Chapter 369

369 – There’s a Demon Living in the School Basement #5

The day you arrived on this land. I was there too that day. In that dark, desolate forest, within the darkness of that land.

“The day I arrived on this land?”

Groooooo—

The entire building begins to shake violently.

The voice that had been speaking to me just moments ago falls silent, offering no further words.

In this world, those who act all high and mighty never give answers easily. Seems this one’s no different.

But what I just heard was too intriguing. I wanted to force its mouth open.

To summarize—this Gigas, who has made this building its lair, claims it was present on the day I arrived in this world?

“Alright—”

It wasn’t the gods of Hypos who abducted me into this strange world. If not them, then who? And for what purpose? That’s what I’ve always wondered.

If someone brought me here, they must know a way back.

Who knows? Maybe they even know how to travel between this world and the other side.

In my mind, I pictured myself returning to Earth, then bringing back computers, refrigerators, and electric generators to this world.

Wouldn’t Elpride, who’s always buried in dusty old books, flip out if she saw a tablet PC?

“Fine, I’ll bite this time.”

Hummm, hummm—

Gripping the d*ath Beam Saber, pulsing like a heartbeat, I step toward the basement.

“Lord Hassan, are you really going down there?”

“It’s too dangerous!”

Paranoi and Marda seemed intent on stopping me, but if I kept wasting time, who knew what would happen to Antiope—or the lives of those trapped inside this building?

So, steeling my nerves, I slowly descend the stairs.

Thud, thud—

At the same time, I recall how Antiope had disappeared between the sixth and seventh steps earlier.

One, two—

Five—

Finally, as I step onto the fifth stair and move toward the sixth, I feel something thin and transparent wrapping around my body.

To describe it precisely, it’s like forcing my way through a barrier made of soap bubbles.

I’ve experienced this sensation before.

Is this some kind of barrier?

I push through the membrane that seems intent on rejecting me.

The rubber-like film stretches around my body and arms until, the moment my foot fully lands on the sixth step—

Clang!

—it shatters with a sharp sound.

Zzzzzuuuuuung—

At the same time, a grand noise echoes, like a refrigerator losing power.

Instinctively, I realize the barrier has been broken.

Now, whatever was hidden down here—something someone went through the trouble of sealing away with such a complex barrier—will be revealed.

“Lord Hassan, are you alright?! I heard a loud noise just now…!”

From behind me, Paranoi’s voice rings out, laced with fear. Turning back, I see her holding a candlestick, looking down at me.

Earlier, Antiope had completely vanished at the sixth step. But I haven’t disappeared or anything.

Thud—

“Seven, eight, nine—”

I continue counting the steps as I descend.

“Ten, eleven, twelve—”

According to Marda, there should only be twelve steps leading to the basement. But sometimes, a nonexistent thirteenth step appears, answering students’ curious questions.

“Thirteen.”

And as I finally step onto the thirteenth stair—Marda, watching from behind, shrieks.

“T-The thirteenth step really exists?! What in the world is happening?!”

One last step from the thirteenth to the basement.

But before setting foot inside, I pause on the final step, carefully scanning the dark depths ahead.

“Grrrr…”

“Aaaah…”

What greets my eyes is a pile of humans clad in black robes, collapsed on the ground. For a moment, I wonder if they’re monsters or some vile cultists.

But aside from their suspicious attire, they don’t look strong at all. In fact, they seem weak, barely clinging to life—hardly a threat.

“You guys can come down. Doesn’t seem like much to worry about.”

After giving the all-clear, I approach one of the fallen figures and grab their wrist. Words appear before me:

『Name: Georg Lv. 4

Status: Arthritis》 Fatigue Accumulation》 Mark of Wrath》』

Name’s Georg. Low level. His status doesn’t seem too unusual, except for that “Mark of Wrath.” That catches my eye. Marda had something similar.

Ssshhhk—

Marda, who has now caught up, gasps in shock upon seeing the fallen man.

“G-Georg! Senior Georg! This is Senior Georg!”

Paranoi, plugging her ears from the noise, asks, “Who’s this ‘Senior Georg’ you’re making such a fuss about?”

“Last year, he graduated and took a job at the Mercury Shrine in the rural outskirts of the city! But that’s not all—over there’s Senior Palic, Senior Yui… Oh my god…”

Marda’s face, illuminated by candlelight, grows increasingly pale with horror.

“T-The rumors… they were true… The terrifying urban legend passed down only to fourth-years… The one about graduates being imprisoned in the school basement and used as graduate students… It was real!”

A graduate student urban legend?

That sounds horrifyingly plausible.

“The seniors weren’t ordained as priests after graduation… They became graduate students instead! Trapped down here, exploited and overworked… Who would do something so terrible?!”

Marda looks utterly distraught. Just then, Georg, who had been unconscious, suddenly gasps for air and grabs my wrist.

“Run— The seal… the seal’s grown too weak. It’s all because of that newly built shrine. The energy waves, the magic… It’s weakening the seal! The shrine must be destroyed!”

Zzzzzt—

A bolt of lightning seems to strike my dual-core brain.

Everything clicks into place, like beads strung on a single thread.

The nonexistent thirteenth step. The whispering voices there. And why they told me to attack my shrine.

In other words—this basement has another world hidden within it.

The normal basement, accessed via twelve steps, is just an ordinary university storage space filled with books and junk. The one students usually see.

