Victoria hugged her dad, but her eyes were filled with tears. She knew that her father was lying, yet she did not want to trouble him any further. The Truth Fairy whispered into her ear, "Victoria, I can clearly see lines of worry on your dad's face. If you want, I can use the dust of my separation wings to make him speak the truth."
Hearing the Truth Fairy's words, Victoria gently shook her head in refusal. Then she stood up, went to her room, and began packing for the Mexico trip. She also called Rozer and informed him that she was going on the trip, which made Rozer extremely happy, because he felt that, under the pretext of the trip, he would get to spend as much time as possible with Victoria—and perhaps, during that time, he might finally find the chance to tell her what was in his heart.
Meanwhile, emerging from the deep darkness of space, Aqua-Mortis had already entered Earth's atmosphere and was moving toward Mexico. Seeing the human world filled him with great astonishment, for he had not come to Earth for a very long time, and since the last time he had been here, much had changed in the world of humans. The roads now carried vehicles of a new age; towering buildings stood everywhere; bridges had been built; and humanity had advanced far in its progress. Slowly, he reached Mexico. Flying above, he looked down—Mexico's beautiful beaches and rural regions shimmered below him.
"You have celebrated happiness for far too long; now it is time to mourn. In any case, you do not value the countless resources that nature has given you. You keep destroying rivers and trees with your own hands. You think this Earth belongs to your father. You have forgotten your place—that you humans are merely tenants on this planet, misusing its resources. But now I will show you your true worth. It will give me immense joy when people start dying of thirst on all sides, when water will be right before their eyes, yet they will not be able to drink even a single drop. Hahahahahah…"
Thinking this while looking down, Aqua-Mortis then turned and began heading toward Mexico's water supply.
"So this is the city's water supply, from where the people here quench their thirst. The water that has given them life until now will put them all into the sleep of death." Aqua said as he reached the water supply and examined the system there.
Aqua-Mortis, a terrifying mass of blue and black smoke, hovered above Mexico City's main water reservoir. Below him lay a vast network of giant pipelines that quenched the thirst of millions.
"You humans had everything, yet you never showed gratitude," Aqua-Mortis said with a vile laugh. He waved his hands in the air, and from his body flowed a thick, purple-colored poison that streamed straight into the main supply tank. For a moment, the color of the water changed, and then it appeared clear again—but now that water was no longer nectar; it had become a draught of death.
After completing his task, Aqua-Mortis sat down on a nearby tree and began waiting for the next morning, when the poison he had spread would begin to claim the lives of the people of Mexico. All of this, meanwhile, was being watched by Samual, seated inside his ship, on a large screen.
As soon as the next morning arrived, the people of Mexico began following their daily routines, unknowingly consuming the poisoned water. Within just a few hours of using that water, chaos erupted inside Mexican homes. Anyone who drank it, or even poured it over their body, felt their throat begin to burn; deadly itching spread through their body, and their skin started turning blue.
Within hours, the sight of a once cheerful, lively city completely changed. Traffic jams formed everywhere on the roads, as thousands of people rushed toward hospitals at the same time. People began fighting among themselves. Hospitals ran out of beds, because more than half of Mexico's population had fallen ill due to drinking the contaminated water. Screams and cries echoed everywhere. Some unfortunate souls didn't even make it to the hospital—they collapsed and died right on the streets.
On the other hand, the scenes inside the hospitals were so painful that even a heart of stone would melt. A mother, clutching her five-year-old son in her arms, ran screaming toward the emergency ward. "Doctor! Please save my child—his breathing is stopping!" But the sight inside was even more horrifying. Patients were writhing in pain on every bed, while people lay on the floor vomiting. All the doctors were overwhelmed and busy, and because proper treatment could not be provided in time, within just a few hours that innocent child breathed his last in his mother's arms.
Cries and screams echoed everywhere. The city government was completely confused. People poured out onto the streets against the government, protesting with empty water pots and buckets in their hands.
