▶ Well, a Passable Magic. You've Got Talent.
▶ Well, a Passable Magic. You've Got Talent.
The magical tool known as 'Dream' appears to be an illusion type.
The First-time Section is currently sealed.
The meeting resumed, and Plan laid out a concise summary of the intelligence extracted from the Blood Demons.
Not a single one of them dared resist him, and none harbored even a flicker of suspicion. Whatever he wished to know, he could extract immediately.
This was partly because the Blood Demons functioned in a cell structure, and partly because Maeve was such a slippery, aberrant anomaly even by their standards.
Before long, his plan of action and operational guidelines had crystallized. All that remained was giving the orders.
"Teresa."
Plan spoke the name quietly.
Teresa's eyes flew wide. She pointed at her own chin in disbelief.
"M-me, sir? Yes!"
Though he had called only Teresa, the other Blood Demons straightened their postures and swallowed dryly.
"The rest of you, listen well."
The command was brief, but absolute. Every Blood Demon listened intently.
"First, no student dies. Not one."
The Blood Demons nodded in silence. Some couldn't even manage that much, too preoccupied with gauging Plan's expression.
Their objective was to set up an exhibition that would satisfy the 'Princess.'
Maeve's specialty, the dark magic 'Taxidermy,' wasn't meant to kill its targets outright—but it was still best to preempt any possible accidents.
"Second, move every piece to the room I've designated. We're gathering them all in one place."
The directives he issued in the meeting amounted to those two items alone. The Blood Demons found neither difficult to grasp. And none of them dared raise an objection.
Plan rose quietly from his seat.
He smoothed down his clothes—not a thread out of place.
"Let's move."
Teresa and the others fell into step behind him in silence.
The path from the cocktail bar to the First-time Section was short. They did not need to walk long.
The moment they stepped inside, they were greeted by the sight of countless artworks strewn about in chaos.
Plan inspected one.
[ The Hanged Man ]
It depicted a staff member suspended upside-down in midair, one ankle bound tightly.
*My ankle hurts so much. Feels like it's going to snap. Please stop.
Plan intervened, flipping the figure in the painting right-side up, and murmured,
"Take it."
The Blood Demons scrambled to retrieve it. Filing away that their swiftness was their one redeeming quality, Plan resumed surveying the section.
"...Just staff."
No students.
Among all those who had been transformed into artworks, not a single one wore an academy uniform.
In other words, the students hadn't been taxidermied yet.
Plan began carefully examining the pieces one by one.
[ Abstract ], a figure with its eyes erased. [ The Lady Smoking ], a staff member posed in a bank of mist. [ Tightrope Walking ], someone forced to balance on a single thread...
Even across so many works, there was not one taxidermied student.
But the moment he advanced further in—
A single painting that filled an entire wall entered his field of vision.
[ Sapour ]
The students were inside this painting.
The background detail was so immaculate it was indistinguishable from reality itself.
The students trapped within were still assessing the situation, utterly unaware they had already been swallowed into the world of the artwork.
To this degree... he wasn't too late. No, it all fit together perfectly.
"Teresa."
"Y-yes!"
Plan stated coolly,
"From here on, you need only record every student's appearance."
"All... do you mean all at once? Or one by one, in detail?"
"One by one, as detailed as you can make it. Record the entire process up to the moment they're taxidermied. And the instant they become works, move them to the room."
Even in the midst of this hellish situation, Plan remained utterly composed. He turned to head directly to the room.
"W-wait! Lady Maeve!"
Teresa called out after him, her voice tinged with urgency.
"Um... what should we do after the recording is finished?"
Their gazes met in the air. Teresa bared her teeth in a hasty, awkward smile.
Plan answered in a low voice.
"The Student Council President will come."
The Student Council President? Who was the council president again? Teresa wracked her memory.
"...The president? Ah, do you mean Shushia?"
"Yes. When she arrives, guide her to me. And add that I am waiting."
With those final words, Plan departed. His steps were unhurried.
"Yes...!"
Teresa stared after his solitary, noble back for a long moment, then turned and began meticulously recording the situation unfolding within [ Sapour ].
◈
A space of absolute opulence.
Glittering jewels and decor of elaborate patterns naturally drew the eye. At the very least, they were wildly unsuited for the interior of a 'Student Council President's office.'
And in the center of that office, a woman sat with her chin resting in her hand.
"Hm hm~"
The woman humming a little tune was in quite a good mood.
Her neatly combed hair held the dew-silver luster unique to elves, and her pointed ears twitched with her amusement.
At a glance, it might sound like a heartwarming scene. But anyone who witnessed it in person would never harbor such a sentiment.
Because the corners of her mouth were twisted into a terrifyingly grotesque curl.
This was Shushia, the Student Council President of the First-time Section—the very Blood Demon known among her kind as Maeve, the master of disguise.
"Hm hm~"
One hand propped up her chin, while the other perused a copy of the painting [ Sapour ].
Matching her leisurely humming, a satisfied smile spread across her face.
Shushia had crammed countless rabbit dolls into [ Sapour ]. At the same time, she added the painting of a colossal Demon Beast.
