After descending into the basement, Finden Ai and I remained silent. Although we illuminated the place with magic, it was too dark and the space was too wide to see anything beyond the immediate area.
"Hmm, it's a really large place."
Finden Ai looked around, grumbling.
"Do you feel anything?"
"Yes, I do. The smell of death is strong."
"...."
She looked around with a frown on her face. Her crimson eyes seemed to have adapted to the darkness in an instant, watching something that I couldn't.
Now that it was like this, I felt useless for not being able to see anything. I transformed souls into light and walked through the room.
The screams of the souls echoed like the sound of the wind… though it didn't bother me.
"...."
Finally, I saw what Finden Ai had been seeing.
This place was some kind of warehouse.
The only strange thing was… numerous pieces of bones were stuck together, waiting for someone to discover them.
"Kya, who did this!? Guardian of the Glorious Verdi family, or was it just a monster that ate these many people?"
Finden Ai said and touched the bones on the floor with her foot.
It was a shocking scene, but in a way, I understood.
'So, that's why the mansion was overflowing with evil spirits.'
Now I understood why so many evil spirits with grudges were haunting the mansion.
[Kiaaaak!]
At that moment, one of the souls illuminating the area went out with a scream. From then on, one by one, the souls were sucked somewhere.
My gaze turned to the source of the problem. An eerie blue light burst out from the end and soon immediately brightened the basement. And a huge centipede with a human face emerged from among the bone fragments that were piled up as a mountain.
The centipede made up of white bones was hurriedly absorbing the souls that had been earlier absorbed by me.
[No! I hate it!]
[Save me!]
[I don't want to die!]
The spirits screamed as if recalling memories of their actual death.
Looking at this soul-eating monster, I realized why Scram had not wanted to come here.
"A centipede made of human bones?"
Apparently, even Finden Ai - who walked in front of me with a laugh - could see that monster too.
"Master, I don't think we can just catch this thing with bare hands. We need an ax or something."
The centipede's momentum was so great that even Finden Ai thought it was threatening and complained that she did not have a good weapon to fight it.
Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!
The centipede approached us with footsteps that sounded like insects being crushed. It looked like it was going to open its mouth wide and devour us right away.
"Hey, you!"
I spoke at Finden-Ai's actions, who hurriedly turned around, then carrying me like a load, she headed for the entrance.
I protested again with my eyes, asking why she was carrying me like this, but Fenden Ai just chuckled as she ran.
"It's good to have a competent maid, right master? If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead already."
"Phew, don't rescue me in such an uncool way next time."
"You have a lot of demands, master! But… if that monster goes up, won't the mansion collapse?"
"It's okay. If it hasn't come out of the underground until now, it probably won't be able to even now."
"Hehe, it would be fun if it followed us."
While being dangled on the shoulder of grinning Finden Ai, I set my eyes on the centipede monster.
Its face looked like a human skull, and its body stretched out like a giant centipede with many human bones on each side serving as legs.
'… … A centipede made of human bones.'
I followed its end with my eyes. Earlier, the souls illuminating the basement were eaten by it, so I just conjured the light using pure mana and looked at where its body ended.
"....!"
At the end of the centipede was not just a simple tail as I had expected. Instead, an expressionless girl with half of her skin peeled off and a hole in her chest was being dragged around.
The centipede was connected to the girl's heart.
Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!
After passing through the entrance, Finden Ai started to climb the stairs. The skeleton centipede also twisted its body and broke through the entrance, starting to crawl up the stairs.
"It's really disgustingly creepy!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Fenden Ai lowered her body and grabbed me tightly with both hands. Then, she grinned.
"Hold on tight, master."
When I wrapped my arms around her neck, the overwhelming mana that Finden Ai had been hiding came out like an explosion, allowing her to climb more than half of the passage in one leap.
In addition, because the point that Finden Ai used as a stepping stone collapsed due to the shock, the skeleton centipede could no longer chase us.
Finally, we reached the first basement level. Fenden Ai had a refreshing expression, saying that she had moved her body after a long time, but my expression turned a little serious.
'Who is that girl?'
A girl whose heart was connected to a giant bone centipede could not be normal. And the Centipede was too large to simply be considered a parasite.
As I delved deeper into my thoughts, I was about to fall into a feeling of being alone in the deep sea-
Grasp!
-Realizing this, Finden Ai stood in front of me, grasping Darius' wrist, who came running and tried to slap me on the cheek.
