"I have traveled through these lands,
The cycle of life never ends.
Was being born a sin I have to carry?
Or It's the only lilium I can't bury?
Let us solve the mysteries of this world,
So, I can spread my hands and carry you beyond life and death."
"You both seem to be doing better now," the nurse said with a cheerful smile that filled the room with warmth. The sharp scent of medicine hung thick in the air.
"Please accept my deepest doting, Miss Nightingale. Without you, my heart would be swallowed by sorrow," Marv said, dramatic as ever, clutching the nurse's hands like they were crafted for him.
"Ah, Marv—chill out!" Kazuto sighed.
The nurse gently removed Marv's hands from hers. "Ah, I'm glad…" she said, sweat forming along her temple.
"I apologize for my friend, Miss Aleria," Kazuto added.
"It's not that big of a deal, really, dear Kazuto," the nurse said with a nervous laugh, waving her hands as if to scatter the tension in the air.
"I'll have to leave now — I need to continue my medicine research. You two can rest here as long as you like."
"Oh, I could stay here for all eternity if it meant being beside an angel like yourself." Marv placed a hand on his chest, somewhere between a graceful prince and a shameful jester.
A sudden hush crawled through the room — the clock's ticking grew louder, as if even time was holding its breath.
"All your eternity, huh?"
The room chilled as a voice sliced through the air — the sound of death's laughter. Shinigami entered, wearing an almost life-taking grin.
"My nightmare…" Marv muttered, instantly straightening like a dog caught misbehaving.
"Oh, dear Shinigami, you must be here to see your friends," the nurse said kindly.
"Yes," Shinigami replied with a smirk.
"Then I'll give you all some space," the nurse said as she left the room.
"Take care, Miss Aleria Nightingale," Shinigami said, waving her hand.
"Please don't leave me with her! Anyone but her!" Marv cried, as if he were about to be executed.
His cries echoed off the sterile walls, the nurse's perfume still faint in the air.
"Why do you take her so seriously, Marv?" Kazuto asked.
Marv gazed towards him and replied, "She comes in my nightmares and kills me!"
"Hmm..." Kazuto put his hand on his chin and whispered, "And I see a strange figure by a table I can't make out..."
At this moment when both of them gazed back, the air smelled faintly of iron and disinfectant. Shinigami's gloves snapped tight, the sharp ring of metal tools slicing through the silence.
"Ah... Dear Shinigami, please show some mercy on me." Sweat dropped from Marv's face, though Kazuto didn't bother to add in much and picked up his phone.
"Are you seriously on your phone while I'm about to be a lab rat?!" Marv asked in a panic.
"Nothing is going to happen." Kazuto replied flatly.
"C'mon, Marvanom — you aren't afraid of a little operation, right?" Death smirked right before his eyes, spinning the scalpels like toys, "I will take your guts out and sell them in the black market."
The tension danced with drama, and it filled the room like smoke. Lights flicked on the golden architecture. Curtains moving slowly to the wind. As death moved closer to the jester─
Blam!
The door slammed open — Parmiss stood there, chest heaving, sweat tracing her trembling face, legs shaking.
All froze─ eyes moved to meet hers
"Parmiss! You are here!!!" The excitement filled the clown's face, "Save me from Shinigami please!!!"
"Ah, Are you alright, Parmiss?" Shinigami turned calm and asked gently.
Parmiss's breath caught in her throat. Really thinking about joining the Olympics at this point.
She walked towards the bed where Marv was lying─ moving like one who's the boss yet someone who could be fall by a breeze of wind. Book slammed by her on the bed that created a loud bang.
"Be careful, Parmiss or I am going to be buried under this book." Marv shook from the force of the slam.
"I have to show something." Parmiss finally spoke up. As she started to go through pages until she stopped at the topic─
"Void Stopper..." The rest murmured to themselves. Eyes widened on the page.
"Parmiss isn't this─" Kazuto spoke up
"Yes..." Parmiss replied midtone, then pointed at the bottom that said, "how to summon it."
A flaming light (Candle, Fire torch, Lantern)
Dark-dust (Formed by a combination of Fairy dust with corrupted Elfen-Ore)
Glycol fluid. (It's working if the flame turns green.)
A steady place to hold the mixture in place for a few hours.
"A lantern! Green flame???" They all shouted like they'd just discovered treasure.
"Ainsworth had it."
"What does this all mean."
"He was very suspicious."
All types of thoughts ran from the lads' heads. Just what is behind this mystery? And if the teacher was the one, who did it, why didn't he got rid of them?
After a while of processing it, the pawns settled down.
"Should we tell the authorities?" Kazuto suggested.
Marv's eyes got sharp, voice calmer, "No, as Ainsworth is one of the high-ranking teachers, and to add on, we still know so less about this world."
Parmiss nodded her head, "I agree, we can't trust anyone, we have to solve this case ourselves."
"Hmm, I wonder what's the need to solve this case..." Kazuto asked to himself.
Marv without a second thought with his sharp eyes replied, "Firstly, I am curious. Secondly, I don't want others to face the same thing we faced."
"Valid, I am curious too, also by what the dorm fairy told me, he never carries a light source and wanders every night." Parmiss replied then gazed towards Shinigami, "What are your thoughts Shinigami?"
Shinigami thought for a moment and replied, "I am in."
"And you Kazuto?"
Kazuto without a thought replied, "I am always in for the team."
"Then let's move!" Marv cheered.
The rest paused for a moment and asked, "Where are we going to begin with?"
Marv put his hand on his chin and then gazed at them, "As this all ties back to the lantern, how about investigating it first. I hardly believe if he wanders without light, he might actually have one."
"What do you mean, Marv?" Kazuto asked.
"I mean, we all have things that we buy but never use. But as for Ainsworth, I don't think he has that habit. And even if he does, that lantern does not appear like something a teacher would carry." Marv was thinking like solving a puzzle.
"I hardly get you..." Kazuto sighed. "But let's move if that's what we have to do"
All nodded, stood up, prepared themselves to leave. As they were leaving the sanatorium, Marv asked, "Ah, does anyone remember the way to that old kitchen? I am having a hard time remembering directions in this school."
"I do remember the path." Parmiss replied.
The team left to solve the mystery ahead of them. They rushed through the crowded lobby, heading toward a deserted part of the school. They all stood before the wooden door of the old kitchen.
"Finally, we are here" Parmiss sighed.
"Let's open the damn door," Shinigami said, clenching her fists like she was ready for a street fight.
They pushed the old door. It creaked open, and a wave of stale air rolled out — dust, smoke, and something faintly metallic.
"I hate this smoke!" Marv added in.
As the smoke disappeared, they saw it─
"The Lantern..."