Chapter 36

EP.36 The Stench of Decay (1)

The second week of classes has ended.

I was about to head to the café when a student suddenly came to the faculty office, and thanks to her, I found myself in a difficult situation.

If it were an ordinary student, I could have simply told her to come back a little later. However, the one who came to see me was far from ordinary.

The Fourth Princess, Ayla.

She smiled brightly.

“Shall we go, then?”

“...What?”

“You promised, didn’t you? That you would help me investigate after class.”

“It was more like...”

Wasn’t it somewhat forced?

I gave her a subtle look, but Ayla’s attitude remained firm.

“Hmm.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

I wiped the corner of my eye.

“Yes, let’s go.”

In fact, I felt uneasy too.

If Princess Ayla was this insistent, there must be something going on.

“Thank you for your help!”

“Ah, yes...”

2.

Stella, the Child of the Stars.

Blessed by the stars, they hear the whispers of the cosmos. This is different from the hero’s ability; there is no mutual communication.

It’s just a one-sided whisper.

However, this one-sided whisper sometimes touches the realm of prophecy.

The Fourth Princess, Ayla.

She has experienced prophecy in the form of intuition. Many times. Though it’s called intuition for convenience, an intuition that never fails is close to prophecy.

This intuition is now sounding an alarm.

“...”

Ayla’s gaze turned to her index finger.

‘It’s uncomfortable.’

She bent her tingling index finger and lifted her head. The corridor stretched out on both sides of the faculty office, just like always.

However, the further she walked, the more her index finger tingled. The tingling soon turned into pain.

“I feel bad.”

Ayla muttered.

“The entire corridor feels bad. It’s like my breath is being cut off. My stomach is churning.”

“...”

“I’ve never felt this before. Are you listening, Professor?”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

In response to Ayla’s question, the woman walking beside her nodded. Her ash-gray hair swayed slightly.

Lania von Trias.

A character with a strange connection to Ayla.

Originally, Ayla planned to call her bodyguard, Havel, to search the corridor together.

However, this person.

The moment she met Lania, her mind changed.

‘Havel would be sad if he heard this...’

Ayla found the woman walking beside her more reliable than Havel, with whom she had spent a long time.

‘The stars are whispering too.’

As always, she didn’t quite understand the reason. She just felt it.

“Hmm...”

Ayla glanced sideways at Lania, who was always a bit unique.

Her build was not much different from Ayla’s.

At most, she was a bit taller and more mature-looking, but even that was a bit of a stretch.

‘It’s more like a difference in aura...’

The aura she exuded was that much more alien. It was heavy and sharp, different from both the students and the ordinary professors.

It was like the aura of a soldier.

This unique aura was not hidden even by her neat robes or her title as a professor.

As Ayla stared at her, Lania suddenly turned to look at Ayla. Her gaze carried a hint of unease.

‘She seems... uncomfortable?’

Is she uncomfortable?

Ayla tilted her head.

“I’ll go ahead.”

“Huh?”

After saying that, she took a large step forward.

Thud.

While Ayla moved cautiously, the woman strode confidently forward. Ayla pouted at the sight.

‘Did she just... deliberately avoid me? Just now?’

Even if that’s the case, it’s a bit too much.

“Please slow down, Professor.”

“If there’s something here, as you say, shouldn’t we check it out quickly?”

Despite Ayla’s grumbling, the woman’s steps were unhesitant. Ayla quickened her pace to catch up with the swaying end of the robe.

‘But, something feels ominous...’

The unease didn’t dissipate. Instead, it grew. The corridor looked normal, but as they approached its deeper end, Ayla felt like she was entering the mouth of a beast or a dark, unknown cave.

‘What could it be?’

The kingdom’s top academy, Aphria.

What could cause her fingers to tingle in the heart of the academy?

‘It feels like something is crawling under my feet.’

Her body itched.

It felt like insects were crawling inside her clothes, something unpleasant crawling up her spine.

And then.

“Ah.”

The discomfort reached its peak.

“There.”

At the end of the corridor.

The tightly closed faculty office door.

“There, it is.”

Ayla’s finger pointed at the door. She endured the pain in her finger and continued speaking.

