In the blink of an eye, the day of the final exam arrived.
Liakade and her companions had come to the classroom early, waiting for the exam to begin.
They were fully prepared.
During these three days, they had already discussed how to deal with Darkness, and after arriving in the classroom, they no longer exchanged tactics.
After all, no one knew which shadow Darkness might be hiding in, eavesdropping on their conversation.
They had to act as if they were unaware that Darkness would target them in this exam.
In truth, Darkness probably wouldn’t have thought that simply changing the exam location would allow Liakade to see through her plan.
Actually, under normal circumstances, Liakade and her companions wouldn’t have thought so much.
They didn’t even know the test location had changed, because in the current timeline, the confirmed site for the exam was Bibo Gorge.
But in the original timeline— the one Liakade knew— the test location wasn’t Bibo Gorge, but Nasca Labyrinth.
Relying on this single piece of information, Liakade deduced that Darkness was hiding within the Academy’s upper ranks.
Therefore, Darkness herself likely didn’t realize her plan had been exposed.
To be honest, if they wanted to play it safe, Liakade and the others could have just found an excuse not to participate in the exam, holed up in the Palace until Alice reached LV.35, and then gone out to take down Darkness.
However, Liakade noticed something.
In the original story, it was the Original Host’s Blood Sacrifice that led to Minotauros’ early resurrection.
But the Original Host, who had inherited Korim’s bloodline, why would she help the enemy of Korim’s side?
Besides, even if the Original Host took the initiative to contact the Demon Race, how could a half-human, half-demon like her earn their trust?
How did she know that only through Blood Sacrifice could Minotauros’ resurrection be accelerated?
When Liakade played through this part of the story before crossing over, she had a vague sense that something was off.
The appearance of Darkness seemed to give her an answer.
The original work said that the Original Host gained the power of the Demon Race in the Academy’s Underground Chamber, and Darkness was also lurking among the Academy’s high ranks.
Could it be that the Original Host was actually controlled by Darkness?
Liakade proposed such a possibility.
Perhaps due to special circumstances—whether it was a bloodline’s guidance or something else—the Original Host arrived in the Underground Chamber and ran into Darkness’ true form.
In order to maintain her cover, Darkness decided to kill the Original Host.
Though the Original Host’s level was not low, she was still powerless against Darkness.
At the critical moment between life and death, the Demon Bloodline within the Original Host awakened.
Just like when Liakade faced the Shadow Treant.
But the newly awakened Original Host was still no match for Darkness.
Sensing the Demon Bloodline in the Original Host, Darkness first took control of her.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Original Host’s bloodline had just awakened and was still weak, she severed the link between the Original Host and Korim, preventing Korim from noticing or contacting her.
Liakade made this deduction by analogy with her own situation.
After awakening her own bloodline that day, it also took some time before she could contact Korim.
Upon learning of the Demon Bloodline in the Original Host, Darkness decided not to kill her, but to brainwash her instead, turning her into a puppet who would act openly on Darkness’s behalf.
After all, by that time, the Original Host was already isolated and helpless.
The bullying of Alice had been exposed, both Alice and Field hated her, Irina Zi had thoroughly abandoned her to clear her own name, and even joined others in shunning her.
At this point, the Original Host had fallen into complete despair—abandoned by her parents, and now by Irina Zi, whom she had treated as family.
Her mental state was at its most fragile.
Darkness exploited this, giving the Original Host the sense of security she most needed, telling her she was not human, but a member of the Demon Race, and fueling her hatred toward Alice, her companions, and Irina Zi.
She prepared to have the Original Host slaughter humans and perform a Blood Sacrifice to resurrect Minotauros.
What followed was the aftermath of Minotauros’ resurrection.
Because of the premature revival, Korim was not fully prepared to face him.
Without a link to her own kin, Korim failed to gain new powers, leading to her defeat and death.
Minotauros then became the true Demon King.
After that, the Original Host could no longer contact Korim.
Her origin became an eternal mystery, and she became Darkness’s puppet forever.
However, the Original Host also obtained the opportunity for revenge.
She attacked and killed Irina Zi during the Graduation Exam, then turned on Alice and her companions.
In the bad ending, the Original Host lost all reason.
Facing Alice and the others, she unhesitatingly unleashed her Demon Bloodline.
Seeing this, Alice and her friends had no choice but to fight with all their strength.
In the end, the Original Host was killed by the group, but Alice was wounded, missing the crucial moment to repel the Demon Race.
