“It’s about to start.”

Near the square in front of the central building of the Protos Royal Magic Academy, two figures approached, chatting as they walked, their voices occasionally breaking the silence of the winter night.

Their attire was different from that of the teachers or students, and they carried an air that did not belong here.

In the darkness, their shadows twisted on the ground, eerie and strange.

“I wonder why that Rocky McCarthy is participating in today’s entrance examination for the Protos Royal Magic Academy.”

The visitor, wearing a dark gray coat, held a map of the academy in his hand, admiring the ancient architecture as he headed straight for his destination.

“He was originally a tutor in a border viscount’s family. It’s normal for him to use this as a cover.”

The other figure smiled and said.

This batch of newcomers were all quite outstanding. They had been sent into the Protos Empire as hidden agents of the church, and their identities as Silence Priests had not yet been revealed.

Among them was a newcomer who had recently caught the attention of the two Grand Priests of the Silence Branch stationed in the imperial capital, Helrom.

Rocky McCarthy.

Unlike Cid, another extremely outstanding candidate, they could be very certain that he was distinctly separate from the Church of the Goddess of Fate.

Originally, there were three Grand Priests in the Silence Knights’ Temple.

Now there were only two left.

If they had been the ones in charge of the examination a week ago, they might have ended up like Grand Priest Caius.

So they completed the visitor procedures and came to the Protos Royal Magic Academy area after work this Wednesday.

Ordinary social visitors, unless they had a special application, could only stay on campus for a limited time and had to follow very strict restrictions.

Just learning about Rocky McCarthy’s performance was enough.

They gradually walked towards the central building of the academy and stopped there.

The only thing they hadn’t expected was that when they were about to arrive, they saw students everywhere on the wide square in front of the academy’s central building, whether on the stone steps leading to the square or on the benches on the side.

The students’ expressions varied. Some looked exceptionally excited, having claimed the best viewing spots early on, constantly chatting with the students who had come with them, while others had a playful and teasing attitude.

Of course, there were also some students who didn’t care about this, looking at everything with an almost disdainful attitude, perhaps thinking that such activities were too childish and did not suit their interests.

But even so, they still stayed on the road, perhaps to satisfy their curiosity, perhaps just not wanting to miss any moment in the academy, or perhaps, as long as there were many people, more and more people would gather even without a reason.

Time passed by, and as seven o’clock approached, the square became increasingly noisy.

“Someone asked the Ten Seats about it, but they didn’t say anything and left with terrible expressions.”

“Not everyone, though. It’s said that Duchess Chloris’s expression was normal, so it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

It was difficult to deduce what had happened today.

Finally, as the hour hand pointed to seven o’clock, all emotions, whether anticipation, curiosity, playfulness, or disdain, were temporarily suspended, and the students’ eyes focused on the huge screen, waiting for the upcoming scene.

Then the students’ expressions became filled with confusion.

“?”

“??”

As usual, when the camera panned through the classrooms, there were no examinees.

It was terrifyingly quiet, filled with a sense of eeriness.

The results displayed on the side data bar showed that no students participated in the final class’s examination.

The number of all participating students had inexplicably decreased by half, and the other students still in the examination area had unanimously chosen to run to the rest area and not participate in the examination.

The teachers were also given a holiday, ending this monthly assessment day early.

“Where are the people?”

“What’s going on?”

The students on the square looked at each other, this change making them feel inexplicably uneasy, and the smiles of anticipation gradually froze on their faces.

It even made their hearts beat a little uncomfortably.

When the camera switched to a certain classroom, there was finally sound.

The sound of voices was particularly loud. It was in a large auditorium, and someone was standing on the stage giving a speech.

The teachers in the seats seemed to be unable to help but applaud or respond to his calls because of what he had said earlier.

Standing in the center of the huge auditorium, the high dome reflected his majestic figure. He paused his speech, waiting for everyone to vent their emotions.

He stood on the high platform that belonged only to him, behind him a magnificent stone-slab mural door, as if leading directly to heaven. The lights of the auditorium turned into beams of dawn, shining on him.

He raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

Soon the auditorium was filled only with slight coughs and collisions.

“When we move, we must ensure that we move forward, we cannot retreat.”

His voice seemed to carry a unique power and emotional communication talent, able to penetrate the heart and resonate. As his words rang out again, the people in the hall were drawn by his voice, falling into a deep, drunken dream.

“…Now someone asks me, when will you be satisfied? No, we are not satisfied now, and we will not be satisfied in the future, unless justice and righteousness are like the waves of the river and sea, surging and rolling in.”

His voice became powerful and forceful, and he raised his clenched fist,

“I have a dream today, I dream that one day, the valleys will rise, the mountains will fall, the rough and tortuous roads will become smooth, and the holy light will be revealed, shining all over the world.”

“McCarthy forever!”

“McCarthy forever!”

All the teachers on the screen stood up and raised their arms and shouted.

It was as if an invisible force had been激发 (jīfā - activated/stimulated) in the hearts of the people, and the light on their faces was brighter and more fiery than before, as if they had transformed into a group of warriors with common goals and beliefs, ready to fight for the realization of their dreams.

And outside the screen.

On the square in front of the central building.

It was quiet.

Even the night sky was suddenly silent.

The lower graders opened their mouths wide, completely unaware of what was happening.

The expressions of the upper graders turned into a spectrum of life.

Even the Grand Priests of the Silence Branch were stunned.

“…Is this some kind of religious ceremony?”

The Grand Priest’s murmur was heard by a lower grader nearby.

“You’re asking me? I’m just a student, I can’t evaluate it. Maybe the professionals from the Revival Church can give some insight.”

The lower grader shook his head and said.

Grand Priest: “…”

“Indeed.”

The Grand Priest nodded.

They were embarrassed to say that they were from the Revival Church.

And they couldn’t evaluate it either.

It was fortunate that this guy was only Fourth Order. If he were Eighth Order, it was unimaginable what kind of evil god he would become…

The upper graders, standing on the square with their brains nearly undergoing cellular apoptosis, finally recognized the reality, even though they didn’t know the specific process.

This guy named Rocky McCarthy not only hadn’t been hunted by anyone.

But nearly half of the missing students were probably at his hands!

His bounty should have reached an unknown number by now.

And even the teachers had been completely controlled by him.

Although this school was an academy directly under the Imperial Ministry of Education, and there had never been a principal position.

But in the future, the absolute ruler would probably only be one person…

——

Here’s a Hyperion meme~

Please give me your monthly tickets at the end and beginning of the month, daddies!

(End of this chapter)