"Zach, go look around the school and try asking the spirits that dwell here. There might be some clues about what kind of curse this is," the young master ordered as the car came to a stop in the empty lot beside the school.
The school was in such a remote area and didn't have a proper parking lot, so they had no choice but to park outside.
Zach, who was sitting beside the young master, agreed without any comment. "Understood."
The young master then turned his head toward the man in the driver's seat. "And you, Sera, disguise yourself as a teacher or student. Gather as much information as you can."
Sera pulled the handbrake before turning to face him, his lips curled into a pout. His vivid red pupils mirrored the young master's lazy, half-asleep gaze.
"Why does my task sound way more exhausting than his?" Sera pointed at Zach, who merely stared blankly. "This is totally unfair! I reject injustice and abuse and I demand my rights as a spirit!"
The young master raised an eyebrow at his nonsensical protest. Not bothering to respond, he immediately took his bag from Zach, opened the car door, and got out.
"Young maaaasteeer~"
As soon as Sera's whining voice rang out again, the young master slammed the car door and walked toward the school indifferently.
He walked to his class, casually scanning his surroundings. Since he got to the school, he hadn't noticed any spirits or strange beings nearby. Still, there was this heavy, dark feeling enveloping the whole school, like the air itself was thick with something bad.
He still didn't know where the source of the dark aura was coming from. All he could figure was that whatever creature was behind it had already spread its curse throughout the school, which made the whole place feel heavy.
The school itself was just an old, two-story building. His classroom happened to be on the second floor. Of course, there was no elevator either. Stairs were the only way.
Just as his foot landed on the ninth stair, a girl came down the stairs and passed him. At that exact moment, a cold, eerie giggle whispered right by his ear, sending a chill down his spine.
He immediately turned his head and reached out to grab her shoulder. But the moment he touched her, she let out a piercing scream, so sharp it could shatter eardrums.
The young master frowned as a sharp pain stabbed through his head. He quickly withdrew his hand and brought his thumb to his mouth, biting it.
As his teeth pierced the skin, warm blood dripped up from the wound.
With his right hand bleeding, his left reached into his pocket, pulling out a red string adorned with three small metal bells.
He quickly rubbed the blood onto the three bells.
As soon as the crimson stained them, the bells rang loudly on their own.
Without hesitation, he tossed the red string at the girl, who was still screaming with wide, mad eyes. Her body and hands lunged forward, as if ready to tear him apart.
But the moment the red string floated in front of her face, her expression twisted. Fear and rage clashed together in her eyes.
The louder the bells rang, the more extreme her reaction became.
Her body trembled violently, and her screams grew even more piercing with pain. Her black pupils rolled back, leaving only the whites of her eyes, and her lips mumbled incoherently.
Using his bloody thumb, the young master traced an ancient symbol in the air. Though unseen by the eye, its effect was undeniable.
Once the character was fully drawn, the young master began to chant, "Truth in blood. Return to the darkness."
The moment the words left his mouth, the three bells fell silent at once. The girl's scream also stopped abruptly.
The red string fell to the floor as her body collapsed, tumbling down the stairs. Then, only silence remained.
The young master stood still for a moment, motionless. Only when the school bell rang did he bend down to pick up the bells.
The once-red string had turned completely black. Strangely, when shaken, the three bells made no sound at all.
He fiddled with the silent bells before putting them back into his pocket. After a brief pause, he called out a name softly, "Zachriel."
Almost instantly, a blue flame flickered beside the young master and then took the form of a handsome man.
Zach had just opened his mouth to speak but froze when his eyes landed on the crumpled body at the bottom of the stairs. He was momentarily speechless.
"...Young master, hitting and pushing someone until they pass out is really inappropriate. Especially a woman."
"What the hell are you thinking, you idiot?" The young master furiously kicked Zach's long leg.
Once satisfied, he got straight to the point. "She was just possessed by an evil spirit. Probably the same one who placed the curse. I managed to exorcise it. Your extra job is to bring her to the infirmary."
