Previously…
"There is one way to ascertain whether Wataru Ishigami is the one. To practice this specific form of black magician, the black magician would have to place a spell on himself for forty-nine days and people practicing such spell would have a thin black line across his right eye, from the top to the bottom."
"So I will have to check his right eye?"
"Hai..."
The next day…
Natsuki had been following Wataru Ishigami since this morning, trying to find an appropriate opportunity where she could look into his eyes.
She sat there in the library, pretending to read her books as she observed Wataru Ishigami. There wasn't anything unusual about his behaviour. And just like any students, he followed his timetable strictly and visit the library in the evening to finish his homework. There was nothing unusual to identify him as the culprit.
As she sat there racking her head thinking about the case, Ishigami stood up and walked towards her, a cocky smile on his face.
Natsuki tensed up as he approached her.
He stopped just a feet away from her and with a smirk on his face, bend down so that he was on the same eye level with Natsuki.
"Did you see what you are looking for?" Ishigami chucked. "Or perhaps I should take off my spectacles so that you can have a clearer look." He asked and took off his spectacles, leaning closer to Natsuki. "See anything? The black line that cut across my right eyeball from top to bottom?" Ishigami chuckled as he straightened up and walked off.
There wasn't any black line in his right eyeball!
Why doesn't he have the sign of black magic? But if he is not the one practicing the black magic then why would he know that Shizuru and I were at the garden oiooothat night?
Natsuki made her way back to the hostel as she pondered over what she saw earlier on. The questions bugged her as she entered the hostel.
Alone in the hostel, Natsuki took out a change of clothes and went for a shower.
However when she was exiting the bathroom, she heard someone calling her from behind.
Instinctively, Natsuki turned to answer. But just as she was about to open her mouth to answer the call, someone grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with a hand.
Natsuki stiffened immediately and swinged her elbow toward the person standing behind her. But that person caught her elbow in mid-swing, stopping her attack.
"Hush..."
Shizuru…
Natsuki immediately relaxed her stance.
"Don't speak or answer. Just turned around slowly." Shizuru whispered into Natsuki's ear.
Natsuki turned slowly to looked behind her.
A few feet away at the window was the head hovering in midair smiling at Natsuki, calling out Natsuki's name. The dirty black hair fell messily over the forehead and the pair of eyes glowed eerily green in the darkness.
"Natsuki… Natsuki...Come here..."
"Don't answer it. Don't say anything. The moment you answer its call, he will take your soul away. Understood?"
Natsuki nodded, her legs nearly gave way under her. It was definitely a different sight closed up. Especially hearing it called out her name. It was enough to scare any man shitless. She could feel the coldness spreading through her.
Shizuru let go of the hand covering Natsuki's mouth.
"Now you know why I discourage you from intervening in black magic?"
Natsuki nodded once again.
"The organs are mostly gone." Shizuru mused. "Faster than I thought."
Shizuru moved to stand in front of Natsuki. "Go back to wherever you came from. You are not even fit to appear before me." Shizuru's eyes glow a smothering red as she stared at the head. "Begone!"
The head growled like an animal before turning and hovered off, disappearing into the distance.
Shizuru turned to switch on the lights, lighting up the whole room.
Natsuki was leaning against the double decker bed for support. She was just shy of collapsing in front of Shizuru.
Shizuru offered Natsuki a cup of warm water.
Natsuki sat on the lower bed and grabbed the cup tight, trying to warm herself. She was cold from the tip of her toes to her head. That was something she hadn't anticipated.
"Come, I will help to blow dry your hair. Your hair's still wet from the shower." Shizuru took the hairdryer and started to blow dry Natsuki's hair. "You will feel warmer once your hair is dry."
Shizuru combed through Natsuki's silked hair. "Your hair is so straight, smooth and silky. Not like me. Mine curls at the tips and it is so hard to manage my hair." Shizuru continued a steady flow of conversation. "When I was younger, I hope for hair like yours. Straight and smooth and..."
Shizuru words trailed off when Natsuki suddenly leaned against her shoulder. Natsuki had dozed off. "Natsuki?" Shizuru called out softly. There was no reply.
Shizuru chuckled. Who would expect Natsuki to fall asleep so quickly especially after the incident earlier on.
Shizuru moved aside and gently placed Natsuki on her bed.
