SRS 129

…What exactly happened?

Yohan rubbed his eyes because he thought he saw wrong, but the person with the sword was definitely Mikael. Yohan turned his head slightly to look at the Mikael beside him. That one was also Mikael. Two Mikaels existed in this room right now.

Yohan gaped in shock. Meanwhile, the Mikael with the sword glared at the other white-haired man and gave a warning.

“Who are you?”

A fierce aura rose from his shoulders. The one standing by Yohan’s side glared at the Mikael in front of him.

Yohan grabbed his hair in an atmosphere where a sword fight could break out at any moment. He didn’t understand what was happening even though he saw it with his own eyes. Mikael couldn’t have split into two overnight. …Or could he? Was it possible? This was Fantasiademia, so nothing was too strange to happen.

Confusion took over his brain. This nonsense school now confused students with problems like this.

Yohan wondered which one was real, if there even was a real one, or if neither was a fake. He suffered from doubts that felt like they’d make his head explode. Just then, the Mikael sticking to Yohan raised his eyebrows.

“Who are you?”

His voice sounded definitely like the Mikael’s voice Yohan knew. Their looks, voices, speech patterns, and auras were all the same. It was like someone had set up a mirror.

Both felt a bit colder than the Mikael Yohan knew. However, that wasn’t very strange given the situation, so Yohan couldn’t decide what to do. Suddenly, he heard two more sounds of swords being drawn. Suhyeok and Kylus had woken up from the noise.

The two each took on one Mikael. They pointed their swords and unleashed their auras.

“We’d like to ask the same thing. What’s going on?”

“I’d like an explanation, Yohan.”

Suhyeok had messy hair and Kylus wore disheveled clothes as they spoke one after the other. Yohan was about to say he didn’t know either.

Crash!

But an massive energy surged from below, and the door to room 304 swung open without warning.

“Who used combat abilities inside the dormitory? Yohan Herse! We allowed your blessing ability, but has your room finally crossed the line?!”

The supervisor shouted with a face full of rage from his unexpected overtime. It was truly one thing after another. The supervisor then checked the scene inside the room and froze.

There were two Mikaels and three swords. Bloodlust and auras clashed against each other.

Unfortunately, Yohan stood right in the center of it. The supervisor’s gaze landed on Yohan as he processed the situation with a shocked look. He gave Yohan the same look as the others. Yohan sighed because everyone’s eyes demanded an explanation.

“I don’t know anything.”

Yohan protested with an aggrieved voice. He explained that he was just the first victim of this mess. The supervisor scanned Yohan and the room with suspicious eyes, then he suppressed his anger and reached out. Suddenly, both Mikaels were pulled toward the supervisor’s hand like dolls on strings.

The supervisor caught the two Mikaels’ collars and clicked his tongue like he had a headache.

“It’s a dimensional monster’s work again. I’ll reserve judgment for now. I plan to take these two to the headmaster to find out the truth, so you should all continue your school life normally. The headmaster’s decision will determine the judgment on the use of abilities.”

The supervisor turned around. Yohan hurriedly caught the supervisor since he looked like he’d leave immediately.

“Then what will happen to Mikael?”

“Why do you ask? The one we prove to be the fake will be eliminated.”

“What if you can’t tell…?”

“Don’t worry. The headmaster will keep them safe until we find out.”

…Would you feel safe if you were in my shoes, supervisor? It’s that headmaster, not anyone else.

Yohan barely held back the complaint that almost slipped out and bit his tongue. He felt nervous and wanted to stop the supervisor from taking Mikael, but he had no excuse. In the end, Yohan had to let the supervisor go.

The supervisor left room 304 with the two white-haired persons who’d caused such a scene. He told the others to go back to sleep. Yohan’s legs lost their strength, so he slumped onto the bed and let out a long sigh.

“…Yohan. What exactly happened?”

“We need more of an explanation.”

Suhyeok and Kylus put their swords away. They sat on either side of Yohan to comfort him. Yohan shrugged with a restless expression.

“It’s exactly what I told the supervisor. Mikael woke up, and then another Mikael suddenly appeared. Both seemed wary of each other, and I couldn’t tell which one was real. My divine power didn’t react to either of them.”

