The Smiling Death

The magic circle over the town had already vanished. Strong wind blew through the air. The once clear night sky slowly started to shroud in dark clouds.

Creak! Creak!

The sound of someone running through the forest came. Their footsteps met the ground with creaking noises.

Strong wind rustled through the forest. Red eyes looked up at the sky.

"The weather is becoming cloudy… Maybe it will rain." Selena muttered. But her voice was loud enough to be heard by Jareth.

Jareth also followed her gaze. He saw through the forest trees — the sky was shrouded in dark clouds, making the night darker, with no light of the moon anymore.

The orphanage house came into view. They got out of the forest and leaped over the wooden fence.

The only light in the dark night came from a few small lamps attached near the back door and main door of the house.

Their faces wrinkled as the sudden stench hit them. It was the smell of blood thick and heavy in the air.

"The smell of blood!" Selena declared, her expression cold and worried.

Jareth and Selena ran faster and came in front of the house, only to be met with the sight of headless bodies all over the ground.

They stopped in their tracks. Eyes widened in shock and disbelief. The scene before them was something they could never imagine, even in their worst dreams.

All the kids and both sisters' bodies lay motionlessly.

"What in the world happened here?" It was Jareth who spoke. For the first time, his expression crumbled into shock, eyes wide.

Selena remained silent. Her eyes checked each body. Her heart was beating fast not from exhaustion, but from the sight they were seeing.

Her eyes scanned the area and stopped on the figure sitting against the stone wall of the house a boy wearing a tattered, blood-soaked academy uniform, sitting with his back leaning against the wall, head down. His black messy hair was drenched in blood.

"Amon!" Selena dashed toward him.

Jareth, who was dazed and dwelling in his thoughts, came out of his trance.

He also saw Amon there, injured and bloodied. He strode toward him as well.

Both of them stopped in front of Amon.

Selena's heart pounded as she noticed the absence of her friend. She knelt beside him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Amon… Are you okay?" There were many questions, but she asked about his condition first. Then she continued,

"What happened here? Who did this?" Her voice was hoarse.

Amon didn't answer, nor did he move.

"Where is Vi–Vixra? I can't see her?" Her voice quivered. For the first time, Selena's voice was shaking.

At the mention of Vixra, Amon flinched. He looked up at Selena. Her beautiful face came into his view, red-colored eyes, long silver hair streaked with blood. Her expression was unusual. He had never seen her so uneasy and trembling.

Amon opened his mouth to say something… but no words came. He struggled to speak the truth. His face was messy from crying. Selena could see that Amon had cried, which only made her feel more dread.

Jareth, who was standing beside them, felt the air grow heavy.

Finally, Amon uttered the words, "Senior… Seni–Senior Vixra-" His voice was hoarse, heavy.

"She–She! For saving me-" Amon hitched.

Suddenly, Selena stood up, not hearing what Amon was trying to say.

Amon looked up at her with a sad and pained expression.

Selena continued to stare straight ahead, her lips trembling, her hands clenched tightly into fists.

Jareth's expression turned sorrowful. His eyes fell on the ground beneath him. He had just lost someone. He bit his lower lip.

Both of them already understood what had happened to their friend, their teammate.

For a while, all three of them remained silent.

After a moment, Selena exhaled deeply.

Sigh…

A sigh left her mouth. She closed her eyes.

And then she snapped them open.

Her sorrowed expression vanished, replaced with coldness and rage.

She gazed at Amon and asked coldly, "Tell me what happened here in detail… and who took Vixra's life? What happened to her? I want everything that you know." Her voice was cold like ice.

Amon stared at her for a while and then said, "When we reached here-"

He started recounting everything that had happened.

Jareth and Selena listened carefully. Their expressions changed from time to time. Amon could see the sadness and pain they felt when he told them how Vixra had died to save him.

After recounting everything, Amon remained silent, waiting for Selena to make her decision.

Selena thought for a while, then came to a decision.

"I tried using the pager… but it isn't working. The moment that huge red barrier formed." She said, her face serious.

"So we cannot contact the outside, nor can we get out of the barrier. I can feel it." She looked up at the sky.

"So we will kill that bitch," she declared. Her voice was commanding, leaving no room for argument.

Both Jareth and Amon stared at her in shock.

But suddenly, a smile appeared on Amon's face.

"Well, I am ready… I want to kill that bitch!" Despite the smile, his voice was full of malice.

"Yes. We will kill her," Jareth agreed as well. His face was calm, but there was a hint of rage in his eyes.

Selena smiled a little, not happily or sadly, but a cold smile, one that looked like someone ready to kill.

Then she looked at the door of the orphanage house.

"But before that… we need to meet someone. The one who might be behind the mess in the forest." Her eyes narrowed.

Amon blinked. "Who are you talking about? Who's behind the abduction of kids by monsters?"

Jareth also looked confused.

Selena responded, "Let's go inside the house. He's already inside or rather, he was always there."

She started to stride toward the door and opened it.

Amon and Jareth followed quietly behind her.

Inside the house, the atmosphere was silent. No sound could be heard.

They walked inside and started to move through the corridor.

Stomp! Stomp!

The sound of their footsteps echoed through the house.

Selena stopped at the door of the living room. She held the handle and snapped it open.

Creak!

It opened with a creaking sound. Selena entered, with Amon and Jareth behind her.

Then Selena asked the figure sitting inside on the couch,

"Care to explain why you did this… Domnhar?"