Regressor In A Strange World-Chapter 5: Endless, Suffocating Quiet.

"Did you manage to catch him?"

"No," Dean shook his head, frustration etched on his face. "The bastard managed to slip into the crowd."

A grim silence settled between us.

Now that the shapeshifter knows we're onto him. He will undoubtedly become more ruthless, more desperate with his actions. And that meant more deaths.

I took a slow, deep breath, trying my best to calm my rapidly beating heart.

"Ma'am," I said gently, turning to the woman before us. "Can you please tell us what happened?"

My words seemed to have agitated her tears as they came rushing out once again.

I knew she was trying to hold herself together, but... it wasn't working.

I could relate.

But still,

"Only in this way can we hope to put the culprit behind bars."

I had to put in words that she needed. Words that she wanted to hear.

Just like any other human in her shoes.

My words seemed to reach her.

Slowly, her tears showed signs of subsiding.

Sniffling, she eventually managed to speak up after a couple of seconds.

"H-he suddenly came home unexpectedly," she began, voice trembling. "Said he wanted to see his twin brother. But, my husband wasn't at home. He said he knew... that he'd wait."

~ Trembling.

With tears welling in her eyes, she continued. "I-I didn't think much of it."

Her voice cracked as she continued.

"...I was in the kitchen when he suddenly grabbed me. In my attempt to free myself, we crashed into the counter. Glass shattered everywhere and some pieces cut into him. I-I tried to run, but then-"

She broke off, trembling.

"Take your time," I said softly.

She swallowed hard, tears streaming down the corner of her eyes.

"H-he picked up a kitchen knife and struck me with the blunt side. When I woke up, I was tied to a chair. I-I tried to scream, but... he gagged me before I could."

Her voice showed signs of cracking as a quiet sob broke out of her chest.

Thump. Thump.

The details sent a chill through me.

A vivid scene slowly unfolded in my mind.

The dimly lit room. The chaos in the kitchen. The desperate struggles- shattered glasses.

To the room where it all ended,

My foresight ability. It all now made sense.

Exhaling slowly, I managed to calm my agitated mind.

Shifting my gaze toward the sobbing young lady, I asked:

"Did your husband once say anything about any sort of beef with his twin brother?"

"No," She shook her head. "None that he spoke of."

"But..." She hesitated.

"What is it?" Klaus pressed.

"He once said... they did something to her"

I frowned. "Her?"

"Who does he mean by her?" Klaus questioned with a light frown.

"I-I don't know."

My gaze slowly shifted to a picture in the living room.

It depicted a lot of people and as I gazed at the picture.

It slowly started to dawn on me.

A chilling realization slowly crept in, heavy and suffocating.

Thump... Thump...

I got to my feet.

"You have our condolences ma," I said, bowing slightly.

"....?!!"

Klaus followed suit. He didn't understand why we were leaving so soon, but he trusted me enough to play along.

The young lady forced a nod and got to her feet, escorting us out of the house.

Under the crimson rays of the moon, we could hear her sobs even as we moved farther away from her residence.

Sighing lightly.

Tok... Tok...

Our footsteps resonated in the still night, the suffocating darkness pressing in on us from all sides.

Getting into the car.

Klaus cast me a sidelong glance.

Even without saying anything, I knew what he was demanding for.

Brotherly bond- you may call it.

I scrathed the back of my head, offering a wry smile. "Well, how do I explain this? Hmm... You do know about the systems, right?"

He nodded.

"My innate abilities- well one of them anyway- was unlocked ahead of time. And it grants me the ability to see into the future."

"Hmm." He was quiet at first but then, he slowly nodded. "I guess that explains it."

"Yeah."

"...All except one."

I raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"

"Why did we leave so early? Weren't we supposed to probe for more information. Or you already got them from your "oracle" ability?"

With a wry smile, I scratched the back of my head.

"Of course not."

But,

"....!"

His gaze still bore a hole through me.

I knew he was being skeptical.

"Fool," I said with a derisive laugh, Didnt you notice the picture in the house?"

Klaus narrowed his eyes. "Not in the mood for guessing."

Lightly shaking my head, I spoke up.

