Case 98: Advent – Prelude.

Case 98: Advent – Prelude.

*****

''...Please don't joke like that, Amelia Luminous.''

''I'm not. Why are you so adamant about this?''Yôur favorite stories at novelhall.com

''There is simply no way our experience was false. Once you have seen that hell—that nightmarish scene!''

''Calm down, Jesus Christ—ouch...!''

As Chloe unknowingly slips up, likely due to Claudia's intense reaction, I lightly pinch her back, causing her cheeks to inflate. Nevertheless, it seems the others have no mind to pay attention to this detail. They keep staring at Claudia with worried eyes, seeing the person, who is usually composed, so shaken.

Even at this moment, she has a pale face, shaky eyes, and even sweat trickling down her skin.

Maybe I went overboard this time. Who knows. All I know is that I had a lot of fun toying with these people.

Well, the students all fainted with a single jumpscare, so that was a disappointment however. Claudia, on the other hand, managed to stay awake for quite a long time. Thanks to her, I have obtained precious data—mental attacks are effective against strong people—as long as they don't have specific resistance skills.

Even Claudia, who's near level 60, completely forgot to use [Inspect] at the end. That goes to show how powerful an attack on the mind is.

[Status Condition Nullification] is quite rare in itself, and I doubt most people will invest in it when the offensive options are just about that much more attractive.

In this case, I had Mister Slen and Smiley cooperate to put these people under a hallucination, causing them to 'investigate' a completely fictional case. In reality, from the moment they 'stepped' into District 5, they were just wandering around the Backrooms.

Of course, aside from Claudia, there is also Hailey Florence, whose appearance I stole yesterday. She looks visibly anxious while consoling Claudia. It's a good thing I've seen them together a lot, so I can act accordingly.

''Hah... This is rough.'' Claudia mutters, staring intently at us. ''Maybe... No.''

I agree—this is pretty rough. I didn't think she would be this traumatized. I did expect her to suspect us, however—her face says it all.

''What is this?''

Being the natural actress she is, Chloe begins to distort her face, causing the students to cower in fear involuntarily.

''Look, professor.'' She sighs. ''I'm not going to believe that story, not without evidence. And please don't say that we are mimics or some garbage.''

'''' ... ''''

Even after I boosted my level by more than a dozen in the Neveah arc, my strength is apparently still insufficient. It is not that I can't face the next enemy head-on, but since we have messed up the original storyline so much, it is not strange if a formidable enemy from later arcs appears right now.

I certainly don't want it to happen, but I can't control everything.

Demons are one thing, but the cult right now is truly unpredictable. After the previous incident regarding Sierra's sudden appearance in West Zircon, Chloe and I have talked about safety measures for a while.

We created multiple scenarios ranging from a slight deviation in a person of interest's behavior to the last boss suddenly descending and possible measures to cope with them. By the way, if the last boss descends right now, we will all die.

Nevertheless, one likely scenario involving the cult that we have considered is the possibility of them doing a terrorist attack. As it is, everybody knows that Silaerob has been killing cultists and demons alike left and right, so it is not strange for Ravenous Moon to hold a grudge against her. They might launch a devastating attack on the people to lure out Silaerob.

People here are real people. This is not a game, and I've never considered it that way.

In such a case, what should we do to protect the people?

Well, just throw them all into the Backrooms. I will snap the whole city into the Backrooms if needed. The repair cost for the infrastructure will be enormous, but it is infinitely better than people dying.

Ridiculous to think about, but there is no way—

BOOM—!!

'''' !!! ''''

Accompanied by a painfully sharp and loud noise, the whole building seems to have succumbed to an earthquake. As we hurriedly look out the window, a huge smoke pillar has already risen high into the sky. Below, A terrible fire rages, fueling the heartfelt screams from civilians around the area.

Moreover, I can sense the demonic presence all the way here. Whatever this is, it is ridiculously powerful.

''Isn't that the Astra Square?!''

''Who dares to!''

Astra Square is the equivalent of Times Square on Earth, which means it's extremely important. In reality, it is quite far from here, but since the academy's building foundation is elevated, we can have a clear view of it.

Now's not the time for that.

As Claudia and Hailey jump out of the window and rush to the scene, I nod lightly at Chloe before transferring my consciousness back to the forest.

It's time to put on the mask.