I Became The Academy Necromancer-Chapter 298: Fluffy II

It was inevitably shocking to receive the news of their deaths from the hospital.

It wasn’t just one or two people who had died; an entire ward had passed away.

And even the doctor who cared for them had died.

While the cause of death remained unknown, fears of a possible outbreak or some other infectious disease led to the hospital being shut down completely.

Since this had happened right in the middle of downtown, it didn’t take long for the news to reach the Academy.

[...]

[...]

The two women beside me were silent, lost in thought. They wanted to go and find out what had happened to them but were hesitant to take a step forward.

[Was this my mistake?]

Stella asked cautiously.

Her question made the Dark Spiritualist turn her gaze to me as well.

Sitting in a chair in the laboratory, I rested my chin on my hand and replied.

“No one, except for those involved, made any mistake.”

[But...]

“Stella, no one could have stopped them. Even if I had tried to stop them forcibly, they would have still made the same choice in the end.”

The desire to survive was a fundamental human instinct. So even if I had warned them that it would lead to their deaths, those who believed they were already standing at death’s doorstep would still have walked that path without any hesitation.

[Do you know what happened?]

“I can only make a guess.”

Letting out a long sigh, I slowly rose from my seat.

“I will go keep my promise.”

[Ah.]

[...Are you heading to the hospital?]

“Yes.”

I had made a promise to visit, comfort, and embrace them on the day they closed their eyes for the final time.

And now, it was time for me to keep that promise.

[I want to go see Fluffy II.]

[I’ll come with you.]

Both of them immediately moved to accompany me, but I shook my head.

“I will go by myself today.”

There was no way they didn’t understand the reason I said this. Going there would only bring them pain and force them to confront the despairing reality.

[I’m not a child.]

[I’ve witnessed many tragedies during my time as the Saintess. I’ll be fine.]

They both insisted they would be okay.

And truthfully speaking, they were both strong-willed women who could look tragedy in the eye and move forward with resolve.

But still.

“There is no need to take on any wounds unnecessarily.”

It was a pain they didn’t have to experience.

It was suffering they didn’t need to take upon themselves.

[Even so...]

“I...”

I placed my hands on the heads of the two standing before me. Then, carefully, I pulled them into my arms and whispered as if offering comfort.

“I do not wish to see you in pain.”

[Huh...]

[Ah.]

Their faces were flushed red as I slowly released them from my embrace. Even though they usually clung to me persistently, they were suddenly acting all shy now.

I then bid them goodbye calmly.

“I will be back.”

***Creak.

As I stepped inside the hospital, I found it difficult to believe that this was the same place I had visited just a few days ago. The surroundings were all filthy, and the nurses at the desk, wearing masks, were slumped over with hollow eyes, clearly struggling with the difficulties of quarantine life.

They didn’t even react when I entered the hospital.

No, it would be more accurate to say they were too exhausted to respond. Among them, a young nurse, who seemed to have a bit of energy left, slowly approached me, swaying slightly as she did.

“W-What brings you here?”

A tragedy right in the heart of the city—the deaths of nine people didn’t just end with that; it also left deep trauma for those who remained.

“I have come to resolve the issue.”

“...Excuse me? Are you perhaps the doctor from the capital?”

I’d heard that none of the doctors in Loberne were able to identify the cause of death and had decided to preserve the bodies for the time being.

“No, this is not a death caused by illness.”

“What do you mean...?”

Slowly, I removed the mask they had insisted I wear when I entered.

After all, there was no epidemic here. Only a single black cat.

“I am the Soul Whisperer, Deus Verdi.”

“P-Pardon? L-Lord Soul Whisperer?!”

The young nurse shrieked in surprise, her wide eyes fixed on me. Her sudden cry startled the other nurses, who turned their gazes toward me in shock.

Like a current suddenly running through their drained bodies, they quickly regained their energy and approached me.

“I have come to conduct the funeral.”

Ignoring them, I continued walking toward the ward.

The door to the ward was sealed tight with wooden planks and plastic wrap.

It seemed like the ward itself had been isolated within the hospital.

“T-The bodies are yet to be removed. They said it’s possible that the infectious disease could spread through the corpse...”

“I understand.”

The stench of decaying bodies hit me as I stood before the door, but I didn’t hesitate to remove the blockade.

After warning them not to approach until I came out, I sent all the nurses away and opened the door.

The stench, the oppressive heat, and cat fur greeted me as I stepped inside.

Inside the dimly lit ward, dozens of cats stared at me, unmoving, as if they’d been waiting.

