Chapter 46: 'He'
In the empty hallway of the third-floor stadium, where the sound of the audience could be heard, an energetic voice rang.
"Professor Neil," Catharina said, "I was wondering if I could get the potion formula for curing mana depletion."
She looked up at "Neil" in anticipation.
"Catharina is a very curious child," Professor "Neil" spoke, patting her purple-haired head.
"This kind of formula isn't being taught for the first year."
"Hehe," Catharina laughed cutely and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry for always bothering you, professor."
"Curiosity is a virtue, I don't mind," Professor "Neil" said. "Why don't you come to my lab some other day?"
Catharina's light purple eyes sparkled. "I can finally visit your lab. You're finally letting me in? Can we go now?"
Professor Neil paused. "Let's talk it over in my private- office. But are you sure you don't want to watch the rest of the matches?"
"No, I'm sure Ash's team would win anyway," Catharina spoke and shook her head.
"I'm sure your boyfriend would be happy if you were there though," Professor "Neil" raised an eyebrow.
Catharina blushed. "We're not dating..." She paused for a long time, and her face turned red to the base of her ears. "Yet."
"I'm sure he would still be happy." He encouraged her.
"No, I'd rather go read," her voice held some accusation.
"As you wish... If I remember correctly, I have some books you can have." Professor "Neil" agreed.
"Oh, oh. Oh," Catharina's eyes widened a bit, and she nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, I'd love to, Professor."
"Professor doesn't give his book to anyone." She almost jumped up from excitement. "Does that mean I can finally be your disciple?"
Professor Neil pondered the matter and asked, "Let's talk it over in my lab. Why do you want to be my disciple, though?"
Catharina didn't understand why he suddenly asked her; she had told him millions of times already. But she spoke her mind in clouds. "Knowledge. Professor Neil's knowledge about history, mana, and radiation is top-notch in this academy and potentially Marcoos."
"If I can learn from you, I'm sure I will get closer to my goal of becoming a true omni-lady," she exclaimed.
Professor Neil's footsteps paused. "Omniscience is a dangerous word, little lady."
He turned around, looking at her, his eyes distant. "I've spent years searching, and I've wasted decades of my life studying, but this world is truly unfair."
Sensing the atmosphere turning ambiguous, Catharina shivered and retreated a step. "P- Professor."
"Hearing you speak reminded me of my younger days." 'Neil's' eyes on her were as dark as the bottomless abyss. "My younger days that I'd like to destroy."
"This world is truly cruel, leaving all its secrets to itself. That's unfair, very unfair," Neil said as the whites of his eyes turned from white to completely black.
"You're not..." Catharina felt anxiety as her legs weakened, falling on her butt. "Who- who- who are you?"
"You-you're not a professor," Catharina tried to retreat in horror, her lips quivering. "What are you?"
"Me? I no longer have a name." Neil's previously shiny green hair and eyes turned drastically muddy, his mouth open wide.
'H- help me.' Catharina couldn't open her mouth. She felt a warm liquid running down her eyes. "P- professor."
That was the last word she uttered; Catharina couldn't avoid the fate of having her body stolen.
Crunch. Munch-
"Pure young virgin souls never disappointed my appetite." Standing in the hallway, 'Catharina' looked at Neil's decaying body and then up at the cameras.
Pitter-Patter-
The sound of footsteps rang out as guns, swords, mana, and radiation held up against 'her.'
Taking a step forward, the body couldn't survive a second with the overwhelming attack; the scene turned chaotic as a transparent soul manifested, traveling from one body to another.
No one knew who fired the first shot; bodies fell like puppets, and no one knew who the imposter was anymore.
Burp-
A full-clad body in a black protective suit, an ordinary seemingly nothing wrong with, Union Guard moved toward the VIP room, leaving corpses behind whenever he passed through.
Wherever he stepped, the loud sound of leather boots striking on the floor rang, and now the guard stepped forward, changing bodies from one to another.
'Who is he? 'He' has no concept of time and space, an existence that cheated death.
A being that left the realm of mortals and gained eternal life. 'He' can be anything and nothing.
'He' who lost his own story in the long passage of time, the memories that formed his existence belonged to the thousands of souls he consumed.
