The long-awaited Harmonia Quinquennial Festival finally arrived. Not only Harmonia students’ parents or relatives, but many other people who wanted to take a look at Harmonia Academy were buzzing with anticipation. From early in the morning, the circumferences of Harmonia Academy were so crowded.

On this day, Lyra went to the academy with Altaire, Clavis, Freyr, and Freyja as usual. They were quite excited to see the open houses that were going to be held today. They were quite relaxed as they wouldn’t be doing anything.

Since there wasn’t any special event that directly involved them, Lyra’s parents didn’t take any leave from their work for now. They decided they would save it for later when they could see their children in action.

 

In the morning, the academy wasn’t open to public yet. Only the invited guests were able to enter the venue to see the opening ceremony.

The students were lined up as they watched the academy’s higher-ups and the festival’s committees opening the festival officially.

Lyra could see the miracle twins, Valerie and Dmitria, riding on their unusual beasts as the beasts walked dignifiedly to the stage, holding the ribbon that would be cut by the chancellor of the academy.

‘Wow, way to go, Dmitria, Valerie!’ Lyra cheered on her new friends in her heart as she saw them riding their beasts calmly.

Obviously, the presence of the beasts thought to be ‘untamable’ brought everyone to uproar—or more precisely, they were all gasping in awe and cheers.

Iris looked at the two human figures and beasts in disbelief. She still couldn’t comprehend how she was now their friends. She was a completely ordinary girl. It seemed like her life was turned upside down ever since... Iris glanced at her very first friend next to her, who was completely absorbed looking at the stage. Yes, ever since she became friends with this extraordinary girl, Iris’ life was surrounded by unusual people.

 

When the MC asked the chancellor to stand up on the stage, a lone eccentric figure walked slowly at the stage.

“What?” Lyra tried to suppress her voice in disbelief.

Some of the other students who had never encountered this chancellor were also gasping.

How couldn’t they refrain from gasping?

The chancellor looked like an ordinary man—or it could be said that he didn’t seem like a chancellor at all.

Casual clothes that gave off the feeling of an adventurer registered in the Adventurer’s Guild, a bald head that reflected the sunlight so brightly that Lyra thought it was even brighter than her future... And then his face. His face was so round like an egg. If not for his foxlike eyes, thick mouth, and thick beard, Lyra would think that a curse was laid on the chancellor.

Still, it was true that this unusual man was the chancellor of the academy as all the staffs showed their respect as the man walked on the stage.

The chancellor gave a few short words and retrieved a sword decorated with Harmonia Academy’s emblem from one of the staffs.

 

“Uhh, even his movements and the way he talks... I still can’t believe he is the chancellor! What’s his name again?” Lyra asked in disbelief.

“Chancellor Freid Egman has been Harmonia Academy’s chancellor since my father was here,” Luca was the one who gave her an answer.

“What?!” Lyra widened her eyes in disbelief.

If what Luca said was true, then this chancellor was quite older than he looked like! Or could it be that this chancellor was a genius who became a chancellor at a very young age?

Uuh, I probably shouldn’t judge someone based on their appearance and attitude from now on. But there is no way he can be a chancellor if he isn’t suitable for the position.

Lyra thought to herself as she tried so hard to give her respect to her academy’s chancellor.

 

The chancellor on the stage swung the sword on his hand brutally and broke the ribbon.

Lyra could see Valerie, Dmitria, and their beasts seemed like they were surprised, but they managed to keep their calm.

Great, Valerie, Dmitria, Shula, Brioc!

Lyra felt somewhat proud of her friends.

The other students were also surprised, but they immediately clapped their hands noisily after that.

 

With the festival being officially opened, everyone was allowed to move and prepare for their open houses. Other students were free to roam, so some went to fetch their relatives or acquaintances outside.

 

“Ah, Yanze, there you are!” A brown-haired girl with bright hazel eyes jumped in happiness once she located the person she was looking forward to walk around with.

However, the boy looked back at her with stern gaze. His neon yellow eyes looked frightening for a moment, but Elise only flinched a bit before she talked normally.