The grotesque monster, eight unsettling human heads protruding from its body, was perfectly calibrated to provoke terror in the students.
[ Slice open the dolls' bellies to find the key. ]
[ Fail to find it in time, and... ]
[ The monster in the painting will come alive~ ]
She hadn't forgotten to add a friendly notice, either.
Immediately, the students swarmed like ants, tearing open the dolls' stomachs.
—Not here!
—Gone... it's gone...
"Whew~ Come on, kids, search a little harder~"
Shushia snickered.
There had never been a key in the first place. All of this was simply part of Shushia's own twisted 'game.'
The situation itself was her 'art.'
"Before I show the Princess... I'm allowed to enjoy myself this much, aren't I? Hm? Hm. Of course I am."
Soon enough, 'fear' began seeping out from the painting.
A certain quantity of fear was converted into Red Mana. For that very reason, a Blood Demon had no choice but to spend its entire life threatening and intimidating others.
But it wasn't solely for survival. The act of extracting and swallowing fear delivered an insane degree of pleasure.
It was both a necessity for survival and a joy. It was, quite simply, the driving force of Shushia's life.
Just then, the Trivia chimed.
[ *Violet ]
[ ▶ Are the student tests proceeding well? ]
[ ▶ You're abiding by the procedures, yes? ]
[ ▶ I request an interim report. ]
"Tch..."
Shushia crinkled her face and tapped back at the Trivia.
[ ▷ Going well~ ]
"Hm hm~"
Shushia's gaze returned to the painting.
—Th-that thing's crawling out!
—Freezing spells aren't working on it!
Of course magic wouldn't work. It was a world inside a painting she herself had created.
—Kyaaaak!
The Demon Beast finally began chasing the students. Anyone it so much as touched was instantly taxidermied into the painting.
"Pfft...! Fuhuhu... How utterly pathetic..."
A smile bloomed fully on Shushia's lips.
It was a radiant smile, but it contained nothing save pure, unadulterated malice.
The pleasure she took in inflicting pain and terror on others could only be described as evil.
Shushia moved her fingers a few more times.
The taxidermied students were ejected from [ Sapour ]. Only those still intact remained inside, struggling desperately to evade the Demon Beast, feeding Shushia her ecstasy.
By the time her fingertips slowly stilled, every last student had been taxidermied, and [ Sapour ] stood completely empty.
"This should do for this batch... Shame I can't kill them, though. Were it not for the Princess... Kikikik."
Shushia stretched languidly, and even then, a laugh escaped her. Tormenting humans was satisfying no matter when or how she did it.
"But..."
Maeve's expression soon shifted to something more subtle.
She moved her hand slowly, tracing the names listed on the roster with a deliberate gaze.
Students who had already been taxidermied had a line drawn through their names. But a single name remained untouched, perfectly intact.
"Plan."
Plan.
Maeve murmured the name as if seeing it for the first time.
"As expected... a peculiar one."
Shushia smiled.
Her eyes narrowed to thin crescents, soft as a new moon, as if they too had been drawn with a single stroke.
He'd been strange from the very first meeting. He radiated an eerily distinctive presence, and that was precisely why she had deliberately approached him.
An ordinary student would likely have died on the spot. Even if death had been avoided, the odds were high that their magic circuits would have been wrecked beyond repair.
"Good."
Shushia rose from her seat in a fluid motion.
Even that slight movement sent ripples through her gray robe, and hints of a curvaceous silhouette flickered beneath the fabric.
"I'll find you myself, and I'll taxidermy you personally."
Not long afterward, Shushia set foot on the floor of the First-time Section.
The scene that greeted her was at once horrific and deeply satisfying.
Ordinary humans—neither Märchen Academy students nor associates of Sapour—lay as corpses, dispatched without a shred of mercy.
Janitors, common visitors, shop workers... blood-drained bodies were being swiftly cleared away by the Blood Demons.
Some were transporting taxidermy pieces. Others, the dead. Others still, the bloodstains.
Nothing strange about that. Such was the nature of Blood Demons.
But.
"Careful with those. Handle them gently."
"You don't have to tell me."
"...?"
The problem was the sight of Blood Demons moving the student taxidermy pieces that emerged from [ Sapour ]—with a perfectly synchronized, orderly precision.
Assisting with a task they hadn't been assigned? No, that wasn't quite the right impression.
What it looked like... was obedience to someone else's command.
"Ah. Society Head."
At that moment, one of the affiliates acknowledged her first.
'Another Blood Demon.'
The affiliate leaned in and whispered into Shushia's ear.
"Allow me to guide you. Lady Maeve is waiting."
"...?"
At those impossible words, Shushia stopped in her tracks and questioned her own ears.
"...What kind of bullshit is that?"
"Exactly as I said. Please, this way."
Shushia's brow furrowed by slow degrees.
Maeve is waiting... which, rephrased, meant someone was impersonating her.
'Who would dare?'
Interest stirred inside her. She didn't know who it was, but one thing was certain: the fool's audacity had swollen well past his chest.
"Ha..."
Shushia let out a scornful laugh. She turned back toward Teresa, biting off each syllable.
"So... you're telling me Maeve is waiting for me right now?"