Shizuru had meant for Natsuki to learn a lesson. Black magic was not something for normal people to meddle with. And Natsuki did not have the full idea what black magic can do.
Which was why she had allowed the earlier incident to happen and only intervened just before Natsuki answered the call of the head.
Hopefully this incident would teach her to think twice before intervening in black magic.
Shizuru sighed and looked down at Natsuki's sleeping profile. She hoped Natsuki would learn.
Shizuru stretched out and helped Natsuki to lie comfortably on the bed. They will have to share the same bed tonight.
Morning came quick and the sun shone bright, lighting up the whole room.
"Natsuki...Natsuki, wake up..." Shizuru gently pat Natsuki's face.
Shizuru frown immediately the moment she came into contact with Natsuki's skin.
Natsuki's face was flustered and her temperature seemed higher than normal.
Fever.
"Natsuki, wake up." Shizuru forcely woke Natsuki up and fed her some medicine before allowing Natsuki to return back to her sleep.
"How is Natsuki?" Shizuru asked Mai the moment she returned back from her lessons.
Shizuru had arranged for Mai and Mikoto to take turns watching over Natsuki during the day whenever they had free periods. And surprisingly, the two of them had gotten along well.
Mikoto was not the type that warmed up to people easily. But surprisingly with Mai, Mikoto had somehow clicked with her.
"Her fever is not subsiding." Mai replied as she sat on a chair next to the bed, a worried look on her face. "Her temperature is still so high. Should we send her to the hospital?"
Mikoto stood next to Mai and nodded her in agreement.
Shizuru sat on the bed next to Natsuki. Her face looked paler now compared to this morning. Shizuru frowned as she reached out to touch her forehead.
"Natsuki, can you open your eyes and look at me? Natsuki?" Shizuru gently pat Natsuki's face.
Natsuki groaned and opened her eyes. Her eyes completely unfocused. And within second, Natsuki fell back to slumber.
Surprisingly, Shizuru smiled, a glint in her eyes as she narrowed her eyes.
Mikoto recognized that smile.
Whoever upset Shizuru-sama is going to get into trouble.
"Ara… I was careless ne." Shizuru looked down at Natsuki and gave her a reassuring pat. "Gomen-ne Natsuki. I will make you feel better in a while."
With a glint in her eyes, Shizuru set out a table covered with yellow cloth. On it, she set two red candles burning and a bowl of glutinous rice. And in the middle of the table was a miniature straw man pasted with a piece of yellow paper. The paper had Natsuki's name written on it.
"Ne Mikoto, what is Shizuru doing?" Mai turned towards Mikoto and asked.
"Shizuru-sama is trying to 招魂 (zhao hun). 招 means summon. And 魂 is soul. Every normal human being has a complete soul. But part of Natsuki-san's soul must have been taken by the creature yesterday night. This could be the reason why Natsuki-san is having a fever now. And Shizuru-sama is trying to summon it back. If the soul is incomplete, individuals could slip into coma forever or if the person is lucky, he or she might wake up. But normally under this circumstances, those who managed to awaken ended up mentally incapable."
"Is Natsuki going to be alright?"
"Shizuru-sama always makes things right."
Mai was a logical person. She would prefer to send Natsuki to the hospital but… if Natsuki did not recover after that, she can always suggest the idea again.
"That straw man Shizuru-sama was holding on to…" Mikoto continued. " It is a representation of Natsuki-san. Shizuru-sama is using it as a medium to call back Natsuki-san's soul. And the piece of yellow paper you saw on the straw man has Natsuki's date and time of birth on it. The strawman is a useful tool for both Black and White Magicians. Black magicians will use it to steal the soul while white magicians use it to save lives. But this ritual will only work if the magician has the victim's date and time of birth. And the date and time of birth has to be in accordance to the lunar calendar."
"Then how is this…" Mai gestured towards Shizuru. "... Different from the creature that Natsuki saw yesterday night?"
"That is a totally different level. The creature or head is solely used in black magic and does not require the victim's date and time of birth in order to capture the soul. It only requires the victim's name. And in the darkness of the night, it will visit the victim's house and call upon the victim's name. Once the victim answers the call, his soul will be captured."
The conversation stopped the moment Shizuru started the ritual.
Mai watched on with a worried look on her face.
Ten minutes into the ritual, Natsuki woke up suddenly as her face contorted in pain only to turn to the side and vomit.
