Positive little sun, magical girl, I am awesome

"Don't panic! It's just an elemental fluctuation!"

Fortunately, most of the academy's teachers were present tonight. After a brief period of chaos, the teachers on the second floor were the first to react and began to loudly reassure the students below.

"Your Highness, are you all right?"

Just before darkness fell, Leila arrived near Catherine. She spread her legs and planted herself firmly on the ground like a pine tree, supporting the princess steadily in front of her.

Aside from being unable to see, Leila didn't feel much discomfort. However, the mages, who were more sensitive to the elements, obviously felt differently. She heard someone in the arena shouting that their companion had fainted, and someone else was vomiting. This made Leila worry and search for a certain figure in the darkness.

"I'm fine, don't worry..."

Catherine's pale face was shrouded in darkness. She steadied herself and immediately began to calm the situation, urging those around her to look after their dance partners and not to move around unnecessarily to prevent a stampede.

Fortunately, the accident happened quickly and passed quickly. In no time, many people were able to chant spells again. Darkness could not trap magicians, and the light of the illumination spell lit up one by one, quickly illuminating the castle again.

Leila breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing this, but couldn't help asking, "What is elemental fluctuation? Could it be from Ozler's side...?"

“Impossible.” Catherine shook her head and tried to chant an illumination spell. In the time it took for the light to condense in her palm, she quickly pieced together the reason.

Enemy attack? No, although the Goreia Academy has been dormant for many years, as long as the principal is still there, no force will dare to offend it.

The last time the academy experienced elemental fluctuations was when a few reckless senior students tried to link the toilet in the men's restroom of the South Tower to an unverified sacrificial ritual described in a book. As a result, the toilet was blown up, and the scene was horrific.

But this was the first time Catherine had ever seen anything like it, and it didn't seem like elemental fluctuations at all; that was just an excuse the teachers used to quickly quell the situation.

The roar that just echoed in my mind felt more like a magical attack, and my mother had said that those most skilled at casting spells using sound as a medium were…

Catherine looked up and clearly remembered that before the lights went out, Mr. Simon was sitting on the second-floor railing chatting with Mr. Colin. But when the lights came back on, Mr. Colin was still maintaining order, and Simon was gone.

But he wasn't the only one who wasn't seen.

“Where is your sister?” Catherine thought of Lilith.

"On the dance floor—"

Leila was standing on tiptoe, peering out. Teacher Phoebe directed the uninjured students to leave the dance floor, while the injured remained where they were. Once the dance floor was less crowded, she finally saw Ian standing there. He was staring blankly at his hands, his fine hairs obscuring his eyes, so Leila couldn't see his expression.

Lilith was not by his side.

……

"What... is going on..."

On the other side, Lilith was being carried under Aryan's arm as they ran outwards. She thought that Count Spencer's affair had been exposed so quickly yesterday, so even though her head was throbbing, she didn't dare to call for a stop.

“Hold on a little longer, you must at least see Lord Zephyrion.” Aryan dared not say that he had likely played a role in this, so his answer was particularly vague: “In short, you must get there as soon as possible, perhaps only you can stop him.”

It was Zephyrion again. Lilith sighed silently in Aryan's elbow, even feeling a strange sense of calm.

She didn't know if she could tame the black dragon, but seeing that Zephyrion was almost taming her—knowing that he had gotten into trouble again, she felt it was expected and her heart was not stirred at all.

However, the scene outside the castle still exceeded her expectations.

There was not a breath of wind in the city of Gretia today. During the day, while she was working on the outer walls of the castle, she heard Hannah marvel at how the lake was indeed like a beautiful mirror when it was calm.

But the Mirror Lake, which should have been perfectly still, suddenly seemed to boil, churning under the moonlight! Fish leaped onto the shore, making the lawn shimmer with silver light.

Beneath Mirror Lake, a different scene of chaos unfolds.

Water was no longer a gentle vessel; it was stirred up by Godia's power, forming a massive waterspout that roared through the Great Archives. Hundreds of black wooden bookshelves collapsed and broke in an instant, turning into dust and fragments that filled the sky.

"Roar--!"

A deafening dragon roar replaced the previous soul-piercing shriek, and violent sound waves crashed repeatedly within the enclosed space.

The opponents before him were no longer those weak humans, but beings as ancient as himself. Under the frenzied attacks of Godia, Zephyrion was finally forced to reveal his true form, and the empty Great Archives instantly became cramped.

"Are you crazy?!" Zephyrion's golden-red vertical pupils burned with the fury of being offended. This wicked mermaid's previous gentleness and politeness were all an act. How could he attack without warning!

Graceia hovered in the air, her expression unchanged upon hearing this. She opened her arms, and the entire Mirror Lake seemed to respond to her call. More water, like living tentacles, coiled around the enormous black dragon from all directions, attempting to bind and tear it apart.

She's angry!?

Zephyrion was forced to retaliate in his struggle. He swung his massive dragon claw out, tearing through the air with a whistling sound, and slammed it down on Goredia, who was suspended above the waves! If this claw landed, it would be enough to crush cast iron into powder.

