Chapter 20: Everything happens for a reason
It was a violent murder.
The hostility of the skeleton warrior seemed to have materialized. It appeared to be clinging to their souls, continuously choking their throats.
Even if the energy coming from the skeleton warrior was not fear, to Dean and Professors, it still seemed a manifestation of such.
And they felt such dread despite it not being directed at them. They couldn’t imagine what would happen if it was.
The one-armed warrior was still torturing the necromancer, whose body was mangled and couldn't be recognized as if he had some kind of grudge against the man.
Even though a long time passed and the warrior continued to attack the already mangled corpse without paying them any attention, the professors still didn’t run away; They stood still as if their bodies were frozen.
It was like an instinctual desire not to attract attention to oneself, just like when one encounters a bear on a mountain trail.
Finally, the corpse of the necromancer was completely destroyed.
Everyone felt sick to their stomach at the brutally horrible sight, but they forcefully endured it.
It was the ultimate indignity that forced even Karen, who had seen countless tragedies as a mercenary, to frown for a moment.
But it didn’t end there.
The skeleton warrior who placed his sword on the ground slowly reached out his hand-
Crunch
-And then he tore the corpse apart and started eating it.
"Eugh!"
In the end, the dean couldn’t stand it anymore and turned his head to vomit. Keren and Erica also bit their lips and forced themselves to hold it in.
"...crazy bastard."
Gideon, who couldn't stand the disgust, muttered, but the warrior didn't pay attention to his words at all.
He continued to eat, hurriedly devouring the corpse as if someone was chasing him.
[....]
Then slowly getting up, he carefully picked up his sword.
The skeleton warrior didn’t even look at the frozen professors, he just turned and descended the stairs.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
"Haah!"
As he completely disappeared from their sight, Karen exhaled the breath she had been holding.
Erica hurriedly headed for the remains of the necromancer.
"He ate it all… even the bones."
The one-armed warrior had eaten all of the minced meat and bones, leaving only spilled flesh and a pool of blood on the ground.
If it weren't for that, there wouldn't have been anything left, to the point where they could have dismissed what they just saw as a delusion.
“Eugh! Eugh!”
After vomiting in a corner of the hallway, the dean wiped his mouth with a pale, disgusted expression.
“Deus…. Let’s call Professor Deus. He must know something.”
Karen immediately agreed. "Good. Let's contact him right away."
Even though there seemed to be no way to solve the problem without Deus at this point, Erica still intervened.
"Ah, didn't the necromancer say this earlier? Deus is only exceptional in terms of sensing spirits, but fighting against such powerful evil spirits-"
"-Enough!" the dean interrupted, pointing his finger at Erica with a flushed face. "Come to think of it, it's because of you, Professor Erica! It was you who made Professor Deus resign! That's why this incident happened!"
“…”
Erica tightened her fists for a moment but couldn't say anything.
He was right.
Even though her intention was to save Deus’ life, to others, she was just a bi*ch who forced her fiancé to leave the academy.
It was Gideon who spoke up in that tense atmosphere. "We all know Professor Erica didn't do it for personal reasons. Hasn't Professor Deus been caught doing strange things several times?"
“…”
“Rather, I think we should pay attention to ‘why’ the evil spirits suddenly appeared in the academy,” Gideon added.
It was indeed a valid point. Karen, who had been silently listening, and Erica, who had been investigating the incident, were both bothered about this aspect the most.
"You are right… Until now, there were only ghost stories made by students in the academy. But they were just rumors, just kids' pranks… …But hasn't the situation changed to be like this since Deus came?”
The dean muttered as if possessed by something, and Gideon corrected him, shaking his head.
“Actually, it happened after Deus left. I think there was a series of events involving Deus' manipulation.”
According to his words, due to malice for being dismissed, Deus created a situation where his presence was a must for the academy.
The dean felt as if all the puzzle pieces clicked together in his head, turning his desperation into overwhelming anger and fury.
“Dare! How dare he! For his own greed, to threaten the lives of students and professors at the Robern Academy!! Isn't this blackmail?!”
Erica tried to say something, but Gideon shook his head with a frown, asking her not to intervene recklessly.
However, Erica shouted, trampling on Gideon’s warning as if nothing happened.
“Wait! There's no evidence! And didn't Professor Deus leave us a note to help us!”
“Shut up!”
The dean, unable to suppress his anger, crumpled his handkerchief, which he had wiped his mouth with, and threw it with a clenched jaw.
It didn't hurt her at all, but it indicated how intense his emotions had become for him to be so disrespectful.
“Professor Erica Bright! What the hell do you want?! You were the most aggressive in getting Professor Deus fired! But now you're covering him?! What, did you feel guilty or something?”
“......”
Was there no choice but to reveal it? Erica contemplated.
Even if everyone thought of her as a selfish bi*ch, she couldn’t let Deus - the innocent - take the blame.
It indeed seemed she had no choice but to reveal the truth now.
Taking a deep breath and remembering the past, Erica clenched her fists.
After she saw Deus strangling his own neck, every day was like hell.
At every dawn after that night, she secretly followed him, who roamed the academy to deal with evil spirits.
Then, whenever he was possessed by evil spirits and was about to commit suicide, she appeared and stopped him.
Strangling 7 times.
Dismemberment 6 times.
3 immolations.
And 9 beheadings.
These were the number of times that damn spirit tried to kill him.
