Reincarnated as the Weakest Shadow Queen in the Academy-Chapter 51: The Mansion’s Secret

Ciel clenched her staff tightly. Her eyes swept over the System panels, then on the hounds prowling in the darkness.

She could see them clearly, but the same didn’t apply to her teammates, who weren’t as used to the Nightfall environment as Ciel was.

Until a voice, tinged with a calm that was the repressed madness beneath her breath, echoed in the silence.

"Come to think of it... I never fought with others before."

Ciel almost burst into a chuckle. She could hear the amusement in Shire’s voice.

"Oi," Quia just seethed, her posture stern and steady with fists, as she aimed at the Shadeknight approaching her. "Pay attention."

"I am." Shire nodded. And then, the redhead noble raised her hand sky-high. "Feel free to prop up a shield now."

A flicker of surprise crossed between Quia and Ciel, and Ciel acted first, with her staff hoisted.

The spell by Shire started with a calm mutterance.

"Let’s go with...ten per cent."

A heatwave surged from Shire’s hand, just as a moonshield wrapped around the trio.

Pitiful, desperate whimpers erupted.

Each and every shadehound’s fur caught fire, their bodies rolling on the grasses instinctively like humans trying to put out the flames.

Small patches of fire sprawled everywhere in Ciel’s view, filled with shadehounds catching their last breaths, nearly.

All of their camouflage? Rendered useless by the noises and flames.

"It won’t kill," Shire hunched, readied to intercept the Shadeknight before her. "Kill the Knight quickly, then finish the hounds."

Her step almost lifted, then an ’ah’ sound slipped away from her lips.

She added. "I’m off."

And she sprinted away to kill the shadeknight.

"That bitch!" Quia seethed, before grumbling uneasily. "Well... Shadeknight should be easy for you. I’m off too, Ciel!"

The elf sprinted away too, leaving Ciel alone.

Standing in the midst of a landscape filled with shadehounds rolling to kill the flames, Ciel merely sighed.

They would be quite an obstacle to manoeuvring.

She didn’t realise, but she shared not an ounce of pity in her thought.

Ciel faced forward.

The elf and noble faced their own knights, leaving Ciel with one more.

Iron-armoured parts clattered together as it approached. Compared to the last one, this shadeknight wielded a two-handed axe, the gauntlets tightly clutching its handle.

A little squint by Ciel, and she noticed the grip was trembling, as if in rage.

She must come to terms now: all her family would hate her guts.

The former shadebeast chuckled in defeat, then her staff snapped up.

She fired her first shot, a moonblast crossing the distance.

The knight flinched, then hoisted the axe’s handle and blocked the moonblast, separating it into two halves of blue arcs.

The impact didn’t push it back a single step; the evidence of moonblast carrying little to mass.

Though it scarred gauntlets and handle with bitter, black tar.

’It hurts, just not enough.’

Ciel let down the staff, as the knight sprinted forward in hurried steps.

The former shadebeast just pondered, trying to gather her thoughts, back to the sensation when she fought Selvara Stormveil.

Before she knew it, an axe descended overhead. But a moonshield formed, absorbing the hit, the blade sinking into the dome.

Ciel had just one question right now.

’If I could gather more mana for a stronger, more penetrating moonblast like back then, could <telekinesis> do the same?’

She didn’t hesitate to try.

Mana gathered at the tip of her staff. The power of <telekinesis> burrowed into the budding wood, quivering with an immense pressure.

The moonshield gave in. Crack, and the blade came for Ciel’s shoulder.

Ciel forced more mana in, then swung her staff up to intercept.

As the wood and iron met-

Crash! A loud cry of the metal sung. Ciel gasped as the axeblade shattered into pieces, fluttering right before her eyes.

’Wow. This... was more than I imagined.’

Impressed, but she didn’t have time to dawdle as the knight’s gauntlet plunged in the form of a fist.

Her tiny frame slipped away, wincing as it grazed her back. The impact made her lose balance as her legs gave out, her body folding helplessly on the floor.

The knight cast away the axe, leaned down and punched again-

Till Ciel’s body melted into mist, and its knuckle slammed against the grass.

Mist ascended as the knight gazed up. That was its last sight as Ciel manifested herself again, her staff already pulsing with a strong moonblast.

One more blue ray flew, penetrating through the gaps of its armour.

A sigh escaped Ciel as she fell and rolled, then patted away the dust on her uniform.

Ciel reflected.

Her surprise was, in the former shadebeast’s defence, unexpected.