But the second space is the basement beyond the barrier—the one with thirteen steps. This is a horrific dungeon-like area where someone has been imprisoning and exploiting graduate students.

These trapped graduate students have been worked to the bone, day and night, to maintain some kind of seal.

And occasionally, when cracks form in the barrier, they offer advice or answers to juniors who stumble upon the thirteenth step.

That’s probably close to the truth.

“Hah. Not so scary after all.”

Horror stories are only frightening when shrouded in mystery. Once the truth is laid bare, they just seem silly.

But a seal?

I grab the barely conscious Georg and ask,

“What’s being sealed down here? Gigas?”

“G-Gigas? I don’t know… Just that something terrible… is in this basement… But the seal…”

With that, Georg passes out completely. The dark circles under his eyes suggest he’s reached his physical limit.

Groooooo—

The building shakes again, as if on the verge of collapse.

At first, I think it’s an earthquake—but no. It feels more like a pulse. A heartbeat.

As if something slumbering beneath this cold, heavy fortress of stone and rock is waking up.

Grooo—

Crrrrrack—

Bricks fall from the ceiling, snapping me back to alertness. If we stay here much longer, we might get buried under the rubble.

“Lord Hassan, we should leave now!”

Paranoi seems to sense the danger too.

They say small animals like mice and birds are the first to sense disasters like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or tsunamis. Paranoi’s no different.

“You two, get out of here first! I still need to find Antiope!”

Antiope’s my comrade—and Hippolyte’s beloved younger sister. If anything happens to her, facing Hippolyte later would be… awkward.

“Understood! We’ll evacuate as you say!”

I half-expected Paranoi to hesitate, but thankfully, she doesn’t.

Watching Paranoi and Marda flee back the way we came, I lose myself in thought for a moment.

But time’s running out. Steeling myself, I step into the darkness, where the battered bodies of graduate students lie scattered like debris.

Rrrrrumble—

The tremors grow more violent.

The ground quakes fiercely.

!!

An unidentifiable, scream-like noise shakes the surroundings. Soon, the noise becomes so deafening it physically hurts—

Ssshhhk—

Something darts from the shadows and yanks me by the shoulder.

“Wha—?!”

I try to shout, but my mouth is suddenly covered. In the darkness, a pair of eyes glint close to my face.

“Shhh. You have to be quiet.”

It’s Antiope.

She presses a finger to her lips, silencing me.

“Shhh… It can’t see well, but its hearing is sharp. You have to stay quiet. Can you do that?”

I nod. Satisfied, she slowly releases my mouth.

Only now, in the dim candlelight of this prison-like basement, can I fully see Antiope’s condition.

Her face and body are covered in scratches and tears—clear signs of the battles she’s fought down here.

She’s not a fake, is she?

Slowly, I reach out and grab her wrist, visible beneath her leather armor.

Ding.

『Name: Antiope Keeper of the Pictures Lv. 39

Status: Minor Fatigue》 Dizziness》 Chest Tightness》』

The floating text confirms it’s really her. But dizziness and chest tightness?

Now that I think about it, Antiope has a childhood trauma—she’s terrified of dark, enclosed spaces.

“Huff… huff…”

Indeed, her breathing is ragged. To calm her, I press down on her wrist.

Squeeze.

“Guh—!”

She yelps in pain—

“Hng—!”

—then immediately covers her mouth, realizing her mistake.

“O-Oh no.”

Ssshhhk—

Antiope grabs my arm and starts pulling me somewhere. At the same time, a strange noise echoes from the darkness.

Khhheheheheh—

It sounds like a panting dog. The bizarre noise of wind escaping lungs, like an old hound exhausted from too much walking.

Thud, thud—

Soon, heavy footsteps follow. Judging by the multiple footfalls, there’s either a group—or something with more than two legs.

Before long, the thing reveals itself—and I can’t help but stare in shock.

What… is that?

Its body is elongated, like a stretched-out giraffe. A child’s crude drawing of a giraffe, with a lion’s mane haphazardly glued on.

Its face is long and grotesque, a fusion of human and horse, with square, flat teeth jutting unevenly from its lips—utterly revolting.

Branch-like antlers sprout irregularly from its head, and where its eyes should be, red cloth and chains are tightly wrapped.

Khhheheheh—

It laughs eerily, scraping the ground with its four legs. Like a seasoned hound tracking prey, it lowers its head, sniffing for scents.

Instinctively, I know it’s searching for us. And that this is what the graduate students have been exhausting themselves to seal.

This is why Antiope is injured.

Rustle, rustle—

Hiding behind a cold corner of the wall, I study the creature further.

A twisted fusion of human and beast—an abomination in itself, like a profane curse. Just looking at it makes my head feel like splitting.

The monsters and creatures of the Gaia Continent, at least, don’t stray too far from biological forms.

Humanoid goblins, trolls, ogres—even giant spiders—feel familiar in their own way.

But this is different.

An otherworldly grotesqueness. Even in a lawless land like Gaia, this thing feels like it’s crossed some unspeakable line.

Creak, croooak—

It circles the spot where Antiope and I had been standing. Raising a bony hand, it drags its hoof-like palm along the walls and floor.

Searching for us.

If it finds us, the bl**d and charred remains of graduate students plastered on its body make it clear what’ll happen.

“What… is that?”

I cautiously ask Antiope. She’s been down here longer—she must know.

In a quiet, detached voice, she answers:

“The one who sought forbidden knowledge. The Lord of the Rift.”

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