Stop! Don't close the lid!
Let me out!
Hey!
Don't tell me...
Bugs?!
More bugs?
No bugs!
I've been traumatized by them!
Don't!
CLEVATESS
Episode 4: The Dark Tower
So you've captured Alicia Glenfall, the girl who calls herself a hero?
Yes. Her soul is inside the mirror.
She cannot leave until this book is opened.
It seems you've learned to use the Book of Toah well.
Of course.
This book has been passed down through my family
since we were spiritual leaders in the Village of Origin.
I met the general, learned from your noble self,
and now it has regained its true power.
All I do, I do to fulfill our great wish.
And for that, you must gather all the books.
The last book, the Book of the Forge,
is in Clevatess's hands.
Take it, no matter the cost.
Leave it to me.
Solsein is the place that was once the Village of Origin.
Here, none can resist the book's power.
Not even a Lord of Dark Beasts.
Just give me a little more time...
Great lord of the north.
To think that's the sort of dark beast the hero Alicia would become...
And it was Andrew Hwyp who captured her.
I can't wait to see what happens.
Welcome back, Andrew.
I'm back, Ray.
Did you catch something again?
Yes. A rat.
This one will live a long time, I think.
Your dedication to your research impresses me.
You even constructed a basement in which to conduct it.
Is it a bother?
Not at all.
Both Merry Merry and I appreciate your silent devotion to your work.
Fel.
Sometimes I hear voices,
but I can't tell what they're saying.
Is this a dream?
Am I being forced to dream?
I was put somewhere?
A floor? A desk?
Where am I?
What does he want to do with me?
Now what's going on?
Something wrong?
The dark ichor always felt weak in this land,
but now it's totally gone.
Did something capture her?
Clevatess.
Enough talk.
I think I've learned enough about the past.
As well as the fact that you're a piece of shit, Zavthier.
I apologize for not telling you what happened before you were born.
I thought it was over. I was mistaken.
So the legend is coming back?
We have to stop it no matter what.
At all costs.
Eleven hundred years ago, when the world took its current form,
many died, including your predecessors.
The one who put an end to the two-hundred-year-long battle with the hero
was Vordin, the Lord of Dark Beasts of the North.
So that's where all the wounds on his body came from.
So the true hero was that strong?
When the hero evolved to their final form,
they were stronger than us.
A true nightmare.
And Vordin, who fought them the most, knows that better than anyone.
Why would he be trying to revive the legend?
I don't care.
He is an enemy who entered my territory and bared his fangs at me.
Anyone involved with him is my enemy as well.
That's enough for me.
I'll do what I please, as I have done.
Take care, Clevatess.
You're outside your territory. It won't be as easy as it was in Hiden.
Hence why I brought my servant.
Just like you did, Zavthier.
So you noticed?
Of course.
I didn't bring anyone.
It seems I can't reach her at the moment...
Where is she off wasting time, I wonder?
Shit! He released the barrier!
My head feels funny.
So we've lost contact with the hero Alicia... no, Alyssa.
Will she be okay?
So Alyssa Sleihunt is absent again?
Klen, have you heard anything?
Nothing.
I see.
Perhaps she went home.
Sometimes we see kids like that,
who run away because they can't keep up with the classes.
Yeah, right.
How many days has it been since I've had anything to eat or drink?
It all looks like it's rotting...
This isn't real.
The reason I'm sure of it is...
That.
The way I look reflected in the glass.
Like a dark beast rat.
The scenery behind me looks normal.
Is that... the real me?
In other words, the giant who captured me is someone human-sized.
It must be the third-ranked student at the school. He was there, then.
That frog is... my food?
He wants to keep me as a pet?
No, no way.
Because...
this is his garden!
So I'm this thing's food?
You always appear out of nowhere.
Gart.
I fly for you.
You give me information.
That's the contract, Rhode of Eslinn.
You're going to work hard enough to justify all my flying.
Call me "Barnes" here.
I'm the new history professor.
I know you're here to find Drel's secrets.
I'm after the same thing.
Learn anything?
Not yet.
All I know for the moment is that there aren't any
hidden rooms in the school building itself.
Miquel searched for me.
He's a specialist when it comes to spying, searching, and scouting,
so if he says so, he must be right.
What my own investigations have revealed is
that students here often go missing without warning.
"Often"?
Most of the students return.
Supposedly it's a rite of passage to earn one's magic.
So nobody worries about it.
If anything, the more talented students look forward to it.
Those who come back develop some kind of new magical talent,
or if they don't,
they come back in a terrible state like Nathan Franc did a few days ago,
and either take a long break from school or simply quit.
So some are being chosen, and some aren't.
The problem is that I still don't know how it happens.
It's clear that it's related to Drel's room, though.
So the missing students are the key?
Who's missing now?
The exchange student from Hiden. Alyssa Sleihunt.
Finding her is the key to solving this mystery.
It's been three days. The "choosing" could happen at any time.
I'm more worried about her being killed as a spy.
