Chapter 76: Lucky Relief (2)

Everly knew Paimon.

He was the ninth of the seventy-two demons of Solomon, appearing as a hermaphrodite: a female head on a male body. He often wore a jeweled crown and rode a dromedary, from which three heads hung.

This demon was said to be proficient in science, art, and the arcane, claiming to hold the answers to all human knowledge.

And this information happened to match the items used in the summoning ritual: the three plaster busts, the crown-wearing “Lucky Relief,” and Gina’s perfect math score.

Could it be that someone, under the guise of the “Lucky Relief,” was cultivating Paimon’s followers at the school?

Gina had mentioned that the plaster figurines she possessed, as well as the Luck-Borrowing ritual, had all been taught to her by a teacher named Berlin—could this Berlin be the culprit?

Everly felt extremely irritated.

Eleventh grade was already such a busy year; academic pressure alone was overwhelming. Why did someone have to create all these chaotic distractions for her to deal with?

Everly had never taken Berlin’s class and didn’t even know what subject she taught. She asked Misha, who had a wider network, to find out more about her.

Misha probed discreetly in a few of her chat groups and returned with some information: Berlin taught visual arts, specializing in sculpture. Strangely, it seemed that almost no one at the school had actually taken her class.

“You see, Ms. Susie graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a sculpture major. Anyone interested in sculpture would take her classes. But Ms. Berlin? People have only vaguely heard of her; very few have ever actually met her.”

Horror Movie Survival Rule #1: pay attention to the hints.

Everly felt something was off. A living teacher teaching at the school couldn’t possibly leave no trace at all. She pressed Misha further: “Just ‘heard of her’? Your friends haven’t met Berlin either? Then who exactly did they hear about her from?”

“Wait a moment, I’ll ask around.”

Misha returned to the sofa, picked up her phone again, and jokingly chatted with her circle of friends.

Before long, she had learned that almost all information about Ms. Berlin had originated from the four members of the Supernatural Research Club. And it wasn’t just Gina who had recently excelled on the SAT— the other three club members had also achieved notable results:

First, the club president, Bright. He enjoyed painting, but his skills were amateur-level, and it had always been just a hobby. Recently, however, one of his new oil paintings in class stood out so much that the teacher recommended it for the Gita International Youth Art Competition. If it won, it would be an impressive accolade on his college applications, making it easier for Bright to get into his desired university.

Next was club member Baron. His physics grades had skyrocketed recently, earning him a spot on the school team to compete in the “Physics Bowl.” This is a prestigious global high school physics competition, and a strong performance could even allow Baron to gain direct admission to a top university.

Finally, there was club member Darcy. A freshman in 10th grade who had just joined the club, he was relatively relaxed since 10th-grade pressure wasn’t too heavy. His improvement wasn’t as dramatic as the other three, but he had suddenly mastered certain subjects that he had struggled with before.

When people asked these four students how they had improved, they all unhesitatingly produced small white plaster figurines and explained that the Lucky Relief and the Luck-Borrowing ritual had all been taught to them by Ms. Berlin.

“So, if we wanted to get a Lucky Relief from Ms. Berlin, how should we go about it?”

When someone asked this, the Supernatural Research Club members all exchanged knowing smiles. “After school, go try your luck in Science Lab No. 3.”

“Science lab? Are you sure it’s not the art room?”

Misha nodded.

Everly rested her chin in her hand.

Things were getting stranger by the minute. In U.S. high schools, students follow a rotating schedule, moving to different classrooms according to their timetable. Teachers, however, have fixed classrooms that also serve as their offices. Usually, the fastest way to find a teacher is simply to go to their classroom.

But the Supernatural Research Club members were telling anyone looking for Ms. Berlin to go to the science lab instead. Lab No. 3, of course, had its assigned teacher—Mr. Green, who taught chemistry. Yet after school, if no one had scheduled a consultation, teachers typically left early.

Why Lab No. 3? What had happened there? And why did Ms. Berlin seem to exist only in other people’s accounts—apart from the club members, almost no one had ever seen her?

Could it be that Ms. Berlin wasn’t even human…?

Studying was important, but only if the environment allowed for focus. So far, only a handful of students possessed the Lucky Relief, and there were no obvious serious consequences—but anyone with common sense could predict that once Paimon’s servants multiplied, ordinary people would be in for a world of trouble.

Everly decided to take some time to investigate the school’s history in the library, hoping to uncover anything unusual that had happened at Katak High.

She searched through the records from the school’s founding in 1975 up to the present but found nothing.

What—could it be that the usual horror-movie rule, “if you want to know something, check the local library,” didn’t work at Katak?

