Chapter 19: Mess
Emily, who had become a blue flame with the power to judge the dead, calmly walked toward Marks.
It was a calmness that was the exact opposite of the seething anger and resentment she was feeling, but Emily had learned it through experience - rather than a sudden attack, it was way more horrific when something you were afraid of approached you slowly, giving your brain enough time to imagine all the horrendous future that could happen next minute.
In fact, she had learned it from Marks himself; Stuck in the iron cage, every time the sound of the researcher’s footsteps was heard, she always trembled in fear thinking that she might not be herself at the end of the day, just like the other people who were once locked behind bars.
Remembering those days, even the momentary time to reach Marks was being used as revenge. Which was indeed effective as Marks could do nothing but tremble and kneel.
[I, I was wrong! I had no choice but to listen to Detros Verdi’s orders!]
[“…”]
[I mean… the victim! Yes! I am a victim too! He said that if we don’t do that, he will kill us all!]
Emily looked down blankly at Marks, who was pounding the ground while shedding tears.
He shouted as he frantically ran his hands through his chest.
[Please! I beg you, please have mercy on me... just a little mercy!]
It seemed that even if he was asked to lick her feet, he would.
Emily suddenly stopped and stood motionless.
“Where did Detros Verdi find out about the existence of the monster named In-gol-Chung?”
[…]
That’s why when I intervened, Marks glared at me with his eyes.
If I could have joked at a time like this, I would have definitely made one with a sneering face. But the only way I could treat someone like him was in a cold, emotionless way.
"Why did Detros have to choose a soul-stealing human-Centipede? There were many other monsters. Why did he choose one that requires human bones so desperately and is not well-known to people?"
[De-us!!]
Marks spat out my name like he was vomiting. I recited a page from Detros Verdi's diary like a biblical verse, ignoring him.
“On November 25th, a man named Marks came to see me. He explained that the recent surge of immigrants crossing over the North Whedon Mountains was an ominous sign of war.”
“His words were so intriguing that I found myself caught up in them at one point during our conversation. I didn't realize it at the time, but as I'm writing this journal, it occurred to me that he may have been using me to fulfill his own desires instead of serving the kingdom's cause.”
“However, what does it matter? If he succeeds, I'll only gain from it, and even if he fails, it's no different from killing the immigrants crossing over the mountains.”
“He has the knowledge, and I have the materials.”
There was no need to say more. After speaking, I glanced at Marks, who was grinding his teeth and shouting from afar.
[Damh! Verdis will always be idiots! I told him not to leave such records even if we fail and die! What a fool, exposing his own ignorance after his death!]
Marks, who was revealed to be the real instigator and the originator of the plan, looked up at Emily.
But despite having heard the whole truth, Emily just stood still.
Seeing her, I let out a sigh with a soft smile.
“Ha.”
She was truly a delightful girl.
Her bubbly personality had made even me, who was supposedly an adult, think of myself as only an eight-year-old kid.
“What, what? What did you just laugh at?”
“....”
Finden Ai was surprised at my sudden laughter, while Deia made a complicated expression.
The two of them could only see the flames in the shape of Emily, but Marks was invisible, so they couldn’t understand what was going on, but I had no intention to explain.
[Excuse me.]
Finally, Emily opened her mouth. Marks trembled with flattery and slammed his forehead on the ground.
[I'm reflecting! I know how foolish I was! That's why...!]
[Did you expect something?]
[…W-What…?]
Marks' pupils slowly crawled up, like a bug, and when they reached Emily's face, his eyes widened and his mouth involuntarily opened, speechless.
[Ah, ah… Ahhh!]
Seeing her smile and realizing that Emily never had any intention of forgiving him, he let out a strange noise.
[Why, you’ve already done that to us a few times, didn’t you? Making us hope you'll spare us and then taking us away for the experiment, a fate worse than death.]
[Ahh.]
[This is fun. I think I know why you laughed so much while doing that to us.]
Snap.
Emily’s hand grabbed Marks’ wrist.
[Kuaaaah!]
Marks’ wrist began to burn, and he screamed, thrashing around.