"Yes. I swear it. You must move at once."
Shushia studied Teresa's eyes in silence.
She detected no hint of deception in them. The girl was completely sincere.
"That Blood Demon famous for its disguises, you mean...?"
"That's correct. Ah, but truly, you must go immediately—"
At Shushia's deceptively soft voice, Teresa began to grow visibly anxious.
"That— the Taxidermy spell. You've heard of it, surely?"
"Of course I know it."
How could she not, when she was the one who had devised it.
Which was precisely why Teresa's next words landed like a physical blow.
"Seeing it in person leaves you utterly speechless. Portraits, sculptures, and on top of that, engravings too... No, never mind— please, hurry."
"In... person...?"
Shushia's expression contorted completely. There was no reason it should look pleasant.
Meaning... this impostor had copied the ability as well?
Had the audacity to mimic her Taxidermy spell?
"Lead the way."
"P-pardon?"
Shushia's voice had sharpened to a razor's edge, and Teresa flinched in obvious bewilderment. Shushia only pressed harder.
"I said lead the way. We're going, aren't we?"
"Ah, yes."
They began to walk.
Teresa's stride showed no hesitation as she guided them. To any onlooker, it was the very picture of loyalty.
Her curiosity now outstripped her displeasure. Just what kind of creature would dare impersonate her?
"Aha. This is it?"
When they finally stood before an enormous door, Shushia murmured to herself. This was the chamber that housed the 'Dream.'
Teresa gave a slow nod.
"Yes. That's correct."
"Hey."
Shushia spun around to face Teresa.
"What is it?"
"What do you do... with a dog that can't recognize its own master?"
"Forgive me, but I have no earthly idea what you're talking about."
It wasn't Teresa's fault. The only issue was Shushia's own Disguise Art, which was freakishly advanced.
So, in truth, Shushia's temper was simply frayed.
"When a dog fails to recognize its master... should I take pride in my own brilliance? Or should I just put the dog down?"
Teresa's brow knit together.
"I don't have the faintest clue what you—"
"You don't have to."
Shushia ceased concealing her red mana and let it flare openly. Teresa's eyes flew wide.
"Because you're about to find out."
"Y-you can't possibly be—"
Aghast, Teresa frantically pulled up her own red mana— and that was as far as she got. A frame of four borders sealed her in place before she could do more.
[ Blind ]
*Ah, I can't see anything. Not a thing.
Just like that, Teresa was taxidermied. Two streaks of black paint were drawn across her closed eyes.
"This is what real Taxidermy looks like. Pathetic."
Without even a glance at the description that appeared above it, Shushia stepped slowly toward the door.
Click—
Reigning in her red mana, smoothing back her hair, Shushia passed through the colossal door.
A long corridor unveiled itself.
The 'Dream' was an incredibly high-grade magical tool. There was no choice but to keep it isolated like this.
Simply existing in the same space as it was enough to suffocate a low-level mage to death— beyond sparking circuits or wrecked pathways; it was outright lethal.
Which meant the impostor, whoever he was, possessed mana sufficient to stand inside the Dream's chamber.
Her interest swelled.
At the end of this corridor, that insolent creature would be waiting.
Click—.
Reaching the corridor's end, Shushia found another door blocking her path.
"...."
As though it had been waiting for her alone, the door already stood slightly ajar. "Blocking her path" was perhaps the wrong choice of words.
Shushia wrenched the door open with Telekinesis and strode inside.
"...Hmm."
Even she let out a sound she couldn't quite identify.
A vast and darkened room, the air cool and crisp, the colossal torrent of mana radiating from the Dream...
All of that was exactly what she had anticipated. But.
In the corner, a visual record played on a massive loop. It documented the whole process of students being taxidermied one after another inside [ Sapour ].
Elsewhere, taxidermied pieces were arrayed at precise angles as if for an actual exhibition, and enormous sheets of paper covered in dense writing floated suspended in midair.
"...."
Shushia plucked one of the papers from the air and examined it.
[ Becky ]
▶ Her grasp of ice elements is commendable.
▶ In unexpected situations, she wavers excessively. This stems from a lack of faith, not a lack of talent.
Crunch—
"What is the meaning of..."
The paper crunched in Shushia's tightening grip.
Yet even through the crumpled sheet, she could see countless others— and every one of them was covered in the same kind of notes about each individual student.
She swept them all aside at once with Telekinesis.
And at last.
What finally entered her field of vision was a mage standing firm.
An imposing, well-built frame. Elegant red eyes that blazed with their own radiance despite bearing no trace of Blood Demon heritage.
Hair black as bound shadow. Pale skin. A jawline sharp as a blade.
The owner of impeccably restrained blue mana.
"So you're the one who's been playing these games?"
Plan.
From the very center of an exhibition hall opened solely for him, he turned slowly to face Shushia.
Snap—!
In the same instant, a sheet of paper shot toward her like a ray of light.
Shushia halted it right before her eyes with a pulse of Telekinesis.
[ Maeve ]
▶ Well, a serviceable spell. Shows some knack.
Shows some knack.
Knack. Knack. Knack....
"Ha...?"
A vein bulged across Shushia's forehead.