Necronomicon and the Black Cat
15 - The Necronomicon, And?
Having learned the true nature of the Necronomicon, I found myself even more intrigued than before. "If I read this book, I'll understand the Outer Gods—especially Lilith—far more clearly, won't I?"
This time, I decided to start with the introduction.
—I, Abdul Alhazred, write this book under their revelation. I traveled across the world, investigating ancient ruins. Then, in the vast desert, I beheld their vision. Overwhelmed by the sheer terror emanating from their very existence, I renounced the Allah I had once served and came to believe in those who dwell beyond this world. This book is both scripture and apocalypse. It is also a guide for those who would worship the Great Old Ones and the gods beyond the world. Do not turn these pages lightly, for no human who learns these forbidden truths could possibly remain sane.—
The introduction ended there.
"...This is far more serious than I expected...?"
I had thought it was a dictionary, yet the author called it scripture. Scripture for worshiping Outer Gods... If the Holy Kingdom learned of this book's existence, they would surely designate it a forbidden text.
With trembling hands and a tense heart, I slowly turned the page. What followed were accounts of what the author called the Great Old Ones—entities the translator identified as the Great Old Ones. I skimmed past their names and the epithets the author had given them, glancing only briefly at the horrific illustrations, until my hand suddenly stopped.
On the page before me was—
Cthulhu. The Sleeping God. The Lord of R'lyeh. The Octopus-Headed One.
The description of this entity, rendered in far greater detail and horror than the earlier sketches, was considerably longer than those of the others.
—Cthulhu, master of the sunken city of R'lyeh, lies sealed by the loathsome Elder Gods, protecting the other Great Old Ones imprisoned alongside him through his own magic. When the prophesied time arrives, the seal will break, and he will unleash his wrath upon the Elder Gods who bound him.—
More of Cthulhu's family relations and history followed, but the unease I had felt from the introduction made me turn the page without finishing.
After several more pages, the tone of the illustrations shifted. The descriptions grew longer still, and I instinctively knew these were no longer the Great Old Ones, but beings of an even higher order.
The translator's subheading confirmed it.
—Outer Gods—
At last, I had reached the section concerning the group to which Lilith belonged. I flipped through quickly, skimming only the names, until finally—
Lilith.
I had found what I was looking for.
The illustration differed slightly from the Lilith I knew, but that lethal beauty unmistakably belonged to her. Just as I was about to read the accompanying text, my hand froze.
"...But am I really allowed to read this?"
This was... basically snooping into her past, wasn't it? A sudden pang of guilt toward Lilith struck me.
"I should stop. I need to close the book... But then again, it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission. I'm sorry, Lilith!"
Overcome by curiosity, I focused on the written description.
—Lilith. Queen of the Night. Daughter of Nyarlathotep. Great One of Dreamland.—
—With lustrous crimson lips, freely moving black hair, alabaster-white skin, and a sensual figure, every part of Lilith's body seemed crafted to seduce men. She makes those captivated by her beauty her sustenance.—
—Lilith's primary food is the life force and semen of men. Once a man falls under her spell, he can never escape and will spend his life under her dominion.—
"...I shouldn't have looked."
The Lilith described here was... a little—no, very different from the one I knew.
"No—what if this is her true nature, and I've simply been mistaken?"
What if I had truly fallen for Lilith's seduction, and she saw me only as food...?
"No. The Lilith I saw was definitely..."
I stared blankly at the illustration of Lilith.
"...Isn't that right, Lilith...?"
----
With a troubled heart, I wandered the classroom in a daze.
"Arthur, are you okay? You look completely out of it."
"Oh, hey Letia. Long time no see."
"...Want to go to the infirmary? You won't survive the next class in that state."
"What's the next class?"
"Practical training."
"Ah..."
The time I dreaded most at the Academy had returned. Practical training was meant to prepare students for the end-of-semester practical evaluations. True to the name "Magic Academy," its sole purpose was to hone a mage's abilities. It consisted of casting magic directly and dueling opponents using that magic.
As one might guess, with zero mana, I could do neither properly. In duels especially, I served as a punching bag for the nobles to boost their self-esteem.
"Lewis is probably itching for a fight."
"Arthur, want to skip?"
"What do you mean 'we'? You'd be the only one skipping. Honor student, just focus on class. I'll handle myself."
'Getting hit is fine. I'm used to it.'
Swallowing the rest of my bitter thoughts so Letia wouldn't hear them, I headed toward the outdoor training grounds where practical lessons were held. As I trudged after her, still preoccupied with thoughts of Lilith—
"Meow~"
"........Huh?"
