At the first sight of the hellhounds running amok in the school grounds, all of the students started to panic and scream. “Everyone, get inside! Find shelter!” The instructor screams. I see a movement in my peripheral vision while the team captain goes to assist the students in evacuating. A familiar figure seems to be hiding in the shadows of the building columns with a black hood and a smiling mask underneath. Verphegor notices me looking and begs me to come close. No way. What is he doing here?Amidst the commotion, I headed over to where the hell prince was hiding and joined him in the shadows. “What are you doing here?! There are hunters around. You could be seen!” I try to keep my voice low as I scold him, turning my head constantly to see if anyone passes by us. Verphegor brushes away my concern. “Don’t worry too much. It is going to be fine. Besides, the hunters are too focused on catching the hellhounds. Anyway, I have come to give you these.” He takes my hand and place
I manage to get back with the others just in time as they called me. Due to the heavy burns and damage sustained by the other hunters, they needed healers. And as far as the record of talent goes, I am a healer. They called me to the infirmary, where it was almost full of injured hunters who tried to stop the hellhounds from going berserk. The hunters who suffered severe burns are all in the emergency room, separated from the rest of the injured bodies. I could not count how many injuries I had at the time, but I am pretty sure that I have healed a lot since Archer suddenly arrived and pulled me out of the crowd. “You need a break.” He says, pulling me by the arm. His grip and hold are strong enough that he managed to pull me up on my feet. “I’m fine. I can still heal a few more people.” I say. I can’t help but feel a little responsible for what happened. If only I grilled Verphegor to tell me more about his escaped pets, I could have prepared better. It’s my fault, and the others
The following day, I was bedridden. In spite of my best efforts, I wake up with next to no energy the day after tending to a large number of injured hunters and semior upperclassmen. It is a shame that I could not witness the performances of my other peers in showcasing their talent. It would have been a good opportunity for me to assess their skills and talents. The following night, I could tell that Verphegor had visited me. It’s not because I sensed him, but because of the black teddy bear that he left at my side with the ‘V’ initial and a cutely drawn heart next to it. Sometimes, it is hard to think that he’s one of the seven princes with his silly activities. In a way, I guess that this is how he wants to thank me for keeping his hellhounds safe. The difference between scholars and regular students is that we can get hands on training with real hunters when we get chosen by a team leader who is looking for new recruits for their respective squad. They were all there when we we
For the first time, I am the first one in the room. According to the email that I received, we should be here at around 8 a.m. sharp. Strange. I know that I am not always early, but not arriving your assigned room fifteen minutes before the time is usually my style. I wonder if the others have overslept? If not, did I get the date wrong? Just to be sure, I double checked the day on my phone. As I figured, I am not mistaken, so why am I still the only one here? I waited some more, but it was already way past the meeting time, and no one still showed up. Did I miss an email informing me about postponing the meeting? I'm starting to scroll through my phone contacts until I find the name of Archer in my list. I guess having his contact information has its perks. I don’t entirely feel good about being friends with my new commander and immediately calling him, but what else am I supposed to do? Before I can hit the call button, the lights in the room start to turn off. I hear sev
After what seems like a very hectic test, as Archer likes to call it, he starts to lead us to the other building in the academy. From what I have read in the pamphlet, there’s a portion of the academy allotted to the buildings of the team captains. It was a long walk before we arrived at Squad Building 7, which is where Archer’s assigned squad is located. The building is at least three stories high and designed carefully with thick materials and coatings in case of an emergency. We got inside, and the first thing I saw was the lounge, where a few students were gathered. Most of them are already my seniors. Surprisingly, I see some familiar faces in the room—Anasthasia and Alucard. It seems like I am the last one to arrive because everyone was already looking comfortable in their seats until we arrived. “Sorry, we’re late.” Jackie announces, greeting the other members in the room. “We have some matters that need attending to because of someone.” She emphasizes the last word and tur
Getting to study and train under Archer’s guidance is rather harsh and difficult compared to normal classes in the academy. It seems like every day, we have to overcome difficulties that come our way. In any case, he managed to divide us all into groups where we would be assigned to different team leaders. It took a week for us to get our provisional license before we could go out and accompany them on missions. The team is supposed to have five members. In the squad that I am in, I am with Jackie, Galvin, and the twins James and Ellan. Coincidentally, Ellan is the guy that I rescued the other day during the attack of the hellhounds. Getting used to the group isn’t that hard since all of them are really friendly and approachable, especially the twins, who can’t seem to leave me alone. They seem to think that they owe me something. Though it is true that I saved Ellan’s life, that doesn’t mean that they have to cling to me 24/7. For some reason, they believe that because I am a h
