Content warning: Potentially disturbing images.

Gritting her sword, Claudia slowly makes her way into the chamber.

The more she goes through the jungle of these bone cages, the more restless she becomes. Roughly scanning through the rows, she guesses that there are at least hundreds of them—mostly occupied.

''...!''

As she inspects one of the cages near the empty ones, a sign indicating that they should be of a recent addition, she immediately realizes the man's face. He is the same person who took his life in that condominium earlier.

Cold sweat runs down her tense face.

This means that they—the police, have been collecting people's dead bodies for... Something. And considering the monster she just encountered, it is safe to assume that this 'something' will not be peaceful.

'I have to stop this.'

As Claudia determines her goal, she finishes the examination of the body and promptly moves on to the others. Aside from strangely not having any visible wounds, they appear to be normal bodies.

In the corner of the room, an old desk is situated. After getting a negative result from checking its danger, Claudia opens one of the drawers.

''...Project 'Alike.''' She mutters.

Carefully, she begins to flip through a file found within. The item indeed provides a clue to what is happening in the area, yet it also sends Claudia terrible goosebumps. Although the small notes inside are filled with cryptic phrases seemingly written with blood, through words like 'alternate,' 'replacement,' 'invade,' and 'fear,' it seems that an unknown hostile force is trying to substitute the humans within this district altogether.

But how? How would they replace humans without being noticed—

''...''

Instinctively, Claudia remembers the creature she has just met in the tunnel. 'Replacement.' 'Alike.'

'Are they trying to mimic humans...?!'

A very possible scenario is born inside her head: Humans slowly fall into these creatures' maw, losing their lives and identities completely, one by one. Moreover, the document also reveals an entity called 'her,' which these mimics seem to be worshipping.

A demon. This is undoubtedly the work of a demon.

In the end, Silaerob is still a mortal. She can't possibly know everything that's going to happen, and the empire should not try to rely on her either.

With such a chain of thoughts, Claudia puts the relevant notes into her pocket and turns her attention to the lower drawers.

''Ah, Claudia.''

''!!''

As the red-haired professor turns around, a familiar face greets her. Hailey Florence sighs in relief and quickly smiles at her.

''Thank god you're safe.'' She says.

''...Hailey.'' Claudia lowers her guard. ''How about the children?''

''I don't see them anywhere, unfortunately. What were you doing?''

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

''I was reading the...''

''Hm?''

''...Where did you come from?''

''Why suddenly? The tunnel over there?''

When Hailey points to the same tunnel she had been through to get here, Claudia involuntarily squints her eyes.

''Did you encounter something?'' She asks.

''Ah, you mean that pile of burnt flesh and bones..? That was so scary...'' Hailey says with an awkward face, hugging her trembling body.

''...I see.''

''More than that, let's get out of here. I feel this place is dangerous.''

''Alright.''

Letting out a sigh, Claudia releases a bit of her tension as she follows her colleague to the previous tunnel. Continuing the earlier conversation, Claudia begins to explain the file she has gotten her hands on.

''Mimics...?!'' Hailey exclaims. ''That's so creepy...''

''Hah... I think we need to report this to the imperial family as soon as possible—''

Claudia stops in her tracks.

''...!''

''Claudia?''

Ignoring Hailey, who has turned around with a puzzled face, her eyes are glued to the side, and her whole body tenses up. A sea of cold sweat runs down her body, making her clothes stick to her skin. Yet, that isn't what she can afford to think about right now.

After all, without her noticing it, the empty cradles she has just inspected earlier are now occupied—four of them, to be exact.

''Hah.. Hah...''

She can feel her heart thump like it wants to jump out of her chest. The more she stares at her beloved students' unmoving faces, the more her vision blurs.

How did it come to this? What did they do to deserve this? Why is she so helpless?

tack—!

Suddenly, a cold drop of water falls onto her head and trickles down her face, which surprisingly snaps her back to reality. As it is, she wipes the sweat off of her face—

''!!''

—only to realize that what fell down is not water, but instead, blood.

''A-Ah...''

Turning to the ceiling, Claudia nearly loses her balance. Sticking to the mossy stone plates is a huge reptile-like creature. Its outer form has bloody, red mucus-smeared bones, connecting from head to tail with flesh that resembles dense spider webs.

Its skull has been replaced with a human's, and it is constantly twitching all over the place, turning erratically as thick blood drips from its mouth.

yXURW6c.jpg [https://i.imgur.com/yXURW6c.jpg]

The next second, the creature's skull thursts toward her face, and she can vividly feel its cold, slimy claws grabbing her head. In a hushed, dread, and terribly unnerving voice, the creature whispers—

''I have g■eat news.

I am yo■r true savi■r.

I k■ow ■verything abo■t what makes y■u human.

I know wha■ you lov■.

I k■ow what y■u...''

''...DREAD.''

As the creature finishes 'speaking,' it slowly grazes its long bone fingers across the petrified Claudia's face, then turns her head toward the cradles.

''I KNOW YOUR GREATEST FEAR.''

''Ah...'' Claudia utters in a weak voice.

This sentence firmly imprints into her mind as if millions are whispering it into her ears, fueling her anxiety. Under the creature's influence, the professor's gaze is fixed on her students's pale faces, their closed eyes, and their ghostly auras.

Her vision trembles. Her sight becomes blurry. Her legs turn wobbly—

THUD—!

Claudia loses consciousness, falling onto the ground.

----------------------------------------

''AAAH?!''

''Hah...! Hah...! Hah...!''

Snapping her eyes open, Claudia hurriedly sits up on the bed, panting heavily. It takes a solid thirty seconds before she regains her sanity, remembering clearly what happened and beginning to find her sword.

''Professor Heisenberg?''

Right then, a woman wearing a nurse outfit pulls the curtain aside and enters the ward. She has a look of concern on her face.

''...Where is this?'' Claudia asks after briefly looking around. ''What happened to them?!''

Puzzled, the nurse can only scratch her cheek and reply. ''This is the medical room, of course. And if by 'them' you mean the students, they're alright. Still sleeping in other wards—ah?!''

Not letting her finish the sentence, Claudia flies out of her ward and begins to check the other beds. Indeed, all four students accompanying her are here—breathing and alive.

''...Wait.'' She widens her eyes, grabbing the nurse's shoulder. ''What about Hailey?! What happened to Hailey?!''

''P-Please calm down...!'' The nurse blinks her eyes repeatedly. ''Do you mean Professor Hailey Florence?''

''Yes! She was with us yesterday!''

''...Eh?''

Seeing the nurse seemingly in confusion, Claudia suddenly tense up again.

''What?!'' She urges.

''Um... She has been on leave since yesterday because of a terrible stomachache... But she did recover! I just met her earlier!''

''...Huh?''

Staring blankly at the calendar behind the nurse, Claudia belatedly realizes that this is the day after their investigation. If Hailey has been on leave since yesterday...

Then, who was the one accompanying them...?