Volume 2, Chapter 4 – Holy Communion

If someone walked into an exam, opened the test paper, and discovered that there was not a single question they knew how to answer, the feeling would be both incredibly intense and incredibly awkward.

That was exactly how Stella felt right now.

Truthfully, she had prepared absolutely nothing for the Lionheart Society’s first club activity.

Originally, she had thought she still had plenty of time to slowly figure something out, but that trip into the Blasphemous Forbidden Forest had accidentally left her asleep for several days, bringing her straight to the deadline in one fell swoop.

Besides, how could she possibly have seriously thought about the first activity of a club she was planning to personally disband?

Stella met Dorothy’s expectant gaze.

At this point, no matter what, she had to make something up. Admitting outright that she had prepared nothing would be far too embarrassing.

But she could not even come up with a decent excuse.

Stella cleared her throat theatrically, her wandering gaze searching the corridor ceiling for inspiration.

‘Think. What did the early Church do for its first gatherings again?’

‘Hmm…’

Stella’s thoughts drifted back to the distant monastery.

During those poor yet peaceful days, whenever a new believer joined, or whenever an important Sunday arrived, the old abbess would always hold the simplest Holy Communion.

There were no complicated rituals, nor were there any profound theological debates.

Everyone simply sat around a long wooden table, breaking apart freshly baked, steaming unleavened bread and passing around cheap yet sweet wine poured into rough earthenware cups.

They shared one another’s hardships while eating, felt the Lord’s grace as they chewed, and bound their fates tightly together as cups passed from hand to hand.

Food and companionship had always been among the most effective ways to bring people together.

After all, what could possibly bring people closer than sitting down and sharing a meal?

‘Right, Holy Communion!’

Stella’s eyes lit up, and the heavy stone weighing on her heart finally dropped.

Eating was good.

Eating was safe. Eating was peaceful. Eating did not involve fighting or killing.

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As long as everyone sat together, ate and drank, and bragged a little, wouldn’t that be enough to muddle through her first club activity?

It would both show how approachable she was as President and allow her to get through the first club activity without shedding a single drop of blood.

Then, once everyone had finished eating and was in the best possible mood, she would personally announce the dissolution of the Lionheart Society.

Perfect!

Everyone would simply eat and drink happily together. What could possibly go wrong?

“Ahem, Dorothy.” Stella raised her chin slightly. “Since this is our first club activity, we don’t need any of those flashy displays of violence. What we need is a resonance of thought.”

“We… Need a feast.”

“A… A feast?” Dorothy froze for a moment as she tried her hardest to decipher the deeper meaning behind the President’s words.

“That’s right.” Stella clasped her hands behind her back, deliberately putting on a mysterious air. “Whether the food is fine, soft, or coarse, my heart is always filled with joy, and I constantly keep demonkind in my thoughts. Thus, even our meals are filled with profound meaning.”

“Go prepare it, Dorothy. We’ll hold it in the Lionheart Society’s activity room. I want a table long enough for everyone, with plenty of food and drink. Since this is our first activity, don’t make it too shabby. Put the entire bill on Principal Gehenna’s tab.”

“Notify every member of the club. Everyone must attend.”

Stella paused. To make herself sound more demonic, she deliberately quoted from a classic work and gave it a simple local adaptation.

“When the time comes, we shall divide flesh among ourselves, drink blood together, and decide the future of the Lionheart Society.”

Dorothy’s pupils suddenly contracted.

She had clearly been completely taken in.

‘Divide flesh?’

‘Drink blood together?’

‘Decide the future?’

Was the President planning to use such an intensely ceremonial method during their very first activity to establish the hierarchy within the club, perhaps even binding everyone through soul contracts by sharing the same meal?

‘That’s… way too intense!’

‘Way too captivating!’

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“Yes, I understand!”

Dorothy’s heart thumped wildly in her chest, restless and overflowing with excitement. She could hardly wait to tell the remaining eleven members about Stella’s arrangements.

