Professor Antorelli’s deep wound was something that Sub-priest Sofia also knew about.
It was a statement that included not only the visible wounds but also the scars etched within his heart. Professor Antorelli had sustained an injury to his right shoulder and writhed in pain every night due to the anguish of loss.
Therefore, Sub-priest Sofia could somewhat relax her mind. She had heard that his right shoulder, which he received regular treatment for every month, was slowly showing signs of recovery, even if at a slow pace, and she believed that the pain etched in his heart was something they could overcome together.
“…Cough!”
– Thud—.
When Professor Antorelli, sitting next to her, coughed roughly and spilled blood onto his desk.
Sub-priest Sofia felt time stop.
“…Huh?”
Dark red blood dripped down. One drop, two drops, it soon clumped together and stained the pure white paper red in its center….
The blood continued to fall. Sub-priest Sofia stared blankly at it before slowly shifting her gaze toward the source of the dripping.
“Cough! Cough! Ugh….”
Professor Antorelli, with both hands tightly covering his mouth, struggled to keep it shut, but ultimately, red streams of blood flowed through the gaps of his trembling fingers.
The blood that could not be sprayed out due to being blocked by his hands dripped down his chin.
Sub-priest Sofia’s mind went blank. What should she do? The dark red blood continued to flow, and its murky color did not look healthy at all.
And the one spilling that blood was none other than….
“Head Priest…?”
“Cough!”
Despite his body shaking with the rough cough, Professor Antorelli’s eyes rolled around anxiously. His unstable gaze bounced back and forth between Sub-priest Sofia and Professor Underwood, who were seated beside him.
It was as if he was seeking the attention of those around him. That sight was enough to stir up distress in Sub-priest Sofia.
She moved her trembling hands toward Professor Antorelli. She noticed Professor Underwood looking at Professor Antorelli with wide-eyed shock from across the table.
“Ah, Professor Antorelli? What’s wrong all of a sudden…? Are you okay?”
“It’s nothing, cough! I’m… fine….”
“Oh my, blood! Professor! Blood!”
Professor Underwood quickly stood up from her seat. As she hurriedly scanned the Faculty Department, she dashed to the first aid kit beside the break room and shouted.
“Sub-priest Sofia!”
“…….”
“Sub-priest Sofia! Pull yourself together!”
“…Uh, yes?”
The rough shaking of her shoulders brought Sub-priest Sofia back to her senses. Professor Underwood, with a desperate expression, was shaking her body.
“Sub-priest! Can you use the healing… healing prayer?”
“…Yes, yes!”
“Use it on the professor! Quickly!”
Sub-priest Sofia’s rational mind returned. She fumbled through her bag, searching for the Bible.
“Uh, where did I put it? Where…?”
Though she usually saw it countless times, it was frustrating that it was nowhere to be found at a moment like this.
Finally grasping the Bible in her hands, Sub-priest Sofia looked at Professor Antorelli and began flipping through the pages. She quickly thumbed through the Bible, flipping the pages in a messy manner.
“Cough…. Sub-priest, I’m fine.”
“What do you mean you’re fine! Why are you suddenly coughing up blood…!”
“No, I really am fine…. Cough!”
“Ahhh!”
– Splut!
Ultimately, Professor Antorelli vomited a clump of blood. Seeing that, Sub-priest Sofia instinctively screamed, and Professor Underwood’s body went rigid.
“Ah, no…. Professor! Why is this happening all of a sudden?! Do you have medicine? Medicine?!”
“I’m really fine…. Cough!”
“Stop saying you’re fine! How can this be considered fine?!”
“No, I’m really okay. It’s not because it hurts…. Well, it is because it hurts, but this is just part of the healing process….”
“Sub-priest! This isn’t good! The prayer!”
“When the Lord’s hem passed by, the poor who sought it were healed….”
“…Cough!”
“Uh, uh? Why isn’t it working…?”
“Sub-priest! Another prayer! Recite another prayer!”
Professor Antorelli closed his eyes in a state of surrender amid the chaos, thinking this was all his fault for not being prepared for unexpected situations.
*
– The sound of water flowing like a waterfall trickled down the pipes, and I fell into deep thought.
‘…I caused unnecessary worry.’
I couldn’t shake the image of Professor Underwood hurrying with the first aid kit and Sub-priest Sofia reciting prayers to me as if she were about to cry from my mind.
In that chaotic atmosphere, I had successfully fled to the restroom somehow….
‘How do I explain this?’
Now that it had come to this, I had no choice but to explain my situation, even just roughly. Explaining it to Sub-priest Sofia was burdensome, but even if I could compromise there, Professor Underwood was the real issue.
I didn’t know her well, and to me, she was just an outsider who knew nothing about my past or personal circumstances.
How should I explain it to her? I suppose I could just say that I was in the process of eliminating the toxins left in my body since I had been taking drugs up until the beginning of the semester.
– Drugs? Head Priest?! Did you say drugs?!
– …Drugs?
Of course, I would have to face the aftermath that would follow.
My thoughts were complicated. Since it had come to this, I had nothing to hide from Sub-priest Sofia, but with Professor Underwood….
“…Tsk.”
I would just brush it off to Professor Underwood. I didn’t want to get into any details.
If I had to go into detail about the fact that I had been taking such drugs, it was obvious I would end up recounting my entire troubled past like a tangled fish. I didn’t want that kind of future.
