Lamenti, Moonlight Watchers Faculty.
It was the next day. The Moonlight Watchers Faculty was calm and peaceful, with the soft chirping of birds filling the air as a gentle breeze drifted through the open windows.
The crimson sun cast a faint glow through the glass on the right side of the room.
The door opened, and Lumian stepped in, dressed in his black coat and trousers. He seemed to be in a good mood, quietly whistling to himself.
"Good morning, Lumian."
Lury looked up from her notes with a smile.
"Good morning, Lury," Lumian replied, returning the smile as he walked over.
Lury tilted her head slightly. "Lumian… why did you leave a corpse near my table?"
Lumian let out a small chuckle. "That was Lacey's body. You remember the case we handled, right?"
She nodded.
"Lady Patricia came to retrieve him," Lumian added.
"That explains it," Lury said. "Some men came earlier to carry the body away. They said they needed to hurry so they could bury him."
Lumian nodded. So she buried him yesterday… he thought. It must have been a quiet burial… He sighed softly.
Lury's expression turned gloomy. "And she's the wife of Duke Joshua… who also just passed away. Betyl follows a monarchy system, and Joshua didn't have any children except his illegitimate son—Lacey."
Lumian exhaled. "I heard they're planning an election because of it."
Lury nodded, but her voice softened. "Yes… but I really feel for Lady Patricia. Where would she even begin at her age? Losing both her husband and her son… that's just cruel."
She paused for a moment before continuing,
"I think we should visit her… at least to see how she's doing. And you know this better than anyone—since you're a sorcerer."
She looked at him seriously.
"Human emotions... can spread curses, and can also turn people to one."
...
"Skywalker…" Lumian muttered, suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation.
To be honest, he hadn't thought that far ahead. With the grief and depression Patricia must be going through… hadn't she already begun losing control of her emotions?
He looked toward Lury and nodded. "You're right. Wait for me—I'll go inform the Captain."
Without wasting another second, Lumian turned and hurried off. He moved to the left, passed the partition, then turned right and pushed the door open without knocking.
"Captain!"
Inside, Hargreaves, who had been smoking, was startled. The cigarette slipped from his fingers as he looked up.
"Lumian? What's the rush this early in the morning?"
Still slightly out of breath, Lumian stepped forward.
"Captain… when Lady Patricia came to take the body… what was her expression like?"
...
Hargreaves frowned. "Lumian… what exactly happened? Why are you asking this?"
Lumian's expression darkened. "Captain… she just lost her husband and her son. What kind of state do you think she's in?"
And the whispers of the Primordial Lord of Chaos could reach her… he added inwardly.
Hargreaves stood up, grabbing his black coat. "She came yesterday with two men to take the body. She looked gloomy… but that's expected from a grieving mother and wife."
Lumian nodded slowly. "We should at least go check on her. After all… we're the ones who killed Lacey."
Hargreaves walked forward. "That's reasonable. I just hope this doesn't turn into a Level 4 incident."
(Level 4 incidents occur when human emotions spiral out of control, spreading curses that cannot be dealt with individually—only by eliminating the host.)
As they descended the stairs, they ran into Vincent, who was heading up.
"What's going on? Is it something serious?" Vincent asked.
"You remember Patricia?" Lumian said. "We're going to check on her."
Vincent's expression shifted. "Wait… don't tell me—"
Lumian nodded as they continued down.
"That's exactly what we're trying to confirm," he said.
Vincent's face grew serious. "On my way here, I passed by her house. It was… too quiet. And she was sending away her maids and guards."
Hearing that, Lumian and Hargreaves both stiffened.
A very, very bad feeling crept into their heart.
...
They paused for only a moment before hurrying downstairs. Vincent quickly turned and followed behind them.
After informing Rosanne and Berlie, the group was already heading out when Lury called after them.
"Captain… can I come along?"
Hargreaves frowned. "Lury, why? You're not even a sorcerer."
Lury took a soft breath before replying, "I'm just curious… and maybe nothing has actually happened to Patricia. Ever since I heard the news, I've wanted to check on her."
