Chapter 237: The Guilty Defense
Chapter 237: The Guilty Defense
"That, it wasn't my fault. That girl, yes, Elysia gave it to me. I didn't take it by force or anything. Cora and Nico were there as witnesses." Serena stuttered in her defense. She messed up if she didn't take the right steps.
She was cornered, and the exit was blocked. These four girls forced her to tell the truth. Rosie, Bianca, Evelyn, and Ella had made her unable to think of a solution to get out of this predicament. Not to mention, the academy also knew about this, including the principal.
"You didn't snatch that from Ely, you said. Ely gave her platinum card to you voluntarily? You think that makes sense and is trustworthy, huh! Here, let me teach you a lesson so you can behave well." Evelyn got upset and wanted to take justice into her own hands. Unfortunately, just as she was about to stand up, Ella and Rosie grabbed her arms.
"Ella, President Rosie, let me go! I want to let that girl know the pain when her hair is pulled. She once did that to Ely." Evelyn tried to free her arms, but the two girls didn't let her.
"No, Eve. Please be nice, let's hear the whole thing first." Ella persuaded her friend not to act as vigilante.
"Serena, why did you do that? Don't you realize that seizing and exploiting another student's privilege card is strictly prohibited? All students should know the rules, and so should you." Rosie ignored the energetic girl beside her. She wanted to know more about Serena's defense and reasons.
"Hmph!" Evelyn snorted and sat quietly. She only complied for a while because her arm was still gripped.
"But I didn't take advantage of the other student's privilege card. The platinum card is mine because Elysia gave it to me. Moreover, the privilege card has no ownership data. So, I wasn't wrong and didn't break the rules." Serena fanned herself and made excuses that justified her actions.
"Oh? What made you assume that? Don't you realize that the girl whose privilege card you snatched will be in trouble because of you? Have you never tried to think about other people by putting yourself by their side?" Bianca frowned, displeased with Serena's statement.
Yet, she couldn't deny the privilege card that Serena said because it was true. She had long wondered why the academy had not followed the Holy Church's neat and more sophisticated system.
"What do you mean by that? Elysia is a commoner girl, how can she get a platinum card and not me? What kind of trouble do you mean? I just talked to her a little, and she gave me her privilege card. In return, with great love and compassion, I gave her the privilege card she deserved. Everyone is happy, no coercion." Serena shrugged her shoulders.
She was trying to win this argument in the hope that she could pass the blame on Elysia. Yes, she didn't force it or ask for it, Elysia gave it voluntarily. So, the wrong one was Elysia and not her.
"So, Ely's silver card was originally yours? Swapped as you wish, is that what you mean?" Evelyn asked doubtfully.
"Yes, it was." Serena nodded casually. For some reason, the tension she felt had decreased slightly.
"..." Evelyn fell silent at once. She tried to imagine herself having Serena as her dorm mate.
Well, of course, that was not a joy. Most likely, she couldn't get to know Elysia any better.
If this privilege card incident had changed her dorm mate from Serena to Elysia, one hundred percent she would be happy to welcome it. Apart from that, the prophecy given to her a few years ago came true because of this incident.
There was no way Evelyn would think of Serena as her best friend. No way, Elysia was her best friend and Ella was her friend. That was all she needed to know. Evelyn shook her head because she didn't dare imagine any further about Serena.
"Ho... Like that, I see... So-" Rosie nodded slightly, about to convey her thoughts to the girl who was so presumptuous to justify wrongdoing.
Unfortunately, the dazzling yellow light suddenly shone from outside. It was followed by the sound of an explosion, then the ground shook, and strong wind tore down their tent.
"Uah, big explosion! Earthquake!" Serena shrieked frantically.
The other girls immediately came out of the collapsed tent. They looked around, another tent had also collapsed, and the forest was destroyed. Lots of trees had collapsed, and many were flung into the air in the distance.
"Evacuate all students! All personnel stay away from this area, we are on level five alert!" An instructor shouted as he helped the students out of the tent.
"What, what was that? What happened?" Evelyn muttered in a daze.