“There...”

At that moment.

“Excuse me.”

“Huh?”

Thud.

Lania pushed Ayla away. Ayla, who was pushed without understanding why, looked at Lania with a puzzled expression.

“Why...?”

Before her question could be fully formed.

Boom!

The wall exploded with a loud noise. Rocks flew up, and dust rose. The explosion was aimed at where Ayla had just been standing.

And.

It was also where Lania had been standing.

Thud, thud.

Pebbles fell from above. As the dust settled, the corridor came into view.

The debris from the collapsed wall was everywhere.

The corridor leading to the door was completely blocked by a pile of rocks. Ayla’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly. She sat down and covered her mouth with her hand.

‘The wall... collapsed.’

Ayla recalled.

‘Something exploded? No, something... struck it.’

At the moment the wall exploded, she thought she saw a massive figure. Though it was now hidden by the debris, she felt something was beyond it.

She needed to run.

But Ayla couldn’t.

The wall had collapsed.

In the collapsed spot, Professor Lania was there.

‘At the moment the wall collapsed.’

Clearly, the professor had pushed her away. Recalling this, Ayla’s expression twisted.

“Ugh...”

If she had noticed and pushed her away, she could have avoided it. But she didn’t.

Why didn’t she avoid it?

The answer came quickly.

‘She was trying to protect me.’

She got caught in the explosion while trying to protect her. Ayla couldn’t imagine anyone surviving such an explosion. She clenched her teeth and stood up.

The wall had collapsed.

A pile of rocks lay there.

Someone had gotten caught while trying to protect her.

The series of events triggered Ayla’s memories, bringing back a painful past she had long forgotten.

“I don’t want to.”

She reached out to the pile of rocks. They were large and heavy, barely moving.

“I don’t want to.”

She didn’t want to be a burden again.

She didn’t want to see someone die while trying to protect her, like before.

“Ugh, ugh...”

With trembling hands, she moved the rocks, her voice rising in desperation.

“Professor Lania! If you can hear me...”

“Yes, what is it?”

Huh?

“Huh?”

Ayla stopped her hands.

“...Professor Lania?”

“Yes, why are you calling me?”

A voice came.

The voice was very calm.

“A-are you... okay?”

“I’m fine. Please step back.”

“Ah, yes...”

‘What am I hearing? Am I hallucinating?’

Despite her thoughts, Ayla obediently stepped back. Soon, the pile of rocks began to shift.

“Ah, damn. Dust.”

An irritable voice.

Smite.

Boom! The pile of rocks shifted and then tumbled down. Someone walked out from the debris.

“Cough, cough. Oh...”

A dry cough.

Ayla stared blankly at the figure who was waving away the dust.

Lania von Trias.

The woman who was supposed to be buried under the rocks was completely unharmed. There wasn’t even a small scratch. Even her robe was only slightly dusty, with no tears or damage.

“Yes, so...”

She tilted her head.

“Why did you call me?”

Suddenly, Ayla looked at what the woman was holding in her hand.

‘...A head?’

A monster’s head, dripping with green blood. Ayla slowly lifted her head.

“...A-are you... okay?”

“I’m fine.”

It wasn’t just a polite response; she really did look fine.

Ayla was speechless.

3.

Blink.

The third floor of the Central Academy.

Rak, who had been lying on his bed, opened his eyes. He had planned to take a nap due to fatigue, but it seemed he wouldn’t be able to.

“...”

He silently sat up.

Then he extended his hand. It pointed to the hand axe on his desk.

‘Something is coming.’

He held a hand axe in each hand.

He got out of bed and swung his arms once.

“It smells of decay.”

Clang!

The hand axes clashed.

Small sparks flew, and the spell Stocked in them absorbed Rak’s mana.

Haste.

Enhance-Strength.

The veins in his arms stood out.

Rak lifted his right arm above his head and grabbed the doorknob. He counted silently.

One, two, three...

‘Now.’

Slam!

-Squeak!

As he opened the door, an undead that had been holding the doorknob was dragged out. The upper body of a decaying zombie pushed into the room.

And then.

Rak’s right arm moved.

