Three Detectives (II)

In the car, Gordon’s face was pale. Five murder cases had occurred in just a few days. Not only had all the victims been important people, but their deaths had also been elaborate. Gordon was under immense pressure.

Unlike Batman, Gordon truly was only an ordinary person. He had exhausted himself over the past few days, staying up night after night and rushing everywhere. By the time he was in the car, his voice was so hoarse he could barely speak.

Raindrops struck the car windows. Sitting in the passenger seat, Schiller turned to look at Gordon’s pale face and said, "Sheriff, why don’t you go back and get some rest first?"

Gordon gave a somewhat forced smile. "A few days ago, I was saying the same thing to Batman. I didn’t expect it to be my turn today. But my answer is the same as his—I think I’m fine. At least, lasting until dawn shouldn’t be a problem…"

Schiller seemed about to say something, but Batman said, "We’re here."

He sounded somewhat urgent, because this was the boarding school Dick attended. Dick had only started school two days ago. Today should have been his first official day of class, yet this had happened. Batman was worried. After all, he had been the one who asked Dick to study here.

Batman was the first to enter the boarding school gates, but the person who came to greet them first grabbed Gordon’s hand, seeing his police uniform. "You’re Detective Gordon, right? I was the one who called the police. Hurry to the seventh floor—Mrs. Sanchez, she… she…"

He was a somewhat stooped old man, dressed in the kind of black robe commonly seen at boarding schools. Gordon calmed him down, then asked, "Are you a teacher at this school? What exactly happened? Can you tell us?"

The old man led them into the school as he spoke. "I’m no teacher. I’m just the key administrator, responsible for locking the doors to important rooms after all the students have gone to sleep."

"Just now, when I was going to the seventh floor to check whether the room doors had been locked, I saw… I don’t know, but God…"

"Did you see anyone suspicious?" Gordon asked routinely.

The old man shook his head. "This school is strictly managed. Ordinary people aren’t allowed in. After class, the teachers all return to their rooms, and students aren’t allowed to wander around at night…"

"That’s how boarding schools are. The children here are especially well-behaved too. There’s never been any trouble."

Batman wanted to ask about Dick, but he did not want to expose Dick’s relationship with Batman. Schiller glanced at his expression and asked the old man, "Do you have a child named Dick here?"

"Dick? We’ve got at least five or six Dicks here. Which one are you looking for?"

"Dick Grayson. Do you know where he is now?"

The old man shook his head. "There are too many children named Dick here. I’m old—I can’t remember who’s who."

Schiller did not press further. Instead, he said, "Just tell us exactly where Mrs. Sanchez’s room is. We’ll go up ourselves."

The old man slowly shook his head. "The stairs here aren’t easy to navigate. I’ll take you to the seventh floor, and then you can go in on your own."

As he spoke, the old man led them farther up. After another two floors, they reached the seventh floor of the boarding school. The old man turned and left. The moment Gordon stepped onto the seventh floor, he shuddered. "Why do I feel like it’s a little cold here?"

Schiller also sensed an unusual chill spreading through the corridor. He said to Gordon, "Detective, you’re not in good shape. Stay here for now. Batman and I will go in."

Gordon did not force himself, because he truly felt awful. He stepped back a few paces, opened the window in the stairwell, and leaned against the wall. He felt a little better. He waved at the two of them, signaling them to hurry on, and Schiller and Batman headed deeper into the corridor.

The moment they entered the darkness, Schiller’s gaze settled on a black mark in the corner. He crouched to examine it closely and said, "It looks like what happened here is related to supernatural forces as well."

"If it really is that so-called demon, do we have any way to deal with it?"

"According to occult theory, there are many things that can deal with demons, such as crosses, holy water, statues of the Virgin Mary, and so on. But I don’t think we’ll encounter a real demon here."

As he spoke, they had already reached the door of the second room. Schiller pushed it open without hesitation and walked inside. The sight within was not bloody, but it was extremely bizarre.

A mummified corpse stood in the center of the room. It was charred black and shriveled, yet it stood ramrod straight in place. Around it was a pattern resembling a Magic Circle. Batman walked over and said, "This pattern is different from the previous one, and the way it was drawn is different too."

"But they seem to use the same element—the six-pointed star that represents demons. And these smaller symbols are somewhat similar too…"

Schiller walked around the mummified corpse and approached the desk behind it. The desk was a complete mess, covered in all sorts of things. On the first shelf sat a pile of bottles and jars, below it was a heap of waste paper, a box on the left held a jumble of herbs, and the desk pad had some incomprehensible words carved into it.

"Looks like Mrs. Sanchez had another job besides being the principal. She was also a witch."

Schiller bent down to inspect the things on the desk. There was a drawer beneath it, secured with a brass lock engraved with a strange rune. Schiller did not try to pick the lock physically. Instead, he looked up at the mummified corpse.

The corpse seemed to have been instantly baked into charcoal by extreme heat. The grease that seeped from its body had fixed its feet to the ground, which was why it had not fallen over.

Traces of clothing could vaguely be seen on the corpse, but they had turned as black as the torso and clung to its skin. Around the corpse’s waist, there seemed to be a key ring.

