Reduced Into Nothingness

“As per that person’s order, you will go to Athenya to help him. Your fake identity will be prepared by us. There’s no mercy for failure.”

“Yes, Master,” the young female servant answered.

I have to be a student in Athenya. I shouldn’t get caught or they’ll kill me. Then why in the world didn’t it go as I wanted?!

***

The servant moved to live in Athenya’s dormitory in late summer with a mission. However, not long after the academy’s opening ceremony, she unknowingly dropped her bracelet. It was a bracelet with a certain emblem on it—something that shouldn’t be known by others.

She started her mission with a bad feeling, as if a bad omen was coming. She couldn’t find it no matter how long she searched for it. Before she knew it, someone had called out to her. It was a female first-year student from a different class.

“Hey, I picked up your bracelet. Ah, but I think I left it in my room. I can bring it to you after the classes are over,” that female student said with a bright, friendly smile.

The young servant in disguise smiled, lifting the pointy outer corners of her eyes. “Oh, whoa! You are a lifesaver! As thanks, I’ll bring you some good biscuits. Let’s meet in the eastern garden.”

They met in the gazebo of the eastern garden that evening. The young servant had prepared some tea and biscuits, then she poured the tea into a cup for the female student.

“Why tea in the afternoon?” the female student asked.

“Ah, this tea is an expensive one! It goes very well with the biscuits here. You should definitely try it. I just feel so grateful to you!” said the servant.

The female student’s attitude this evening had changed. She stared at the teacup in front of her with one brow raised. She then lifted her cup and sipped it before speaking.

“Well… Not bad. I wonder where you got this from,” the female student said in an indifferent tone.

“I know, right? I brought it from home! By the way, can I have my bracelet back?” the servant anxiously asked.

“I didn’t bring it.”

The servant’s face showed a confused look. “Huh? What do you mean by that?”

The female student turned her face to the servant. She looked at the servant with a disgusted look and said, “Hey, who are you?”

The servant’s heart dropped. Blood ran down her body.

“W-what are you talking about?” a slight tremble could be heard from the servant’s voice.

“You don’t even know me, right? There’s no way the real Lady Mia Palmer would not recognise me. We were childhood friends after all,” said the female student.

The cold sweat dripped down from the servant’s forehead. “H-huh? What do you mean?! Of course I knew you, Lisa!”

“Your face is not even similar to Lady Mia! Also, the real Lady Mia would not call me Lisa. Well, of course you wouldn’t know that, since you are a fake!”

The servant squinted her eyes as she stared at the female student. She fell silent.

“Where is Lady Mia?! If you don’t tell me, I will report you to the teacher right away!” threatened Lisa.

The servant still didn’t make any move nor say anything. She kept staring straight at the student before her. Her face, however, was full of anger that she tried to suppress.

“Oh my? You dare to make that kind of look at me?! Alright, since you don’t seem to be willing to tell me, I will go find the teacher right now—”

Lisa, who stood up from her seat as she spoke, suddenly felt dizzy. Her vision rapidly went blurry, and her breathing became unstable. “Y-you… w-what did you—” before she completely fell to the ground, she glanced at her teacup.

The night had completely fallen and the eastern garden was only dimly lit. Mia, the disguised servant, rose from her seat. She then carried the now unconscious female student all the way to the eastern storage. Covered by piles of wooden crates and unused furniture was a hidden trapdoor that led to an old basement.

Inside the basement, she chained Lisa’s hands and feet before forcefully making her swallow a liquid from a small vial. Lisa coughed as she swallowed some of it.

“That person has put a magic-suppressing and voice-cancelling barrier here. So give up on doing anything funny,” Mia coldly warned.

Lisa was barely conscious. Her mind was clouded and she didn’t seem to have any strength.

“Seems like I gave you too much. Well, you won’t die, I believe. Be prepared! Because I will make you suffer until you tell me where you hid my stuff,” said Mia, her face twisted in anger.

As if I will spare you once you tell me, though.

She thought that Lisa would give up soon but the female student seemed to have a very strong will. It made Mia have no choice but to keep her alive. She had to sneak out every night to give her hostage food and water while torturing her, trying to make her give up. But then, one day, her classmate saw her sneaking out.

Not only did she see Mia, the chatty female student also spread it to other people. There was no guarantee how much she told the others. And so, Mia had to once again drug a student and hide her in the same storage basement.

