How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 138

The abandoned mansion was filled with silence.

“……”

Click-clack.

Thud, thud.

Only the sound of footsteps from me and Princess Francia echoed quietly.

Tap, tap.

Grrrr.

Oh, and the ancient spirit was moving with us too.

Holding a magic artifact that illuminated the dark hallway, I asked Princess Francia,

“Did you find anything?”

“No, not yet.”

Shaking her head, she continued in a low voice.

“But the fact that you were summoned here, Kamon, definitely means there’s some secret hidden in this mansion…”

It sounded like Princess Francia was talking to herself, hoping that there was a connection between this mansion and the missing persons.

Honestly, I didn’t want to get involved in such matters.

‘But I need to get out of here somehow.’

I couldn’t just tell the princess that I didn’t care and wanted to leave.

I had to go along with her to some extent.

‘The atmosphere and the feeling around here aren’t great.’

The old and abandoned mansion, with its dark hallways and dried bloodstains, seemed like the perfect setting for a mystery horror movie or game.

‘If the magic circle that summoned me is connected to the mansion, then the missing people might have been absorbed by a similar circle.’

So where are they now?

Since I couldn’t find the girl who was sucked into the magic circle with me, it’s possible that those summoned are placed randomly within the mansion.

‘Then where are the others summoned here?’

If there were people here, there should be traces or evidence of their presence.

But why can’t I sense any signs of life?

“……”

‘This is quite difficult.’

Since this wasn’t in the original story, it was hard to grasp the situation.

“We’ve already searched the first and second floors thoroughly. The only places left are the third floor and the basement.”

“And?”

Her suggestion seemed to imply that we should split up to search, but I tilted my head and asked,

“And? Isn’t it safer to stick together?”

“What?”

“Usually, it’s safer to stay together in situations like this. If we split up, we might get picked off one by one.”

It’s a classic cliché from mystery or horror movies.

Not that I was scared, but…

‘In uncertain situations, this is the right call.’

Seriously. I’m not scared.

“……”

Princess Francia looked at me with a puzzled expression and started to speak again.

“Look, what I suggested was simply to search….”

But at that moment,

[Screeeaam!]

A young girl’s scream echoed throughout the mansion.

“……!”

“It’s coming from the basement!”

Without any further argument, we locked eyes and dashed towards the stairs leading to the basement.

Thud, thud, thud!

But moving even faster than us was Princess Francia’s ancient spirit, Gatraon.

It leaped down the stairs with incredible speed, heading towards the source of the scream.

Bzzzz.

A dark green aura spread from around Princess Francia’s eyes, allowing her to see through Gatraon’s eyes.

“What is it?”

“What do you see?”

“Nothing. The sound definitely came from this direction, but….”

Shaking her head, she muttered while I put more effort into my steps.

Thud, thud!

When we reached the basement,

“There really is nothing here.”

The basement was one large, open hall with no separate rooms or partitions.

“It’s completely empty. So what was that scream?”

“Luckily, it doesn’t seem to be a trap. I don’t feel any mana flow.”

Since obtaining the orb, I had been consistently training to sense the surrounding mana, so I could generally detect any unusual movements or flows of mana.

“Really? That’s a relief.”

With a slightly trembling voice, Princess Francia spoke, then composed herself and continued with a determined tone.

“Let’s search the area. Report any unusual findings immediately.”

“Yes, understood.”

I nodded vaguely, but after looking around, I had to shake my head.

‘There’s nothing unusual here.’

Using the magic artifact that Princess Francia had brought to illuminate the area, I could see that it was just an empty hall.

There was nothing special about it.

‘No traps, no peculiarities. So what was that scream? Did we hear it wrong?’

But it was unlikely that we both misheard.

Then,

Tickle, tickle.

The irritating sensation I had been feeling grew stronger.

‘What is this?’

I frowned at the strange, persistent feeling.

“Huh?”

Grrrr.

Gatraon, the ancient spirit, had come close and was nuzzling against me.

‘Why is it clinging to me when it has its master?’

“Get off. We need to keep searching… Huh?”

Suddenly, a faint navy blue light began to emanate from under where Gatraon was standing.

“Your Highness, do you see this?”

“What?”

Hearing my call, Princess Francia quickly approached.

And then,

“Spirit power?”

Tilting her head, Princess Francia mumbled and asked,

“Did you just find this?”

