Ashen Requiem-Chapter 67: The Night Owls 01

It had already been three days since Dante last showed up to class.

At first, no one really noticed.

After all, disappearing was kind of his thing—especially after a blow-up.

And their last stunt, the fake livestream sabotage, had left an impression.

But now ? Three days without a message. No sign of life. Not even a classic "I’m fine, mind your own damn business."

And in their little circle, silence had started to feel like vertigo.

They were huddled under one of the old staircases of the east library—where no one went after lunch.

Giana squatted on the ground, chewing gum, arms crossed.

Shigeo paced back and forth, cap pulled lower than usual.

Saya nervously tapped at her phone.

Scott kept watch, scanning the area.

Mina was there too—sitting a bit apart, knees pulled up to her chest, silent but observant.

— "He’s not expelled. I checked the registry." Giana finally said.

— "Can’t trust that thing," Shigeo shot back. "You really think they’d put ’expelled for whatever reason’ on a publicly accessible file?"

A heavy silence settled over them.

— "...You think this has to do with Johanna?" Saya asked quietly. "She’s missing too."

— "She skipped class the same day," Scott added. "And considering how hard she was defending him lately, it’s not a coincidence."

Shigeo shrugged. He had this habit when he was stressed—twirling a pen between his fingers.

— "I tried going to her room last night." he muttered.

— "And?" Giana pressed, narrowing her eyes.

— "It’s there... and not there."

— "What’s that supposed to mean?"

— "Like, the window’s visible from outside. I even yelled her name like an idiot... but inside? The door’s gone. Just a wall."

Scott froze.

— "You’re joking."

— "I wouldn’t dare." Shigeo said sarcastically, eyeing Scott’s bulging arms.

A beat of silence. Then Giana clicked her tongue.

— "They’ve hidden him."

Shigeo nodded.

— "And one more thing. He hasn’t blocked the group chat. But none of our messages are getting through. Not even voice notes. It’s like he’s... offline from reality."

Giana pulled out her phone and opened their private chat.

[Private Chat - Group Name: "The Night Owls"]

Shigeo: Anyone seen him since Thursday?

Scott: Nope. And no one mentions him in class. Super weird.

Saya: I have a theory. They’re holding him somewhere!

Giana: Shit, they probably slapped him with a quiet isolation order. Like surveillance. He must’ve been exposed.

Saya: But why? He didn’t do anything... I mean, he just tried to protect himself.

Notification : New message from Mina !

Mina: ...I think someone’s trying to silence him.

The message appeared instantly. Everyone stared at it.

She was texting even though she was sitting just a few feet away ?

— "You say that because you’ve seen something?" Saya asked gently.

Mina looked up. Her eyes were cloudy, unfocused—but filled with a mix of fear and certainty.

— "The cameras near the council room were disabled that night. Just for five minutes. Just long enough for... something."

— "How do you know that?"

— "I get alerts on the security logs. For my investigations..."

— "And you’re only telling us now?!" Shigeo snapped.

— "Because it was far from where Dante originally was," she said quietly. "It didn’t seem related. I just... wanted to be helpful."

Giana stood abruptly.

— "I’m getting to the bottom of this. If they’ve locked him up, if he’s being blamed, or even just hurt somewhere... I’ll find him. I don’t care if I have to break into the council room or hack the surveillance system. I want answers."

Shigeo slammed a fist against the wall, annoyed.

— "I’m in. But we do it clean. Not like last time."

They all looked at each other. Even Mina nodded.

Something was happening.

And this time, they weren’t going to sit back and watch.

— "Meet at my room tonight, 10:00 PM."

---

9:30 PM

Night had fallen on the academy. In the prison-room, the overhead light remained on—cold, sterile, constant. Like a stage spotlight on a defenseless accused.

The corner cameras clicked softly in the silence Dante had learned to hate.

He sat on his bed, back against the wall, arms crossed, face blank.

— "Three days...They’re giving me three days. And if she doesn’t wake up... it all collapses."

A faint metallic creak broke his haze.

He turned his head—slowly. There, at his window.

A slim figure crouched on the stone ledge.

A hood, red strands of hair, red eyes.

— "...Ginny?"

She pulled back the hood. Her face was tense, worried.

Dante shot up, hand jerking toward her in a desperate, almost pleading gesture.

— "No... No, get out! What the hell are you doing?!"

— "Shut up," she whispered. "I came in astral form to bypass the wards. I just—"

— "There are mics everywhere. They’ll hear everything you say."

He said it through barely parted lips, in a whisper.

His eyes were furious.

