The name of this chapter is the word for 'terror' in Chichewa. Also, some trigger warnings for the content in this chapter.

Disclaimer: Beelzebub belongs to Ryuuhei Tamura, not me.


Chapter 9- Mantha

Today is the weekend and we are meeting with Oga, Hilda, Baby Beel, Furuichi, Shizuka, Izuma, and Quetzalcoatl to discuss what Quetzalcoatl found on the three corpses yesterday. I change into a pair of jeans and a maroon-coloured sweater top before we leave. It's chilly outside and the snow is falling heavily from the sky, but that doesn't stop us from walking to the library to discuss this matter. We're meeting in the Ishiyama school library instead of the public library, simply because we need the privacy to discuss this.

However, on the walk to the school, my mind is stuck on a nightmare I had the previous night. Again, that same scene had appeared in my head, except the girl's face was a lot clearer. The girl was Shibuya Airi, and I was witnessing her death at the hands of an unknown person. There's something disturbing about witnessing death up close like that, even if it's only a dream.

But still, the demonic energy I could sense in that dream… does it mean that she's a demon or a Konketsuji?

As we near the four-way outside of my neighbourhood, I suddenly feel a strange sensation, one that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Stopping in my tracks, I look around nervously. However, there's no one behind me.

"Yumi?" Hecadoth questions.

I shake my head. "No, it's just… I felt something strange," I tell him.

Even as I say that, I can't help but look around me cautiously. I get the feeling that we're being watched by someone. I laugh nervously. "L-Let's just keep going," I encourage.

We manage to reach the Ishiyama school library, which is practically empty, except for the people we need to meet. However, in addition to the group sitting at the tables, we see Toujou among them. "Morning," I greet as we make our way over to them. "What's Toujou doing here?"

"He thinks he should get involved, since I'm in danger," Shizuka explains, though I see a light blush on her face as she says that.

Quetzalcoatl clears his throat. "Now that everyone's here, I think I should show you what I found on those corpses yesterday." Pulling some photos from the inside of his trench coat, he places them on the table for us to have a look at.

Peering at the photos, which are of the torsos of the corpses, I notice a thin, diagonal laceration on each of them. Each laceration seems to be rather deep, but there is surprisingly very little traces of bloodshed from them.

"These lacerations look rather thin," Furuichi observes. "But they do seem deep enough to kill them."

Oga looks confused. "How are these able to kill them?" he asks.

"Because a Demon World weapon was used to make those lacerations," Hilda tells him. "It's impossible for a Human World weapon to create such wounds."

Hecadoth nods in agreement. "It's a flammard that is made out of the poisonous fangs of the King Hydra in the Demon World," he explains. "Even the smallest scratch from that blade can severely poison you, and if not treated immediately, the victim will die a slow and agonizing death."

"Mm," Quetzalcoatl hums in agreement. "You see, when this blade creates such a light laceration, the poison is what kills the victim, and it's also what makes it almost invisible to the human eye. Only humans with a significant amount of strength or demonic power, Konketsuji, contractors, and demons are able to see these marks."

Izuma looks rather thoughtful at this. "So, all three of them had this laceration on their torsos," he muses. "However, they were positioned to look like they had committed suicide. Nojima-san had been found hanging in her home, Saionji-kun was found in the river under the bridge, and Fukuda-san was found with her wrists slit in the back of the store she managed."

"And weren't there journals in which they had written about how they had to avenge Shibuya Airi?" Shizuka asks.

"Yeah," I say. "That's right."

"But why?" Hilda questions, looking bemused. "Why go all this way to murder them with such a deadly weapon like that, and then suddenly make it look as if they themselves committed suicide?"

"That's something I don't understand either," Quetzalcoatl admits.

My mind immediately goes back to the story of the Demon of the Third Floor, where it is believed that anyone who sees her will go crazy until they commit suicide. This… it sounds almost exactly like that part of the story. Another conversation I had with Dad the previous night comes back to mind.

"Tell me again, Dad," I say as we both clear up the table. "How exactly did the officer in charge of Shibuya Airi's case die?"

Dad thinks for a moment. "The stories said that he had been killed in a hit-and-run," he explains. "However, that was just a cover-up by the media. What really happened was quite disturbing."

"What do you mean?"

"There was a thin slash across his chest and a bullet hole in his head, both post-mortem," Dad tells me. "It's strange because the laceration had already killed him. Even more, the bullet was not from his own gun, and there is no blade in the Human World capable of creating such a cut."

My eyes widen in surprise. "Seriously?" I ask.

"Yes," Dad confirms. "However, that laceration wasn't even noticed during the autopsy until I looked at the older photos that were taken and noticed it. The police were forced to say that he was killed in a hit-and-run because they were afraid of the disgrace that would happen if it came out that he had committed suicide."

I slowly nod. "You know, Hecadoth told me that only a certain blade in the Demon World can create a laceration that is almost invisible to the human eye," I tell him.

"He's right about that," Mom chimes in, setting her book down as she makes her way over to us. "The only way a human can get their hands on one is if they are contracted to a demon that uses one. There is no way they would be able to access that flammard on their own."

