Just then, Rumi noticed Medina peeking out from the wall, only her face visible.

  Medina’s expression was like a person who had just been caught hiding a crucial secret.

  "Gasp!"

  Medina locked eyes with Rumi and quickly disappeared back into the wall.

  "So, that means we need to dig into the Mora family... and if all else fails, we’ll have to dismantle this doll, dissect it, and figure out everything about it!"

  Rumi shouted loudly, as if to make sure Medina could hear her, and then pried open the doll’s tiny mouth to look inside. What she saw was an incredibly complex mechanical mechanism.

  "Whoa... this is seriously intricate..."

  Raoul came closer and inspected the inside of the doll’s mouth.

  "Yeah... this definitely isn’t an ordinary doll... But I think we should get some sleep now. It’s way too te."

  "Yawn... Let’s call it a day and get some rest. We’ll start investigating the doll properly tomorrow."

  Rumi yawned as she spoke.

  "No, we can’t leave it here, even for a little while. Do you even realize what this is? The ghost that killed Medina is looking for this doll. And we have no idea what kind of curse might be on it!"

  Eve said anxiously.

  "So, If we hide it somewhere else and someone steals it, then what?"

  "Rumi, you’re overlooking something. Hiding it here isn’t safer. Don’t you remember? Medina’s corpse has already seen our faces. She could show up here at any moment and start tearing the pce apart."

  "Then we’ll just have to hide it really well..."

  "How about this? We’ll hide the doll between the doors. No one else knows about this hidden door except us."

  Raoul, listening to Rumi, came up with an idea.

  "How is that any different from hiding it in this room?"

  Eve asked, puzzled.

  "Well, the thing is, if we hide it here, both rooms could get searched. And Raoul, you are sharing your room with him."

  Rumi gnced at Malcolm.

  "...?"

  Malcolm frowned.

  "So, the doll’s mine now. I’ll hide it somewhere no one can find it. Got it? Now, everyone, move to Raoul’s dorm room immediately. Niel, Eve, don’t come back until I’m done."

  "...Are you pnning to keep it a secret from me too?"

  Niel asked, her eyes heavy with sleep.

  "Of course. It’s the safest way, so just do as I say."

  Rumi pushed the kids toward the hidden door on the wall.

  Eve, reluctantly pushed out, looked back at Rumi through the door with unease.

  "Sigh... You’re really pying with fire. Just know that."

  "I know. That’s why I’m doing this."

  Thud.

  Rumi closed the door.

  The next day, the atmosphere was tense before csses even began. A storm with Rain, thunder, and ghosts made everything feel more ominous.

  Rumble, crash. Heeheeheehee!

  The ghost storm that had rolled in the night before forced the school to lock its doors and suspend all outdoor activities.

  Looking out the window, you could see ghosts being swept up in the storm, screaming in bizarre ways.

  As Rumi and the kids passed the statue in front of the principal’s office, they worried it might recognize them, but the statue was clearly an idiot.

  “Rumble, peek-a-boo. Heeheehee!”

  Entering the principal’s office, the room was unusually dark, shrouded in thick clouds.

  At the podium, Principal Pierre sat at his desk, looking dazed and exhausted.

  The principal, who usually seemed composed, looked completely worn out. It was clear that the two witch cult members who had entered the office the day before had done something to him.

  Suddenly, the principal stood up and began closing the curtains.

  He even went so far as to lock the office door from the inside.

  "With the completion of Part 1 of the scripture yesterday, today’s lesson will begin Part 2. However, I’d like to discuss something slightly different today."

  The kids watched as Principal Pierre closed the curtains and returned to the podium.

  Once the st curtain was drawn, the office was plunged into near darkness.

  The storm outside already made things eerie, and now the office felt like a pce where ghosts would jump out.

  Rumi had developed a habit of looking at Eve, the scaredy-cat, whenever it was eerie.

  Eve, sitting alone in the rge office, hunched her shoulders.

  She started to get up, as if to move, but then saw Rumi.

  Rumi mouthed "scaredy-cat" and gave Eve a sly smile.

  Eve froze at the sight.

  Then she sat back down, pretending nothing had happened.

  Rumi felt a sudden surge of satisfaction.

  "Today’s story is one I’d prefer not to leave this office. So, if you’re thinking of repeating what you hear today outside these walls, I suggest you think twice."

  The introduction to today’s lesson was epic. It was obvious that he wouldn’t actually say anything important, but the atmosphere was definitely set.

  "Today, I intend to tell you the truth about the Six Witches."

  "Huh...?"

  "Wait, what...?"

  The kids all started to murmur in fear when they heard that he is going to talk about the witches on this thunderous day.

  "Yes, I know. No one in the vilge talks about the witches.

