204 – Main Villain (3)
We ran following Danya’s traces.
The place we arrived at was the entrance to a huge sewer.
Iron bars were blocking us.
It is difficult for humans to squeeze through that gap, but cats can easily slip through it.
“I think the cats fell through this.”
Sylvia shined a light in front of her.
It is a huge sewer with a radius of 3m.
There is no special smell or anything.
‘I would have gone in no matter what happened.’
Is there any way to open the door?
It seems that you have to insert a key into one side of the iron bars to open the door.
If the iron bars are this big, you can cut through them.
As I take a stance, Elena stops me.
“Calm down, brother! I can open it!”
Ah. Come to think of it, it’s Elena who has the ability to open doors for some reason.
Elena fiddled with her locks, and then Pabat-! She simply opened the lock with a flash of white light.
“Good job Elena. Let’s go in.”
I opened the iron bar door and went inside.
It was dark inside, as expected.
Sylvia cast her luminous magic.
The light is not that strong, just enough to see the surroundings and each person’s silhouette.
This is the right decision because it would be better to hide our existence.
Liquids like water rippling along a waterway.
We walked along the narrow road next to it.
“This way.”
The road was complicated, but I didn’t need a guide.
Sylvia’s magic was clearly tracking Danya’s location.
“Now that I think about it, I’ve heard that scary things live in the sewers of the Academy.”
Lina opens her mouth calmly.
It’s probably something I heard while hanging out with her friends here and there.
Elena responded with her fuss.
“What, when you say scary things, you mean things like monsters?!”
“Yeah. Maybe?”
“Huh-!”
Elena begins to tremble.
Silvia, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between the two, calmly opened her mouth.
“You don’t need to worry too much.”
“W-well… That’s a rumor…”
“No. There is a high possibility that there will be a mutation, but it won’t be that dangerous.”
“Eh…?”
“There are hundreds of fields of research at the Lichten Academy. Among them, there will definitely be unmanaged waste and it will flow into the sewer. It is easy to imagine that animals that ingest such drugs become mutants.”
“hehehe!”
“But I think the possibility of getting sick is greater than the possibility of becoming stronger due to such a ‘coincidence’.”
“Oh, I’m scared!”
She thought she would calm Elena down, but instead she was cold-hearted and scared Sylvia even more.
But she has a point.
Academy Sewerage.
This is an area where various mutant animals and plants grow.
‘There are usually many plants that have unusual effects.’
I’m busy tracking down Danya right now, but as long as I’ve drilled an entrance, it’s possible to come collect it later.
There is nothing to worry too much about animals.
As Sylvia said, drugs usually kill something rather than making it stronger.
—Slap, slap!
I patted Elena, who was scared, and made her walk away.
The deeper you go into the sewer, the louder the sound of footsteps.
The surroundings were becoming increasingly humid and narrow at the same time.
From Noble mtl dot com
“……”
Is it because it talks about mutants or monsters?
The feeling that the shadows around you seem to be particularly large are probably an illusion.
After seeing an unidentified skill emerging from the shadows, the shadows became wary.
“I’m going to head a little deeper underground.”
Silvia announced quietly.
As she said, the slope of the sewer pipe is clearly downward.
Lina asks as she goes down the stairs.
“But why did you sprinkle mud on the cats earlier, Ian?”
“That’s right – the brother who was trying to summon a wall suddenly exploded and sprayed mud. I saw it clearly too.”
Ah.
You didn’t brief this.
I guess I’m also distracted because I’m concentrating on Danya.
“It’s to disrupt the ceremony.”
“Consciousness?”
“Yes. The cats are most likely sacrifices, and if so, the patterns on the backs of some cats are probably a device to amplify some kind of magic.”
“……”
“That crow pattern. If my prediction is correct, the opponent is quite strong.”
“What are your expectations?”
“The executives of Shaleam Bridge.”
There was silence for a moment.
“I can’t guess anything more than that. So it’s better for everyone to stay alert.”
If you want to go back, you can go back— I swallowed the words.
Now that we’ve come this far together, these kids aren’t going to think like that. As expected, determination was written on the faces of the party members.
Walk like that for a while.
— Wooung
I felt something very subtle, like a transparent film.
I stopped in place and deployed my mana.
Something clearly exists.
Silvia, who was spreading her mana after me, muttered.
“It’s a barrier.”
“… Barrier?”
“A type that hides all traces of what is happening inside. This is sometimes necessary when working secretly.”
I think I came to the right place as expected.
But the problem is…
“I don’t think I can go any further.”
