Thud!
The seal on the gem containing the Kreshain's consciousness was broken.
"Kiiiiyahhh!"
By the way, these black, egg-like creatures were Kreshain's consciousness.
Kreshain's consciousness only appeared in dark environments, so they had purposely blocked the windows. However, the creatures quickly emerged.
'And ordinary attacks won't work.'
I had prepared a special substance from the golden maple forest the day before and glued it to my hands and sword.
"What is this?"
Yurie, who had received my help, shouted.
She hadn't been expected to be part of the investigation team.
'Wasn't this supposed to be Bart or Berial's responsibility?'
It didn't matter either way.
Since it wasn't a magical phenomenon, Bart and Berial couldn't do anything even if they were here.
In fact, Bart and Berial wouldn't even know about the existence in the golden maple forest. Without that knowledge, they wouldn't be able to solve the problems that occurred here.
"What is this, Adrias?"
I had to figure out how to explain this.
That's why I had come here first. I didn't expect her to follow me.
"I don't know either. As you can see, some strange creatures came out, and it's obvious they're monsters. So, I killed them."
"Is this the culprit who killed the students?"
Dianne, who belatedly inspected the fallen consciousness creatures, discovered that they had been hit by my attacks and dispersed.
They were momentarily stunned but soon decided to leave.
"Adrias, I know you're amazing, but let's get out of here for now. We don't know what else might happen, and you were too hasty."
"Alright."
I didn't want to argue pointlessly here. I had already arrived first and defeated a number of the consciousness creatures. It didn't matter.
'The remaining consciousness creatures are probably few in number. Maybe we've already caught them all.'
So, as soon as we stepped outside,
Crash!
Somewhere, there was the sound of glass breaking, and the ground shook.
The group exchanged bewildered glances, and the guards stationed in front of the dormitory also looked around in surprise.
'No way?'
Already a second phase?
The first phase involved the Mulfery dormitory, and as it expanded, it eventually resulted in chaos throughout the entire magical department.
"It's too fast."
I immediately asked Dianne,
"Where are the professors who were supposed to investigate with us?"
"They're supposed to finish their afternoon classes and meet us for dinner. I'll contact them now."
Contacting them wasn't important.
I wanted to know where Charon was.
At this rate, Charon was probably still in the golden maple forest.
'Why is he in such a hurry? I've already removed all traces of Kyle, so there's no need to rush.'
It seems that something is going on.
There must be a reason for Charon to act in such haste.
"Look at that!"
Yurie pointed to a building.
All the windows of the building were shattered, and what was strange was that objects inside were floating in mid-air.
"Did someone make a mistake while conducting an experiment again?"
That was another unusual occurrence.
Most likely, people would think that it was caused by magic.
With things turning out like this, my plan to get more information from Deos had to be adjusted.
'Since Charon is acting recklessly, I'll have to change my plans.'
Given my current strength, I could probably handle this situation alone without the need for a party.
"Dianne, I have a prior commitment, so I'll go ahead."
"What? A commitment? All of a sudden?"
"I'll see you tonight."
I ignored Dianne's puzzled words and immediately headed towards the Golden Maple Forest.
.
.
.
.
Between trees adorned with yellow leaves, Charon Diflen carefully moved his body.
Carrying a small backpack in one hand, he looked around cautiously and eventually stood in front of a particular tree.
Rustle.
He took something out of the backpack, scattered it on the ground, and meticulously drew something on the ground.
"Time is running out."
Charon, feeling a shiver down his spine as he measured the weight of the backpack, recalled the unexpected contact he had received a few days ago.
"Charon Diflen, how's life at the academy these days?"
The sudden message came from someone he hadn't interacted with much lately, Hegel.
"These days, it seems like your student is doing quite well."
"...It appears so."
"Your student is flourishing, while you seem to have no news and no achievements recently."
Hegel's words had echoed in his mind.
Charon wondered why Hegel had suddenly contacted him. He had no desire to hear the story of Adrias, but he silently listened to Hagel's admonishing words.
"Recently, I suggested to your student to participate in the assembly. Do you know about it?"
"The assembly... you mean?"
"Yes. We've been in trouble lately. So I thought we should make some changes."
Charon clenched his fist at Hegel's inconsiderate choice of words. Lately, he had already been finding it difficult to deal with Adrias, and now he might even lose his position to him.
"Performance... I'll deliver it. Please wait a little longer."
"Hmm. I'll wait until the end of this year. In the meantime, make sure to supervise your student."
"Understood."
After reflecting on his contact with Hegel, Charon tried to remain calm. Recently, vampires, Adrias, and now even Hegel had interfered. Normally, Hegel wouldn't dare to treat him carelessly, but his recent lack of accomplishments and Adrias' growing success made him feel trapped. Even Morne, his own mentor, seemed to be showing an inclination to protect Adrias, which frustrated Charon. In the midst of this, he remembered the ancient demon sealing documents.
'The seal of an ancient demon.'
It wasn't even clear if it was real. Moreover, it was a dark magic document with no identifiable author. At first, he dismissed it as nonsense but decided to investigate further because he wanted to grasp any opportunity he could. The results were as he expected.
"Jackpot."
An eerie aura was gradually covering the entire mountain. What he was currently doing was a ritual to unseal the ancient demon. Fortunately, the method of unsealing was roughly outlined in the documents.
'Thanks to this, things have become easier.'
