The Victims
Name: Emil Russo
Age: 35
Blood type: B
Occupation: Farmer
Date of disappearance: August 1, 1997, at 9:11 a.m.
He told his brother that he was going to see a doctor because of severe pain in his neck. He left at 8:20, crossed the First Area, and entered the Grass Path. No doctor or patient at the hospital saw him, nor was he seen in any of the three areas. The villagers searched for him but found nothing.
Evidence
1. Crossing records prove that he was the only person to pass through the Grass Path at that time or during the preceding five hours.
2. He had argued with his brother, Arter, a week earlier over a reason the brother refused to reveal.
3. Fingerprints were found near the Grass Wall, as though someone had dragged him inside while he resisted. This indicates that the assault occurred at the edge of the Hospital Area, not in the middle of the path.
Name: Ahmad Jinan
Age: 19
Blood type: A
Occupation: Farmer
Date of disappearance: August 9, 1997
He was harvesting wheat with four friends at sunset. He then moved toward the edge of the field, claiming that he needed to relieve himself. After fifteen minutes, they went looking for him. At 6:30 p.m., they found his shoe near the Grass Walls, stained with blood.
Evidence
1. The blood was relatively fresh and belonged to the perpetrator, not the victim. The perpetrator's blood type was B.
2. On the same day, six people were attacked on the Grass Path and sustained superficial injuries. They did not see the attacker because of the dense grass, but all agreed that he had tried to inject them with a sedative.
3. Only thirty sedative needles existed, and five of them were found to be missing without any official record.
Name: Lucas Ferrer
Age: 23
Blood type: AB
Occupation: Guard
Date of disappearance: August 14, 1997, at 2:33 a.m.
After security was tightened and a curfew was imposed, Lucas found a letter outside his door from an "admirer" named Nora Hita, asking him to meet her in the library. He told a fellow guard everything, and the guard waited at a distance to give him privacy. He heard quiet murmuring for twenty minutes, followed by ten minutes of suffocating silence. After waiting another five minutes, he entered the library, but it was empty.
A resident alerted the guard, saying that he had seen someone dragging a body toward the grass. The guard ran there but found nothing.
Evidence
1. Nora was in the hospital because of the Medورا parasite, and Doctor Alexander Locke confirmed that she had not left her room all day.
2. The letter was not written in Nora's handwriting.
3. The man who alerted the guard was never found afterward. When summoned, he claimed that he had not seen the perpetrator clearly.
4. Before the incident, Lucas had been in the hospital receiving treatment for an injured ankle. He told patients and nurses that he was attracted to a girl he had never spoken to—most likely Nora.
Name: Saleh Zouaghi
Age: 40
Blood type: B
Occupation: Doctor
Date of disappearance: September 1, 1997, at 2:00 a.m.
He sent the nurse to retrieve equipment from the nearby storage room. When she returned fifteen minutes later, she found the patient asleep and Saleh missing. The room had only one corridor leading in or out.
Evidence
1. A hidden opening was discovered in the wall beneath the bed.
2. The guards were certain that no one had entered or exited.
3. A patient saw a doctor resembling Saleh leave the area for no apparent reason one hour after the disappearance.
4. The village chief was in the area, but he was absent for one hour before and one hour after the incident. He refused to explain this, citing privacy.
Name: The Murgal Family
Ages: 20, 8, and 50
Blood type: A, all of them
Occupation: Farmers
Date of disappearance: September 7, 1997, at 7:40 p.m.
The father was on duty at the hospital. Inside the tent were the mother, the daughter, the youngest child, and the daughter's friend, Piora. Suddenly, the tent filled with dense smoke that burned the eyes. Piora fled in panic and heard the family groaning in pain before their voices abruptly stopped.
When she returned, she found the mother and daughter with their throats cut from ear to ear, while the child's body was missing. She fainted. By the time witnesses arrived after hearing her screams, the daughter's body had also disappeared.
Evidence
1. Piora did not see the perpetrator, but she believed there had been several of them.
2. Bloody footprints belonging to a single person extended for several meters before disappearing into the grass.
3. After the crime, the father argued with the village chief in the chief's tent and left angrily. Neither of them revealed the reason.
4. The mother's vocal cords and airway had been severed, but she survived for several minutes afterward.
Name: Giorno Teil
Age: 25
Blood type: O
Occupation: Guard
Date of disappearance: September 10, 1997, at 9:00 a.m.
He was conducting a secret investigation, questioning villagers and searching the grass. He suspected someone, but refused to name them. His colleague found him eavesdropping on the chief's tent. Giorno noticed that the suspect showed the expression of someone who had heard something, then ran toward the grass, shouting at someone to stop.
The guards could not keep up with him. Minutes later, he emerged staggering, his clothes covered in blood. He collapsed and died without giving a statement. The guards then entered the grass. An hour later, one of them emerged carrying Giorno, whose neck had been pierced by a sharp surgical knife. By then, it was too late.
