Towards the Unknown City of Kadath (1)
The training ground had fallen into an eerie silence. The man slowly lowered his raised arm.
"...It was necessary for dramatic effect, but that was still a foolish move."
His gaze swept across the wide training ground, settling on the dozens of students sprawled across the floor. They lay in various poses, every single one of them with their eyes tightly shut. The steady rise and fall of their chests was the only sign that they were still alive.
"Good thing they all fell for it. Every semester there's always one or two who don't."
At that moment, a voice echoed inside his head.
—There's one who's been quite troublesome.
"Who? Ah, this student?"
The man's eyes landed on a gray-haired boy with a delicate build. He stared at the purring cat nestled in the student's arms.
"That cat."
—Just as you suspected. It's not from this galaxy.
"...An Outer God?"
—Hmm... It's a bit ambiguous. Doesn't seem like an Outer God, at least. Its power is far too weak.
The man frowned. His guess had been slightly off, but the general category was correct.
"Well, if it were one of them, it wouldn't have fallen for such a crude method."
—Hey, that was my authority, you know? You always have a habit of looking down on me. If I hadn't been here, you'd still be stuck in a Great Old One's stomach—
The man ignored the grumbling voice and glanced at the cat before taking a seat.
"Haa... So now we just wait?"
—Who knows. There might be some who drop out in a single day.
"Unlikely. This batch is quite skilled... except for one."
—But that one has become the biggest variable. No, he already has.
The man's expression twisted as he realized what the voice was implying. A sigh escaped him at the memory of his painful mistake.
"Of all things, a student with no mana had to enroll. Of all things, that student had to enter the forbidden zone. Of all things, he had to find that bookshelf... At this point, it's less coincidence and more inevitability."
—Kekeke. A barrier that grows stronger the more mana you have. It was even designed to hold back Outer Gods, if only for a moment. And yet it got breached by an ordinary human.
"...Zero mana. I never even imagined such a human could exist."
—Our perfect headmaster is actually this full of holes. The students would be shocked if they knew.
The man known as the headmaster glared up at the ceiling. Though it blocked his view, he knew the owner of the voice was looking down at him.
"Stop talking nonsense and watch the students, Hypnos. Even if it's just a dream, experiencing death leaves a scar on the soul."
It really had been a clever method. Sending students into an actual spatial rift would have introduced too many variables. If even one died before they realized what was happening, it would have been a catastrophe. But if he placed all the students into a single dream and told them it was a spatial rift? It created a perfectly safe exam where death meant nothing.
—Yeah, yeah. I was just about to check on them anyway—
The sudden silence made the headmaster tilt his head.
"...Hypnos?"
—Uh... Hmm... Huh?
"What's wrong?"
—......A sign.
"?"
—The students aren't in my dream anymore.
—Crash!
The headmaster shot to his feet, knocking over his chair, and stared up at the ceiling in disbelief.
"What?! Then where are they?"
—Wait a second... I'll find them now...
A moment later.
—......Damn it.
"Where are they."
—...Dreamland.
"...What?"
The headmaster doubted his own ears.
"What did you just say...?"
—I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth. They're in Dreamland.
"How the hell did this happen?!"
The headmaster grabbed a fistful of his blond hair, and a certain face flashed through his mind.
"...There's only one bastard who'd pull something like this."
—Ah... Don't tell me...
The headmaster's face twisted like a demon as he recalled that infuriating visage.
"Nyarlathotep!!"
The thought that this cursed connection had followed him across galaxies made his stomach churn. But right now, there was something more important than anger. Forcing down his boiling rage, the headmaster forced his stiff lips open.
"...First, confirm the students' safety."
—Hmm... They're fine for now, at least...
"Is there a way to pull them out?"
—...Not at the moment. The students inside will have to find me in Dreamland.
"Can't you go to them?"
—Sorry, but with Nyarlathotep involved, I can't get any more involved than this. And that goes for you too—
"Damn it..."
At that moment, the headmaster thought of the being who was both his rival and his fated enemy.
"Nodens! If we ask Nodens—"
—Sorry, but Nodens hasn't been to Dreamland recently. Something about having no reason to come anymore.
"Even so, this involves Nyarlathotep. There's no way Nodens would refuse."
—Maybe, but he won't even answer calls. Seems like something's going on with him...
"...Damn it. So there's no way to get them out at all?"
The headmaster looked at the students with a heavy gaze.
'If they die in Dreamland...'
His eyes stopped on one particular spot.
"In the end, it'll come down to you, unknown monster in the form of a cat."
----
"Lilith! Wake up. Quickly!!"
When I shook Lilith's shoulders back and forth, a thin voice answered.