“That means it’s a doppelganger.”

“A doppelganger?”

“Those kinds of monsters often came out of the gates back where I lived. It’s a monster that copies its target perfectly.”

“How did you tell who was real where you lived?”

“Doppelgangers are entities that copy memories perfectly too. So, we had no choice but to assume the one who won the fight was the real one. They eventually developed an identification potion, but I don’t know if it’ll work here. I don’t even know the recipe since it was sold as a finished product.”

They decided the winner was the real one. That was a barbaric way to judge. Yohan frowned despite himself and looked at Mikael’s bed. There hadn’t been any signs of trouble before he went to sleep, but this ridiculous thing happened in just a few hours.

Yohan felt more than ever that trouble sought him out on its own. He talked about various things with the Kylus and Suhyeok who were now awake, and then he listlessly went to zero period. He finished the morning exercises in a daze and headed to his first-period lecture.

Rumors began to spread slowly among the students.

“Hey, Kevin. Did you hear? A doppelganger appeared in the school.”

“A doppelganger?”

“They say it’s a monster that copies someone perfectly. I heard it appeared in the west dormitory.”

“What? The doppelganger appeared in Yejin’s room in the east girls’ dormitory.”

“Huh? For us, it was Kitty.”

“Wait, what?”

“……?”

The students looked at each other with surprised faces as they exchanged information. Yohan gathered bits of info while he walked between them, and then he took his seat.

So, a doppelganger had appeared in every single dormitory? He thought it was just Mikael’s bad luck, but the situation seemed different now. Things had become much more serious if there were multiple doppelgangers. Lost in thought, Yohan rested his chin on his folded hands.

According to the information he’d heard so far, four doppelgangers had been caught. If that was the case, were there others who hadn’t been caught yet?

“What if one of us is also a doppelganger?”

“You…! You’re not Shan, are you?”

It seemed other friends in Divine Studies had similar thoughts as Yohan. The students’ eyes, once filled with curiosity and worry, slowly turned into mutual distrust and caution. The angel professor arrived just as the bell rang and put a stop to the growing confusion.

“How noisy.”

“…….”

The angel professor spoke as he looked at the few students who hadn’t sat down yet. The classroom became silent as if someone had poured cold water over it. However, the students didn’t choose to be quiet. Yohan tried to give his usual morning greeting out of habit, but he was startled. He couldn’t open his mouth. The angel professor had placed a silence spell on every student using divine power.

The angel professor looked satisfied with the forced silence and began to speak.

“It seems you’ve already heard the news. A dimensional monster has appeared in every dormitory. We’ve captured sixteen dimensional monsters so far, and we estimate there are more. If you suspect another lamb is a doppelganger, report it immediately using the call bell.”

The call bell?

The students tilted their heads because they’d never heard of such a thing. The angel professor flicked his fingers. Suddenly, a red button appeared on the classroom wall.

“I just placed call bells in every classroom in the new student area.”

Every single classroom.

It was an amazing use of divine power. Yohan thought it wouldn’t be too hard for an angel to create things with divine power. Just then, red blood trickled from inside the angel professor’s mouth and left a trail down his chin. The students’ eyes trembled with agitation at the sight. The angel professor didn’t seem to care as he clicked his tongue and wiped his chin with a tissue.

“I suppose I overdid it with the morning investigation.”

The professor spoke calmly and pointed at the bell as he explained once more.

“If you suspect someone is a doppelganger, press the bell and report them immediately. Also, don’t cause a scene. This is all the advice I can give you lambs. Now, let’s start the lesson.”

The angel professor taught the class as if nothing had happened. He talked about divine power for a while and asked the students several questions. Then, he frowned, which was a rare sight.

“Why is no one answering my questions?”

Yohan wrote something on his notebook and raised his hand.

“Yes, Yohan Herse.”

Since he had permission to speak, Yohan held up his notebook so the professor could see his notes. The angel professor checked Yohan’s note for a moment, then he nodded and flicked his fingers.

“I forgot to lift the spell. You may answer my questions now.”

The first-year Divine Studies students finally escaped the forced silence thirty minutes after the class had started.