"Give us clean water! Our children are dying!" Their rage touched the sky. Seeing the situation spiral out of control, the police fired tear gas shells and resorted to baton charges. Taking advantage of the chaos, some beasts began looting shops and homes. Humanity itself seemed to be dying. Sitting at a distance, Aqua-Mortis watched the deadly game he had unleashed succeed, and he was filled with immense joy.
Unaware of all these events, Victoria and her class had already departed from their college in New York toward Mexico. Roger hovered around Victoria throughout the journey. He believed this trip would be the perfect opportunity to confess what was in his heart, but he did not know that the moment they reached Mexico, they would be forced to face a horrifying truth—one that would shatter their hearts. After several hours of travel, as soon as their college tour bus crossed into the limits of Mexico City, they were welcomed not by joy, but by an atmosphere heavy with grief.
There was silence everywhere; only the sound of ambulance sirens echoed through the air. The college authorities had booked rooms in an old guest house, and the group headed in that direction.
"What is happening here? People are vandalizing the streets, ambulances are rushing past, people are crying. What on earth is going on?" the professor said, looking out from the bus.
Victoria and the other students were equally stunned by the sight before them, unable to speak a single word.
"Driver, take the bus straight to the guest house. It won't be safe to stop here right now," the professor said, turning toward the driver.
"But sir, people need our help. Don't you think we should stop the bus and help them?" Victoria asked her professor in disbelief.
"Look, Victoria, right now we don't know what exactly is happening here. It would be better not to get involved in the internal matters of the local people without understanding the situation. So sit quietly in your seat and let the bus go to the guest house," the professor said, calming Victoria down.
"Victoria, sir is absolutely right. Right now we don't know what's happening here, so it would be best to first go to the guest house, find out the whole situation, and only then decide what to do," Rozer said gently, trying to reason with Victoria from the seat beside her.
Hearing both her professor and Rozer, Victoria fell silent and could not say anything further. But the Truth Fairy was with her, and after looking out of the bus window, she had grown deeply emotional. She could not understand why Victoria, a secret Admiral Banker, was not helping the people.
After some more driving, their bus finally stopped in front of an old guest house, and all the students picked up their luggage and started moving toward the entrance.
The owner of the guest house was an elderly man, fear clearly etched across his face. The moment he saw the students, he was stunned, because he had assumed that the college trip would surely have been canceled in view of the current situation. In shock, he asked, "Why have you come here, children? Death hangs in the air of this place. The water has been contaminated; people are dying like insects. You should not have come here. I sent an email to your college early this morning the telephone lines are down."
Hearing the guest house owner's words, everyone stood frozen, exchanging shocked glances with one another.
"What are you saying? We didn't receive any email. And what exactly has happened in the city—and how?" the professor asked the guest house owner in disbelief.
"I don't know how it happened, but in the last twenty-four hours, death has been dancing in this city. People are dying, hospitals are overflowing, and the government has failed. There is killing, fighting, and chaos everywhere. Just this morning, I buried three children with my own hands—poor souls, only twelve to fifteen years old. Even the cremation grounds are full now. In such a situation, it is not right for you people to stay here," the guest house owner replied.
"But uncle, how did all this happen?" Victoria stepped forward and asked.
"Child, I don't know the details, but everything began this morning, the moment people started using the water. Perhaps nature is taking revenge on humans, because we never respected the rivers, we misused water, and now it feels as if nature itself is taking human lives in return for the injustice done to it," the owner said, breaking down in tears.
Hearing the guest house owner's words, everyone was shocked, but returning from there was no longer possible for them. On the television running inside the guest house, they saw the news that the Mexican government had sealed its borders. No one could enter Mexico anymore, and no one could leave.
"Oh God! Now we're all trapped here. Children, quickly go up to your rooms," the professor said, looking at the students. Then he turned to the guest house owner and added, "Look, we can't go back now. So you will have to let all of us stay here."
Hearing the professor's words, the guest house owner nodded in agreement, because he, too, had no other option left except to let the students stay.
But meanwhile, Victoria had already understood that she would have to help the people of Mexico. She was simply waiting for night to fall. What was going to happen next, how Victoria would face this crisis, and how she would stop Aqua-Mortis—only God knew.