Everly scratched her head in confusion but didn’t give up. She crouched in a corner of the library, sifting through documents for a long while.

Perhaps noticing that she had been searching for a long time without finding the materials she needed, the school librarian, Ms. Mara—a short, plump, easygoing Black woman—approached Everly and asked what she was looking for.

“Oh, Ms. Mara, I’m working on my history assignment. The teacher asked us to pick a building and write about all its history from construction to the present. I chose the school’s science building, but I’m having trouble finding information on it.”

“The science building, huh… Well, for some reasons, there really isn’t much written material on it. Maybe you should pick another building for your report,” Mara said, her expression briefly flickering strangely when Everly mentioned the lab.

Everly suspected that Mara knew more than she was letting on. She put on a pitiful, pleading look, telling Mara that her topic had already been submitted and much of the preparatory work was done; if she abandoned it now, she worried she wouldn’t have time to finish.

Everly was attractive, and when she set her mind to drawing out sympathy, very few people could resist her large, clear, innocent blue eyes. Mara was no exception.

Through the teacher’s account, Everly finally learned of a piece of school history that had been erased.

It had happened ten years ago. That year, the school had hired a new visual arts teacher named Berlin Wilson. He specialized in sculpture, particularly excelling in creating plaster figurines.

“‘He’?” Everly noticed something odd in Mara’s wording and couldn’t help asking.

“Yes, ‘he.’ Mr. Berlin had long blonde hair, feminine facial features, and a slender build. At first glance, he could easily be mistaken for a woman, but he was indeed male.” Mara was patient and good-natured; she didn’t mind being interrupted and continued her story in response to Everly’s question.

“Other teachers had also suggested to Berlin that if he didn’t want students to mistake his gender, he could try changing his clothing style a bit, cutting his hair short, or growing some facial hair. But Mr. Berlin didn’t follow their advice. He continued dressing in somewhat feminine clothing as before. Over time, some people speculated that Berlin might have a gender identity issue—that in his mind, he saw himself as female. Others thought he was probably homosexual.”

“I don’t know the exact details. Back then, attitudes toward LGBTQ+ people were still very conservative. Some of the more old-fashioned staff were openly resistant. As a result, Mr. Berlin had a hard time at school, often subjected to pranks by students and exclusion from certain teachers…”

Perhaps due to prolonged isolation and the inability to vent his inner pain, Berlin eventually became fascinated with witchcraft.

That year, the school’s new science building had just been completed and wasn’t yet officially in use. Likely drawn by its quiet atmosphere, Berlin prepared some magical tools one night and conducted a summoning ritual in Lab No. 3.

“Did he succeed?”

Mara shook her head. “No, he failed. When the patrolling security guard discovered him, Berlin had already separated his head from his body, lying in the locked, sealed room. Thick blood covered the floor, smearing the carefully drawn magic circle beneath him.”

Because the room was a completely sealed space, and everyone who might have been suspected had an alibi, the principal, under strong pressure—and even stronger financial influence—declared the case a s

cide, and it was quickly closed.

But, obviously, it wasn’t s

cide. Berlin’s head had been torn from his neck by sheer force—no one could have killed themselves that way. However, with both of his parents deceased, unmarried and single, without even a partner, who would care how he died?

“What I’m about to tell you are just rumors, not verified. Just listen—don’t put any of this in your assignment, understand?” Mara seemed excited to share, and as she spoke, she couldn’t quite contain herself.

Everly nodded obediently.

Mara patted the student’s shoulder, clearly pleased, and continued: “Not long after the uproar over Berlin’s death settled, the science building was officially put into use. From then on, there were frequent reports of sightings of the deceased Mr. Berlin in Lab No. 3. At first, the principal didn’t believe the rumors—until one day, he saw Berlin himself.”

“The posthumous Berlin was still wearing his cherished women’s suit skirt. He held his own head in his hands, slowly pulling it toward the principal with a bizarre, eerie smile. Then, with force, he twisted his own head in place—two full rotations accompanied by the sound of bones ‘creaking and snapping’—before yanking it off entirely, enthusiastically demonstrating to the principal how a person could remove their own head. Terrified, the principal fled and immediately summoned an exorcist, who purified Lab No. 3 and suppressed the wandering spirit of Mr. Berlin.”

“And after that?”

“There was no ‘after that.’ The exorcist was highly professional. He held a grand requiem ritual at the scene. Once he left, Lab No. 3 became completely calm, and over time, the haunting rumors quietly faded away.”

“So you see, Everly, with something like that having happened, that building itself is ominous. That’s why I suggested you pick another place for your research,” Mara explained.