Ship In A Bottle (A Monkie Kid Reader Insert)

Chapter 43: In For A Pound

It wasn't unusual to find the headmaster gazing through the window in his office, watching his students leave once their last class has been dismissed. Above the academy was the bell it was known for, ringing to signify the end of the day as wind carried stray leaves and the occasional plum blossom.

That was how it has been for the Elk, possibly for a millennium or two now. Whoever was keeping track? Definitely not him. It wasn't too different for his former sworn brothers, Tiger and Goat. The former, still as strict as ever, and the latter, still with that mirthful wise persona that the Elk jokingly compared to another headmaster from a certain book about wizards. Which, he did not appreciate, given the author.

But the Elk? These recent years have left him feeling...weathered, for a lack of better words. Not to say he was ungrateful for his job, no. He was honored to be the founder of one of the schools that started the era of peace between humans and demons, even if it was after the golden-eyed one's absence. 

Running his fingers through his bookshelf, he enchanted the plum-scented candles to light up, with the sky dimming. Rain, perhaps? That was what the gray clouds were suggesting. His suspicions were confirmed when one by one, small droplets fell on the window pane. There weren't any pitter-patters yet, but more drops fused with each other, causing the small bits of water to trickle down.

Pulling the soft velvety curtains shut, the candles were the only sources of light left. That was, until the Elk placed his palm on a scanner, summoning screen projections hovering above his office desk. Emitting a soft green light on his face, he tilted his head down and opened his hand.

A drive, containing a defunct version the game that caused the citywide sleep. The beta version, possibly. Plugging it into the scanner, the projections were suddenly filled with the game's source code, where all of the game creator's findings were hidden. The amount of damning evidence this person was able to gather was impressive, the Elk gave him that.

Seeing these pictures, corrupted pictures of this girl, this supposed current host of the bone demon? That was a cause for concern. He wasn't there himself when she last caused damage, only catching glimpses of her before she was imprisoned though. So why this was sent to him specifically was...odd.

So, he kept digging. Wax pooled and trickled down the the candles, as the scent of plum filled the air. These findings were definitely alarming to be sure. The disappearance of Bai He, or Lily, was something that the bone demon took advantage of. He remembered it making headlines, first reported by news anchors, Xia Shihan and Ao Heng. 

It was easy then to see how the demon possessing the girl took that to her advantage. Luring the most vulnerable person with what they thought was the missing girl in the screen. Next thing they knew, they were yet another converted subject of the youngest spider sister. And as the findings here suggested, once that bone demon found no more use for the victim, they were a prime target for shard harvest.

The pitter patters on the window turned into a downpour. Elk hoped that all of the students made their way home by now. Nonetheless, he resumed his research. What the Lady Bone Demon was doing exactly with this collection of powered shards, he did not know. 

Although some of the image files suggested she turned to luring other demons with empty promises for shard fuel, like she once apparently did with two of the demons during the Weather Station's malfunction. It wasn't hard to see why, considering the amount of people going missing decreased significantly. That was mostly thanks to the city's police department changing for the better, after they faced scrutiny from the public with the release of those scandals and all.

But he was still confused. He was already working against the bone demon by being affiliated with Cervidae, his sworn brothers being no different. Being the past advisors of the organization's head, he trusted Stag to do the right thing. Elk himself already took action against those working against them.