I grabbed the white mask Narce had given me and rushed down the stairs.
Luckily, I hadn't taken off my fascia or changed clothes while resting, so there was no delay in getting outside.
Given how loud the screams were, you'd think everyone in the mansion would've woken up by now—
But the long, empty hallway was completely silent.
'…Did they all just stay in their rooms so they wouldn't get caught up in this?'
[AAAAAHHHH! AAAAAAARGH!!]
The furious screams came from directly below our room.
Yeah—no one in their right mind would step outside after hearing that.
I pressed myself against the door and exchanged a glance with Leo.
First, we needed to call Narce.
The exorcism text I read earlier said that the optimal ritual required at least two priests.
But in this case, we didn't have anyone properly trained—
If we rushed in blindly, we might make things worse.
I turned to Pai, who had been clinging to my shoulder.
It must've followed me because it was too scared to stay behind alone.
―"Pai."
The little creature twitched.
―"Can you find Narce?
"If you do, can you bring him here?"
Pai blinked rapidly before disappearing from my shoulder.
A few seconds later—
CRASH!
Something tumbled over upstairs.
Elias was the first to race down.
Narce followed right behind him, shaking a bottle of water.
"I wasn't expecting you to come out this fast—impressive."
A faint divine glow flickered around the water bottle in his hand.
Then—
Narce kicked the door wide open.
A thick, black fog instantly spilled out.
And from within—
A bloodshot-eyed servant lunged at us.
[AAAAAAARGH!!]
"Calm down."
The man's arms never reached Narce.
Narce pinned him down with divine energy and spoke.
"We need to find out his name.
"Can someone check his belongings?"
"No need—his name is Martin Dürer."
"…How did you—oh."
Narce paused, staring at me.
Then, after a moment of realization, he nodded.
He must've just remembered that I could see names.
BOOM—!
A blinding flash of light exploded through the room.
The servant collapsed backward.
Narce maintained his divine energy with one hand while bringing the bottle to the man's lips with the other.
"I'll hold him down—force it open."
"Got it. Thanks."
[LET GO!!]
The moment I pressed down on his limbs and chest with divine power, his inhuman scream ripped through the air.
'That doesn't sound human at all.'
It was like something had clogged his throat with Vitriol.
As I observed him, Narce lifted his divine hand and dipped his fingertip into the water.
Then, he drew a cross on the man's forehead.
Suddenly—
The man's body jerked violently.
His mouth foamed.
"Hm. This is a classic possession case.
"But the way it happened this suddenly is a bit… odd."
Narce frowned.
"Gotta confirm it.
"Elias."
"Yeah?"
"Can you make sure no one comes snooping?"
Elias nodded and shut the door, standing guard outside.
Leo, without needing any prompting, had already begun reciting prayers.
His family was Catholic, while Elias' family was Protestant—
So Leo was the best person to assist with a traditional exorcism.
"Leo, keep going.
"'Ancient enemy of mankind, I command you—
'Leave Martin, a creature of God!'"
As Narce continued, Leo maintained his steady prayer.
And then—
A slight flicker returned to the man's lifeless eyes.
"…I think he's back."
His voice was clear again.
With a confused look, he scanned his surroundings and tried to sit up.
"…Thank God.
"But… what just—"
THUMP—!
Narce slammed divine energy into the seal on the man's chest.
His face twisted in pain.
"..."
"In the name of God—state your name."
[Why should I?]
…That voice again.
Narce and I locked eyes.
'…This feels like something out of a horror movie.'
It was shocking.
But only for a moment.
Compared to an entire cult of undead monsters drinking human blood, possessing over 120,000 followers—
This?
This was nothing.
Narce turned to Leo and me.
"If this keeps up, we might be stuck for 24 hours or more.
"You guys good with that?"
"…Does it matter if we are?
"We can't just leave it unfinished."
We had already greeted the local noble upon arriving.
If we left now, it would look bad.
Besides—
Leaving a foaming, possessed man behind and going back to school didn't seem like the best plan.
Narce was probably thinking about how we'd be absent from class—
But if needed, I could call in sick while Elias and Leo went back.
Narce nodded.
"Fair point.
"If this drags on, Elias and Leo should head back.
"For now—let's finish this."
***
At exactly 6 AM, Martin was fully exorcised.
Perfect timing—just enough to make it back before school started.
Outside, the noble who had called us looked even worse than Martin.
He greeted us, face pale and haggard.
"Thank you, Father.
"And…."
He glanced at Leo and Elias, who were still shrouded in perception-altering magic.
"…Thank you as well, Brothers.
"This has never happened in my estate before.
"What happens now?
"Are you still coming this weekend?"
"We are only here to ease the suffering.
"But ultimately—whether the possession returns depends on the will of God.
"So I can't guarantee there won't be any other incidents."
Narce spoke calmly.
"But I'll be back tomorrow just in case.
"Don't worry too much."
"Ah… I see.
"Thank you.
"Truly, thank you."
The noble was too shaken to process everything.
Narce must've noticed, because he started soothing him with gentle words.
Meanwhile, I reflected on everything we had just witnessed.
'…I never really believed in demons before.
'But now…'
I remembered the black energy that had seeped out of Martin's body.
That was one of the descriptions I had read in the exorcism text.
But—
What if it wasn't just black magic?
What if—
It was Vitriol?
That black energy—
It looked an awful lot like magic.
Vitriol was known to be a viscous liquid, but Ainshidel had released it into the air, almost like mana.
'Which means—it doesn't have to be liquid.'
Vitriol could be dispersed in a gas-like state just like mana.