For him, a delicate girl's palm had turned into a flame, and there was nowhere to escape.
[Stop it! Stop it! It's burning! It hurts! It hurts!]
[Ah, I really like your expression.]
Smack!
Emily grabbed the struggling spirit’s flailing face with her other hand.
[Gag! Ugh! Aaaaaaah! Spare me! Spare meeeeee!]
Although he felt the pain of his face and wrist being burned, there was no actual trauma. Because…
[You are already dead.]
Yes, because he had already died.
There was no way to escape anymore, no matter how much pain he felt.
[We are dead, you know. And since there is no such thing as afterlife, even if I do good deeds and become a saint, I will not be able to meet my mom and dad.]
[Stop it! Ugh! Ahhhhhh!]
[So, I will pour out every drop of this resentment on you.]
But Marks seemed to have already lost his mind, his desperate screams not stopping even for a moment.
Slowly turning my body, I gestured to Finden Ai and Deia.
“Let’s go. It's natural for girls to have a few appearances they don't want to show others.”
“What?”
"...."
The two who didn't understand the situation followed me outside with puzzled faces.
Before finally leaving the room, I glanced at Emily who bowed her head towards me.
“It’s not over yet. I will prepare a ceremony for you, so please wait a little longer.”
[…Thank you.]
After making the last promise-
Bang
-I closed the door.
The desperate screams continued to echo for a long time.
* * *
Robern Academy:
"How dare you!"
The dean slammed his fist on the desk. The letter from the Verdi family lay crumpled underneath.
It was a response to the letter the Dean had sent, but it was a blank page as if there was nothing to say.
As he saw the letter which signified Deus' intention of not assisting them, veins protruded from the forehead of the Dean, who always had a warm impression like a stuffed bear.
But what really annoyed him was not such a reply, but the current situation… and his helplessness;
Despite the impudence, he needed Deus Verdi.
‘It’s opening soon.’
The Academy was about to open soon, and students would be returning from their vacations, with new students arriving as well.
Especially…
‘There are too many big stars among these freshmen.’
From the Griffin Kingdom's princess to boys and girls with outstanding talents, who belonged to different prestigious families… The students were so outstanding that professors were already excited about seeing the potential golden students and teaching them.
He didn't know why there were so many giants among the new students this year, to the point of being abnormal. But in any case, the current situation needed to be addressed.
“Is there no way?”
When the Dean was massaging his forehead while thinking of a solution, Professor Gideon entered the office with a knock.
Behind him stood a man who could only be described as ominous - dressed in a black robe and a black cloth covering his face, while his hand held a staff with grotesque, eerie decorations.
“Dean, I’ve found someone to solve this case.”
'Oh, oh!'
It was unexpected news that he didn't dare to hope for.
The Dean rose abruptly. Slamming the desk, he asked with hopeful eyes, “The person behind you?”
“Yes, that’s right. He is the necromancer I found with great difficulty.”
“Yes, yes… … Necromancer?”
The Dean immediately frowned. A Necromancer was someone who walked the path of dark magic. That meant...
“Isn't he a criminal?”
An existence that violated the laws of the Griffin Kingdom. A kind of pathogen that should not be allowed to set foot in the academy.
“Yes, that's right. But, Dean, is that important now? The start of the term is just around the corner. We need to resolve this case before the students return.”
“I’d rather have a priest…”
The Dean wondered if it would be right to bring in the priest he had been thinking about since the other day, but the Necromancer behind Gideon sneered while giggling.
“Are you talking about those idiots who just kneel down and pray to God? Stop it. They'll still be offering prayers even after the start of the term.”
“Ahem.”
It was indeed true.
Moreover, the exorcism of priests cost a lot of money, but it was impossible to properly confirm whether it was successful.
“I'm sure. If we scare and cause pain to the spirits, they will quickly run away.”
As the Necromancer spoke with a chuckle, a strange belief began to grow in Dean's heart.
'Yes, can’t we bend a rule to save the academy?'
The Dean nodded and asked for a handshake with the necromancer.
“Please help us.”
“Don't worry. I'll start right away. It should be finished within a day.”