My painful memories should only be known by those who know them. I had no desire to spill them to someone I wasn’t particularly close to.
Having sorted out my thoughts, I wiped off the blood stains from my hands and mouth. They were already half-dried, making it difficult to clean even with water.
“…….”
After finally getting rid of all the blood stains, now the blood on my clothes was a problem. I looked at my reflection in the mirror.
A black short-sleeved shirt, with bloodstains darkening the pristine white Roman collar embedded in its collar. It looked like several flowers blooming there.
I thought about taking off the shirt to wash it with water, but the bloodstains were proving harder to remove than I had anticipated. If I used water, the blood would surely spread, staining the Roman collar pink.
Ultimately, I had no choice but to turn the Roman collar at an angle that wouldn’t show the bloodstains. Since I had no proper change of clothes, I had to make do and leave like this.
“Did you get scared?”
A voice was heard. Ignoring it, I silently continued doing what I needed to.
“I’m sorry, Lucio. I didn’t mean to trouble you…. I didn’t think I would cause such serious concern.”
“…….”
“Lucio. Can you stop pretending you didn’t hear me now?”
Checking my outfit one last time, I made sure there were no remaining bloodstains on my face. Meanwhile, the voice continued.
“You’re still as stubborn as ever. Well, you were always like that.”
Honestly, I felt tormented. The more I listened to her words, the more I felt suffocated. It was burdensome to remain in this spot.
However, I had to feign calmness. I must not be agitated. This was merely the remnants of the drugs still left in my body. It was simply the unholy influence putting up its final struggle.
Avoiding it was the only way to keep my sanity.
Just then, as I shook off the moisture from my hands, I was on the verge of checking the mirror one last time.
“Lucio. Look in the mirror.”
Coincidentally, as if the voice had commanded me to act, I found myself complying. A wave of discomfort washed over me.
But soon, that discomfort washed away completely.
“Do you see? My reflection.”
In the mirror, my own figure stood behind me.
With long golden hair cascading down like silk and clear green eyes reminiscent of emeralds.
And, the black priestly robe completely soaked in blood….
“That’s because of you.”
“…….”
“I became like this because of you.”
Slowly, the strong defensive barrier I had built began to crumble.
“Lucio Antorelli. If you hadn’t left me alone at the main command center. If you had stayed by my side.”
I could have lived, right?
The blood-soaked Helena smiled slightly. I felt my breathing become irregular.
Should I take the medicine again? I had already taken it once this morning, hadn’t I?
But there was no time to ponder. I hurriedly searched my pockets.
As I rummaged through my clothing for the medicine, my gaze remained fixed on Helena reflected in the mirror. She was looking at me quietly, wearing a slight smile.
“Aha. You’re trying to run away again.”
“Huff…. Ugh….”
“Go ahead and try to escape. Let’s see if you can.”
A smile that was distinctly different from before. That vile, bitter, cruel smile slashed diagonally across her face. It was not the smile Helena that remained in my memories.
I urgently searched for the medicine. I managed to grasp the medicine bottle in my hand, but my trembling hands kept missing it.
Just as I almost dropped the medicine bottle, I desperately held onto it and pulled out a pill, tossing it into my mouth. Even though water was flowing right before my eyes, I didn’t particularly feel the need to drink.
“…Ah.”
Bright red blood flowed abundantly from the faucet. Blood whose origin was unknown.
“It’s interesting, isn’t it?”
It was just that the effects of the medicine hadn’t kicked in yet. This was all an illusion. Your voice is an auditory hallucination, and this scene isn’t real.
“If this isn’t reality, then what is reality?”
“Shut… up….”
“Look at reality. Lucio. It’s the reality you created, right?”
“You are… you are not a living person….”
“That’s right. I died because of you.”
“No, that’s not true….”
“Correct.”
Helena’s face loomed up close. Blood flowed from her head, and her terrible visage, marred with countless wounds.
“You killed me, Lucio Antorelli.”
“Please, go away…. Just go away…!”
“Because you killed me, you must die too.”
“I am not dead yet….”
“No, you must die.”
The clear green eyes were turning a color marred with burst blood vessels. I couldn’t bear to look.
I closed my eyes tightly. The voice continued to permeate my thoughts.
“Die. Lucio Antorelli. Right now, fill the sink with water and submerge your face.”
“Ugh….”
“And then, join me. Face me at the end of the ruin. And curse me. Blame the fate that made you this way.”
“I don’t want to die…!”
“No. You must die. You compromised.”
And with that last word.
“You compromised.”
The pain that had been constricting my head vanished completely.
I slowly opened my eyes. I saw clear water cascading down and only my reflection in the mirror.
“…Cough!”
The effects of the medicine began to kick in late. Since I had just expelled some blood, this time there wasn’t as much.
“Phew….”
I was exhausted to the point of death. Quickly cleaning up the blood and traces, I turned my body and walked away.
Somehow, I had endured again. However, I never expected hallucinations to appear.
“Damn it….”
While I pondered how to alleviate the increasingly severe symptoms, just as I was about to exit the restroom.
“Head Priest.”
“…Sub-priest Sofia?”
Sub-priest Sofia was standing beside the restroom entrance.
“I… heard everything….”
For some reason, she had tearful eyes.