“Ah, you are right... Sorry for that. How do I call you?”

“Anything but my real name, Elise.”

“Hmm, it’s hard, but I will try. Come on, I will show you around my school!” Elise said as she led Yanze.

The two of them leisurely walked around the Intermediate Level first.

 

It was at that time that a certain someone attracted Yanze’s gaze. He was normally walking with an uninterested expression and gaze, but the moment a girl with twintailed navy blue hair passed by him, Yanze’s eyes widened a bit as he turned around to take a look at the girl.

The girl was smiling as she went towards a boy who possessed the same navy blue hair as hers. The boy had heterochromic eyes, and so did the girl.

“...They are...,” Yanze muttered as he noticed his shadow shook a bit.

“Ya—uh, what’s the matter?” Elise asked when she noticed Yanze stopping.

“Mm, it’s nothing. Elise, can you show me where the toilet is?”

“Geez, we barely walked! Come on, I will lead you the way!” Elise said as she brought Yanze to the nearest toilet.

Yanze walked behind Elise as he looked down and smirked.

 

When Yanze arrived inside the toilet, he didn’t use the toilet as it was intended to. Instead, Yanze muttered in a low voice, “Come out, Miseria.”

His shadow shook even more and transformed into a woman’s shadow as suddenly, there was a pair of red light that was similar to the shadow’s eyes.

“Are they the ones?”

[I’m certain of it.]

“So, that girl will be your vessel?”

[Hehe, that is right. I can’t wait to make her mine. I can’t wait to taste her despair before I take over her body. It will be fun.]

“Yes, I will be looking forward to it, then. Command me whenever you feel like you need something from me,” Yanze smirked with such an evil gaze on his eyes.

As if there was a tacit understanding between them, the shadow called ‘Miseria’ disappeared.

 

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Lyra and her friends, Lyra’s shadow moved abnormally for a moment before it settled down like usual.

Luca suddenly stopped and turned to look behind him—he seemed to feel that something was odd just now. Like there was the presence of something evil, but when he looked here and there, he couldn’t find anything.

“What’s wrong, Luca?” Kiri asked when he noticed Luca who stopped walking.

“...It’s nothing,” Luca decided not to say anything and continued walking with his friends.

They were on the way to see the clubs’ open houses, as some of their friends were in there.

But a fated meeting or a coincidence happened on the way.

In a certain intersection, they bumped into no one other than Erneste and his two friends.

 

“Ah, Lyra! What a nice timing! I’ve been looking for you! So, I want to invite you to walk around with me, just the two of us, if you don’t mind...,” Erneste courteously asked. His friends jested on him for saying such a brave line.

Lyra flinched a bit. In that moment, she was reminded of the unpleasant things that clouded her mind, that she locked inside her heart before.

The flashback of what she overheard when she tried to look for Erneste instantly replayed in her mind.

At that very moment, Lyra felt suffocated. It was as if her head was suddenly heavy. She surely didn’t want to see him right now, right here. She wanted to avoid him at all cost... but why...?

Reject. Lyra definitely wanted to refuse.

Therefore, she opened her mouth.

“Sure, let’s walk together.”

However, what came out of her mouth was completely different from what she was thinking.

And for some reason, her head felt so light now.

It was as if she was inside a dream, and that she was seeing herself on an autopilot.

The shadow on her feet wavered a bit, unbeknownst to anyone.

 

“Lyra? Are you sure about it?” Luca asked, but Lyra turned around to look at him and smiled.

“I’m going to be fine. I have something to talk with him.”

Luca felt that something was off, though he wasn’t sure what. However, since Lyra herself said so, he was going to appreciate her opinion.

Therefore, the group parted ways like that.

 

“Erneste, there’s something I’d like to talk with you about, but I can’t talk about it in front of so many people. Let’s go to somewhere a bit secluded, shall we?”

“Sure, what about the back garden of Intermediate Level, the one with many storage?” Erneste was an optimistic person, so he thought that Lyra was going to talk about the answer to his confession.

Lyra continued to walk as she smiled, but deep inside her heart, she was uneasy.

