In the dark room, Perist's eyes snapped open. Her red irises shone sharply against her dyed black hair, resembling the gleam of a beast's eyes with tapetum lucidum tissue. Though her eyes had been closed the entire time, she had not been asleep. She had long since stopped sleeping, yet her mind remained in peak condition. It was no different now.
"I didn't expect Khajitta to fall," she said, a trace of joy coloring her voice. The feeling was subtle, but it carried a hint of innocence.
Perist stroked the head of the doll cradled in her arms. "This was exactly what we predicted, Deathberry. Didn't I say the transfer students would bring winds of change? I'm certain things will get much more interesting from here."
The smiling princess rose and walked to the window, pushing it open wide. The blood-red moonlight flooded the room, revealing countless dolls of various types and appearances that filled the space without leaving a single gap.
A warm breeze drifted in just then, making the translucent curtains sway gently. Perist stepped back, basking in the blood moon's radiance. Her movements held the grace of a dance.
Perist settled gently into her designated spot and sank into the sea of dolls that served as her cushions. She held up Deathberry and smiled as her eyes met the doll's eerie, inverted gaze. "Luan Badniker. An interesting fellow... What? You like him? Haha. So do I."
Clutching Deathberry close, she whispered softly, "The atmosphere is ripe enough. It's time for the next step."
***
Shortly after leaving the research building, Evan dashed through the academy without looking back.
The sun shone brightly, the breeze still carried a chill, and birds chirped as students slowly woke. The freshly risen sun bathed the academy in warm light, creating a peaceful scene. In stark contrast, Evan's face twisted with dread.
I'm indebted to him now. What if it had been him instead of Luan? Perist had clearly manipulated miasma, the strongest proof she was behind everything.
Hadenaihar's followers were notoriously unstable. Reasoning with them was pointless. His awakened Memories of Evil warned him of that.
A lunatic. Hadenaihar, the Blood Moon Demon King, was also known as the God of Madness. Some even called the blood moon faction the Assassination Church, treating it as a fringe religion.
While the Blood Moon priests obeyed the Dark Pope's orders without question, they often clashed with other factions. That was true in every era. In other words, identifying himself as a Young Dark Pope would not guarantee Evan any protection.
Perist would hesitate briefly, but she would either kill him outright or capture him alive. That would leave him in a far worse situation than now. After all, a Young Dark Pope had many uses. He would make a great sacrifice if offered to the gods of disaster, or he could be turned into a half-corpse, his miasma drained. Given all this, fleeing was the wisest choice for Evan, even if Luan had not considered it.
I don't have a good feeling. The demon king's descent had already made the situation dire, but somehow, Evan sensed that was only a harbinger of a far greater disaster to come.
He laughed coldly at the thought. If the demon king's descent was just a harbinger, what horrors lay ahead?
More than that, what was Perist planning? Evan came to a sudden stop before the academy's main building. The students stared at him with curious, suspicious eyes. He ignored them. The demon king had descended, and his gut told him that something even worse was imminent. Staying meant either getting caught in the chaos and dying or facing a fate worse than death.
Run away? He seriously considered escape. With Alderson's puppet still in place, avoiding its watch was impossible. Yet doing nothing and waiting for death seemed no better than a futile attempt at flight.
Still, wasn't trying to run better than waiting passively for death?
That's right. Let's just run away.
As the dark voice echoed in his mind, Evan rebuked nervously, Shut up.
From the moment he awakened as the Young Dark Pope and from the instant Luan discovered him, he had known running was the best option. Yet he hadn't fled. If he ran, what would happen to the students here? He knew disaster was coming, but could he abandon them all to die?
It doesn't matter. Whether hundreds or thousands of followers perish, it will not stop us from spreading the doctrines, the dark voice whispered sarcastically in his mind.
Evan ignored the whispers from the Memories of Evil, which seemed to carry a sinister will of their own.
He had never revealed this to anyone, but inside, he was utterly confused. Because his death had been so strangely empty, the Memories of Evil hadn't fully integrated with his personality. He accepted the Dark Church's doctrines, yet he still felt pride as a hero disciple who admired heroes. Two versions of Evan existed side by side: the Young Dark Pope and the hero disciple.
Was it a split personality? That would have been easier. If so, his emotions would be more stable. Unfortunately, this was different. Even that inner voice was part of his true self.
Stop. He shook his head. It was dangerous to delve too deeply on questions without clear answers. If he made a mistake, his mind could shatter completely, and he would turn crazy.