However, Rindsey, the chatty female student, was told by Lisa to keep her mouth shut if she wanted to survive.

Damn it, that woman! I haven’t successfully done my mission, and they dare to give me an extra headache.

Unfortunately for her, that night, when Mia left the storage cabin, another female student caught her red-handed. It was a second-year female student who seemed to have just got back from the Combat Training Ground. Mia, who was still full of rage, then used her fire magic and shot it at her, accidentally killing her.

Blood drained from Mia’s face. She couldn’t possibly hide the body. People would be bound to find it eventually, after all. Mia then carried the second-year student to the nearest combat training area.

If they’ll eventually find the body, at least it has to be away from the storage. It can’t be helped. I refuse to be caught this way.

Mia threw the body into the lake that night and then hurried to her dorm. However, her bad luck had not stopped there.

Tonight, a small piece of paper slid in from under her door. It read: Come to the flat ground area inside the Combat Training Ground tonight, along with a sketch of her bracelet.

Mia crumpled the paper tightly in her palm, crushing it.

***

A female student stood under the dim light of the street lantern in the training ground, her messily braided honey-brown hair slowly blown by the autumn breeze.

Mia instantly recognised that student as her classmate, the famous Ghost of Athenya, Annette Heinz.

“So it was you who called me,” Mia said, a scowl forming on her face.

Why is it always like this?! Can’t everyone just mind their own business?!

Letting out a heavy sigh, Mia raised her hand and summoned a ball of fire. Her face, which had been hidden in the darkness, was partly illuminated by it.

“Well, then. I guess this, too, can’t be helped.”

Mia shot fireballs one after another aggressively towards Annette, clearly showing that she didn’t intend to waste her time. The fireballs made a flashy blast on the other end, but didn’t harm their target. Annette had cast a barrier.

“Hmph! Seems like you are really talented in magic,” murmured Mia.

Annette slowly walked towards her in silence, leaving the lantern’s light behind as she stepped into the darkness. Her eyes were focused on Mia but her face didn’t show much expression.

Seeing that, Mia then cast even more fireballs and shot them at Annette. Unexpectedly, this time, her fire seemed to hit something in front of Annette and dispersed, yet no barrier was seen to have been cast.

Huh?

Mia was perplexed but continued to shoot more balls of fire. As Annette got closer to her, Mia grew more anxious.

What is this?! What is happening?!

She kept throwing attacks one after another, but as if her fire was being eaten by something unseen, it just kept dispersing.

Is it a dispel spell?! No way! Dispel spell is an attack spell, but that looks like a shield! Is it a barrier? Is it even possible to cast a barrier as you move?! What’s more…

Every magic spell shined when being cast and each type of element had its own colour. Yet, Mia couldn’t see anything shining near Annette nor the supposed shield that blocked her attacks.

Mia panicked the more Annette got closer to herself. Her attacks had mysteriously not worked and she couldn’t make sense of anything.

Suddenly—crack!—the sound of a twig snapping was heard.

Without thinking, Mia instantly shifted her target to a silhouette of a person behind Annette. That person seemed to be caught off guard, and Mia’s fireballs were only half blocked by his shield. He was strongly knocked back and hit the tree behind him.

Annette stopped, raised her hand and quickly cast a barrier on Mia. Without a pause, she raised her other hand and remote cast arrows of light above Mia. They shone so brightly that Mia, who had been in the shadow, was blinded by them.

The servant in disguise, who didn’t notice the barrier around her, quickly cast a defensive spell, but her spell fizzled out before it could take shape. As the blinding rain of arrows fell down on her, she panicked, the blood draining from her face.

What in the world is happening?!

The arrows of light rained down beautifully like a rain of sparkles, piercing the barrier. They knocked the fake Mia unconscious.

Annette quickly cast earth magic to manipulate a bunch of roots from the ground, roping Mia, before she quickly floated towards the other person.

The moment she arrived, she was surprised to find that it was Crown Prince Henry who got knocked cold. She internally squeaked and panicked.

Hiek! Senior—No, I mean, Your Highness?!?!

She hurriedly cast a healing spell on Henry.

This should do for now. I have to call the teacher—

“Hiekkk!”

When she was about to stand, her arm was grabbed and pulled in. Annette fell right onto the prince’s chest.

“Did you just… use divine magic to heal me, Annette?” he whispered in her ear.

Right before her eyes, a pair of peridot eyes dimly sparkled, staring at hers.