I want to talk to him? About what?

...Is it a dream where I want to talk about everything and cut off my relation with him right away?

If so, this is such a nice dream.

If this is just a spur of courage that I felt, then it was also fine. I could close this chapter of my life using this courage that I didn’t know I had.

It was akin to an ‘autopilot’ or ‘auto’ mode in a game.

 

When they arrived at a garden near a storage and chapel—the exact spot where Lyra overheard the truth about Erneste—the two of them stood face-to-face.

“So, what is it that you want to talk about? Have you already thought about the answer... to my confession?” Erneste seemed like he was blushing, and it was honestly cute to see.

But Lyra thought the opposite as she already knew that he was a wolf in a sheep’s clothing. She wouldn’t be deceived by his facade anymore.

“That’s right. I already have my answer,” Lyra smiled.

Eh... why am I smiling? How come I can talk this easily about something that’s been weighing my mind, about something that I didn’t really want to talk about?

Lyra thought inside her mind, but her body seemed to move on its own.

 

“You are such a bad, bad liar, Erneste. You just wanted to make use of me, didn’t you? For fame, for connection, for your reputation. I am nothing more than a tool to you, right?” Lyra’s voice was so cold that even she herself couldn’t believe that it was her voice.

“W-what? What are you talking about, Lyra? Who told you that? That’s wrong, I...,” Erneste lost his composure and looked obviously flustered. He didn’t expect that Lyra could see through his mask—his perfect mask.

“Hehe, there’s no use lying already, Erneste. I overheard you talking with your friends about that—somewhere around this place. Let’s drop all the facade, shall we?”

“...Kh, fine, then. Fine, that’s true. I thought you were such a stupid, gullible girl. But it seems I miscalculated and underestimated you, my bad. I’m off the calculation. With this, are we to severe our connection so far and never talk with each other anymore?”

Yes.

Inside her mind, Lyra rejoiced and wanted to quickly cut off their relationships right away. That way, her peaceful life would come back to her.

 

“No.”

At this moment, even Lyra couldn’t believe what came out of her mind herself.

What am I saying? Hey, why is my mouth moving on its own?

“There is no way I can let go of someone who tricked me that easily, right? I have to make you suffer too, fufufu,” Lyra said with such a cold voice and even her expression was twisted.

“Wha—Ahahaha! So, you are also like me! You have been wearing such a good mask all this time, when you’re actually an evil sl*t! Hahahaha! Good, good!” Erneste seemed to lose his composure at all and also laughed.

“Shut up, b*tch!” Lyra’s eyes turned dark as her expression turned stern. She lifted her left hand and a strong dark magic started to come out from her hand, forming a dark whirlpool that slowly turned bigger.

The atmosphere around them changed.

Erneste started to fear for his life and said with a trembling voice, “L-lyra, wait, what are you planning to do? You couldn’t be seriously... thinking of taking my life, right? T-that’s crime...”

“I don’t want to hear that from you. And I’m not taking your life right away. That’d be too light. Instead, I will make you suffer until you wish you were dead, you little c*nt!”

No, wait, this isn’t me...

What is happening?

Lyra started to be scared and tried so hard to take control of her body, but her body didn’t obey her command.

Is this a dream? No... No, this is real, but... how come? What can I do?

Lyra felt like she wanted to cry, but her body continued moving on its own.

 

“Take this!”

“AAAAA!”

“Lyra, no!”

It was such a chaotic moment.

Lyra—or Lyra’s body whirled the strong whirlpool of darkness at Erneste, but at that moment, a familiar voice could be heard as suddenly, a navy haired-boy put himself between Lyra and Erneste, frantically trying to shield himself with his magic.

However, what possessed Lyra wasn’t a normal being. Miseria’s power was so strong, and even Altaire’s barrier was instantly shattered by her darkness that she let out by manipulating Lyra’s body.

As a result, Altaire was struck by the strong darkness and fell to the ground.

Erneste lost the strength to his feet and fell pathetically at the ground as tears seemed to come out of his eyes.