Mai rushed to Natsuki's bedside. "Natsuki?"
But the moment the vomiting stopped, Natsuki collapsed back onto the bed, fainting once again.
"Shizuru…" Mai turned to Shizuru. "What is happening to Natsuki? Is she going to be alright?"
"Natsuki will be fine soon." Shizuru reassured Mai before returning to her ritual.
The other party was holding on to part of Natsuki's soul, refusing to let go. If Shizuru tried to forcefully recall Natsuki's soul, a two way tussle would only harm Natsuki.
"Never take anything away from me. Especially not without my permission." Shizuru said as she took a talisman and put it to the fire, allowing it to burn.
As the talisman burned, Shizuru chanted a spell, throwing the burning talisman into the air. "Submit to my command! Decent!"
And in a distance, there was a flashed of lightning followed a loud thunder. And then there was silence.
"Mikoto, can you help me clear this up. I will be back in a while." Shizuru said as she turned and left the dormitory.
Shizuru walked towards the school field and saw groups of people gathering around on the running track. Shizuru walked towards the source of commotion.
The crowd parted allowing Shizuru to walk through.
"Did you see that? The lighting came out of nowhere striking the girl! I am not kidding you. There are lightning needles, tall trees and pole. And of all this, the lightning struck the girl!" A male student whispered to his friends.
"It is so freaking weird!." Another student said. "Lightning all of a sudden. Especially when there wasn't any dark clouds."
Shizuru walked past the thick crowd of curious onlookers and saw Tomoe barely conscious, lying on the ground with blood oozing out from her nose and mouth.
And Wataru Ishigami was next to Tomoe, holding on to her. A hostile look on his face when he saw Shizuru walking towards them.
"You are the one." A statement rather than a question.
Tomoe's eyes fluttered open when she heard Shizuru's voice.
Tomoe turned and saw Shizuru. "Surprise that it's me?" She gave a bitter laugh as she struggled to sit up. "Is she that important to you that you would do this to me? When you know I love you deeply."
"It would have been better for you if you lie still." Shizuru advised.
Why! Why say that when you obviously don't care about me. It only makes me sink deeper in love with you. Tomoe thought bitterly, as tears gathered in her eyes.
"Why her and not me?" Tomoe struggled as she looked searchingly into Shizuru's eyes.
Shizuru stood there, a gentle smile on her face. Yet everything about her felt so distanced.
So near and yet so far.
"Am I not good enough.." Tomoe coughed as pain wracked through her body.
"Hush. You should rest now." Ishigami said to Tomoe as he placed his hand over hers. "I will bring you to see a doctor."
He bent forward to carry Tomoe and left the running track. But before he left, he threw a venomous look at Shizuru.
"Alright everyone!" Shizuru clapped once to get everyone's attention. "Please don't worry. The lady will be send to the hospital. Do return to your normal activity now. We thank you for your concern."
Shizuru dispersed the crowd and left the track.
"How is Natsuki now?" Shizuru asked Mai the first thing she stepped in the hostel.
"Better. Her fever has subsided. Thank goodness!"
"Good." Shizuru replied as she placed her palm on Natsuki's forehead.
Definitely cooler now.
"Marguerite Tomoe is somehow involved in this. She was the one holding on to Natsuki's soul earlier. And Wataru Ishigami was there too. He was with Tomoe just now."
"Could they be involved in this together?" Mai asked. Natsuki had been keeping her updated with her discovery especially when she suspected that Wataru Ishigami could be the main suspect in this serial murder case.
Shizuru tilted her head as if deep in thought before replying. "Likely."
"I will do a background check on the two of them, Tomoe Marguerite and Wataru Ishigami." Mai offered. "It might be easier for the police officer to do it."
Mai bit down on her lip as she considered the situation. "We have been focusing our attention on Ishigami ever since Natsuki suspects him to be involved in the recent spat of death in the campus. But we overlooked the possibility of an accomplice."
"They could be involved in this together. But none of them has a black line that cuts through their right eyeball. I suspect they did not cast the black magic on themselves, forcing their own heads to detach from their body. But rather they use an alternative medium to create the hovering head." Shizuru turned to Mikoto and continued. "Mikoto, we would need to visit the grade schools around the neighbourhood to see if we can find a child with a thin black and red line running from top to bottom of his right eyeball."
"How is a child related to this?" All curious, Mai asked.
