Chapter 97: Locralen (4) (1/2)
… An hour ago, amid a dark dawn.
The academic building grew very quiet thanks to Rose Rio’s [Silence]. Amid it, Epherene glanced at Allen, who accompanied her on the second floor’s conference room.
“Assistant Professor. Are you sleeping?”
Allen, covered in a blanket, repeated a faint breathing sound.
Fortunately, it was irregular, which evidenced that they hadn’t fallen victim to the monster yet.
“…”
Epherene picked up the thick backpack and cautiously stuffed it with food.
Right now, her thoughts about her future self dominated over her fear of an attack.
She knew Adult Epherene would be hungry like her.
“Oh.”
She put on high heels, which she thought would make the Kaidezite confuse her for her older version. Only then did she finally sneak out.
However…
“…!”
In the middle of the hallway, she made eye contact with Professor Relin, who claimed to be a vigilante to show off in front of Deculein.
“This… This… This…”
His presence startled her, but she inevitably noticed he repeated a certain word endlessly with a shocked expression.
“This….”
Epherene looked up at him and placed a hand on her chest.
“… Professor Relin.”
She suffered a lot from him and talked behind his back a lot, but when she saw him in such a pitiful state, she felt bad for him.
After a brief bow, she descended the stairs, finding the employee at the information desk on the first floor resting his head on his desk.
“I guess he’s sleeping.”
Utilizing that opportunity, she went straight down to the [Underground Archives].
“Epherene. Epherene!”
As soon as she reached the basement, she whispered her own name repeatedly, finding the act a little bit funny.
“Epherene! Where are you, Epherene!”
When her older version didn’t show up, she hid behind a bookshelf first to recollect her thoughts.
At that time…
“No way!”
─!
Startled, she turned around, finding the society’s president, Locralen, running away with desperation in his expression.
“What’s wrong with him?”
Epherene took out her lunch box instinctively.
As she ate a bite, the words of her future self repeated in her mind.
“…She told me not to hate him.”
That was weird.
Gindalf, her older version… What was wrong with her?
“Epherene!”
Surprised by the voice coming from above, she looked up, finding Adult Epherene looking down at her from atop the tall bookshelf.
“Y-You scared me!”
“Huhu. Thanks to you, I could do it.”
“Do what?”
“I caught the host.”
“Really?!”
Her eyes, nostrils, and mouth widened as her future self smiled at her and landed gently next to her.
“Of course. I couldn’t have done it without you, though.”
“Because of me? How so?”
“Your shoes! We’re essentially the same person, so when you became as tall as I was and wore a robe to conceal how you did it, the Kaidezite naturally became confused. While it was focused on you, I went out and caught it.”
“Oh. I see! Haha. In fact, that’s what I had in mind too.”
She proudly showed off her heels, causing her older self to chuckle.
“Right. It’s as expected of me! We’re smart.”
It was a nice compliment to hear. Shrugging, Epherene took her backpack off her shoulders.
“Wait. I brought you something.”
Unzipping it, she held out another lunch box.
Adult Epherene’s eyes widened.
“Oh~!”
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any Roahawk.”
“Roahawk… I almost forgot.” She licked her lips.
Grinning, the younger of the two asked, “Are there Roahawks in the future too?”
“Of course. It’s actually become famous for its taste. Personally, I always found it more delicious whenever I ate with the Professor.”
Epherene’s expression hardened.
“With Professor Deculein?”
“Yeah. It’s going to take a very long time to make him eat together with us since he pathologically hates unclean food.”
“… That’s true.”
She couldn’t bring herself to imagine… Deculein holding a Roahawk in his hands.
She shook her head, preventing her from getting more distracted. She had more important matters to discuss with her.
“But aren’t the Professor and you… No, me… us… enemies? Can you at least give me a hint about what happened?” She asked cautiously.
Adult Epherene wallowed in silence for a moment, her expression seemingly trying to choose the right words carefully and firmly.
Then, she laughed bitterly.
“Yeah. You’re right. He’s an enemy.”
“I am?”
“But… he doesn’t exist in my world anymore. So don’t hate him too much. I honestly would appreciate it if you could make him stay in your world for as long as possible.”
“…!”
Her words stabbed her in the back like an awl and made her feel dizzy.
Adult Epherene supported her before she could fall.
“I can’t provide you with more detailed explanations. You’re already dizzy, right?”
“Uh-huh… I feel sleepy for some reason…”
“Then you should sleep. Thank you for this lunch box.”
“Ah… sure…” Epherene rubbed her hazy eyes.
“Sleep well. When you wake up, it’ll all be over.”
