[CHAPTER-7] Handkerchief

The sound of rustle of fabric as Luna, Aqua, and Eva changed out of their academy uniforms after a long day of classes. Tonight, however, it was different.

Luna being shortest in the group with her athletic and petite physique, in struggle with a particularly stubborn button at top of her shirt, her black bra glanced up with her flat bust and narrow hips.

Aqua being tallest in the group with her slender physique, wide hips and modest bust, still in her pristine white panties adorned with adorable teddy bear embroidery, was humming softly as she searched for her pants.

Eva with rather muscular and toned physique, wide hips and small bust was already neatly dressed and sitting on the edge of her bed.

A tiny, high-pitched *GRRR-OWLF! * Erupted as the door swung open just enough for a small, crimson-scaled dragon to waddle in. It was barely the size of a kitten, with stubby, bat-like wings and smoke puffing from its nostrils with each surprisingly cute growl.

Its emerald eyes blinked at the three girls.

"Oh! How cute!" Aqua shrieked, her eyes wide with excitement. Forgetting all about her pants, she dropped to her knees, her chestnut brown pigtails bouncing.

"Look, Luna! A tiny dragon!" Aqua reached out a gentle hand, giggling as the dragon. Luna, finally freeing her button, narrowed her Emerald Green eyes. "Isn't that...?" she began, her brow furrowing in concentration. "Isn't that the same dragon we saw during the Blood Pact?

Eva with a knowing smile playing on her lips. "Ah, I remember it belongs to Lalatina, isn't it”?

A melodious voice drifted in from the hallway, "Valentina, Eva darling.

Valentina Noark swept into the room, about the same height as aqua, she has a mature, curvaceous figure.

An alluring face with high cheekbones, full lips, intelligent amethyst eyes with a small, elegant beauty mark just below her left eye.

Her hair is a soft, dusty pink, styled into a perfectly neat chin-length classic Japanese bob.

Aqua, still on the floor, petting the tiny dragon, entirely unaware of her state of undress; Luna, standing rigidly, halfway through pulling on her t-shirt, her black bra still peeking out. A slow, knowing smile spread across Valentina's lips as her eyes lingered on Aqua.

Aqua, darling, those *teddies* are simply adorable. A most… *fetching* choice." Her voice was filled with amusement. Aqua looked down at her panties, then back up at Valentina, her eyes starting shining with tears that might drop anytime, sniffing as her face getting red.

" They're super comfy!" said aqua barely holding her tears.

"Hey! What are you doing here, Valentina?!" Said Luna, finally yanking her t-shirt over her head with a frustrated tug.

Valentina’s gaze now fixed on Luna, who was still fumbling to adjust her shirt. "Why always so hot, Luna? Valentina started gently tracing a line down Luna's arm, sending a shiver through her.

"Such passion. It's almost irresistible." Said Valentina,

Luna stiffened, a full-blown blush erupting across her cheeks. "D-don't touch me, ugly!

And answer the question! You can't just be here!" Valentina finally pulled her finger away, a playful glint in her eyes. "Why, I'm your new dorm mate, of course. My old room is under maintenance... so I asked for a new dorm and they allocated this dorm She winked, then turned her attention to Eva, who was watching the entire exchange with an amused smirk.

"I still think Lalatina sounds better," said Eva.

Valentina's smile widened. She gracefully lowered herself to sit beside Eva on the bed, crossing her legs with elegance.

"Of course you can call me that, Eva darling.

Luna, now fully dressed but still bristling, stomped over, her hands on her hips. "You can't just move in here! This is our room! And who would put you in here with us anyway?"

Valentina just chuckled, "Oh, but I can, Luna. The academy administration, they simply recognized that a room with this much latent energy needed a touch more... refinement."

"Ugh, you're impossible!" Luna threw her hands up in exasperation, her fiery temper barely contained. "Aqua, stop staring from behind of bed! We're going to be late for dinner!"

“CORRUPTION!” said aqua who was still hiding behind and peeking at Valentina

“Ah maybe you need more love”, said Valentina as she stood up and started walking towards aqua.

UWAAA! screamed Aqua and ran to the dinner hall, followed by luna.

“Don’t be late we’ll be waiting”, said Eva as she was leaving room with a smile on her face.

For some reason Valentina knew she’s going to love her new dorm.

The grand mess hall of Gloria Magical Academy buzzed with students. Rows of enchanted chandeliers, suspended by shimmering, invisible threads, cast a warm, golden glow across the long wooden tables. The air was thick with the aroma of roasted meat, fresh bread, and a thousand whispered conversations.