She bowed deeply once again.

“I’ll go prepare immediately. I’ll notify everyone to come prepared with the proper resolve. Please rest assured, President. This will be a Dark Banquet worthy of being recorded in the history of the Lionheart Society!”

“At the Sixth Watch tonight, we’ll be waiting for you!”

Dorothy shot off as though she had been given a massive surge of adrenaline.

Stella blinked, vaguely feeling that something was not quite right.

‘…Dark Banquet?’

‘What the heck is that?’

‘Whatever. As long as it was a meal.’

‘They would have one meal together, then part on good terms.’

‘At least nobody could die from eating… right?’

Stella thought no further about it. After collecting herself, she turned and stepped onto the spiral staircase leading to the very top of the tower.

She had just reached the black oak door carved with intricate demonic patterns and had not even raised her hand to knock when it happened.

Creak.

The door to the principal’s office opened from the inside without warning.

The first thing Stella smelled was the heavy odor of wormwood mixed with potions. Immediately afterward, someone silently blocked her path.

Stella instinctively took half a step back and looked up.

She was tall and dressed in an impeccably neat black high-collared robe. She had a straight, prominent nose, thin lips, black curly hair, and a pair of deeply set, melancholy eyes. Her pupils were black as well, a profound, bottomless black.

It was Professor Katerina.

The professor at Lilith School who struck the most fear into the hearts of students, responsible for teaching Potions and Defense Against Holy Magic, while also being notoriously harsh and gloomy.

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If Professor Mara was a smiling tiger, then Professor Katerina was a venomous snake coiled in the shadows.

Back in Human Interrogation Studies, Stella had been forced to openly clash with her for Lainia’s safety.

Their impressions of one another…

Did not seem particularly good.

“…Stella Darkfallen,” Katerina said indifferently.

“…Hello, Professor Katerina.” Stella forced herself to greet her.

Katerina did not respond, nor did she move aside.

Her black eyes remained fixed on Stella, lingering for a long moment on Stella’s silver hair before shifting to her face.

Stella thought her gaze looked rather complicated. Compared to the inexplicable disgust she had shown during Human Interrogation Studies, there seemed to be something else mixed into it now.

Stella could not quite say what it was.

‘What?’

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

‘Could it be because you’re also Valentine’s illegitimate daughter?’

“Professor…?” Stella ventured.

Katerina gave a cold snort.

“You should call me Vice Principal Katerina.”

‘Vice Principal?’’

Stella blinked blankly.

‘Professor Katerina has been promoted?’

‘Into Mara’s old position?’

‘Should I congratulate her?’

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“Move. I need to get through.”

Professor Katerina turned sideways, her black robe billowing and stirring up a gust of cold air.

Just as the two passed one another, Katerina suddenly stopped. She turned her head slightly and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear.

“It seems… certain nauseating embers have ultimately flared back to life. If I were you, carrying such filthy blood, I would take my own life immediately.”

“And you clearly lack that kind of self-respect.”

“However, since Principal Gehenna has made her decision, I have no right to interfere.” Katerina’s tone shifted, taking on a distinctly confrontational edge. “But I must remind you, Miss Stella Darkfallen. This afternoon is Defense Against Holy Magic. As my teaching assistant, don’t be late.”

With that, Katerina violently swept her robe around and strode quickly down the stairs without looking back.

Stella was speechless.

‘Professor, you were insulting me just now, weren’t you?’

‘You were definitely insulting me, weren’t you?!’

‘Principal Gehenna couldn’t have told Professor Katerina everything, could she…?’

Stella shrugged.

Still, the person she was insulting was the Pale Daughter. What did that have to do with Stella, a proper human Saintess?

She could not be bothered with Professor Katerina’s words and simply pushed the door open.

Then a mountain of documents came crashing down on her.

“Huh?”

Translator Note

Poor principal got a mountain of documents again lol