Chapter 36
When I opened my eyes again.
What met my gaze was darkness, not a single speck of light penetrating it.
I glanced around for a moment.
I couldn't see anything.
Around me, only restless shadows oozed stickily.
It was truly a background steeped in Pitch-Black.
After a short hum, I snapped my fingers.
"Hmm."
Snap—!
A light popping sound echoed.
The faint reverberation soon formed a handful of echoes, filling the void of silence that had enveloped the surroundings.
A single sound breaking the quiet.
Immediately after.
Fwoosh—!
Flames erupted everywhere.
As if they had been waiting for the sound to echo, the torches hanging on the walls began to blaze.
The light soon spread enough to fill the entire space, increasing one by one.
Before long, the scene was sufficiently illuminated.
Ugh... Young, Young Master?
...What happened?
Beside me were two girls.
The children's expressions, as they looked around, clearly showed their bewilderment.
Their eyes trembled faintly.
S-surely, the magic circle glowed strangely, didn't it...?
It seems the Teleport was activated, at least.
D-did we arrive at the right place...?
That... is unknown.
The Overload Phenomenon that occurred right before the Teleport.
Perhaps remembering the unusual Mana Flow, neither of them dared to relax.
Perhaps they judged that assessing the situation was the priority.
Emilia calmly surveyed the space we were in.
This is an unfamiliar place.
The air touching my cheeks was unusually chilly.
A Corridor stretched out before us. Yet, even along the long, continuous walls, no windows to the outside could be found.
Only torches, sporadically placed, illuminated the darkness.
Emilia fell into thought for a moment.
She addressed me soon, as if seeking my opinion.
It looks like an underground space, doesn't it?
I think so too.
The fact that torches are placed so meticulously means that no light enters even during the day.
The absence of windows is also strange.
At least, it's definitely not the Academy.
The peculiar metallic scent of a Basement wafted by.
It seemed untouched by human hands for a long time, with dust piled high everywhere.
Despite that, the Corridor stretched endlessly.
...Something feels off.
The girl muttered softly.
As I quietly looked around, Regia, who was standing behind me, grabbed my sleeve.
Her fingertips trembled faintly.
Y-Young Master.
Miss Regia?
The Communication Magic Tool we received for emergencies... the s-signal is dead.
What?
I checked the bracelet on my wrist.
Right before entering the exam.
The Communication Magic Tool we each received from Selena.
It should have been connected to the Supervising Professor's mana, blinking with a blue light, but now it was just off, with no signal whatsoever.
It seemed to have stopped working altogether.
Ah, it's been like this since earlier.
"Hmm."
I checked Emilia's as well, but it was the same.
In a situation where we didn't know where we were, or if we had arrived correctly, even the connection to the Academy was severed.
In short, we were isolated.
W-what should we do now...?
The Academy must have noticed something was wrong with the exam. Don't fuss so much.
B-but, Lady.
"I said it's fine."
The Villainess replied, as if annoyed.
She calmly furrowed her brow, but she inwardly seemed anxious, biting her fingernails.
A confused atmosphere lingered.
I quietly observed the situation.
First... is it proceeding according to the original story?
I subtly glanced around.
What met my gaze was the scene of an old Basement. The deep-seated darkness emphasized an ominous feeling.
The damp air resembled the breath of some monster.
Although it wasn't the exam venue... strictly speaking, we had arrived at the correct place.
Because this was the stage for this Episode.
I quietly recalled my memories.
[EP5. Midterm Exam]
-Abandoned Laboratory, Monster That Cannot Laugh-
In the original story, the Midterm Exam followed a similar course.
It began with Regia's group getting caught in a Teleportation Accident and waking up in the Basement.
If we stay here, 'they' will soon come looking for us.
We needed to move before that happened.
I spoke to the two standing there with serious expressions.
Shall we look around first?
Y-yes? Yes?
...Are you in your right mind?
Both immediately looked at me.
Even under their gaze, I calmly continued my suggestion.
I am perfectly in my right mind.
We don't even know exactly where this is. You want to move around recklessly in such a situation?
We can't just wait here indefinitely.
I'm against it.
I don't know what you're afraid of.
