Light (6)
A holy silence descended upon the laboratory.
The swirling shadows had subsided, leaving only the coppery tang of blood in the air.
The fierce battle had come to an end.
"..."
In my arms, I held a blue-haired girl.
Was it the release of tension?
The girl, whose beauty had once shimmered like snowflakes, was now unconscious, seemingly drained of all her strength.
Her shallow breaths brushed against my clothes.
"You must be exhausted."
Her eyelids were gently closed.
Savoring the warmth of her body against mine, I slowly lowered her to the floor, careful not to wake her.
Beside her lay a girl with pink hair.
She, too, was unconscious.
Both were covered in dust, but thankfully, they didn't seem to have any visible injuries.
That was a small relief.
"Even though I took precautions... I couldn't help but worry."
A bitter smile formed on my lips.
I knew they wouldn't be hurt because of the safety measures, but a part of me had been on edge the entire time.
Anxiety, as always, was an adult's affliction.
"It seems my worries were unnecessary."
The children had performed beyond my expectations.
Despite the terrifying situation, none of them had acted selfishly.
Touched by their courage, I stroked the foreheads of the two girls.
A whisper escaped my lips, laced with affection.
"You did well. Both of you."
The Pilot and the Vanity.
They had played their roles to perfection.
Many challenges still awaited them, but for now, it was time for them to rest.
I spread my shadow like a blanket, covering them.
"Sweet dreams."
Snap!
I snapped my fingers.
Space twisted for a fleeting moment, and a small barrier formed around the children.
Even the Headmaster of Galimar wouldn't be able to penetrate this.
"I said it was over... but I still have some personal business to attend to."
I brushed off the black residue from my fingertips.
Quite some time had passed since we arrived at the laboratory, so the Academy would soon discover our location.
I had about 30 minutes left.
A bit tight, perhaps.
Considering the upcoming episode, I needed to lay the groundwork here.
Lost in thought, I turned my head.
<Ugh... Aaah>
My eyes fell upon a grotesque, writhing form.
Its body was severed in half, and it couldn't even move its tentacles properly, yet it clung to life with its characteristically tenacious vitality.
It seemed like it wouldn't be long before it breathed its last.
<Aaah, Aaah...>
A whimper escaped its hideously gaping mouth.
Its red pupils flickered one last time, almost as if tinged with sadness.
I quietly met its gaze.
Rotten blood flowed like tears.
"..."
A monster that couldn't smile.
The worst experimental subject created by Baob, a disaster-class chimera responsible for countless casualties, but...
"You poor thing."
It was just another victim.
Forced into unwanted experiments, mutated, losing its original sanity, becoming a creature that craved slaughter...
How could I not pity such a wretched life?
"This is the ugliness that adults have created."
All the mutants I encountered today were based on animals, but this monster was different.
It was the only chimera made from a human.
Its skin was tattered and torn.
It must have been a girl with a pure smile once.
She became a monster before she even reached ten years old.
If she wasn't even given the chance to forget her childhood, what adult in this world could blame her?
I could only pity her fleeting, shattered life.
'I must keep my promise.'
I silently extended my hand.
Shadows crept up from the floor, engulfing the severed form.
The monster struggled for a moment before resigning itself to the darkness.
I placed her in a subspace.
Here, she wouldn't be seen by others and could rest in peaceful silence.
And I could bring her back whenever I wanted.
"...Hehe."
My mood soured slightly, but I swallowed it down.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
Time was running out.
It was time to conclude this episode.
I took a calm step forward, leaving the chaotic laboratory behind and traversing the long corridor once more.
I moved towards my destination.
'Let's see your face.'
Deep in the dark basement.
To find the rat hiding somewhere.
***
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the basement.
A hidden room, accessible only by descending seven flights of stairs in a maze-like structure.
A man stood there.
Thud
A rather loud noise echoed.
The man hurriedly gathered the scattered documents on the desk, preparing to leave the laboratory.
His pale face was visible through the gaps in his disheveled robe.
"Damn it...!"
A rough curse escaped his lips.
His usually deep voice trembled uncharacteristically.
His hands fumbled as he struggled to find what he needed, clearly revealing his panicked state.
As if he was trying to escape from something.
"How can such a being exist...?"
He muttered, fear etched on his face.
He hadn't received any information about such a monster when he accepted this mission.
He thought it was a simple task.
"Fuck! This doesn't make sense...!"
It was supposed to be an easy job.
A teleport heist prepared through a secret route.
Kidnap a single person using it.
The target was a female student rumored to have a wyvern as a summon.
-Worth researching.
-Chimeras using dragons as materials have been rare... It will be a great stimulus for the believers.
-We must offer that child to our God.
He was given permission to do whatever he wanted with the other two who came along.
The man gladly accepted the mission.
It was a chance to feed the 'artwork' himself.
Students despairing before countless tentacles.
The thought of them being torn apart by soft flesh sent a thrill down his spine.
The man anticipated such a delightful scene.
But.