The Kingdom was thus destroyed.
In the normal ending, the Original Host retained a sliver of sanity.
Though she still killed Irina Zi with Blood Magic, when facing Alice and her companions, she only used her human Wind Magic.
Perhaps, in this ending, the Original Host did not harbor as much hatred toward Alice and the others.
Against the Original Host who used only Wind Magic, Alice and her companions easily defeated her without much effort and imprisoned her in the dungeon.
At the same time, they learned about Irina Zi’s death and the Demon King’s premature resurrection, and quickly prepared themselves, successfully repelling the Demon Race and achieving final victory.
And in the true ending…
Perhaps some actions by the player caused the Original Host’s bloodline to awaken again?
Or perhaps Darkness’s blockade on Korim failed?
Maybe it was Korim’s final words, or perhaps clues discovered by the Original Host during her journey?
Before the final operation, the Original Host finally learned the truth of her own birth.
It turned out—
She was not of the Onions Family by blood, which was why she had always been targeted and eventually sold off without mercy.
Both of her mothers had already passed away.
Even so, the Original Host was not alone in the world.
Her only relative, that ancestor, the queen of the Succubus—Korim—still loved her deeply, worried for her as a mother would.
Yet it was the Original Host who performed the Blood Sacrifice for Minotauros, leading him to kill her last relative in this world.
Having learned everything, the Original Host fell into utter despair.
She followed her original plan, killed Irina Zi, incited war, then killed Darkness, and returned to Korim’s territory to inherit all of Korim’s powers.
Finally, she arrived at the Demon King’s castle, ready for the final judgment.
She remained alone in the world, the last of her kind.
But she had no intention of continuing her bloodline, instead preparing to destroy the entire world.
She tore apart Minotauros’ soul, becoming an unprecedented Fourfold Chanter.
The turbulence and chaos of the elements ravaged her body.
Even if she defeated Alice, she would soon die.
Even so, the lonely Original Host still could not defeat Alice, and could only be completely sealed away by the main cast in despair and isolation.
What Alice and her companions sealed was actually just an empty shell.
The Original Host’s soul disappeared not long after, leaving only a hollow energy form behind.
All these were merely Liakade’s conjectures, her imagination based on known information.
Whether they were accurate, Liakade did not know.
However… her guesses were not far from the truth.
Therefore, Liakade and her companions had to participate in this exam.
If they found an excuse to skip it, and Darkness realized she had been exposed, what if she went on a rampage, slaughtering students to accelerate the Blood Sacrifice?
So, even knowing it was a trap, Liakade and the others had to step forward.
“Alright, time’s up. Prepare to depart.”
On the podium, the Magic instructor clapped her hands, drawing the students’ attention, and then led them out of the classroom.
“Everyone, follow me.”
“Let’s go.”
Liakade grabbed Alice and Field’s hands, holding them as they walked out of the classroom together.
Following the group, Liakade and her companions came outside the school building.
Carriages lined the roadside, and they climbed into one of the rear carriages.
“…Her Highness Sistem, this is a first-year exam. Why are you coming along?”
As Sistem was about to board, the Magic instructor stopped her.
“Just to accompany them. This is my little sister’s exam after all, of course I want to see how strong she’s become. Don’t worry, I won’t interfere. I’ll just be watching from the side.”
“Sigh, alright then.”
The Magic instructor sighed helplessly and let Sistem onto the carriage.
According to regulations, students generally weren’t allowed to accompany others.
However, Sistem was royalty.
A little privilege was acceptable, wasn’t it?
Moreover, Sistem was powerful. Having her observe added an extra layer of safety to the exam.
[Damn it…]
Watching Sistem board the carriage, Darkness ground her teeth in frustration.
She really didn’t understand why these women stuck together every day.
Liakade was understandable—she was a succubus, with strong Starlight.
The same went for Alice and Field, used as Star Wrath by Liakade to vent, which made sense.
But you, the Second Princess—what’s with following a group of female demons around all the time?
Do you want in too?
Darkness gritted her teeth, glaring at the carriage, determined to kill them all this time.
Thinking of this, Darkness sneered coldly.
She had already stationed Eric at Bibo Gorge, and the Nest was fully prepared.
Now all she had to do was wait for Liakade and the others to come to their doom.
Heh… all obstacles standing in the way of Lord Minotauros’ rule over the world must be completely eradicated…