  But I suddenly thought: if no one talks about the witches, who are the curse itself, are we truly learning exorcism?"

  The principal spoke in a weary voice, shrouded in darkness.

  Rumi didn’t know why the principal was talking about witches, but it was a welcome topic.

  Until now, everything she knew about the witches had come from Bertin.

  Bertin had said that the Six Witches were the root of all curses in this world, and her dying wish had been to kill them.

  Moreover, Rumi had even seen the Blue Witch with her own eyes, but the witches were still enigmatic beings, shrouded in too much mystery to define.

  "Before we begin, let’s talk about what you know about witches."

  "..."

  Silence filled the office.

  "It’s alright. Today’s discussion won’t leave this office. Please, speak freely."

  Just then Dave spoke up confidently.

  "Uh... well, I’ll talk about the types of witches. The Red Witch, the Purple Witch, the Green Witch, the Blue Witch, the Bck Witch... and... and..."

  "The White Witch."

  The principal, seemingly frustrated, finished for him.

  "Hmm... Everyone knows about the six types of witches, so let’s try to be a bit more personal. For example, share something only you know about witches."

  "Then you could’ve said that from the start..."

  Dave muttered under his breath.

  Then a girl spoke up quietly.

  "My grandmother said she saw a witch with her own eyes before she passed away. And she died that same day."

  "Ah... Your grandmother must have been talking about that day 57 years ago. She was lucky not to have been corrupted."

  57 years ago? Rumi had no idea what they were talking about.

  Then another student chimed in.

  "I’ve heard that witches still roam the world, sucking out souls and hunting living humans, but I’m not sure if it’s true."

  "That story was also true. It just happened in the past. But not anymore."

  "According to Part 1 of the scripture, it says that the six disciples of the God of Life became witches and are still alive today, right?"

  This time, Raoul asked.

  "Actually, everything you kids are saying are both right and wrong. It’s all based on real events, but mixed with some make beliefs.

  However, what I’m about to tell you is based on historical facts about the witches."

  "Sir, do we really have to hear this? Aren’t we going to get cursed?"

  Dave spoke, sounding skeptical.

  "Of course, you might get cursed. But remember, this school is for learning exorcism to defeat witches, not to avoid curses.

  So, even if you don’t want to listen, I urge you to pay attention. Today’s lesson is that important.

  "..."

  Today, the principal was unusually forceful. it almost seemed like he was going mad.

  "Over 400 years ago, a girl was born. Her name at birth is unknown. Later, she called herself Lucian.

  When the girl was born, the world was incredibly peaceful. It was an era so peaceful it’s hard to believe, free of curses and bck magic.

  But around the age of 16, bck magicians began awakening all over the world, and the girl also awakened as a bck magician.

  From the moment she awakened, she demonstrated powerful bck magic and quickly made a name for herself.

  She then used her powerful bck magic politically, controlling not only her own country but also neighboring nations. By the time she was 23, she had unwfully occupied what was then called Canada—the region where this vilge is now located—and established a magical kingdom.

  At the same time, she sparked a world war, expanding her kingdom’s territory.

  Her bck magic was specialized in attacking other bck magicians and their armies, and in a short time, she came to rule over a quarter of the world's ndmass.

  During this process, the world descended into uncontrolble chaos. The hunting of bck magicians by humans, the retaliation of bck magicians, and the ensvement of humans by bck magicians led to the death of one-fifth of the world’s popution.

  But compared to what was to come, this period could even be called peaceful.

  The seed of all tragedy was a bck magic developed in Japan, an isnd nation at the time.

  This bck magic corrupted the souls of living humans and absorbed them. Ironically, it was called ‘Healing Rituals’

  After learning this magic, bck magicians absorbed the souls of living humans, becoming corrupted and transforming into witches and warlocks.

  The more human souls they absorbed, the stronger they became, eventually reaching a level where human weapons were useless against them.

  And so began the Age of Curses, which continues to this day.

  Countless witches and warlocks appeared, competing to hunt humans, and absurd curses for hunting humans began to be developed.

  The curses developed during this time were Crimson Ignition, Blue Mencholy, Violet Pgue, Bck Death, Green Monstrosity, and White Sughter.

  These are the very curses we still suffer from today.

  Now, you’re starting to catch on, aren’t you?

  In the competition among witches and warlocks, only six bck magicians remained in the end."

  "Sir, are you saying that witches were once human? That doesn’t make sense!"

  A student asked.

  "Yes, that’s correct. The Six Witches you know of were once human. Isn’t that astonishing?"

  "...!?“

  The kids were all speechless, hearing such bizarre information for the first time.

  Meanwhile, Rumi couldn’t believe that the Blue Witch she had seen—or rather, that giant monster—had once been human.