Hargreaves studied her briefly, but there was no time to argue. Without another word, he moved forward, and Lury quickly followed after the group, remembering to leave the faculty in another unofficial member hands.
They entered a taxi and soon were on their way to Ferlie District.
At that moment, under the crimson sun, a light drizzle began to fall. The sun slipped behind the clouds, casting the streets in dim shades of red.
Even the weather felt uneasy. And as a Diviner, Lumian knew such signs were rarely meaningless.
His thoughts drifted. If she's already lost control… then the Duke's lineage might truly end here.
Slowly, he raised his hands to the sky before placing them over his chest, silently committing her to Skywalker.
...
The sky had darkened completely, the crimson sun now buried beneath heavy clouds. Rain poured steadily, pattering against the ground as they arrived at the mansion.
The once lavish estate was eerily quiet. The gate creaked softly in the wind, and the silence that surrounded it felt suffocating. In the distance, faint chimes of passing bicycles echoed through the damp air.
The group approached the door. They exchanged brief glances, each taking a steady breath before Hargreaves stepped forward and knocked.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
One minutes, then two. Still, the door remained tightly shut.
Then, at last, a trembling voice came from inside—
"W-who's there?"
...
Hargreaves forced a light chuckle, keeping his tone friendly.
"Lady Patricia, it's us—your friends—the Moonlight Watchers. We're just here to check on you."
"…Check on me?" the voice replied from behind the door.
Hargreaves nodded, about to respond—
"Get out! Get out! Get out!!!"
The sudden scream made everyone stiffen. "You're not my friends! You're the ones who killed Lacey!"
The group fell silent for a moment. Hargreaves steadied himself and spoke calmly, "Lady Patricia… what would make you think that? We're here to help you."
There was silence once more until it was broken by a low chuckle behind the door.
"I said get out!" her voice rose again, trembling with emotion. "Help me? Which help?! I never wanted to hurt anyone… yet everyone keeps hurting me! What did I even do to deserve this? Is it because I cheated… just once?!"
Hargreaves exhaled quietly. "Yes… I won't deny it. We killed Lacey. But it wasn't out of malice—it was to retrieve something dangerous from the wrong hands. We never intended to hurt you."
Another stretch of silence followed. Then her voice returned—soft this time. Too soft.
"Just… go. I'll find my own way to cope."
She paused before replying, "And my friend… has already told me a way… to bring everyone back."
...
Hearing that, Lury's body went cold, she immediately clung to Lumian tightly. For the past twelve years, Lury had always admired Patricia—she had once been a remarkably strong woman, achieving so much before her marriage to the Duke. She had even been the architect behind Lury's family home. The memories made tears well up in Lury's eyes.
Hargreaves lowered his gaze to the ground, then lifted it, and asked carefully, "Patricia… who is your friend, and what exactly did he say to you?"
Lumian held his breath and exhaled slowly, the weight of the Joshua bloodline's end pressing down on him.
Patricia giggled, an almost eerie excitement in her voice. "Oh, he told me so many things! He said if I stay here long enough, I could get powers… powers just like yours! Can you believe that? Powers like you!"
Her voice suddenly rose, as it became raspy. "He also said I should bring… blood sacrifices… Hakli… Hakli… I'll bring them back, and we'll all be one big, happy family."
Vincent slowly lowered his head, shaking it as if to process what he just heard. He looked up at Hargreaves, who had also raised his gaze, and a small, unnerving smile spread across his face. "Yes… that sounds like a good idea," he said quietly.
...
"Yes… the idea is good," Hargreaves said calmly. "Would you… let us in so we can help you?"
"You… you want to help?" Patricia's voice wavered with disbelief.
Hargreaves nodded firmly. "Yes. As you said, we are the ones who killed Lacey. Isn't it our responsibility to take accountability?"
There was silence, and in that silence, Hargreaves' mouth twitched slightly, and he muttered under his breath to Vincent,
"Vincent… go and bring a graveyarder."