And at the center of it all was Martin’s Nabi-the Dark Spiritualist’s Fluffy II, leisurely grooming herself.

Thud.

I closed the door and sighed.

I didn’t even want to breathe due to the unbearable stench.

Even if I didn’t want to know how so many cats were able to survive in this sealed space, the answer was obvious.

They weren’t just feeding on maggots or the flies swarming around the nine corpses.

The dried blood scattered all over the ward, and the bloodstains on the cats’ fur painted a gruesome picture.

[Meow.]

The black cat at the center let out a long cry, welcoming me.

“This is your final warning.”

Drawing mana from the tip of my toes, I pushed back the cats creeping toward me.

“If you dare to keep pretending to be an ordinary cat in my presence, I will assume there is no room for discussion left.”

[...]

“And I will burn you all to ashes.”

Startled and trembling with fear, the cats jumped back in alarm and hurriedly distanced themselves from me.

The black cat, still exuding composure, licked her forepaw before allowing her moonlit eyes to settle on me.

[Will answering save my life?]

“No.”

The outcome was already determined the moment I had arrived here.

“However, as the one who claims lives, I will grant you the courtesy of hearing your last words.”

[Huff.]

The cat let out a long sigh and tapped the floor with her paw. Although obscured by the thick layer of fur, what it struck was not the floor but someone wearing a doctor’s coat.

[Martin was a good owner. He was always kind and made me happy.]

“So that is the reason you gave him the bone.”

At my words, Nabi nodded. freeweɓnøvel.com

[I too was surprised at first. The fleeting fairy tale I had once overheard turned into reality as Martin and I shared our hearts.]

“...”

[I genuinely wished to save Martin’s father. He was kind to me, so I didn’t want to see Martin cry.]

It wasn’t a lie.

The cat was baring her inner thoughts with utmost sincerity. After all, telling a lie here meant vanishing into ashes.

For a cat, she was remarkably perceptive.

[They were just ribs; I could offer as many as needed. It was truly fascinating—there was no pain, and I could move without any difficulty. And if I wished, the ribs would simply protrude from my body.]

“That is how the story went, after all.”

What defied common sense materialized through the wishes of a human and an animal. However, it couldn’t have been that simple, right?

[That’s when it began. The more ribs I gave, the clearer my mind became. I could think and act like a human.]

“You mean you were gradually becoming a kind of spiritual being.”

[So that’s what it was. That’s what happened.]

Just as Lanhardt, once a human, dared to ascend from being a vampire to claiming the position of a guardian deity, Nabi was also transforming from an ordinary feline into something greater.

[ It would’ve been fine if the story had gone as intended. I didn’t mind dying if it meant that Martin’s father could be healed after consuming all my bones.]

However, reality differed from fairy tales.

[If only Martin hadn’t tried to use other cats...]

The atmosphere began to shift dramatically.

As Nabi, or rather, the black cat, gradually rose, a composed hostility began filling the hospital room.

[My sacrifice alone would have sufficed. I had no problem sacrificing myself for Martin. However... I couldn’t stand the fact that he was forcing other cats to sacrifice themselves.]

“So that is why you left the last bone behind.”

[Yes, that’s correct. Martin’s father was already cured, but using that bone would’ve meant exploiting my sacrifice.]

The reason the cat’s body remained intact after death and why it was able to wander about freely was because it had become something beyond an ordinary cat.

[If it weren’t for the woman called the Dark Spiritualist, I could’ve disappeared peacefully.]

The Dark Spiritualist had intervened.

[I would’ve left quietly with the other cats after seeing Martin use my last bone.]

That would have been the ideal outcome for it, but things were thrown into disarray with the arrival of the Dark Spiritualist and myself.

“You had enough time before I arrived.”

Curious as to why it didn’t flee, I asked, and the cat let out something resembling a bitter laugh.

[Because I knew there was no way to escape.]

“...”

[There’s one thing I’ve been curious about as well.]

The cat slowly approached me.

Her footsteps were light as if she had already resigned herself to everything.

[When I stayed back in the hospital room, why did you leave me alone?]

“Does that matter?”

When the cat remained at the hospital room, it wasn’t with the intent to protect the patients but to safeguard other cats.

[I was curious. After all, you seemed similar to me.]

“Because that was Martin’s choice.”

At my response, the cat slowly bowed her head, glancing at Martin, her former owner, lying lifeless on the floor one last time.

“He was a noble man. As a doctor, he harbored an unbridled ambition to save everyone, and he acted on it.”

[...]

“Even if death were to stand before him, he would have still done the same. I respected his conviction, and that is why I came here to bid farewell to Martin and his patients.”

