Chapter 158
Kwaaaang—!
It all happened in less than five seconds.
The ceiling suddenly collapsed, and a pillar of light appeared from above, enveloping Selina.
Everyone except Selina was swept away by the force radiating from the pillar.
Crushed by the overwhelming pressure, Selina’s whole body trembled.
Crack—
Something shattered right beside her ear. At the same time, the hair that scattered down changed from red to a pale lavender color.
Startled, Selina checked her earrings and necklace. Perhaps due to the unknown power, the magical artifacts had been completely destroyed.
All eyes widened as people stared at Selina inside the pillar of light.
Except for the few who knew her true appearance, most people began to murmur at the sight of her suddenly changed hair.
“Damn it. Selina!”
“What the hell is going on?!”
Theodore, Chris, and Sylvester—who had been pushed outside the pillar—tried desperately to reach Selina, but an invisible force pouring out from the light made it impossible for them to move.
“Selina!”
Freiman, who had been on the stage, shouted and ran toward her, while Anais sprang to her feet from the VIP seats on the second floor.
“My child!”
Tears welled up in Anais’s eyes. Ever since seeing Selina the day before, she had tried everything to find her, but without success.
Never did she imagine they would meet again here.
Hearing Anais’s cry, Arnold realized that the girl in the pillar of light was her biological daughter.
He didn’t know what was happening, but he resolved to protect that girl for Anais’s sake, no matter what.
Gugugung—!
The ground shook even more violently, and a ringing filled everyone’s ears. The sensation spread from their ears up into their heads, and soon, a mysterious voice echoed directly inside their minds.
On this day— the Moon God speaks—
The divine voice resounded beyond the auditorium, throughout the entire academy.
Faced with an event they had never experienced before, some people stood dazed, while others dropped to their knees and wept.
I appoint this girl as the Apostle of the Moon— may endless blessings lie upon her path—
As the god’s voice faded, the pillar of light flared even brighter before finally disappearing.
Standing where it had been was Selina.
With her magical artifacts destroyed, her hair—having briefly returned to its original form—changed once more. This time, it became a brilliant silver that shimmered dazzlingly with even the slightest movement.
Selina felt utterly overwhelmed by everything that was happening.
With trembling breaths, she grasped her hair in both hands. Anyone could tell at a glance—this silver hair was proof of divine protection.
“…This can’t be real.”
Someone murmured in the heavy silence. Selina lifted her head.
Just a minute earlier, Silvia had been receiving praise and congratulations from countless people. Now she stood alone on the stage, completely stunned.
When the lively blue eyes that always brimmed with energy turned hollow, Selina felt a chill run through her.
But before she could dwell on it, cheers even louder than before erupted throughout the auditorium.
Selina looked around. Beyond mere celebration, people were drunk on madness at the fact that they had directly witnessed a god.
Moreover, an apostle—an existence long forgotten—had appeared for the first time in five hundred years. Their reaction was only natural.
Some people tripped over others’ feet as they rushed out of the auditorium to spread the news, while others tried to approach Selina, now an apostle.
At that moment, the thoughts and destinies of countless people began flooding into Selina’s mind.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of inner voices echoed at once, making her feel as if her head were about to split.
It was just like the first time she had awakened her abilities, when she hadn’t been able to control them properly.
Selina desperately tried to block out the invading thoughts, but for some reason, her usual methods no longer worked.
“…Don’t come closer.”
Even as she staggered backward, the people didn’t stop. Perhaps believing that merely touching her would grant them blessings, they stretched out their hands with all their strength.
Bang—!
Just as their hands were about to reach her, a thunderous sound rang out, and a barrier of light rose between Selina and the crowd.
Turning her head, Selina saw Freiman standing there.
“If you take even one more step forward, I will consider it a declaration of war against the Moon Temple.”
The gentle Freiman was nowhere to be seen. Those struck by his killing intent finally snapped out of their frenzy and stepped back.
“Holy Knights, hear me! Protect the Apostle of the Moon and allow no one to approach!”
“We will obey your command!”
The Moon Holy Knights who had attended the closing ceremony quickly formed a protective line around Selina.
Even so, Selina couldn’t block out the constant influx of thoughts.
Her body grew hot, and her head felt like it might shatter. Clutching her head, she collapsed to the floor. Freiman rushed over and caught her before she could fall completely.
“Selina!”
Through her blurred vision, she saw Freiman’s face—and Luna approaching as well.
Though Luna was the one who had caused all this, she looked as if she were about to cry.
“Dad…”
“Don’t worry. Your dad will take care of everything.”
Freiman’s hand gently covered Selina’s eyes.
“When you wake up, everything will be fine.”
His divine power lulled Selina into sleep. Her ragged breathing gradually calmed, soon becoming soft and steady.
After confirming she was asleep, Freiman carefully lifted her into his arms.
“Meow—”
Luna cried weakly at his feet. Freiman frowned in pain when he noticed that the shape of her tail and legs had become faint and unstable.
“Freiman, is Selina all right?”
Dies approached cautiously, having observed everything. Unable to hide his concern, he looked down at the sleeping Selina.
“She’s fine for now. But what comes next will be the real problem.”
“Sir Freiman! H-how is the Apostle?”
Cardinal Modis came rushing over belatedly, fidgeting anxiously as he looked at Selina, now declared an apostle.
Freiman was silent for a moment before lifting his gaze to Gregory on the stage.