Schiller did not take it. Instead, he crouched down and placed his hand against one side of the cabinet. A wisp of Gray Mist spread from between his arms and slipped into the drawer. Just as Schiller sensed what was inside the drawer, Gordon suddenly screamed in the corridor.

Batman rushed outside and saw Gordon clutching his neck as he staggered backward in agony. He went straight through the window and fell from the seventh floor.

The instant Batman rushed to the window, a cloud of Gray Mist was faster than him. Just before Gordon hit the ground, the Gray Mist caught him and lowered him to the ground. Batman used his grappling hook to jump down from the seventh floor. When he reached Gordon, he saw two bluish-purple handprints on his neck.

Gordon gasped for breath. Once he recovered somewhat, he looked at Batman and said, "It really… really was what you said…"

"What did you see?"

"A ghost. A ghost charged at me and grabbed my neck…"

"It seems this school really is strange. Let’s find Dick first."

Gordon struggled to stand. "What about that key administrator who led us here? Why haven’t we seen him? I think we should ask him…"

"Don’t count on him."

This time, Schiller walked in front, while Batman supported Gordon from behind. As he walked, he looked at the display on his wrist and said, "Go around this building, then turn right. Dick should be underground…"

Schiller was not surprised by this, but Gordon sized Batman up and said, "You put a tracker on your adopted son?"

"That’s why I can find him in time now."

They headed toward the target point. Just then, the communicator on Batman’s wrist suddenly rang. Jason’s voice came through it, screaming, "Batman! Hurry! There’s danger! Oh God, she’s a… she’s a…"

The transmission cut off instantly. Batman operated the device on his wrist and frowned. "…Why are they together?"

Gordon had also heard the child’s cry for help and scream through the communicator. Schiller raised his umbrella slightly, turned back to Batman, and said, "Coordinates."

"Direction 1:21, 351 meters underground…"

The straight-line distance was not far, but in reality they had to go around an entire building. The moment Batman finished speaking, Schiller turned into a cloud of Gray Mist and shot through the walls. While the two men on the ground were still running, Schiller had already reached the surface above the target location.

Schiller flashed underground. The instant his figure appeared, he felt a black shadow plummeting down from overhead.

Without a second thought, Schiller gripped his umbrella with both hands and swung upward. With a bang, a figure flew backward and slammed into the wall. Everyone in the room froze.

Viewed from the room’s ceiling, Schiller, who had just landed, stood exactly in the center of the room, still holding the pose of having struck someone with his umbrella. Near the wall on the left stood a blond man holding a black book, staring blankly at Schiller’s movement. Behind Schiller, several children lying on the ground had their mouths wide open. In front of him was the monster he had sent flying—a creature with four arms, horns on its head, and black markings covering its body.

After the monster was sent directly into the wall, the atmosphere in the room fell silent for a moment. The blond man turned to the children and asked, "Is this the backup you were talking about?"

Jason, lying on the ground, swallowed hard, but Little Rascal behind him shouted, "Professor Schiller!"

The blond man froze again. Looking at Schiller, he said, "You’re a professor too? What subject do you teach? Fighting?"

"More importantly…" Schiller drew back his umbrella and planted it on the floor. He turned to the blond man. He was tall, wearing a light brown long suit with a black tie. His face was covered in stubble, and though handsome, he looked thoroughly worn-out.

"I’ve heard much about you, Constantine."

The man froze again. "You know me?"

"Of course. Your band’s song, ‘I Had a Kiss with the Dream God,’ was pretty good. An old classmate of mine was the drummer for Sex Pistols. He gave me a group photo from Roxy Club, and you were in it."

The blond man first opened his mouth, then pressed his lips together. He had not expected that kind of answer. Schiller’s praise had hit exactly where it counted. He shook his head, slipped his hands into his trench coat pockets, and said, "Oh, really? Actually, my favorite song on that album is still ‘Bow Down to Death.’ It’s closer to the punk style, right?"

"But I prefer psychedelic rock and Romanticism. I have to say, the spoken passage at the end of your Dream God song was excellent. It had the feeling of passing through a dream. I know that part of the arrangement must have drawn a lot of criticism, but I liked it…"

"I knew someone would understand me!" Constantine spread his hands. "Those old-fashioned music critics have no idea what psychedelic rock is. They don’t even understand punk. Just because I slept with the bassist in my band, they said my album was worthless. It’s simply…"

"Please!" Jason screamed, pointing at the monster across from them. "Is this the time to talk about music?! There’s a demon standing right in front of you!! A living demon!!!!"

As he screamed desperately, the demon also came back to its senses. It slowly stood up, hunched its body, and prepared to pounce at its enemies again.

Just then, with a bang, the door was flung open, and the monster standing in front of it was sent flying once more.

Watching the monster fly toward him, Schiller straightened his tie, then raised his umbrella and assumed a baseball batter’s stance. With another bang, the monster was sent back into the wall, embedded in it this time.

Batman, who had just pushed open the door, looked somewhat confused by the scene inside. But blond Constantine whistled and said, "Beautiful home run!"