"A child could be used as a medium to create the head instead. Rather than the caster placing the curse on himself, detecting his head from the body in a painful process, the black magician could use a medium to replace him. And the medium is selected based on set of stringent criteria. The medium has to be related to the caster. And secondly, the medium has to be below the age of twelve, and the best age is between age three to ten."
Horror immediately replaced curiosity in Mai's mind. "They would even do that to their own family member? To a child even?"
"Hai…" Shizuru nodded. "To some people, nothing is as important to them as being able to stand at the pinnacle of black magic."
"Bastard!" Mai cursed as she clenched her fist. "Will we be able to save the child once we find him or her?"
"Gomen-ne." Shizuru shook her head. "Once the black magician casts the spell on the child, there is no return. The soul of the child will be forever a slave to the black magician. The only thing we can do is to end the child's misery as soon as possible by destroying the head."
There was a moment paused as Mai took in the information. "When do we begin and why search the grade schools around the neighbourhood? Why around the neighbourhood?"
"We will start when Natsuki recovers." Shizuru reached out to Natsuki and carefully pulled the blanket up to cover Natsuki's hands. She then took the towel, wet it and gently wiped away the sweat on Natsuki's face and neck.
Shizuru's action had Mai arching her brow. My my… When have they grown so close…
"Practicing such black magic requires constant and huge supply of fresh blood every night." Shizuru explained. "And looking at the spat if death around the school campus, the black magician would likely to have kept his medium near him."
The four of them were divided into two teams with one team covering the schools in the west and the other the east.
"We are at the last school now. Hopefully, the boy we are looking for is here." Mai spoke as the four of them gathered at the last school.
"Hi Mary-san, I am Masakazu Mai." Mai introduced herself using pseudo surname. "We are from the Otome Spectacle Clinic. We sent you an email regarding our visit today."
"Oh yes yes! I remember!" A bi-spectacle elder lady stepped out of the school staff office to welcome the four visitors.
"This year is our clinic's 100 year anniversary and in celebration of our 100 years operation, our clinic is giving free eye checkup for all grade school students. We hope that by doing so, we can contribute back to the society." Mai explained
"Ah yes yes yes… That is so nice of your clinic. Thank you so much! I am sure our students will greatly benefit from your eye screening."
"You are welcome Mary-san. We are just doing our part." Mai said as she set up her equipment in the allocated space.
And the whole process began again with them checking the eyes of every grade school kids.
Natsuki was managing the crowd until she felt a tug on her shirt. And she looked down to see a young grade One boy tugging at her shirt.
"Yes can I help you young man?" Natsuki smiled and squat down so she could be on the same eye level as the boy.
The boy gave Natsuki a toothless grin and said, "Onee-chan, you are very pretty. Will you be my girlfriend?"
The question had Natsuki freezing in mid action.
Mai who was nearby burst out in laughter while Shizuru chuckled.
Definitely not something she expects from Grade One student. Natsuki thought.
"Erm… Well, thank you so much young man. How old are you?"
"I am 6 years old." The boy replied proudly and put up five fingers instead. "And I know how to tie my shoelace!"
"Well that is very amazing of you young man." A grin tugged at Natsuki's mouth as she tapped her fingers on his shoes. "But I'm afraid I have to decline. I am erm too old for you."
Disappointment evident on the boy's face. But just as disappointment appeared, it was quickly replaced by determination. "Don't worry Onee-chan! I am fine with old lady!"
And this time round, everyone burst out laughing.
And Natsuki wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry over this comment.
Three hours later…
"Mary-san, is this all the students you have?" Mai asked when Mikoto shook her head after inspecting the last student. "Are all the students here? Anyone whom we might miss out?"
"Basically these are the students we have. They are all here…Yup! Hmmm… Wait! Hold on a minute..." Mary-san words trailed off. "Ah yes! I remember now. There is this boy in my class. He has been keeping to himself all this while, staying in the class instead of participating in our school activities. And the other kids are staying away from him too. I am pretty worried for him actually. Obedient but quiet young boy." Mary-san explained.
"Maybe you can tell us his name and where he is and we can look for him at his classroom instead. We don't want trouble you."
"Oh really? That is so nice of you young lady! Its rare to see people like you nowadays." Mary-san praised as she directed them to one of the classroom at the highest floor.
