the elite unit.]

The words that followed are sugarcoating, so they are not important. Because they are 'currently trying to draft the Empire's core Magic Scholars', they exclude the 50th to 90th classes from Berserker handling duties.... Then what about the students here?

"So they mean to deploy us to handle Berserkers since we are not the core. While doing so, they say they will attach us to the highest danger grade because we are the most outstanding among non-core things. Thank you very much~?"

At Elias's quiet sarcasm, Narce quickly cast a sound-proofing Spell and smiled. Leo did not look at where Elias was sitting. He also had the same opinion as Elias for this once. Tsheringen also maintained her usual smile and stroked her chin.

The official, perhaps finished with matters to convey to Eszett for now, looked at students on the other side and continued.

[This is the second change. All classes of the Imperial First Academy to the Imperial Second Academy Militia, excluding Eszett, will take charge of Grade 3 to 9 Berserkers.]

This time I made eye contact with Leo. I could feel a slight shock in his gaze.

"......."

To be honest, although this is a statement that does not apply to us, this is more shocking to me. The safety line of Grade 8 and below has been lifted not only for us but for all Militia belonging to the Imperial Academy.

As the venue became quiet in an instant as if ice water had been poured over it, a slight grief began to be felt in the Ministry of Magic official's expression.

[Students.]

The official hesitated and began to speak words that were not on the paper he brought.

[I am truly ashamed to say this. We need your strength. The Empire is currently facing an unprecedented crisis in history continuously.]

***

The Empire was a complete lump of chaos. Just as it was before and after the Pentalon, police wearing guns and Wands are lined up on the streets. Only stories about the search status for the missing persons are written in rows in the newspaper.

The scheduled 'next day 12 PM' came excessively fast, and we are currently out outside.

That's right.

A report already came in. At least we were assigned only Grade 3 Berserkers for the adaptation period of one week going forward, but....

'It's a truly tearfully grateful measure, you bastards....'

When it's over, I have to meet Abraham. Based on the circumstances, she definitely knew that Maria von Österreich-Este and the parure passed to France would cause this butterfly effect. Although she might not have predicted that manpower would become scarce again and even students would be dragged in like the day the student mobilization order was first issued, either way, I must hear the information only she possesses regarding this situation right now.

Of course, the key is to get out of here alive and well today before talking to her.

"Is it okay for us to be deployed immediately like this?"

Ulrike mumbled. I saw Ulrike's hardened face and patted her shoulder.

"They probably think we just need to do as we've been doing. We've experienced up to Grade 4, so let's cheer up."

"Luka, I didn't know you were a person who could speak like that."

Elias stared at me and said. He isn't doing that because he's surprised, but giving me a hint. I avoided his gaze.

So, if you ask where we were dropped today....

[We inform you once again. A high-risk Berserker has occurred on the 7th floor of Ward B at Karl Bonhoeffer Psychiatric Hospital. The estimated grade is Grade 3, and we will reflect any changes immediately. When the Berserker's Vitriol enters a brief dormant period, we will give you a signal, so please enter through the rear gate and main gate as 3 and 4 respectively.]

I mumbled at the guidance voice ringing in my ears.

"The initiation ceremony is truly flashy."

"Tell me about it. Not only is the first incident where our entire team is deployed a Grade 3 Berserker disposal, but a hospital with 2,000 patients hospitalized... it is truly amazing."

Elias uncharacteristically scoffed with a self-deprecating laugh in a monotone voice. I also scoffed following him and turned my head. At that time, Tsheringen clapped her hands to focus our attention.

"Guys."

"Huh?"

Tsheringen looked at the hospital surrounded by a temporary defensive barrier to prevent secondary damage from the rampage and said.

"Although it was a fake made with Mimesis, we still faced up to Grade 4 in our 3rd test, right? Just as Lukas said earlier."

"......."

Heike and Ulrike, who were silent in tension, looked at her. Tsheringen reached out her hand to her friends and smiled.

"We can do it. Let's do well. No matter how high the grade is, we have to try to save them first."

To do well.

Right now, there is no other choice but that move. Whether it's the international situation or Pleroma, sending the Berserker to the hospital... this was the work originally given to us, so we must do our best in this moment.

Beep―

Just in time, the entry permission signal rang in our ears. I made eye contact with my friends.

"Right, let's do well."

I lightly tapped Tsheringen's hand and changed my Wand to a Staff.

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