Ch.84Chapter 84

I’ve been struggling with guilt lately.

Following Rosemila’s advice, I did ask myself if I could just close my eyes and kill once a year, but I was shocked when Ourr agreed so easily.

It was maddening.

The way she comforted me, telling me not to feel sorry, only intensified my guilt.

I regretted bringing it up. I wasn’t looking for consideration, but receiving it this way felt strange. Isn’t it odd for someone who’s going to die to worry about the person who will kill them?

Something felt fundamentally wrong, and I couldn’t bear it.

So today I was repeating my research, still hoping I might be wrong, when I heard a scream from somewhere.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

What are they doing near the Research Building? I was about to ignore it, but the voice sounded unusual, so I pushed my chair back and stood up.

I opened the window and looked outside. Whatever happened must be in a blind spot because I couldn’t see anything from here. As I turned back, puzzled, the landline on my desk started ringing.

Wondering what was happening, I picked up the receiver.

“Hello, Professor Yuria from the Research Building.”

[“Professor Yuria, you said it was safe, so what’s this situation now? How can you just sit in your lab without handling this? Does that make any sense to you?”]

It was the voice of an older professor who worked under the Dean of the Academy. My brow furrowed as he started interrogating me before I could even wonder why he was calling.

“What are you talking about?”

I tilted my head, completely confused about what was supposedly safe and what I needed to handle.

The person on the other end raised his voice, as if I was the one being difficult.

[“The Demon God, I’m talking about the Demon God. I know about your achievements, Professor Yuria. I admire how incredibly strong and capable you are at such a young age! But isn’t this clearly your responsibility? You said it wouldn’t cause harm, so we allowed it to stay at the Academy as equipment, but if this continues, we’ll have no choice but to dispose of it!”]

“…Demon God? You mean Ourr?”

[“Is there another Demon God besides that one? Right now it’s wandering around the Academy emitting aura, and students heading home are suffering because of it. If you don’t want to shorten the students’ lifespans further, either kill it quickly or return it to its original state! I’ll address your responsibility later!”]

Click.

The angry voice was cut off. He had done all the yelling and hung up before I could respond.

The disconnected phone made a long beep. I put down the receiver and looked for my cell phone.

Why Ourr? Ourr said she was going to a study group with the kids, so this couldn’t be right.

I called Ourr. Since she had her phone, I thought she’d answer right away. But the call didn’t go through. It suddenly disconnected midway.

When I tried calling again, I only got a signal indicating the device was turned off. She must have turned off her phone completely. Or maybe she had broken it.

That thought sent a chill down my spine.

I shifted my trembling gaze. I put on my coat and grabbed my ring. Then I quickly left the lab and rushed out of the Research Building.

“Ourr, where is Ourr…?”

I tapped on my phone.

[“Hello…? Professor?”]

The next person I called was Sera. I had called one of the students from the study group where Ourr should have been. I desperately asked the oldest among them.

“Hey, Sera. Do you know where Ourr is? Wasn’t she with you?”

[“Um, I’m walking home with Aria. Ourr left with a second-year student who wanted to join the study group and said she’d take him to you, Professor.”]

“A second-year student?”

The first person who came to mind was the blue-haired female student who was always next to Ourr during second-year lectures.

“Was it a female student?”

[“No, a male student. I think he had dull silver hair…”]

“Ah, thank you.”

I thanked her, but I couldn’t picture who it might be. I furrowed my brow, thinking it must be a student without distinctive features.

I turned my head, trying to figure out where Ourr might have gone. Just as I was considering following the path to the club room, I heard sirens in the distance.

Police and ambulance sirens mixed together, creating a disorienting noise.

Since that was the direction I was planning to go anyway, I headed that way. At the entrance to the alley leading to the building with the club rooms, I could see someone collapsed on the ground.

“What happened here?”

“Ah, Professor? …We found a student with a knife stuck in their body—”

As the police officer was explaining the situation, something seemed off.

