Chapter 31: The Curtain Falls: The Shock of Crystal Lake

Flames shot into the sky and spread to other abandoned classrooms within moments.

At this time, a large group arrived—after all, the firelight and screams were highly conspicuous.

Under the sheriff’s command, crime scene tape was stretched, and the fire department began extinguishing the blaze; in America, each state had its own regulations and broad autonomy, and outside major cities, there were no professional firefighters—most were paid volunteers.

For instance, the town’s fire brigade had been funded collectively by the residents of Kelan Town, and they paid the firefighters’ wages for each fire; under these conditions, the firefighters’ efficiency was still acceptable.

The fire was quickly extinguished, and the bodies inside were now revealed.

The sheriff appeared tense and immediately began inspection; meanwhile, Yulunca was guarded by several officers, and David and his mother were also present, negotiating with the officers.

After a moment, the sheriff, having found no obvious wounds on the charred bodies, exhaled deeply. “Looks like it wasn’t intentional—not that guy’s doing. Thank goodness, thank goodness.”

After arranging for the forensic examiner to conduct an autopsy, he immediately turned to the sole witness, Yulunca, and ordered officers to check identities and verify the victims.

He then looked at Yulunca and began questioning her.

Yulunca began her performance—tears welling, eyes red, clearly terrified; the sheriff, seeing this, couldn’t help but soften. After all, most adults held goodwill toward children.

This was also one of the key reasons some malicious children could commit crimes without being discovered.

After a moment, soothed, Yulunca finally stammered out, “...I...and Esther...”

“What? Esther? That was Esther?!”

David, standing beside Jenny, froze instantly and shouted.

Yulunca nodded timidly. “She said she was your daughter, thought we’d be sisters someday, and wanted to play with me. We came here, but while playing, Esther fell and broke the spray paint, which... ignited...”

“I... I was so scared...”

Yulunca trembled violently, tears streaming uncontrollably, her fear plainly visible.

The sheriff’s suspicion vanished at once—he had indeed doubted, given that this school had recently seen two murders: one a corpse in the lake, the other a student jumping from a building; the situation was still sensitive.

But Yulunca’s terror now was absolutely genuine—he swore by his twenty years of police experience!

So, this might just have been an accident.

At this moment, David suddenly ran to the bodies, his expression agitated, scrutinizing them closely, muttering “Impossible...”

He stood up again and ran toward the dormitory building, but halfway saw Louis and Emma.

“Louis, Emma, have you seen Esther?”

“No, she said she was going out to play and never came back.”

David collapsed to the ground at that moment, eyes red, unable to hold back his grief.

It was clear—he was truly heartbroken.

Though Esther had only been adopted recently, such a well-behaved child burned to death—it was hard not to be devastated.

Louis watched this scene, his lips twitching slightly.

Emma, by contrast, had maintained a perfectly steady expression throughout.

“Dad, what happened to Sister Esther?”

“...Esther...”

After a while, the group returned to the scene, but the sheriff stared sternly at David. “David Grossman, have you ever abused Esther?”

???

David looked utterly bewildered.

The forensic examiner approached, face grave. “Sheriff, something’s off—those marks were inflicted long ago. But that’s not the key point; her teeth are severely worn. She wore braces. I suspect she’s a... dwarf. Of course, further instrument tests are needed to confirm.”

Marks? Dwarf? Something’s wrong here!

The sheriff placed his hand calmly on David’s shoulder, expressionless. “Alright, Mr. Grossman, you’ll need to come with us to the station.”

David: “...”

Tonight, everything felt utterly surreal.

Watching David being taken away, Louis and Emma were left in Angela’s care.

That night, Angela forcibly required them to sleep in the same room with her, claiming it was for safety.

Lying in bed, Louis didn’t think about Esther— for him, the matter was over. What was there to say about the dead?

He was thinking only of the three new occult arts he’d acquired. Tonight, the Fire Art had already proven its worth—and this was merely the beginner stage; in the past, such techniques were mere circus tricks.

Once mastered, it would become true Fire Taming: one could enter flames unharmed without needing secret oil for protection.

After returning, he must practice more—master it as soon as possible.

As for the final, expert-level Fire Art, Louis had no hope—simply because reaching that level required magic power, and he still had no cultivation method for it.

If Fire Art was this wondrous, what of the Dog Art and the Concealment Art?

The Dog Art required selecting dog breeds, which would cost money—substantial sums.

The Concealment Art, however, could be practiced now, and refined later once he gained magic power.

Louis mentally planned his cultivation of the three arts, gradually falling into deep sleep.

Beside him, Emma suddenly opened her eyes, staring at Louis—her gaze a mix of malice and fear, with a faint thread of recognition; her tongue brushed her lips. After a moment, she chose to close her eyes again.

It wasn’t until three days later that David was released.

He was released because everything had been clarified.

Esther’s death was ruled an accident.

But the most crucial point was the forensic examiner’s conclusion: Esther was indeed a dwarf, and her age was far from that of a child.

This made the matter far more complex. After searching through the remaining items, they successfully uncovered clues pointing to the Sarn Institution. After contacting them, the truth came to light.

That was why David was released today.

The sheriff patted David’s shoulder, still dazed and muttering “How could this be?”—he felt genuine sympathy.

Anyone who adopted a mentally unstable, possibly mass-murdering dangerous dwarf into their home, who lived with their children, called them “Dad,” and acted cute would surely feel a chill of dread.

Looking at Angela and the others who had come to pick him up, he said, “Alright, the matter is resolved. Take him home.”

At that moment, the phone rang. The sheriff answered—and turned pale with shock.

“What? The Crystal Lake incident has started again? It’s reached Crystal Town?! How many dead? More than ten?!”

Louis, who had been watching David’s misfortune, froze instantly.

Did I just hear a key word?

Crystal Lake... Crystal Town... more than ten dead...

Fuck!

JASON!!!

(End of Chapter)