After that short explanation and handing out the new task in his own way, the young master continued climbing the stairs to his class, leaving Zach standing there, frozen in place.
As he got closer to the classroom, loud noises, like furniture scraping and doors banging, could be heard from inside, making him frown.
Sensing something was off, he quickened his pace and found the classroom door tightly shut. From behind it came shouting and cursing, as if people inside were trapped.
The young master senses nothing unusual behind the door. He was certain everyone inside was human.
The problem was with the door. A dark energy was keeping it sealed shut.
He paused for a moment before reaching out and touching the handle, which felt icy cold. With a gentle push, the door swung open effortlessly. The noise inside immediately fell silent as everyone turned to look at him.
The complete lack of reaction aside from silence made the young master tilt his head slightly.
"What's going on here?" he asked innocently.
As expected, his question was met with a response.
"Luce, how did you open the door?"
It was Darian who asked in shock. His eyes, behind his glasses, were wide as he approached Luce.
Naturally, Luce played dumb.
"What do you mean? I was about to come in when I saw a broom wedged against the door handle, so I moved it. That's why I can open the door. Maybe someone from another class was trying to prank us?"
Hearing his explanation, the tense expressions of the students began to relax. One by one, the students near the door scattered while grumbling.
"That fucking bitch," muttered a square-faced guy as he righted his overturned desk. "She already gives us so much trouble messing up the classroom every morning, and now she's pulling crap like this too?"
"Ugh, if I see her again, I swear I'll rip out that nasty long hair of hers!" snapped the narrow-eyed girl as she stamped her foot angrily.
Zora, whose irritation had also peaked, didn't hold back either. "Why don't her family just lock her up at home if they know she's not right in the head? She's such a pain. She even scratched me once just because I walked past her."
While the others continued complaining, Luce turned to Darian, who stood beside him. His questioning gaze was understood by Darian immediately.
"You remember what I told you yesterday, right?" He asked quietly. "About some students suddenly going insane, like they're possessed? She's one of them. A girl from the next class. For a week or so, she always comes to school really early. And for no reason, she messes up the classroom. Like what you're seeing right now," Darian explained, his eyes sweeping over the still-chaotic room.
He continued, "Honestly, I'm curious how she can flip every desk and chair with her skinny body. The teachers and her parents also can't do anything. Once they tried to keep her locked at home, and she became even crazier. So now they let her come to school. At least, she doesn't hurt anyone—or so they think."
Luce remembered the girl he'd encountered at the stairs, the one he'd unintentionally knocked unconscious. That must be the "crazy girl" everyone was complaining about and causing all this mess.
Well, whatever was inside her, he already managed to exorcise it. She should be fine now.
As the thought settled, Luce suddenly realized something. He turned toward Darian, who was fixing up a desk and chair for him.
"Does she only cause trouble in this classroom?" Luce asked, a trace of anticipation in his voice.
To Darian, "she" obviously meant that crazy girl, so he replied without thinking. "Yeah. Only in our class. She leaves the others. She's such a nuisance. We have to clean up after her every single morning."
Darian looked up at Luce after finishing his sentence, only to find a wide smile on his face, something he had never seen before.
Oddly, that smile sent a chill down Darian's spine. It wasn't a kind of smile you give when amused. More like seeing the smile of a killer who'd just found his prey.
But just as quickly as it appeared, the grin disappeared, replaced with Luce's usual friendly smile. It made Darian wonder if it was just his imagination.
Luce casually dropped his bag on the desk and sat down as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"Thanks for fixing my desk and telling me everything," Luce said with genuine sincerity.
Darian rubbed the back of his neck, a little flustered. "It's nothing," he replied, then heading off to help the others.
As soon as Darian turned away, the wide, eerie grin crept back onto Luce's deceptively charming face.
He rested his chin in his hand while watching the others still tidying up their desks. Quietly, he hummed with satisfaction.
This was an unexpected turn. It had only been two days since he enrolled as a student in this old school, and now he had found a clue—one that could narrow down his investigation and speed up his work.
The source of all the problems at this school, actually, wasn't far away.
It was nearby.
Right in this class.