William returned to the café with Finki, while the others sat inside, waiting for any new information.
He took his seat as Kasper quietly poured coffee for everyone. Liner was playing cards with Maria, clearly winning, while Nila watched them with visible boredom.
William:
"Hasn't Lawrence returned yet?"
Kasper:
"He was supposed to, but I have no idea where he went."
William:
"Let's hope he comes back soon, at least."
Nila:
"You guys are boring."
Nila stood up with a sigh and walked toward the window to look outside, but suddenly stopped when she noticed something strange.
Outside the café, dozens of green butterflies filled the air, swirling slowly across the horizon.
Nila:
"Hey, Kasper? Is it butterfly season already?"
Kasper:
"Why do you ask?"
Nila:
"Because I'm seeing a lot of butterflies right now."
Kasper quickly stood and approached the window, his eyes widening in both shock and unease.
Huge swarms of green butterflies were moving in eerie unison, as if guided by something unseen.
Kasper:
"No... this isn't butterfly season at all."
Suddenly, he noticed a dense cluster of butterflies forming at one specific point, moving unnaturally.
He quickly pulled Nila back.
Kasper (cautiously):
"This isn't a situation worth risking."
At that moment, massive swarms of butterflies burst into the café violently, shattering the windows and flooding every corner.
The lights began to flicker, and the air filled with the deafening flutter of countless wings.
William (raising his voice amid the chaos):
"What the hell is going on here?!"
Kasper:
"Someone's using magic—some kind of control spell!"
Immediately, William grabbed the compass and threw it toward Finki.
William:
"Get as far as you can until this is over!"
Finki:
"Understood."
Finki darted out of the café, vanishing between the streets using invisibility magic.
The butterflies tried to follow, but the shadows swallowed him completely.
Inside, the wings suddenly quieted.
The butterflies all gathered on the table in the middle of the café, as if something was about to emerge.
Then, from the dust and green light, a strange man materialized—his eyes glowing an eerie green.
Green-eyed Man:
"Hello, hello, hello... what a pleasure to meet you all here, of all places, at this moment."
The butterflies froze in midair, silent.
Everyone's breath was heavy; even the air itself seemed to wait for a response.
William:
"What exactly do you want?"
Green-eyed Man:
"Not much, I think. Just that compass... where is it?"
Kasper quietly raised his hand, conjuring a fake compass with his magic, and held it up before the man.
Kasper:
"You mean this?"
Green-eyed Man:
"I believe that's the one... go on, hand it over."
Kasper took a slow, deliberate step forward, then suddenly—
With all his strength, he punched the man in the gut, grabbed his head, and smashed it repeatedly against the table.
Wood shattered, blood splattered, and the butterflies trembled as if enraged.
William (raising an eyebrow):
"I guess I wouldn't want to fall into his hands."
Suddenly, the butterflies went berserk again, losing all control.
The sound of wings and shrill screeches overwhelmed everything.
Nila (shouting):
"Aren't these butterflies supposed to stop by now?!"
Liner (coldly):
"It's not necessary that this one was their controller. Even if he's dead, the spell could still persist on its own."
Elsewhere in the city, the police stations of Midnight were descending into chaos.
The butterflies broke through windows and offices, and screams filled the air.
Chief:
"What the hell is happening here?!"
Officer:
"I don't know, sir, but the butterflies are reacting to something!"
The Chief raised his magic staff and fired dozens of ice blasts into the air.
The butterflies froze and shattered like glass beads—but the ice began spreading uncontrollably.
Chief:
"Anyone here with fire magic—help me stabilize this!"
Casey rushed out of her office, holding her staff, and unleashed intense flames to melt the spreading frost.
Chief:
"Good work! Keep it up!"
Casey:
"Understood!"
After moments of battle and chaos, the fluttering wings inside the station ceased.
The butterflies fell to the ground, burned or frozen.
Chief:
"Everyone outside! Help the civilians if anything's happening!"
All:
"Yes, sir!"
Chief (with a faint smile):
"And hey, Casey—this station may be full of corrupt bastards... but not all the time."
Casey:
"I didn't even say anything, but thanks, I guess."
She stepped outside—and froze.
The sky was blanketed with butterflies, the ground was flooded with panicking people, carriages had stopped as the horses reared in terror, and smoke rose from burning factories.
Casey (in disbelief):
"What the hell..."