However, although Godia is old and frail, she is still a hero who has experienced the Holy War and the principal who has protected Godia Academy for thousands of years!

Faced with this blow that could split mountains and shatter rocks, she did not retreat. Her huge, age-marked fish tail suddenly swung, and the surging pool water around her instantly condensed and compressed in front of her, transforming into a water mirror shield with countless ancient runes flowing around it.

"Bam—!"

The dragon's claws collided with the water shield, producing a deafening explosion. The water shield rippled violently, its runes flickering, but it did not shatter. Instead, it dissipated and refracted the immense force from the black dragon's claws layer by layer.

The dissipated energy, like a sharp blade, further shattered the already chaotic surroundings.

The transparent dome overhead emitted a teeth-grinding crackling sound, and spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly. Once it completely shattered, tens of thousands of tons of lake water above would instantly pour in and bury this place completely!

"Why are you being so unreasonable these days? Hey! Goredia, I'm not here to fight you, I have important business to attend to!"

Zephyrion's roar was drowned out by the waves of magical energy.

A terrifying wall of water rose up around Goredia once again. It twisted and changed shape, and in an instant it froze into the shape of spears. The temperature inside the library plummeted, and tiny ice crystals condensed on the walls.

"enough!"

Zephyrion completely lost his patience and realized that words were meaningless at this moment. If he delayed any longer, forget about pleading; he might not even be able to escape unscathed. His dark red dragon flames surged, temporarily forcing back the water. He didn't use this to counterattack, but instead suddenly opened his mouth—

Azure brilliance blossoms in the Mirror Lake Grand Library!

It wasn't some unknown magic; floating in the air was a staff that shimmered with blue light. The staff was carved from the purest aquamarine, and a huge pearl was fixed to the top with coral, radiating a soft yet majestic glow.

The moment the light appeared, the entire raging library seemed to be paused. Goredia seemed stunned, the surging water became docile, the roaring waterspout quietly subsided, and even the complaining cracks on the dome stopped expanding.

"Look carefully! I'm not here to fight!"

The black dragon's voice deepened, carrying a rare, almost clumsy plea, "This is what your father lost to Lilith back then, and I've come to return it to you! Goredia, I need your 'Song of Remembrance.' Lilith needs this to regain her memories! Please help me, only you can help me..."

The mermaid, suspended in mid-air, slowly descended and sank back into the almost empty pool. She still held her head high, staring intently at the scepter floating in mid-air. Her eyes held a complex and undisguised expression, filled with reminiscence, longing, and unspeakable sorrow.

"Help me, Gladys. I've heard that mermaid songs can awaken the memories of lost souls. A thousand years ago, just a thousand years ago is enough. I'm willing to make any deal with you."

Zephyrion lowered his massive dragon head and gently placed the blue scepter on the edge of the pool, within easy reach of Godia. His enormous body rapidly shrank in the dim light, transforming back into human form, though his face was somewhat pale and his breathing was heavier, clearly indicating that the battle with Godia had taken a heavy toll.

Goredia didn't look at him; all her attention was on the scepter, and she reached out and carefully touched the shaft.

The moment her fingertips truly grasped the scepter, a gentle yet vast wave of power quietly rippled outwards from her center, and the blue radiance turned the eyes of the mermaid and the dragon blue.

Like a lost child who has finally found her most precious treasure, Goredia hugged the staff tightly to her chest and curled up her huge fish tail.

"Why?" the mermaid murmured softly, tears streaming down her face, "Why did she do that..."

"This...this is what we won!" Zephyrion argued. "It was supposed to be a parent-child game, and the winner would get a prize. You all gave it up willingly!"

He had loved shiny things since he was a child. When he first saw the scepter of the sea god, he was so envious that he couldn't take his eyes off it. He kept pestering Lilith to let him have one too. Lilith then made a bet in a parent-child game, with each of them using their scepters as prizes. He won and the sea god gave the other's scepter to the young black dragon.

While he and Lilith were having a great time, Gladys was crying in anger.

Even today, statues of the Elven Mother Goddess holding a scepter can still be seen throughout the Elven Forest. What many elves don't know is that the scepter in the sculpture actually belongs to the Sea God. This scepter was later played with by Zephyrion until he got tired of it, and it was simply left to gather dust in his nest in the Firewing Graveyard.

He left for so long this time just to fly back to his lair and find it.

Goredia seemed completely oblivious to the hardships he had endured on his journey. She appeared to be exhausted from the fight, and after muttering to herself, she lowered her head, her long, seaweed-like hair cascading down, before falling into complete stillness.

Hey! Say something!

Zephyrion's agitated voice echoed through the silent ruins. He had gone to such lengths, even returning the scepter that held such significance for him, not just to see Gladys holding it in a daze!

"Zefirion!"

However, the response he received was not from Gretia, but from a shout from behind him, filled with rapid breathing and anger.

Lilith appeared at the entrance to the ravaged Mirror Lake Grand Library, followed closely by Aryan. She immediately saw the ruined bookshelves, the cracked dome, and the headmaster by the pool, who was holding a scepter and looked clearly out of sorts.

"what have you done?"