NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12
“Ahhh—!”
In the middle of the night at the Academy, an unexpected scream echoed.
While everyone was frozen like stone, I kicked the door open and rushed into the hallway.
“…Damn it.”
However, it had already vanished down the corridor. I had certainly come out the moment I confirmed its appearance, yet the bloodied ghost had hidden itself away as if it were a mere illusion.
Could it really be the spirit of Giovanni, the first Head Priest of the Academy?
Desperately scanning the corridor, I caught sight of a white collar disappearing around the corner at the far end. Without a second thought, I dashed forward.
Whether it was a spirit or not, I knew that this being existed. If I didn’t resolve this here, I might never encounter it again.
“Haah…! Hah…!”
I ran with all my might, feeling breathless. The corner of the hallway soon came into view.
Right before I turned the corner, I tightly gripped the cross-shaped rosary hanging around my neck. Whether it was a demon or whatnot, I would exorcise that wicked being right here.
“I found you…!”
Yet, as I turned the corner, the only thing welcoming me was the empty corridor.
“Huff… huff… damn it….”
Cursing involuntarily, I felt frustrated as time wasted away in my futile search. What could that be? A demon? The actual spirit of Head Priest Giovanni?
The outfit it wore resembled the vestments worn by priests during rituals, aside from being stained with blood.
Though the longsword embedded in its chest wasn’t visible, Daniel’s words were becoming increasingly plausible.
Creak—!
I clenched my fists tightly. I muttered in a voice filled with rage.
“Damn it…!”
It felt like it was mocking me. No matter what the identity of this ghostly figure was, I would definitely find it tonight. I couldn’t allow a being that threatened the Academy to roam free.
I took a moment to catch my breath. In that time, Sofia Sub-priest, who had followed me, approached, breathing heavily.
“Haah…! Hah…! H-Head Priest…!”
“Phew…. Sofia Sub-priest. I lost it.”
“Y-Yes…? You went out right after seeing it in the classroom, didn’t you?”
Nodding weakly, I noticed Sofia’s complexion darkening.
“By the way, what about the other students?”
“It was complete chaos…! We were talking about ghosts, and suddenly, the very embodiment appeared! Head Priest ran out all of a sudden…!”
“Phew…. I’m sorry. Let’s hurry back. Oh, and….”
“Y-Yes?”
As I looked at Sofia Sub-priest, I slowly took out my rosary and fastened it around me. At that restrained motion, Sofia’s eyes widened.
“I think it’s likely that we’re going to need to exert ourselves soon.”
“…Is it a demon?”
“It isn’t a demon. Perhaps…. There are no demons that are this fearful. Still, you never know. Always be on guard.”
“Ah, I understand.”
The most certain fact right now is that it was neither luring us somewhere nor attempting to possess us. It was simply running away from us.
As if it absolutely would not be caught.
* * * * *
“Professor Antorelli. What’s that outfit?”
Laura looked at me with a baffled expression. I shrugged my shoulders and answered nonchalantly.
“The priest’s rosary amplifies holy power in small amounts. The Bible and the rosary do the same. You could say it’s similar to a wand for a wizard.”
“Yeah, I know that….”
“Well, we need to prepare, too.”
Though I wasn’t keen on using holy power….
I slowly opened the Bible and began reciting encouraging verses. We couldn’t let fear overcome us every time we encountered something.
“…Fear not, O children of Peter. Be bold like lions and steadfast like the walls of Tereia. For I am with you.”
Thrum—.
With a resonant heartbeat that stirred emotions, golden light flowed out from my body. The holy power gently spread out, permeating everyone in the classroom.
“Whoa….”
“Y-Indeed.”
“Somehow, I feel courage rising like crazy!”
“Amazing! Professor Lucio!”
The members of the Occult Research Club and Professor Esther were all visibly excited, while Laura seemed hesitant for some reason.
“Tch. What does this make me….”
“What did you say, student Adelheit?”
“…I didn’t say anything.”
It seemed she recalled what Laura had said to me during our first class.
“…It’s much more effective than when I did it. It’s on a completely different level.”
As everyone was caught up in a fervor, Sofia Sub-priest approached me with a glum expression. It was true that her prayer for Laura was nowhere near as effective as this.
Watching Sofia’s lips pout, I ruffled her hair casually with my hand.
“Ugh…! W-What are you doing?!”
“It’s nothing much. I meant to encourage you to strive harder.”
“I-I know that!”
At that moment, an overly excited Damian approached me. He expressed his enthusiasm by punching the air, claiming he feared nothing now.
“Professor Antorelli! Let’s go find that finger right away! Maybe we can even knock it out if we come across it right now!”
“Damian, we can’t knock it out.”
“Ah, right. Sorry… Vivian.”
It was remarkable how calm Vivian remained as everyone overflowed with motivation. I turned to Damian.
“You mean the finger?”
Then Daniel nodded, as if it was obvious.
“Ultimately, what Head Priest Giovanni is after is the bloodied finger, right? If we find that finger first, perhaps it will reveal itself drawn to it.”
“…Indeed. That makes sense. We should do that.”
With that, we left the classroom in search of Giovanni’s bloodied finger.
* * * * *
We hurriedly exited the classroom and, following Daniel’s suggestion, headed to the Occult Research Club Room first. The corridor was still engulfed in darkness.
Upon reaching the second floor of the Academy’s Annex, we found the room with the sign labeled “Occult Research Club.”
“Hmm…. Just a moment…. Vivian! Where did you put that notebook?”
“It should be in the box in the left corner.”
“The left? Or the right?”
“I’m not sure. Let’s check both. I’ll help.”
“Oh! Thank you!”
While Vivian and Daniel rummaged through the boxes stacked on the shelves of the Occult Research Club room, I glanced at my watch anxiously.