"Let it go! If you have been favored by a foreign lord, you should obey quietly and not interfere with the master!"
"My master is not you, though?"
That was right.
Finden Ai was not part of the Verdi family but belonged to me.
I glanced at Darius and asked softly, "Did you know what was in there?"
"What? What's it to you? Your job is to just drink and fool around with women as usual! Don't forget that you promised not to interfere with family matters!"
Did I make such a promise?
Sorry, but that wasn't me.
"I'll ask you again. Did you know what was inside, brother?"
"You figure it out on your own-!"
"-Break it."
Crack!
"Aaaargh!"
My brother's wrist, which was caught by Finden Ai, was neatly broken. The servants in the back were surprised and tried to approach Darius in a hurry.
But as I stepped forward with a sudden movement, they backed away.
I looked down at Darius, who was writhing on the ground in pain and warned him.
"Don't test my patience anymore, brother. I'll ask one last time, did you know?"
* * *
The Dean's Office of the Robern Academy:
Karen and Professor Erica Bright were having a heated argument in front of the Dean.
"We need to bring back Professor Deus."
At the first attack of Keren, Erica frowned and refused.
"Are you kidding me? Do you realize how little time it's been since Professor Deus was dismissed?"
Erica turned her gaze naturally to the Dean and continued speaking.
"Dismissal is the highest disciplinary action. There's a law designated by the kingdom that prohibits re-appointment for a certain period of time after Dismissal. If we bring Deus back here, not only will the royal law be looked down upon, it will also undermine the authority of the Robern Academy."
As she added that the support of the royal family, which was already shaky, could become even more opaque, the Dean's expression darkened.
Karen sneered, incredulous.
"So what? Is this insignificant authority more important? Haven't you seen the atrocities of the strange ghosts with me? Professor Deus was the first to understand that!"
"Deus was just lucky to know about it. Now that we have found clues, we can also adequately respond."
"No! Ha..."
Karen was always rational and cool-headed in combat, but in such a debate, the techniques she had learned from her mercenary work were of no use.
Now, frustrated and incredulous, Karen looked at Erica directly and asked, "Why on earth? Weren't we solving cases together just yesterday? Why did you suddenly change like this?"
"I haven't changed. I have been doing my best to resolve the incident, and I will continue to do so with all my power."
"Stop."
The debate seemed like it would continue indefinitely, but eventually, the Dean, who had remained silent with a dignified appearance, spoke up.
He was a warm-looking man, but today he looked infinitely serious as he contemplated.
Eventually, he answered.
"It is impossible to reinstate Deus, but let's at least hear his advice. From the circumstances, it seems to be true that he knows something about the current situation."
"Yes, I understand."
Erica Bright bowed her head deeply in satisfaction, and Keren turned and stepped out of the dean's office biting her lip.
Seeing Karen like that, the Dean sighed and said to Erica.
"It seems that Professor Erica doesn't want anything to do with Deus."
"... "
She agreed with silence.
"I will separately contact the Verdi family. Professor, please take good care of the students and work hard to resolve the incident."
"I understand."
Erica bowed her head and stepped out into the hallway, looking at the sky.
The strangely dark sky and the thick clouds that seemed to represent the unsettling situation of the academy, even though not a single drop of rain was falling, were a sight to behold.
In fact, there were many ways to reinstate Deus Verdi. In the first place, he was a guest professor invited thanks to Erica.
In other words, he was a non-regular employee.
Of course, it was only a matter of time before he was appointed as a regular professor, as he had demonstrated his ability as a skilled professor for three months.
In fact, the recommendation letter for his appointment as a regular professor had already been sent to the royal palace.
But before that could be approved, the letter for dismissal was sent, and it passed first.
According to the Kingdom's Law, the punishment of dismissal could not be given to a guest professor like Deus Verdi. At most, he could only be dismissed from his position.
So, he received disciplinary action in a position where he couldn't actually receive one.
It was unbelievable, but she did it.
If she was asked how there was nothing she could answer except that Gideon's Zeronia family had exerted their power.
'I'll make sure you don't come back to this academy no matter what, Deus.'
As she walked down the hallway, Erica clenched her fists and reaffirmed the promise she'd made herself.
'I will definitely stop you from returning.'
Even if she used nonsensical logic.
Even if she had to act like she was going out with a goddamn narcissist…
She'd do it.
Because… that's…
'The only way to save you.'