The long-awaited Harmonia Quinquennial Festival finally arrived. Not only Harmonia studentsâ parents or relatives, but many other people who wanted to take a look at Harmonia Academy were buzzing with anticipation. From early in the morning, the circumferences of Harmonia Academy were so crowded.
On this day, Lyra went to the academy with Altaire, Clavis, Freyr, and Freyja as usual. They were quite excited to see the open houses that were going to be held today. They were quite relaxed as they wouldnât be doing anything.
Since there wasnât any special event that directly involved them, Lyraâs parents didnât take any leave from their work for now. They decided they would save it for later when they could see their children in action.
In the morning, the academy wasnât open to public yet. Only the invited guests were able to enter the venue to see the opening ceremony.
The students were lined up as they watched the academyâs higher-ups and the festivalâs committees opening the festival officially.
Lyra could see the miracle twins, Valerie and Dmitria, riding on their unusual beasts as the beasts walked dignifiedly to the stage, holding the ribbon that would be cut by the chancellor of the academy.
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Lyra cheered on her new friends in her heart as she saw them riding their beasts calmly.
Obviously, the presence of the beasts thought to be âuntamableâ brought everyone to uproarâor more precisely, they were all gasping in awe and cheers.
Iris looked at the two human figures and beasts in disbelief. She still couldnât comprehend how she was now their friends. She was a completely ordinary girl. It seemed like her life was turned upside down ever since... Iris glanced at her very first friend next to her, who was completely absorbed looking at the stage. Yes, ever since she became friends with this extraordinary girl, Irisâ life was surrounded by unusual people.
When the MC asked the chancellor to stand up on the stage, a lone eccentric figure walked slowly at the stage.
âWhat?â Lyra tried to suppress her voice in disbelief.
Some of the other students who had never encountered this chancellor were also gasping.
How couldnât they refrain from gasping?
The chancellor looked like an ordinary manâor it could be said that he didnât seem like a chancellor at all.
Casual clothes that gave off the feeling of an adventurer registered in the Adventurerâs Guild, a bald head that reflected the sunlight so brightly that Lyra thought it was even brighter than her future... And then his face. His face was so round like an egg. If not for his foxlike eyes, thick mouth, and thick beard, Lyra would think that a curse was laid on the chancellor.
Still, it was true that this unusual man was the chancellor of the academy as all the staffs showed their respect as the man walked on the stage.
The chancellor gave a few short words and retrieved a sword decorated with Harmonia Academyâs emblem from one of the staffs.
âUhh, even his movements and the way he talks... I still canât believe he is the chancellor! Whatâs his name again?â Lyra asked in disbelief.
âChancellor Freid Egman has been Harmonia Academyâs chancellor since my father was here,â Luca was the one who gave her an answer.
âWhat?!â Lyra widened her eyes in disbelief.
If what Luca said was true, then this chancellor was quite older than he looked like! Or could it be that this chancellor was a genius who became a chancellor at a very young age?
Lyra thought to herself as she tried so hard to give her respect to her academyâs chancellor.
The chancellor on the stage swung the sword on his hand brutally and broke the ribbon.
Lyra could see Valerie, Dmitria, and their beasts seemed like they were surprised, but they managed to keep their calm.
Lyra felt somewhat proud of her friends.
The other students were also surprised, but they immediately clapped their hands noisily after that.
With the festival being officially opened, everyone was allowed to move and prepare for their open houses. Other students were free to roam, so some went to fetch their relatives or acquaintances outside.
âAh, Yanze, there you are!â A brown-haired girl with bright hazel eyes jumped in happiness once she located the person she was looking forward to walk around with.
However, the boy looked back at her with stern gaze. His neon yellow eyes looked frightening for a moment, but Elise only flinched a bit before she talked normally.
âAh, you are right... Sorry for that. How do I call you?â
âAnything but my real name, Elise.â
âHmm, itâs hard, but I will try. Come on, I will show you around my school!â Elise said as she led Yanze.
The two of them leisurely walked around the Intermediate Level first.
It was at that time that a certain someone attracted Yanzeâs gaze. He was normally walking with an uninterested expression and gaze, but the moment a girl with twintailed navy blue hair passed by him, Yanzeâs eyes widened a bit as he turned around to take a look at the girl.
The girl was smiling as she went towards a boy who possessed the same navy blue hair as hers. The boy had heterochromic eyes, and so did the girl.
â...They are...,â Yanze muttered as he noticed his shadow shook a bit.
âYaâuh, whatâs the matter?â Elise asked when she noticed Yanze stopping.