"All the victims... their husbands were colleagues with her husband."

His posture straightened. "And?"

"When I had my vision, I heard the shapeshifter say, 'They did something to her."

Klaus's expression darkened. "So... are we dealing with a cursed spirit?"

I shook my head. "Not likely."

"Right. The system made it clear- we're after a shapeshifter."

And just then,

"...."

A notification popped up.

[You are one step closer to finding the truth]

"Talk about the devil," Klaus muttered.

And I had to restrain myself from letting out a light laugh.

Shaking my head, I exhaled sharply. "I think I know where to look next."

"Oh?" Klaus raised a brow. "Where?"

"Aisen college."

"Hmm?"

"The picture."

Klaus gave me a skeptical look, eliciting a light laugh from me.

"I'm telling the truth."

"...Who knows."

Still giving me that eye.

He slowly started the car engines and with a light laugh from both of us, the car sped into the night.

With Klaus showcasing his drifting skills, and improved racing skills, we made it to Aisen college in no time.

Ahead of us,

A towering structure could be seen in sight. Its surroundings were dark but I could make out one, two... hundreds of overgrown weeds. And there was an iron barricade. One that stood grand and imposing, blocking all those who sought to enter its ground.

And the black door of the iron barricade was locked with weird runes.

I frowned. "If the security companies already made it to this place. Why did they seal it off instead of handling it?"

Was it something they couldn't deal with? I mused under my breath.

But Klaus was already out of the car.

"Not our first time breaking into restricted area," he muttered.

I sighed. "Yeah. Yeah."

With a light sigh, I stepped out of the car, watching as Klaus loaded salt bullets into the guns.

Without being awakened or transcenders, the only thing we could make use of- in case we did end up meeting a cursed spirit- was a gun imbued with salt bullet.

Of course if we were transcenders of the luminary pathway. We could simply do our charm and the purifying light would get it done with.

But alas, we weren't.... at least not yet.

With practiced ease, Klaus summoned a dagger.

I raised an eyebrow. "Where'd you get that from?"

Based on the memories I had, Klaus never had that dagger with him.

"From the system."

"Oh- that explains it then," I muttered, more to myself than to him.

Piercing the lock or to be more precise the runes with the dagger, a surge of electricity erupted from the dagger, and added with the paralyzing effect of the Thunder Fang dagger.

It was more than enough to allow us to climb over the iron barricade without setting off the alarm imbued into the runes.

But,

If I had to guess.

"We have~"

And just like I guessed.

"Only twenty minutes."

...There was a time limit.

I didn't know if I should laugh or run even faster.

Tok...

Tok...

Before long, we made it to the main entrance that led to the school's hall. With the pin hole opening technique taught by the old man.

The door opened with a subtle creak.

Creaaak...

Whoosh!!

A chilling wind swept past us and a grating sound that made my heart lurch to my throat echoed through the stifling silence.

Inside,

The hall was pitch dark and desolate with cobwebs clinging to every surface.

Klaus exhaled. "Where do we even start?"

Exhaling sharply, I managed to calm my rapidly beating heart.

'Should I use it?'

I contemplated using the pocket Marauder's compass. After all, the limitation to it was too... heavy to be ignored.

Thump... Thump...

Biting onto my lower lips, I eventually came to a decision.

~ Summoning the compass.

A bronze pocket compass with no cardinals and with only a single black needle suddenly appeared in my hands.

Ingesting my spirituality into it.

Before Klaus could even speak.

"The system," I said.

"...."

His mouth twitched, but he said nothing though.

Letting out a light laugh, he shook his head. "So... what does it do?"

"Well we're about to find out."

Ingesting my spirituality into the mystical item. I started moving through the stifling quiet.

Tok...

Tok...

Klaus followed suit and I could hear the rather "subtle" echoes of our heartbeat.

Thump... Thump...

Before long,

Tok... Tok...

And as we moved further down the halls, moving past various classrooms.

An idea suddenly crept into the walls of my mind.

"...."

I blinked. It might actually work.

A light smile crept up my face and then,

Amidst the suffocating quiet that pressed in on us from all sides.