They entered the classroom and saw a young boy seated at the corner of the classroom. His unkempt brown hair fell all over his forehead and it was hard to see his features from the mob of unruly hair.
"Hi there!" Mai bended forward to the boy's level and introduced herself. "We are here for the eye screening. Can you help us out?"
The boy stared straight ahead, not responding to Mai's question.
"Don't worry ok? We are nice people and we are here to help. Can you tell us your name?" Mai tried again, this time waving her hands in front of the boy to get his attention.
No response.
"Hi, can you heard me?" Mai tried the third time, a warm and friendly smile on her face as she stretched out her hand to touch the young boy's shoulder
This time round, the boy responded and slowly turned his head to face Mai.
But at the same moment, Mikoto reached out her hand and grabbed Mai pulling her behind.
"Mikoto, what..." Mai asked. While asking the question, she saw from the corner of her eyes, a black shadow leaping past her.
The boy had sprang up from his chair and leaped past Mai and landed on all four in the empty space at the front of the classroom.
"Look at his name badge." Shizuru pointed out. "Same family name."
Wataru Kai.
The boy slowly stood up and gave a series of high pitched laughter. Then with a grin, he turned his head left and then right.
The sound of bones breaking echoed across the silent classroom.
Left again. Crack...
Right again. Crack…
Left again. Crack crack...
Right again. Crack crack crack…
The more he turned the more extreme the angle. The skin around his head were torn apart from the motion, exposing raw flesh and a thin red line appeared around the neck. Blood slowly trickled down from the neck, dying the white school shirt red.
Mai stumbled back, covering her mouth in horror. She would have tumbled backwards onto the tables and chairs if not for Mikoto.
Natsuki wasn't any better even, even though this maybe the third time she was seeing the detached head.
This is definitely out of her job scope.
The moment the head made a three hundred and sixty degree turn and detached itself from the body, blood splatter out from the torn arteries, splashing the walls and floors with blood.
With the head hovering in midair, the body collapsed onto the ground liked a lifeless doll. And blood continued to gush out from the neck, forming a pool of red beneath the headless body.
"Oh my god. What the hell is that!?" Mai muttered, on the verge of screaming her lungs out.
Black magic really exists!
"Don't scream. It will only attract people to this classroom." Shizuru cautioned as she motioned everyone to move back.
The eerie green eyes shone bright beneath the unruly brown hair. And his wild eyes were locked onto the four of them.
"Duck!" Natsuki shouted moment before the head gained momentum, moving towards them at an incredible speed.
Natsuki leaped to her left crashing into the chairs and tables in the classroom. She grimaced. She was definitely going to have some bruises tomorrow.
Natsuki picked herself up immediately and grabbed a fallen chair and swung it against the head that was hovering just a few feet from her.
There was a huge 'thud' sound as the chair came into contact with the head. She could feel her hands going numb from the impact.
The impact had the head flying in another direction, hitting the wall with a splatter before rolling onto the floor and lying motionless there. Natsuki raised the chair and took a step toward the head, preparing to deal more blows to it. But she stumbled as she realized her left foot was caught onto something.
"Natsuki!" Mai screeched as she frantically pointed towards Natsuki left foot.
Shit
Natsuki looked down towards her left foot and saw the headless body clutching his hand tightly around her foot.
She had her attention on the head all along and had thought the body to be just a shell abandoned by the head. But somehow during the commotion earlier on, the headless body had crawled its way towards them.
"Shit shit shit." Natsuki cursed as jerked back and kicked at the body with her right foot. She was sure she heard bone cracking from the headless body as her foot made multiple contact with the body. Blood splattered onto her shoes and pants. And some pink flesh too.
God she is so gonna puke. Natsuki thought in disgust and horror.
She used all her might as she stamped her foot at the body.. "Let go! Argh… Let go! "
The grip around her ankle tighten instead.
Shizuru turned her attention from the lifeless head to Natsuki. "Mikoto!"
"Hai! Shizuru-sama!"
Natsuki saw a flash before she fell backwards onto the floor. And the body that was grabbing on her foot earlier on was now on fire.
Mikoto had unsheathed a Katana and swung it down at the headless body where the wrist was, detaching the hand from the headless body. And almost at the same moment, Shizuru took out a rectangular piece of paper, said a quick chant and threw the paper onto the body. The moment the yellow paper made contact with the body, it burst into flame, spreading the fire across the body.
