That was when Cynthia, trembling but resolute, broke free.
She whispered something under her breath.
"GYEPO NE O HE GE NO."
The doors exploded open with supernatural force. A violent wind howled through the room—and in an instant, Hakeem and his Red Hood followers were ripped away, vanishing into the darkness.
"What the fuck just happened?!" Emilia shouted, breathless.
"We just almost died," Nora panted.
"I thought those guys were just pretenders," Victor muttered, wide-eyed.
"And I thought I was the leader…" Stephen scoffed, voice hollow.
"What do we do, Kelvin?" Emilia asked.
"How the fuck would I know?! I didn't sign up for this. We're screwed. I'm done. I'm leaving this God-forsaken—literally—school," Kelvin said, backing away, pale as a ghost.
"So am I. Hey, Stephen, you can have your team back," Ryan added, following Kelvin. But he froze, then slowly began to back up.
"Oh, for Christ's sake—what now?"
Everyone turned as both Ryan and Kelvin staggered backward into the library.
A girl had entered.
She had no face.
"Wait, is that the Clear?" Nora swallowed.
She walked in silently, picked up a pen and paper, and scribbled something:
NWOHS EB LLIW PEWS TXEN EHT DNA TAOG NAMUH EHT LLIK, SEVAEL ENO ON
The lights flickered—then went out.
When they came back, she was gone.
"Is it just me, or does this place just keep getting better?" Ryan said under his breath, he was shaken to his core.
"We just almost died" Stephen said what everyone was thinking
"That's it. I'm out," Kelvin snapped and stormed off.
But as he and the others climbed over the wall toward the dormitory—
The housemaster was already waiting.
"Fuck," they all muttered in unison.
One Week Later
The spell Cynthia had cast hadn't killed Hakeem—but it had wiped his memory. Still, every time he passed by, a chill spread down their spines.
Kelvin hadn't been the same since. What haunted him wasn't just Jessica's death—it was the moment the head rolled, and the moment it rolled back. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't summon the sword. And worst of all, his father refused to let him transfer schools.
It was the same for Ryan. He'd been translating the book nonstop, determined to leave the school as soon as he was done. "I didn't sign up to die," he kept saying.
Cynthia had been pouring over the translated pages, learning new spells—spells that, strangely, only she and Nora seemed able to perform.
Stephen had grown distant. Of all of them, Emilia alone seemed unaffected. She held the group together, held them upright, even as the walls around them seemed to tremble.
Thankfully, the housemaster had only punished them with some weeding. And thanks to the new spells…
That wasn't a problem.
Later, Victor and Nora sat in hushed conversation.
"You see? So you do agree with me," Victor said, leaning in.
"I'm just laying all the cards on the table," Nora replied.
"This is insane. What do you think he'll do?"
"I don't know," she said quietly. "And that's what scares me."
"And Kelvin?"
Nora paused, her eyes darkening.
"We've survived this long by staying invisible. But lately… we've done nothing but piss off the devil himself. And the devil always collects."
"You think we're going to die?"
"Not if we keep learning. The spells saved us once. Kelvin's sword—whatever that was—saved our lives. But if he can't control it again…" She shook her head. "We're finished."
Victor exhaled. "You can't blame him. When he goes into that state, he's not himself. Think about it—he cut off someone's head… and the guy just reattached it."
"I was there," Nora snapped. "And yeah, I'd be shaken—if the person had died. But he didn't. He's not human, Victor. And sooner or later, he's going to remember. When he does,w we're screwed."
Victor hesitated, then shifted. "That aside, I need your help with something."
"More important than decoding Clear's gibberish and figuring out how to stay alive?"
"My dad's been haunting my dreams. Every night. I need to find out why. Because if I don't…"
"You'll be the next to die," Nora finished, rolling her eyes—until she saw the look on Victor's face.
"Wait—you're serious?"
"Dead serious. You know how I see beyond the natural world? Well… my dad died a while ago. He was a botanist. He died right here, in this school. And I think… I think he's one of the monsters now."
"I don't think imthe one you should be asking for help, it's Kelvin you need to go to. But you'll need to help him first."
"How am I supposed to help him,I'm not a therapist and after that episode, we all need therapy to be same again"
"If your dad's a monster, then you need a monster hunter. See you later, I've got class. So do you."
Victor found Kelvin in class and sat beside him.
"What's up, Kelvin?" he asked casually.
"Oh, nothing much. Just trying to survive this hellhole until I find a way out," Kelvin said with a sardonic grin.
"Look, I get it…"
"Oh, you do? Wow. Of course you do—because you're the one who beheaded the Head Boy, only for him to pick up his head and go, 'They don't call me Head Boy for nothing.' Maybe you're the one with the weight of the whole school on your shoulders because you're the 'chosen one'."
Kelvin said making quotes in the air, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Victor laughed.
Kelvin gave him a glance that said 'seriously?'
"They don't call me Head Boy for nothing," he murmured through laughter.
Kelvin let out a small laugh himself, a grin breaking through the weariness.
"I can't get the scene out of my head. And if I can't get it out of my head, I can't summon the sword. That makes me useless."
"Useless? You're the reason we even have a fighting chance. You found the book. You faced a monster—for the first time in this school's history. You see glimpses of the past, the present, and the future. You are not useless."
"I didn't fight the monster. Not alone. I had the sword and the last monster I fought almost killed us and there was nothing I could do about it. "
"Who knew it would get this weird, come on, let's fix what's broken,"
"I did, knew. The day you set me up to come out at night I had a dream and I saw all of at least most of this, that was how I knew who you all where. The last time I had visions like this,my mom died, but this time…"
Victor cut in. "This time you are equipped to protect. Look I for one don't believe anyone is chosen but I believe together we can stop this madness. I may not have fought monsters, but I know a few moves. Maybe the sword senses you're relying on it too much. Or maybe… maybe you're just afraid. Afraid of what happens after you summon it."
Kelvin looked away.
"Whatever it is—we'll figure it out together. So what do you say? Training after school?"
"You know… you suck at pep talks."
Kelvin chuckled.
Victor patted his back.
"That wasn't a pep talk. That was a 'get off your ass' talk."
Just then, something caught Victor's eye—
Gigantic vines. Slithering into the classroom.
He blinked. Rubbed his eyes and they we're gone.
"Oh no…"