"Princess Evelyn, we need to get away from this area immediately. A powerful explosion from the giant yellow dome occurred. Most likely, Emperor Arthur is fighting against the powerful existence that is there." The Mage Lady and her squad immediately positioned themselves around Evelyn and her friends.
"Holy Princess, we also need to stay away from this area and return to the city. This zone will become dangerous." The Holy Knight Lady also positioned herself along with her squad to ensure the safety of the girls.
"Wait, wait a minute. Let's find Ely first. Maybe, she's back and looking for us." Evelyn rejected the suggestion. She couldn't leave if her best friend wasn't with her.
Despite that possibility, she was unable to find her best friend wherever she looked. The students were escorted away with the knights, mages, and instructors... Yet, her best friend was not there.
Was Elysia not back yet? She was still there, and the explosion earlier... No, it couldn't be true, right? Evelyn assured herself that her best friend was safe and well.
"You girls, are you all right?"
Evelyn's turmoil was interrupted by an authoritative voice that was faintly familiar. She and the surrounding people were startled by an old man in a white and gold robe who suddenly came from the sky.
"Grandfather, you came!" Ella welcomed her grandfather and walked over.
"Yes, circumstances forced me to step out and interfere. You are doing your best to ensure Ella's safety." Alexander smiled slightly at his granddaughter, then gave a brief appreciation to the holy knights.
"Sincerely, our Pope, Holy Grandfather." The holy knights saluted with reverence and admiration. The Pope was in front of them and praised them, what a great honor.
While many people were shocked by his presence, Alexander looked right and left to find a girl who wasn't there. "Where's Elysia? Isn't she with you? This place will be a dangerous zone, you better stay away from here."
"No, grandfather, Ely's not back yet. She could still be in that dangerous forest. Then, that yellow explosion... Please save Ely." Evelyn also came over and explained with moist eyes.
"Sigh... That's bad, I wish her all the best. Hopefully, she's fine..." Alexander sighed with loss and sorrow. He thought Elysia would not have survived the explosion if she had not yet come out of the forest. Even so, he needed to act immediately, and everyone here had to evacuate.
"Alright, you girls stay away from this area. This place will probably become an Emperor class battlefield. I don't want the capital city to be destroyed, and all this chaos has to end soon." Alexander gave his orders to the holy knights and mages who were around.
"Your orders are duty-bound to us, Holy Grandfather." The holy knights saluted once again, and the mages followed suit as well. No one dared to be disrespectful in front of the strongest person in the Human Continent.
After that, Alexander shot across the sky towards the center of the explosion, leaving a yellowish-white trail behind.
"As said, we'd better get away from here too." The Holy Knight Lady reminded once again for these four girls to hear.
"Ouch, ouch..." Serena crawled out of the tent, and her two servants also followed.
"You three girls over there. You better go away with us too." One of the mages turned his head back and invited Serena's group to leave.
"Wait, what, what happened? Was there an attack? That terrible monster attacked? No, uh, yes-yes, we need to get away from this dangerous place immediately." Serena was a little absent-minded and repeatedly nodded at the end of her sentence.
Evelyn snorted, Ella smiled, and Rosie frowned. The student council president stared at Serena for a moment. "We'll continue our talks later with the academy executive, Serena Scott."
Serena paled a little, but circumstances made her just want to get out of here. She didn't want to be on the battlefield.
The holy knights and mages shared the task of supporting the girls to fly with their magic. From a distance, everyone could see the devastating impact that lay in the distance. Even the large area had turned the ground color to purplish black.
When they reached a sufficient height, Evelyn took out a pair of binoculars from her Space Bag. The tool she used to look deep into the beautiful scenery was now being used to better see the destruction's effects.
Evelyn looked around the corner and saw knights, mages and many other experts heading towards the purplish-black area. The Pope even landed there, right next to Emperor Arthur.
After a while, Evelyn's eyes widened as she saw a small, intact, dark brown spot on the edge of the purplish-black area. She saw the faint figure of a white-winged beast protecting a black-haired girl. That was Ely, her best friend! She was there!
"Nee, that's Ely! Quickly turn around, there's no danger or fight there. All of the evil monsters are gone. Hurry up and pick up Ely then we can come back!" Evelyn shook the mage's arm next to her. She was so excited about her request.