Episode-737
Chapter : 1453
"Okay," Lloyd said to the empty room. "I know who she is. I know what she is. But if I just walk up to her and say, 'Hey, you're a monster,' she'll turn me into a toadstool or stab me again. And I really hate being stabbed."
He needed to be smart. He needed to be the Professor, not the General.
"She likes to hide," Lloyd muttered. "She likes illusions. She likes to be the smartest person in the room. So... let's invite everyone into the room and turn on the lights."
He stood up and clapped his hands. "Mina! Alaric! We have a show to plan!"
The next day, posters appeared all over the Royal Academy.
GRAND DEMONSTRATION
Professor Ferrum Presents: THE CURE
Witness the cleansing of a Cursed Artifact!
Location: The Great Lecture Hall
Time: Noon
Attendance Mandatory for Faculty
The Great Lecture Hall was an ancient amphitheater made of polished marble. It was designed to amplify sound so that a professor could whisper and still be heard in the back row. Today, it was packed.
Students filled the upper benches, buzzing with excitement and fear. The faculty sat in the front row. Headmaster Valerius was there, looking hopeful. Princess Isabella was there, looking suspicious. Daniel was there, looking relieved that he wasn't the one being yelled at.
And Rubaiya was there.
She sat in the second row, her posture perfect, her face a mask of calm interest. But Lloyd, watching from the stage, saw the tension in her shoulders. She was nervous. She had to be.
"Good afternoon!" Lloyd announced, his voice booming through the hall. He stood next to a table covered in a white cloth. On the table was a black, twisted wand—another cursed item he had "found" (or rather, Daniel had surrendered).
"Today," Lloyd continued, pacing the stage like a showman, "we are not just going to break a curse. We are going to understand it. We are going to dissect it. We are going to look under the bed and see what the monster is made of."
He gestured to the wand. "This item is infected. It drains mana. It turns magic against the user. For weeks, we thought it was a spell. A complex enchantment woven by a traitor."
He paused for dramatic effect. He looked directly at Rubaiya. She didn't flinch.
"But we were wrong," Lloyd said softly. "It is not a spell. It is a hunger."
He pulled a large crystal lens from his pocket. It was connected to a series of mirrors and light crystals—a primitive projector he had built with Alaric.
"I have developed a new application for my detection abilities," Lloyd lied. "I can now visualize mana signatures and project them for you to see. Behold."
He placed the lens over the cursed wand. He channeled his [All-Seeing Eye] through the crystal.
A beam of light shot out, hitting a large white screen behind him.
The audience gasped.
On the screen was a magnified image of the wand's aura. But it wasn't a static glow. It was a writhing, pulsing mass of black energy. It looked like a nest of worms. It looked like... leeches.
"Do you see the pattern?" Lloyd asked, pointing to the screen with a stick. "Look at the energy spikes. They aren't random. They are rhythmic. Like a heartbeat. Or... feeding cycles."
He traced the lines of the aura.
"This isn't just dark magic," Lloyd declared. "This is a biological signature. This is the footprint of a living creature. A parasite."
In the audience, Rubaiya went still. Her hands gripped the armrests of her chair. Her face was pale.
Lloyd smiled. He had her.
"This creature," Lloyd continued, his voice relentless, "doesn't just eat mana. It bonds with a host. It hides in their shadow. It uses them to spread its offspring into these objects. It's a mother."
He turned to the faculty.
"And the mother is in this room."
The silence in the hall was deafening. Students looked at each other. Professors looked at their neighbors. Suspicion hung in the air like smoke.
Lloyd kept his eyes on the screen. He adjusted the lens. The image zoomed in on the black energy.
"Look closer," Lloyd said. "Do you see the structure? It has a specific frequency. A unique magical fingerprint. If we scan the room, we should be able to find the matching print."
He picked up a second crystal. A scanner.
Rubaiya stood up.
Chapter : 1454
"Professor Ferrum," she said. Her voice was calm, but it had a jagged edge. "This is fascinating. But is it not... theoretical? You are projecting images. Illusions. How do we know this isn't just a light show?"
