Upon gaining their attention, the masked man cleared his throat and opened his mouth.
"Apologies, I spotted a spider on the wall."
They all fell off their seats, with the exception of the girl with pink hair, who didn't react at all.
Soon after, the Grand Priest returned to his chair. "At any rate, I shall now perform the ritual. All questions must be answered after I finish," he requested. "Are there any objections?"
Everyone swiftly glanced at the gaping hole in the wall. Then they returned their gazes in sync, nodding their heads in disagreement.
The ritual finally commenced: the masked man picked up the object for the last time, holding the knob between his thumb and middle finger, his hand pointing downwards. He held it so that the pointy part of the cone was touching the middle of the paper.
Between the paper and the table, there was a green tray with raised sides. Its length and width, great enough to have the large collection of photos fit perfectly inside.
The purpose that the tray served soon became apparent, as the Grand Priest twisted the object with all his might, causing it to spin uncontrollably. It gracefully danced around the school photos, bouncing erratically off the walls of the tray.
'It really was a spinning top,' the spectators thought, tracking every movement of the mini-tornado, like a kitten to a laser pointer.
Once the 'ritual' was over, the Grand Priest removed the object with one hand, then waved his other hand over the photograph that the spinning top had stopped on. The audience watched closely as if he were a magician performing a trick.
When his hand moved over, the picture disappeared, leaving a square cutout in its place. The others wondered how he did such a thing, since the photo wasn't simply placed on top. If it was, it would have fallen off whilst the paper was being carried to the room, yet he managed to remove it seamlessly with his hand.
He took the photo to the back of the room, going back to the same position that he was in when the pink-haired girl first entered the room.
The spectators assumed that this marked the end of the ritual as he didn't say anything else for a minute. They promptly excused themselves from the room and headed to their respective classes that were starting soon. Leaving the masked man alone with the pink-haired girl.
"So. who's photo did you get?" She asked casually.
"It is forbidden for me to reveal that information to someone of your position," he responded. Although, after this delivering this line, his tone got more personal. "It isn't like you to be so concerned with these matters, is everything alright?"
The girl flinched at the question. "It's nothing, I just wanted to know, that's all," she said nervously, walking towards the exit as she reinforced this idea, "you don't have to worry it." Just as she was about to leave, the Grand priest addressed her directly.
"Lia, you've been acting rather strangely today," he said. "Did anything happen? You haven't spoken much since first walking through that door"
"No nothing happened!" Lia squeaked dishonestly, now starting to sweat.
"You understand that a single disruption in the ritual can render this whole process invalid," he warned.
"Yeah, sure," she said dismissively, glimpsing at the wall with the gaping hole punched into it.
"This ritual is imperative, as it will give us insight into the location of the Demon God Itfrit," he continued preaching. "His soul is currently residing inside of the person in this photograph and we must release him."
He started to walk back to the table, placing the picture on top of it with his back facing Lia. "Whilst, I'm not allowed to show this to anyone, it would certainly be a shame if someone were to take a peek behind my back."
She looked at him cluelessly, as he continued to stand there, twitching his head in the direction of the photo, subtly motioning her to look at it.
Ultimately, she took his bait, Strolling to the picture, then lifting it up and turning it around hastily.
The reason that Lia wanted the know who was in the picture so badly was because prior to the ritual, she was informed that the item in the box was magical and for the process to be successful, she would have to deliver it with absolute focus and no interruption. Hence, with her getting violently shoved to the floor, she worried that this may have interfered with the object's functionality. So she wanted to that this wasn't the case.
To her misfortune, the worst outcome had come to pass: her attacker's photo was staring directly at her with innocent eyes. "Him?!" She yelled turning around and glaring at Ray's unforgivable face, holding the photo between her fingertips with both hands.
Little did she know the Grand Priest noticed her outcry and was now towering menacingly behind her. "You seem to know him from somewhere" he commented.
Startled by his abrupt entrance, Lia made a high-pitched noise. "It-it's not what you think." She tried to think of an excuse, "I just know him from the boxing club."
The masked man interrupted her. "There's no need to lie to me, I already know that you met him on your journey here," he admitted calmly.
After Lia processed what he said, she conceded and nodded her head in silence.
"I see," he sighed, gently swiping the photo from her fingers, examining the name under it. "I suppose it could still be a coincidence," he said calmly.
"S-sorry," She whimpered.
"I'm not particularly upset. It isn't really your fault to begin with, and for all we know this Ray fellow could indeed be the Demon God Itfrit," he said, patting the girl's head trying to cheer her up. "All we can do now is meet him in person.