It's too brutal a fate for someone so young as she.
He doesn't realize she's the hero?
Tell me anything you learn too, please.
All I can do is watch.
But my eyes miss nothing.
I'll let you know if I find anything.
Thanks.
I certainly can't call him an ally...
but I'm glad to have him around.
What do I do?!
Why did the hero just disappear?
She's like, "I might know what the secret room is!"
and then she just ups and runs off...
And disappears!
I'm looking for it too, you know!
If I don't find it, the Emperor might kill me, you know.
If he finds out I gave her hints and she ran off with the answer,
he'll really kill me...
This time he'll do it!
No! No way!
I'm sure I'll die of shock just seeing the instruments of execution!
I can control iron, so they'll kill me some way that doesn't use it.
So hot!
What do I do?!
I need to find her! I need to find her! I need to find her!
I need to find her! I need—
Remember, Naie Chiffonlits!
What else did she say?
She said she'd get rid of the secret before it could start a war!
And that she was working with those twins from Eslinn!
Why the twins?
She's not working with the two who are here as professors?
Since she's trying to stop a war, she chose not to work with the soldiers?
I can't find her alone.
I need someone who'll help without asking questions.
Not him. He's scary!
Just looking at him scares the shit out of me!
So one of the students?
The students who've been here for a while will just make things worse.
The exchange students...? Idiot!
Why would I want to spread the secret further?
What can I do right now?
Okay, time to run away!
Tell me more.
You're...
H-H-H-How did you get in here?
I shut the windows and locked the door!
Besides, this is the female faculty dorm!
I followed the shadows that smelled of her.
A long conversation is enough for the scent to transfer.
The scent?!
It wears off after three days, though.
She hasn't come back, so I'm left with no choice but to search for her.
You're tracking her by scent? What are you, a dog?
Not a dog, no.
But even my nose can't find her.
Her scent terminates at the building east of the school with all the plants.
Even death won't erase one's smell.
It doesn't make sense that she'd disappear without leaving a trace.
She is a hero, as hard as it might be to believe.
But there's no sign of resistance.
If she ran off during her discussion with you,
she must've come up with some kind of answer.
Start talking. Tell me everything you know.
What's the relationship between the dark beasts and the power one can attain here?
Tell me every word that transpired between you.
I'll get my answers, even if I have to rip them out of your brain.
Wh-What are you?
How can you say such scary things?
From the way you're talking, you're serious, aren't you?
Shadows, scents...
Are you actually human?
Will this make you want to talk?
You know what it means that I've shown you this form, right?
You will obey me... or die.
And it will be painful.
Today's just not my day.
Oh dear, I...
Now, start talking.
No passing out without my permission.
Ow...
Feeling awake now? Then talk.
Yes, Master.
Ahahaha, I just don't care anymore!
I see.
So what's happening here aligns with a portion of the legend of the hero.
The Village of Origin.
Zavthier spoke of it, too.
I'll ask my servant directly what she found.
Now, let's discuss how these humanoids are turning into dark beasts.
D-During my generation,
those who couldn't master their Crests always turned into dark beasts.
In many cases, they never turned back into humans,
but it seems like that's not the case anymore.
It didn't happen to me, so this is just what I've heard from others.
But the trial is whether you can force your power to obey you.
If you can, the power becomes yours.
If it takes you over, the dark beast takes over your mind.
And the professors, or the other students, kill you.
My servant may have been caught up in this "trial."
If that was the case, somebody should've said something
when a dark beast popped up somewhere.
Or if she got her power, she should be back by now.
Or she's trapped somewhere in dark beast form.
Which means the question is who's trapped her, and why.
If they know she's the hero who slew Drel and are doing it anyway...
This is...
They're after this.
They must assume that without her at my side,
it will be easy to steal this from me.
I've seen this book somewhere...
They underestimate me.
The roof!
What's going on?
Clevatess... You can't mean to...
What is that?
A dark... tower?!
What you desire is here.
It's right here!
If you want it, come get it!
What is that tower?
The voice came from there, right?
It's him, Andrew.
My Crest is aching and shivering.
I've felt this ache since the first time I saw him.
It must be him up there!
Oof.
Looks like the Lord of the South is up to something fun.
Hey, look.
Yeah.
Professor Barnes!
I'm seeing it too.
I heard that voice as well...
What is that thing?
That tower wasn't there this afternoon, right?
Hey, go take a look!
No!
Is this the trial we have to undertake to receive our Crest?
No way!
Calm down.
This is Headmaster Elro Romain.
I ask for calm from both students and faculty.
This is a training exercise.
A training exercise?
Those of you who are not strong enough to resist my voice
are to return to your rooms immediately,
lock the door, and fall into a deep sleep.
Yes. Understood.
Is it okay for us to act now?
I know it's an emergency, but there are so many spies here.
It doesn't matter how many spies there are.
They are helpless before the power of this book.
But that thing is different.
That disgusting thing has no place on the holy ground
that is Solsein, the Village of Origin.
I cannot permit its existence here!