Chapter 178
Clael brought Reina to the staircase on the east side of the main building, which connected from the first floor to the underground storage.
Near the stairs stood Eric and Luy, and joining them later were Will and Vincent.
There were no other students around, so they might have split up to search.
"Prince Eric, where is the monster?"
"Mr. Byrne... I'm sorry, I lost sight of it. I'm sure it came near here though...!"
Eric grimaced in frustration.
One of the student council officers... Having his subordinate kidnapped, he visibly showed signs of panic.
"I can't believe I let this happen... To think she would be taken like that...!"
"Regarding that girl... Prince Eric, I have something to ask."
Clael lowered his tone slightly and questioned Eric.
"She's a student council officer, right? A first-year?"
"Ah, yes... At first, I asked Reina, but she turned me down. Among the girls, she had the best grades after Reina, so I asked her instead."
"About 'that girl'... What's her name?"
"Huh...?"
Eric looked puzzled.
Had he not realized...? Ever since earlier, Eric had only referred to the kidnapped girl as 'that girl' and never once said her name.
"She is... she is. Her name is...?"
Eric looked confused.
He seemed on the verge of realizing something was wrong... but couldn't quite grasp it.
"What about the others? Does anyone know her name?"
"No... I don't."
"...I don't either."
"Did that girl even have a name...?"
The other main characters were also confused.
As expected, no one seemed to know her name.
"Lord Clael, this is..."
"Yes... It seems she's the key."
Clael nodded to Reina, who tugged at his sleeve.
A girl with bangs hiding her eyes, whose name no one knew... She must play an important role in the Seven Mysteries of the Academy.
"Everyone, look at that!"
At that moment, Will shouted.
Will was pointing at the staircase in question...
"Kyokyokyokyokyokyokyo..."
There stood the masked figure in a red cape... the Witch After School.
The monster noticed Will and the others looking and quickly turned and descended the stairs underground.
"Wait!"
"After it!"
Eric and the others reacted instantly.
They chased after the monster and ran down the stairs.
The stairs led to the underground storage. It should have been locked and a dead end, but...
"Ah..."
The monster that had run down the stairs... and the four main characters were swallowed by a black haze and disappeared.
The black haze engulfed the main characters... then slowly began to fade.
"Lord Clael...!"
"Reina, shall we go too?"
"Yes!"
Reina grabbed Clael's hand.
Firmly, as if to say she would never let him go alone.
Clael took Reina's hand and dashed down the stairs, diving into the black haze.
"This place is...!"
Beyond the black haze, there was the academy.
However, it was clearly abnormal.
Because... Clael and Reina were standing on the academy's ceiling.
"Is this place... upside down?"
Reina widened her eyes in shock.
Exactly... Beyond the black haze was the Royal Academy flipped upside down. On top of that, the walls, floors, and ceilings were dyed a poisonous purple.
The Seven Mysteries of the Academy... 'The Thirteen Steps Leading to Hell'
The ghost story that lay beyond the staircase.
They had stepped into another academy, hidden behind the real one.