Miseria, who was posing as Lyra’s shadow, instantly smiled looking at how things turned out.

She actually didn’t expect the navy-haired boy to interfere, but it looked like his intervention would only help her.

So, she chose this moment to let go of her manipulation to Lyra.

Finally regaining control over her body, Lyra ran to her beloved big brother who laid weakly on the ground.

 

“Nooo, Alt-nii! Noo! This can’t be right!” Lyra couldn’t control the emotions inside her heart as tears of despair fell from her eyes.

As she touched Altaire’s body, she sighed in relief upon seeing how Altaire was still breathing, albeit his breathing was weak.

“I’m going to save you now, Alt-nii! I’m... I’m so sorry, I...!” Lyra tearfully tried to heal Altaire using her [Life] magic, but Altaire’s condition didn’t seem to improve. It was as if his body didn’t absorb any of Lyra’s healing magic.

Instead, using the remaining strength he had, Altaire extended his hand to wipe Lyra’s tears.

“I’m glad... You are okay...,” Altaire said with a weak voice.

“No, Alt-nii, stop, don’t talk anymore. I’m going to save you, I’m sorry, I didn’t know why I—”

“It isn’t... your fault... You’re probably... being manipulated. ...Luca said that... he sensed something wrong... so I came after you... I’m glad... I did...,” Altaire kept talking.

“Alt-nii, no, no!!”

“I... didn’t want you to... hurt anyone... out of something’s manipulation... I... am okay, Lyra,” Altaire said.

“You’re not! You’re not okay! Wait, I’m going to call for help—”

“Ruru!” Rurune instantly appeared in the sky—perhaps she sensed Altaire’s weakening life force.

“Rurune! Please, please, call the others here! Call a teacher! Anyone!!” Lyra frantically asked Rurune, still with tears streaming even more from her eyes.

“Ru... Uru!” Rurune quickly assessed the situation and went as fast as she could to find some help.

 

“It’s... fine... Sorry... I thought I could... withstand it... I didn’t know...”

“Alt-nii, enough! Store your energy to survive!!”

“Don’t... think that it’s your fault... I don’t... hate you, I can never...,” Altaire’s hand fell to the ground as he felt like he was losing his strength.

 

“Alt-nii...?”

Altaire closed his eyes as tears fell from his eyes.

“Alt... Nii?”

Lyra’s tears stopped as her head turned blank.

She could no longer feel Altaire’s pulse, nor his breathing.

 

“No... It can’t be true...,” Lyra looked at her lifeless brother with despair.

Her shadow, Miseria, smiled as she finally revealed herself. Miseria then hugged Lyra from behind and smirked. She whispered sweetly at Lyra’s ears.

“Your brother is dead. You did it. But look, it’s that Erneste b*tch’s fault. You were only trying to punish him for his wrongdoing, but look, your big brother became the victim.”

Lyra turned to look at Erneste who was crying as his whole body trembled.

“Hate him.”

“Ah... Aaaah! I’m sorry, this is not my fault, this is not my fault!!” Erneste frantically tried to cover his cowering face from Lyra’s sharp gaze.

“Such a pathetic trash. Kill him. Make him suffer. He has caused all this. Hate.”

Lyra’s gaze turned cold as murderous intent rose up from her heart. She stood up and approached the pathetic man who couldn’t even run away as he was too frightened.

Perhaps he had wetted himself at this moment.

 

Miseria smirked even more as she felt her strength increasing. She wrapped her shadow hands on Lyra’s neck as she whispered, “Torture him. Make him suffer. Only by that, you will be freed from this despair in your heart.”

Lyra’s tears stopped as the light left her eyes. Her mind was full of hatred and despair. She believed the words that Miseria whispered and raised her hand.

“No, aaah.... Aaah!”

A dark blade formed from her hand as Lyra mercilessly struck Erneste’s body with the dark blade.

“AaaAAaaAAA!!”

The moment the blade pierced his body, it dissolved into shadow that suffocated Erneste.

The shadow didn’t let him die right away. Instead, it tortured Erneste.