She always held a good hold on her emotions. Why now? Had any of her doubts bled through?

Alas, the Queen shook her head.

Hesitation made her alive. It could also get her killed.

Miss Dragon wouldn’t like that. Perhaps, as those tiny moments of hesitation accumulated, something may explode inside the principal.

She blinked. Then clutched her chin leisurely.

Should she hesitate more than?

Her chuckle afterwards was pleased, her eyes bright and smiling.

Then, without looking, her staff raised sideways and blasted a blue ray, hitting a shadehound mid-leap.

The hound’s body was scattered apart. Other fires began to dwindle as Quia and Shire left behind the perished shadeknights, cleaning up the rest of the shadehounds.

Ciel joined them afterwards. Of course, she didn’t discuss what she thought earlier.

—----------

A series of panels flew by Ciel’s vision.

[ Shadeknights cleared. Assists and kills tallied... ]

[ Shadeknights: 0/5 -> 3 /5]

"Holy..."

Quia’s eyes swept over the mess. Shadeknights and shadehounds, all cleaned up in the blink of an eye.

The elf’s gaze started to drift away, to a certain redhead, who occupied herself with patting Ciel.

Quia’s question came simply. "Are you always so powerful?"

Shire, behind the confused Ciel, answered with a flat voice. "I’ve experience with the kitchen. With my sister."

"..."

The elf’s disgust gushed out in a growl, while Ciel merely closed her eyes and relaxed; Shire’s stroke on her head was rough, but firm in a comfortable way.

Meanwhile, Shire raised a brow. "In case you’re wondering, I didn’t cook my sister."

"No," the elf’s smile was so stiff, it could snap Ciel’s staff in half. "Please, why would I think the worst of a crazy psycho?"

An awkward silence brewed, and Ciel caught the wrist above her head.

"The shadeknights and hounds." Ciel interrupted the fight with an observation. "Why do they spawn on us, and not Selvara or Orion?"

It stunned Quia and Shire, and the elf analysed first.

"The two rushed in too fast," Quia sighed. "Couldn’t they just miss them? Perhaps they spawned a second too late?"

Ciel immediately denied it. "Shadebeasts never spawn late. Their kinships wouldn’t allow it, and even more so if their objective was to defend the mansion."

Shire frowned. "Objective? Ah..."

As expected. Shire’s suspicion from earlier pieced together the link, fast.

A shady mansion, hidden just in the middle of a forest, coupled with the Nightfall’s emergence here.

Shadebeasts were creatures of war, and war alone. They would rather slaughter a few more civilians in the town than attack this seemingly abandoned mansion.

Which, in fact, still hadn’t shown a trace of people living here.

"Then..." Shire walked in the direction of the mansion. "Perhaps because we lingered here for too long, they mistook us for finding something here. In the garden."

The noble first followed the side of a wall. Ciel and Quia, after a moment, briefly guessed what she was looking for.

They spread out and tried to find it. Cellar, hidden door, entrapment, spell circle, anything that seemed remotely suspicious, or just innocently tucked away in a corner.

They failed to find even a hint near the mansion, so-

"Where the terraces collapsed," Ciel suggested. "Let’s go there."

The team went without question. They stepped over the debris, splitting up, careful steps tapping the green floor.

Eventually, Quia let out a delighted shout.

"Open... Sesame!"

Quia’s wave was like that of an excited child. Between the rubble of two terraces, an inconspicuous entrapment door on the floor hid, which the elf had just opened.

Its surface was covered with similar green grasses and mosses, perfectly camouflaged against the surrounding area.

"Nice one." Shire ran up to her and complimented.

Quia shuddered, voice shaking with genuine fear. "Who-who the hell are you? Why did you possess that crazy bitch?"

"..."

Shire’s foot, with no hesitation, raised and nudged the elf’s bum.

"Oi! My skirt was dirtied, you crazy bitch!"

"Sigh..."

As the noble rolled her eyes at Quia, Ciel leaned just above the entrapment door, observing the darkness just beneath.

Was this where the hint about the Queen of Theatrics hid? Or perhaps, the Queen lived here herself?

Ciel’s hands clung to her staff. For once, she beckoned the spirit inside for an answer.

Alas, she had to stay strong.

No, even stronger. Ciel was determined to visit the System once again when she descended.

"Quia. Shire."

She called out, and her most trusted companions all met her resolved gaze.

Before they entered, Quia spawned in a few HP and MP potions. They drank them, topping up their health and mana.

After nodding to each other, they descended into the darkness in tow.

It was time to uncover the mansion’s secret.