“Okay… Wait… What’s going to be… over…?”
Adult Epherene only laughed bitterly.
No answer came even after she fell into a comfortable slumber.
*****
[In 953, according to those who witnessed the meteorite’s fall, they saw two flashes of light struck the ground… The area was then named after its scientific name, Locralen.]
[The Isle of Wizard’s Wealth purchased the rights to Locralen for 1 billion Elnes, which sparked a debate in the academy. That land wasn’t in the sky but on the ground, and if an accident occurs during the study on the Floating Island… In particular, the imperial media, The Journal, criticized it as ‘the dark desire of the magical world.’]
[Its society’s president, Jessen, later changed his name to Locralen.]
Deculain spent all day conducting investigations. The wizards, including Rose Rio and Kreto, had already gone to bed, but he found no need to sleep or rest.
With tension and concentration stacking on top of his [Iron Man] trait, he dedicated himself to digging into the entirety of Locralen.
“… Hey.”
He looked at the addict, who was quietly standing in the corner of the discussion room on the third floor.
He pointed to himself. “Me?”
“Yes. You. I heard there were 500 addicts in Locralen.”
“That’s right.”
“Where are they all?”
“On conference days, everyone stays inside.”
“Everyone?”
“Of course. We are Locralen addicts. Regardless of where we’re working, be it at a hotel, canteen, or as an employee, we all come here during conference days.”
Deculein nodded silently.
“Then, there will be no one outside this academy building right now.”
… Except for Drent, who passed out in the hotel.
“Most likely.”
The addict’s reply caused a certain thought to flash through Deculein’s mind, like a spark that lasted only for a fleeting moment.
It wasn’t conclusive, but enough to serve as a hint…
“Professor Deculein!”
The door swung open, and an addict came in.
“The president was also attacked!”
Though his voice was filled with urgency and fear, Deculein’s composure remained unfazed.
He straightened his collar, sleeves, and tie, then got up.
“Let’s go.”
“O-okay.”
There was no need to walk long.
He found Locralen stunned on the stairs of the third floor.
“Ugh, Professor Deculain—! You… How did you know?”
Deculain watched the society president call out to him.
“You… How did you know? Ugh, Professor Deculain—! You… How did you know? Ugh, Professor Deculain—! You… How did you know?”
Locralen’s cycle was pretty bizarre.
“Since when has he been like this?”
“We found him this morning.”
“Deculein! This is trouble! K-Kreto was attacked too!” Rose Rio yelled, approaching him from behind.
“…”
He gave her a quick glance, then refocused his attention on Locralen.
“… This is strange.”
He felt as if he was missing something.
The ‘stun’ was clearly contagious. However, if it were truly all around him by now.
Was it because it didn’t mean death?
But if that state was eternal, what difference would it be from death?
Deculein watched Locralen scream and run for a few moments.
“Ugh, Professor Deculain—!”
Not long after, he noticed a necklace around his collarbone.
However, the ‘chain’ was the only thing left of it.
‘Someone probably took the pendant itself.’
At that moment, a system announcement flashed in front of Deculein’s retina, stating [Quest Complete].
His eyes widened in amazement. The article he just read today also coursed through his mind like static electricity.
[… According to those who witnessed the meteorite’s fall, they saw two flashes of light struck the ground…]
Two flashes of light.
“… it wasn’t just one meteorite that hit Locralen, Rose Rio. And there isn’t only one Kaidezite either.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Follow me.”
Even at that moment of realization, Deculein remained extremely calm. He just descended to the first floor without saying anything. Like the high-ranking wizard that she was, Rose Rio quickly regained her composure and followed him.
“We must leave! We can’t blindly trust Professor Deculein forever! We should trust in our own intelligence-”
“Prepare magic!”
“Destruction magic…”
“We must leave! We can’t trust only Professor Deculein forever! We should put more faith trust in our own intelligence—”
“Prepare magic!”
“Destruction magic…”
The exit on the first floor was a mess. Dozens of wizards, locked in perpetual repetition, ceaselessly chanted magic incantations.
“We’ll be like them soon.” Rose Rio murmured cynically.
“Professor!” Allen came down, panting from the second-floor stairs. “This is trouble! Epherene is gone!”
“… What? Isn’t Epherene your disciple, Deculein?” Rose Rio glanced at him, but he didn’t even show the slightest concern or interest. Instead, he just went straight to the [Underground Archives].
“Professor! I’m going with you— ouch!”
Allen tripped mid-run, but he still showed neither sympathy nor empathy. However, Rose Rio, a few steps behind, called out to him.