Erneste’s eyes widened so much that they seemed like they wanted to fly from their socket. Drools started to flow from Erneste’s mouth that was pulled apart by Lyra’s dark magic.

 

“Hehe, that is it, my girl,” Miseria smiled as she caressed Lyra’s cheeks.

Looking at the sight of Erneste suffering before her, tears started to fall from her eyes again.

No, this isn’t what I wanted. No, I didn’t want to kill. No... How can things be like this? It’s wrong, it’s wrong. It’s all a dream...!!

“Dear, do you think this world is wrong?” Miseria asked.

Yes, it is wrong. I don’t want things to turn out like this.

“Then, do you want to reset everything?”

...Reset?

“Yeah, reset. This world is wrong from the beginning, anyway. I can reset this world and create a world without pain and suffering.”

...You can?

“Yes. Don’t you want it too?”

...Of course.

“Then... Will you lend me your body and offer me your soul?”

If that can help me fix everything, then I would.

 

“VERY WELL! VERY WELL! AHAHAHAH!!” Miseria’s shadow grew stronger as it danced around the sky before it completely enveloped Lyra’s body.

After a while, the shadow was completely absorbed in Lyra’s body. Lyra’s eyes turned bright red for a moment before they faded into the same heterochromatic eyes.

Lyra then smirked.

No, she was already Miseria.

 

“Hahaha! With this, we are one step closer to utopia!” Lyra smirked evilly.

 

Thus, the Harmonia Quinquennial Festival that was supposed to be such a joyous day was forcefully suspended. After all, they found one student dead—a duke’s son, on top of it.

And then, another student was in his life-and-death, as he continued to suffer before he finally passed away after a month full of suffering and humiliation.

Lastly, the Hartmann family’s eldest daughter, Alrescha Lyra Hartmann, disappeared without a trace from that day.

 

 This whole event caused such a huge uproar and devastated many who heard that, especially the Hartmann family.

At this point, it was unknown what would happen in the future.

The Hartmann family was currently overcome with such a huge despair for losing both of their biological children. It was unclear if they could overcome this despair.

The crown prince seemed to be very devastated, as he was seen full of regrets and secluded himself in his room after blaming himself. He kept saying that he could have prevented this from happening had he taken an action, too.

Clavis immediately went on a journey in order to find the missing Lyra.

Ein was usually bright, but it was as if he turned mature overnight. The next day, he was like another person altogether. There was no more childish brightness. He was a gloomy and composed boy, unbefitting of his age. This caused Nicole and Clyde to be very sad.

Carbuncle was very mad as she lost the two people that she considered her own kind. She transformed into a dragon right away and flew to the sky, with no one knew what she was thinking. She was never seen again from that day.

Iris cried for so many days and nights that she fell into depression. Harvey was overcome with sadness over his best friend’s departure, but he tried to be strong for his childhood friend.

The trio troublemakers were also affected by this and started making ruckuses here and there as they were angered by what suddenly occurred.

 

The gears of fate had turned, but why did it seem things were headed towards a totally wrong destiny?

 

...

......

 

Well, it was because this is all a fake.

This whole chapter is a troll. It’s an April Fool’s chapter, hehe! How was this whole chapter, guys? Did you expect Lyra to murder Altaire, and also Erneste? Hehe...

*escapes to the corner to avoid being killed by readers*

I’m so sorry if it surprised or scared you! >< I actually didn’t plan for an April Fools release at all but, people just sparked the idea in my Discord server, have you noticed?

Here are pics for proof. Join the Discord server, who knows your casual comments can be turned into a spin-off or something XD

There you have it, Erneste’s painful death. And also, Erneste’s got 10/10 of Lyra’s dark magic and pissed himself there. Are you guys satisfied now? XD

 

Anyway!! I hope I didn’t make you guys upset, do think that it’s just a spin-off. I hope you think that this chapter is fun although it was quite horror if it was true... Or don’t tell me some of you actually hoped this was a real chapter?

I had fun writing this chapter and it turned longer than I expected.

Okay, I’m not a cruel person, so I’m going to give you the real chapter, just click next to read the real chapter 113! ><