Evidence
1. Five people were monitoring the chief at the time of the incident.
2. Giorno used his own blood to draw incomplete Morse-code symbols: "THREAT" and "BETRAYAL FROM THE…"
3. His tent burned before anyone could secure it or save his notes. The only fragments recovered read: "GUARD," "NOT ONE," "DO NOT TRUST," and "IN THE HOSPITAL."
4. Two nurses confirmed that Alexander was treating a patient in the hospital when Giorno ran toward the grass.
Name: Michael Bandit
Age: 12
Blood type: AB
Occupation: Unemployed
Date of disappearance: September 16, 1997, at 4:05 p.m.
He entered the "Main Base" inside the grass with several children. At 5:00 p.m.
Afterward, they all agreed on one thing:
A man wearing bloodstained medical clothing, a mask, a cap, and large goggles was carrying a small knife. He seized Michael and threatened to kill him if the other children moved.
Evidence
1. The children confirmed that the perpetrator held the knife in his left hand.
2. A farming tool stained with AB-type blood was found.
3. A child who had fallen behind the others noticed, from a distance, a man in worn clothing with a light backpack sneaking into the grass.
Survivors
Name: Johnny Bandit
Age: 18
Blood type:AB
Occupation: Farmer
Date of disappearance: September 17, 1997
Date of return:September 18, 1997
He left at 4:00 a.m. without the guards' knowledge and went toward the last place where his brother had been seen. He carried defensive tools and lock picking equipment.
Inside the grass, he was injected in the neck and lost consciousness. He awoke bound, blind, and suffering from severe pain in his eyes. He freed himself and emerged from a cell into a maze of narrow, branching corridors and locked doors. He called out his brother's name but heard only muffled crying and inhuman sounds.
He climbed a staircase and found himself among the grass. He escaped several hours later and was seen by guards from the agricultural area at 8:30 a.m.
Medical Examination Results:
His eyes had been deliberately removed using an unidentified instrument. The skin on his right foot had been flayed, and portions of the muscle had been removed.
He is suffering from severe psychological trauma: prolonged silence, crying, and panic whenever he is questioned about the place.
Name: Ryan Smiler
Age: 20
Blood type: A−
Occupation: Doctor
On August 15, 1997, at 2:00 a.m., he experienced sleep paralysis. Through the opening of his tent, he saw a masked man matching the children's description dragging a deformed human figure toward the grass. The figure had no limbs, and its eyes were positioned unnaturally.
He did not report it because he believed it was a hallucination caused by sleep paralysis.
Investigation Notes
There was no report of anyone disappearing that night, and no footprints were found because the ground was soft. Ryan insists that the figure was human and had undergone surgery, not that it was a creature.
Suspects
Arter Russo:
Age: 29
Blood type: B
Occupation: Farmer
Relationship to the Victims:
Emil Russo:
The brothers had argued since arriving in the village six years earlier over a bag they had inherited from their father. A few days before his disappearance, Emil obtained a tent in the Medical Sector. Arter concluded that Emil had sold the contents of the bag. Arter denied knowing where his brother was and claimed that he had not left his tent.
Ahmad Jinan:
Arter was jealous of Ahmad's promotion and higher wages. He left the field angrily before the incident and was seen entering the First Sector at either 7:20 or 7:29 p.m., depending on the witness.
Lucas Ferrer:
Arter knew about Lucas's feelings for Nora while Lucas was receiving treatment in the hospital between August 5 and August 10. After leaving, Lucas began frequenting the Black Library despite having shown no previous interest in books. When asked why, he refused to explain. Neighbors confirmed that he did not leave his home until eight hours after the crime.
Saleh Zouaghi:
They had formed a close friendship that began during Arter's treatment. Saleh gave him medical clothing after Alexander suggested it. Arter claimed that Saleh had invited him to a secret conversation, but that he had not attended.
The Murgal Family:
Arter owed the family agricultural tools and had a bitter dispute with the father. The village chief had ruled unfairly in the father's favor, causing Arter to hate both the father and the chief. Arter was found after the crime visibly tense, with trembling hands and mud on his sleeve. A search of his tent revealed only his farming tools.
Giorno Teil:
Giorno was one of Arter's primary suspects and had been following him. Arter reached the hospital one hour after Giorno's death.
Michael Bandit:
Arter passed near the base and drove children away from the fields. He was out of sight between 4:40 and 5:20 p.m., during the children's screams, and returned calm, refusing to participate in the search. The children's description of the perpetrator did not fully match him—the perpetrator had used his left hand—although some children said that the man's build slightly resembled Arter's.
