Chapter 16
Alice.
A girl with a fragile nature, carrying an aura as if she might break at any moment.
It was pure coincidence that such a girl ended up peeking into a secret.
'He... helped me...'
Social anxiety.
Alice, who harbored a deep Fear of human contact and the outside air itself.
She was admitted to the Academy thanks to the Dean's consideration, but a space swarming with kids her age was basically poison to her.
To the point where she refused to attend even after the semester began.
The reason she dared to go out was just a brief whim.
She hadn't wanted to worry the Dean, so she left the Dormitory with great resolve.
'My n-Necklace... I got it from Yeriel, w-where did it go?'
However, her clumsy outing only resulted in the worst possible outcome.
Losing an item more important than her own life.
It was a precious item she wouldn't trade for anything in the world.
She was on the verge of tears, rummaging through the bushes, when it happened.
-Hello?
A boy reached out his hand to Alice.
The Top Student of Class E, her assigned class.
Victor, was it?
A boy characterized by the bizarre Mask he wore.
'A s-scary person...!'
Alice hadn't attended classes for several days after the entrance ceremony.
Even so, she had occasionally checked on the Academy using her ability, so she had a grasp of the class atmosphere.
In her categorization, Victor was a scary person.
She at least knew the fact that he bullied their Classmates.
Thus, she hastily became terrified.
She was wary of the boy in front of her, revealing her Fear.
-Shall we calm down first? I know you're quite startled.
-Ta-da. Please wipe your tears with this.
-The flower is a gift.
However, contrary to her thoughts.
The boy didn't treat Alice coercively or scarily.
His gentle tone, the Handkerchief he kindly offered, even the Balloon Flower....
He treated her as if she were a fragile glass bowl.
-Please don't be so wary.
-Because I am extremely favorable toward you, Miss Alice.
Rustle-.
The Thorn she had raised in her heart folded away, and her wariness soon faded as well.
Alice barely stopped her trembling.
The boy didn't stop there.
-May I ask what you lost?
-Don't worry, Miss Alice.
-Since I, Victor, and my friends will help you.
This time, mobilizing manpower, they all found her Necklace together.
-It's fine. I just helped you of my own accord.
-We're in the same class, after all. Since we've made this connection, how could I not help you?
No matter how she tried to show her gratitude, he just waved his hands saying it was fine.
When Alice grew restless at that, he casually tossed out a remark as if to ease her burden.
-Then how about this. Being good friends from now on?
Being good friends.
It was something she hadn't heard in a very long time, perhaps even the first time in her life.
-It hasn't been long since the semester started. I didn't have any classmates I hung out with either, so I was just needing someone to spend the semester with.
-Yes. Or do you not like me, Miss Alice?
Her turbulent life did not allow for relationships with others.
Alice herself had never been dissatisfied with that either.
'A loner.'
The girl took it for granted.
She thought it was a destiny that would always be with her, just like her Nightmare.
The goodwill of others was unfamiliar, and sometimes felt terrifying.
However.
-See you tomorrow. Miss Alice.
The boy easily crossed that boundary.
It was surely a meaningless, casually thrown goodwill.
But that casualness left a huge ripple in Alice.
Goodwill directed at her.
Thus, even after returning to the Dormitory, the girl was immersed in its lingering feelings.
"...."
Alice lay quietly on her bed.
Her gaze was on the Ceiling, but her attention was focused elsewhere.
"His name was Victor, I think...."
Just.
It strangely bothered her.
Even though it was their first meeting, he was someone who had readily shown her goodwill.
A scary but thankful person.
That was how Alice remembered him.
"Mmm...."
It was getting late.
She hadn't exactly intended for it to happen.
In her half-asleep state, her ability had activated on its own.
Heteromorphic Dream.
Using dreams as a window to see another person's world.
'Even if it activates, there's no way it would succeed on him....'
The conditions shouldn't have been met.
Just because she felt goodwill toward him didn't mean he felt the same about her.
She hadn't done anything to earn his goodwill, nor had she the time to do so.
Therefore, she normally shouldn't have been able to see anything.
However....
'Huh?'
She could see.
As the ability activated and she closed her eyes, an unfamiliar sight appeared.
A dark hallway with a black-haired boy and a silver-haired girl walking down it. The backs of the two youths.
The scene was somewhat blurry, but one of them was definitely Victor.
It was easy to tell since he was wearing that peculiar Mask.
'H-how did this happen? How am I sharing his vision...'
It was a confusing situation.
Alice was shaken, but she soon peeked at the scene unfolding before her eyes.