âMm, itâs nothing. Elise, can you show me where the toilet is?â
âGeez, we barely walked! Come on, I will lead you the way!â Elise said as she brought Yanze to the nearest toilet.
Yanze walked behind Elise as he looked down and smirked.
When Yanze arrived inside the toilet, he didnât use the toilet as it was intended to. Instead, Yanze muttered in a low voice, âCome out, Miseria.â
His shadow shook even more and transformed into a womanâs shadow as suddenly, there was a pair of red light that was similar to the shadowâs eyes.
âAre they the ones?â
âSo, that girl will be your vessel?â
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âYes, I will be looking forward to it, then. Command me whenever you feel like you need something from me,â Yanze smirked with such an evil gaze on his eyes.
As if there was a tacit understanding between them, the shadow called âMiseriaâ disappeared.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Lyra and her friends, Lyraâs shadow moved abnormally for a moment before it settled down like usual.
Luca suddenly stopped and turned to look behind himâhe seemed to feel that something was odd just now. Like there was the presence of something evil, but when he looked here and there, he couldnât find anything.
âWhatâs wrong, Luca?â Kiri asked when he noticed Luca who stopped walking.
â...Itâs nothing,â Luca decided not to say anything and continued walking with his friends.
They were on the way to see the clubsâ open houses, as some of their friends were in there.
But a fated meeting or a coincidence happened on the way.
In a certain intersection, they bumped into no one other than Erneste and his two friends.
âAh, Lyra! What a nice timing! Iâve been looking for you! So, I want to invite you to walk around with me, just the two of us, if you donât mind...,â Erneste courteously asked. His friends jested on him for saying such a brave line.
Lyra flinched a bit. In that moment, she was reminded of the unpleasant things that clouded her mind, that she locked inside her heart before.
The flashback of what she overheard when she tried to look for Erneste instantly replayed in her mind.
At that very moment, Lyra felt suffocated. It was as if her head was suddenly heavy. She surely didnât want to see him right now, right here. She wanted to avoid him at all cost... but why...?
Reject. Lyra definitely wanted to refuse.
Therefore, she opened her mouth.
âSure, letâs walk together.â
However, what came out of her mouth was completely different from what she was thinking.
And for some reason, her head felt so light now.
It was as if she was inside a dream, and that she was seeing herself on an autopilot.
The shadow on her feet wavered a bit, unbeknownst to anyone.
âLyra? Are you sure about it?â Luca asked, but Lyra turned around to look at him and smiled.
âIâm going to be fine. I have something to talk with him.â
Luca felt that something was off, though he wasnât sure what. However, since Lyra herself said so, he was going to appreciate her opinion.
Therefore, the group parted ways like that.
âErneste, thereâs something Iâd like to talk with you about, but I canât talk about it in front of so many people. Letâs go to somewhere a bit secluded, shall we?â
âSure, what about the back garden of Intermediate Level, the one with many storage?â Erneste was an optimistic person, so he thought that Lyra was going to talk about the answer to his confession.
Lyra continued to walk as she smiled, but deep inside her heart, she was uneasy.
When they arrived at a garden near a storage and chapelâthe exact spot where Lyra overheard the truth about Ernesteâthe two of them stood face-to-face.
âSo, what is it that you want to talk about? Have you already thought about the answer... to my confession?â Erneste seemed like he was blushing, and it was honestly cute to see.
But Lyra thought the opposite as she already knew that he was a wolf in a sheepâs clothing. She wouldnât be deceived by his facade anymore.
âThatâs right. I already have my answer,â Lyra smiled.
Lyra thought inside her mind, but her body seemed to move on its own.
âYou are such a bad, bad liar, Erneste. You just wanted to make use of me, didnât you? For fame, for connection, for your reputation. I am nothing more than a tool to you, right?â Lyraâs voice was so cold that even she herself couldnât believe that it was her voice.
âW-what? What are you talking about, Lyra? Who told you that? Thatâs wrong, I...,â Erneste lost his composure and looked obviously flustered. He didnât expect that Lyra could see through his maskâhis perfect mask.
âHehe, thereâs no use lying already, Erneste. I overheard you talking with your friends about thatâsomewhere around this place. Letâs drop all the facade, shall we?â
â...Kh, fine, then. Fine, thatâs true. I thought you were such a stupid, gullible girl. But it seems I miscalculated and underestimated you, my bad. Iâm off the calculation. With this, are we to severe our connection so far and never talk with each other anymore?â
Inside her mind, Lyra rejoiced and wanted to quickly cut off their relationships right away. That way, her peaceful life would come back to her.
