"Here, have a tea, Stephanie."
"Thank you, professor."
The professor then proceeds to sit across from us, her one leg was on another—it made me swallow a large batch of saliva as her leggings compliments pretty well on my ogling eyes. It feels like a curse has befallen on me, or a devil whispering in my ears, tempting me into doing something unthinkable.
"You look grumpy today, Stephanie. What may have happened? Is he the one causing it?" She points her finger at me.
I was taken back not because of her words, but I just realized she can see me and everything around her; despite what she's wearing around her eyes. Or is it just cosmetics? And instead, she's not blind all along. Although my guts are telling me that she's blind. I only took notice now since my attention was caught by something spectacular.
"No! No-no-no, he's not the reason... You could say that... But not really. But, he's one of the reasons, not the reason in a bad way... because I want to defend him."
"How cute," I said out loud.
"I understand, so what brings you here?"
"Didn't you tell me to go here, today?"
"So then, what's up with him? Is he here just to fantasize me all day long? His eyes had been ogling on my body since I met him. Care to tell?"
"Claude!" Stephanie turns her head to me, angrily.
"Are you really blind? How did you know? You can see through that thing, right?"
"I may be, but I may be not."
"That doesn't make any sense..." I squint my eyes. "Are your eyes somewhere? Am I missing it?" My eyes scan downward, specifically into her breast which Stephanie slaps her palm over my eyes to cover. "Aaah! My eyes!"
"Stop staring! You good-for-nothing pervert! The audacity of you ogling at her in front of me!"
Rubbing my blurry eyesight, I made an excuse. "It's not like that. It's just out of curiosity. You know, people stuff? I can't help myself but get curious since she had those covers in her eyes."
"Let him be, Stephanie. I'm used to it. A man will always be a man. Anyhow, you don't need to come here in the meantime, Stephanie."
"Why?" Stephanie slightly tilts her head.
"I will be secluding myself for a few weeks."
"Why?"
"Was it because of that?"
"Yes."
While they're having a thorough conversation, I'm just there, sitting on my seat listening through their conversation, not knowing a single thing from them.
"I see, I understand professor. First and foremost, this perverted man beside me was the person I'm talking about, Claude Weiss. And, Claude, this is professor Eukla, a professor from the academy. She teaches Astrology, a magical system that revolves outside of our world or the shining stars beyond us." Stephanie introduces me with a smile plastered on her face. It's quite gentle and full of her affections.
"This man? I guess I underestimated your taste on men, Stephanie. He got something inside of him. Two or three of them?"
My right eyebrow twitched incredibly hard when I heard her mentioning 'two or three of them'. I'm not sure what she meant by it, but it alerted me to a degree of putting up my entire guard against her. Every hair in my body stood up.
(She...) Diana said.
"There's no need to put your guard up. I want to bring harm or had any intention to do so. The world may have forsaken me by taking my eyes, but that doesn't mean that will hinder me from seeing the world from the darkness. Especially, from the far and beyond of the cosmos."
I have so many questions. "What are you saying? Most importantly, How do you—"
"Kuaaaghhhhhhh—!"
A scream shook the entire ground beneath us. An explicit sensation of terror grazes my skin. Stephanie and Professor Eukla were not bothered by it, but instead, they took a sip from their cup. They're not even fazed. Am I the only one in this room who heard it? Am I hallucinating?
"Am I hearing things? Did you guys not hear that?"
"Don't let it bother you. A rogue spirit was in my basement, it's been attempting to unshackle itself by force. Don't mind it. You'll get used to it. Probably, it will continue for around fifty more times before stoppin—"
Professor Eukla turns her head around to the door, or on the door where my eyes have been fixated, all this time. The bothering tingle has been pricking the rapid beating of my heart. Noticeably, Stephanie also sensed it too. The ground shook once again. From the door, dark slimy, web-like arms emerge, crawling their way to the ceiling above us. Everything it touches rots.
Professor Eukla stood up, as she lifts both of her arms up along with her palm forward. Soon after, tens or even hundreds of small orbs emerges in front of us creating a barrier, it didn't take long before lines appear from her hands connecting to each orb in the air. A massive burst of wind came right after all the lines finished connecting.
"Bring forth, eighty-eight crowns. The stars shall align and bring the light of heaven. I, the seeker of the twilight, Eukla, shall imprison you. Ethernum Prison."
Professor Eukla closes her hands and the orbs gradually got farther away from us, as the arms that are crawling from the gaps of the door get smaller and smaller as time passes. Before disappearing before our very eyes. Stephanie's shaking hands interlock it on mine, which caught my attention.
"As days pass, the seal that's keeping it has been weakening from its brute nature. There were at times, where I need to face it head-on just to keep it inside. And, I think this place will be more dangerous in the future if I don't take action now."
I narrowed my eyes and suspiciously looks at the professor, as the creature that I saw was kind of similar to the one from my memories—The mysterious quest where I met Alicia. The dreadful sensation and the similar appearance are all alike. Yet, I'm not sure whether they're the same, as Professor Eukla mentions it as a spirit.
And one word surfaced in my mind. "Research. Are you studying it?"
Professor Eukla turns around and slightly tilts her head. "Yes. I got tasked by the headmaster with studying this creature, but I can't carry out the task of how difficult it is. It appeared last year and luckily enough, we manage to capture and confine it here. However, it looks like, my seal won't last too long... I need to find some ways to strengthen it..."
"Have you thought of killing it?"
"I'm unable to kill it, but if there's a way... I will end its life since it only brings headaches. Everything it touches only brings disaster. It was the most convoluted specimen I've ever had. And... the most disgusting soul..."
"Do you have a description of its appearance?"
"It's like a beast with excessive body parts, sticking on its body. However, its main eyes were pure red, like bloodshot eyes preying on everything its eyes lay on. That's their description of it, yet in my eyes... There's only terror."
"I see..."
Reminiscing those memories still gives shivers to my body. What Professor Eukla said, was true, everything about it. There are things in this world that don't need to exist or should just stay in the dark. As we're prolonging our talk, another disruptive tremble came beneath us.
"Stay away." Professor Eukla said.
Narrowing my eyes, I can see the orb formation moving out of their respective places in response to the violent force they're receiving. "This is such bad timing. My tank is depleted from that dragon princess."
"Contain." Professor Eukla intertwines her finger together.
At the side, Stephanie was preparing herself for the impending danger with her two flaming chakrams on her hands. I also did the same, but I went into a supportive role where I constructed a magic circle around the concealment barrier of Professor Eukla. Originally, Professor Eukla was about to kick Stephanie and me out of her house, but she hesitated on doing so.
At the present moment, both Stephanie and I are in a difficult situation as we're not sure how we can help the professor. Professor Eukla's mana has been draining like crazy. Stephanie nor I can't help her, as we don't have any type of sealing magic on our repertoire.
"Just let me hold this off for a few minutes, it should be enough."
Then, a knock on the door came. "Professor Eukla, hello? Hello? I was sent here by the chief. Professor Eukla?"
The unlikely chance of encountering the same monster on my first few days here, adding the person outside. I can't help but curse my own luck. Why at this school out of all the places that I visited? I already know that these creatures are somehow linked to Alicia or even me. If I count the specters I encountered back in the city, they also had some resemblance
The person outside of the door kept knocking a few times. Its tone was similar to a kid. Once we heard the kid's voice, Professor firmed herself by pouring everything she got... However...