'One more thing—'
One of the drugs Lichthofen gave us was one that converted mana into Vitriol.
That potion didn't work on me—
But Leo did react to it.
And during that time, the air around him turned black.
'This is still just a theory…'
But it was worth investigating.
I turned to the nobleman and spoke.
"I have a request."
"Ah, y-yes! Of course! What is it?"
"I need you to investigate something."
"Haven't we already provided all available data…?
"Is something missing?"
"The information you gave us included personal details of the victims—
"And the potential causes of their possession.
"Correct?"
"Y-yes, that's right."
Narce raised an eyebrow.
He must've already figured out what I was thinking.
I turned back to the noble and said:
"I need you to track everything the victims ate or drank three days prior to their possession.
"Even a single sip of water—I want it all recorded."
***
The noble was shocked at the request.
There were no divine mages in his domain, and tracking every single thing a person ate was near impossible.
But—
He still agreed to do whatever he could.
"So, you think it's Vitriol?"
Narce leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin.
I had called him down to the student union basement during lunch to explain my theory.
"That the victims weren't possessed—
"But were actually poisoned by Vitriol."
"I don't know if every case of possession is like this—
"But it's definitely possible."
Narce sighed.
"I used Insight earlier, but I never considered that angle…."
"Yeah, that's been bothering me, too."
Narce thought for a while before finally speaking.
"Maybe Vitriol itself is an evil force.
"If it's deeply connected to something dark, maybe Insight couldn't detect it directly."
"Hmm."
"Alright, let's run with your idea for now.
"I already requested more data, so we should get new information by tomorrow."
I nodded.
Regardless of the outcome, this was still worth investigating.
Both demons and Pléroma were the enemy of the Church—
No matter which one was responsible, it was a problem worth solving.
Narce grinned and waved.
"Alright—see you back in class, Lucas."
Pai, perched on his shoulder, mimicked his wave.
I checked my watch.
There were still 30 minutes left before lunch ended.
'Perfect—'
There's someone else I need to talk to.
***
3rd Year, Class 2
As I arrived, I spotted Lichthofen returning from lunch.
He raised an eyebrow when he saw me.
"Fancy meeting you here."
"I have a question for you, Senior."
Lichthofen herded his classmates inside and stepped into the hallway with me.
"What is it?
"You finally thinking about joining my club?"
"Not at all.
"I already joined the theater club."
"…Huh.
"You don't seem like the type to enjoy acting."
"…Who knows."
"Alright, so what did you want to ask?"
I gestured for us to move somewhere quieter.
Lichthofen nodded, leading the way to the rooftop.
Once we settled at a table, he cast a soundproofing spell and asked:
"So?
"What's on your mind?"
"The drug you gave us in Catacombs—
"The one that turned mana into Vitriol."
"…Hah.
"Didn't think that'd come up here.
"Yeah—I did."
Seeing him admit that so easily while wearing his Imperial Academy robes felt wildly inappropriate.
"Where did you get it?"
"I already know it came from Pléroma.
"But tell me everything else you know."
"…If I do, will you join my club?"
"...."
I narrowed my eyes.
He quickly raised his hands in defeat.
"Fine, fine.
"You remember how I said Catacombs got enough Vitriol to last 5,000 people a year?
"They delivered it in capsules.
"I only used half of one dose."
"…If you were on our side, why did you feed it to us instead of just using a memory-altering drug?"
"…Because the Commander attacked my Core."
He meant Narce.
He must've suspected Lichthofen after I questioned why he was stalling.
I didn't apologize.
Instead, I changed the subject.
"You're not bound anymore, are you?"
"Yeah—now you're the only one still holding on."
…Wait.
"You still haven't broken my spell?"
I only lightly cast it—he should've been able to remove it easily.
He even destroyed the one Narce put on him.
"You can break it yourself.
"You should be strong enough."
"Hah.
"If I could, don't you think I would've already?"
…Huh.
'Guess I'll keep it, then.'
Binding magic only worked when the target was vulnerable.
If he couldn't undo it, it might come in handy later.
Lichthofen sighed.
"…Judging by your face, you're not going to remove it."
"Nope."
"Great."
I ignored his sarcasm and pressed on.
"When you gave me the capsule, why didn't it work on me?"
"Because your mana never destabilized.
"The capsule was designed to be taken with the memory-enhancing drug.
"That way, it doesn't look suspicious."
Lichthofen continued.
"It forces nightmares, making the subject's mana unstable.
"And that instability creates an opening for Vitriol to take hold."
"…I see.
"Does Pléroma use this method on their followers?"
"Not sure.
"But I did hear they sell it for that purpose."
So they might be using a different method internally.
Since we already knew Pléroma directly injected Vitriol into people, I dropped that line of questioning.
Instead, I grilled him with every question I had.
By the time lunch ended, my notebook was full of answers.
I stood up.
"That should be everything.
"Thanks for the info."
Lichthofen smirked.
"No problem.
"…Oh—one more thing."
I paused.
"Did you ever meet Marianne Baum?"
"No."
"Check the theater this weekend."
That Weekend
I considered going sooner—
But Marianne only returned to the surface on weekends to handle Catacomb's affairs.
That night, we rested early and traveled there before dawn.
Elias—despite being Protestant and not really needing to be here—
Somehow still insisted on coming.
He even slept during the warp.
"You sleep a lot."
"Yeah~ You should take some of it from me, Lucas."
"If I took your sleep, I'd be asleep for 12 hours a day."
"Sounds great.
"That way, I'll catch up to Leo's height."
What nonsense.
But it was kind of funny to hear him mumble half-asleep.