'He' is not a one person. 'He' became a collection of stories that couldn't be told, stories with no viewers or readers to know.
Pitter - Patter
Getting closer with nothing, keeping him away from the top, the most protected VIP room, he wondered, 'Where are the Blue Hearts?'
Squeak- Squeak-
The sound of a door opening and closing from behind rang, and the 'Union Guard' turned around.
"What does an ordinary Guard of the Union do on the top floor of the VIPs?" Professor Lucas's sound lit through the corridor full of corpses. "And, what happened here?"
"A villain has been found; I'm here to check on the VIPs," 'He' spoke in a respectful manner, moving toward him in faint steps. "Professor Lucas, I need to check your permit, and why are you here?"
"Since, unfortunately, Professor Alfred is no longer available, I have stepped forward to entertain the other Academies' head professors."
Lucas's eye bags were red; his eyeglass was broken. Searching in his suit pocket, he found no spare. He said, "By the way, do you have spare eyeglasses by any chance, hmmm..."
Bam- Bam- Bam---
Standing face to face, 'He' looked into Lucas's blurry eyes.
"You see, I've eaten a lot today, but I don't mind having your body for a change; this one started to corrode already." 'He' spoke.
"Excuse me, I said..."
"You seem like you would last longer, academy professors are way stronger than your average mob, after all." 'He' spoke.
Crash-
The world turned upside down, and 'He' spun around; all his limbs twisted unnaturally at an impossible angle.
"Huh... Body possession? What a disgusting magic." Lucas raised the body of the 'guard' up with one hand as if holding a slaughtered pig. A smile crept up on his face.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH" 'He' screamed, pain transmitted through every fiber of his soul. 'That is impossible.'
The smile in Lucas' blood-red eyes that was obscured turned increasingly malicious. "So, this is how that old man died."
'He' felt scared for the first time. "It's all over once I take your body."
Lucas's hand ran through his obsidian black hair. "No, you can't."
"I... No; no, no, no, I don't want to die." 'He' looked up in despair, realizing he couldn't leave this body.
"Shut up and vanish; you're a worthless bug," Lucas ordered with eyes that held nothing but disgust, looking down as if passing judgment.
"I'M A GOD, THE WORLD CAN'T DENY ME." 'He' screamed hysterically sensing his death had thrown him into a frenzy.
'He' heard and sensed the blood vessels burst, bones breaking, skin peeling, and his soul breaking apart; his existence was being denied.
'No, I haven't realized my dreams; I haven't brought back the beloved that I lost; I want my mom; Ash still doesn't love me back...' fragments of pained souls cried in despair.
"And I still haven't got eyeglasses yet... Achoo." Lucas sneezed.
"I don't want to die." Those were 'His' last words before turning into nothingness.
"Rest in peace, Alfred."
Knock- Knock-
"It's this time of year when the weather turns cold," Lucas knocked on the door where the four leaders sat. "I hate winter."
*****
The door opened shortly after, and the four world leaders frowned.
"You look like a miserable wretch, Professor Lucas," Adis' eyes widened in surprise, throwing him a new pair of eyeglasses.
"Thank you." Lucas stepped in and performed a small bow. "I'm sorry for coming uninvited."
"Come take a seat first," Adam said. "What happened to you?"
"What happened outside, and where are the Blue Hearts?" Malik asked.
"I dismissed them," Lucas said. "'He' wasn't an opponent they could deal with."
Lucas took a gulp of hot chocolate and concluded his report on what had taken place outside.
"Muhahaah, you sneezed so hard your glasses broke." Malik laughed so hard his fat stomach hurt. He blinked away a tear and said, "Phew, so you're the one fighting outside just now."
Lucas nodded and said halfway up his seat, "I will be standing outside to protect you; if you need anything, call me."
"Sit down," Andrew spoke, swirling his glass of wine. "You can do a better job from inside."
The atmosphere turned silent again.
"Who do you think will win? Lucas," Adis asked, trying to change the mood again.
"Erou," Lucas said confidently. "I have faith in our students."
Hours passed, and the five comfortably chatted, commenting on the performance of different contestants.
[Ladies and gentlemen, here we come back for an exciting fight for the last time today.]
The MC's voice still sounded energetic.
[Everyone, get ready; the Last Battle Game of the second event will begin.]