The hand axe, which had been raised, swung downward. He swung it like a guillotine, striking the undead’s back.

Slash!

The axe cut cleanly, separating the undead’s upper and lower body.

Splat!

Blood splattered. Rak didn’t stop. As the separated upper body fell to the floor, Rak released the doorknob and swung the hand axe in his left hand.

‘To kill an undead, you must destroy its head.’

That’s what he learned from the northern warriors.

Rak followed their teachings.

Crunch!

He pulled out the hand axe that had crushed the monster’s skull. He shook off the blood. Rak stepped over the headless corpse and walked out of the room, standing in the corridor.

“It smells of decay.”

The stench of decay from the undeads filled the air. Rak frowned. He saw the undeads wandering the corridor. There were quite a few.

‘Where did they come from?’

He didn’t know.

‘What’s going on here?’

He also didn’t know.

“Hmm...”

Rak rotated his wrist.

There was no immediate answer. It was a mystery.

‘What should I do in a situation like this?’

Rak recalled the teachings of the northern warriors.

-You don’t know what to do, young master?

-What are we, young master?

Warriors.

Honorable northern warriors.

-Yes, that’s right. Warriors. What should a warrior do? There’s really only one thing.

“Hmm...”

-If you don’t know, young master.

Rak stopped rotating his wrist.

-Just swing and stab, and the answer will come.

He lifted his arms.

“Indeed.”

He swung and stabbed.

“That’s all it takes.”

An undead fell.

Stepping over the pooled blood, Rak charged at the other undeads.

4.

“Ah, ah...”

Ayla’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly. She sat down and covered her mouth with her hand.

‘The wall... collapsed.’

Ayla recalled.

‘Something exploded? No, something... struck it.’

At the moment the wall exploded, she thought she saw a massive figure. Though it was now hidden by the debris, she felt something was beyond it.

She needed to run.

But Ayla couldn’t.

The wall had collapsed.

In the collapsed spot, Professor Lania was there.

‘At the moment the wall collapsed.’

Clearly, the professor had pushed her away. Recalling this, Ayla’s expression twisted.

“Ugh...”

If she had noticed and pushed her away, she could have avoided it. But she didn’t.

Why didn’t she avoid it?

The answer came quickly.

‘She was trying to protect me.’

She got caught in the explosion while trying to protect her. Ayla couldn’t imagine anyone surviving such an explosion. She clenched her teeth and stood up.

The wall had collapsed.

A pile of rocks lay there.

Someone had gotten caught while trying to protect her.

The series of events triggered Ayla’s memories, bringing back a painful past she had long forgotten.

“I don’t want to.”

She reached out to the pile of rocks. They were large and heavy, barely moving.

“I don’t want to.”

She didn’t want to be a burden again.

She didn’t want to see someone die while trying to protect her, like before.

“Ugh, ugh...”

With trembling hands, she moved the rocks, her voice rising in desperation.

“Professor Lania! If you can hear me...”

“Yes, what is it?”

Huh?

“Huh?”

Ayla stopped her hands.

“...Professor Lania?”

“Yes, why are you calling me?”

A voice came.

The voice was very calm.

“A-are you... okay?”

“I’m fine. Please step back.”

“Ah, yes...”

‘What am I hearing? Am I hallucinating?’

Despite her thoughts, Ayla obediently stepped back. Soon, the pile of rocks began to shift.

“Ah, damn. Dust.”

An irritable voice.

Smite.

Boom! The pile of rocks shifted and then tumbled down. Someone walked out from the debris.

“Cough, cough. Oh...”

A dry cough.

Ayla stared blankly at the figure who was waving away the dust.

Lania von Trias.

The woman who was supposed to be buried under the rocks was completely unharmed. There wasn’t even a small scratch. Even her robe was only slightly dusty, with no tears or damage.

“Yes, so...”

She tilted her head.

“Why did you call me?”

Suddenly, Ayla looked at what the woman was holding in her hand.

‘...A head?’

A monster’s head, dripping with green blood. Ayla slowly lifted her head.

“...A-are you... okay?”

“I’m fine.”

It wasn’t just a polite response; she really did look fine.

Ayla was speechless.