“Why are the bloodstains like this…? Is the student dead?”

“No, there was a knife in their side, so we put them in the ambulance, but why do you ask?”

At my mention of bloodstains, the officer fell silent and looked at what I was seeing.

“Then whose bloodstains are these?”

I could see that blood had dripped. But who did all that blood belong to, soaking the alley so thoroughly?

The blood hadn’t fallen in a static pattern. It looked like it had been wildly splattered. Moreover, judging by the amount of blood, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone had died.

“Officer, can I see what color uniform the student was wearing?!”

I asked urgently as the keyword “second-year” flashed through my mind. The officer shook his head.

“Please calm down first. The ambulance had to leave, so I can’t show you, but I’m certain it was a white uniform with red accents.”

“—Red.”

My eyes widened.

I couldn’t understand why someone would have a knife in their side. Maybe to claim self-defense? But Ourr wouldn’t do something like that.

More importantly, if Ourr was the owner of this blood, that was a problem in itself. It was already delicate to kill her once, but if she had died more than once or twice, the staff member’s complaint call made sense.

“Ourr, Ourr…”

My head was spinning. I couldn’t think clearly. I staggered away from the scene quickly.

If Ourr had died and another personality had emerged, there would be no point in going to the club room.

I moved toward the commotion. Where, where should I go to find Ourr? I walked forward, embracing my anxious heart.

Then I spotted a woman sitting in front of the Academy’s main gate.

Students couldn’t approach because the Demon God was blocking the way. “What is that?” they wondered, but it wasn’t something they could just pass by. Just getting close enough to touch its aura made them back away—it was that strange of a Demon God.

Everyone could only stand back and stare at the main gate, unable to approach because of the unsettling sensation.

I clenched my teeth, realizing my fears had come true, and furrowed my brow.

With trembling hands, I took out my ring and put it on. My mind raced with conflicting thoughts. I spent a long time wondering what to do.

I was curious about what expression Ourr had made when she died from someone’s malice—after telling me she was fine with dying anytime to accommodate me—but my heart ached too much to want to know.

When I put the ring on my finger, I felt a slight drain of mana from my body. This was because it temporarily created a vessel similar to a Demon God’s, emitting aura around me.

This functioned as a barrier. It had none of the evil effects of a Demon God, only the benefit of being able to hold more mana and protecting me from the negative influence of a Demon God’s aura.

As I approached, Ourr—no, the other Demon God—looked at me with an expression that suggested everything was boring.

“—Ourr.”

At my words, the Demon God blinked and quietly asked:

“Is that my name? I didn’t define myself that way.”

The expression was that of someone bored. Though the face was indifferent, I somehow felt overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

Is this how prey feels when facing a predator?

Among all the Demon Gods I had met so far, none had been like this one. I wondered if this was what it felt like to meet a Demon God who had reached the level of Swordmaster.

“It’s that look again.”

The Demon God murmured softly.

That gaze was directed not at the Academy but at me.

“Eyes that fear me.”

“So you remember that time.”

“Of course I remember. It was my last memory.”

The Demon God, apparently wanting to talk with me, continued speaking without taking any action.

I thought I might as well satisfy my curiosity.

“What are you? Do you know about the existence of ‘Ourr’ I’m talking about?”

“Not exactly. I just know there’s something different from me.”

There are many types of dissociative identity disorder. Starting from whether the personalities are aware of each other to whether they share memories—considering all these factors, there’s clearly more than just one or two types.

This one was aware. I also knew it didn’t share memories. I could confirm that Ourr and this Demon God were separate personalities.

Ourr always said she needed to wear large clothes because she never knew when she might grow, but seeing the uniform that perfectly fit the Demon God’s body made my lips tremble.

And the red blood staining the white shirt beneath made my heart quiver.

“……”

“So.”

While I was unable to say anything, the Demon God looked at me with an expressionless gaze.

“Are you going to kill me this time too?”

At that emotionless voice, my heart sank deeply.