On how PhDs become human evil

"Oh, you're here. You've been eating dinner quite slowly."

When everyone arrived at the underground bathhouse, Bai Jie had already changed into a bathrobe and was standing next to a vending machine drinking coffee and milk.

After standing there stunned for a moment, Amagi Brilliant spoke with difficulty: "Fafner, I remember this is Italy, right? Why do you look like you just finished soaking in a hot spring?"

Yes, Bai Jie looked exactly like he had just finished soaking in a hot spring. His exposed collarbone was still steaming, and his face was incredibly rosy.

Pointing to the passage on the right, Bai Jie smiled and said, "Because this hotel welcomes guests from all over the world, some of whom are not used to foreign bathrooms, we have prepared various types of bathrooms. The passage on the right is a Japanese-style hot spring."

"No way! You can even soak in a hot spring here?!"

"Dad, Mom, I feel like I've become a rich person."

"How incredibly lucky we are to be able to experience this kind of school trip!"

The students rushed towards the various passages while shouting with excitement. After all, apart from the Japanese hot spring that Bai Jie pointed out, what was in the other passages was unknown. And what is unknown is the most tempting, isn't it?

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Inside the women's bathhouse of a Japanese-style hot spring, a misty fog, obscuring the atmosphere, lingered in the air, concealing all the spring scenery. The only sounds were the playful laughter of the girls.

"Whew~~~~ I'm back to life! My body feels so limp, I don't want to move anymore."

As she said this, Sonobe Yuka sank into the hot spring, her smooth body lying on the edge of the spring like some kind of soft-bodied creature.

“Really, this hot spring is amazing. It truly lives up to its reputation as a top-class hotel.” Yaegashi Shizuku leaned against the artificial hill, looking up at the ceiling. “Even though we’re underground, we can still see the moon and stars.”

"It should be a planetarium, but it's really rare to see one this big."

At a glance, this hot spring has an area of ​​more than 50 square meters, and the ceiling is even larger. For such a large ceiling to be fully illuminated by the planetarium, the planetarium itself must be quite large.

Of course, they had no idea that the stars and moon on the ceiling were real. An observation array set up on the hotel rooftop would capture the celestial phenomena of the night in real time and then project them onto the ceiling.

In terms of its nature, it's similar to a mirage.

(This is probably a privilege Fafnir granted us; logically, staying here for just one night should have bankrupted our family.)

Unlike the others who were excited, Shirasaki Kaori simply stayed quietly in a corner, soaking in the water.

She knew very well that the reason everyone could enjoy such high-class treatment was because Bai Jie, the god-slayer, was their classmate. If it weren't for Bai Jie, they probably would never have been able to enjoy their current life.

"Speaking of which, Kaori, what's your relationship with Fafnir?"

Suddenly, a girl came up to Shirasaki Kaori and asked her a question.

"Huh? What's wrong? Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

"Because you've been spending a lot of time with Fafnir lately, going to and from school together, and Fafnir has been taking good care of you, right?"

“That’s right, that’s right. I saw it before too. When Kaori was asked by the art club to be a model, Fafnir went along too, and even suggested that Kaori rest for a while and he would be the model himself.”

"Could it be that you two are dating?"

"Hey, Kaori, tell us what's going on."

Seeing the female classmates gradually gathering around her with curious eyes, Shirasaki Kaori hurriedly waved her hand: "There's nothing between Fafnir and me. It just so happens that Fafnir's house is near my house, so I would call him on my way to school. There's really nothing else."

"Should we go and call him on his way to school?"

The students were immediately inspired to learn more.

"If I remember correctly, Fafnir lived alone."

"If you want to invite him, you have to go into his house."

"That means Kaori has a key to the Fafner house..."

"That means she's already married into the family!"

"No way! What marriage? Fafnir and I aren't even husband and wife!" Shirasaki Kaori exclaimed, blushing.

Because Bai Jie said that the fact that they were living under the same roof must not be exposed, she made up this story on the spot. But why could they still imagine such a thing?

"Hmph! I'm ignoring you all, I'm going to wash my hair."

Seeing Shirasaki Kaori storm off, everyone burst into laughter. In their eyes, it was clearly the shy reaction of a young girl whose relationship had been exposed.

However, behind these laughing female students, someone wore a forced smile, his eyes piercing through the crowd as he stared blankly at Shirasaki Kaori's back.

Section 213, paragraph 25: Mentioning Naples brings to mind the Golden Wind.

Naples, a large city in southern Italy, is world-renowned for its beautiful scenery and unique coastal landscape. It is one of the most famous scenic spots in the Mediterranean, and there is even a saying that "If you go to Naples in the morning, you can die in the evening."

Now, Bai Jie and his group have arrived in Naples.

"Ahem!" On the streets of Naples, Bai Jie coughed twice to attract everyone's attention. "Before we tour Naples, there are a few things I need to tell you. The atmosphere in Naples is extremely polarized. It is not only famous for its beautiful scenery, but also for the prevalence of all kinds of illegal transactions."

In Naples, illegal transactions are commonplace, along with unlicensed airport drivers, merchants who rip off tourists, and ubiquitous gang members... Compared to its scenery, Naples's notoriety is far more widely known.

Upon hearing Bai Jie's words, the students, led by Tian Zhihe Guanghui, immediately shrank back. In their minds, Naples had always been a wonderful seaside city, but now they were told that it was actually a chaotic and murky place.

