Chapter 181 - 181 Seven School Mysteries part 5

181 Seven School Mysteries part While the group was sharing their own knowledge of the occult with each other they suddenly heard the sound of a piano playing echoing throughout the now nearly empty school. The melody that was being played was unlike anything they have heard before.

It was a beautiful solemn piece that matched the atmosphere of the night. It was as if the music being played made the moon and stars shine brighter. It gave the school grounds with no students feel like an ancient holy place.

The custodians and guards who were working the night shift weren’t bothered by the sound as they were used to it. Not to mention it was a sound that made them feel comfortable and it could only be heard here in this school at this time. This was the only thing that they considered to be a good thing during the night shift.

...

“That’s the sound of the lonely piano? I was already expecting it to be good based on the rumors but it’s better than I ever expected.” Edward murmured as he was entranced by the beautiful music.

“What time is it?” Michael asked the other members.

“It’s 8:45.”

“So we got an hour and fifteen minutes to find the pianist playing the music before the Dancing Shadow appears... Still, I wonder how the sound of the piano echoes throughout the entire school, is the person playing using the school’s intercom?”

“No, the sound is not coming from the intercom system. I’m not sure how he’s able to do it, but this sound doesn’t seem to be coming from any kind of speaker.”

.....

Erika who had her eyes closed explained to the others. The very moment she heard the sound of the piano she concentrated her inner energy onto her ears to hear better, but despite doing so she could not find the location of the piano that was playing the music as the sound seems to be coming from different directions. It really was like the intercom system, but she was sure that the sound wasn’t coming from that.

“Have you guys noticed there is something weird mixed in with the sound?” Ha-Eun asked as she too was focusing on the sound of the playing piano.

“Yes, it’s not just the sound of a piano playing I can vaguely hear the sound of someone humming as well,” Ichika answered.

“Alright, how about we pair up and search where the sound is coming from?”

Michael suggested and the others nodded in approval, Ichika was about to ask Loki to partner up with her but when she looked she saw Ha-Eun was already there sticking to him. Ichika who was smiling like always had her lips twitching.

“I want to partner up with Mr. Loki, in case something happens he can protect me.”

Ha-Eun happily hugged Loki’s arm which made Ichika clench her fist. Noticing Ichika’s reaction Erika sighed before speaking.

“I think what Ha-Eun said is quite reasonable. In this club we have three members in General Studies, so they need to pair up with someone from the martial arts course. Seeing as Michael is the one with the lowest rank among us here, he should partner up with another martial artist.”

When Ha-Eun heard what Erika said she pouted, she wanted to mess around with Loki but now she can’t. Ichika was also a little disappointed when she heard Erika’s suggestion as she wanted to pair up with Loki, still, this is better than Loki pairing up with the other girls.

...

While the members of the occult club were deciding who pairs up with who, the momentum of the piece being played increased. From the solemn sound a while ago it became exciting and vibrant, it made one’s blood boil.

Some people who had a more active imagination could even see a battlefield before them where hundreds fought and died.

...

The Occult Club now had their pairings. Loki was with Michael, Ha-Eun was paired up with Edward, Erika was paired up with Tsukasa, and Ichika was paired with Oliver. Each pair went in different directions to search.

...

Once they were separated from the other members Michael spoke to Loki.

“Sir Loki, the Spirit wanted to say that whoever is playing the piano is resonating with the spirits within the school grounds. The spirits are making the sound be heard throughout the school.”

“Spirits... Aside from that noisy Spirit of the Akashic Records, there are other spirits in this school?”

“Sir Loki doesn’t mean what he just said, it’s a joke, please calm down.”

The Spirit of the Akashic Records started shouting in Michael’s mind and Michael tried his best to pacify the Spirit. After Michael was able to make the Spirit Calm down, he was finally able to answer Loki’s question.

“There are varying Spirits in this school, there aren’t many but they are there.”

“Why haven’t I seen any of them?”

Loki asked a little confused, even though he didn’t really care that much if he could see the spirits or not, but he just found it rather weird that he has patrolled the school many times but not once has he seen another spirit except for the annoying Spirit of the Akashic Records.

Hearing Loki’s question Michael hesitated for a bit, but the Spirit of the Akashic Records kept on pushing him to say it as the Spirit wanted to see what kind of reaction Loki would show once he knew the truth.

“Um... The Spirits are afraid of you, they said that you reek of death. So they actively avoid you, Sir Loki.”

“Heh, that makes sense. That could also be the reason why even back then I could never see those guys.”

“Back then?” Michael asked with his eyes staring at Loki who had a lonely look on his face.

“Oh, it’s nothing... Anyway since you know that the spirits are helping this person who’s playing the piano, they should also know where to find the said person.”

“Yes, actually I was going to ask if you could wait for me here so that I can speak with the spirits.”

“Sure go ahead, I’ll wait for you.”

...

A few minutes after talking to the other spirits, Michael and Loki were able to find the location of the piano player so they contacted the others to gather at the Principal’s office.

“So the sound of the piano is coming from the Principal’s office, but there shouldn’t be any piano inside?”

“We’ll learn the truth if we go inside, but how do we go in?” Tsukasa spoke while turning the doorknob of the Principal’s office but as expected it was locked.

“No problem, I already have the keys to all the rooms. I borrowed it from one of the custodians.” Ichika happily took out the keys she had and entered the Principal’s room without hesitation.

Upon entering they didn’t see anything unusual, there was no piano and no Principal in sight.

“See, there’s nothing here.” Tuskasa shrugged his shoulders.

“But the sound of the piano inside the room is indeed louder than any other place,” Erika said as she concentrated on listening to the music. The other members also noticed that the sound coming from this room was indeed different from all the other places as it felt closer.

“Maybe the Principal has some kind of hidden room like in those TV shows. Maybe if we pull on the books on the bookshelf a hidden mechanism will be activated.”

Michael suggested already knowing that there really is a hidden room in the Principal’s office.

“Now that you mention it, the space in this room is a lot smaller than on the blueprints,” Ichika mused as she started pulling on the books. The other members also searched the room, and after a while, a sudden clicking noise could be heard.

The bookshelf started moving to the side revealing a larger room. The room in question was filled with a lot of decorative paintings, and the light in it was from the candles on the walls. In the middle of the rather spacious room they could see a Grand Piano and the one playing it was none other than the Principal.

Even after the sound of the secret door being opened the Principal didn’t notice the newcomers as he was fully concentrated on his playing. Now that the members could hear the music up close it was even more mesmerizing than before. The piece being played had some kind of magic that made those who listen feel the urge to go to battle.

The Principal continued to play in a trance, his very soul was being transmitted through the sound of the piano. The Principal lifted his head a bit and in the corner of his eyes he saw a group standing before him, the Principal was so shocked he leaned backward and almost fell off his seat, but the Principal was a powerful martial artist and he was able to quickly balance himself.

The Principal then took a better look at the people who suddenly barged into his special place. The first person he noticed was, of course, Ichika.

“Student Council President, there better be a good explanation as to why you’re here.”