I Became a Kindergarten Teacher for Monster Babies!

Dante was the first to move.

His shadows swirled around him, dark and hungry, as he stepped over the threshold and into the office. His eyes swept across the destruction, the overturned desk, the scattered papers, the black blood on the walls, and settled on the hole in the floor where the worm king had disappeared.

"He’s escaping," Dante said, his voice low and controlled.

King Orin appeared beside him, his golden eyes gleaming. "Then we go after him."

Count Vladimir nodded, his pale face set with determination. "If he escapes, who knows how many offspring he will produce? They will come back. They will harm more children."

Alpha Ryker growled low in his throat. "Then we make sure he doesn’t escape."

The warriors moved into action. Dante’s shadows stretched down into the hole, searching, seeking. King Orin shifted into his serpent form, his scales gleaming in the dim light. Count Vladimir raised his hand, summoning his vampire knights.

"We will find him," Dante said. "And we will end this."

He looked back at Alina, at her pale face, at Boo trembling in her arms, at Sir Santo standing alone in the center of the room with blood on his hands.

"Stay here," Dante said. "Keep everyone safe."

Alina nodded, not trusting her voice as Boo flew back toward her and hid in her arms. Alina held him like the baby he was.

Dante and the others descended into the darkness.

The room felt emptier without them.

Alina turned to look at Boo.

The little ghost was still trembling in her arms, his translucent body flickering, his cap tilted, his ribbon torn. His face was buried in her shoulder.

"Boo," Alina said gently, her voice soft. "Boo, look at me."

Boo shook his head, pressing closer.

"Boo, please."

Slowly, reluctantly, Boo lifted his head.

His silver eyes were wet with transparent tears, his face streaked with silver tracks. His lower lip trembled.

"Teacher," he whispered.

"Boo, why are you calling him dad?"

Boo’s eyes widened.

His body went still.

"Did I call him dad?" he asked, his voice small and confused.

Alina nodded.

Boo looked at Sir Santo, at the priest standing alone in the center of the room, his wings drooping, his robes torn, his hands still stained with black blood. Sir Santo was staring at Boo with an expression that made Alina’s heart ache.

There was so much pain in his eyes.

So much love.

So much longing.

Boo’s lower lip trembled again.

"I don’t know," he whispered. "I don’t know why I said that. It just came out."

He buried his face in Alina’s shoulder again.

"I’m sorry," he sobbed. "I’m sorry, Teacher. I didn’t mean to. I don’t know why—"

"Shh," Alina said, holding him closer. "It’s okay. It’s okay."

But it wasn’t okay.

Nothing was okay.

She looked at Sir Santo.

He hadn’t moved. He was still standing in the center of the room, his eyes fixed on Boo, his expression raw and broken. His wings had stopped glowing. His halo had dimmed. He looked less like a priest and more like a man who had lost everything and had just found something he thought he’d never see again.

The angels were watching him too.

They exchanged glances, whispered among themselves, but no one approached him.

No one knew what to say.

Sir Santo took a step forward.

Boo flinched.

Sir Santo stopped.

"Boo," he said, his voice hoarse. "I’m not going to hurt you."

Boo peeked out from Alina’s shoulder.

"Why did I call you dad?" he asked.

Sir Santo’s eyes filled with tears.

"I don’t know," he said. "But I’m not sorry you did."

Boo stared at him.

The angels stared at him.

Alina stared at him.

Everyone understood. The way Sir Santo looked at Boo. The way he had fought for him. The way he had lost control when the worm king appeared.

Boo was Sir Santo’s son.

Miss Kelly pressed her hand to her heart. "Oh," she whispered.

Gabriel’s face was pale. "Sir Santo..."

Professor Hobb picked up his clipboard, but his hands were shaking.

The angels bowed their heads, and Alina held Boo tighter.

Sir Santo just stood there, looking at Boo with eyes that held years of grief and hope and love.

"I’m sorry," he said finally, his voice heavy with something that sounded like shame. "I’m sorry you had to see me like that. It was not becoming of a priest."

Boo didn’t reply.

The little ghost had curled up in Alina’s arms, his translucent body flickering softly, his cap slipping over his eyes. His breathing, if ghosts breathed, had slowed, evened out, deepened. He was asleep.

Since the ritual at the ghost tower, he had been able to sleep like a normal child.

Alina looked down at him, at his small face relaxed in sleep, at the way his tiny fingers curled around the fabric of her dress. He looked so young, so fragile, and so innocent.

"Sir Santo," Alina said, looking up at the priest. "What is your motive with Boo?"

The room grew quieter. The angels shifted. The teachers exchanged glances. Even the warriors who had remained behind seemed to lean in, listening.

Sir Santo was silent for a long moment.

His eyes moved from Alina’s face to the sleeping ghost in her arms. Something flickered across his features, pain, longing, love, grief, all of it there and gone in an instant.

"I think you already know," he said.

Alina frowned at him.

"I don’t," she said. "I want to hear it from you."

Sir Santo’s jaw tightened.

He looked away, toward the window, toward the dark starry sky outside.

"The earth worms caused this," he said.

He didn’t wait for her reply or explain. He simply stated it, as if the words themselves were enough.

The room erupted.

"What?"

"The earth worms?"

"Sir Santo, what do you mean?"

"Oh my god," Miss Kelly whispered, her hand flying to her mouth. "Oh my god. That’s why he lost control."

Gabriel’s face was pale. "The worms took someone from him," he said as he looked at Boo.

Professor Hobb nodded slowly, shocked.

"But how can a priest have a son?" one of the angels asked, her voice trembling. "Priests take vows. They cannot—"

"Unless it was before," another angel said. "Before he became a priest. Before he took his vows."

The room fell silent.

Alina’s blood ran cold.

The pieces were falling into place.

Boo was Sir Santo’s son. It was confirmed.

Boo had been taken by the worms.

Boo had died.

That was why his soul was in the ghost tower. That was why Sir Santo sponsored him. That was why the priest looked at the little ghost with such pain, such love, such longing.