His goal was to unseal the ancient demon and turn it into an undead. If he succeeded, he would leave this suffocating academy, create his own domain, and ignore Hegel's interference. He'd also get rid of the arrogant Adrias once and for all.
'Now, only three more to go.'
Today, he would unseal the last one. The amount of mana he had consumed for the unsealing had been more than expected, so he had done it over several days.
"Almost there!"
Suddenly, a strange sound made Charon turn his head. The trees were bending in eerie ways. As the seals were being released, bizarre events were occurring, confirming that the seals were indeed breaking.
Perhaps the strange incidents at the Mulfery Dormitory were also related to this, but Charon didn't pay much attention to them. After all, he was a dark mage.
He continued towards the last magic circle he needed to engrave today when he saw a chilling sight that sent shivers down his spine.
"Who did this?"
He looked around frantically, but there were no signs or traces of anyone nearby. Carefully surveying the area, he approached the spot where he had originally intended to draw the magic circle.
However, when he got closer, he realized that someone had already drawn the magic circle there.
"What in the world..."
Did he make a mistake? Did he return to a place he had already been? No, that wasn't possible. He couldn't have made such a rookie mistake.
'Could someone else know about this? Could these strange occurrences be related to the unsealing?'
Various thoughts raced through his mind. Just then, he heard a rustling sound behind him, followed by a voice calling his name.
"Charon Diflen."
The voice was familiar. Charon slowly turned to face the person who had called him.
Amidst all the unexpected events, it was Adrias Cromwell who stood there.
"Adrias Cromwell. Why are you here?"
Was it a hallucination caused by the unsealing? However, Adrias looked too real to dismiss it as a mere illusion.
Charon questioned whether it was all part of the strange phenomena brought about by the unsealing. Yet, he decided to use Mana Detect to confirm the reality of the situation.
Adrias seemed to sense Charon's use of Mana Detect, and with a sly smile, he spoke, "I assure you, I'm real."
Charon couldn't shake off the eerie feeling. Could it be that Adrias had just drawn the unsealing magic circle?
"Why are you really here?" Charon asked again.
"Why, isn't it natural for a student to assist their master?" Adrias replied, wearing a mocking expression.
Charon felt a chill running down his spine. Could it be that the unsealing magic circle he had just found was drawn by Adrias?
"This can't be real. How did you even know…" Charon mumbled.
"Why are you so surprised? In any case, I've finished my part, so I should step aside for now," Adrias said calmly, taking a step back.
As he moved away, he smiled enigmatically and said, "Please, do your best to struggle."
"What are you talking about!" Charon shouted, his composure slipping away.
Suddenly, a chilling sensation washed over him. It sounded like an animal's cry, and the trees around them withered and twisted, losing their vitality.
Charon realized the terrible truth. The seal on the ancient mausoleum had been completely released.
"Ah…" Charon gasped, and a deep sense of despair overcame him.
He had been mistaken. What he was facing now was not something he could turn into an undead. To create an undead, one needed to kill the target. But this… this was a monster.
He had underestimated the ancient mausoleum, far more than when he first saw his master. In his desperation, he had lost his vision.
However, the mausoleum that appeared before his eyes was nothing like what he had imagined.
Uuu.
It had a bipedal gait, with four withered, grotesque arms. Its massive face extended all the way to its chest, revealing human-like teeth.
As it lumbered toward him, it appeared to be over three meters tall.
Charon, in desperation, summoned his undead and shouted, "Adrias!"
.
.
.
.
Just like in the game, the situation was the same here.
Charon, for some reason, had overestimated his abilities and assumed he could take on the ancient demon alone. He had made plans based on that assumption, but the ancient mausoleum, Kreshain, was not an opponent to be underestimated.
'In the game, all players had to form a party and barely managed to defeat it, and that was with Ivy Claire joining us as well.'
Crash!
Craaaaash!
The fierce battle between Charon and his undead was visible. Normally, Charon would only succeed in summoning his undead, and then he would fail to encounter Kreshain.
Kreshain would usually engage the players before making its escape. However, unlike Kyle's case, Kreshain typically failed to escape and died in the process.
'In the game, I would have died in this chapter as well,' Adrias thought. 'The only reason I was able to find and steal the unsealing magic circle was because I had the opportunity to be alone in Charon's laboratory.'
In the game, he had done precisely this — finding the unsealing magic circle, gathering the required materials, and personally drawing it. However, he would be discovered by Charon, leading to his death. Then, Charon would become the next victim.
"Adrias!"
Charon's cry reached Adrias, who had perched himself atop a withered tree. He watched as Charon's desperate struggle unfolded below.
Even though I had given Charon the opportunity to meet the ancient mausoleum he desired, he seemed to be getting angry.
Boom!
"Ugh!"
Most of the undead were nearly defeated, and one of Kreshain's massive arms enlarged before swinging at Charon and knocking him aside.
Indeed, even Charon couldn't stand against Kreshain alone. Nevertheless, it helped me take care of Charon while I prepared for my turn.
The reason I hadn't actively prevented the unsealing was that it had to do with Galakshur.
'The first seal of Galakshur is released by the blood of the ancient mausoleum,' I thought.
For this episode, I had gone through the hassle of bringing the dragon, to satisfy that requirement.
Beside me, a black rift opened, and crimson scales brushed past.
"Krivmaher."
It was time to settle the score.