Chapter 319
The door opened.
Kajan and Simon held their breath as they stepped into Walter's laboratory.
"Looks more ordinary than I thought."
"Indeed."
Unlike the first time they came, it now looked somewhat organized.
A neatly arranged desk, coat rack and cabinet, along with a simple tea set and books were in view.
It was just the atmosphere of a tidy administrator's office that could be seen anywhere.
However, Simon felt rather suspicious of such a research room. The Keyzen professors were necromancers before they were educators, and they were fanatical researchers.
Aron's swaying, living dragon bones.
Bahil's enormous blackboard, covered in curse formulas.
Furniture stained by Belya's poison.
A necromancer's personal space had to reflect their own distinct color.
So Walter's office, with no personality at all, felt unnatural.
Clatter.
Simon started by opening the drawers. There were only mundane trade documents, purchase lists, and seals.
Clack.
Clatter.
He opened every drawer he could, but there was nothing useful. It was the very definition of ordinary.
Clang, clang!
At that moment, Kajan was tugging at a locked cabinet.
"Simon, I think there's something inside here."
A spark of interest immediately lit in Simon's eyes.
"Can you open it?"
"I'll give it a try."
While Kajan took out various tools, Simon searched the surroundings like a mouse hunt. He checked under the desk, rummaged through the trash can, and searched the pockets of clothes hanging in the closet.
'How can there be nothing at all?'
He moved to the bookshelf, pulling out a few volumes and opening them. In one of them, he spotted lines that Walter had underlined.
Simon used the magic camera Kajan gave him to capture the line, then turned to another page.
There were also incomprehensible, cryptic passages. After finishing the photos, Simon continued to search the area.
'Ah!'
For the first time, there was a result. In a storage compartment, he found a document apparently signed by Walter.
Laying it out, he compared it in his mind with the handwriting of Bishop Judah of the Blood Heaven Cult.
'I'm not sure.'
The two signatures were of different kinds. Naturally so, since they used different languages.
Bishop Judah of the Blood Heaven Cult had signed in the ancient tongue, while Keyzen Professor Walter signed in the continental language. Simon figured he'd need to ask Dick for handwriting verification.
'If the handwriting turns out to be the same person, it could be vital evidence.'
He photographed it just in case.
Click!
At that moment, Kajan unlocked the cabinet. Simon brightened and ran over.
"As expected of you, Kajan! What's inside?"
"There's something, but I don't know what it is."
"Let me take a look."
Inside the cabinet were boxes filled with red vials. There were a lot of them.
Simon immediately realized what they were.
'Blood-producing injections!'
He had just seen them in this morning's Haematology class, so there was no doubt. It was the very same liquid said to rapidly generate blood.
—But this is still a new technology. Mass production is difficult, and even if you grind a hundred Blood Slimes, you might get only one vial, so the quantity is extremely limited. That's why, in this class, I plan to give the opportunity to try it to just one student with the highest achievement.
Simon's expression grew grim.
'Why did Walter lie?'
He had said the supply was extremely limited, but this amount could easily cover several class sections.
Simon stroked his chin, his face tense.
'Everyone wants to get the injection after this class.'
In Class A, a student named Sophie Santana had shown dramatically improved Haematology magic after receiving the shot.
Even students who, like Simon, had been suspicious of new substances, were captivated by the results of Sophie Santana.
Since the substance was supposedly rare, everyone was hoping to be chosen for the next class.
Walter would give the injection to each student one by one, proving its effect, and thus further amplifying their interest.
'No matter how I think about it, it's suspicious.'
Simon photographed the vials with the magic camera, then took one. Kajan, standing nearby, spoke.
"Won't it be dangerous to take it directly?"
"I'm just going to swap one out."
Simon took out an empty vial and a Blood Potion.
He transferred a little of the injection into the empty vial, then filled the rest with Blood Potion.
"I plan to request an analysis of its contents."
"A good idea."
Simon restored the vial to its original place, then closed and locked the cabinet.
Straightening his back, Kajan asked,
"So, have you found all the clues you wanted here?"
"Yes."
He had obtained Walter's signature and handwriting, as well as the injection's contents.
However, none of them could be called decisive evidence.
"Kajan."
"Hm?"
Simon's expression sank further.
"Shouldn't we also check the basement where that dangerous thing is supposed to be?"
* * *
The two descended the stairs to the problem basement.
It was as deep as the second or third underground floor of a normal building.
In a pitch-dark corridor where they could barely see ahead, they walked wearing mana-powered night-vision goggles.
"I went along with your idea, but I'm not sure we need to go this far."
Kajan scratched his scar as he spoke, while Simon rubbed his throbbing forehead.
"...Honestly, I just want to find proof that Professor Walter is innocent and wash my hands of this matter."
It was also difficult for Simon to suspect others.
However, even though there was no decisive clue, many factors pointed to Walter plotting something strange.
There were countless people who wished for Keyzen's downfall. If Walter really belonged to the Blood Heaven Cult, a dangerous incident like the Saintess case could occur.
