Volume 3 Chapter 39 Catherine & Chris - Report, Contact, Consultation. This Is Seriously Important
While Chris was waiting on the rooftop with his dark guild friends...
"Um, I heard this wonder is called the [Tower of the New Moon]."
...Before midnight, Catherine and her 3 friends gathered at the school gate. After solving the last wonder, they were excited to tackle the 7th wonder, so they got permission to sneak into the school at midnight.
By the way, there are 2 dark side members keeping an eye on them, but they are currently checking the area for any followers. It's been about a week since the last investigation of the 7 Wonders. News about the Crown Prince solving a wonder at night might have leaked out.
They need to be extra careful to make sure no one is trying to assassinate the Crown Prince this time. As proof, besides the two watchers, there's a team of over ten dark side members waiting nearby, just in case.
This means both sides are on guard against each other, but sadly, both are experts at hiding their presence. Unless you have the super sensing skills like Randy, Harrison, or Luke, it's tough to notice each other.
Chris is no different. Since he's up to no good, he's learned how to hide his presence even better than regular assassins. So, the dark side is being extra careful, searching places that have nothing to do with them.
While the dark side is checking for followers, the members of the dark guild have hidden themselves in the old school building. Before either side realizes the other is there, their presences have become even harder to detect, like ghosts.
Anyway, by chance, the 4 of them, recognized as a group, are now doing a final check on the wonder while waiting for the dark side to be ready.
"The [Tower of the New Moon] only appears during the new moon, right? So, we need to go to the back of the old school first?"
"Yes. There's supposed to be an item there that shows a hidden path."
Under the streetlight, Catherine flips through her notebook.
"Alright, since we're at the old school, we need to be careful because ghosts and spirits might show up. Let's stay alert!"
When Edgar gives the order, everyone puts on black hoods. The two dark side members return and join them as they head through the school grounds toward the old building──no, through the gate of hell.
As the 4 of them and their 2 guards move through the dark school, the guards say, "Let's blend into the darkness for a bit," and they completely disappear into the shadows.
Noticing something strange, the two dark side guards decide to hide and check the area around the 4 again.
Seeing the dark side on alert, the 4 walk cautiously toward the old school, keeping an eye out. To anyone watching, they might look sneaky, but they are seriously on guard.
Finally, they reach the old school building and look up at it, which feels different at night.
"It looks kind of creepy."
A warm breeze rustles Catherine's hood, blowing her pink hair around.
In the dark, the old school stands out, not just because of the nearby streetlight. Unlike the light from the dorms or streetlights, it seems to glow softly, maybe because of the ghosts or spirits.
In any case, the old school looks like a haunted house, and this time, even Catherine feels a bit scared.
Edgar, Dario, and Arthur don't tease her. They've encountered ghosts and spirits many times in dungeons, but none of them have ever seen a whole building glowing like this.
"This is amazing. The 7th wonder might be something special."
Edgar mutters, and Dario nods in agreement.
"Let's go inside for now. If it seems dangerous, we can just turn back."
Arthur was acting all carefree, and everyone else started to get back to their usual selves. Edgar looked over at the dark side, probably wanting to stop it, but just nodded reluctantly.
Even though Chris felt something strange, he couldn't really sense it well because it was coming from the old school building.
"Alright, then everyone──."
"Wait a second!"
The dark side interrupted Edgar, staring at someone who was running over with their hand raised...
"Chris?"
"What are you doing here?"
It was Chris, looking pale. He had been watching from the rooftop, but when Catherine's hood got blown away by the wind, he spotted her familiar pink hair.
Why is she here...? That thought crossed his mind for just a moment. He had to stop everyone; otherwise, they might run into the dark guild waiting inside. If that happened, they might mistake Catherine and Edgar for targets and try to kill them.
That couldn't happen, so Chris rushed over...
"What's up, Chris? Who told you we were challenging the Seven Wonders?"
Arthur, who had his arm around Chris's shoulder, made it hard for Chris to say anything else. He was holding him on the side where he had hurt his ribs, and the pain made him quiet.
"It's the Seven Wonders, right? Isn't it Lady Annabelle?"
Dario's words made everyone nod in agreement. He had definitely heard about the Seven Wonders from Annabelle, but they didn't know that Edgar and the others were investigating it too.
Chris shook his head desperately, but that made the hood of his black robe sway.
"Oh, what's this? You're all set too!"
Arthur smiled happily and pulled Chris's hood down over his face.
"No, that's not──."
"Don't be shy just because it's been a while. You're coming with us, right?"
Arthur didn't give Chris a chance to argue and dragged him toward the entrance of the old school building.
"T-this place is dangerous!"
He couldn't say that there were assassins inside. If he did, it would lead to questions about how he knew and all the bad stuff they had done, including the church's plans to overthrow the government.
So, he tried to stop everyone with a serious look, saying, "It's dangerous, let's not go in," which was very unlike Chris.
"I know. I heard that even Specters showed up."
Even though their conversation didn't quite match, they understood each other. Dario jumped in, saying, "It's fine," so Chris had no chance to win this argument.
"We just powered up recently. We can handle a Specter easily."
Dario smiled, but Chris couldn't finish his sentence, saying, "That's not──" because Edgar said, "We're running out of time." They were already past the scheduled time, and if they didn't hurry to get the Moonlit Mirror and shine it on the schoolyard, it would be past midnight.
Chris's attempts to explain were cut off by Arthur, who said, "We'll talk about it later," and they were about to step into hell.
The 7 of them walked carefully through the dark old school building. Chris kept looking around nervously, whispering, "H-hey... it's me. Don't attack," but Dario shushed him.