"Well, even though that's the case, almost all foreign tourists have been scammed in Naples. If you've been scammed, don't feel bad about it, because you're not the only one who's been scammed."

As Bai Jie spoke, he gave everyone a thumbs up.

"Then everyone go and have fun. Finally, let me tell you, if you encounter a group of people dressed in a particularly provocative and revealing manner, and whose every move exudes a slutty vibe, don't doubt it, they are gang members."

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After dealing with the students' matters, Bai Jie took the opportunity to leave the group and went to a clothing store, where Liliana was already waiting for him.

"I'm so sorry to have brought you here so suddenly, Your Majesty."

"It's alright. Since you've informed me, it must be something beyond your capabilities," Bai Jie waved his hand. "Tell me, what kind of divine artifact is it? Or some kind of demon?"

"Please come with me."

As Liliana spoke, she walked deeper into the clothing store.

After walking for about two or three minutes, the entrance to a cave appeared before them, exuding a sinister aura.

A four-cornered cave suddenly appeared on the exposed ground, with stone steps leading underground. Because both of them had extraordinary eyesight, they could move forward without a flashlight even in the dim underground.

This is a long and narrow underground passageway, much like an abandoned tunnel.

If we trace it back to before Christ, this place was originally a quarry, so it's quite natural that it resembles abandoned tunnels. However, the numerous murals carved all over the walls tell a different story.

They are all simple and unadorned line drawings. If you said they were carved by humans in the Stone Age, some people might believe it.

Among these murals, many snake-like creatures are painted on the walls.

There are large snakes with their long bodies coiled up, as well as hydras with multiple heads, and snakes with wings like bream. All kinds of snakes are carved on the walls.

You can also see line drawings of cows, birds, pigs, and lions.

Anyone with a basic understanding of magic would recognize these as symbols of the Earth Mother, and that these murals were likely carved after the period of Roman rule.

"Is it just my imagination? I feel like this place looks a bit like an altar," Bai Jie suddenly said.

The further Bai Jie went into this passage, the more he could feel a powerful magical force flowing towards a certain place.

"Because this place used to be the location of an underground secret temple."

As Liliana said, ever since patriarchal Christianity became the state religion, priestesses who once possessed divine power have been regarded as "witches" and hunted down.

So they fled underground and built these underground temples to convey information in order to protect their wisdom.

These murals depict the objects of the witch's faith, attempting to emulate the deity.

This is also why there are so many snake murals in this underground temple.

In the ancient world, priestesses who served the Earth Mother Goddess were the prototype of the "witch".

As Christianity spread in Europe, the country lost its ancient faith, or rather, it was suppressed and resisted. In this process, the originally sacred witches were persecuted and became feared and taboo figures.

In ancient times, most earth goddesses were goddesses who simultaneously ruled over life and death on earth and in the underworld.

Athena, Ishtar, Isis, Tiamat, Hibernate, and many more—Aphrodite, known as the goddess of love and beauty, was originally a powerful goddess of the earth.

The sacred animal representing the cycle between death and life is the snake.

Therefore, the snake became a symbol of the Earth Mother Goddess and a guardian of witches.

Suddenly, Liliana, who was walking ahead, stopped in front of a wall: "Your Majesty, please wait a moment. There is a barrier set up by an ancient witch ahead, and it will take some time to break it."

There's no need for that.

Interrupting Liliana's preparation to break the boundary, Bai Jie walked directly towards the wall. The moment he touched Bai Jie's body, the entire wall instantly dissolved into pure magic.

Godslayers possess the highest level of spell resistance; no spell can affect them except for spells and attacks that reach the divine realm.

Passing through the wall, Bai Jie found himself in front of a huge underground temple, with a stone pillar standing in the center of the temple.

It was a cylinder made of a black stone similar to obsidian.

It grew like trees from the floor of an underground temple that was once a quarry.

The surface was engraved with lines that resembled a coiled serpent. Although it was a crude carving, it possessed a magical power that could attract the viewer's attention.

"Is this what you wanted from me?"

“Yes, Your Majesty, this divine artifact is called the Pillar of Hera,” Liliana said. “This pillar was originally dormant, but since the discovery of the Gorgon Stone, it has been stimulated and has begun to accumulate power. Now it can no longer be sealed by us.”

"I see. I understand the situation now. In short, we need to get rid of this thing, right?"

"Yes, you are not only the world's best magician, but also the top expert in dealing with gods. We really can't think of anyone else to ask."

After listening to Liliana's words, Bai Jie lowered his head and began to think.

Then, just a second later, he looked up and said, "Well, let's just take it apart first!"

"Demolish—?!" Liliana was immediately stunned. "Please wait a moment, Your Majesty! The Hera Pillars have now accumulated a large amount of earth and water magic power. If we destroy them, the situation will become unpredictable! The worst-case scenario is that the accumulated magic power could explode all at once and blow up the entire city of Naples. Therefore, we should avoid acting rashly!"

"That's the simplest way, and it might even attract disobedient gods. Plus, with Marquis Voban arriving soon, a three-way battle wouldn't be bad."

In that instant, Liliana was certain that no matter how easy Bai Jie was to talk to, or how much his behavior seemed no different from that of an ordinary person, he was still a god-slayer, a walking calamity!

"Well, I won't destroy it now. Anyway, the Marquis hasn't arrived yet. I'll destroy it when he comes. For now, let's go back first."

Section 214, paragraph 26. Author: A school opening ceremony rehearsal lasted three hours, I'm speechless.