And in Keyzen, the only one who both suspected Walter and believed he might be linked to the Blood Heaven Cult was Simon, who had fought them directly on the Holy Train.
There was nothing wrong with approaching the matter cautiously. Simon steeled himself with that thought.
"Deep, isn't it."
Kajan muttered.
"This doesn't seem like the basement I knew for this building."
It was like an underground bunker.
As they carefully advanced, Kajan, walking ahead, stopped and raised a clenched fist.
It was the signal to halt.
'...Ugh.'
A stench strong enough to rot one's nose filled the air, similar to the smell he had encountered in that warehouse piled high with mountains of hearts.
Kajan swept his gaze along the wall, then gestured for Simon to look.
All over, there were horrific bloodstains. The shapes of the splatters were vividly reminiscent of a murder scene.
The two kept their mouths shut and moved forward, minimizing their presence.
'!'
Suddenly, a chill shot straight up Simon's spine.
In the darkness, something had opened its eyes.
There were four of them.
"Kajan, dodge!"
A massive hand lunged out of the darkness.
Both of them threw themselves aside, the floor shaking with a thunderous boom!! from the impact.
Simon, retreating in haste, poured more mana into his night-vision goggles and looked ahead.
'What is that?'
Something grotesque stood there.
Its skin was ragged brown, with traces here and there that looked like they'd been stitched with thread.
On closer inspection, it was as if two giants had been sewn together.
Yet there was only one beating heart, visibly pounding in its chest, the body divided into a male half and a female half.
"A chimera? Looks like it doesn't intend to let us pass."
Kajan spoke as he readied for battle.
The monster leapt, attaching its two legs to the ceiling, and tilted its two inverted faces at them.
The way its head moved with a doll-like clatter made the hair on the back of Simon's neck stand on end.
'It's coming!'
Clinging to the ceiling, it scrambled toward them like a spider, its four pairs of limbs moving in sync. Each scrape of its sharp claws along the wall was enough to make their ears ache.
"Stand back."
Kajan stepped forward.
Without the slightest tremor, like the veteran he was, he leapt and clenched his fist. Darkness wrapped around it.
Buaaaaang—!
A fist carrying the destructive power of a sledgehammer struck squarely in the male half's forehead.
The entire basement shook from the impact, the monster's head snapping back.
"Tsk!"
Kajan's face twisted.
"It didn't go in."
"What?"
A counterattack came immediately, the female half's fist swung down toward Kajan's head.
Kwaaaaaang!
Kajan's body was slammed into the floor. He groaned, "Khgh!" in pain.
'Open Gate!'
Shrrrrrrr!
Shrrrk!
Six tentacle blades shot toward the monster's eyes and heart, but it hopped back to avoid them.
"Tsk."
Kajan staggered to his feet, coughing and wiping the corner of his mouth.
"It's a dangerous chimera. We might not be able to beat it with just our strength."
The monster moved freely across the floor, walls, and ceiling, its eight limbs scuttling like a spider, making excellent use of the cramped space.
"Kajan!"
Simon raised both hands high.
"I'll prepare a curse, just hold it off for five minutes!"
"Got it."
Without questioning, Kajan hurled himself at the monster. As the two clashed fiercely, Simon took a deep breath and sharpened his focus.
Thud!
Kajan's elbow smashed into the back of the monster's head.
The female head slammed down into the floor, but suddenly, the opposite arm joint swung down and struck Kajan hard.
His body flew into the wall.
"Physical attacks are almost useless…!"
Shaking off the blow, Kajan glanced at his claws.
'Should I use Fang here?'
The male half's fist swept across the floor toward him. Kajan's eyes sharpened in place.
'Dark Robe!'
Darkness engulfed him in a wave as he took the chimera's punch head-on. Skidding backward, he held his ground, then swung the right arm he'd kept drawn back.
A massive gray-streaked claw mark tore across the monster's heart and torso.
But—
"!?"
The claws didn't cut deeply, and the wound rapidly regenerated.
'Even if I slice through the skin and muscle, the blood inside is like steel.'
The fact that a liquid could have such hardness… The blood was granting absolute resistance to all attacks.
"Kajan! It's ready!"
Simon charged forward with curse magic circles in both hands. The monster, perhaps slowed by the damage from Fang, moved sluggishly as it focused on healing.
Simon leapt, attaching a magic circle to the male head.
'Next!'
He ran along its shoulder toward the female half. The female side reached out to block, but Kajan sprang up, punching away the attack.
Simon successfully placed the magic circle on the female head, then jumped high.
Twisting in midair to face the monster, he stretched out both arms to complete the curse.
The curse took effect.
The male half's fist, aimed at Simon, suddenly swung toward the female half's face.
Puuuuunch!
Hit by the attack from its own body, the female half also lashed out at the male half.
Wham! Thud! Crack! Thud!
The single-bodied monster's limbs flailed as it fought itself in a frenzied brawl.
"…An impressive curse. Where did you learn it?"
"From Professor Bahil!"
The two quickly slipped past the monster.
They reached nearly the end of the corridor unharmed, when—
"…!"
They could hardly believe their eyes.
"W-what is all this?"