How To Live As An Academy Extra Villain

91 – Rat Hole (9)

“Put your emphasis on three. One, two… Three!”

-Boom!

In front of a low burial mound in a mountain where there was little light, there was a real scene of people wearing robes gathering to dig up a grave.

When something caught on the tip of the pickaxe, they stopped digging and began to delicately clean up the area around it.

When the shape of the coffin was fully revealed, they worked together to lift the coffin and take it out at once.

“Phew. I dug it all out.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Confirmation?”

“The joint between the lid and the main body is very loose. This is definitely…”

Dante answered Sicella’s question by slightly pushing the coffin lid. The lid rattled violently even though it seemed like I didn’t apply much force.

“Still, just in case, let’s check thoroughly. Take out the magic measuring instrument.”

At Sisella’s words, Dante took out a pure white bead-like object the size of an egg from her arms.

During the last demonic attack on the Academy, I saw the Inquisitors use the same item.

However, unlike then, when it was almost pitch black, this time the beads were only slightly stained gray.

Dante walked around the burial mound once while holding the marble, but the color of the marble never returned to white.

That meant that this area was a terrain where undispersed demonic energy was slightly stagnant, and it also meant that something affected by that demonic energy could become evilly distorted.

For example, a body in a grave.

“…If this happens…”

When Sisella sent her glance, her companions immediately formed a line, surrounding the coffin.

“Dante.”

“Yes.”

Dante, the paladin who had been called, approached the coffin. Unlike before, where she had just pushed slightly, she used proper force to pull the lid off with both hands.

The joints were originally loose, so the lid, unable to withstand his strength even for a moment, fell off.

“Umm…”

Dante, who was the first to check the contents of the coffin, sighed lightly and made the habitual sign of the cross with his hand across his forehead and chest.

Inside the coffin, an elderly man could be seen sleeping with a peaceful face, but as if it was completely natural, his pulse was not beating at all and there was no sound of breathing.

The clothes had already rotted and turned into rags and were rolling around, but in contrast, the man’s body was clean and without any blemishes. There wasn’t even a single hair on it.

The sight of all hair, including hair and eyebrows, falling out was reminiscent of a raw chicken or pig that had been prepared after slaughter.

There was a trace of something dark red and dried around the corner of the man’s mouth.

And when Dante lightly lifted the man’s lips, he saw fangs that were too long and jagged to be human.

“I knew that. If you build a burial mound anywhere, the corpse will turn into a vampire. Anyway…”

Sisela furrowed her eyebrows and let out a light complaint.

“Still, I’m glad I found it before it got too old. The tools I have now will be enough. Dante, give me the stake.”

“Yes.”

Hearing Sicella’s words, Dante took out something shiny from his pocket and handed it to Sicella.

“What is that?”

“A stake made of pure silver. A must-have when catching vampires.”

To my question, Sisela answered without even turning her head. She then held the stake and recited her sermon, infusing the stake with sacred power.

After finishing the work, Sisella approached the sleeping vampire. And without a moment of hesitation, she drove the stake in her hand right into her heart.

-Kyaaa!!! Kyaaa!!

The moment the stake was driven in, the vampire’s eyes flashed open. The sight of black eyes covering the eyes with no whites is quite creepy.

A sharp, ear-piercing scream like that of a vampire echoed throughout the mountain, but perhaps because of the stake that was driven into her chest, her limbs just flailed and did not offer any resistance.

-Kyaaa!! Kyaaa!!

As the screams continued, Sisella frowned and retreated behind her. As she waited patiently, she finally noticed that the vampire’s torments gradually subsided.

Once the sound was completely gone, Dante walked up and kicked the vampire to check if she was alive or dead.

“He died for sure.”

“You’ve worked hard. Pull out the stake and give it to me, and just burn the body here. Even if it’s late, we should at least cremate it.”

Dante, after hearing Sisella’s words, pulled out the stake from the vampire’s chest.

There was a large hole in the place of the stake, but strangely enough, not a single drop of blood came out. The part buried in the flesh had absorbed demonic energy and had turned black.

Her priests sprinkled oil on her body and set it on fire, and Sisela took her stake and recited her sermon again. Then, the pile, which had been stained pitch black, gradually regains its original light.

“Can’t I just cut off the head or use regular magic to burn it?”

“There is nothing that cannot be done, and then the demonic energy contained in the vampire will spread outward again. Secondary monsters affected by demonic energy like this must be purified with divine power.”

“But you’re so used to it, aren’t you? You’ll learn proper monster hunting methods at the academy starting in the second year.”

“We are similar in nature. I just learned this early because I was somewhat interested in it.”

After completing her purification, Sicella handed her stake back to Dante. After clearing up the surroundings and returning to the adjacent village, all the residents there were waiting for us outside the fence.

“Guys…What happened…?”

