The foundation level of Purgatory Corridor Academy.
A group of figures came to a halt before a massive mithril door.
This was a shortcut leading to the second-floor corridors. Ancient runes were chiseled into its surface, appearing enigmatic and profound in the flickering candlelight.
With a gentle push from the Vice Headmaster, a deep rumble echoed between the ancient stone walls, and a fresh scent of candle wax wafted out to greet them.
Stepping into the grand transitional corridor, several-meter-tall demon statues loomed along both sides of the walkway like a pitch-black forest, their dark gold highlights seeming to chronicle the academy's long history since its founding.
As they advanced along the corridor, the footsteps and murmurs of the Blood Clan envoy, the guard corps, and the academy executives intertwined, producing continuous, resonant echoes.
"Halt."
Suddenly, at the head of the procession, the Blood Clan envoy Baron Sanchez stopped dead in his tracks.
Following his lead, the entire entourage gradually slowed to a stop, focusing all their attention on him.
"What is the matter?"
Walking at the front, the Poet of Great Love looked back, asking with a puzzled expression as she regarded Baron Sanchez.
"Miss Lanfu, why did you skip Corridor 24?"
Baron Sanchez raised his hand, gesturing to the demon officer guarding him from behind to place a map into his grasp.
Once he unrolled the map and confirmed his suspicions, his expression cooled slightly. He fixed his gaze on the Poet of Great Love and the Vice Headmaster, demanding an explanation.
Although the academy's layout was intricate and the connections between corridors shifted constantly,
Baron Sanchez had memorized the academy's overarching layout beforehand.
On the foundation level, they had passed numerous classrooms, yet despite all their winding detours, they had never once entered Corridor 24.
Possessing the True Pupils of Blood, Baron Sanchez was also endowed with astonishing powers of observation. Having walked through it just once, he had already clearly committed the foundational corridors' layout to memory.
Even though the demons led by the Acting Headmaster seemed to guide the way seamlessly,
at several forks in the path where they could have turned into Corridor 24, the Acting Headmaster and the Vice Headmaster leading the way had skillfully routed around it, ushering Sanchez into an entirely different corridor instead.
They had done it so adroitly that Sanchez hadn't felt the slightest suspicion of walking in circles through repeated corridors!
"You misunderstand, Lord Sanchez. Corridor 24 is currently sealed off, and I assure you there are no students you seek inside,"
the Poet of Great Love replied unhurriedly.
This caused Sanchez to linger on her with an inadvertent stare, as if trying to peer deep into her eyes.
"Take me there."
Sanchez's voice broke the brief silence once more, a sharp glint of awareness flashing in his crimson eyes.
Though the Poet of Great Love maintained her composed facade, her soul subtly trembled for some reason.
"I suggest you accompany us to the other corridors first..."
Her voice remained calm, her expression placid.
"Take me there. Right now."
Sanchez's tone sharpened, tinged with annoyance.
His patience had worn thin from her pointless deflections.
The more this Acting Headmaster tried to keep him away, the more irresistibly his intuition flared—something was definitely amiss there!
"..."
The Poet of Great Love pursed her lips in silence, leaving everyone guessing at her thoughts.
Yet anyone could see that after being seen through by Baron Sanchez, she showed a trace of guilt.
"If you will not lead the way, we shall go ourselves."
The officer behind Baron Sanchez seemed to sense hostility from the academy executives and took a step forward, the atmosphere between the faculty and the guard corps quickly growing tense and combative.
"I will take you there."
A faint tremor of resignation finally crept into the Poet of Great Love's voice, as if she had weighed the consequences and didn't wish to escalate the conflict any further.
The Vice Headmaster and the other demon faculty members exchanged hesitant, worried glances, seemingly wanting to dissuade her yet having no idea what to say under the circumstances.
Baron Sanchez remained impassive, though inwardly sneering with contempt. He found the petty tricks played by the demon woman before him utterly laughable; beneath his eyes, any minuscule flaw would be laid bare in an instant.
And so,
the entire procession reversed direction, swiftly retracing their steps toward the foundation-level corridors.
A few minutes later, without taking any detours, they arrived at a corridor they had not visited before.
On the wall ahead, a wide double door stood tall, like a silent giant's barrier guarding whatever lay within.
Having escorted the Blood Clan envoy before this door bound by a soundproofing barrier, the Poet of Great Love and the Vice Headmaster walked ahead, seemingly intending to push the doors open and enter first.
"Wait."
Sanchez called them to a halt.
Having come this far, he could faintly sense many demon students attending class inside—and among them, there seemed to be a soul resembling a human!
Baron Sanchez was now thoroughly convinced: this classroom, which ostensibly held an ordinary lecture, harbored grave suspicion of concealing a human!
No wonder the academy had appeared so calm at first; they were merely playing petty tricks with maze-like detours.
"Have them step aside,"
Sanchez ordered in a chilly voice.
"Step back! Until the inspection is complete, not a single one of you is to come near this classroom!"
Upon receiving Baron Sanchez's directive, the demon officer bluntly barked at the Poet of Great Love, who had been attempting some last-ditch maneuver, and ordered an elite squad to enter the classroom with him to carry out the arrest.
Immediately after, Baron Sanchez led the accompanying officers into the classroom.
Because of the soundproofing barrier on the room, the corridor fell dead silent, save for tense heartbeats and shallow breaths.
Ten seconds passed.
Thirty seconds passed.
Two minutes passed.
No one knew what was happening inside.
Perhaps they had successfully apprehended the hidden human fugitive, spelling catastrophe for the academy leadership; or perhaps Baron Sanchez would return empty-handed for the time being.
Yet...
There was still no movement whatsoever!
Sanchez and the officers who had entered showed no sign of coming out.
The demon guards of the Demon Realm Inspectorate waiting outside grew bewildered, uncertain of what was unfolding within.
Just as whispers began to break out and the corridor was about to grow clamorous...
"Pfft..."
The Poet of Great Love—who had previously hung her head with hollow eyes, wearing an expression of defeat—suddenly let slip a suppressed giggle through gritted teeth.
Finally, unable to hold it in any longer, she sank to the floor as if her legs had given out and clutched her stomach, bursting into peals of laughter.
"Th-this can't be blamed on me, right? He insisted on barging into that classroom himself—I couldn't have stopped him even if I tried!"
Flicking away tears of schadenfreude from the corners of her eyes, the Poet of Great Love addressed all the demons with boundless glee, her face glowing with a triumphant smile.
This classroom on Corridor G24...
was the disaster zone where Lanqi had previously triggered the nuclear fusion of the Hellish Tone—the Demon King's Bestowed Theater!
Inside, the sonic nightmare was still looping, repeating endlessly without pause.
Barring demons with absurdly high resistance to melody magic like the Music Department Director,
any living being who stepped inside wouldn't even dream of walking back out on their own!
Chapter 76