When Mina woke up, the sun had already set and it was dinnertime.

  The detectives had already left, and Nurse Sudo apologized to her sympathetically.

  "...I gave that young detective a piece of my mind. Sorry about that."

  Perhaps having calmed down after her nap, Mina smiled and said she was fine. Sudo gave Mina a brief examination.

  "You know... that detective... the older one. He told the doctor that you're not the kind of girl who would get a tattoo. He said it must be something other than a tattoo and asked them to investigate."

  "Really... Dr. Maekawa told me not to say anything to the detectives, so I kept quiet."

  Sudo nodded slightly.

  "It seems that old detective was the only one who believed your words."

  Hearing this, Mina looked relieved. But the next moment, she shook her head vigorously.

  "But still, I don't think I can trust detectives."

  When Mina smiled at Sudo, she laughed and left the hospital room.

  Mina was a little happy that Sasaki had listened to her occult-like story. However, when she thought about how hurt she'd been by that young detective, her anger toward the detectives hadn't subsided yet.

  Mina touched the black ring again.

  "This collar... what on earth is it?"

  Then she felt a faint scale-like texture.

  "Come to think of it, it did look like a snake."

  Mina stood before the mirror again and examined the pattern on her neck closely. She realized that this black ring wasn't completely black—it had stripe-like vertical lines here and there.

  "What do these vertical lines mean?"

  She touched the scales with her finger. Then a faint sound transmitted from the black ring.

  Tick... tick... tick... tick...

  "Is this the heartbeat of this creature?"

  As Mina observed for a while, she sensed a clock-like regularity in the sound.

  "Like a clock...?"

  Then, over time, she could see the scales gradually turning dark red, one by one.

  "Could this be... a countdown?"

  Mina became frightened and pulled her hand away from the black ring. She stared intently at it. The more she looked, the more ominous the pattern seemed. It was like a timer warning her that "the treasure hunt isn't progressing."

  "Maybe these vertical stripes are dividing lines indicating ten days... or one week."

  Mina shuddered and trembled.

  "Stop it... please..."

  Just as she was about to cry, the hospital room window rattled.

  "Who's there?"

  Mina glared at the dark window. Then a small boy with pure white silver hair suddenly peeked his face in. Mina frantically waved her hands.

  "T-that's dangerous! Which room are you from?"

  Then the boy punched through the window with his fist.

  "Hey, what are you doing?! The nurse is going to scold you!"

  Then he laughed "hehehe" as he stuck his wrist through the hole and unlocked the window. When he opened it, he lightly dropped into the room. Startled, Mina glared at him warily.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  He appeared to be around middle school age. His skin was slightly darker than wheat-colored, and he wore a white sweater with black pants. He had a military boot-like fashion with black leather boots.

  His face was round with bright, sparkling eyes. He had a round nose and wore a good-natured smile. Mina glared at him warily.

  "Who are you?"

  Then he looked at Mina with his sparkling eyes.

  "My name is Arcteryx. I'm an acquaintance of your mother's. Feel free to call me Arc."

  Arc said this and sat down on the edge of the bed. Mina reflexively pulled her feet back under the covers.

  "You're lying, aren't you? You're still just a kid."

  "I may look like a kid, but I've lived longer than you, Mina."

  Mina's eyes widened in surprise.

  "Wait, how do you know my name?"

  "Like I said, I'm an acquaintance of Mina's mother."

  Arcteryx said this with a laugh, but Mina didn't trust him one bit. Actually, there might not have been a single person Mina could trust right now.

  "I was asked to come to you if anything happened to your mother. Now, let's escape, Mina. Come with me."

  Arc stood up and beckoned toward the window.

  "Wait a minute, that's a window, isn't it?"

  Then Arc grinned and said:

  "That's right. We're escaping through the window."

  "Why?! What's the point of having a front door?"

  "There are all kinds of people lying in wait at the front entrance. That's why I came in through the window too."

  "What do you mean, lying in wait..."

  Mina turned a suspicious look toward Arc. Then Arc stared at Mina with serious eyes.

  "There are that many people after your treasure."

  "You say that, but aren't you one of them?"

  Then Arc smiled warmly and said:

  "I'm your mother's familiar."

  "A familiar?"

  Mina shouted in surprise.

  "You're a demon?"

  Then Arc put his index finger to his lips and said "shh."

  "Keep your voice down, Mina! The enemy is right nearby."

  Mina sat up and backed against the headboard.

  "I don't believe you! You're just saying incomprehensible things to throw me off, aren't you?"

  Just then, something squirmed beneath Mina's bottom. She grabbed the blanket.

  "Something feels weird under my butt?"

  The mattress was strange. At first it was just wriggling slightly, but gradually it began to undulate more violently. Seeing this, Arc's face turned pale and he shouted:

  "Hey! Get off that bed, Mina!"

  "Huh? What is it?"

  "There's something under the bed!"

  "Whaaat?!"

  Mina felt disgusted and stood up on the bed.

  Then there was a thumping vibration pushing up from below her feet.

  "Eek! This is gross! What is this?!"

  She hopped on one foot, jumping up and down on the bed. Then, to her shock, whatever had been pushing up from below burst through the bed frame.

  "Kyaaaa!"

  With a violent ripping sound, it tore through the mattress—it had suction cups like an octopus tentacle.

  "Eeeek!"

  Mina screamed at how utterly disgusting it was. The tentacle was pitch black and slimy.

  "What is this?! It stinks!"

  Mina screamed and bounced around on the bed. The black tentacle burst through the mattress, chasing after Mina.

  "Nooo!"

  At that moment, a slimy tentacle shot out and grabbed Mina's arm.

  "Eeek!"

  A chill ran down Mina's spine.

  Seeing this, Arc kicked off the floor, leaped up, and landed on Mina's bed. Then he drew the short sword at his waist and cleanly sliced off the tentacle that had grabbed Mina.

  "Th-thank you..."

  "It's not over yet!"

  The severed tentacle writhed at Mina's feet.

  "Eek!"

  Mina kicked the severed piece of tentacle away with her foot.

  "This thing is sensitive to sound—keep your mouth shut for a bit!"

  Arc said this as he sheathed his short sword.

  "For a bit—how long is... Kyaaaa!"

  Arc suddenly scooped Mina up in both arms. The classic princess carry.

  "H-hey! What are you doing?! Put me down!"

  "Can't you keep quiet for even a moment? I told you this thing is sensitive to sound!"

  Arc said this and stepped onto the window frame. Seeing this, Mina had a bad feeling.

  "Wait... wait! What are you planning to do?!"

  "Hold on tight!"

  Her bad feeling was right. Arc stood up on the very edge of the window frame while holding Mina.

  "Ahh! Wait! We're going to fall! We're going to fall!"

  Then Arc smiled gently at Mina.

  "We're not falling. We're descending."

  "What's the difference?!"

  Mina's eyes widened as she shouted, but Arc didn't care and leaped from the window while holding her.

  "Nooooo!"

  The moon was so beautiful.

  Mina prepared for death.