I said silently, "The motive behind the shape shifter's action... in relation to her."

I repeated it seven times.

And,

Clench-!

I could feel my energy rapidly draining away from me.

My vision blurred but I simply bit harder on my lower lips. Hard enough to keep the flow of blood in my mouth.

And then,

Whoosh~!

A soft glow illuminated the desolate dark surrounding.

But my eyes weren't drawn to this.

Rather, they were drawn to the needle erratically spinning in all directions.

Slowly.... it came to rest on a single spot.

And,

Gazing ahead.

It was pointing towards an office.

Thump. Thump.

A sinking feeling settled in my gut.

Taking in a gulp of saliva that managed to drown the suffocating quiet, even if it were just for a mere fleeting second.

I took my first step towards the office.

And then,

Tok...

I took the second.

Tok...

Then another.

Before long, I made it to the office and right beside me was Klaus who tightened his grip on his gun.

I scanned the room, staying on ground.

Moving toward a desk, my eyes caught on something.

"Hmm." A lock.

Bending down, I came face to face with a drawer bound by a bundle of runic binding chains.

But luckily-

"Hand me the dagger."

It could be broken.

"It might alarm them." I warned though.

"Hmph. The old man will handle it. They're definitely hiding something, and if the security companies are involved, I'd bet a hundred bucks this ties back to one of the noble houses ."

I sighed, but there was no arguing.

Just like the old man always says:

Handle the business. I'll deal with the consequences.

And for years, that had been our rule. The rule we'd been abiding by.

Click!

The locks snapped open.

'They probably don't expect anyone to break in. That'd explain why it was so easy to break. Not that they'd care anyway.'

I shook my head, pulling out a pile of files.

Minutes passed in silence as we flipped through the pages. The sound filling the tense silence.

And then-

A revelation.

"So... it's safe to assume a few students from noble families raped the shapeshifter's girlfriend," I muttered. "He supposedly reported the case to the school officials. But-"

With a light laugh, Klaus shook his head. "How could they even be punished? Did he even consider the fact that the headmaster of the Aisen college is just an insignificant member of the Tulane family."

I shook my head, an inaudible sigh escaping my lips.

"That will explain why he's going after them. Unlike transcenders or Arcanist families, nobles have a chance of not awakening. Thats why he was confident enough to take justice into his own hands."

I let out a slow breath, dropping the files onto the desk.

And to be honest-

"...If I were in his shoes. I'd probably do the same thing."

Klaus nodded. "But still, he's disturbing the peace of the society. We have no choice but to stop him."

I forced a nod.

It wasn't like we had any other choice anyway.

Getting onto my feet, I stretched. "We should probably get going."

"Yeah."

We both knew it- a powerhouse from the Tulane family could show up at any moment.

Our urgency thickened the air, our heartbeats echoing through the stifling quiet.

Thump... Thump...

And just as we turned to leave-

Ding!

A notification flashed before my eyes.

[Side Quest Completed!]

[Every action has a motive. Find the motive behind the shapeshifter's actions.]

[Reward is being generated:

[...You have been granted the mystical item- Ethereal Bell of Subtlety!]

***

Klaus tilted his head, staring at his system's screen.

Skipping the useless "rants," he scrolled straight to the reward.

A slow smirk spread across his face.

[You have obtained the mystical item- Momentum Ring!]

"Talk about timing," he muttered.

Tok.

Tok.

I didn't allow the notification to slow me down, though.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

We needed to get out of here, and at that, this very moment.

And just as we stepped out of the office,

Zzzzrrrr!!!

Whooosssh!!!

Click!

The surroundings went dark.

Before, it had been dim- shadows stretching but still revealing the room's edges.

But t-his darkness~

This darkness was different.

This darkness sent cold chills slithering down my spine.

Along with the subtle almost imperceptible change in the atmosphere came the flickering of lights.

Click. Click.

On and off.

My heart pounded against my chest, its sound akin to deafening thunderclaps in the stifling quiet.

***

The flickering of lights. The sudden frigid coldness.

Klaus and I exchanged looks- our eyes wide with fear.

"A cursed spirit!"

We shouted in unison.

