Case of the Unconscious Queen 8
Series: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
As soon as all of you stepped into Ignihyde, Grim squinted at the glowing circuitry embedded wherever you looked. âI donât like this place. It feels too quiet, but at the same time, itâs like the walls are watching me.â
Leona walked past you without the slightest hesitation. âThen stay behind and talk to the walls. Iâm not waiting.â
Jack followed close behind, his posture straight and his eyes scanning for potential threats. You stepped in last, taking in the doors that seemed futurist but ancient simultaneously.
Grim marched up to the entrance and knocked loudly. âHey! Open up! We know youâre in there!â
For several seconds, it was totally quiet. Then, a muffled, frantic voice echoed through a nearby intercom speaker. âIâm not here! The Idia you are looking for is currently unavailable and has moved to a server where social interaction is disabled!â
Grim blinked at the speaker. âWe didnât even say who we were yet!â
âThat makes it worse!â Idia snapped, his voice rising in pitch. âAnonymous visitors are the final boss of social anxiety! Go away! This feels like a trap. Iâm not getting dragged into whatever quest-line or social disaster youâve triggered!â
A small panel on the wall flickered to life, revealing a camera lens that zoomed in on your group.
âWait, you brought Leona?â Idiaâs voice turned into a hiss. âA high-level physical tank and a prefect who always attracts trouble wherever they go? This is definitely a setup. Youâre here to frame me for something! Iâm taking the back system route, Iâm out!â
Leona scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. âOpen the door, shut-in, or Iâll see how much pressure these hinges can take before they snap.â
There was a long, tense pause.
âYou would actually do that, wouldnât you?â Idia mumbled.
The sound of multiple electronic locks clicking open echoed through the hall. The door slid aside with a pressurized hiss.
Inside, a dizzying array of glowing screens illuminated the room in shades of neon blue. Ortho Shroud stood near the entrance and offered a polite smile.
âWelcome to Ignihyde,â Ortho said. âI apologize for my brother. He is currently experiencing a sudden spike in his cortisol levels due to your unexpected arrival.â
âI do not apologize for anything!â Idia yelled from somewhere deeper in the darkened room, his hair flickering with nervous blue flames.
Grim seemed distracted by the flashing lights and wandered away from the group. âOoh, whatâs this shiny red button do? Is it a snack dispenser?â
âPlease do not press that, Grim,â Ortho calmly warned.
But Grim pressed it. A deafening alarm blared for a split second, and red warning lights strobed across the ceiling. Ortho moved with lightning speed, his fingers dancing across a holographic interface to shut it down instantly.
Grim froze in place, looking guilty. âI didnât do anything! The machine started it!â
Leona dragged a hand down his face, looking even more exhausted. âUseless. Can we get to the point before the cat blows up the dorm?â
Jack took out a small notebook, looking at the glowing consoles with a disciplined focus. âWe came to ask about Riddle. He collapsed yesterday evening, and we thought Ignihyde might have the biometric data to explain why.â
From behind a massive, multi-monitor setup, Idia peeked out. His sharp gaze darted between you and Jack like he was looking for a hidden weapon.
âWhy me?â Idia grumbled. âI didn't do anything. I was in my room. I have logs. My activity data is timestamped. I have multiple alibis in three different MMOs!â
âNo one is accusing you, Idia,â you calmly said.
âThatâs exactly what people say right before they drop a massive accusation!â Idia sighed, though he slowly rolled his high-tech chair closer to the center of the room. âFine. Iâll pull up the data. But if this turns into a blame-spiral, Iâm logging off and locking the doors.â
Idiaâs fingers blurred across his keyboard. Several holographic screens expanded in the air before you.
âMr. Zero EQ,â Idia began as he typed away. âDorm leader. High magic output. Extremely high stress baseline. Basically, his stats are always capped.â
Jack leaned in, squinting at the complex graphs. Leona stayed back, closing his eyes, but his ears were focused on Idia.
âAccording to the campus-wide monitoring systems,â Idia continued, âhis magic output spiked irregularly about an hour prior to his collapse.â
âWhat does that mean in normal words?â Grim asked, tilting his head.
âIt means something disrupted his internal equilibrium,â Idia explained, tapping a specific peak on the graph. âHis magical signature became unstable, like a server under a DDoS attack.â
âExternal interference?â Jack curiously asked.