The current time was 3:30. According to Daniel, Head Priest Giovanni’s ghost disappears with the finger at dawn.
The approximate sunrise time around this hour is around 6:30. There were roughly three hours remaining, but considering that we had set out around midnight to look for Sofia Sub-priest…
“We need to hurry. Daniel.”
“Yeah, uh, just a moment. It should be around here….”
Time was running out. If we missed it this time, we might not see it again.
The worst-case scenario would be having to inform the professor on duty tomorrow about the events of tonight…. That wasn’t a method I was keen on.
So today, I would definitely uncover the truth.
“Professor Esther. How can I help?”
Professor Esther approached me, gripping her staff tightly. I considered how to find the finger’s whereabouts.
“Professor Esther, your specialty is illusion magic, right?”
Illusion magic has a wide range of uses beyond just casting hallucinations on the enemy. Most of its spells rely heavily on visual manipulation, which could be quite useful for us.
For instance, seeing through walls to find the object’s location.
“Uh… that’s right?”
Professor Esther nodded awkwardly. As a specialist in illusion magic, she would likely be a great help.
“Then, is there any magic that can help in finding an object? Perhaps x-ray magic…?”
“Heh heh…. Leave it to me. Can I cast it now?”
“Yes. Please make it as effective as possible.”
With a playful smile, Professor Esther waved her staff. Magical power gathered at the tip of the staff, and every place the staff moved left a trail of purple magic.
A point gathered to form a line, the lines came together to form a plane, and then the planes converged into a three-dimensional shape.
“A round circle is a dragon.”
Professor Esther murmured softly.
“Lines are paths. The triangle is an eye. Within that is the truth.”
Vroom—
“So, bite your own tail.”
In no time, the completed magic circle floated in the air.
A circular purple dragon, biting its own tail. Within it, a complex magic circle with an octagon spun so rapidly that it was hard to distinguish its shape.
“Uroboros (ουροβóρος).”
Fwoosh—!
In an instant, the corridor of the annex swayed, and my field of vision widened dramatically, revealing the walls of the corridor becoming transparent. It felt as if I was looking at the Academy’s blueprint, seeing everything about five meters ahead through the wall.
The tremendous power of the spell left Chloe and Laura awestruck as they looked around.
“No way…. To have a 5th circle magic like this be so simple….”
“Really impressive! Professor!”
“Didn’t you get your teaching position at Caldera Imperial Academy through gambling?”
Professor Esther began to puff up with pride as she smirked. Perhaps thanks to her magic, Daniel finally shouted as if he had discovered something.
“I found it—!”
Daniel raised a dust-covered notebook in triumph. The dust that had been covering it scattered in all directions and settled on Daniel’s head, but Daniel’s face sparkled with pure joy as he left the club room.
“Professor Esther’s magic is truly amazing! Thanks to it, I found it right away!”
“Heh heh heh…. It was worth the effort.”
“Daniel, what’s that notebook?”
As I flipped through the red-covered notebook Daniel had handed me, he came closer and began to explain.
“This is the research journal that our seniors in the Occult Research Club have kept for generations. Finding the bloodied finger is our club’s long-standing wish. It should be around here… Ah! Here it is!”
“This letter starts from the Holy Empire….”
“Ah, no, I was mistaken. Not here…. Here!”
Following Daniel’s gesture, I saw the dense writings appear among the dozens of pages in the notebook. I followed Daniel’s finger and began to read the text.
“The place where the old obsession appears is, Caldera Imperial Academy. There, it appears in the shadow of the brightest place…?”
I looked at Daniel with a confused expression, to which he scratched his head sheepishly.
“Daniel, I need an explanation.”
It seemed our seniors were overly immersed in the occult… Hahaha…
Eventually, Daniel put his hand on his chin and fell into thought. I lowered the notebook slightly so that everyone could see.
“Hmm…. The old obsession probably refers to the bloodied finger. And as for the shadow of the brightest place….”
“…The shadow of the brightest place?”
“Where could that be?”
“Figure it out. That’s our job.”
Vivian’s flat remark led everyone to scratch their heads trying to interpret the text.
“The brightest place…? Is it perhaps the rooftop?”
“There shouldn’t be any place for a shadow on the rooftop, right?”
“Then where could it be….”
“Isn’t it just a lamp?”
“How many lamps do you think there are in the annex?”
“Um, a lot I guess….”
How much time passed like this? Suddenly, Chloe raised her hand excitedly.
“Professor! I think I got it! The brightest place in the Academy!”
“Where is that?”
Chloe hesitated for a moment but then mentioned.
“I mean, it must be… behind the cross in the Seminary Main Chapel… right?”
“What? What does that mean…?”
“Why, the brightest light has the darkest shadow behind it, doesn’t it? The cross, symbolically, represents the brightest place. So, the shadow of the brightest place should be behind the cross, right?”
“I’d argue that’s a somewhat sudden conclusion. Since that ghost has only been roaming the annex.”
Elin raised a valid question. Chloe tilted her head in confusion.
“Hmm…? If the finger is hidden in the Academy, doesn’t that mean someone hid it?”
“That’s right. So what?”
“No, if I were to hide it, I’d think to place it where it couldn’t possibly be found. If I said it’s in the annex, and then hid it somewhere else, they’d never find it in a lifetime, right?”
“……!”
Hearing Chloe suddenly connecting the dots felt like being hit in the back of the head with a hammer. Yes, that makes sense. Why hadn’t I thought of that?
“…Let’s go right now.”
We made our way to the Seminary Main Chapel. While moving, we didn’t forget to use Professor Esther’s x-ray magic to check the passing rooms and classrooms.
“The Seminary Main Chapel….”
The shadow of the brightest place indeed signifies the cross. I never would have imagined that.
Indeed. The protagonist is something else.