Vincent exhaled softly, stepping backward into the rain.
Her voice came back, more gentler this time. "Promise you won't try to stop me."
"I promise," Hargreaves replied.
Another beat of silence. Then, slowly, the door creaked open.
...
Lumian gently removed lury from his embrace, stepped cautiously into the house, while Lury and Rosanne remained outside.
Inside, the once-lavish mansion was now overrun with green leaves that carpeted the floors and veiled the windows. At the centre of it all, Patricia hung upside down with a delighted, unsettling smile, her eyes bloodshot, her body entwined with a large green leaf above her.
To the right, the corpses of Lacey and Duke Joshua sat on the couch, arranged as if in conversation. Scattered across the floor were the bloodied remains of two rats and other animals. Patricia, with multiple eyes now appearing on her face, looked down at Hargreaves.
"These… these are the bloody sacrifices you mentioned?" he asked, his voice low.
"I've only managed a few," Patricia said softly, her tone almost innocent. "I promised I'd never truly hurt anyone."
Hargreaves let out a soft breath, smiling gently as he spoke to her like a relative offering comfort. "Lady Patricia… look at yourself right now. Aren't you becoming one of the things you fear?"
...
Lumian shook his head, letting out a heavy sigh. So she had even dug up the duke's body… sigh.
Patricia went silent for a moment before breaking down, tears streaming down her face. "It's not like I wanted this! I just wanted a normal life… with my husband and my child! Okay, I know I've become… a very bad person. And yes, I know you're sorcerers, exorcists! But as a grieving mother and wife… can you just let me go?!"
Hargreaves didn't respond. He extended his hand forward, and a cool breeze swept through the tinted windows, flooding Patricia's mind. She writhed on the leaf, screaming in a distorted, otherworldly voice,
"You're trying to kill me! Even after I begged!? I thought you said you'd help me!"
Suddenly, the vines across the room grew closer, as black, vague silhouettes materialized around the room. Lumian reacted quickly, drawing his gun, and Berlie followed suit.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets rang sharply, striking the silhouettes as they scattered like frightened animals. One clambered onto the roof—Lumian aimed, and it dissipated in a dark wisp. Berlie's precise shots took down the others.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Slowly, Patricia's movements began to calm, the spell Hargreaves had cast clearly taking effect. Through her tears, she whispered,
"This… is truly how everything ends?"
Her gaze drifted toward the door, where a familiar figure with brown hair stood with her tears.
At that moment, Hargreaves, his face etched with pain, drew his gun and pulled the trigger slowly.
Bang!
A white, intricately engraved bullet shot forward and struck Patricia's forehead. She glanced at the figure at the door once more, and through a faint smile, whispered,
"…I… remember that face."
...
"Ffff.."
Hargreaves forced himself to remain calm, retracting his gun into his coat as the vines slowly receded into Patricia's body. Her eyes, which had been wide and wild, gradually closed, and her lips twitched violently, before curling up in a smile.
Hargreaves turned to Lumian. "Wait here until Vincent returns with a graveyarder," he instructed, before stepping outside with Berlie.
The sharp sound of the gunshot had Lury crying harder, but Hargreaves managed to coax her back toward the faculty.
After a moment, Lumian was left alone in the silent mansion. The odor of the corpses hung heavily in the air. He walked forward and sank into a rocking chair, moving back and forth.
So this… this is the true nature of how the world has become, he thought. What about if this was my family, sigh, poor Patricia. He stole a glance at the corpse and continued inwardly. I need to advance more phases, so that Kelvin and Laura, never have to face this. And the Magician phase… what exactly will I need to perform?
He pondered quietly. By its name and theme, a Magician expresses emotions through tricks, adapting to situations. In a sense… we all play the role of a Magician. And the Magician phase aligns perfectly with the Diviner phase. Both connect deeply to spiritual patterns and the environment.
He let out a soft sigh, rocking slowly. I need to fully step into my role, focus on divination… I have to protect them. I have to help them.