We’re already 13 volumes into this series! And as you might remember, things turned scary at the end of the previous volume. Chise found an unconscious Lucy near the riverbank while the class from the academy was on a camping trip. Not only that, a scary looking cyclops-like being showed up, looming over our protagonists. And that’s exactly where we start this volume.
Elias recognizes the creature as a creature that comes from the sea and kills humans that perceive it. Not exactly someone you’d hang around for a conversation with. So Chise makes a run for it back to camp, where the professor has already sensed something is wrong, and some of her classmates come running up. With tips from Elias, Chise decides to ask a Eachuisge, a horse-like fae for help in luring the creature into the nearby loch. With the help of her classmate Rían they manage to do so successfully, with Chise offering up her hair as a form of payment.
And just like that, the camping trip comes to an end.
And what do you know, when the college contacts the one relative that Lucy has left, it turns out to be Seth, the very person who sold Chise to Elias. It’s a small world after all. The two seem to not be on great terms, but Lucy is still far too weak to protest for long. After leaving the infirmary, Chise encounters Philomela, whose name I’ll never not struggle with. They talk for a little bit and the latter vanishes when her classmates show up. Not long after we see her teleporting about the place, we get a shot of a seemingly important book being destroyed. I wonder who’s responsible.
And from there on out things quickly escalate. One of the teachers seems to be ambushed in the halls, Seth’s friend who’s secretly keeping an eye on the perimeter gets unsuccessfully murdered and even a witch shows up. Not to mention the creepy masked figure who is seemingly after Seth and Lucy from the way he speaks. I’m curious to see how this escalates. I initially thought that Philomela stole the book trying to frame Lucy for it, but I’m not so certain anymore. Maybe the final chapters will give more of a clear look into what happened. Let’s have a look.
The shadowy figures turn out to indeed be after Seth and Lucy, to finish the job in a way. I wonder if they’re being held hostage and are doing this for that particular reason, or there is something else to it. Perhaps the Webster family did something to these people and this was their revenge. We’ll hopefully find out soon enough, but for now Chise, Lucy and Seth manage to just barely escape with their lives, with a little bit, but not too much, assistance from Elias, and some quick thinking on Chise’s part.
And like that everyone seems to get out of here alive. Marielle confirms that the tome is in some way being used to target members of the academy, albeit she is unsure why. Philomela’s family is still not particularly nice and Lucy and Seth still don’t like each other. Things are ramping up and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next. What do you think so far? Let me know in the comments down below.
Opal Kaharis 