"Excellent question, Professor Rubaiya," Lloyd said. "Always the skeptic. Come up here. Verify the data yourself."
Rubaiya hesitated. If she refused, she looked guilty. If she went up, she was walking into the lion's den.
"I... I would hate to interrupt your performance," she demurred.
"Nonsense!" Lloyd beckoned her. "Science thrives on scrutiny! Come, take a look. Unless you're afraid of what you might see?"
The challenge was laid. The trap was set.
Rubaiya walked down the aisle. She moved with grace, but Lloyd saw the way her hand drifted to her sleeve, where her dagger was hidden. She climbed the stairs to the stage.
She stood next to him. She looked at the wand. She looked at the screen.
"It looks like... interference," she said dismissively. "Static."
"Is it?" Lloyd asked. "Or is it a mirror?"
He leaned in close to her, lowering his voice so only she could hear.
"I know it's you, Rubaiya," he whispered. "I know about Legion. I know about the ravine. And right now, everyone is watching. If you attack me, you prove me right. If you run, you prove me right. You have nowhere to go."
Rubaiya looked at him. Her eyes were pools of hatred.
"You are playing a dangerous game, boy," she hissed back. "You think you have cornered me? I am not cornered. I am just... bored."
She turned to the audience. She smiled. It was a terrifying smile.
"Professor Ferrum is right," she announced. "This is a parasite. A nasty one. But he missed one detail."
"Oh?" Lloyd asked. "And what is that?"
"It doesn't like bright lights," Rubaiya said.
She snapped her fingers.
Suddenly, the lights in the hall exploded. Not just went out—exploded. Sparks rained down. Glass shattered. The room was plunged into darkness.
Screams erupted from the students.
"Panic," Rubaiya whispered in the dark. "Chaos. My favorite canvas."
Lloyd didn't panic. He had expected this. He had planned for this.
"Activate," he thought.
He triggered a rune he had carved into the floor of the stage earlier that morning.
A circle of soft, blue light flared to life around them. It illuminated the stage, cutting through the darkness. It was a spotlight. And Rubaiya was center stage.
She blinked, blinded by the sudden light.
"Nice try," Lloyd said. "But I prefer my lectures well-lit."
He pointed at her. "Now, show them. Show them the monster."
Rubaiya snarled. The mask fell away completely.
"Fine," she screamed. "You want a monster? I'll give you a monster!"
The air behind her ripped open. The illusion of the sleek cat shattered like glass.
And Legion emerged.
It was hideous. A massive, segmented worm made of shadow and chitin. It had a dozen legs that ended in hooks. Its face was a cluster of red eyes and mandibles that dripped black ichor.
The audience screamed in unison. It was a sound of pure, primal terror.
"There it is," Lloyd shouted over the noise. "The traitor! The curse! The leech!"
Rubaiya laughed. It was a high, manic sound. She floated into the air, lifted by her spirit.
"Yes!" she cried. "Look at me! Look at the truth! I am the rot in your foundation! I am the end of your precious Academy!"
She raised her hands. Legion roared.
"Kill them all!" Rubaiya commanded.
The battle had begun. And this time, there were no shadows to hide in.
The Great Lecture Hall had become a nightmare. The students were scrambling over benches, trying to get to the exits. But the doors were sealed—Rubaiya had locked them with a wave of her hand before she ascended.
"No one leaves!" she shrieked. "Class is in session!"
Legion, the massive parasite spirit, uncoiled from her back. It was bigger than it had been on the roof. It filled the stage, its body undulating with a sickening, wet sound. It lashed out with a tentacle, smashing the projector table. Glass and crystals flew everywhere.
"Protect the students!" Headmaster Valerius shouted from the front row. He raised his staff. A shield of white light sprang up around the audience, deflecting the debris.
"Valerius," Rubaiya sneered, looking down at him. "The collector. The hypocrite. Does my pet offend you? It is just hungry. And you have provided such a feast."