âNo.â
At this moment, even Lyra couldnât believe what came out of her mind herself.
âThere is no way I can let go of someone who tricked me that easily, right? I have to make you suffer too, fufufu,â Lyra said with such a cold voice and even her expression was twisted.
âWhaâAhahaha! So, you are also like me! You have been wearing such a good mask all this time, when youâre actually an evil sl*t! Hahahaha! Good, good!â Erneste seemed to lose his composure at all and also laughed.
âShut up, b*tch!â Lyraâs eyes turned dark as her expression turned stern. She lifted her left hand and a strong dark magic started to come out from her hand, forming a dark whirlpool that slowly turned bigger.
The atmosphere around them changed.
Erneste started to fear for his life and said with a trembling voice, âL-lyra, wait, what are you planning to do? You couldnât be seriously... thinking of taking my life, right? T-thatâs crime...â
âI donât want to hear that from you. And Iâm not taking your life right away. Thatâd be too light. Instead, I will make you suffer until you wish you were dead, you little c*nt!â
Lyra started to be scared and tried so hard to take control of her body, but her body didnât obey her command.
Lyra felt like she wanted to cry, but her body continued moving on its own.
âTake this!â
âAAAAA!â
âLyra, no!â
It was such a chaotic moment.
Lyraâor Lyraâs body whirled the strong whirlpool of darkness at Erneste, but at that moment, a familiar voice could be heard as suddenly, a navy haired-boy put himself between Lyra and Erneste, frantically trying to shield himself with his magic.
However, what possessed Lyra wasnât a normal being. Miseriaâs power was so strong, and even Altaireâs barrier was instantly shattered by her darkness that she let out by manipulating Lyraâs body.
As a result, Altaire was struck by the strong darkness and fell to the ground.
Erneste lost the strength to his feet and fell pathetically at the ground as tears seemed to come out of his eyes.
Miseria, who was posing as Lyraâs shadow, instantly smiled looking at how things turned out.
She actually didnât expect the navy-haired boy to interfere, but it looked like his intervention would only help her.
So, she chose this moment to let go of her manipulation to Lyra.
Finally regaining control over her body, Lyra ran to her beloved big brother who laid weakly on the ground.
âNooo, Alt-nii! Noo! This canât be right!â Lyra couldnât control the emotions inside her heart as tears of despair fell from her eyes.
As she touched Altaireâs body, she sighed in relief upon seeing how Altaire was still breathing, albeit his breathing was weak.
âIâm going to save you now, Alt-nii! Iâm... Iâm so sorry, I...!â Lyra tearfully tried to heal Altaire using her [Life] magic, but Altaireâs condition didnât seem to improve. It was as if his body didnât absorb any of Lyraâs healing magic.
Instead, using the remaining strength he had, Altaire extended his hand to wipe Lyraâs tears.
âIâm glad... You are okay...,â Altaire said with a weak voice.
âNo, Alt-nii, stop, donât talk anymore. Iâm going to save you, Iâm sorry, I didnât know why Iââ
âIt isnât... your fault... Youâre probably... being manipulated. ...Luca said that... he sensed something wrong... so I came after you... Iâm glad... I did...,â Altaire kept talking.
âAlt-nii, no, no!!â
âI... didnât want you to... hurt anyone... out of somethingâs manipulation... I... am okay, Lyra,â Altaire said.
âYouâre not! Youâre not okay! Wait, Iâm going to call for helpââ
âRuru!â Rurune instantly appeared in the skyâperhaps she sensed Altaireâs weakening life force.
âRurune! Please, please, call the others here! Call a teacher! Anyone!!â Lyra frantically asked Rurune, still with tears streaming even more from her eyes.
âRu... Uru!â Rurune quickly assessed the situation and went as fast as she could to find some help.
âItâs... fine... Sorry... I thought I could... withstand it... I didnât know...â
âAlt-nii, enough! Store your energy to survive!!â
âDonât... think that itâs your fault... I donât... hate you, I can never...,â Altaireâs hand fell to the ground as he felt like he was losing his strength.
âAlt-nii...?â
Altaire closed his eyes as tears fell from his eyes.
âAlt... Nii?â
Lyraâs tears stopped as her head turned blank.
She could no longer feel Altaireâs pulse, nor his breathing.
âNo... It canât be true...,â Lyra looked at her lifeless brother with despair.
Her shadow, Miseria, smiled as she finally revealed herself. Miseria then hugged Lyra from behind and smirked. She whispered sweetly at Lyraâs ears.
Lyra turned to look at Erneste who was crying as his whole body trembled.