"Chris, keep your voice down."
Chris was being scolded quietly, but he was too worried about the 30 or so assassins already inside. Ghosts and Wraiths didn't matter right now.
In fact, the two from the dark side were on high alert, saying, "Something feels off," but unfortunately, the presence of ghosts and wraiths made it hard to pinpoint what was going on.
That's why Chris was trying to warn them to stop the plan, but so far, it wasn't working.
It made sense. The assassins wouldn't attack near the entrance. If they did, they might get a chance to escape. If they were going to attack, there were better places to do it, but Chris couldn't think of any of those, so he kept whispering, "Don't attack."
"You're way too scared of ghosts."
"That's not──."
Just as Chris was about to raise his voice, a group of ghosts appeared in front of them.
Meanwhile, among the waiting assassins, news was spreading that "the target count is increasing."
"Really?"
The leader frowned and received false information that it was probably the Marquis family's influence, not the dark side, that was behind it.
"Should they at least have some guards? But there are 3 of them, right?"
"Yes."
"Then it's not a problem. Just kill them all."
As they struggled to communicate effectively, things were slowly moving toward the worst situation for them.
Of course, they had no idea about this... Catherine and her group, having taken care of the ghosts, were cautiously making their way to the second floor. After climbing the stairs, they glared angrily at the blocked stairs to the third floor──classic game scenario──and when they stepped into a large hall to look for another staircase, it happened.
One of the dark side members suddenly jumped in front of Edgar and deflected something flying at them with a dagger. What fell to the floor with a dry sound was...
"A throwing knife? Why──."
"Your Highness, please don't stray from us."
As one dark side member muttered bitterly, countless shadows suddenly appeared around the 7 of them.
"Is that... a wraith?"
Catherine blurted out something ridiculous, and one of the dark side members shook his head.
"No, it's an assassin."
At those words, everyone tensed up. No one could even speak in the confusion.
Why.
Who sent them.
Why are they here.
Catherine's group was in total chaos in their minds.
To be fair, the attack by assassins made sense. The dark side had been on alert. Considering the Crown Prince was there, this situation could be a perfect opportunity.
That's why Edgar and the others hadn't told anyone except trusted people about their exploration today. The fact that their actions, which no one should have known about, were leaked made everyone suspect that someone from their own group was behind it, adding to the confusion.
...In reality, no one had been aware of their movements, which led to this awkwardly tragic situation.
Anyway, there were so many things Catherine and her group didn't understand, but there was one thing they did know. They had to fight.
Everyone except Chris formed a circle with their weapons ready...
"Hmm? One of them looks weak for an assassin... but whatever──."
From among the assassins, the leader of the dark guild appeared. Seeing his face, Chris hurriedly stepped forward.
"I-I'm here. The plan failed because of an irregularity."
Chris started talking fast, and both the leader and Catherine's group raised their eyebrows, asking, "Plan?"
"They're not the targets."
As Chris spoke faster in a panic, the leader stepped closer, asking, "What do you mean?"
"They're the Crown Prince and his friends."
"The Crown Prince? So that means..."
The leader's gaze shifted to the two guards. They had thought it was just the Marquis family's influence, but it seemed the other side was from the kingdom's dark side. If it was just the limited number of guards from the Marquis family, they wouldn't have any other backup, but with the dark side and the Crown Prince involved, it was a different story.
The leader realized there must be another squad nearby.
The realization twisted the leader's face in anger.
"You set us up, didn't you?"
They had talked about assassination and targets, but it turned out they were being led into a cage surrounded by the dark side. Of course, Chris didn't intend for that to happen; it was an unfortunate accident, but from the leader's perspective, it was understandable to feel betrayed.
Knowing this, Chris panicked and tried to argue back, no, he ended up arguing out of panic.
"No, I didn't set you up! I was planning to have them properly assassinated──."
"Assassination?"
"Chris..."
"What do you mean?"
Now, a voice filled with doubt came from behind.
"It's not like that! It's not what you think... what I was aiming for was──."
"Enough with the excuses. We've already met face to face."
At the leader's command, all the assassins readied their weapons.
"I never thought the day would come when we'd try to assassinate the Crown Prince... But now that we've met, the dark side won't let us go. If that's the case, we won't be able to come back from the dark side either. And you all know that too."
The leader slowly raised his right hand to give orders.
"There are 2 from the dark side and 5 students. We have about 30 skilled assassins here. Sorry, but we'll finish this in seconds and make a quick escape."
No matter how this goes, it's going to end badly. Just then, Chris shouted desperately, "W-wait, not yet──" and at that moment, a huge wave of magical power appeared outside the window. It was so strong it reminded everyone of a wide-area destruction magic, and they all turned to look outside.
Suddenly, a giant tower appeared, covering the window.
"W-what is that...?"
"That's the [Tower of the New Moon]."
"W-why? The Shadow Moon Mirror isn't even──."
No one could answer their questions, and the assassins in front of them were just as stunned, staring out the window.
But then, in the next moment──
*Boom!*
──everyone was hit by a shockwave that felt like it shook the entire space. The impact was so strong that the window shattered, the whole building shook, and everyone crouched down as if they couldn't stand.
"W-what's happening?"
"What's going on?"
No one could understand what was happening, but for the assassins, the situation was completely terrible. This shock would definitely attract the dark side's forces. That meant they had almost no time left.
The assassins quickly got back up and readied their weapons again.
"Let's do this!"
The moment the leader swung his hand down──time stopped.
The assassins who looked ready to move.
Edgar and the others with serious expressions.
Catherine, who was confused.
Everyone froze like a statue, unable to move.
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