The wind swept into the room, rustling papers on the desk. She lowered her gaze.

Still crouched, she murmured:

— "I saw you... on the ground with her. I just wanted to check."

— "You’re checking now?" he muttered, not looking at her.

He bowed his head, a vein throbbing at his temple.

— "Why now? Why not before? When you could’ve saved us all?"

— "Where were you, Ginny? Where were you when everything spiraled? I... I felt your presence. Near the council room. So why didn’t you save her?!"

His voice cracked at the end. He didn’t yell. But the tone was harsh.

Ginny didn’t respond right away. Her fingers fiddled with her sleeve strap, nervously.

— "I couldn’t."

— "You couldn’t..." he repeated bitterly. "YOU ?"

He sprang to his feet, stomped toward her, then stopped just inches away.

He wanted to grab her shoulders, shake her, scream. But the cameras would brand him a madman.

So instead, he whispered :

— "Leave. Leave before you make things worse."

Ginny opened her mouth to speak, but he raised his hand slowly, not touching her.

— "You know I don’t want you involved in this. Having a demon servant would only make it worse."

She nodded slowly. Her eyes lingered on him—filled with sadness, pride, and shame.

— "...Hang in there, Master. Just a little longer."

Then she vanished. As silently as she came.

Dante stood there a moment, staring at the open window. The night wind chilled the back of his neck.

He slowly shut the panes, turned the key. Then returned to his bed.

The cameras clicked.

— "You want to know something, Ginny? I couldn’t save her either."

— "I hate this feeling of helplessness. I hate that demon stench. I hate this world that lets monsters hide in human skin."

— "But I swear..."

He closed his eyes.

— "I’ll bring them all down. Even if I have to dive into hell alone."

As the lock clicked shut behind him.

Ginny remained frozen on the window ledge, fingers tight on the stone.

Her eyes stared at the wooden pane, as if she could still pass through it.

But no—not this time. This time, she was going to face her mess and fix it her way.

Down below, her physical body lay unconscious, hidden in the bushes.

She leapt silently, landing as softly as a breeze.

Her feet touched the damp grass in the rear garden.

The night wind caught her cape, but she didn’t fix her hair.

No sly smile, no teasing look. Just... emptiness.

— "I get it, Jin. But one day, you’ll understand why I didn’t save her."

Her steps quickened.

She slipped through the quiet alleys of the south wing, staying close to walls, shadows, and the gnarled trees of the garden.

After sneaking around as a cat for so long, she knew every corner, every blind spot in the cameras.

But tonight... Tonight, this wasn’t a game.

— "You asked me why. And I couldn’t answer. Maybe because... I felt that thing. And I was scared."

Her eyes welled up. She blinked hard—forcefully. This wasn’t the time to be weak.

She crossed the empty greenhouses and finally reached the annex dorm pavilion.

Shigeo’s room was there—secluded enough to hide out unnoticed.

She knocked : three, then two.

The door cracked open seconds later.

— "Ginny?" Shigeo asked, eyes red from lack of sleep.

— "Let me in," she murmured. "No time for pleasantries."

He let her through without a word. She dropped her cloak and unfastened her jacket.

Shigeo shut the door, slightly stunned.

She sat straight on the chair by the desk, avoiding his eyes.

— "...You look like hell." he said softly.

Ginny didn’t answer. She stared at a fixed point on the floor.

— "Shigeo... we need to do something. And not another half-baked stunt this time."

He sat on the bed, his tone shifting serious.

— "I’m listening."

Ginny finally looked up. For once, her usually playful eyes were dead serious.

— "Goethe is a demon. Not metaphorically. Literally. You probably don’t know because you were frozen too, but Dante... he was made the scapegoat for an attempted murder on Johanna."

Shigeo’s eyebrows shot up—pure shock.

But it explained a lot. Johanna ditching class for the first time. Dante missing too.

— "But where are they?!"

— "Johanna was secretly hospitalized. Dante’s taking the fall for something he didn’t do."

— "You think he’ll be convicted?"

— "I think they want to use him. And I’m not sitting around for that."

She stood, pulled a scroll from her pocket, and unrolled it on the table : a detailed map of the academy with red ink annotations—routes, restricted areas, security access points.

— "We’re going to cause a power outage. He’ll use that to escape."

— "You’re insane."

— "Yeah. Insane for my master."

Shigeo stared at her. Her expression was so determined, so focused—he couldn’t just back out and let her take the risk alone.

— "Ugh, fine..." he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "When do we start?"

Ginny clasped her hands with a mischievous grin.

— "Tomorrow. Midnight."

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