âAh... Aaaah! Iâm sorry, this is not my fault, this is not my fault!!â Erneste frantically tried to cover his cowering face from Lyraâs sharp gaze.
Lyraâs gaze turned cold as murderous intent rose up from her heart. She stood up and approached the pathetic man who couldnât even run away as he was too frightened.
Perhaps he had wetted himself at this moment.
Miseria smirked even more as she felt her strength increasing. She wrapped her shadow hands on Lyraâs neck as she whispered, âTorture him. Make him suffer. Only by that, you will be freed from this despair in your heart.â
Lyraâs tears stopped as the light left her eyes. Her mind was full of hatred and despair. She believed the words that Miseria whispered and raised her hand.
âNo, aaah.... Aaah!â
A dark blade formed from her hand as Lyra mercilessly struck Ernesteâs body with the dark blade.
âAaaAAaaAAA!!â
The moment the blade pierced his body, it dissolved into shadow that suffocated Erneste.
The shadow didnât let him die right away. Instead, it tortured Erneste.
Ernesteâs eyes widened so much that they seemed like they wanted to fly from their socket. Drools started to flow from Ernesteâs mouth that was pulled apart by Lyraâs dark magic.
âHehe, that is it, my girl,â Miseria smiled as she caressed Lyraâs cheeks.
Looking at the sight of Erneste suffering before her, tears started to fall from her eyes again.
âDear, do you think this world is wrong?â Miseria asked.
âThen, do you want to reset everything?â
âYeah, reset. This world is wrong from the beginning, anyway. I can reset this world and create a world without pain and suffering.â
âYes. Donât you want it too?â
âThen... Will you lend me your body and offer me your soul?â
âVERY WELL! VERY WELL! AHAHAHAH!!â Miseriaâs shadow grew stronger as it danced around the sky before it completely enveloped Lyraâs body.
After a while, the shadow was completely absorbed in Lyraâs body. Lyraâs eyes turned bright red for a moment before they faded into the same heterochromatic eyes.
Lyra then smirked.
No, she was already Miseria.
âHahaha! With this, we are one step closer to utopia!â Lyra smirked evilly.
Thus, the Harmonia Quinquennial Festival that was supposed to be such a joyous day was forcefully suspended. After all, they found one student deadâa dukeâs son, on top of it.
And then, another student was in his life-and-death, as he continued to suffer before he finally passed away after a month full of suffering and humiliation.
Lastly, the Hartmann familyâs eldest daughter, Alrescha Lyra Hartmann, disappeared without a trace from that day.
This whole event caused such a huge uproar and devastated many who heard that, especially the Hartmann family.
At this point, it was unknown what would happen in the future.
The Hartmann family was currently overcome with such a huge despair for losing both of their biological children. It was unclear if they could overcome this despair.
The crown prince seemed to be very devastated, as he was seen full of regrets and secluded himself in his room after blaming himself. He kept saying that he could have prevented this from happening had he taken an action, too.
Clavis immediately went on a journey in order to find the missing Lyra.
Ein was usually bright, but it was as if he turned mature overnight. The next day, he was like another person altogether. There was no more childish brightness. He was a gloomy and composed boy, unbefitting of his age. This caused Nicole and Clyde to be very sad.
Carbuncle was very mad as she lost the two people that she considered her own kind. She transformed into a dragon right away and flew to the sky, with no one knew what she was thinking. She was never seen again from that day.
Iris cried for so many days and nights that she fell into depression. Harvey was overcome with sadness over his best friendâs departure, but he tried to be strong for his childhood friend.
The trio troublemakers were also affected by this and started making ruckuses here and there as they were angered by what suddenly occurred.
The gears of fate had turned, but why did it seem things were headed towards a totally wrong destiny?
...
......
Well, it was because this is all
.
This whole chapter is a troll. Itâs an April Foolâs chapter, hehe! How was this whole chapter, guys? Did you expect Lyra to murder Altaire, and also Erneste? Hehe...
Iâm so sorry if it surprised or scared you! >< I actually didnât plan for an April Fools release at all but, people just sparked the idea in my Discord server, have you noticed?
Here are pics for proof. Join the Discord server, who knows your casual comments can be turned into a spin-off or something XD
Anyway!! I hope I didnât make you guys upset, do think that itâs just a spin-off. I hope you think that this chapter is fun although it was quite horror if it was true... Or donât tell me some of you actually hoped this was a real chapter?
I had fun writing this chapter and it turned longer than I expected.
Okay, Iâm not a cruel person, so Iâm going to give you the real chapter, just click next to read the real chapter 113! ><