I lightly shrugged my shoulders, as if asking what the problem was.
If we look around, we might find an exit, mightn't we? Moreover, seeing as it's underground, it seems like an artificially constructed facility... we might even meet someone here and get help.
But it looks like no one has set foot here for a long time.
Then all the more reason to move. If there's no one to help us, I think it's better for us to at least survey the surrounding terrain ourselves.
...Hmm.
Emilia hummed in thought.
Others might have suggested waiting in place, but as someone with business here, I needed to look around a bit.
Because there was someone I had to find here.
Their whereabouts were so uncertain that even my knowledge of the original story couldn't resolve it, but...
Today, the opportunity finally arrived.
This was precisely why I willingly walked into this Midterm Exam, even knowing it was a trap.
Of course, if I put it like this.
One might think I could just use my abilities to scour the entire Basement without needing to walk around, but exploring a space this deep and vast consumes a considerable amount of output.
It was on a scale comparable to Astro Headquarters.
Structurally, it was also much more complex and convoluted.
I need to proceed carefully.
I won't waste output unnecessarily.
I intended to conclude it definitively, commensurate with the long preparation.
Looking after one's people is truly a thankless task.
Who in the world asks their boss to find their missing family?
As I ruminated on a slight lament.
...Alright. You must have a plan too.
The Villainess's answer, which I had almost missed, came back.
Had she ultimately fallen for the snake's silver tongue?
Or perhaps she had recalled the terms of our deal and reluctantly decided to follow me.
Either way, it was a 'thank you' situation.
"Hehe."
I stroked her head as a gesture of praise.
Her blue hair was neatly smoothed. Emilia furrowed her brow but silently accepted the touch.
The key was that she was clearly disgusted.
Then, shall we just keep walking?
Do as you please.
I-I'll come along too...!
We began to move.
Towards the endless Corridor.
***
Meanwhile, on the Lowest Floor of the Basement.
A hidden room, reachable only after descending seven flights of labyrinthine stairs.
There, a man sat.
They've finally arrived.
He was clad in a Pitch-Black Robe.
Behind his back was a root-like tree emblem. It was a symbol of the Heretic Cult.
The man subtly shifted his gaze.
Tap-tap—.
His tapping finger drummed on the desk.
Unlike the outer Basement, which seemed long abandoned, this scene was neatly organized.
A screen was present in the direction the man's eyes were fixed.
They're reacting more calmly than I expected.
A vast Basement.
Hundreds of pre-installed magic tools continuously rotated, projecting the situation.
The man smiled ominously.
The Beniti girl, the Top Student of the Year, even the Summoner who handles wyverns... It seems that fellow handled things well. To get such high-quality sacrifices in my hands.
It was a madness spreading with malevolent energy.
He touched his grotesquely torn lips, then began to record something in the book he held.
Dark red droplets dripped from the ceiling.
As the paper became stained red, the man's laughter spread hoarsely.
For now, shall I observe?
It was a process to test what excellent qualities these sacrifices possessed.
He recalled the 'creations' he had released into the Basement.
Due to a lack of resources.
But most of them were low-quality failures.
Among them, I planted just one... an 'artwork'.
He gazed at the screen located in the furthest corner.
In the center of the chaotic, messy Basement, only a strange Shadow flickered.
The man felt a chilling thrill ripple down his spine.
Belzen's finest artwork.
How much blood and flesh of living beings had been added to create that?
His lips muttered blankly.
...Beautiful.
He hoped the sacrifices would enhance the 'artwork's' perfection.
The corners of his mouth twisted disgustingly.
The images of students stained with blood were already shimmering before the man's eyes.
His pupils, veiled by Darkness, gleamed with corruption.
A tree taking root grotesquely.
The man wiped his reddened eyes and clasped his hands together.
All for Him... the source of all creation, our Master.
After a moment of silent contemplation, he closed his eyelids.
The prayer of a believer covered in blood was a piece of holiness stained with depravity.
His vision briefly went dark.
Thanks to that, the man did not see.
[......]
The Slit-Eyed One secretly gazing at the screen.
The Golden Snake was flicking its tongue, eyeing its prey.