[Ha.]

The cat let out a breath laced with annoyance. Now, it was my turn to ask the questions.

“Let us continue. After the last bone was used, you killed all the patients. But why did you also kill Martin who did not consume it?”

She hesitated for a brief moment.

[...Because if he lived, the same thing would have happened again.]

“Correct.”

I nodded slightly.

Nabi’s sharp claws pierced Martin’s corpse with a touch filled with hatred.

[If he saw another patient on the brink of death, he would do the same thing again. He would have asked the cats to sacrifice themselves to save his patients. I couldn’t allow that.]

“Saving lives is noble, but he resorted to methods he should never have touched.”

[...]

“Ultimately, he would have met the same end in some other way. Even if I saved him this time, he would not have lasted more than a month.”

What was the point of walking when you had already grasped a miracle that let you fly?

If this endeavor succeeded, Martin would have officially begun establishing a medical facility based on this fairy tale.

And when a layperson kept dabbling with such miracles, backlash was inevitable.

For example,

[Gaaaargh!]

Perhaps realizing that it was his story being told, Martin’s soul—no, the evil spirit consumed by the obsession to save lives—screamed incessantly from within.

[I’m holding him back. If he were to be released here, he would kill all the cats.]

When a soul turned into an evil spirit, their thought process often became warped.

The Setima’s residents, who had been trapped in the academy, were a clear example of this phenomenon.

As an evil spirit consumed by his guilt over patients dying because of cats, Martin might now believe that killing all cats would save people.

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You are no different.”

[...]

“If left as you are, you would start killing humans to protect other cats.”

Not just in this case but also humans who abuse, abandon, or torment cats.

Nabi, standing before me, would slaughter anyone who behaved cruelly toward cats.

[Aren’t you the same? We’re just doing the same thing.]

“I will not deny that.”

If it were a yokai or demonic monster trying to harm humans, I would eliminate them without hesitation. If they were evil spirits, I would put them to rest.

[Just as you do, I too am simply saving my own kind. And if you wish to weigh the value of lives—]

“No.”

I shook my head.

I had no intention of placing human lives and cat lives on scales to compare their worth.

“I do not make decisions in that manner.”

[...]

“I do not judge the morality of the dead, nor do I pass sentences for their sins. My only role is to be their grave, to listen to their stories, and to grant them rest.”

[That is irresponsible!]

“Judging human lives is not something I can do.”

Unless one were an omnipotent god, it was nearly impossible to judge someone’s entire life and determine whether the person was good or evil.

By what standard? Based on what? And from what point in their life?

If humanity were to ever face the judgment of good and evil before the absolute phenomenon of death, an unshakable law that everyone could agree on would be needed—but there was no way humanity could create such a law.

Aware of this limitation, I simply made my choice—to stand here as a gravestone that accepted the dead.

Furthermore,

“There is no need to weigh the worth of someone’s life. Whether humans or you hold greater worth than the other is of no importance to me.”

[...]

“I chose humans.”

That was all there to it and it was not guided by any philosophical value.

“Just like you chose the cats over Martin.”

To me, humans mattered more than cats.

[Why! Why must it come to this? Don’t you know what humans have done to us? What they have—!]

“Enough.”

I sincerely apologize, but...

“I do not care.”

I was already too busy concerning myself with the tragedies of humans. I had no intention of hearing or solving the tragedies of cats as well.

[Cruel human.]

Nabi’s eyes began to glow blood-red. Her previously resigned body began to surge with anger so fierce, that it seemed to ignite every fiber of her being.

[You are the most cruel human I’ve ever met.]

“That is why I am called the Soul Whisperer.”

[Meowwwwww!]

Blue wildfire spread.

The Necromancer’s flame burned brightly as if the cat’s fur had been set aflame, driving out the foul stench from within the hospital room.

It wasn’t a battle; rather, it could be described as a form of purification.

I wondered if the surrounding cats would flee, but unexpectedly, they remained still, as if accepting their end like the guardian deity who had protected them.

I then took in the souls of nine people.

As the cat was annihilated, it let out one final cry of anguish.

[It wasn’t that I didn’t love Martin. It’s just that my own kind mattered more to me than he did.]

Most animal souls harbored resentment toward humans.

Nine out of ten undoubtedly despised them, rejecting any interaction. However...

“You were the one in ten.”

Thinking of the cat that once cried endlessly in the arms of the Dark Spiritualist...

“You made the Dark Spiritualist laugh often. Thank you... Fluffy II.”

[Hah.]

Even as she burned, the cat let out a hollow laugh.

[You finally called me by my name.]