At one of the tables, the newly formed quartet presented. Eva, unbothered by decorum, ate with an almost barbarian enthusiasm, her fork a blur as she piled her plate high, oblivious to the stares. "Eva, must you eat like you haven't seen food in a week?" Luna admonished, a scolding yet affectionate note in her voice. "It's a meal, not a race." Eva merely grunted, mouth full.

Aqua, meanwhile, cutting her food into tiny, perfect pieces, frequently apologizing to the passing waitresses even for imagined inconveniences. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, did I bump the table? Please forgive me."

Valentina barely touched her own perfectly arranged plate, instead focusing her captivating gaze on Luna. "You know, Luna, your looks are quite charming when you get angry. Such passion… it truly melts my heart." Luna sputtered, a faint blush returning. "Are you implying I'm… passionate?!" who knows said Valentina with a smile on her face as she starts eating her food.

As the chatter swelled around them, fragments of conversation drifted to their table, each a small, unsettling seed. "Did you hear? Another family from Oak haven village went missing.

Just vanished." A boy on next table whispered to his friend, his voice hushed. "Again? That's the third one this month. Near the Academy forests, too." His friend replied, a worried frown on his face. Most students dismissed it as bandit activity, or perhaps the usual hazards of the wilder lands surrounding the Academy.

The abrupt silencing was more unsettling than the outburst itself. The whispers died down, replaced by an uneasy quiet that settled over the students, though it was quickly masked by forced laughter and renewed chatter. The shadows, cast by the enchanted chandeliers, seemed to deepen slightly.

Just as they were about to head back to the dorms, Luna with her eyes wide said, “Look."

Professor Irim, a typically mysterious figure, was making his exit from the mess hall. But tonight, something was distinctly off. His head twitched uncontrollably from side to side, a jerky, almost mechanical motion, as if his neck muscles were fighting against some internal tremor. His right-hand kept clenching and unclenching, a repetitive, spastic spasm. He muttered to himself, words indistinct but laced with a frantic urgency.

His eyes, usually half-hidden behind thick spectacles, darted around with an unsettling paranoia before he practically scuttled out of the hall and into the darkening corridors. Valentina watched him go, a slow, predatory smirk spreading across her lips.

"Now that's shady enough to follow, wouldn't you say, my darlings?" she gazes over Luna, Aqua, and Eva.

Luna, despite her earlier dismissal of the rumours, felt uneasiness. "He certainly seemed… unwell. But following a professor?

"But what if it's not 'unwell'?" Eva countered, a strange intensity in her eyes. "What if it's… connected to the missing villagers?

Aqua, though clearly terrified, nodded hesitantly. "He did seem very… tensed. Maybe we should just tell Lilith?" "And let her handle this?"

Valentina didn't wait for consequences, simply turning and moving towards the door Irim had exited, a graceful shadow. Luna huffed, but a growing sense of unease mixed with her natural protective instincts moved her forward.

"Fine! But we keep our distance, and we won't interfere!" said luna.

Eva with excitement in her eyes, followed closely, while Aqua, wringing her hands, reluctantly trailed behind. Tailing a twitching, muttering professor through the winding, dimly lit corridors of Gloria Academy.

As they crept along, Aqua, suddenly let out a loud, adorable sneeze that echoed in the quiet hall, almost giving them away. Luna had to slap a hand over her mouth.

A few moments later, Eva, attempting a dramatic crouch behind a potted plant, tripped over the stone floor, sending them all diving for cover.

Valentina, meanwhile, moved with an almost ethereal silence, occasionally glancing back at their clumsy efforts with her smile, making Luna embarrassed. "Less flirting with danger, more focus!" said Valentina quietly making Luna hissed at her.

Valentina was enjoying every moment. It was a mess, but somehow, they kept going, drawn by the unsettling trail of Professor Irim.

Irim led them out of the academy grounds; through a path they never knew existed into the deep forest that bordered Gloria magical academy. The air instantly grew colder, heavy with the scent of damp earth and decay.

Moonlight, usually a guide, struggled to penetrate the dense forest, filtering through the branches in jagged, fragmented patterns. The leaves, thick and dark looked less like natural but more like sharp grasping claws in silhouette, casting grotesque, shifting shadows on the forest floor.

Strange fungi, phosphorescent green pulsed with a faint sickly light on the tree trunks. The insects here were different; not the chirping crickets of the cultivated grounds, but a low, unnatural buzzing, accompanied by the occasional flash of faintly luminescent wings – large, beetle-like creatures that moved with an unsettling purpose.

