"..."
Within the girl dormitory building, Blanid, back in her Justin disguise, was sitting beside the stairway to the higher floor in a very unlady-like fashion, with one hand at Caladbolg's shadow at her side.
Her expression was particularly grim, and she was biting her lips, clearly bothered by some thoughts of hers.
That's how the next person who walked through the main door saw her.
"Oh, commoner, you're really here. You believe that you can get together with noble ladies just because you're a man? Know your place."
"...?"
It was one of the older students, in particular, one of the male pupils of the advanced swordsmanship teacher who took Blanid in under the impression she was a boy.
In the first place, there were two advanced swordsmanship teachers precisely because the students they taught were segregated by gender.
Blanid was only this student's junior because her real identity wasn't discovered, and judging by his words and behavior, it was still somehow a secret despite all that had happened.
Well…
It hasn't been that long, still the same day. Rotsard's spell was still active, and he did not emerge from within the black dome, so maybe that was a given…
"What do you want, Senior Student Andrew?"
"How dare you speak so casually to me, commoner!?"
Blanid breathed out and nodded at the young man, but that certainly wasn't to his liking.
"What brings you here? Girls' dormitory has been turned into a temporary hospital while all students with combat experience have been directed to patrol the area in groups."
Nonetheless, Blanid didn't let any annoyance show on her face and said without taking her eyes off the other student.
"Hmph! It may be so, but that doesn't answer my question. What are YOU doing here?"
The male student scoffed and insisted, turning more aggressive in his act.
"I'm on guard duty."
Blanid answered with a shrug, deciding not to voice the -as should be obvious- line, giving the other student more respect than he deserved in her opinion.
"On the other hand, you don't look as if you're in need of treatment, Senior."
"I'm visiting. Duh."
Blanid pointed out, which earned her another disrespectful scoff.
"Wouldn't the wounded ladies be more than pleased if a real man showed them some attention?"
"..."
Andrew scoffed, clearly intending to mock Blanid, but the insult he used simply couldn't bother her less.
"Yeah, that's fair. It's nice of you to offer to bring Rotsard, but, apparently, he is busy. And, I doubt you are on good enough terms with him to ask for such a favor on behalf of the wounded, in the first place."
But then, Blanid declared with a shrug, leaning back in her seat and smirking mockingly at her senior.
"Haaa…?"
Andrew's face twitched as he growled in anger at such disrespect.
But it wasn't just that.
His veins suddenly darkened and turned distinctively visible, causing every piece of uncovered skin on him to start looking as if it was covered in black cobwebs.
"You were pissing me off from the very start! Now, it's finally time for me to put you in your pla…!"
The gedwyld-corrupted human laughed, grinning with cruel joy at imagining the scenario, when twelve of his joints were pierced through by ephemeral blades without any prior warning!
*SHING*
"...wh-wha…?"
The next moment, before it even fully understood what had happened to it, it got even more confused as the person it was speaking to had disappeared.
*thump* *THUMP*
And only after his head rolled off his neck and fell to the ground, where his decapitated body soon followed, the silhouette of Blanid, wielding Caladbolg's shadow, entered its vision.
Of course, by that point, it was too late to do anything.
The ephemeral blades didn't just disappear either. First, they twisted and turned to separate each joint from the rest of the body, effectively dismembering the former Andrew.
"Using the few last seconds you have, do you mind telling me who is the deofolized human that corrupted you?"
Blanid asked, although she knew how her former senior student and fellow pupil of the advanced swordsmanship teacher would answer.
"...you…filthy… comoner…"
The corrupted human's mouth muttered, but didn't even manage to finish the insult as the remains of the light faded from its eyes.
"...are all of my seniors corrupted by gedwyd…?"
Blanid breathed out, about to sit back down, but in the end, she stayed up.
Her guard duty was over, after all.
By this point, all the wounded and innocent students had used an emergency teleportation array that teachers Mivoress and Oltial set up with the help of the Academy's Guardian.
Truth be told, there still might have been some innocent students around. Those who were evacuated had been first observed, examined, and screened for gedwyld while still outside.
Those with even a shred of suspicion had been sent to the boys' dormitory, being none the wiser about what was actually happening.
That said, a shred of suspicion wasn't nearly enough to take rash actions against them. It's just that they would not be evacuated to the same place that those cleared have been sent.
The evacuation was kept secret precisely because of the gedwyld-corrupted humans lurking around.
Of course, while capturing and interrogating one of them would be preferable... That wasn't really feasible. Not with how dangerous gedwyld was and how easily it could pollute others.
So, since an hour ago, Blanid has been on guard duty merely as a formality and diversion, so she decided it was finally time to go on the offensive.
And so, with Caladbolg's shadow in hand, she walked out of the girl's dormitory with her eyes set on the other remaining building.
"...there's no way any of them had suddenly become calm and composed, don't you think so too, Polaris?"
"Nrao~!"
Blanid squinted her eyes as she asked, and her contracted fae materialized on her shoulder with a spirited cry.
"Preemptive strike it is."
The disguised girl smirked coldly and nodded, adjusting the grip on the bluish-white sword.