Since it had already activated, she decided to watch for just a moment.
The boy strode purposefully across the dark hallway.
'Where is this...? Wait, a warning sign?'
They passed by warning signs several times.
Only then did Alice realize they were in the Underground Dungeon Purgatory.
'P-Purgatory? And the 70th Floor? I heard entry was forbidden? How did they get in? No, more importantly, I have to stop them....'
There was no Faculty accompanying them either.
Only the silver-haired girl, who looked to be around his age, stood by his side.
While Alice panicked, the boy swung open the massive doors to the 70th Floor.
He stepped inside without hesitation.
"Ah...! No...!"
He was going to die.
People were going to die.
Alice abruptly sprang up from her bed.
Without even time to think, she was already running out of the Dormitory.
'This makes no sense.... The Master of the 70th Floor, t-there's no way to survive that...!'
Standing as the Master of that room was a Dragon.
Even though it had been degraded to an undead, it was a Dragon exuding an overwhelming aura.
The contents of the warning signs flashed through her mind.
Official attempts had failed multiple times, and countless Raid Members had been sacrificed.
Let alone a Student, even powerhouse Professor ranks had been wiped out.
'I have to tell someone! B-but who should I tell? The Dean? Javert Unnie? Or anyone else...!'
She had to report this situation and get help.
Just as she was about to rush out of the Dormitory in a panic with that thought.
Alice felt the flowing vision flash brilliantly.
"Ugh...!"
She furrowed her brows.
Had it been roughly two minutes since the boy entered the room?
Checking the scene that followed, Alice couldn't help but freeze in place.
"...Huh?"
It was gone.
Half of the Dragon.
"Uh, uhhhh...?!"
It happened in an instant.
The boy snapped his fingers, and immediately after, the figure was sliced in half.
Its massive body shrank, staining the surroundings with green fluid.
The Dragon had been disposed of without even a single scream.
"Uh, huh...?"
What had she just seen?
It was dead.
He killed it.
With a single hand gesture, the Master of the 70th Floor, the Dragon.
He split it perfectly in half, as if he had merely been playing with it.
"...."
Alice felt a bizarre sensation, as if her entire common sense had just been denied.
Regardless, the boy simply cleaned up calmly.
As if such a sight meant nothing to him.
It was right when the situation was about to be wrapped up.
"...?"
Their eyes.
Met.
"...What?"
It wasn't just her imagination.
Beyond the blurry vision, the eyes behind the Mask.
They were staring straight at her.
-Hehe.
He was smiling.
The Mask was smiling hideously, just like usual.
Alice couldn't breathe under the overwhelming sensation.
It felt as if that smile would tear open at any moment, and hundreds of tentacles would crawl out.
It felt like a swarming death would choke her.
"Haa, haa...."
She had been noticed.
And he laughed as if mocking her.
As if he knew she was watching from the very beginning.
The Mask.
He grinned.
"Gasp...!"
Immediately after, the vision was finally cut off.
Alice had to gasp for breath.
That bloodlust still seemed to linger down her spine.
Panic set in.
"Our, our eyes met...? H-how? This has never happened before...."
Her blue eyes trembled wildly.
He was someone who tore apart even a Dragon with a single hand gesture, a single glance.
There was no way such a Monster couldn't see right through her.
'I'm targeted.'
The boy was hiding his strength.
But why? For what reason?
Was he trying to infiltrate the Academy?
Why specifically settle down as the Top Student of Class E?
Why did he clear Purgatory?
And for what purpose did he hide his power?
Numerous questions crossed her mind, but none of that was important to Alice right now.
"He, he noticed me...!"
Whatever the reason, he was a suspicious person hiding his power.
She had found out the truth about such a person.
And she had been caught knowing that truth.
She remembered the smile the Mask had directed at her before the vision cut off.
"Ah, aah...."
There was only one development that came to mind in this situation.
Because she knew too much of the truth, Alice was now in a position where she was targeted by him.
"I'll d-die.... I'll be murdered, he'll, he'll silence me...."
Tears fell down her cheeks.
The girl's face had turned deadly pale.
"Sniffle, w-what do I do...."
The girl's trembling didn't stop for a long while.
***
The next day.
The Faculty were also the same in noticing the anomaly on the 70th Floor.
An emergency had been declared among the Professors since the early hours of dawn.
"What? The 70th Floor of Purgatory was cleared overnight? What kind of bullshit is that?"
An emergency meeting was immediately convened.
The Professors were all sitting there, dead pale.