And then-

Ba- dump! Ba- dump!

A bloodied figure appeared at the end of the hall.

Her long, messy black hair drifted unnaturally in the air.

Blood ran through her private part, a thickened, dark blood that pooled around that spot, to the extent of turning into a monstrous bloody face that screamed and roared... its pain, anger, evident even from miles... meters away.

At that moment, it was as though we had suddenly lost the ability to move.

I felt as though numerous invisible hands were holding onto me, grounding me to a single spot.

And worse-

Breathing was getting harder. A-almost as if numerous unseen hands were tightly wrapped around my neck!

"Huff... Huff...."

And just then,

Ba- dump! Ba- dump!

Her face slowly lifted.

Her deep, black eyes- lifeless, empty- met mine.

And-

~ Ba- thump! Ba- thump!

I felt a cold chill slither down my spine.

Trembling.

A paralyzing fear gripped me.

And just then-

Tok...

Tok...

She started moving.

Fast. Inhumanly fast.

"Run!!"

Klaus's voice cut through the stifling quiet.

But-

Thump... Thump...

I couldn't move.

Tok. Tok.

I wasn't able to.

As the cursed spirit inched closer and closer to us.

My eyes widened in fear.

And,

~ Thump... Thump...

I could feel it now.

Despair.

It coiled around my chest like an iron vice. Slowly trying to consume me.

Thump....Thump...

Without hesitation, Klaus grabbed my arm- yanking me forward.

He bolted, dragging me with him.

Tok. Tok.

His footsteps echoed sharply, growing louder as he blurred past offices and classrooms.

The cold grip of fear tightened around me, freezing my thoughts.

And I had to bite hard on my lower lips until the metallic tang of blood filled my mouth.

The sharp pain was just barely enough to snap me out of my paralysis.

Clear-headed at last, I needed no urging. I pushed my legs to their limits, sprinting after Klaus with everything I had.

We tore through the dark corridors, the college's entrance coming into view.

Tok. Tok.

Our steps echoed through the stifling quiet.

Each step propelled us into the distance.

But,

Tak. Tak.

It wasn't enough.

She was still rapidly closing in on us.

Flickering in and out of reality, she moved through the endless darkness.

And each time she reappeared,

BAAANG!

BAAANG!!!

Two consecutive gunshots would shatter the suffocating silence.

But apart from making her momentarily recoil, they did nothing. If anything, they seemed to further irritate her.

Step. Step.

She surged forward, her speed becoming even more terrifying.

Thump... Thump...

The lights flickered as she moved, a rotten smell wafting through the air as her grotesque form phased in and out, like a nightmare barely tethered to reality.

And as she rapidly approached us.

I could feel it creeping in again- Fear.

It was slowly crawling its way towards me.

But I shoved it down just as it came, burying it beneath with nothing but sheer willpower.

Biting harder on my lower lips.

I could see it now.

The door.

We were close.

But-

She knew it too.

Tok. Tok.

In two swift steps, she disappeared.

And then,

Thump... Thump....

She flickered back into existence right in front of us!

Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

My heart leapt into my throat as her gaping mouth- with tentacles writhing hungrily within- lurched towards me.

Dean grimaced, his fingers tightening on the trigger.

Baaaang!!!

Baaaang!!!

The salt bullets streaked through the air, easily piercing through her forehead.

Booooom!!!

Her form erupted into a cascade of dark, colorful lights, but the brief reprieve only made our hearts pound harder. Faster.

We knew she'd be back.

But-

I didn't care. Not now.

With one final leap, I dove through the doorway, tumbling across the cold floor.

Klaus followed, nodding at me. Close it.

Just then- she reappeared.

Thump. Thump.

Adrenaline surged through me as I slammed against the cold metal door.

I felt a cold chill slither down my spine, but that fear only spurred me on.

Creeak...

It only urged me to use even more force.

Drawing from every ounce of strength contained in my feeble muscle, I forced the door shut, her wriggling tentacles trashing futilely against the frame.

And then,

Thud!

The door slammed shut with a resounding thud.

And once again-

Click!

The cursed spirit was back in the endless, suffocating quiet.