“Yes, I noticed the light coming from under the wolf spirit.”

“Kamon, can you sense spirit power too?”

“What?”

I can sense spirit power now?

“Well, that’s not important right now….”

I replied to her sudden statement, but she continued resolutely.

“I’ll resonate my power with the spirit energy. There seems to be a hidden mechanism here. Be ready, Kamon.”

She warned me and then closed her eyes, resonating her power with the navy blue spirit energy.

Bzzzz!

A dark green aura emanated from Princess Francia, blending with the navy blue light.

And then,

Creak, click!

At the sound of a switch turning,

“Hold on tight!”

Rumble, rumble!

The entire ground started shaking. After a while, the vibrations stopped.

“There.”

Princess Francia pointed to a newly formed square hole in the basement floor.

“Yes, a hidden space.”

“Kamon, prepare your magic. There might be the cause or perpetrator of the disappearance case down there.”

“…Fireball!”

Without answering, I nodded and cast my spell.

Woosh!

Several large fireballs floated around us.

“Let’s go.”

With everything ready, I spoke to Princess Francia, who nodded solemnly and began to move forward.

As we descended into the newly discovered lower floor,

[Help… me.]

A familiar voice echoed from the darkness.

I quickly realized it was the girl who had been summoned here with me.

“…!”

Shining the magic artifact towards the voice, I saw a pale girl clutching a blue dragon-shaped doll, collapsed on the floor.

“Hey, are you okay…?”

I hurriedly approached the girl.

But at that moment,

“Kamon, wait! Stop!”

Grrr, roar!

Suddenly, the ancient spirit Gatraon growled fiercely, blocking my path.

“What, what’s going on?”

[Please, help me.]

The girl’s voice, now sounding half-dead, mumbled again, making me turn my head and shout to Princess Francia.

“Why are you stopping me? We need to save that girl…”

“No. Who are we saving?”

But before I could finish my sentence, she replied with a tense expression.

“Huh?”

Feeling uneasy, I turned back to look at the girl.

Glimpse.

“Gah!”

The girl, who had been lying on the floor, was now standing upright, staring straight at me.

And then,

[…What a pity.]

With a creepy smile, she spoke, making me step back involuntarily.

‘Oh shit, that scared me. What is this? It’s like a ghost!’

[I almost had you.]

Almost had me? Seriously?

If this were an animated show or movie, this would be the perfect jump scare to freak out the audience.

“Are you okay?”

Princess Francia approached, looking concerned.

Catching my breath, I nodded and answered,

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little surprised.”

Pretending to be unbothered, I calmed my racing heart and looked back at the girl.

No, more precisely…

‘That doll.’

The blue dragon doll she was holding.

A navy blue light from the doll enveloped the girl’s entire body.

“It’s a corrupted spirit. All the missing people are here.”

Princess Francia’s voice brought my attention back.

I saw many people lying on the ground.

“What…?”

“It seems like it’s absorbing their life force. How dare it do such a thing!”

Grrrr!

Furious, Princess Francia growled along with Gatraon.

The people on the floor were connected to the blue dragon doll by navy blue light.

‘Is it absorbing their life force?’

[It’s been a while since prey came directly to me.]

“All the disappearance cases in the city, are they your doing?”

Frowning, Princess Francia shouted, and the girl laughed eerily.

[Disappearance cases? That’s harsh. All these people came here of their own will. The only one I forcibly brought is that brother over there.]

“Me?”

[Yeah, brother.]

Still smiling creepily, the girl continued,

[You looked the most delicious, I couldn’t resist.]

‘What? Me?’

Feeling a chill down my spine, I shook my head to clear my mind.

“So what do we do now? The girl seems possessed…”

I asked, and Princess Francia responded seriously,

“Buy me some time. I’ll use Gatraon’s power to separate the girl from the spirit.”

“Me? How?”

“Who else is here besides you?”

“How am I supposed to buy time?”

“Figure it out!”

Shouting firmly, Princess Francia closed her eyes and began chanting a spell.

Simultaneously, a dark green light started emanating strongly from Gatraon.

‘What am I supposed to do?’

As I pondered, I noticed the blue dragon doll in the girl’s arms.

‘That looks familiar.’

Oh, right.

“Are you the spirit of money?”

It looked exactly like the golden dragon doll from Dranthe’s Secret Vault, only in a different color.

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