Chapter 92: Omen (10)
What stopped my body, which was about to pursue without losing momentum, was an indescribable sense of foreboding.
A sharp, piercing dissonance that seemed to ring from deep within my body.
It was the very sensation I had felt countless times before.
Every time I tried to ignore it, something bad would always happen to me without fail.
I halted my body that had been about to lunge forward.
But it didn’t take long before I realized that the “something bad” I had just thought of had already happened.
“……?!”
All of a sudden, the ground seemed to appear before my eyes, trying to crash right into me.
I quickly reached out my hand and managed to avoid falling face-first in a disgraceful manner.
But when I came to my senses, my body had already collapsed halfway, powerless.
‘…What is this?’
I was now in a state where I was barely supporting myself with one knee on the ground, propping my body up with my hand to keep from collapsing entirely.
If I tried to move even a little more, I felt like I’d topple right over.
Yes, as if I were a drunkard who had lost all control of his body.
Yet, there were no symptoms like nausea or dizziness.
Quite literally, I simply couldn’t control my body.
If I had to describe it further…
When I tried to move my right arm, my left leg would twitch instead, like a marionette with tangled strings moving on its own.
‘It doesn’t seem like that guy’s doing.’
The one who had taken my full-strength punch to the face was still half-buried in the ground, his body trembling.
From time to time, I heard groans of pain—it seemed he had briefly lost consciousness from the blow to his jaw.
“……”
Watching him, I silently picked up the dagger he had dropped earlier, gripping it in reverse.
I wanted to first confirm just how much my perception and actual senses differed.
“Hup!”
I threw the dagger, aiming straight for his neck.
But it veered far off course.
Its trajectory, accuracy, even the strength behind it—all were completely out of control, so bad it was unbearable to even look at.
So, I once again attempted the Miracle of Purification to check my state.
……No change.
Just as I expected.
‘Then it’s not poison.’
So what in the world had been done to me?
If not poison, then was it magic, or sorcery?
Without panicking, I began spreading my divine power evenly and rhythmically throughout every corner of my body.
Like ripples spreading when a drop of water falls on a calm surface.
This was a basic yet effective method that anyone with a decent amount of experience would know how to do.
Divine power, mana—
Any energy would work the same.
If these ripples failed to spread properly, then it would mean that some kind of magic or sorcery was interfering with the flow of the body or mind.
‘But there’s no distortion, nothing caught.’
The divine power spread evenly, rhythmically, all the way to the ends of my body.
Which meant it wasn’t magic or sorcery either.
Then what was it?
I reached out again, picked up a stone, and hurled it at him.
The stone still missed, but unlike the dagger, it at least landed close to him.
‘It feels like my senses are gradually coming back, but…’
I couldn’t just waste time waiting to recover.
There was the possibility he’d get up before I fully recovered.
There was the possibility that his companions were nearby, maybe watching from afar.
And above all, I didn’t know how long this curse-like effect on me would last.
And then…
“Urgh, khh…”
Of course, bad premonitions were never wrong.
He was starting to stir, moving his body as if he had come back to his senses.
I silently watched him.
“You arrogant brat…!”
His menacing mutter was a cacophony, Cecilia’s voice jumbled together with that of someone else, clashing unpleasantly.
If I had heard it suddenly from behind in the dead of night, it would have sent chills all over my body.
Crack, snap.
But it wasn’t just the voice that was unsettling.
He was straining to push himself up, half sprawled, groaning.
He kept his head lowered, so I couldn’t clearly see his face.
But what I could see was something constantly dripping from it.
It was as if the skin of his face was melting away.
Slimy, sticky, dark—like mud dug up from the depths of a swamp.
Just looking at it filled me with disgust.
‘I knew they could imitate others’ appearances and voices, but…’
In my past life, I had gone over the records of this case several times.
That’s why I already knew the culprit could mimic other people’s voices and appearances, and had prepared for it.
Attacked all of a sudden by someone they knew well—
That was the testimony left behind by every survivor of these assaults.
And the records revealed enough circumstances to suggest that the culprit was more than one person.
That it wasn’t impulsive or accidental, but a thoroughly planned incident.
That the assailants were bold enough to commit murder within the Academy without hesitation.
And that they had the strength and means to actually carry out such unthinkable crimes.
‘……Yet even so, the conclusion was always that Allen was the culprit.’
It was said Allen had used sorcery.
That his mother had in fact been a Cultist of the Evil God, and that he inherited her blood and likewise worshipped the Evil God…
The story grew more and more exaggerated, and as a result, even after escaping Prison Island, he was hounded by the slander of being a Cultist of the Evil God.
‘Putting Allen’s story aside, a Cultist of the Evil God, huh…’
It made sense.
They had broken through all the surveillance and defensive systems of Arpentia Academy to commit such outrageous acts.
Of course, the Academy’s defenses weren’t just physical—they could easily block magic and sorcery too.
The fact that those defenses had been rendered useless made everyone think the culprits had used some obscure, unknown trick.
I too believed they must have employed some unique, special technique beyond commonly known magic or sorcery.