Natsuki quickly scrambled backwards, away from the burning body.
Surprisingly, the body laid motionlessly, allowing the fire to spread throughout and consumed the body.
Even though she was freed from the headless body, the hand that was grabbing her earlier on was still holding on tight to her ankle!
Natsuki cursed and used her other foot to push at the hand.
Just as she was about to turn to Shizuru for help, a sharp screech pierced through the quiet room.
Oh my god… What is it now? Natsuki thought.
Everyone's attentions were refocus on the head which was earlier on lying motionlessly on the floor.
It screeched as it shot up from the floor, dashing through the air, as if in pain. In its mad dash around the classroom, the head hit the walls with a wet smacked, splattering blood onto the wall and turned over tables and chairs, turning the whole place into a complete war zone.
A sudden thought dawned on Shizuru. "Don't let it escape! Shut the windows and the doors now. It will be hard to catch it next time!"
Mai and Natsuki scrambled around shutting the doors and windows while Mikoto and Shizuru kept the head busy.
Natsuki and Mai watched on by the side as the head sped around the classroom avoiding Shizuru and her talismans. While Shizuru attempted to burn the head with her talisman, Mikoto jumped up onto the table trying to corner the head by clashing her katana with it. But the katana hardly make a dent on the head.
Mai placed her right hand over the gun on her back, as her eyes followed the head's movement.
"Don't." Natsuki placed her hand over Mai's. "They are too close to it. They could be injured by stray bullets."
Natsuki watched closely as the head dashed around mid air.
Mikoto distracted the head while Shizuru dodged quickly to stand behind the head and shot a burning talismen at head. But the attack missed. It evaded the attack in the nick of time. In retaliation, the head immediately turned and bared its sharp teeth at Shizuru and set to move towards Shizuru. The head sped quickly towards Shizuru, with its bloody mouth wide open, ready to take a bite off her shoulder. But just before it can reach Shizuru, Shizuru sidestepped to her left, narrowly avoiding the bite. Any slower, Shizuru's arm would be like her torn sleeves, hanging on by the threads.
It was difficult to nail the evasive head in mid-air as it swerved left and right, easily evading the attack.
Natsuki watched on at the sideline, silently observing the situation. She timed attacks and the evasion.
One, two, three, four
One, two, three, four
One, two, three, four
The head swung away from the oncoming flame and turned to face Shizuru.
NOW!
Natsuki took off her jacket, leapt onto the table and into the mid air.
Shizuru's eyes widened as she saw Natsuki leaping towards the head. Her pupils dilated in shock and perhaps fear as images of the head tearing through Natsuki flashed through her mind.
Sensing someone behind, the head turned and bared its teeth at the oncoming attacker, moving towards Natsuki, ready to take a bite off her. But instead, the jacket surrounded it, engulfing it in darkness.
Natsuki hooked her jacket around the head and wrapped the jacket around the head.
"Shizuru! Now!" Natsuki shouted the moment she landed on the floor, crashing into tables and chairs on the way down.
The shout snapped Shizuru out from her shock. With a flick of her wrist, the talisman caught fire.
Mikoto stabbed her katana through the jacket into the ground, nailing the bundle on the floor.
The head screeched, thrashing around the jacket like some wild animal caught in a trap.
The screeches and thrashing got even more violent as it struggled to get out of the jacket when Shizuru dropped the burning talisman onto it.
The head continued to struggle. But as seconds passed by, the struggled got weaker and weaker as the fire burned. And finally the struggling stopped. The fire continued to burn until there was nothing left except for a charred skull.
Natsuki could feel the tension in her body easing off the moment the fire finished burning. She heaved a sigh of relief as she leaned against a table to rest her sore body.
But that was when she noticed the numbness in her left leg.
"Erm Shizuru, I really hate to say this. But I think I need your help here." Natsuki called out to Shizuru who was currently bending over the head, examining it.
"Ara, we forget something ne." Shizuru asked as Natsuki pointed towards the hand that was still gripping her left foot.
"It's choking my leg, and my legs are going numb."
Shizuru bent forward, examining the hand. She then took out a yellow paper.
Natsuki scrambled backwards, out of Shizuru's reach, upon seeing the yellow paper. "Hold on! You are not going to burn it while it is still attached to my leg right?"
