CHAPTER 251: DÉJÀ VU (2)

0% It was around the afternoon when Cecil began getting a sense of déjà vu.

“Don’t you think something’s strange?”

She dropped by the board and asked.

One member who had been filing his nails looked at her with unimpressed eyes. Outside, heavy rain was falling.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s still raining.”

The rain had started falling since dawn. It hadn’t been a concern then, but now that wasn’t the case.

No matter how many times she thought about it, she couldn’t shake the strange feeling. She was sure she hadn’t experienced this before yet it felt like she did.

“It’s currently the rainy season. It isn’t unusual for it to rain for days.”

“But the raindrops are too large.”

“How large?”

The director looked out the window.

Wild winds whirled around the falling rain like a running pack of wolves. Thunk! The moment they opened the window, winds stronger than the northern winter ones blasted in. The director quickly shut the window, and his favorite desk had instantly turned into a mess due to the water-bombing.

“...Damn it.”

The board members stood one by one and clicked their tongues.

“This must be the Sea Dragon’s doing.”

Cecil said with certainty.

The Elementals sitting deep within her were resonating in unison.

There’s malice in the rain, it may be the work of a Beast.

Whispers like these kept coming, tickling the inside of her head.

“You mean the Leviathan has begun moving?”

“Yes.”

The board nodded reluctantly.

“We’ll have to come up with a plan.”

They, too, were feeling it deep within them. The Elementals of those blessed were reacting faintly.

The majority of elves had absolute trust in the intuition of the Elementals, and it was no different this time. The board members each had a Greater Elemental so they were able to deduce what hidden intention there was when they listened carefully to the sound of the raindrops.

After a moment of silence, one of the members spoke up.

“Alright then, President Renay. See to this personally.”

“Understood.”

Cecil bowed her head to show respect.

She then stepped outside and bent her fingers, and the air pockets in the joints popped with a snap.

Leviathan.

“The nerve of this bastard.”

Last time, the academy was attacked during her absence.

This time was different–she was here, and so was a new elite faculty member.

The academy’s defenses were stronger than before, and the stubborn board actually took things seriously and listened to her.

It might be a Cataclysm, but they had a chance.

No, it was more than a chance.

[We bring urgent breaking news from the administration.]

[We are expecting flooding due to the current localized heavy rain. We ask that citizens remain inside and check their hotlines and other safety equipment in case of emergencies.]

The Air Mages spread the warning message across the capital. A while after, the disaster  evacuation siren began blaring.

In the pitch dark streets where even the arc lamps shone dimly, Cecil patrolled the academy with a few combat mages.

“How are the lower areas?”

“It was reported that the west side is already beginning to flood.”

The west was where the Sea Dragon appeared before.

And it must be coming from the same direction this time as well.

“We’ll have to meet it there.”

Cecil grinned and quickened her steps.

“Will it be okay? It is a Cataclysm, after all.”

“What are you so worried about, Dean Therman?”

“These guys are smarter than we think. It could come from the complete opposite end this time.”

Cecil smiled in response to Dean Therman’s concern.

“It will come from the west.”

She knew that Cataclysms were highly intelligent.

And so there was a good chance that it was trying to trick her into thinking that the west was just a decoy and lure her to the east, and then use that confusion to rush in from the west.

In other words, it was a double ‘feint strategy’.

“That’s amazing. As expected of you.”

Therman expressed his awe after hearing what Cecil said.

But he couldn’t just stay impressed.

Cecil led the rescue team and arrived at the west side of the academy where there was a cliff. Down below the sheer cliff, waves several meters tall were crashing mercilessly against the rock and tetrapods.

“As expected.”

Everyone was busy scooping out the water. The size of the rain had also grown in the meantime. The finger-width rain from a little while ago had now grown into the size of an arm and was crashing down onto the earth.

“Did they say it was like this during the Steam Rain?”

“It’s a bit different.”

The ‘Steam Rain’ had caused the body to oxidize the moment it touched, but being hit with this current rain wasn’t a huge problem.

However, the drops were so big that it could cause physical damage. Because of that, the mages including Cecil created a vacuum shield in place of an umbrella.

“President, look over there.”

Therman pointed to the shore.

Something was rising gradually from the darkness.

“That’s.......”

It looked like the Sea Dragon, but it wasn’t.

They could feel vibrations that shook the earth. The Elementals within her body whispered low. Cecil flicked her long ears and distinguished between the sound of the rain and seismic waves.

Soon, in a low voice, a single sentence came from Cecil’s mouth.

“...It’s a tsunami.”

The people began to clamor at that. The elves who had been working got scared and stumbled back.

They couldn’t help it. The waves that had been some meters tall just earlier had now swelled in height like it was going to consume everything.

About 250 meters.

The size of the tsunami had to be half the size of the Sea Dragon.