‘But……’
But I never imagined it would be something like that.
It was something I had not expected at all.
I wasn't only talking about the disgusting outward appearance.
Even from a distance there was an inexplicable ominous aura that made me involuntarily gasp for breath.
“…I’ll…kill you.”
He muttered as if he couldn't contain his rage, then snapped his head up and glared at me.
His face was a complete mess, smooshed and melted to the point that I couldn't even guess what his original face behind the mask had looked like.
The sight was so horrific that I couldn't help but frown the moment I saw it.
“Ugh.”
I deliberately reacted exaggeratedly, turning my head while pretending to cover my eyes with my hand like I was scared.
“C-can you please cover your face? I didn’t even have dinner and I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
“Fine, go on and keep yapping.”
He snapped back in a murderous tone.
“I’ll see if you can keep talking cocky even after I grind that greasy mug of yours to bits.”
“Oh my, how terrifying.”
I snorted and answered.
“I don’t want that to happen, so I guess it’s time to stop. Now shut up.”
“You, you…!”
“You told me to stop.”
I watched the furious, teeth-gritting fellow with a smiling face while calmly scanning the surroundings.
He was as unable to move as I was right then.
He kept grinding his teeth as if he wanted to rip me apart, but all he did was spit curses — proof he couldn't act.
In situations like this, it wasn't the obvious enemy in front of me that was most dangerous, but the hidden daggers that could fly in from anywhere.
“I’ll kill you!”
Despite showing open hostility toward me, he didn't rush me or anything.
Judging by it, the shock from being hit had long since worn off.
Still, he was deliberately displaying excessive enmity and killing intent to draw my attention.
‘That guy wasn’t simple either.’
Well, when I thought about it, he was the kind of person who borrowed someone else's appearance and voice to casually carry out an ambush.
This level of deception and lying was probably nothing to him.
‘Then again, I wasn’t in a position to criticize either.’
I had been pretending not to know anything and waiting with a half-set trap, calculating when he might approach me.
Still, it would be nice because it allowed me to land a big blow.
‘…Maybe I should start moving.’
Leaving that brief thought behind, I shoved my hand into my chest.
My bodily sensations hadn't fully returned yet, but I could move well enough to endure.
‘The accomplice had to be nearby. I couldn't just waste time in that situation.’
If I lost the initiative, I'd have to face multiple attackers alone.
Before that happened, I had to at least neutralize that guy.
“Hup!”
I pulled out what I had been holding and hurled it at him with all my strength.
It was something I had paid a good price for, hanging from a plain dagger.
But in this situation it was as useful to me as anything.
“You bastard, a so-called cleric pulling this kind of trick!”
Startled by the dagger flying at him — or more precisely, the dagger that spat flames because of the ignition stone hanging from it — he rapidly scattered his throwing knives.
The dagger and the throwing knives collided in the air with a loud metallic clatter, and another spark flared midair.
It had caught his attention perfectly.
I didn't miss the chance and closed in on him in a single step.
Since we hadn't been far apart to begin with, the distance between us shrank in an instant.
Because he had just scattered his throwing knives, his reaction was a beat slow.
I immediately tried to kick him.
However…
“Ugh?!”
A sharp sensation made me twist my head quickly.
A dagger whistled past my cheek.
That was the moment I became certain he had an accomplice.
It was both good and bad news for me.
The good was, as I had said, that there was indeed an accomplice.
The bad was that the accomplice, having only now decided to join, was maddeningly persistent.
Daggers flew again.
Their orbits and trajectories were all different.
In the end I had no choice but to fall away from the melting-faced guy as his accomplice had wanted.
It seemed the goal wasn't simply to separate the two of us; I kept getting cut by the attacks he sent.
Their skill was far cleverer and superior compared to the other fellow.
“Gah!”
Having barely dodged a dagger aimed at my leg, one came straight for my chest.
I couldn't avoid it.
I raised my arm immediately to avoid a fatal wound.
But the anticipated pain didn't come.
“…Huh?”
The reason was simple.
The dagger hadn't struck me.
It hadn't hit me, nor had it missed by passing around me.
And it wasn't because a third person appeared and blocked it.
“This is…”
Simple.
The dagger had passed through my body.
Like smoke, the dagger had gone through me and embedded itself in the ground.
Because such an unforeseen situation had occurred at such an unforeseen moment, I only noticed a beat late what was hanging from the dagger's handle.
Along with the ignition stone like the one I had used earlier, there was a bomb attached.
“Shit…!”
Kwaaaang!
A massive explosion engulfed me.
“…….”
When I regained consciousness, I was the only one left standing my ground.
The accomplice who had been throwing daggers at me was gone, and the melting-faced fellow was gone too.
I simply stood blankly amid the wreckage.
“Hah.”
The explosion had swallowed me, but I had no wounds.
Like with the dagger earlier, the blast had simply passed through me.
“What on earth was this situation….”
I muttered dazedly as loud footsteps and signs of life sounded in the distance.
…For some reason, the brand on my collarbone seemed to throb.
One sure thing was that it wasn't just in my head.