NOVEL NEXT Chapter 48
48 – Plot(6)
“ha…”
A week after the demon summoning incident occurred in the academy. In the principal’s office at the top of the west tower, all faculty members, led by Evangeline, were holding a meeting.
As soon as she heard the news, Evangeline immediately returned to the academy, but when she returned, everything had already ended.
“…It’s my fault, it’s my fault…I can’t help but feel ashamed of the parents who believed in me and sent their children…”
“Evangeline-sama…”
Priscilla, the freshman biology professor, put a hand on Evangeline’s shoulder to comfort her.
“Cults… fanatics… I thought they caught all those wicked and lowly people and threw them into hellfire, but the filthy devil’s minions still remained…”
Evangeline placed a hand on her forehead and shook her head.
“Okay, what about the reaction from the outside?”
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“It’s not even a fuss. Due to the letters coming in from all kinds of families, the postal service of the academy is almost paralyzed.
“…so be it. Write only the facts as much as possible in your reply and send it, and sort out the letters that are unlikely to be dealt with on your line and bring them to me. Ha ha…”
Evangeline seemed to lament for a moment, then turned and spoke to the man to her right.
“Professor Eldred. How did the investigation yield meaningful results?”
“Yes, Evangeline.”
Eldred straightened his posture and pulled out a page from the pile of papers in front of him.
“…The name of the student who tried to summon the demon this time is Osbert. He is a first-year student who belonged to Class E. He is from Elon in the East, and was nominated by the Marquis of Rotside, who has the right to recommend it in the region. It has been confirmed that you have entered the academy.”
“East…East…”
When the word East came out of Eldred’s mouth, Evangeline narrowed her brows and frowned as if she didn’t like something.
“and?”
“According to the reply from Elon’s prison branch, there was no suspicion of heresy found in the Rotside family. Rather, they complained that they had no idea why this terrible thing had happened. Osbert was a commoner, Even though he made a name for himself as a genius since he was young, and after graduating from the academy, he returned home and even talked about taking on an executive role, but there was no reason for this at all.”
Eldred paused for a moment, looked around the crowd in a slightly hesitant voice, and spoke again.
“…And as a result of the on-site investigation, one suspicious circumstance was discovered.”
“Suspicious, what the hell do you mean?”
As Eldred continued to hesitate, Professor Fletcher, who was sitting across from him, pressed an answer.
“Osbert was living with his single mother, but on the day he left to enter the academy, his mother suddenly disappeared. However, now that his son has left for the academy, he left a letter saying that he would return to his mother’s family for a while and depend on him. Neighbors all agreed and soon forgot about it.
However, during this investigation, Osbert’s skeleton, believed to be that of his mother, was found buried in the backyard of Osbert’s home.”
The words that came out of Eldred’s mouth caused a loud murmur among the professors sitting.
“That’s not the only strange thing. Osbert was found dead at the scene of the last disaster. However, when I showed the portrait to students in the same class, the response was that he was a complete stranger.
And in the dormitory he was using, we found a large amount of hair and a bottle containing a suspicious liquid. After asking the Magic Tower, we received the answer that it was a top-class transformation potion.”
“That means…”
“…It is speculated that the one who has been in the academy all this time was a demon worshiper who pretended to be him. The lock of hair was the real Osbert’s, and he must have been pretending to be real by mixing it with a transformation potion and drinking it.
Maybe it was changed after entering the academy. If I didn’t do that, my identity would have been exposed by the insights that I use collectively during the entrance exam. I don’t know why he crawled in so meticulously and died on the spot… “
“That I will explain.”
Receiving Eldred’s words, a man in a corner stood up.
“As a result of our detailed inspection, it was confirmed that the summoning circles engraved on the site were the formations used to summon demons of the third tier or higher. In the first place, it would have been very daunting just to secretly draw the jinbeop.
So, the demon descended due to an incomplete summoning, and as a result, he was hated by the demon and died on the spot right after the summoning.”
“I don’t understand. So you didn’t do that even though you knew you were going to die? And what good did they do to themselves by committing an attack like this? Wouldn’t it be something that they should rather avoid from being known?”
After hearing what Lazarus had to say, one of the professors questioned him again.
“That’s what fanaticism is originally, Professor Bernia. Once you fall into that swamp, you can’t come back, and in the past, you do things that are incomprehensible to ordinary common sense. It’s not easy to understand them with the eyes of ordinary people. .”
“Thank you for your kind explanation, Lazarus.”
Evangeline turned to Lazarus and said.
“But I also have a question. I heard that although I found all of the auxiliary summoning circles long ago, I couldn’t find the most important central summoning circle, so what happened now happened. But why didn’t I find the central summoning circle this time? The location was right behind the residence of the investigation team.”
“About that… I would like you to take a look at this drawing. It is a copy of the summoning circles that were drawn this time.”
Lazaro got up from his seat, approached Evangeline, and handed him a piece of paper with a drawing on it.
“This…”
Evangeline, who saw the chronology that Lazaro handed over, thought for a moment with a serious expression on her face.
“Originally, as the summoning circle is installed and the descent of demons becomes imminent, the boundary between reality and hell is blurred around it, and traces of it inevitably leak out little by little. We track it down and find out the location of the central camp.
So, when cultists perform demon summoning rituals, they usually do it in remote mountain villages. They know for sure that they will be tracked because of that energy. But this time… “
“…You turned around.”
“That’s right.”
At Evangeline’s words, Lazaro expressed his agreement.
“As you can see from the drawing, the circuit leading to the road has been completely broken into the auxiliary summoning circle. Then, the demonic energy will flow there along the passage, making it impossible to find the location of the central summoning circle. We found the auxiliary summoning circle first. Even if you do, you are taught to check the status of the central summoning circle by sealing it instead of removing one, but this time, it has been a failure.
If all the auxiliary summoning circles had been eliminated, the lost magic energy would have flowed back from the central summoning circle, and it would have been possible to find it right away… “
Lazarus made an expression that seemed to be somehow filled with guilt and blurted out his words.
“And as professors know better, arbitrarily changing the inscribed digits is not something that ordinary wizards can do. It is something that requires a considerable level of magical knowledge, at least that of those present here. It must be.”
There was a louder murmur than before among the professors who had heard Lazarus speak.
“Evangeline-sama, if the investigator’s words are true, this is a very serious matter. If this incident was committed by a cult, it is not an issue that can already be resolved within the academy. As expected at the beginning, temporary leave of absence Proclamation…”
“Stop talking nonsense, Louis.”
When the word ‘leave of study’ came out of a professor’s mouth, Evangeline frowned.
“Hey Louis, you haven’t forgotten what the purpose of our academy was founded, right? Even when the Great Devil descended, no leave of absence was ever declared. “
“…I apologize…”
At the severe reprimand, Professor Lewis shut his mouth with an embarrassing expression.
Evangeline looked around at the audience with a determined expression and said.
“For the time being, the academy will work hard to crack down on the inside. By changing the occasional insight into all students to once a day, we will prevent fanatics from digging in like this case. All passages except the main entrance will be sealed for the time being. , checkpoints and searches should also be conducted under the assumption of the highest risk level.
However, professors should always maintain a calm and composed attitude so that students do not become agitated. If everyone understands what I’m saying, let’s get out of here.”