“Hmm? What’s going on?”
Suddenly trembling in the Health Room’s interior, the Dean and the school nurse glanced around in confusion.
They felt an odd sensation that the shadows lurking around the Health Room were threatening them.
“Um, Dean… what’s this?”
“Let’s get out of here!”
The Dean, extremely sensitive about her position and safety, swiftly turned her body and dashed toward the entrance of the Health Room.
She thought there might be other students in the room, but for now, she prioritized protecting herself.
However…
The door was already engulfed in the burning darkness.
“I’ll break the door!”
The Dean summoned her mana and shot a spell toward the door. Even though her magic, being the best mage in the Academy, possessed intense power for a hurriedly completed spell…
The darkness wrapped around and swallowed the incoming magic, leaving the Dean gaping at the vanishing spell in disbelief.
“Wh-what is that…?”
Having never heard of darkness that devours magic, the Dean could only stammer in panic.
The darkness, rising from beneath the bed, suddenly reached the feet of both the Dean and the nurse, pulling them into the darkness in an instant.
“Sa-save me…!”
“Mooooom!”
Thud!
Struggling was futile, like sinking into a swamp. The two, tearfully thrashing, vanished, leaving behind an astonishing calm.
Then, Rin emerged from behind the curtains that surrounded the hospital bed. The expressionless girl stepped outside, and the darkness began to follow her as if in worship.
Meanwhile, a couple was walking down the corridor at the far end.
“Uh? Rin? You were here?”
“I came to look for you since you suddenly ran off crying earlier.”
Ares and Hare.
In that moment, Rin bit her lip tightly. A sudden killing intent was directed at Ares, and the darkness seemed to thrash beneath her feet, as if eager to bite him. But the girl simply closed her eyes and reached out her hand.
“You’re also a victim.”
In this world, the perpetrator was solely her.
The darkness rushed in and swallowed Ares. He tried to say something, but before he could even put up a proper fight, he was dragged away.
“R-Rin?”
A bewildered Hare.
Rin glanced at her, took a deep breath, and extended her hand towards her this time.
“I will never forgive you for betraying me and deceiving Daniel. So please don’t forgive me either.”
“W-wait a second, what the…!”
Hare dodged the incoming darkness with movements uncharacteristic of a student. But who could escape from the darkness?
At that very moment, her own shadow began to betray her and attacked, and ultimately, Hare vanished without even having a chance to use her powers.
“…”
Calmness once again enveloped the area around Rin. She continued to move forward with her indifferent expression.
“What. Who are you?”
“…Sen.”
Sen, with a blank expression, stood there pulling out a dagger. She was nothing like the small, cute child Rin once knew.
Witnessing this, Rin could feel how much that girl had grown in just a year after the Chokugen Faction destroyed her.
Yet, in this world, the girl could neither escape from the grasp of the Chokugen Faction nor advance her growth as an individual.
‘I…’
Unable to finish her thought, Rin slowly closed her eyes and reached out. As if understanding her master’s heart, the darkness relentlessly pursued the Chokugen girl without any additional adjustments.
Eventually, the girl with white hair disappeared.
‘I don’t know, I don’t have a family, but if I did, Daniel might feel like an older brother, right?’
The memory of Sen, who had no place to go during the winter break at Aios Academy, naturally resurfaced in her mind.
Rin had spent the break in her house with Sen, having various conversations.
‘In reality, since she’s a year older, I could think of her as an older sister, but… it seems like there’s more to our relationship than just that.’
Burying her feelings one by one for the small girl who was learning what her emotions were, Rin continued to move forward.
Eve, who was crying in the library due to sexual harassment.
Tana Krista, who had started being bullied.
Adriana, who was obsessively looking around her, fearing the prophecy of death.
Elise, who kept her distance from others due to her noble bloodline.
Hayun, who lived as a puppet under her family’s orders.
As Rin took steps, the memories she held shattered and fell apart. Friends with whom she had shared friendships, and who could also be considered rivals.
In a situation where she had to kill them all, Rin silently walked forward, maintaining the expression as though it were drawn on a canvas.
Without seeing their faces or hearing their voices.
The end, burdened with human hearts, continued to cover itself with mud.
The enormous Academy seemed to be cloaked in thick dark clouds, but it was far from a simple scene.
It felt as if a black paint bucket had been poured from the sky, coloring the entire Academy. The residents of Elgrid and the guards were already sensing the oddity of the Academy and approaching.
But even they would only be buried in darkness and forced to rest.
On the rooftop of such an Academy, a girl with reddish-brown hair was forced to take long puffs from the last cigarette she had been smoking. Knowing it was her last one, she couldn’t put it down.
Yet, tears welled up in her eyes, and Rin could feel that she was not the Mei she once knew.
Daniel McLean had also said.
At first, there was no girl worse than Mei. But as she became involved with Daniel and grew through hardships, she transformed.
A carefree and beautiful girl.
Rin had to admit that part of her heart harbored admiration for Mei.
She didn’t use her position as a childhood friend and first love to conquer Daniel McLean.
Instead, they had started with the worst first impression, but as Daniel developed a subtle romantic interest, Mei became a charming woman.
Rin gently closed her eyes and, just like she had with other friends, quietly murmured.
“You suit candy better than cigarettes.”
“You monster!”
Mei and her gang were also swallowed into the darkness. Knowing that this was a behavior she would repeat thousands, if not tens of thousands of times, Rin already felt she would never become accustomed to it.
“…”
Tilting her head, she looked down at the city from the completely blackened rooftop railing under the control of darkness.
Rin’s darkness continued to spread, swallowing the entire city of Elgrid.
“Ugh.”
The emotionless facade she had maintained began to crack. As her sight slowly blurred, Rin felt her entire body weaken and leaned against the railing, struggling to stay upright.
“Ugh! Ha… Gasp!”
Her breath became ragged.
Fearing that someone might see, she wiped her blurry eyes with trembling hands.
She had no right to cry.
As the calamity that brought about the destruction of the world, she could not show a weak side to anyone, and no one should pity her.
In this world, she was the absolute villain.
Villains do not fall.
They do not bury themselves in their own beliefs.
They do not have regrets.
Already, the number of people who had died at her hands had reached into the hundreds. Even though it was just a matter of sorting out the Academy, an incredibly heavy burden settled on her shoulders.
She tried to force herself up, but ultimately, Rin collapsed to the floor. This situation made her think that if she could die like this, it might be a bit easier.
In the end, the girl who had lived in a small countryside town couldn’t hold back her tears any longer and began to pour them out.
“Ugh… Daniel… Mom… Dad…”
The darkness enveloped its master.
Rin, who had locked herself away in the darkness so that no one could hear or see her, cried alone in silence.
*
Time passed more slowly than expected.
No matter how much she rested, it never felt like she had. Perhaps suffering from insomnia, even when she closed her eyes, she couldn’t sleep.
Would she manage to sleep just an hour a day?
Even as the heat of summer gradually increased, Rin didn’t take off the robe draped over her.
“…”
In the weather where not even a breeze blew, Rin’s gaze landed on a forest that held a darkness different from her own.
The Forest of the Demon Realm.
“I am fully prepared.”
When she had destroyed the continent in the first round, she delayed the attack on the Forest of the Demon Realm as much as possible. Because there were no beasts as powerful or dangerous as those there.
But this time, it was different.
Having led her army to conquer that place once, Rin planned to gain strength by conquering it first this time.
‘Otherwise, it’ll be tough.’
She felt herself weakening day by day.
No matter how long, it would take at least a year.
She anticipated that either her body or mind would break if she pushed beyond that limit.
With heavy footsteps, the girl headed toward the forest.