A sound that should never have echoed through the Academy halls rang out in the corridor.
"Kyaa! It's a cat~!"
I whipped my head around so fast my neck cracked and stared in disbelief. There stood a small black cat covered in short fur. Its jet-black coat seemed to absorb sunlight, drawing every eye. But what made this cat truly distinctive was...
"Huh? That cat's eyes are red?"
Red eyes. A vivid crimson often called blood-red—eyes I knew all too well.
I had seen this cat before. Well, not directly, but I was certain. No other cat could possibly have such distinctive features. This cat had no business existing in reality. After all...
It had already manifested in this world in a different form.
Staring at the cat with my mouth agape, I muttered under my breath.
"...Lilith?"
"Miyaaong!"
The cat's eyes lit up at the sight of me. It dashed over and leaped straight into my arms.
"Urgh!"
Catching the cat on reflex, I felt its warmth and the faint beat of its heart, confirming it was no illusion.
"L-Lilith? Is it really you, Lilith?"
"Aeyong~"
The cat nuzzled its face against my chest.
'...Seriously?'
"Arthur! What's with that cat? It's so cute! Can I hold it for a second?"
When Letia reached out, the cat pulled its face from my arms and bared its teeth.
"Hiss!"
"Kyaa! Look at it hissing! It's adorable~"
When the threat failed to work, sharp claws extended from its previously soft paws. The cat prepared to leap from my arms toward Letia. I hurriedly grabbed it and stuffed it inside my coat before bolting away.
"Arthur! What about class?"
"Bathroom! I'll be right back!"
----
"Huff... huff..."
After an unplanned sprint across the Academy grounds in search of a deserted spot, I collapsed spread-eagled in the park in front of the dorms.
"Nya!"
The cat tapped my cheek with its front paw, urging me to get up. I glanced around once more before whispering.
"...Lilith?"
To my surprise, the cat stood up on its hind legs.
"Yeah, it's me."
Its tiny triangular mouth moved cutely.
"What are you doing here? And what's with this form?"
Lilith spun around in front of me.
"Hehe, how is it? I look just like a real cat, right?"
"W-Well... yeah, you do..."
She really did look like a genuine cat. Aside from the eye color, she was an ordinary—no, an extraordinarily expensive-looking—cat. Exactly as she had appeared in the dream.
"Do you remember what I said yesterday?"
"That you'd help me avoid getting expelled... Don't tell me—?!"
Lilith nodded with a satisfied smile (or what I assumed was one, given a cat's limited expressions).
"In this form, no one will say anything about me staying by your side."
"What exactly are you planning to do as a cat?"
Lilith poked my cheek with her paw.
"I did a little research. There's this thing called summoning magic, right?"
My eyes widened as I realized where she was going.
"You're going to become my summoned familiar?"
"I'll pretend to be one. If I just insist I'm your familiar while following you around, what can they do?"
"........Huh."
Speechless, I could only stare down at her. Where did this overwhelming confidence come from?
"Um... but I don't think it'll work. Summoning magic or whatever—any magic requires a mana signature, and I don't have any—"
"What about Familiar Magic?"
...So that existed? It was so rare that it had never even crossed my mind.
"Where did you hear about that?"
Familiar Magic was a branch of summoning magic, but on an entirely different level. Most summoning magic stored contracted beings in a personal pocket dimension and called them out when needed. Familiar Magic worked differently. Once designated as a familiar, the being remained constantly by the contractor's side, sharing their physical and mental state. A familiar contract could only be made once in a lifetime and could never be broken. More importantly—
"This way, you won't even need to use magic yourself."
Exactly. Familiar Magic didn't consume the contractor's mana. That made it the only magic someone with zero mana like me could actually use.
"That's true, but..."
Listening to her explanation, I became convinced. This method would most reliably keep me from being expelled. Still...
"Lilith..."
"Ah, don't start with the 'I'm a burden' talk. I'm doing this because I want to."
"But—"
"I'll get angry."
"......"
Lilith had already made up her mind to help me. Even in cat form, her familiar gaze met mine, and the doubts born from reading the Necronomicon seemed to melt away.
'If she really saw me as nothing but food, she wouldn't go this far to help me.'
Once doubt cleared, the certainty that followed became all the stronger. I pulled Lilith—standing proudly on her hind legs—into my arms and settled her against my chest.
"Arthur?"
Even in cat form, her warmth was the same as when she had embraced me before I left the dorm that morning.
"Thank you, Lilith."
"...If you're grateful, give me a kiss."
"What?"