“Fucking Demon Army....”

Cecil clenched her teeth and pulled out her staff.

“I need everyone to focus on clearing the waterways!”

“What about you, President?”

Vwoom, vwoom.

It wasn’t just the tsunami that was cutting through the air.

Cecil, effortlessly swinging her staff, looked up and glared at the sky.

“I need to stop that thing.”

**It was known that a staff pulled from subspace reflected that person’s psychology and experience.

Most people expressed their psychology and quantified their experiences in terms of their attributes. So of course, the staff was built and sculpted accordingly.

Fire Mages generally manifested staffs wrapped in flames, and for Water Mages it looked like there were waterdrops and icicles hanging on it.

Cecil’s staff was a bit different.

As one born with aptitude for all Four Elements, she was given her staff by the Elemental Kings themselves. It wouldn’t be normal to begin with since it was given by the Elemental Kings, but Cecil’s was very special because it was a treasure made from weaving the branches of the World Tree.

『Radiance』

A magic equipment that drove out the darkness and cut down Beasts.

“Come, I’ll send you back to the Stone Age.”

Whoosh, whoosh.

Every time she adjusted her grip on the staff, there was a dense sound like the swinging of a steel rod.

Vwoom!

The tsunami was close. Without delay, Cecil gathered her mana.

Vwooom!

A knife-like sharpness formed on the tip of the staff.

Vwoooom!

Cecil’s eyes turned red.

The wave came crashing down with its back to the sky. Throughout the wave, faces in the form of mercury emerged. Some were smiling, others were wailing or raging. It was a cruel, horrific, and grotesque image.

That, too, had to be another Beast. Cecil focused her mind and calmed her breathing.

“Huu.”

She expelled all the oxygen in her alveoli. Now only pure mana remained.

An Elite Fire Elemental manifested above Cecil’s head. The Elemental pointed to the tip of Cecil’s staff and slowly opened its mouth.

“Oh, Goddess.”

[Legendary Fire Elemental Magic ─ ‘Let us seek higher things (Altiora Petamus)’]

Vwooooooom─!!

Cecil swung her staff like a sword.

It was a ruthless slash with a bell.

The recited line became the wind, and the wind fanned into flame. Then the flame became an ancient dragon with flowing lava and blazed into the sky.

It was noble like a peony in full bloom. The fierce flames of the enchantment roared into the horizon. The wave was now nearly 300 meters, but the fury of the fire dragon was like the care of the Goddess. Cecil’s magic surged into the sky like it was going to burst through the ceiling and moved powerfully across the water.

And it the next moment–

Poooooow!!

The water dragon and fire dragon collided.

With a sizzling sound, the fire began consuming the water. The fire dragon extended its body like a chain and climbed even higher. At the same time, it spread to the sides like a stingray and stretched its wings.

Fsssssssssss!

The faces of the wave distorted, covered by the lava. The smiling faces hardened as they cried, and the crying faces folded vertically and were crushed.

The force of the fire dragon was unstoppable. On the other hand, the tsunami was more than gradually diminishing.

It was consumed in the blink of an eye and evaporated instantly.

“─!!”

For a moment, the rain stopped.

The jaws of the elves that were fleeing dropped.

When they turned their heads, the sky froze and a white cloud arose. It looked like a dragon ascending on a rainy day. The cane-like slapping also quieted momentarily and the size of the raindrops were returning to normal.

“W-we made it.”

Someone said.

One by one, there was the sound of laughter. This time it came from the back.

“We’re saved, we’re saved...!”

“I-I swear we was goners...!!”

Relieved voices, reassured voices, glad voices.

It was the voice of people that would’ve been drenched with wailing and screaming if Cecil hadn’t unleashed her magic.

Huu, Cecil let out a big sigh.

“...President.”

“The rain hasn’t stopped yet. Let’s finish up quickly and report back to the country.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Protecting the students and faculty was her job. While the last work trip hadn’t been her fault, it had still been a mistake, so she had to do her best while she was here at the academy.

“...Hm?”

She was looking at the sky when she saw something strange.

Something that looked like a ball of light was flashing irregularly. After watching it for a few seconds, a question mark popped up in her head.

“What is that?”

“It looks like a signal from a beacon.”

The dean immediately replied.

But Cecil had a different thought.

“I don’t think that’s a beacon.”

“Come to think of it, there aren’t any lighthouses in this area.”

Even as the two talked, the light moved to and fro in the sky and flickered.

It was too bright to be a star, and moved too wildly to be the moon.

It was suspicious.

“It has to be a signal from a Beast.”

After contemplating, that was what came out of Cecil’s mouth.

“I’ll leave this place to you, Therman. Clean up the rest of the debris and keep an eye for landslides.”

“Yes, President.”

Cecil left her subordinate in charge of the west area and ran towards the flashing light.