The size of the sewer had begun to shrink, and now it had become a hole so narrow that it was difficult for me to pass through.
You can go a little further with Elena, but you’ll soon get stuck.
A quiet and breathtaking space.
I looked around.
I think there is a door somewhere for management purposes.
… As expected.
“This way.”
There was a cast iron gate.
There is no particular lock.
I opened the creaking door roughly.
A long passage that looks like an underground road comes into view.
“Who are you?”
The guard standing there is startled and is wary of us.
As expected.
Was this the Academy security area?
A few candidates popped into my head and were erased.
Elena, who followed behind, gestures toward her guard.
“It’s the gatekeeper…!”
“Are they cadets…?”
Wow!
The guard clears his throat and looks at us resolutely.
“After this, it cannot be passed without the Academy’s official approval process.”
“But we have friends…!”
“This is a B-level security facility. You must go through formal procedures to pass. That’s all I can say. Rather, I would like to investigate how you got out of there…”
The guard looked sideways at the door we came through and continued speaking.
“There are curious guys everywhere. Just go back. Pretend you didn’t see them.”
You must be bothering me.
Anyway, he seems like the type of person that you can’t persuade with words.
Elena came up behind me and muttered.
“… Shall we handle it, brother?
Are you a priest?
Silvia whispered while Elena was covering her mouth.
“It seems like a planned barrier. The barrier is formed from the back where the guards are guarding. This means that up to this point is within the calculation. It’s probably for the purpose of buying time through the entry and exit procedures.”
I nodded and agreed.
‘The purpose is to buy time.’
That said, it would be right to spread something like a magic circle.
Unfortunately, the opponent’s strategy is of little significance.
I took out a small metal plaque that I always carry in my pocket.
The guard’s eyes widen.
“I am a knight who receives the empire’s favor! Bribes…!”
“That’s not it. Look closely.”
A knight accepts a metal plaque from me with a suspicious look in his eyes.
He looks around at the metal plaque.
And then the pupils gradually get bigger.
“… A pass approved by His Majesty?”
“That’s right.”
“… What on earth are you? No. Who are you?”
His tone immediately changed to politeness.
Ta asked, shrugging his shoulders.
“Can I pass by?”
“… Yes. Good.”
I brought my colleagues inside first.
“If you have a pass, your colleagues will also be there…”
“I understand. You can come in.”
As expected.
They say it’s good because it’s convenient to have power.
After passing the security, we started running.
This is probably a passage along the sewer.
“Wait a minute. Here’s a map.”
This is a large map hanging on the wall.
The map told us where we were headed.
Academy Jung Central. A huge cavity located underground.
‘Is it something like that?’
I can roughly get a feel for how things are going.
It would be a good place for a boss fight.
“Let’s all get ready.”
◆
Shale Bridge.
5Th dignity.
Evan Kessler.
He was standing next to the huge magic circle he had drawn.
Creak.
He tilted his head and looked around him.
— Kyaek!
— Nyang!
Cats pouring in along the sewers in all directions.
Where water should flow, it is instead full of cats.
“… hahahaha.”
A short, laughter-like laugh burst out.
Although there were numerous difficulties along the way, all plans were thoroughly implemented.
Ian Black Angus.
If that damned kid hadn’t gotten in the way, the plan could have been implemented faster and more clearly.
Well.
But it doesn’t matter.
In the end, he obtained all the materials he needed.
“No. It’s not the material I need.”
This is the material that ‘that person’ needs.
33 Sprouts with fresh blood and flesh.
And 1333 cats.
Sprout accurately collected thirty-three of the cadets.
I just confirmed that the number of cats exceeds that.
“Isaac. Get rid of everything you don’t need.”
“… Stray cats are dirty.”
“Isaac.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll do it right away.”
— Kkulleong
The ground shook, and about half of the cats turned gray and evaporated.
Isaac, looking at that scene, mutters.
“Senior.”
“……”
“This consciousness. Is it really related to ’emptiness’?”
“……”
“I heard from the blood woman. The cult leader is aiming for the “Void”. That’s why he reached out to the Empire’s 2nd prince and Constantine’s saint sect this time. If that happens, everything in the world will be ruined. ..”
“Isaac.”
“Yes, senior.”
“You talk a lot.”
“But-“
“You’ve had a lot of trouble so far.”
That was it.
9Th dignity.
Isaac’s shadow opened its mouth roughly.
To his master.
— Crackle!
It was a fleeting moment.
Isaac was already swallowed by the shadows and could not find his form.
Evan, who was looking at the shadow, raised his head.
There was a deep smile on his face.
— Ugh
The magic circle began to glow.