———— It was a bright, sickly yellow human face.
No, to call it a "human face" was a stretch.
It was merely that on its circular surface, features resembling eyes, a nose, and a mouth had blurred into existence. They looked like rotten sores sprouting on a tomato, arranged in a mockery of a worldly visage. It carried an intense sense of dissonance and distortion.
?!!
A chill raced up Naga's spine, forcing her, a cold-blooded creature, to experience the sensation of being "frozen solid."
[I know all that you desire.]
The mouth-like organ wiggled, producing a voice that was almost gentle. Its moist eyes gazed at her as if looking at a lost lamb. The yellow disc, filling and illuminating the dim corridor, continued to draw closer.
[I know all that you fear.]
Naga turned her head in a panic, her instincts screaming at her to avoid this thing.
It was fine. She knew this terrain like the back of her hand! She could easily escape—
However.
Upon turning around, the same yellow disc appeared in her field of vision, blocking the path behind her. It was as if "He" was fixed within her sight, an inescapable perspective.
No escape.
No escape. No escape. No escape. No escape. No escape. No escape. No escape.
[Do not resist. Come into the God's gentle embrace.]
"BOOM!"
Pitch-black magic erupted!
Like a burst water pipe, it surged from Naga's body!
"Hiss-hiss!"
Stay away!!
Naga's eyes widened to their limits. Under the bombardment of her magic, everything around her was reduced to ruins and debris!
[HISSS————!]
Several giant black snakes, like phantom shadows, bared their terrifying, bloody fangs and lunged at the encroaching Moon Face! Their massive bodies coiled around the yellow disc, tightening with enough force to snap a rhino's spine.
Whoosh!
Like a reflection in water, the disc shattered easily. Those mind-bending features broke into fragments during the onslaught. Naga panted, staring at the yellow wreckage with lingering fear.
After a long moment, her frantic heart began to steady.
...What a joke. It was just a bluff.
Her chaotic mind couldn't grasp the deeper meaning of this display. She simply believed she had defeated her enemy once again, and so she proudly raised her upper body.
She did exactly what she had done countless times before: bite the prey's throat with her venomous fangs, crush their bones with her muscular body, and then drink their hot blood amidst their shrill screams.
"Hiss... hiss..."
Thinking about it made her hungry.
Naga slowly slithered over the twisted, broken pipes. A cold, bloodthirsty light flickered in her vertical pupils. To complete her Master's orders, she hadn't had a "proper meal" in a long time. She had been forced to subsist on rats and frogs.
But it didn't matter.
Her pupils swiveled. Through infrared thermal imaging, she sensed the vibrant lives pulsing behind the thick walls.
There's plenty of prey in this place...
Just as she crossed the moon's remains and was about to move to the next area, a dry, clear voice suddenly rang out from behind her:
"Caught you."
The next second—crackle, crackle. A bone-chilling sound echoed from the moon fragments on the floor!
Naga whipped her head back! What appeared in her vision was an arm crawling out from the lunar wreckage.
Thump!
A hand clad in a neat white glove pressed against the floor. A twisted elbow was encased in a black suit sleeve embroidered with gold thread. It was decent and elegant—well, it would have been, if it didn't look like a monster breaking through a spatial barrier from a nightmare.
Crackle, crackle. Crackle, crackle.
The arm, the shoulder, the neck, the head...
Most of Ethan Vincent's body squeezed out from the moon's shredded features. Like a magician emerging from an ill-fitting wardrobe, his face wore a smile that was a mix of apology and excitement.
His cobalt-blue eyes curved as he looked at the frozen Naga. He spoke slowly, emphasizing every word:
"Good evening, Miss Naga."
"While I admire your spirit of innovation and research, as a student, skipping class is simply not allowed~"
Ethan wore an expression that said, What a shame.
Then, he raised his white-gloved hand. It reached for Naga like an inescapable cage, slow and deliberate.
"Rule-breaking students must be sent to detention..."
Darkness encroached!
Naga watched in terror as the hand grew larger. The faint light seemed to be stripped away as darkness pressed in from all sides like wet cement. The only clear thing in her vision was the terrifying, smiling face of this handsome madman!!
———— No. Where. To. Run!!!
[Name: "The Smiling Guardian"]
[Rank: Tier 2 · Blue Precious]
[Effect: Created using Luna's Moon Magic, the "Smiling Moon Face" is not constrained by terrain or magical barriers and can search every corner.]
[While it has no offensive power, once a target is locked, they cannot be shaken off. It immediately becomes a teleportation medium, allowing the caster (or parts of the caster's body) to be transported to the location.]
[Evaluation: In the quiet night, the cold moonlight always watches over everyone's sleep... "■■ Report: Multiple personnel have gone missing after looking at the moon; their whereabouts remain unknown."]
[Warning! Do not look at the moon—]
[The moon is watching you :)]
"Hiss!"
In the instant before she was caught, Naga lunged down and bit through her own body!
Splurch!
Crimson blood sprayed instantly, staining Ethan's pristine white glove.
Immediately following that, Naga's upper torso fell into the darkness, vanishing instantly as if merging into ink. She left nothing behind but a massive pool of blood.
"...She ran? Does she really hate school that much?"
Ethan tilted his head in confusion, holding the lower half of the severed body she had left behind.
"A pity. In such a cramped space, I can't use the Sealing Wardrobe; I have to catch her by hand. My, my, what a disobedient student."
Ethan shook his head, examining the half-torso in his hand. If only he could further modify the Universe in a Wardrobe. He wanted to turn the wardrobe into a sealing tool that, like the Moon Face, could ignore terrain.
"But the two are different concepts. The wardrobe is a physical tool, while the Moon Face is a conceptual painting. They can't be merged..."
Despite the failure to capture her, Ethan wasn't in a hurry. As long as he remained at Hogwarts, Naga—who had been sent on an assassination mission—would be forced to stay here. And with his reliable "Guardian" on the lookout, she wouldn't be able to harm the students.
Ethan waved his brush, reapplying yellow paint to the shattered Moon Face on the ground. Within moments, a complete Moon Face reappeared before him.
"Very good," Ethan nodded with satisfaction. "Continue to keep an eye on Naga for me. While you're at it, send her some food. A child shouldn't be eating junk food all the time."
The Moon Face nodded slowly, revealing a smile that would make any child feel... "safe."
[As the Headmaster, you care for and protect your students—even if that student happens to be a Naga.]
[This meticulous care has increased your Soul Integration by 0.02%.]
[97.64% → 97.66%]
[The Necronomicon has unlocked more chapters!]
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