"Ugh... Dizzy... Don't shake me..."
Wait, you're supposed to be a cat. How does a cat get motion sickness?!
As I tried to think of a way to snap Lilith back to her senses, I made a decision.
"Huuup...!"
I filled my lungs with air, then buried my face into Lilith's soft belly and blew.
"Prrrrrrrt."
"Nyaak!"
"Oh, it worked."
"Wh-what did you do?!"
"I blew a raspberry on your stomach."
Lilith cried out in horror.
"Why the hell would you do that?!"
"You weren't coming to your senses, so I figured this would do the trick."
The effect was immediate.
"We'll put that aside for now. Lilith, do you know where we are?"
Lilith finally looked around, then spoke.
"...Dreamland?! Why are we here?"
"Just as I thought. So it really is that place."
Lilith closed her eyes and focused on something.
"Mmm..."
Her eyelids trembled. It didn't take long before she opened her eyes again, but her expression had completely changed.
"...Wh-why is this presence here..."
Shock, horror, and above all... fear.
"What's wrong?"
"......"
Lilith seemed to ponder something seriously before finally speaking.
"First of all, I don't know why, but we're currently asleep."
Now that she mentioned it, that made sense. Dreamland was a place you reached through dreams. But hadn't we been in the middle of a practical exam? When had I fallen asleep?
"Also, we're sharing the same dream. We didn't connect after arriving in Dreamland—we were already dreaming the same dream, and then we ended up here."
"...Sharing the same dream? Is that possible?"
"There are plenty of gods who can make something like this happen. Based on the traces of energy left behind, I can sense two different divine presences. One is the god who forced us into the same dream, and the other is the god who hijacked that dream and threw us into Dreamland."
Two Outer Gods were involved. Beings so rare that most people would never see even one in their lifetime—two of them, and they were apparently fixated on us. What the hell did they want?
"Ah, but these two didn't work together. The one who sent us to Dreamland was probably acting on their own."
"Why?"
"The divine energy I sense belongs to a god I know. And those two would never cooperate. They're practically mortal enemies."
"Then why send us to Dreamland?"
Lilith fell silent for a moment before answering in a heavy voice.
"...That's just the kind of being he is. He treats humans like toys, plays with them until he gets bored, then breaks them. If you count indirect killings, he's probably committed more murders than any other Outer God."
...And that kind of Outer God threw us here? We're screwed, aren't we?
"...Is there a way out of here?"
"There is."
The answer came immediately, but Lilith hesitated before adding one more thing.
"But it'll be difficult."
"Difficult or not, we have to try."
"...It'll be dangerous. It'd be safer to just wait for the god who put us to sleep to come find us."
"And what if no one comes? That god's already lost the initiative. How can we trust them?"
Lilith pondered seriously for a while before finally speaking.
"...Fine. Let's head to Kadath first."
"Kadath?"
"It's the city where the gods of Dreamland gather. I used to live there once. If we go there, we should be able to find someone who can help us escape."
A city... So people actually live in a place like this?
Lilith was about to set off immediately, but I quickly grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.
"Why? The sooner we—"
"...I'm not the only one who got separated. We need to help the other students too—"
"Arthur, the leading cause of death in Dreamland is sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."
"If I hadn't stuck my nose where it didn't belong, we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now."
"......."
I'm sorry, Lilith. But I can't back down on this.
Seeing my determined expression, Lilith let out a long sigh.
"Haa... Fine. I can't stop you anyway. Alright, let's help the other humans. But if I decide you're in danger, we're prioritizing escape immediately."
"That's enough. Thank you for understanding, Lilith."
"I don't understand, so don't thank me."
"How about this, then?"
I pulled the grumbling Lilith into my arms.
"Thank you for staying with me, Lilith."
".....Now that, you should thank me for."
A laugh escaped me at the feeling of her tiny face nuzzling against my chest.
"We should find the other students first."
"No, there's no need for that."
"What?"
"Did you forget who I am?"
"Ah! You're a god of Dreamland too, right?"
"Just wait a bit. I'll find them right away."
Lilith closed her eyes and focused again. It didn't take long before she opened them... her pupils trembling.
"...Uh... There's one person within ten meters."
Ten meters? I turned my head and locked eyes with someone.
"......"
"......"
"......"
The eyes staring back at me were red. Thick, heavy eyebrows seemed to reveal his temperament. His short, fiery red hair reminded me of a flickering candle flame. There was no way someone with such a striking appearance could be anyone else.
"...Hello, Luke."
Luke Blaze. The second-ranked student in our year, and at the same time...
"Whoa!! The cat talked! That's so cool!!!!"
...Our year’s officially recognized hot-blooded idiot.