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Adrian Volk:
Age: 50
Blood type:B
Occupation: Village chief
Relationship to the Victims:
Emil Russo:
He showed suspicious interest in the brothers from the moment they arrived and tried to buy the contents of their bag. He later made Emil a final offer: a tent in the Medical Sector, along with food, wages, and shelter for life. Three days before the disappearance, doctors noticed masked guards repeatedly entering Emil's tent. Adrian was shocked on the morning of the disappearance, then led the search and imposed the nighttime curfew.
Ahmad Jinan:
He disliked Ahmad's insolence and resented his promotion. He had been monitoring Ahmad in the preceding days. On the day of the disappearance, he was in the Agricultural Area with guards—an unusual location for him—before the shoe was found. He claimed that he had been monitoring Ahmad.
Lucas Ferrer:
He was among those who heard Lucas confess his feelings for Nora. He visited Lucas's hospital sector under the pretext of monitoring Arter. On the day of the incident, he reduced security around the library and strengthened it near the hospital. Lucas disappeared the following night. Adrian later admitted that changing the security arrangements had been foolish.
Saleh Zouaghi:
They were close friends. Saleh told his colleagues that he had tried to discuss the crimes with Adrian, but Adrian always changed the subject. Adrian mourned Saleh and participated in the search.
The Murgal Family:
He had a longstanding dispute with the father, who had been trying to frame a neighbor without evidence. At the time of the crime, Adrian was seen entering the adjacent library with Alexander. He later emerged alone, visibly frightened, and began the search after the guards surrounded the tent and ordered the residents back to their tents.
Giorno Teil:
Giorno was his first suspect. He monitored Giorno's tent and recorded notes, so Adrian reassigned him to patrols and later removed him by force. Giorno then recruited soldiers and farmers to continue monitoring Adrian.
Michael Bandit:
Adrian entered the grass with his guards while the children were fleeing, claiming that he was inspecting the crops. He emerged an hour later with dry grass on his clothes. No witness saw him with the child.
Alexander Locke
Age:36
Blood type: B
Occupation: Doctor
He writes and eats with his right hand, but one nurse noticed that he switched hands during complex operations.
Relationship to the Victims:
Emil Russo:
Their relationship was merely that of a doctor and patient. Shortly before the disappearance, Alexander urged the village chief to purchase the contents of the bag and offered Emil his tent. He denied having seen the bag's contents, while an informant claimed to have heard him discussing them. At the time of the incident, Alexander was alone in the chief's tent, which stood beside the grass. He did not leave for four hours.
Ahmad Jinan:
He treated Ahmad's foot after it was bitten by a mutated rat. He kept Ahmad alone in the isolation tent for four hours. Muffled screams were heard, and Ahmad emerged wearing bloodstained clothing. Alexander said that his condition was stable.
On the day of the disappearance, Alexander's tent was near the grass in a poorly monitored area. Nothing incriminating was found inside it: anatomy books, notes containing bloody drawings of human body parts, used gloves, and empty bottles.
Lucas Ferrer:
He was among those who heard Lucas confess his feelings. People saw him speaking with Arter and Lucas before the two moved away from him. On the day of the incident, Alexander took the day off and went to the library. No one knew when he left, and he was not seen in his tent during the curfew. However, he was found there the following morning.
Saleh Zouaghi:
Saleh repeatedly complained to the chief that Alexander secretly removed pieces of patients' flesh and bones and conducted experiments. His complaints were ignored. Saleh announced that he would confront Alexander, but later fell silent and avoided him. He even injured himself to avoid working with him, despite the fact that they were two of only five people capable of performing surgery.
On the night of the disappearance, Alexander was supposedly in the hospital and claimed that he had remained in a distant ward. However, two nurses confirmed that he had been absent for a period that roughly coincided with the time of Saleh's disappearance.
The Murgal Family:
Two days before the crime, Alexander was seen near the grass with Adrian. Adrian appeared tense and frightened, and unreliable witnesses claimed that he had been begging Alexander.
At the time of the crime, Alexander entered the library with Adrian and remained there after Adrian left. Later, he examined the bodies as one of the first doctors to arrive and wrote a brief report, refusing to expand it.
Giorno Teil:
Giorno had noticed that needles were missing from storage and asked about it in front of the guards. Alexander ignored him. Five days before his death, Giorno broke into Alexander's tent but found nothing.
One hour after Giorno's death, Alexander was seen in the First Sector. Fifteen minutes later, Giorno's tent caught fire. Alexander watched the fire without helping and said that he had forgotten something in the library. Readers confirmed that he had been there before the fire.
Michael Bandit:
The chief summoned Alexander on the day of the incident. He was seen speaking with the guards near the grass, then disappeared for one hour and twenty minutes. He appeared from the direction of the hospital more than an hour after the incident, claiming that the chief had ordered him to inspect an urgent matter inside the grass, but that he had found nothing.