131st Spell: Electrocution
"What is it, Haru?" Rui asked.
Haru shook his head after hearing the chilling voice and stared at Rui, who was looking directly at him. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That voice…."
"I didn't hear anything," Hikari said before a concerned look came over her face. "Was it him?"
Realizing Hikari was referring to Warumo, Haru shook his head. "No, it wasn't."
"Are you talking about someone in particular?" Nayu asked.
Just as Haru was about to come up with a half-lie, a loud booming sound echoed through the library causing everyone's eardrums to ring from the sheer force of it. A few of the lanterns then flickered out, causing partial darkness.
"Is everyone all right?" Inku the Kyōrinrin yokai librarian said looking startled.
"Yes, I think so," responded Hikari.
Nayu, Gyoku, Rui, and Haru nodded in confirmation as well.
"Then let's leave the library in an orderly fashion," Inku ordered.
Without questioning the floating paper serpent, Haru and the others got up from their table. They walked steadily out of the library, where a bunch of students were kneeling on the walkway next to the courtyard with their ears bleeding.
"All of you stay here," Inku said to Haru and the others. "I will get Rikyan so he can tend to the severely wounded students."
Once Inku floated away, Haru's eyes wandered to the courtyard where he saw a trail of smoke.
"Something's burning over there," Haru said. "We should check it out in case it's another injured student."
Hikari and Rui agreed to follow Haru, with Nayu deciding to stay behind with Gyoku. So Haru and the girls made their way past the students with the bleeding ears and entered the courtyard. It was a clear starry night with a slight chill in the air. But what drew Haru's attention was seeing the giant crimson-skinned Shunobon yokai Bambō lying on a graveled pathway in the courtyard with smoke coming from his charred body and clothes.
"What happened to him?" Rui said in disbelief. "It's like he was struck by lightning."
"But there isn't a cloud in the sky, nor is it raining," Hikari noted, looking up at the night sky. "So where did the lightning come from?"
"Maybe someone hit him with the Lightning Strike Curse," Haru suggested.
"I don't think so," Hikari said as she used the Firelighting Charm to get a better look at Bambō's body. "A single Lightning Strike Curse wouldn't be enough to completely incapacitate Bambō, since his skin is naturally tough. Plus, the Lightning Strike Curse isn't accompanied by a sound akin to thunder."
"You're right," Rui agreed. "There's usually an electric buzzing sound that follows when the Lightning Strike Curse is cast, but not a loud boom like the one we heard just now."
Just then, Hikari noticed something next to Bambō's head. It was a series of letters that were carved into the gravel by hand with the last letter trailing off next to Bambō's dirt-covered claw.
"'The Well of Mysteries is open, enemies of Seiryu's Heir in danger,'" Hikari recited. "Bambō must have written this before passing out."
A series of footsteps caused Haru, Hikari, and Rui to turn around. Dōmeki, Shō, Fuwa, Rikyan, and Ako had entered the courtyard with Inku floating behind them.
"What are you three doing out here?" Inku demanded. "I told you to wait!"
"I saw smoke and thought someone was hurt out here," Haru answered truthfully.
To prove he was being honest, Haru stood aside allowing the teachers and caretaker to see Bambō's body. When Ako saw this, she let out an agonizing wail.
"BAMBŌ!" Ako pushed Haru and the girls aside, trying to stir Bambō. "Who did this to you? Tell me!"
Yet despite Ako's forceful shakes, Bambō didn't stir.
"He's dead, and one of you brats killed him!" Ako shouted before turning her accusing eyes on Haru. "It was most likely you, Ryuji, following in your father's footsteps of serving the Dark Wizard Warumo! What does Warumo want this time? Did he tell you to steal the Subemitō Mirror, after he stole the Jinsei Stone from Tamanoya?"
"Now let's not jump to conclusions, Ako-san," Rikyan interjected. "We don't know for sure how long these children were here before we showed up."
"Or if Bambō really is dead," Shō added.
She stepped forward and checked Bambō's pulse. After checking a few other parts of his body, she got up.
"It appears that Bambō was electrocuted, but is still alive," Shō declared.
Sighing with relief, Ako muttered, "Thank the Kami…."
"However, I'm not entirely sure what caused his body to end up like this," continued Shō. "At a glance, the wounds would suggest the after-effect of a Lightning Strike Curse. But up close, the damage is too great to be caused by a mere spell."
"Then there was that loud booming sound we all heard," Fuwa added, shaking slightly. "Made me nearly pass out from fright."
"Let us send the children back to their rooms first and continue this investigation later," Dōmeki suggested. "But I would like Ryuji, Genma, and Wataka to remain behind."
"W-Why?" Haru asked nervously.
"So we can check your wands to make sure they haven't been used recently to harm Bambō, just to ease Ako's accusation," said Shō.
Reluctantly, Haru and the girls relinquished their wands to Dōmeki. First Dōmeki examined Haru's plum tree wand, followed by Hikari's cherry tree wand, and then finally Rui's Japanese elm tree wand. She nodded silently before handing each wand back to their rightful owners.
"It seems none of you hurt Bambō with your wands," Dōmeki concluded. "For alerting our attention to this incident, and the mysterious message, the white stripes on your enchanted kimonos will be reduced by half."
As Haru and the girls watched, the white stripes on their pink kimonos that went all the way up to their forearms now reduced to being halfway past their wrists.
To be continued…