A constant, soft ‘drip, drip, drip’ breaking the silence, a sound that should have been comforting, like rain. But when Eva, out of curiosity, reached out to touch the liquid on a thick oak branch, she recoiled sharply. It wasn't water. It was thick, viscous, and sticky, leaving a dark-reddish residue on her fingers. A faint, metallic tang hung in the air, gradually growing stronger it was…. Blood. The realization hung unspoken between them, a chilling situation. The forest seemed to be tainted.

Then, an even more profound silence fell. The unnaturally loud buzzing of the insects abruptly ceased. The rustle of unseen creatures in the undergrowth vanished. Every living sound in the forest went utterly silent the moment Professor Irim stepped deeper into the woods, leaving behind an unnatural, suffocating void. It was as if the very forest held its breath.

They followed Irim to a small, isolated cabin nestled deep within the woods. From the outside, it looked utterly abandoned, a skeletal husk. Wooden planks on its walls were rotting, warped by moisture and time. The windows were half-broken, jagged shards of glass reflecting the scant moonlight like malevolent eyes, their frames sagging and covered in thick, thorny vines.

But from inside, it was a different story Through a gap in the rotting window, girls peeked inside, as Irim light up candles inside made things more visible.

Rows upon rows of glass jars, of varying sizes, lined on wooden shelves that covered every available wall space. They were filled with cloudy, yellowish liquid, preserving an array of animal organs – hearts, livers, brains – floating like grotesque, drowned specimens. Some jars contained things less recognizable, Books were scattered everywhere, piled high on a rickety table, spilling onto the floor.

Oh, the smell. It was a suffocating, combination of sweet rot, metallic blood, and something profoundly animalistic and diseased. It was thick, clinging to the air, seeping into their clothes even from outside the cabin, the smell alone was enough to make girls gag.

Then Irim moved, he reached under the table and pulled out a canvas bag. It was roughly stitched, stained, and squirmed faintly. He untied the drawstring, and a pale, fleshy arm dangled out, limp and undeniably human. He gripped it with both hands, his eyes wide and vacant, and brought it to his mouth.

A sickening “CRUNCH” echoed in the stillness of the cabin as his teeth tore into the flesh. He chewed slowly, methodically, a horrifyingly casual act of depravity. Bones splintered, gristle ripped. The moment felt like an eternity, punctuated only by the wet squelch of tearing flesh.

The girls were frozen, locked in with unspeakable horror.

Aqua, the most sensitive, muffled a scream with both hands, her body was trembling uncontrollably. But a tiny, high-pitched whimper, a sound born of pure, primal terror, escaped her lips, too faint to be heard by a normal human, but not by what was in the cabin. Professor Irim froze. His chewing ceased. The cabin, which had just been filled with the wet, tearing sounds of his meal, fell into an absolute, suffocating silence. He was utterly still, for a long, drawn-out moment. Then, slowly, unnaturally – his head began to turn.

A rotation that strained his neck far beyond its natural limits. They heard it, even though the cabin walls: a faint, sickening ‘Crack. Crack.’ as cartilage and bone shifted in ways they were not meant to. Just as his face began to be visible through the broken window pane, a flash of lightning ripped through the sky, illuminating the cabin's interior in a stark, horrifying way.

His skin, once merely pale, now covered in sweat with over bulging veins that pulsed with sickly purplish-black under his translucent flesh. His jaw was unhinged, impossibly wide, revealing rows of sharp, predatory teeth, covered in red blood. His eyes, no longer just yellow, were now pinhole sharp, with tiny, almost invisible black dots for pupils, reflecting the lightning with a malevolent gleam.

Bits of pale, pinkish flesh, unmistakably human, were stuck between his grimy teeth. A slow, terrifying grin stretched his mouth, making the skin around his jaw creak. Blood, thick and dark, dripped sluggishly from his chin, splattering onto the wooden floorboards.

He stared directly at the broken window, into the darkness where the girls were hiding, as if he could see right through the glass, through the night, right into their souls.

His smile widened further, a silent, knowing acknowledgment of their presence. He ran out of his cabin but looking around he finds no one there, but something was present on the ground near the window …. It was a small, delicate object, unmistakably feminine. A pink handkerchief, embroidered with a small, innocent heart and the name: "Valentina ♡.

" He picked it up with his blood-stained hands, brought it to his face, wiping the blood from his lips by that handkerchief, followed by wide grin.