On the outskirts of the city, Lawrence walked silently toward the location mentioned in the message.
He stood before an abandoned house, its walls crumbling, the air heavy with something old and mournful.
Lawrence:
"I guess this is it."
He entered, greeted by darkness like an old friend.
In the middle of the room sat a clown on a chair, smiling crookedly as he brushed the hair of a severed head.
Clown (mocking):
"Looking for this?"
He tossed the head toward Lawrence.
It hit the floor, its empty eyes staring up at him.
Clown (sneering):
"He entertained me for a while... shame he died so quickly."
Lawrence (coldly, with anger):
"What do you want?"
Clown:
"Your head will do nicely."
The clown lunged forward at terrifying speed, launching magical orbs that exploded around Lawrence, covering him in smoke.
From the shadows, the clown emerged, wielding a massive hammer, and slammed it into the ground with a force that shook the entire house.
Lawrence reacted swiftly, pulling out his gun and firing.
The bullet struck the clown's body—it exploded like a balloon—only for him to reappear behind Lawrence and stab him in the gut.
Clown (grinning):
"Does this stab feel familiar?"
Before he could attack again, the butterflies burst into the room, swarming the clown violently, giving Lawrence a chance to escape.
Clown (irritated):
"Damn butterflies... I'll have to rearrange my plans for another time."
Lawrence could barely walk, blood dripping from his wound, his breathing heavy.
He looked back to see the house glowing green, from which thousands of butterflies emerged, flying skyward, trailed by floating balloons.
Lawrence (weakly):
"What the hell is going on..."
Meanwhile, inside the café:
William:
"Kasper! Stop!"
Kasper stopped smashing the man's head—what was left of it.
William:
"We need to deal with these butterflies first, then we'll investigate the rest."
Kasper:
"Understood."
The group began clearing out the butterflies using their various spells until they managed to exit the café and spread out through the streets.
The whole city looked like a living nightmare of green light and screams.
In an abandoned building in the outskirts—a decrepit old hospital—the blind man walked slowly through the dusty halls.
The floor was covered with old papers, each one painted with butterflies.
He stopped before a corpse bound by those papers, drew his knife, and stabbed it without hesitation.
Blind Man:
"May your peace serve others better than it did you."
Suddenly, the corpse screamed—not like a human, but with a haunting, melodic tone. Then, words began to echo in code:
"... .... . / .-- .- - -.-. .... . ... / ..- ... / .- .-.. .-.. / .- -. -.. / -.. --- . ... / .- ... / ... .... . / .--. .-.. . . .- ... . ... .-.-.- / . ...- . .-. -.-- - .... .. -. --. / .-- . / -.. --- / .. ... / .... . .-. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- .-. / ..- ... .-.-.- / - .... . / .-.. .- -.. -.-- / --- ..-. / - .... . / .--. .- .--. . .-. ... — .-- . / -- ..- ... - / ..-. --- .-.. .-.. --- .-- / - .... . / .-.. .- -.. -.-- / --- ..-. / - .... . / .--. .- .--. . .-. ... --..-- / .- -. -.. / - .... . / .-- .... .. - . / ... .... .- -.. --- .-- / .. ... / .- .-.. .-- .- -.-- ... / - .... . .-. . / ..-. --- .-. / -- . .-.-.- / .... --- .--. . / .. ... / -- -.-- / ..-. ..- - ..- .-. . .-.-.-"
Blind Man (whispering):
"Who are you, I wonder? I should follow the serpent's trail first..."
He slowly walked out of the hospital, raising his head to the sky filled with butterflies now falling one by one—like a dead rain.
In the center of the city, the chaos had finally settled.
The butterflies fell like glowing dust covering the streets, and people emerged from hiding, dazed and exhausted.
William activated telepathic magic, his voice echoing clearly in everyone's minds:
William:
"Everyone who can—return to the café... especially Finki."
An hour later.
Everyone had gathered back at the café—except for Maria and Lawrence.
Finki handed the compass back to William.
William:
"Good work, Finki."
Before he could continue, Maria burst in, carrying Lawrence's unconscious body.
Maria:
"Hey, Kasper, please heal him!"
Kasper:
"Put him on the table—now!"
Liner (coldly, with mild surprise):
"What the hell happened?"
Maria:
"I found him staggering, and then he just collapsed... so I brought him here!"
Liner (sighing):
"Well, at least he came back in one piece..."