The necromancer, who refused to shake hands, headed outside. Just in time, he bumped into Erica Bright and Karen, who were on their way to the Dean’s office.
The Dean didn’t want them to know what they were up to, but Gideon smiled and spoke before the Dean could.
“The two of you can follow too. Everything has been resolved now.”
“Yes?”
Erica frowned, not understanding, but Karen realized what he meant as soon as she saw the man behind him.
“You've brought a necromancer. They are quite a rare sight.”
"Good, doing a lot of mercenary work has made you quite knowledgeable and sharp."
That’s how Karen and Erica also joined the group.
Trying to avoid standing next to Gideon, Erica stepped forward with determination and stood next to the man in all black.
"May I ask you something?"
“Anything.”
The necromancer giggled and gave a relaxed smile. An unpleasant feeling surged up, but Erica tried to hold it in and asked.
"There's a professor at the academy who was aware of the circumstances even before the strange incidents occurred."
"...."
Upon hearing her words, not only the necromancer’s but the others' ears also perked up.
It was Deus' story.
"Do you know how that professor knew that?"
"Hehe," the necromancer let out a small laugh that everyone in the group could recognize as mockery.
"There are sometimes people like that, who have a sensitive sense of the dead. But that's all. When you think about it, they're just third-rate who only know how to run away. They can't control or suppress demons like me. Isn't that why the academy is still overflowing with evil spirits like this?"
"....Is that so?" Erica internally breathed a small sigh of relief. Frankly, the more she delved into the situation, the more she felt that Professor Deus was involved with black magic. Fortunately, according to this strange man’s words, that didn’t seem to be the case.
"Ugh, sending such a trivial letter with an insignificant ability."
“Haha, Professor Deus missed his genius opportunity to be reinstated.”
Gideon laughed and sympathized with the Dean, who snorted, saying, “It’s okay.”
Erica pretended not to hear them and continued to ask the necromancer.
“Actually, there is an evil spirit I am looking for-”
"-Stop."
Saying that the necromancer also stopped in his tracks.
It was right in the middle of the fourth-floor corridor.
"Let's start here. This can be considered the center of the building."
With those words, the necromancer immediately slammed his staff on the floor.
A massive amount of mana began to explode out of him like clay bubbling and soon it turned into the shape of a person's palm.
But the fingers of ‘Mana Palm’ kept stretching out and their tips also took the shape of a palm. Just like that, the magic of the necromancer split into hundreds of palms in just a few seconds.
And inside those palms, the faces of the dead wailing in agony could be seen.
“He is a necromancer with considerable skill. Professor Gideon, where did you find him? With this level of skill, if he set his mind to hide, no one would be able to find him.”
"Haha, it's a secret."
To Karen's question, who had seen the necromancers several times, Gideon gave a friendly smile and evaded giving any details.
Indeed, it was an incredible skill.
Even considering that it was a necromantic skill, the moment Erica thought that this strange man’s skills seemed even superior to herself, who was a professor-
Thunk. Tunk.
-His staff fell to the ground, rolling to Erica's foot. The mana in the shape of a palm was burned and disappeared into the air.
The Necromancer was looking at the professors.
His body stood still with his back facing them just like before, but his neck was twisted and the eyes behind his mask seemed to be blank as if frozen.
"Huh?"
Thud.
That was it.
With his neck turned, the necromancer let out a scream, not knowing what was happening with his twisted neck, and collapsed, rolling down the stairs.
No one could say or do anything.
Just then-
[Kekekekeke!]
-The dreadful laughter of the girl, the same laughter they had heard before, echoed throughout the corridor.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
And soon, the sound of heavy footsteps also came from the stairs.
"Why is he here...?"
The one-armed skeleton warrior, known to appear only in the central corridor of the first floor, was leaping up the stairs with tremendous agility.
Crack!
He immediately trampled the Necromancer’s body which was rolling down the stairs, crushing it into a lump of flesh.
Swish! Kwadeuk! Swish! Kwadeuk!
Then drawing his sword in an instant, he started hacking, slashing, and stomping on the Necromancer’s corpse… over and over again.
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