Gregory stood frozen, clearly shaken.
“I would like the temple to protect our apostle, Your Holiness.”
Gregory’s fist twitched slightly. Catching that movement, Freiman’s eyes grew sharper.
“You will permit it, won’t you?”
Before Gregory could answer, the sound of a cane tapping the floor was heard, followed by a woman’s voice.
Turning around, they saw Prigier, the head of the dormitories, standing there. Though she merely oversaw dormitory management, those in the know understood her influence within the academy rivaled even that of the dean.
“She may have been appointed an apostle, but before that, she is a student of this academy. Without the permission of the dean or her guardian, she cannot be taken outside at will. Isn’t that so?”
When Prigier turned her gaze to the dean, he nodded.
“Now that I think about it, you are her guardian, aren’t you, Freiman?”
Freiman narrowed his eyes briefly, then looked down at Selina before glancing toward Gregory in the distance.
In a way, this was an opportunity.
Now that Selina had been revealed as an apostle before everyone, she would inevitably be exposed to great attention—and great danger.
Freiman wanted to keep her where his own eyes could reach.
Compared to the Moon Temple, where Gregory was ever-present, the academy would surely be safer.
“If that is your stance, then Selina will remain here. However, I have one condition.”
“And what would that be?”
“For the time being, block people from approaching Selina, and allow two holy knights to stay by her side.”
“Holy knights themselves can be perceived as a threat to other students, so that is not allowed. But priests would be acceptable.”
“Then we will prepare priests from our side.”
“Very well. Then shall we move the child to the dormitory before things grow any more chaotic?”
People were staring at Selina with eyes full of shock, curiosity, and fear of the holy knights.
Freiman held Selina even closer, shielding her from their gazes.
“Then please, lead the way.”
Prigier guided Freiman toward the dormitory, followed by Cardinal Modis and the holy knights.
After the storm passed, the auditorium was left in utter chaos.
“To think Selina would be appointed an apostle…”
“So much happened—I don’t even know what to make of it.”
Among the confused crowd were Selina’s friends. They were deeply worried about her, yet unsettled.
“The apostle… is that the same apostle we looked into before?”
“Yeah. I never imagined that on the same day, the Moon Temple would produce both a Saintess and an Apostle…”
Chris muttered that it was unprecedented.
“Oh! Silvia!”
Only then did Sylvester realize Silvia had been there and turned toward the stage.
“…Huh? Where’s Silvia?”
“Maybe she went somewhere else to avoid the crowd?”
“Poor Silvia. She wanted to awaken so badly, and then an apostle appears right after she does.”
“Yeah, people probably won’t pay as much attention to her now.”
“Honestly, maybe that’s for the best. Seeing people swarm toward Selina was scary.”
Ignoring the surrounding conversations, Sylvester alone searched for Silvia, then looked around for his family.
Sillian, a third-year, was seated too far away to spot easily, but Sylvester had checked where his parents would be sitting beforehand.
“They’re not here either.”
“I’m going to follow Selina. I’m worried about her.”
“Hey, wait! I’ll come with you!”
As Theodore tried to leave, Sylvester hurriedly grabbed him. Even as he followed, he continued scanning the area for his family.
Silvia dragged Knox to a secluded area.
After making sure no one was around, she demanded,
“What in the world just happened? You said that when the time came, I’d be recognized by everyone and become the true protagonist. None of what you told me included this!”
Silvia was confused. Ever since making a contract with Knox, he had promised to make her the protagonist no matter what.
But now, didn’t Selina look like the protagonist instead?
“I trusted you and waited for this day, and this is what happens?”
Disappointment filled Silvia’s voice. She had been anxious for so long because he never told her the exact timing—and now the outcome was far from satisfying.
[This was unexpected for me too. I’ll look into what happened, so stay still.]
Hearing Knox’s irritated response, Silvia puckered her lips and changed the subject.
“To think Selina was the apostle. Knox, did you know?”
Instead of answering, Knox frowned. Selina becoming an apostle was already giving him a headache.
Selina truly was Luna’s apostle—but once her fate had been stolen, her destiny as Luna’s apostle should have disappeared as well.
By principle, giving the position of apostle to someone who was not its rightful owner demanded an equivalent price. And yet…
[Didn’t realize that human would be so important.]
“Huh? What was that?”
Knox stopped mid-anger and looked Silvia up and down. Her thoughtless, temper-driven behavior irritated him.
[Hah… to think the human I chose would be such an idiot.]
“Who are you calling an idiot?! This is your fault today! You said that for me to fully claim the fate you gave me, lots of people had to recognize me. But now that Selina became the apostle, I’ve been completely pushed out of everyone’s attention!”
[Ha… you kept singing about how close you two were, yet you don’t seem worried at all about your friend who collapsed.]
Realizing he meant Selina, Silvia flinched.
“Of course I’m worried. But that’s that, and this is this. Besides, there are plenty of priests watching over Selina. She’ll be fine.”
She complained that he was being too cold-hearted.
Knox silently watched her, thinking.
She doesn’t know that Selina was originally the true owner of that fate.
Telling her now wouldn’t be bad, but in her current, venom-filled state, she might end up feeling guilty toward Selina.
To deal with Selina, Knox would need Silvia’s help. For that, the two girls needed to grow further apart.
Not yet. It’s not time.
Knox smiled wickedly as he planned for what was to come.