[Oh my... This is quite a crisis, isn't it?]
A boy appeared with a playful tone.
With a single, effortless gesture, the numerous tentacles were sliced apart in an instant.
What was happening?
Before he could even grasp the situation, a blue line was drawn in the air.
Immediately after, the massive body was severed effortlessly.
"Where did that monster come from...?"
Belsen's finest artwork.
A top-class chimera, cut down without even putting up a fight.
Strength that defied logic.
A mere student, a fledgling, overwhelming a monster that even renowned heroes of the Empire struggled against.
Something felt wrong.
[Hehe.]
Furthermore.
The meaningful smile he gave while staring at the screen.
A sinister smile, as if he knew he was being watched.
The man sensed that something was amiss.
A chilling sensation crept up his neck.
He had a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
The man immediately prepared to escape.
He planned to use the emergency stairs connected to the hidden room.
It was a location that no one could find unless they were the administrator of this place, so he didn't have to worry about being chased.
"I need to return to headquarters immediately."
He had to inform the High Priest about this.
That such a powerful being was hiding among the students, that perhaps the informant had betrayed them.
The man stood up to escape this ominous space.
The next moment.
"I need to tell the High Priest about this right away...!"
"You seem busy?"
"..."
A voice came from behind him.
The man's mind went blank, and he froze in place.
There was no sign of anyone's presence.
"..."
"Where are you going in such a hurry?"
A leisurely voice brushed past his ears.
As he slowly turned his stiff neck, he saw the golden snake he had just seen on the screen standing there.
Did it suddenly appear out of thin air?
The boy smiled nonchalantly.
It was a frivolous smile, but alarm bells rang frantically in his head.
If he didn't move now.
He wouldn't be able to avoid death.
Instinctively, he channeled mana into his fingertips and cast an offensive spell.
But.
"Interesting attempt."
Snap!
With the sound of snapping fingers, the magic in his fingers vanished.
At the same time, all his muscles stiffened.
As if he had been paralyzed.
The man couldn't even blink his own eyes.
"I have a lot of questions for you."
The snake smiled sweetly.
But a deadly aura surrounded him.
"You're going to have to answer me a lot of things."
The boy's palm covered the man's face.
His chillingly cold body temperature shattered his reason and instilled a deep fear within him.
The snake murmured.
"You don't have to bother moving your lips."
His white pupils shone brightly.
The boy stared at him with his eyelids fully open. An inexplicable sense of deprivation washed over the man.
It resembled the gaze of the Grim Reaper.
The gaze that stared at the sinful soul about to be reaped.
"I'm going to hear the answers directly from your brain."
"Ah..."
Snap!
The sound of snapping fingers echoed once more.
Immediately after, the shadows covering the man's face erupted in a massive explosion.
The last thing he saw in his fading consciousness was.
"Then, sleep in your nightmare."
The cold, contemptuous white eyes.
***
Some time later.
Several people stormed into the basement, which had been quiet for a while.
They were none other than some of Galimar's professors.
"Find the students immediately!"
The students who had disappeared with the explosion of the magic circle.
Although their detection was delayed due to the distorted mana, swift action allowed them to backtrack the destination of the teleport.
Two hours after their disappearance, they located the children's whereabouts.
All available personnel were teleported to the designated location.
They hurried down the hallway with urgent steps.
As they continued their search, the professors soon discovered two students lying on the laboratory floor.
Pink hair and blue hair.
"Students are here!"
"Regia Pilots and Emilia Vanity. It appears to be two of the three missing students."
"Where is the other one?"
"We'll search the surrounding area!"
"No, more importantly... what are all these things scattered around?"
"...Beast corpses?"
The professors who entered the laboratory were inevitably taken aback.
It was a scene of utter chaos.
Two unconscious students.
Countless chunks of unidentified flesh scattered around.
The corpses of creatures that seemed to be a combination of wolves, spiders, tentacles, and all sorts of other beings.
The professors were speechless.
"...What is all this?"
"..."
"What in the world happened here...?"
It was a space that evoked horrifying imaginations.
What had the students gone through during the two hours they were here?
As they were looking around in vain.
Thud, thud-
Footsteps echoed from somewhere.
Perhaps due to the sudden presence, the professors reacted sensitively and took their stances.
As they held their breath and waited for a moment.
Suddenly, a sticky voice whispered in their ears.
"Oh my... You're all a little late."
All eyes focused on the source of the voice.
Emerging from the deep darkness was none other than the golden snake.
His eyes, narrowed into a sinister smile.
"It's already too late."
His words carried a particularly ominous weight.
It was the last student they were looking for, but for some reason, the professors found it difficult to relax.
There was an unsettling feeling that was suffocating them.
""...""
The professors unconsciously gulped.
Regardless, the boy approached them with a leisurely gait.
"Hmm~ You don't have to be so wary."
"..."
"It's all over."
The background was drenched in the stench of blood.
The snake flicked his tongue as if in amusement.
"Please, rest assured."
His greeting made the temperature in the basement drop even further.
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