The holy pillar of light that pierced the dome of the hall slowly dissipated.
The entire Great Hall fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone’s breathing hitched. They stared blankly at the petite figure on the high platform, as if looking up at a deity walking among mortals.
The elderly, white bearded headmaster Griffin suddenly stood up from his chair. The staff in his hand fell to the ground with a loud clang, but he was completely oblivious to it.
He stumbled forward a few steps, his aged voice trembling with extreme excitement.
“A miracle... This is a true miracle!”
“Child, you... which house do you want to join?”
Griffin’s words carried an unprecedented level of reverence. “Ignis, Aqua, Ventus, Terra... as long as you are willing, the gates of any house will be open to you!”
Cecilia stood upon the high platform, bathed in the gaze of the multitude.
She did not answer the headmaster. Instead, she turned her head slightly and, among the countless shocked faces, accurately found Bell.
She gave him a sweet, pure smile.
That smile made Bell feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Then, she turned back and, with a clear, melodious tone that belonged to an angel, announced to the entire academy.
“I want to be with my brother.”
“I choose Terra.”
An uproar broke out in the hall.
Incredible expressions appeared on the faces of countless professors and noble children.
For the sake of a mediocre brother, she gave up the opportunity to enter the strongest house?
What deep sibling affection this was!
And what a... foolish decision!
The ceremony ended in a strange and fanatical atmosphere.
Bell’s parents were already ecstatic. Before leaving, they repeatedly urged Bell to take good care of his sister, saying it was his responsibility as an older brother and, moreover, the glory of the House of Lucas.
The ornate magic carriage slowly drove away, taking with it his parents’ laughter and expectations.
Bell stood where he was, motionless.
Cecilia obediently walked to his side and reached out, wanting to take his hand.
“Brother, we—”
Before she could finish her sentence.
Bell’s hand suddenly shot out, deathly gripping her wrist.
His grip was very strong, so strong that Cecilia’s face puckered.
“Brother? You’re hurting me...”
She whimpered softly, sounding extremely pitiful.
Bell ignored her.
Without saying a word, he dragged her through the dispersing crowd, through the long corridors, and up the spiraling stairs.
He kept walking and walking until he pushed open a heavy iron door.
A howling gale rushed toward them.
This was the very top of the academy’s clock tower, a long abandoned rooftop.
It was completely deserted.
Bell forcefully threw her off, creating a distance of several meters between them.
“Speak.”
Bell’s voice was a bit unsteady in the wind, but he still forced himself to meet her gaze.
“Is it you? Are you her?”
Cecilia stood there, her honey gold hair dancing wildly in the wind. Her small face was a mask of pure innocence and confusion.
“Brother, what are you talking about?”
Her voice was soft and sweet. “Who is ‘her’? I don’t understand...”
“Stop acting!”
Bell growled. He could no longer endure this cat and mouse torture. “I know! From the moment you were picked up, I knew!”
A brief silence fell over the rooftop.
Only the sound of the wind howling remained.
A moment later.
Cecilia lowered her head, her shoulders beginning to twitch slightly.
She laughed.
It wasn't a clear, bell like laugh.
Instead, it was a suppressed, morbid, rattling laugh squeezed from the depths of her throat.
“Heh... hehehe...”
“Ahahahahaha!”
She snapped her head up. That angelic face was now completely distorted by extreme euphoria!
The innocence faded, and what remained was the terror etched into the depths of Bell’s soul!
“Brother! I’m so tired of playing the good little sister!”
“Do you know how hard it was for me to hold back?!”
As expected!
It really was her!
Bell’s blood froze in an instant. Without a second thought, he turned to flee.
However.
Just as he turned, four invisible gales appeared out of thin air, like indestructible chains, instantly binding his wrists and ankles!
A massive force yanked him backward, and he was suspended in midair, fixed in a spread eagle position, unable to move.
Cecilia’s feet left the ground. Slowly, like a ghost, she floated in front of him.
“Brother, you’re still being so disobedient.”
“Mmm... the taste hasn't changed, Brother.”
That hot, damp sensation made Bell’s stomach churn. Fear and nausea made him want to vomit.
“Let me go! You monster!”
“Brother, don’t be afraid.”
Cecilia reached out her small hand and gently stroked his cheek, but a cruel, twisted smile hung on her face. “If I wanted to do what I did in our past life, those so called ‘parents’ would have been hacked into pieces by me long ago.”
She spoke casually, as if discussing the day’s weather.
“They actually dared to touch you, and even dared to hug you... they really deserve to die.”
She laughed twistedly, her black eyes churning with thick killing intent.
Bell’s soul was trembling.
“Brother, did you know? In this world, eternal life is possible.”
She cupped her cheeks with both hands. Under the cold moonlight, her entire being radiated waves of chilliness.
“That’s why I worked so hard to act for you. As long as I find a way to achieve eternal life, Brother, the two of us can become the most loving couple and stay together forever and ever. We aren't even real siblings, and we have no blood relation, so why do you keep running away?”
Eternal life?
Couple?
Bell only felt that this lunatic was absurd to the extreme.
He just wanted to die, to die right now!
As long as he could escape her, death was the best release!
As if seeing through his thoughts.
Cecilia’s smile vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, bone deep madness.
“Brother.”
Her voice became very light and soft.
“You have to stay well.”
“Don’t you ever think about something like suicide.”
Before her voice could fade.
Her right hand was as fast as lightning. Two slender fingers, without a moment’s hesitation, she thrust them deep into Bell’s right eye!
“Aaah—!”
A shrill scream that didn't sound human pierced the night sky above the clock tower.
Agony!
An indescribable pain instantly ignited Bell’s entire central nervous system!
He felt his eyeball being forcibly squeezed and torn!
A warm liquid gushed out, mixing with the smell of blood, coating his entire face.
He watched helplessly as Cecilia gouged his eyeball... right out of its socket!
“Lunatic! You lunatic!”
Bell struggled in agony, screaming, his mind completely collapsing at this moment.
Cecilia brought that bloody eyeball, still connected to the nerves, to her lips to admire it, and then placed it into her mouth.
Crunch.
The crisp sound of chewing echoed on the silent rooftop.
She was tasting it.
Tasting his body.
“See, isn't this world wonderful?”
Cecilia swallowed the thing in her mouth and gave Bell, who was left with only a bloody hole, a pure and flawless smile.
She reached out her hand, and a soft white ball of light radiating a holy aura emerged from her palm.
Grand Healing Magic.
The ball of light enveloped Bell’s head.
The pain that was enough to drive one mad vanished without a trace in an instant.
The flesh and blood in the eye socket began to wriggle, grow, and reorganize at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In less than three seconds.
A brand new, intact eyeball reappeared in Bell’s socket.
His vision returned.
He could clearly see Cecilia’s twisted and fanatical face, stained with his blood.
She leaned close to his ear and whispered with a breathy voice that trembled with infatuation.
“Don’t be afraid, Brother.”
“You see? In this world, even this is possible.”
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