"Uuu~"
The cat's lips approached. I had already been forced to kiss cat-form Lilith when forming our contract, but this was...
Still, this wasn't an ordinary cat. This was Lilith—the Lilith I loved. I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned in, only for something soft to block my mouth.
"W-Wait. You weren't actually going to do it, were you?"
"If I think of it as kissing Lilith, there's nothing I can't do."
"...Your personality's changed a bit."
"Has it?"
Hmm, maybe a little? I had simply decided to be honest with my own feelings.
"Ugh... This is all my fault—"
Just as Lilith shook her head in exasperation—
—Was there a bathroom in the park?
A chilling voice came from behind me. Startled, I jumped up and turned around to find a hazy bird-shaped figure watching me. Cold sweat ran down my forehead as I recognized who the bird represented.
"P-Professor Raycard..."
Raycard Elgin. My practical training professor. The sky-blue bird symbolizing the Count Elgin family opened its beak.
—You're late, Arthur. If you don't get to the training grounds immediately, I'll have to mark you absent. Hurry up.
The hazy bird dissolved into mist and vanished.
"...I'm screwed."
It seemed I'd gotten on my professor's bad side.
----
"I don't know what you think of yourself, but I've always rather liked you."
"......"
"Have I ever scolded you for not being able to use magic?"
"......"
"Well? Have I or haven't I?"
"You haven't, sir."
"Even so, I've always appreciated how diligently you try. But what happened today?"
"...I'm sorry."
"Not only did you lie to your classmate, you dared to skip my class?"
From the corner of my eye, I saw Letia giving me an apologetic look. It wasn't her fault. The professor simply had an uncanny sense for these things.
"I'm sorry."
"Detention, Arthur. For lying to a classmate. For skipping class. And for laziness."
"Yes, sir."
At that moment, I noticed Professor Raycard shift his weight onto one foot—a sign that something displeased him.
"Do you have no opinion of your own?"
"Sir?"
"I'm telling you to at least try to defend yourself. I'll listen."
Professor Raycard was always like this. Born into a prestigious family with a clear path to success laid out before him, he had cast it all aside to earn his position as an Academy professor through sheer effort alone. That alone spoke to his character. He treated nobles and commoners alike with impartial fairness. His only flaw was that even his kindness was measured out in precise, calculated doses.
"Defend yourself."
Fidgeting, I reached behind me and lifted Lilith out from where she had been hiding.
"...A cat?"
"Yes, sir. It's a cat."
"Bringing unauthorized animals onto Academy grounds is prohibited."
"......It's my familiar."
"...What?"
It had been a while since I'd seen Professor Raycard look genuinely surprised. That alone proved how rare familiars were.
"Did you just say 'familiar'?"
"Yes. This cat has formed a contract with me."
In an instant, every gaze in the outdoor training grounds—including the professor's—turned toward me, or more precisely, toward Lilith in my hands.
"A familiar? That's impossible..."
"I've never seen a familiar before!"
"Me neither!"
Whispers rippled through the students. A quick glance showed even Letia covering her mouth, staring at me with wide eyes.
"If it's truly a familiar, prove it."
At Professor Raycard's gesture, the training ground's magic activated, and a sand golem rose from the floor.
"Do whatever you must to prove this cat is your familiar."
I leaned down and whispered into Lilith's ear, too quietly for anyone else to hear.
"...What do we do now? Can you use attack magic or something?"
Lilith whispered back just as softly.
"Who do you think I am? Put me down and act like you're giving orders. I'll handle everything."
Right. No matter how cute she looked on the outside, she was an Outer God within. Deciding to trust her, I slowly set her on the ground.
"Ahem... Uh... Attack!"
After I pointed at the sand golem and shouted, nothing happened for about two seconds. As people began giving me puzzled looks and my own head started to droop in embarrassment—
—Vwoooom
A pitch-black energy began gathering just in front of Lilith's glowing nose. Once it reached the size of an apple—
—Kiiiiiiiiiiing!!
A sound like fingernails scraping a chalkboard, amplified threefold, rang out as a black beam swallowed the sand golem whole.
Then—
—!!!!!!
An indescribable roar erupted. The sand covering the training ground whipped into a miniature storm. Professor Raycard's urgent gesture brought the embedded magic into play, dragging the swirling sand back to the earth.
When the sandstorm settled, I couldn't close my mouth at the sight before me. The path the black beam had taken was scorched black and still bubbling, while the sand golem had vanished entirely, as if evaporated.
As everyone stood gaping at the scene, only one being—a single cat—swished its tail in satisfaction.
"Aeyong~"