“As I said earlier, we have confirmed that the village chief’s body has mutated into a vampire.”

“Oh my…What in the world is this…”

After hearing Dante’s words, the former village chief’s wife fell behind her, touching her forehead, and those who appeared to be her children barely managed to support her.

“Well… Then what happens to those who have had their blood sucked…?”

“It hasn’t been that long, and since his body died, he will be fine soon if he takes the medicine we gave him and recuperates for a few days.”

“Then what happens to the village chief? Since he became a monster and harmed people, does he not go to heaven?”

“The spirit of the village chief has long since passed away, and it is only his remaining body that has been tormenting you. He is no longer a man but an animal. If he had not committed any sins, he would have already entered into rest.”

“Hey, I’m glad, I’m so glad…”

After listening to Sisela, an old man stroked her chest.

“We were lucky this time and came, but if we had been a few days late, we would have suffered great damage. Obviously, it is a doctrine to cremate a body if it is not possible to bless it, so how could you break that?”

“…There was a will from the village chief to be buried in that land, and since this is a very remote place, there is no priest…”

Hearing one of the villagers making her excuses, Sisela put on a stern expression and urged them again.

“That’s why the current situation has occurred. Don’t interpret the doctrine arbitrarily again and make a mess of it. Unless you want to see someone you know turn into a monster again.”

“Yes, yes…I’ll keep that in mind…”

As Sisela screamed, the entire village bowed their heads. Sicela certainly has a power that cannot be explained in words.

Should I say that people naturally follow her even if she doesn’t put on anything on purpose? She is too friendly to grow up above, and too distant to grow up together. Anyway, it’s just amazing in many ways.

“What do you think? Wasn’t I cool just now?”

Sisela looked back at me and lightly squinted one of her eyes.

Add to this his frivolous attitude, he is definitely a difficult person to understand.

“I will speak to my lord. Even if the priest cannot reside, the number of rounds can be increased.”

“Oh my, thank you…”

After hearing what I said, the new village chief bowed his head. We left the village after seeing them off.

Despite the initial tension, nothing major happened even though we were already touring several villages.

I just moved around and subdued a colony of goblins and ratmen, or killed a few ghouls that had escaped from the grave.

If it were a big deal to just exorcise the naturally occurring vampires in the village, it could be said to be a big deal.

Other than that, he repeatedly checked on people, treated anyone who was sick, and listened to those who complained about their grievances.

It was as if the events that took place in the true nature were lies. The darkness could not even catch its tail.

As if the entity never existed in the first place.

If we were to find traces of it, I expected that there would be something left in a remote part of the territory that was difficult for us to control.

With the thought that Sarah’s work might be the final plot, we reached the final residence of our schedule.

From noble mtl dot com

“There’s still a chapel here, right? Edwin. I’ll be back in a moment.”

When he saw the building with the cross erected in the center of the village, Sisela smiled as if he had been waiting and left.

She seemed quite devout in her faith, and she seemed quite pleased with the existence of the chapel, as she had not been able to find a proper place to pray for several days.

Her two inquisitors followed her out, and I resumed my usual work in this village.

However, the scenery here is quite different from the villages we have seen so far.

The countryside is usually gloomy. Farmers work the barren land, wrestling with weeds and insects under the scorching sun. Even if hunters walk all day, they often end up in vain. On top of that, they take turns guarding the place with little sleep at night, and if any monsters happen to invade, there is an emergency for several days.

Men soothe their lack of stability with alcohol, and their anger is usually directed at women and children.

Such contagious gloom constantly hovers in the air and eventually sticks to the spot like sticky oil, but in this town, no such stickiness is felt at all.

The men guarding the entrance, the elderly sitting under the trees, and the children playing with their hands are all bright and lively. I’m so happy that I can’t stop laughing.

There are always a lot of problems in places like this, so they always welcome a solution.

For example, pilgrims from well-educated and cultured backgrounds who sometimes stay in their villages.

However, even when we talk to the residents, there is no one who has any reports or grievances.

I just smiled and shook my head left and right without saying a word.

Not having gained much from her, I entered her chapel in search of her to join Sisela.

Sisela was kneeling in front of the aisle between the benches in the center of her chapel, holding her hands together.

I did not move even though the sound of my footsteps echoed very loudly on the stone floor.

After a few minutes, Sisela finally got up and found me.

“Edwin? When did you come here? You have to tell me to find out.”

“It’s okay. I just arrived. I didn’t want to disturb your prayers.”

“Hey, it’s just like meditation, so you don’t have to worry too much. Do you have something to say? Let’s go out first…”

-Crispy!

Behind Sisela, who stands up from her seat and turns around, there is a sound as if something from high has fallen to the floor.

Then, Sisela turned her head and her expression became stiff.

As I followed her gaze, I finally saw the same scenery as Sisela had seen.

The cross fell to the ground and was shattered.