That’s why, for Deus’ safety, she got him dismissed and made him resent her so that he would be far away from the academy.
It was not like she never talked it out with him. She told Deus several times to stop, but…
'Never mind.'
She really didn't want to recall that conversation.
“Haah! Actually…”
In any case, Erica needed to reveal everything now - that in fact, Professor Deus was suppressing the spirits, and she was the one who didn’t care about others;
That she was the one who abandoned the academy and students because she couldn't see Deus suffer like that.
But when she tried to tell the truth-
[Shh.]
-suddenly, her whole body shuddered and her vision went dark.
Erica felt a strange sense of weightlessness in her body, and before she could realize what was going on, her body hit the ground with a creepy sound.
Thud.
Erica fainted on the spot.
“Erica!”
Gideon hurriedly tried to hug her-
“Get out of the way.”
-But Karen intervened and examined Erica.
“She just fainted. It must be due to lack of sleep… Hmm, she should be fine after getting a good night’s sleep. I’ll bring her to the infirmary just in case.”
“....”
Though Erica’s words were cut off due to the sudden situation, the dean seemed to have decided their course of action already.
“I will write a letter to Professor Deus again! Ah, it will take some time for him to come from North Whedon to the academy; If we delay any longer, he might not arrive before the start of the semester.”
Then, the dean gritted his teeth and added.
“After all the incidents are resolved, we will hold Professor Deus accountable. If the situation is resolved, he will not be able to return to his hometown easily.”
Now it was a race against time.
Evaluation of students was scarier than evil spirits after all.
After asking them to tidy things up, the dean returned to his office with a throbbing headache.
Just at the thought of writing a letter to Deus, his headache worsened even more and his heart pounded in frustration.
*
"Reject him."
“…Are you serious?”
As usual, Deia came to my room for 5 minutes. She asked with a bewildered face while fluttering the letter she held in her hand.
I didn’t know why she read my letter without asking me, but anyway…
Deia continued with a subdued expression, "I'm not saying this out of self-interest, you know? I don't want you to leave quickly just because I don't want to see you, or because I don't want to waste five minutes or anything like that."
“Uncharastically, you’re talking a lot, Deia.”
"Ahem, it's not that. It’s just hard to get such an opportunity. The new semester is going to start soon, and this will probably be the last chance."
I knew.
If I missed this chance, it would be difficult to return to the position of professor at the Robern Academy.
Originally, the plan was to delay as much as possible and return at exactly this time. But-
“There is still work to be done.”
-I was not in a position to leave the Verdi mansion just yet.
‘Sigh, I feel sorry for not getting the position back, but it can’t be helped.’
Looking at the letter, I felt regretful.
The dean’s promise of the research materials and financial support was something I was really looking forward to. After all, it was an unconventional proposal that instantly made even Deia tempted.
And even if the dean had not promised me such benefits, I could have built a direct friendship with the golden generation of students at Robern Academy, where the main characters and many key characters would be present. But in the end, I still decided to give up…
“Is it because of Emily?”
“Yes.”
Even after recognizing the downcast expression on Deia’s face, I answered calmly.
The little girl’s resentment had not yet been fully resolved. Moreover, I had the intention of saving not only her but also all of the evil spirits surrounding the mansion. It was a necessary step for the future of my necromancy.
"......."
When the topic of Emily came up, Deia opened her mouth as if she wanted to ask something, but closed it again.
Click.
Five minutes were up.
Without hesitation, Deia turned around and left my room.
Simultaneously, Finden Ai’s approaching footsteps echoed.
As Finden came in, I unfolded the previously folded map and raised my pen.
‘If I can't help from within, then I'll have to help from outside.’
In the end, the goal was to prevent the destruction of the continent. So, there were plenty of ways to help the protagonist besides being a professor.
The pen continued to mark places on the map, which included major game episodes or places from where important items could be obtained.
One might ask what about the evil spirits left in the academy?
Well, I decided to give up on that part.
‘Come to think of it, it's strange.’
Because even though there were episodes centered around ghosts or spirits in the game, they weren't as excessive as this…
‘Is it because of me?’
Did things get to this point because of my presence…?
‘It's either because of me that things got to this point, or the things were the same even in the original game, and when the protagonist entered the academy, the evil spirits must have gone into hibernation...’
But… wasn’t it too far-fetched?
‘Even the protagonist can not do that… right?’
Which meant…
"Sigh."
If I hadn't meddled with them so excessively, the evil spirits must have been just sleeping on their own.
....
............
………………
"Is that really the case?"
Thunk.
As I put down my pen, I furrowed my brow and closed my eyes, leaning back on the backrest.
Really.
'Did the evil spirits who were sleeping peacefully wake up just because of my presence?'
How many times did I think about it?
How many times did I come up with hypotheses?
After thinking about it several times, I pondered the same question again.
My answer, which had continued since the academy, was eventually the same.
“It can’t be.”
Everything has a reason.
Like how Deia hates me to the point of being disgusted just by looking at my face.
Like how Erica Bright had me fired because of my stubbornness.
Like how In-gol-Chung awakened again with the presence of Marks.
Like the faint screams still coming from the basement of the mansion.
Like the deep cut on my wrist.
So… even the spirits of the academy must have their own reasons for behaving like that.
I exhaled.
Then, raising the pen again, I marked the location of the Robern Academy on the map.
