Chapter 36 Mental Burden II

The night was cold. The leaves danced with the cool night breeze, and the moon reflected on the surface of the pond water, it was so beautiful.

Not far from the pond, there was a grove. A swing was tied between the trees. On that swing, a boy with a wide smile hummed happily yet sounded creepy.

The boy swung back and forth on the creaking swing, his eyes glinting in the moonlight.

His pale face was illuminated by the silvery glow, and his brown hair fluttered in the cool night breeze. The grove around him seemed to close in, the trees casting eerie shadows with their twisted branches.

As he swung, the boy's humming grew louder, and the melody took on an unsettling tone. The leaves rustled in response to the strange melody, and the pond water seemed to be still, as if holding its breath.

Despite the chilly night, the boy's wide smile never faltered.

He swung higher and higher, his laughter mixing with his haunting humming.

The grove, once a serene spot in the park, now seemed to have an air of unease.

"Ah… After such a long time, I can start my plan…"

Julian Klein, his chuckles echoing through the grove like a maniac, finally descended from the swing and walked toward the pond. The moonlight danced on the water's surface, casting a silvery glow.

As he peered into the pond, something strange happened. His reflection in the water seemed to be shifting.

At first, he saw a boy with brown hair, himself, just as he expected. But then, in a blink of an eye, the reflection transformed into something altogether different.

Horns sprouted from Julian's head, curving upwards like those of a wild beast. His eyes turned a piercing yellow, glinting with a predatory gleam. He looked more like a fearsome creature than a human.

The transformation lasted only a moment, and then the reflection shifted back to show Julian as he normally appeared—a boy with brown hair, smiling wickedly.

"No, not yet. I can't show 'that' just yet…"

Rustle–! Rustle–!

Sounds of footsteps were coming behind him. The footsteps grew louder and closer until they finally stopped.

pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ Julian turned around, with his face that already expecting some company from the owner of the footstep.

"You're finally here…"

Julian started, but his voice faltered as he took in the appearance of the unexpected visitor.

It was not the boy he had been expecting, but a man with a strange sense of fashion, wearing dark clothes that seemed out of place in the serene grove.

The man's face was hidden in the shadows, making it impossible for Julian to discern his features. Julian furrowed his brow, his curiosity mixed with a sense of unease.

"Who are you?" Julian asked, his voice wavering slightly. He had been anticipating the company of a fellow teenager, someone familiar, but this man was a complete stranger.

The figure remained silent for a moment as if contemplating his response.

Then, he stepped forward, revealing himself to be tall and imposing. His clothing seemed outdated, and he exuded an air of mystery and foreboding.

"Good evening to you…"

The man took off his hand and placed it on his chest as he did a greeting bow.

As his face lifted to face Julian, he smiled. "Julron."

Upon hearing the word 'Julron' being spoken by the mysterious man, Julian suddenly fell to his knees.

His body felt heavy as if a force of gravity was centered around him and brought him down, it lasted for a few seconds before he could stand again, wiping the blood that came out from his nose.

"How do you know that name?!" Julian shouted, his voice hoarse. "Who are you?!"

"A dead man–"

The mysterious man paused, changing the way he referred to Julian.

"A dead demon doesn't need to worry about that."

"Kughk!"

Julian flinched as his identity as a demon was found out. He didn't even try to deny the mysterious man's statement, because all that was left in his head was to figure out the man's identity and kill him as soon as possible.

But, he was not in a position where he could kill people easily as his power was disappearing after the calling of his true, demon name, Julron, by the mysterious man.

The demon's true name held the authority of power that the demon had.

But, the flaw of having great power just from a name was that if his name was found out and called out by the others, they would lose their power.

The proportion of how much they would lose depended on who was calling their name.

If it was someone who was far superior to them, whose gap power was like earth and heaven.

The demon whose name was called would likely be a slave to the caller or completely extinguished their authority of power. If it was someone whose power was equal to or weaker than theirs, the demon would lose a proportion of their power.

Julian was left only with 60% of his original strength. Judging by this, the mysterious man was someone who had strength equal to his or maybe weaker, or slightly stronger.

"What are you doing here, lowly demon? Are there any other demons than who came here?" Said the mysterious man.

His hat dissipated into a blue light and was gone.

Replaced by the silver sword with a well-tempered blade and minimal decoration. The hilt was a marvel of intricate detailing, with flowing patterns and a beautifully carved 'R' letter in elegant calligraphy on its lower blade.

"You! YOU HUMAN RAT BASTARD!!"

ROAR–!

Instead of getting an answer to his question, what greeted the mysterious man was a boy that was about to transform into something heinous evil creature.

But, before Julian could even do that, his head was already rolling on the ground, separated from his body.

"Tch. I accidentally killed him without even getting any information."

The cause of Julian's head being cut off from his neck happened quickly.

When Julian was growling, a wound cut was already visible on his neck. Then, when the mysterious man swung his sword, Julian's head was already fallen off even before the blade slashed him.

In the end, the sharp blade swung through the air, cutting nothing but empty space where the head had been.

"Oh well, I could just research myself when I have time."

The mysterious man walked away, leaving the headless body laying beside the pond alone.

He didn't bother to take care of the criminal evidence, because he knew that even if an investigation was carried out. No one would be able to find him.

Also, even if they did find him, what reason could they give for arresting someone who killed a demon, not a human. If anything, he should be awarded.

The evidence was there. It was not a normal student, human corpse. But, an entirely different corpse which would make even the researchers want possession of the corpse for their project.

The right hand of the dead Julian was the evidence, a trace of the danger that loomed over the world.

That very evidence was the wish of the mysterious man to make people aware of the existence of a dangerous creature.

The demon.

***

The night breeze grazed my skin as I blankly walked through the quiet road, on my way to my dorm building.

My vision was blurry and my head was throbbing in pain, every step I took seemed to make the pain increase.

Even so, I must endure it until I reached my room.

Arriving in front of my dorm building, I could see the light still on inside, indicating that there were some people left who were chilling on the first floor, the lobby, and the student zone.

Everyone was turning their attention toward the door where I stood for a while before returning back to their own activities; talking with friends, watching movies, or enjoying a drink.

From there, I immediately went to my room on the sixth floor, the highest floor using the lift.

While waiting inside the lift, my vision returned to normal, but the throbbing pain in my head was still there.

Ting–!

The lift door opened, and I quickly made my way to my room.

Creak–!

"Haa…"

The pain was killing me. I did not have any idea what causing this. It just suddenly appeared after I killed the demon Julron.

It couldn't be mana exhaustion, because mana exhaustion did not cause a headache but rather dyspnea or shortness of breath.

As I lifted my face to examine the familiar room, I found something that was not there when I left the room.

A roommate?

Sitting on the vacant bed was a girl. She was combing her long black hair, and her expression looked calm and focus as she did that.

She was too focused on combing her hair that she didn't realize someone—I just entered the room and was now sitting across from her.

"Ehem!"

I deliberately coughed, intending to draw her attention.

The girl stopped combing, and finally, notice me.

Her red ruby-like eyes observed me up and down curiously. A while after that, her eyes flashed in recognition.

A blush was visible over her pale white skin, and a smile plastered happily on her face.

"Zio!"

She clasped my hand all of sudden, making me flinch in surprise.

On top of that, she called me by my name. Was she someone I had known?

I looked between her face in front of me and her hands that were holding my hand alternately.

Confusion engulfed me completely as her smile kept on getting widened.

"Uhh… Who are you?"