âInconclusive,â Idia replied, shaking his head. âThere is no clear signature of a direct magical projectile or a curse. If someone hit him, they used a stealth build I canât track.â
Ortho hovered closer, analyzed the data alongside his brother. âHowever, we should consider that his physical condition may have contributed to the event. Biometric readings suggest he was physically vulnerable.â
âVulnerable how?â You asked.
Orthoâs eyes narrowed. âEnvironmental stress is a factor, but there is also a recorded intake imbalance in the hours leading up to the event.â
Idia waved a hand dismissively. âYeah, but thatâs super basic. Weâre obviously looking for a high-level magic anomaly, not something as mundane as what he ate.â
You frowned. âIntake? As in food and drink?â
âExactly,â Idia mumbled. âBut the logs show no confirmed record of Riddle consuming any regulated dorm beverages after the evening tea hour.â
Jackâs brows furrowed. âNo recorded intake at all?â
Ortho nodded. âCorrect. There is no logged data of him consuming liquids.â
âSo no poison,â you whispered, tapping your chin with your index finger.
âTheoretically, yes. Iâm just saying the logs are empty,â Idia added.
Leonaâs eyes flickered toward the screens, though he remained silent. You stepped closer to the holographic map. âCan you track his movement through the school before he went back to his dorm?â
Ortho nodded and pulled up a secondary screen. A faint, glowing line traced a path across a digital layout of the campus.
âRiddleâs pathing data shows significant movement toward the Octavinelle territory earlier that evening,â Ortho revealed.
Grim immediately pointed a claw at the screen. âI knew it! See! All roads lead back to the octopus!â
Idia looked uncomfortable, pulling his hood lower. âLook, that doesnât prove a crime happened. People go to the Mostro Lounge all the time.â
âBut it proves he was there,â Grim shot back.
Jack crossed his arms, eyebrows furrowed. âWhich aligns perfectly with the rumors we heard. He went to confront someone about the deals being made.â
Idia leaned back in his chair, sighing heavily. âLook, Octavinelleâs supply chains are a total nightmare to track anyway. They move a lot of product through the school. Itâs all encrypted and off-book.â
âWhat kind of product?â Grim narrowed his eyes.
âDrinks, food, custom contracts, whatever,â Idia said quickly. âIf he consumed something there, it wouldnât show up on my official campus intake logs. Itâs all private business.â
The suspicion settled heavily in your gut. Azul. It always came back to deals and hidden transactions.
âThere is also a minor note in the medical sub-file regarding a slight electrolyte imbalance at the time of collapse.â Ortho calmly spoke up.
Grim blinked. âElectro-what? Is that like a lightning spell?â
âSalt levels and hydration balance,â Ortho explained patiently.
Idia waved it off again, rolling his eyes. âAgain, Ortho, thatâs just basic biology. That wouldn't explain a full magical collapse. We need to find the glitch in the magic, not the salt in his blood.â
âSo, there was no magic attack?â you asked, summarizing the findings.
âNo confirmed evidence of one,â Idia replied, his fingers twitching toward his keyboard as if he was itching to return to his games.
âAnd no clear cause for the collapse,â Jack added, closing his notebook with a frustrated snap.
âToo many variables and not enough clean data,â Idia concluded, already starting to turn his chair away from the group.
âSo this whole trip was useless.â Grim huffed.
Leona pushed off the wall, walking toward the exit without a word, though his silence felt more pressed than usual. âI told you this would be a waste of time.â
You ignored the comment and looked at the screens one last time. âThanks for the help, Idia.â
Idia blinked, looking surprised that you werenât staying to argue. âWait, thatâs it? Youâre just leaving?â
âFor now,â you replied.
Ortho smiled politely as the group moved toward the door. âPlease visit again soon! I can prepare a presentation on hydration if you like!â
âAbsolutely not,â Idiaâs voice echoed as the doors slid shut.
The natural breeze on the main campus was a sharp contrast to the filtered oxygen of Ignihyde.
Grim looked up at you, his tail swishing. âSo, weâve got a path to Octavinelle. You think he got poisoned?â
âBut we still have no proof of an attack. And the magic spike suggests it wasn't just a simple poison.â Jack frowned.
Leona glanced at you from the side, his eyes narrowed. âAnd no evidence of a spell being cast on him. Interesting, isn't it?â
You nodded slowly. âSomething doesnât add up.â
"Looking at all the evidence so far, who do you think is the main culprit?" Jack curiously asked.
"Azul because he is always involved in shady business."
"Rook. He suggested visiting Azul, and if poison is involved...well, Vil..."
"Heartslabyul members. Things seemed strange there."
"Maybe the real culprit is still at large."
Voting ended onApr 19