Evan forced his mind in another direction. Luan won't be able to return anytime soon. Given the situation, it's safe to assume he's already been taken to the Otherworld. So what now? Will the princess bring out a stand-in puppet? No, that's impossible.
Creating such a lifelike puppet wasn't easy. Only a few weeks had passed since the Badnikers' training camp. That was not enough time.
I have to do something today.
In hindsight, it was actually fortunate that Luan had confided in the hero disciples. By now, even the slowest among them should have accepted reality by now.
First, I'll head to the Yellow Building. The moment Evan decided on his next move, he suddenly collapsed to the ground without warning.
If someone fell in front of the main building, it would surely draw attention. Yet no student noticed Evan. After all, he was not the only one succumbing to this strange affliction. Students and staff nearby collapsed one after another, as if struck by narcolepsy.
This was not limited to that area. Professors inside the main building, students chatting on the train, those who had just awakened from sleep, merchants opening their shops, and children on the streets—all humans within the academy fell unconscious.
The sky was clear and cloudless, with bright sunlight pouring down. Yet at the busiest and most chaotic hour of the day, the academy fell into an eerie, unprecedented silence.
***
"S-save me!" I woke up with a scream. Looking around, I muttered, "Damn, what the hell was I dreaming about?"
I scratched my head, trying to recall the moments before I blacked out. Nothing came clearly.
I closed my eyes and focused. I was sure I had heard something shocking that made me pass out. Everything came back the moment I saw the Yin-Yang Dao in my hand. "I-I'm a priest."
A dizzy spell hit me again as the insane reality settled in. I scanned the room, but Leone was nowhere to be found. Behind me, only Alderson lay in an upright position.
"Leone?" I called quietly, but no answer came.
Did she leave temporarily? I quickly dismissed that thought. Her sudden arrival suggested her departure would be just as abrupt.
I couldn't help but feel unsettled. The sudden arrival of the Yin-Yang Dao had to be her doing. Even though I knew the Colorless Demon King, Senior Brother He Lou, it still felt strange for his weapon to appear mid-fight.
Was it Leone who made me a priest? Or did she do something during our last meeting? No. I wasn't sure. Maybe Leone was messing with me.
I closed my eyes again and focused on the energy inside my body, then let out a groan. I possess Dark Qi.
It was faint compared to my internal energy, but a small amount clearly gathered in my dantian.
This is really bad.
That's when I remembered the dream I had when I passed out. I met the Iron-Blooded Lord.
In the dream, he pointed his sword at me and said, "A priest of the Dark Church from my lineage? I can't believe it. I'm really disappointed in you."
" No, Father. It is all a misunderstanding."
"Shut up, Luan... No. Even uttering your name disgusts me. Shut up and die, blot on the Badniker family."
"Nooo!"
If my identity were exposed, this nightmare could very well become reality. On the other hand, I should be grateful if they killed me quickly. I still remembered what had been done to Great Master Ainsburn. The Iron-Blooded Lord rarely killed non-church members outright. Instead, he inflicted unspeakable suffering.
Then what if it's revealed that I—a Badniker—am a priest and not just an informant? I couldn't imagine the consequences. I needed to meet Leone and find out how things had turned out like this.
"Huh?" At that moment, I realized that I was clenching something in my right hand. I opened it and found a note that read, "See you at Setitus. P.S. I'm tired of being a puppet."
Setitus? The name sounded familiar. Then it hit me.
"The kingdom the Colorless Demon King destroyed was called Setitus. Few written records survive, but some texts describe it as an empire of evil."
I had heard this during my conversation with Alderson's puppet. It was the kingdom Senior Brother He Lou had wiped out.
If I went there, I would be able to learn the cause of this mess. No, this wasn't good. There was too much irrelevant information.
Let's settle things with the Demon King of the Blood Moon first. I crumpled the note and slipped it into my pocket, then stood up.
Alderson had been lying next to me. He wasn't dead, and his complexion looked stable. The skin where the chains had bound him was swollen, but nothing life-threatening.
The strangest part was his chest, where the dagger had been lodged. The dagger was gone, and no wound remained. Was it some kind of magic tool? I recalled hearing about devices that interfered with mana control.
As I studied Alderson carefully, the entire building suddenly shook as if caught in an earthquake.
Something's wrong. The unclear situation filled me with a growing sense of dread. I hoisted Alderson onto my back and hurried from the basement to the first floor.
Soon, I caught an unbelievable sight through the window. "What the hell—"
Outside, the roaming adult dolls that Arin had mentioned were now screaming and rushing toward the building.