A quiet horror seems to slowly cross Dad's face. "Then… this case is now in a completely new light," he realizes.

"Yeah," I agree. Right then, I wrap my arms around him in worry. "Dad, please be safe." My voice is pleading, and I can feel myself choking up. "Please don't get hurt."

Dad smiles as he hugs me back. "Don't worry, sweetheart," he reassures. "I won't let anything happen."

Ever since then, I've been so worried about Dad. In fact, I've been extremely worried ever since he decided to reopen this case. Because of the death of the previous officer investigating, I'm worried that something similar is going to happen.

"Tanaka!" Suddenly, I hear a snapping sound right by my ears, and I'm immediately brought out of my thoughts. I look up and see everyone else looking at me curiously.

"Wh-What is it?" I ask, my voice becoming a mumble.

"You were kind of spaced out," Toujou tells me.

"Were you even listening to us?" Oga asks.

I shake my head. "No… I'm kind of preoccupied with something else," I admit. "I'm just worried about my dad."

Hecadoth wraps an arm around my shoulder. "Yumi?" he encourages me gently.

I sigh. "Yesterday, I found out what really happened to Kamiya Yuu, the officer who was investigating Shibuya Airi's case," I tell them.

"Wasn't he killed in a hit-and-run?" Shizuka asks me.

"That was a cover-up," I say. "What really happened was that Kamiya Yuu was murdered by the same person who murdered Nojima Kumi, Saionji Tadashi, and Fukuda Kaori. A bullet hole was found in his head, making it look like he shot himself. Actually, there was a laceration on his chest that is invisible to the human eye. At the time, everyone else thought that he had committed suicide, so that's why it was covered up. Coincidence? Hell no."

Izuma looks thoughtful for a moment. "Come to think of it," he starts. "It was around the time of that officer's death when the story of the Demon of the Third Floor started happening, especially the rumour about how anyone who sees her would go mad until they commit suicide."

"But tie in the fact that they were being stalked a while back before their deaths…" Hilda trails off.

An uneasy atmosphere hangs in the library. There's no need to doubt now. The murderer really is a demon.

"Well then, what kind of demon is behind this?" Oga asks.

"You can't really tell as to 'what kind' of demon did this," Quetzalcoatl explains. "Even we don't really know, other than the demon is most likely a higher-class demon."

"Well then, what could be a motive?" Furuichi asks.

"Maybe she did something that they considered an offense," Hecadoth suggests.

"Yeah, but for the amount of injuries on her body, it must've been one hell of an offense," I add. "I read a bit more into the autopsy details. Shibuya Airi died from blunt-force trauma to the head, and was stabbed repeatedly post-mortem. She had at least fifty stab wounds all over her body. Overkill, much?"

"That is a lot," Shizuka agrees.

"Something like that means that her killer was trying to hide something," Hilda says. "Maybe she knew something about him that he wanted to suppress."

"So then she was stalked, had death threats sent to her, and was then violently murdered one night?" Furuichi asks.

As everyone continues talking and speculating, I feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up slightly. I tense up and try to glance around. I can't help but feel as if someone is watching us. Immediately, my guard is up and I move my hand down to my steel fan, which I carry everywhere with me. But then, I sense a sudden spike in pressure.

"Dabu!" Baby Beel also senses it. It isn't long before everyone else stops talking, as they can all sense the demonic energy as well.

Suddenly, we hear the sound of a door slamming. Turning in shock, we see that the library door, which was previously open, has slammed shut. While this may seem like a mild scare, there's something about the way it just closed that seems a lot more sinister.

"The fuck?" Oga demands as he walks over to the door. However, when he opens the door, he steps back in shock. My eyes widen in shock as we stare outside.

Nothing but black.

"What the hell?!" Shizuka asks, her voice disbelieving.

Furuichi shakes his head slowly. "Don't tell me… we're separated from the physical world?!"

"Unfortunately, we are," Hecadoth confirms, standing up and holding his spear out. "Someone's in here."

As if sensing this, Hilda pulls out her sword, looking around her warily. I also pull out my combat knife from the fan, cautiously glancing around. I surround myself with tendrils of demonic energy, and so do Hilda, Hecadoth, Izuma, and Quetzalcoatl.

An extremely bone-chilling laugh echoes in the library and before we realize, we see a demon materializing out of a cloud of demonic energy. Once he's fully materialized, I feel shivers down my spine upon seeing what he looks like. He's wearing long black robes, and on his face is a World War II-gas mask, except the lenses are covered in black.

"What the…" Furuichi trails off.

Quetzalcoatl stares in shock at the demon. "It can't be…" he trails off.

Suddenly, the demon removes the gas mask, and I find myself stepping back in utter horror. His face is pale white, and where his eyes should be are two hollow sockets of complete black. His mouth is no more than a deep black void, save for some sharp teeth covered in blood. Simply put, this demon is terrifying.

"Holy shit…" Toujou trails off.

"Who the hell is that?!" Furuichi demands, looking utterly frightened.

"I knew it…" Quetzalcoatl says grimly. "Mantha, the demon of fear and terror."