Mistress Of The Evil Forest

Case 58: SCP-049.

clack—!

Opening the door to Nydia's room, which is right outside Chloe's, I see the owner herself sitting timidly on the bed, face flushed.

''...I called them. An attendant should be here soon.'' I open my mouth.

''A-Ah, yes. Thank you...''

''...''

''...''

I don't think seeing my body naked is that serious, but apparently, for Nydia and Chloe, it is a big deal. I just hope Chloe won't get overzealous and evict this poor girl.

Nevertheless, it is now time for 'sleep'.

''Then, I'll rest now. Good night, Nydia.''

''Good night...''

Before exiting the room, I suddenly have an urge to stroke this girl's head. Maybe it's because Nydia, with her head down, looks quite pitiful. So I do just that, and the raven maid's body nearly jumps.

''A-Aurora...?''

''I don't mind it.'' I whisper.

''...Ah?''

Hm. Her hair is smooth.

I leave behind the stunned Nydia and exit the room. Coming back to Chloe's, I see a pouty blonde sitting on the couch, mumbling something along the lines of 'It backfired.' So you did plan something against me, then?

''Chloe. Time to go.''

''...Alright.''

Tonight, the timer for [Horror Lord] will, once again, hit zero. It is time to meet my new horror.

After coming back to my main body, I teleported Chloe into the cave, and all of us are now gathered inside the Backrooms.

So... How does this work again?

While waiting, the curious orca speaks up.

''Elaborate.''

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Is this a summoning skill? Or are you creating things out of your imagination?

''I'm not sure.''

You don't know your own skill? That's hilarious—

''Shut up.''

Only static buzzes and light-flickering noises remain. 

Now, I am aware that a higher someone could just fabricate this whole skill of mine. I was not a believer in paranormal phenomena, even if I still love fiction horror to this day. Mister Slen, Smiley, or the Backrooms could just be creations manifested based on my 'wish.'

This is directly related to my transmigration as well. Why horror was chosen? If it's because that's my favorite, then why specifically me? Why did they give me the player perk?

''...''

Ridiculous. I probably shouldn't think about this anymore.

Back to the main business. In this summoning, my first candidate is going to be SCP-049, a plague doctor-like character who has the ability to stop every bodily function of a target via direct contact. If he doesn't come, I have some more as well.

There are two reasons Chloe and I decided on him. One is this guy can be somewhat tamed if done correctly, and unlike some others, he seems intelligent enough to execute a complicated mission. This is directly related to reason two, which is we need his ability to solve the next episode of the story efficiently.

Well, not technically the next one, but the ones after this arc. For the remaining two chapters of the current arc, the church of Neveah will make an expedition team and invite students to accompany them.

The goal? Appeal to these students and recruit them, of course. The destination? West Zircon. My territory. Who told the imperial family to build the academy right next to my territory?

Nevertheless, they would want to use the monsters in West Zircon to demonstrate the 'amazing' training programs of the church, thus hopefully making the students interested. This will serve as a periodic inspection as well.

Oh, and did I mention that in the story, this is where the protagonist and her friends encounter Ancient Basilisk Z and defeat it? Too bad I killed it already, together with almost everything else.

''Phew...''

''Aurora?''

''Nothing.''

Well, we just need to scare them a bit, I suppose.

So, after waiting a bit more, the timer finally hits zero. With a fast-beating heart, I stand up and stretch out; the others follow me.

I close my eyes and calm myself down. 

Now, come to me, SCP-49!

When I lift my eyelids, the space around us has already begun to distort. Just like with Mister Slen or Smiley, once the warping reaches a certain point, everything flips back to normal.

[Entity: SCP-049 successfully summoned]

[ -- has become your follower]

Still the yellowy background, still the flickering lights.

''A-Aurora, behind...!!''

Suddenly, Chloe tugs my sleeve with an urgent voice. Turning around, I see a relatively tall man in a plague doctor outfit looking around intently with hands behind his back.

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Name: --         

Race: SCP-049                    Title: --

Level: 1

HP: 20/20                    MP: 23/23

STR: 2.0                     INT: 7.8

AGI: 1.9                   STA: 2.0

Skill: [Death Touch Lv.1], [Cure Lv.1],
[Tool Storage Lv1].

State: Normal.

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[Death Touch: Enable the user to cease all bodily functions of a target with direct contact] [Unique]

[Cure: Cure the patient of the Pestilence] [Unique]

[Tool Storage: Enable the user to store tools inside their body] [Unique]

Alright, those are pretty accurate to the lore so far... The second one is quite deceptive, by the way. It's basically a zombie-making skill, not 'curing,' as the description says.

Nevertheless, it's time to calm down and negotiate.

''...049?'' I speak up, specifically in English.

The creature then slowly turns to me.

''Oh? The King's English?'' He exclaims. ''Wonder abounds! To think there is someone I can speak to!''

The others seem either scared or weirded out by his rather enthusiastic response. Ignoring that, I open my mouth again.

''049, how far do you remember?''

I want to see if this is 049 before or after he came to the SCP foundation.

''Hm... I was, uh... Yes, I was trying to rid the world of it!''

''W-What's 'it'?'' Chloe asks.

''The Great Dying, ma'am!'' 049 walks closer to us. ''What did they call it... Uh... The Pestilence, yes! It abounds outside these walls, you know. Rather, this place, it has such little trace of it!''

Okay, I guess it's good that he doesn't register that 'Pestilence' thing on us for no reason. I don't want to be murdered.

''Did you meet anybody from the foundation?'' I inquire calmly.

''Ma'am, you know about the foundation?'' 049 seems slightly surprised.

''Just a little, yes.'' I reply. ''So here's the deal, 049.''

So, I will start to brief 049 about this world and our position in it as concisely and accurately as possible. He also raises a few questions during this, which shows that he is listening, at least.

''With that information in mind, 049. I ask you to cooperate with us.''

I can forcibly order him to do as I want, but still, I don't want to do that.

049 appears to ponder a bit, then opens his mouth. ''What an intriguing situation I have found myself in... Why not! As long as I am provided with subjects to work on, I do not mind, ma'am.''

''Call me Miss Aurora. And I will have to set a few rules first.''

''Phew...''

That guy... He was so cool! So this is how kids feel when they get their dream toy.

Anyway, to prevent 049—I decided to keep his calling him this, it's cool—from going on a rampage and killing people on sight, I ordered him not to carelessly 'cure' anybody without my permission, among other things. He reluctantly accepted them with the condition that I would bring him test subjects periodically. However, I'm quite worried that he would find loopholes in my orders to do as he wants. He is quite intelligent, reflected by his INT stat, I suppose.

As of right now, Skely and 049 are going on a trip to raise the latter's level a bit. He, just like Mister Slen, confirmed with me that when they were first summoned, their abilities got limited by a large margin, rightfully so.

Well, I'm just saying I look forward to the day I can unleash this guy onto the cult peeps.

''Heheheheh...''

''...??''