"Are you happy for the prank you pulled today?" Professor Shah's anger didn't fade even after they had parted for the rest of the day.

Reiju chuckled and followed him as he exited his office. "You started it, professor."

Rohan gripped the keys on his hand tighter as his face darkened in displeasure. "You weren't listening."

"So? I had other things to think about," she said. "Like how you bent me over and—"

"Stop it." His jaw clenched, shooting her a warning glare as he halted.

Reiju smirked. She was aware that teasing the professor as a way to forget her problems was a bad idea. But if she was, to be honest, his presence made this place bearable.

The moment she had learned of the division between the criminals and the soldiers, she knew things weren't simple anymore. Something deeper was going on.

And it was related to the person who got away with murdering Professor Huxley.

What was so wrong if she had fun in the process?

"It's the truth. I still remember how the table creak—"

Rohan stepped forward, driving the girl towards the coarse castle walls with his towering figure. "I said stop it."

"Why? What are you gonna do?"

Their bodies didn't touch but the man lowered his head to whisper his next words. "Listen here, Miss Tenjin. Our relationship ends with me leading you to the basement. If you keep up this attitude... I will kill you."

Reiju raised an eyebrow. She did not doubt that the man was serious. He could kill her if he desired to. But things had also become clearer the moment he spoke those words.

She chuckled. "Coward."

The man stumbled backward in shock. "W-what?"

Reiju sighed, crossing her arms. "I meant no offense, professor. But as someone who is well-versed with how assassins think... you're aware that killing someone means that their presence threatens you, right?"

She raised her chin, looking up at the man with a bright smile. "What is it about my jokes that makes you afraid, sir?"

"You're really..." He shut his eyes for a moment before a calm mask settled on his face. "Let's go."

Reiju pouted and trailed after him. She understood his worries over their connection but was it really that bad for him to threaten her?

She thought back to their conversation in the gardens and how he had told her of his inability to feel anything. Now that her mind was clearer, she realized that Rohan might have been hurt deeply to say things like that.

Was it Aliyah who had hurt him?

Reiju felt guilty.

"What are you waiting for?" The professor called out as he stood outside the admin building. He opened the door and turned to the left.

Reiju cussed and hurriedly marched towards the path he took. They passed by a hallway where Carmine's banners and several paintings hang on the wall.

They entered a narrow path, going down in a spiraling stair before stopping in front of a metal gate. A single bulb flickered over them. Reiju tried to see what lies ahead but darkness engulfed the place.

Rohan grabbed the big chains and inserted the key into the large padlock. He pushed the gate open, making its hinges creak loudly.

"The basement is here? God, so creepy."

The man entered, ignoring her complaints. He didn't walk far before he crouched down and the sounds of tinkling metal echoed in the room before light flooded Reiju's vision.

"Come on," he said, pointing the flashlight in front of him and resumed walking towards the darkness.

Another metal gate blocked their path and the man unlocked it again.

It happened thrice before they reached a room with hundreds of filing cabinets. Reiju gasped at the absurdity of the situation. Why were there so many locks for this dump?

"Feel free to look, Miss Tenjin." He threw her the flashlight, smirking at her awestruck expression before he settled himself on a nearby table.

Reiju heard the click of his lighter and saw that he began smoking without care. She rolled her eyes and used the light to see the labels. She found the enrollment records from 1948 and compared them with the list of graduates.

Three students didn't graduate.

Two of them were injured, thus pulling out from school.

One was declared missing and presumed dead.

Reiju's heart pounded in anticipation as she went to yank the missing student's file.

Hans Meyer.

Family Affliations.

German Army. Schutzstaffel.

Reiju drank in the rest of Hans' profile when the paper was snatched out of her hands. She gasped, jerking her head in the man's direction. "What are you—"

He was reading the file, the cigarette still burning between his lips. Rohan closed the folder, pulling the rollup from his mouth using his fingers before he spoke. "He went missing in 1948. Five years later, a skeleton was found in the forest and it was assumed to be the remains of one Hans Meyer. You were searching for this information?"

"Well, yes." Reiju gripped the flashlight tight as she sorted out her thoughts. "I found the kid's diary entry and he said the man in the labyrinth wants him dead. His killer was probably—"

"The same person who killed Professor Huxley?"

She nodded. "I think so."

"And?" He arched an eyebrow.

"What do you mean 'and'?" Reiju exclaimed. "It means the murderer has been killing for over fifty years! Shouldn't you be worried?"

"I know," he replied. "But the person you want to catch had a timeline of killing every ten years. It means that you had to wait for ten years to get another victim. That is... if he will even leave a body."

"But it's been fifty years! How come no one could catch him?"

Rohan took another hit from his cigarette and she hated how calm he was. "How much can a skeleton offer in the 40s, Miss Tenjin? DNA testing was first used in criminal investigations in 1986 and even then, contaminations problems remain. After Hans Meyer's body was found, only missing reports had followed. Nothing was confirmed and nobody noticed the links between each disappearance. But if they did... what then?"

Reiju growled, frustration clawing at her insides. "They could search the island!"

"They could..." He agreed. "But they didn't."

A gasp left her lips. "Is it because it was government kids who go missing?"

The man hummed and headed for the exit. "Let's go."

"Is that it then?" She yelled and stomped towards him. Reiju grabbed his arm, clutching at his sleeves as her eyes burned in anger. "Am I supposed to let this go?"

The professor clasped her hand, breaking her hold on him. "Why? What could you do in this situation?"

Reiju let out a shaky breath. He was right. Power. Authority. She didn't have that. What could she even do?

"If it's any consolation, there won't be a victim for another ten years."

Reiju swallowed the bitterness in her throat as they left the dark place. She felt drained. She had gotten her hands on some answers but she couldn't even use them.

Should I just do what I want?

The professor flicked her forehead, bringing her back to reality.

"Aw! That hurts!" Reiju scoffed, rubbing at the throb on her forehead.

"You better not search for that murderer," he warned.

Reiju opened her mouth to argue when her attention was caught by a commotion near the school's archway.

The same spot where Professor Huxley fell.

"Don't tell me..."

She ran towards the crowd, shoving the students out of her way and what met her sight was something she wished she hadn't seen.

A dead body.