CHAPTER 37: INSTRUCTOR RACHEL [2]

A cool sensation ran down the back of my neck.

An unpleasant sound echoed at the same time.

Crash. Crash.

My first thought when I heard that sound was that I was glad I didn’t have my hearing blocked.

"... I mean. What? I don’t have it. That... Let’s go. I’m sure I saw it. Did you see it too?"

... A voice? Indeed, can this be called a voice?

Before considering whether it was male or female, it was not the type of sound that could come from human vocal cords in the first place.

It was gloomy, grotesque, and unstable—like an animal being dragged to a slaughterhouse and struggling to survive.

An incomprehensible sound that we could not even dare to express in words.

Crash.

The sound of a wild animal chewing and swallowing a large piece of meat continued to ring out.

Even though I knew I had to turn my head toward the source of the sound, I didn’t move, as if my body were frozen.

"I told you I couldn’t turn it on, right? I mean, it’s sad. Give it to me. Who is that guy, the devil? Should I kill it? It’s okay. No. No."

Alarm bells warning me of danger rang constantly in my head.

Instinct screamed.

Run away.

I should never encounter that thing.

A primal fear came over my whole body.

But I knew.

What was that incomprehensible being in front of me right now?

How could I not know? Because even at this very moment, the ’Death’s Oath’ that I had made for her was being manifested.

"... Instructor Rachel."

I didn’t know why she was here.

No, now I didn’t even know if she was the girl I knew.

The ferocious demonic energy emanating from her entire body could no longer be considered human.

What on earth was going on here?

Rachel was eating a corpse whose original form was unrecognizable, muttering unintelligible words.

The head was gone, and organs and limbs were scattered everywhere.

Seeing that the mandrake was being held in one of the arms that had fallen off, it seemed that the body going into Rachel’s mouth was the culprit who had stolen the mandrake.

Red-colored eyes, scattered hair, twisted joints—could we call that a human?

Rachel, who had been eating intently, slowly raised her head.

Then she slowly turned her head toward me—in a form that no human being could ever imitate.

She looked at me with a face covered in blood and flesh and smiled brightly.

The corners of her mouth, torn in an arc, reached just below her ears.

"Eh? Devil? I found it."

I took a deep breath.

"—Everyone."

I shouted with all my might and ran toward my companions.

"Run—!"

At the same time, Rachel also ran toward me.

The grotesque sight—approaching while moving both hands and feet at the same time—was so horrifying that it made me let go of the reason I was barely holding on to.

It looked as if a huge spider with a human face had found its prey.

"Duh? Duhduh. Dadada? Dadada. Uh oh? Uh oh."

I shouted loudly at Charlotte, who was standing still and muttering.

"Evil...? It’s really evil...? No. No. Nonsense. That can’t be possible. It’s all an illusion anyway, right? I told you everything here is an illusion. That’s probably fake anyway. Yes? Say yes. Huh? Say yes. Please."

"Hey, you crazy! What are you doing!"

"Haha... Okay. Because this is an illusion. This is a dream. There’s no way evil could come out of a place like this... right? Sister. Dad. Come on and tell me I’m right. I don’t want to have nightmares anymore. Huh? Wake me up quickly..."

When I saw her talking nonsense with unfocused eyes, it seemed like she was completely lost in fear.

Although I wanted to throw her as food to that monster, Charlotte was also someone with talent that would surpass her sister in the future.

If Rachel was real and not an illusion, she might really die.

I couldn’t take such a gamble when I didn’t know whether this situation was an illusion or reality.

’Plague. Not useful at all, and just holds you back until the end.’

I cursed under my breath and placed Charlotte next to me.

Fortunately, Eden and Frey came to their senses.

"Frey! Eden! Don’t look back and run with all your might!"

At the same time, I also moved my feet with all my strength.

Eden, who was running while looking ahead, asked me in a frightened voice,

"Captain! Hey, what is that! Could it be that the monster is Supervisor Rachel? Then should this be considered a type of test?"

That’s what I wanted to ask.

"Zail! It’s too fast!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound was getting closer quickly. Despite running with all my might, even with my entire body strengthened, Rachel was rapidly closing the distance.

’If this continues, we’ll be caught! What should I do? Should I fight? What are the supervisors doing?!’

Eden said in a nervous voice,

"Captain! What do we do? It’s an illusion anyway, so wouldn’t it be better to fight whether it’s porridge or rice?"

There was no time. I had to choose quickly.

At this point, unless you were an idiot, you would understand—something strange had happened in the exam.

Moreover, Rachel had the status of a proctor, so she could interfere in the exam as much as she wanted.

What this meant was that there was a high possibility the monster following me closely was not an illusion but a real being.

I stopped running and put Charlotte down in her place. Eden asked, puzzled by my sudden action.

"Captain...?"

"Eden. That is not an illusion."

"Well, of course...?"

"It’s probably the real Instructor Rachel."

"That can’t be possible!"

It was no longer the time to be bold. It was obvious that if I just ran away like this, I would die without being able to do anything.

I had tried not to show my power as much as possible, but what was the use of it all if I died?

’Okay. It’s up to you later.’

Before I knew it, Rachel was in front of me, looking at me and smiling.

Both corners of her mouth were grotesquely torn. Suddenly, it occurred to me that she might be smiling happily.

"Dadded Daddie Daddie Daddier."

I injected mana into Sieghart’s seal that I was holding in my hand.

At that moment, a huge spear appeared in my hand.

"Magic spear. Axion."

As if answering my call, the purple mana on the spear blade rippled like waves.