"Does this situation even make sense? The 70th Floor of Purgatory should have definitely been a closed floor!"
"Furthermore, a successful raid... Just how are things unfolding?"
"How the hell did they even enter Purgatory? Were the Guards just playing around?"
A chaotic meeting room.
The Professors each raised their voices to express their concerns.
"It is hard to accept. Even the official Raid Squad has experienced multiple failures. Throughout the history of the Academy, far too many Raid Members died in the line of duty."
"That's why we made the decision 20 years ago, right? To close off the 70th Floor of Purgatory."
"However... such a 70th Floor was suddenly completely cleared in a single night?"
"Fuck, what the hell is going on...."
The 70th Floor, which had stood strong throughout the Academy's history.
The longer a Faculty member had worked, the harder it was for them to easily accept this matter.
Since they had heard enough of that floor's infamy to be sick of it.
"Purgatory is the most heavily guarded place within the Academy. It's hard to believe it was breached head-on. Especially since the Captain of the Guard reported that there were no visitors or Intruders last night. They say not even a single ant crawled through the entrance of Purgatory."
"Then what is it? Are you saying there's some secret path leading to Purgatory?"
"That's nonsense! We conduct regular investigations exactly out of concern for such things. It has been that way throughout the Academy's history. There has never been a secret path leading to Purgatory."
"I just can't make sense of this...."
It was absolutely bewildering.
The 70th Floor was cleared, yet no one had entered Purgatory.
Not to mention the Faculty, absolutely no one had approached it all night.
"I assume everyone has checked the materials."
That wasn't all.
A screen was provided in front of each Faculty member.
""....""
What appeared on the screen was the sight of the completely wrecked 70th Floor.
At its center, a massive Lump of Meat was sprawled out.
The Professors couldn't help but gasp in dismay.
"My word, the Dragon is split in half...."
"Professor Lekan. Are you capable of doing something like this?"
"Are you kidding? Even if you brought the Knight Commander of the Imperial Family instead of me, they wouldn't be able to do it."
"Are you sure it's a Dragon?"
"Yes, the autopsy has been completed. Even though it was degraded to an Undead, a Dragon is a Dragon. The cause of death is exactly as you see on the screen. It seems to have been sliced in half with a single strike. The other half that was cut off has disappeared without a trace."
"God, my goodness...."
The eyes of the Faculty members grew cold.
With a chill running down their spines, someone gulped dryly.
"Does that mean...."
"They're currently in this Academy? Someone who can not only breach the tight security and infiltrate Purgatory, but also slice an Undead Dragon in half with a single strike? You're saying a bastard like that might be hiding in the Academy right now?"
""....""
Putting it into words made the matter feel even more serious.
As the Faculty members were at a loss, the white-haired old man finally opened his mouth.
It was the Dean, who had been silently observing the situation.
"For now... we will not disclose this incident to the outside. Let's control the information regarding Purgatory until we have a grasp of the situation."
""Yes!""
"And... I ask that each of you Faculty members conduct an investigation. We need to track down the person who did this and determine whether they pose a danger to the Academy. You must not miss a single suspicious detail."
""Understood!""
The Faculty members answered, highly disciplined.
Among them, only one person was distracted elsewhere.
It was Chief Investigator Javert.
"...."
Through her flowing red hair, her green eyes blinked quietly.
The woman silently stared only at the screen provided as material.
She rolled her eyes back and forth as if comparing it multiple times with the profile of someone she held in her hand.
A gaze seemingly devoid of emotion.
Scribble scribble-.
Additional notes were written on the profile.
On top of the hard file, the target's name was written.
[Victor]
The boy wearing a Mask.
Even until the Faculty meeting ended, Javert stared at it silently.
***
A refreshing morning returned.
Past the toil of last night, it was a day without a single worry.
The weather was sunny too, making me feel inexplicably excited.
'I got the Dragon's Scale, and I got the refining materials too....'
Everything was going smoothly.
Now all I had to wait for was the Freshman welcome exam coming up tomorrow.
Since there were no lectures today, I just had to lie down and rest comfortably.
That's how I would wait for tomorrow's schedule.
"...."
Right.
I thought that would be it.
"Student Victor."
"Yes, Professor Javert."
That is, until this situation happened.
The red-haired woman who suddenly visited around lunchtime.
Sitting in the chair opposite me, she looked this way with inorganic eyes.
Lifeless green eyes.
"I will ask you point-blank."
"Go ahead."
"Was it you? Clearing the 70th Floor of Purgatory."
"...Pardon?"
I asked back, dumbfounded.
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