When the mask starts to crack, the monster underneath begins to smile.
---
8:01 A.M.
St. Gabriel's High – Main Courtyard
There's a change in the air.
Naomi Kisaragi walks across the campus, quiet and focused. She's not here to chat or observe anymore. She's here to dig.
Students make way for her like birds parting before a predator. Silas watches from a bench beneath a cherry blossom tree, book open but eyes locked on her figure.
She's changed her pace. Her rhythm. She's not gathering anymore — she's hunting.
Time to speed things up, he thinks.
---
10:22 A.M.
Principal's Office – Confidential Archive
Naomi flips open a file.
Silas Creed.
Age: 15.
No disciplinary actions.
Top 1% academically.
Participates in multiple extracurriculars.
Behavior: exemplary.
But then — something strange.
A sealed folder at the back. No digital copy. Handwritten.
She opens it slowly.
> Age 6: Transferred from a burned orphanage. Sole survivor. No relatives. Silence and catatonia for 78 days.
Age 7: IQ test result redacted. Psych evaluation flagged as "irregular" – details sealed.
Naomi narrows her eyes.
They buried this.
---
12:06 P.M.
Cafeteria
Silas sits alone again. Food untouched. He scrolls through Naomi's data stream on his burner phone — her recent digital fingerprint, her searches, the school network's motion logs.
He knows she accessed the sealed file.
He smiles.
Then someone drops their tray next to him.
"Yo."
A boy. Tall. Slouched posture. Grey hoodie. New face. Transfer student.
Silas looks up. Calm. Blank. "Hi."
"You're Creed, right? Silas?"
"That's me."
"I'm Kaito. New here."
He sticks out a hand.
Silas shakes it. "Welcome to the hive."
Kaito grins. "Heard about the killer. This 'Hollow' guy. You think he's a student?"
Silas tilts his head. "I think people see monsters wherever it's convenient."
Kaito raises an eyebrow. "You talk like a villain in a movie."
Silas chuckles. "Movies wish they were real life."
File created: Kaito – Watchlist.
---
3:55 P.M.
Naomi's Apartment
Naomi sits at her kitchen table, every light off except for the glow of her laptop.
She rewatches the Hollow's last message. Frame by frame.
Then pauses.
There. One second — in the reflection of a metal tray. A shape. No face. Just an outline. A figure in a school uniform. Her heart skips.
She cross-references the uniform.
Only one school in the area uses that exact color combination.
St. Gabriel's.
And only one student matches the height, weight, and gait in her surveillance footage.
Silas Creed.
She pulls out her phone. Sends a message to a trusted colleague.
> "Prepare arrest protocol. Unofficial. Unannounced. I'm two steps from confirmation."
---
6:40 P.M.
Silas's Studio
The lights are dim. Silas stares at a map — digital pins of every Hollow kill so far. He connects the lines. Then overlays one more.
Naomi Kisaragi's home.
He zooms in. Finds the local cameras. Taps in silently. Watches her, sipping cold coffee, flipping through his file.
He speaks softly to the dark.
"She's going to make her move."
His eyes flick left — to a new file.
> Contingency – Public Kill (Witnessed)
Target: Yuto Sakamoto
Crime: Child trafficking (unproven)
Status: Confirmed
Location: Train Station – Platform 3 – 8:45 PM
---
8:42 P.M.
Train Station – Platform 3
Yuto Sakamoto scrolls his phone, bored.
Then the lights flicker.
Just once.
Silas appears behind him, dressed in black, face hidden behind a blank, smooth mask.
Knife slides from his sleeve. Quick. Clean.
No screams.
Only silence.
The sound of a body hitting steel.
But someone watches — not a camera.
A man. Homeless. Hunched. Silent. Watching from the shadows.
Silas looks up. Meets his eyes.
The man stares in fear… and awe.
Silas raises a gloved finger to his lips.
Shhh.
---
9:19 P.M.
Naomi's Apartment
A video is uploaded. The kill is public. Unedited. Purposefully sloppy.
Naomi watches it with cold horror.
He wanted witnesses.
This isn't a mistake. It's a message.
She picks up her badge.
"I'm coming for you."
---
Final Scene
Silas washes his hands. Removes the mask. Looks at his reflection.
There's blood in his hair. On his collar.
He doesn't clean it off immediately.
He just smiles.
"Come closer, Naomi. I want you to see how far I'll go."
---
Final Line:
> "This isn't about staying hidden anymore. This is about showing the world what happens when the devil stops pretending to be human."
---