The question startled Shizuru and she looked up at Natsuki in surprise and confusion. "Burn the hand?"
"Yeah. Like you did to the body and the head."
"Ara, after all the bravery just now, Natsuki is worried about a little fire?" A smile on Shizuru's face, but a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Isn't it a bit too late for it?"
Natsuki's face paled in response and nodded. "Shizuru… I…"
Ignoring Natsuki, Shizuru took out a talisman and bend towards Natsuki's leg. In response, Natsuki scrambled backwards once again, colliding against the chairs and tables behind her.
Shizuru arched her brow and then called out for Mikoto.
"Hai, Shizuru-sama." Mikoto replied and moved to stand behind Natsuki, grabbing her around her shoulder.
Natsuki widened her eyes as Shizuru unfolded the talisman.
"Shi...Shi..zur...ru!"
And poured the content in the talisman on the hand.
The heat Natsuki was expecting did happen.
"It is non-combustible." Shizuru explained. "This is glutinous rice powder. It is known to have cleansing effects in some Asian culture and it helps ward off evil."
As if in pain, the hand let go of Natsuki's leg and attempted to flee before Shizuru drop the burning talisman on it.
Natsuki heaved a sigh of relief as she rotated her numb foot. She was definitely going to throw away this pair of trouser. And shoes!
"What are we going to do with this?" Mai asked as everyone took in the mess in the classroom. "And how are we going to explain it to the school and the police?"
The whole place looked as if war had broken up within the room. Blood was splattered all over the wall and the floor and tables and chairs were overturned and scattered all over the place. And not to mention the charred remain of the young child.
"I will take care of it." Shizuru said and immediately two pairs of eyes turned to look at her as if asking her how she was going to resolve the issue.
Shizuru took out her phone and sent a text message. And within minutes, two men in black entered the room and wrapped the charred body in a black cloth.
"Who are they?"
"Ara… Are you sure you want to know?" A smile on Shizuru's face.
Silence.
"We will leave them to it. They will clean up the rest."
"Then what about the boy? What will happen to him?" Another question from Natsuki.
"We will give him a proper burial and hopefully his soul could rest in peace." Shizuru replied as she exit the classroom. But not before taking as last look at the charred remain.
What Shizuru did not tell Natsuki was that while they could give the boy a proper burial, his soul will most probably be eternally locked in hell with no redemption.
Especially when Wataru Ishigami had evoked an ancient spell on the young boy.
Even though charred, Shizuru could still see some ancient symbols engraved onto the skull of the young boy. These symbols had to be inscripted onto the human skull using a chisel and hammer while the human was still alive..
Such a cruel but powerful spell.
But Wataru Ishigami seemed to have an incomplete version of the spell. Otherwise the hovering head would not be subdued that easily.
This ancient spell had been in the Fujino Clan for centuries. It was said to have been originated from the founding mistress of Fujino Clan. She was said to be blessed by the God and well versed in both the white and the black magic. And as the founder, she was the only one who had mastered the three different forms of black magic. She was talented and this ancient spell which Wataru Ishigami was using originated from her. She was the one who created this spell meant to gather large amount of Yin energy (negative energy) within the short span of time.
The large amount of Yin energy could shorten the time needed and increase the chance of successfully creating the hovering head.
Nature seeks a balance between Yin and Yang (positive energy). Too much concentration of Yin energy could cause an imbalance and nature seeks to exclude or remove the imbalance so that nature will rebalance once again.
If Shizuru, Natsuki, Mai and Mikoto had not intervened today, the memory of Wataru Kai would slowly fade from the everyone's memory and nobody would remember that there was a boy by the name of Wataru Kai. Except for the caster.
Given that poor child had amassed large amount of Yin energy due to the ancient spell, his soul will not be given any form of redemption. Forever.
Shizuru flipped out her phone and sent a text message: track down the source of ancient spell. Someone from the Fujino Clan leaked the spell. Right after the message was sent, Shizuru delete the message from the phone.
And within seconds, Mikoto's iphone vibrated signalling a new message had arrived.
"Hai Shizuru-sama…" Similarly, Mikoto did the same and delete the message.
A/N:
Thank you guys for reading my story. Your review is the reason why I continue this story :) Do review if you like my story.
And I know some of you are hoping that Natsuki will have some 'power' of her own in the future. Yup, I will keep that in mine as I write the story :)
I believe in equality in a relationship!