The Villain part I
Part 1
In a bedroom as luxurious as one might find in a mansion of the noble,
Zal curled up on an oversized queen-size bed that was far too large for his small frame.
He stared blankly at the empty wall of the room, even though there was nothing there to see.
His gaze was vacant, as if his soul was not present.
The sound of the door opening and someone entering the room did not elicit any reaction from Zal.
“…Still not over your sadness, huh?…”
Sandro, who appeared as a skeleton draped in a dark green cloak, walked into the room carrying a tray of food.
He placed a covered dish on the bedside low table, replacing an empty plate that was already there.
“…At least you finished your meal…
that’s a good thing, I guess…”
Zal remained unresponsive, but Sandro did not seem to mind, thinking that coming to terms with grief would take time.
He then took the food tray and left the room without saying anything more.
Once Sandro had left, Zal got up from the bed and cast a summoning spell with a determined look, a stark contrast to his previously lifeless demeanor.
He summoned a tiny insect—a minion summoned from new magic circle he had created, specifically designed for espionage.
After summoning the small creature, he sent it under the door crack to begin using ‘Minion’s Vision’ to spy on Sandro’s movements.
Sandro went downstairs to the kitchen at the back of the mansion to put away the tray and then returned to the living room in the left wing.
He picked a book from the shelf and settled into a comfortably plush, pink-upholstered armchair to read.
The pastel colors of the furniture in the living room decor starkly contrasted with Sandro’s grim skeletal appearance.
From his surveillance, Zal knew that after serving breakfast, Sandro would read in the living room until nearly noon before preparing lunch.
It was a routine that never changed.
Zal used his summoned insect to explore nearly every nook and cranny of the mansion, a moderately sized two-story building with more than ten rooms, his own being on the second floor at the back of the mansion.
A peculiar feature of the mansion was its lack of windows, so all the interior light came from lamps fixed nearly everywhere on the walls.
It was difficult to tell whether it was day or night inside; thankfully, a large clock hanging on the wall displayed both the time and date.
Otherwise, without his wristband he would have no sense of time.
Since the wristband, which also functioned as a watch, was removed early on, Zal awoke to find it no longer on his wrist.
This was understandable because the wristbands for students at Ejis Academy had a location tracking system for finding anyone who got lost.
Such devices were, of course, supposed to be removed. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Checking the date on the clock, Zal realized that today marked the seventh day since his abduction.
Initially, he felt completely hopeless and lacked the spirit to do anything.
However, after mulling over various things day after day, he began to consider other possibilities.
“He must definitely be deceiving me.”
This thought brought a glint back to Zal’s eyes.
He believed that Sandro might have used some sort of illusion magic that day to make him see those images,
all to make him give up.
“The memories and experiences I’ve shared with everyone over the last three years can’t possibly be fake.”
Convinced of this, Zal plotted a way to secretly escape.
Hence, he pretended to be in despair to avoid arousing Sandro’s suspicion, but he always ate his meals fully to maintain his strength for the escape.
Sandro appeared to be complacent, probably thinking he had convinced him about the events of that night.
As a result, no guards were posted in the mansion, and even the door of Zal’s room was not locked.
“Normally, he doesn’t come out of his room until lunchtime.
If it’s now, I should be able to sneak out…”
Once confident that the opportunity was right, Zal gently cracked the door open and slowly slipped through the slightly ajar gap.
He then gently closed the door behind him and tiptoed down the stairs.
He tried to move as quietly as possible, moving from one column to another until he reached the front door of the mansion without any disturbance.
Zal took a deep breath, took one last look towards Sandro’s room for assurance, and then pushed open the front door and hurriedly ran out of the mansion.
Part 2
As soon as he stepped out of the mansion, Zal found himself standing in the middle of a forest.
Turning back to look at the mansion again, he realized that what he had thought was a grand mansion was just a small wooden hut.
Sandro had used this place as a link to the mansion, which was a dimensionally constructed dungeon.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Zal summoned his faithful wolf companion, mounted it, and instructed it to dash away at high speed, leaving the small hut behind.
In no time, Zal’s wolf maneuvered from the edge of the forest to a vast field dotted with numerous hills.
The landscape was familiar to him—it was the Lower Oregon Field, located southwest of the academy.
Though he had never been this far out, Zal remembered the terrain because in his first years at school, he had often come to explore the surrounding areas.
This area was considered a low-danger zone and was frequently used for instructional purposes.
Looking around, Zal could see the peaks of the Ejis Mountain Range on the horizon, so far away that it was almost obscured by the hills of this area.
Seeing his goal, Zal did not hesitate.
He boosted his wolf with the ‘Feral’ skill to increase its speed and headed straight towards his target.
This wolf pack had been specially modified for travel.
By rotating their use, Zal could ride them continuously without needing to stop for rest.
After traveling for just over an hour and switching wolves several times, Zal began to see the cliffs where Ejis Academy was located within eyesight.
But the closer he got to the mountain, the more he felt something was amiss.
From below, normally one would be able to see the academy buildings perched on the edge of the cliff, as Ejis Academy’s academic buildings and dormitories ranged from three to five stories high.
Even from beneath the cliff, the upper parts of the buildings should be visible.
However, now he could not see any buildings at all.
“Surely he hasn’t destroyed the academy…”
This thought made Zal increasingly anxious and agitated as he approached the school.
His heart, beat faster and he had to clutch his chest.
After ascending the long slope from the base of the mountain to the area in front of the cliff where the Ejis Academy was located, Zal reached the entrance.
But there was no longer a door or a school fence there.
“What is this…?”
Zal continued to ride his wolf through the area which should have been the front garden of the academy, up to the central courtyard, which once housed a large fountain and was surrounded by numerous buildings.
But now, it was just empty.
Where the academy once stood was now just a bare cliff, a vast open space atop the cliff.
Zal continued to circle the area, the view from the cliff was familiar; it was indeed the location of Ejis Academy.
Even the roads, gardens, or lawns were in their usual places, but all other structures were gone.
Where buildings once stood, only bare ground remained, as if every structure had been demolished.
He dismounted his wolf and walked to what supposed to be the front yard of the auditorium, the last place he had been that night.
There was still a large crater from Paraven’s attack, but beyond that, nothing else.
“Why did it have to be like this…”
The school was not destroyed, as there were no other signs of attack or remains of buildings.
Everything had just disappeared, leaving Zal even more confused about what had happened.
“…Are you satisfied now?…”
A chilling voice asked from behind.
Turning around, Zal saw Sandro standing there as expected.
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