Marvon Belingham. Now there’s a name that I never thought I would hear in this life. Not only is he the son of Dein Belingham, CEO of the Belingham Industry, the main provider of materials used to forge hunter weapons. The reason I am surprised to hear about him is because he should have died weeks ago, at least from what I remember from my past life. The reason for his death was an incurable illness. What could have changed so that Marvon is able to survive in this timeline? “Focus, Zarah.” Jackie nudges me when I am lost in my own thoughts. For some reason, Archer assigned me the task of escorting Marvon because we are of the same age and have almost similar schedules. “Anytime now, and the guest will arrive.” “Do you know what Marvon would look like?” I ask her. “Not a clue.” Jackie shakes her head. “The only son of the Belingham family has been kept indoors because of how sickly he always is. That being said, no one knows what he looks like.” “Then how are we supposed to
The moment I delivered Marvon to his first class, I didn’t know whether I should feel relieved or afraid. Mammon, who no doubt has entered the poor boy’s body, is the prince of greed. I can’t remember what he did exactly, but from what I have heard, he’s the one responsible for the downfall of the academy, which is the foundation of the hunters. Without the academy, there will be no more hunters, and without the hunters, the demons will prevail. I don’t know how Mammon did it, but I plan on sticking close to him in order to find out. Marvon and I are not in the same class, unfortunately, because I am part of the scholar students, who have advanced teachings. I can not seem to get through the lectures without thinking about what Mammon is doing to Marvon's body. I hastily pulled out Marvon's schedule that Archer had given me when lunchtime rolled around. After a quick look around, I get up and head to the classroom where he should be having his lessons. After waiting for a while,
I know what I said to my parents and sneaking out despite their warning is a little risky on my part. But I do believe that using Beelzebub’s clones is going to keep me safe from getting caught. For tonight, the real me is going into the casino to hunt demons. And of course, I am wearing a disguise sponsored by the demon prince of greed. I did say that he is going to pay after all. “I still firmly believe that red is the best color for our master.” Mammon, the sponsor for all of my costume for tonight, holds out a sparkling evening dress that is too revealing for my taste. If there was no fire alarm in my room, I would have burned the dress already. Since I can’t do that, all I can do now is glare at the fabric and hope that it will come to ruin on its own.“Brother, that barely covers her skin. What if Asmodeous covets her?” For the first time, Leviathan sounds defiant when he speaks with Mammon. Meanwhile, Beel drools while looking at the dress before trying to take a bite out of
“I cannot believe that you went to the casino!” My mom paces the room. Her heels are clacking the room and I can feel their vibrations on the floor as I am kneeling on it. “First thing…the first thing that you do as soon as we get to the hotel is the casino!?” I flinch when I hear her raising her voice. “Zarah, you might be of legal age but you are still a hunter in training until you get your license!” Wow. She is definitely mad. It has been a while since I heard her this angry. Out of everyone, my mother is the scariest when angry. My brother and father would always act like they saw nothing and would keep their distance from her. Right now, my father and brother are in a far corner of the room, sharing an upside-down newspaper. It’s pretty obvious that they were eavesdropping on our conversation. “I was…I thought that I saw someone that I know.” The more that I look at my mother’s expression, the more that I can tell that my choice of words is wrong. “You saw a friend going t
Green field greets my side of the window when I wake up from taking a deep nap from the back seat of our family car. Currently, we’re headed to the fair, where the new hunters are going to take their oath to become full-pledged hunters. My father is driving me to the venue, which is like an eight-hour drive from where we are but my mother and brother decided to tag along just for the thrill of it. Also, so we can turn this event into a mini family trip.A chuckle makes me turn to my left. My brother is snickering while looking at me.“I knew you’d be asleep the entire ride.”“Are those cheetos?” I fought off my groggy state just so I could straighten up and grab the bag of junk food from his hands. My mouth water as I anticipated on eating something, but when I look inside, it is already empty. I turn to him with a disgruntled expression.“Hey, I offered you some, but you were busy sleeping.” He laughs when I toss the empty bag of Cheetos towards him. “You’re a jerk,” I grumble.“Lo
My room has never felt so smaller. Imagine being in your bedroom with five demons and three hunters—excluding me. I am still on earth but even I know how hellish it feels. Never has my room felt more suffocating than ever. I am in bed, for obvious reasons. My mother and father are sitting beside my bed while Archer is leaning on the wall facing me. The five demons are by the bathroom, making sure to keep their distance from us. They are demon princes for a reason, meaning they can hide their presence from Archer and my parents. I just hope that they behave themselves and not cause any noise. “Here, dear. Say, ah.” Getting spoon-fed by my mother and being watched by a number of eyes makes me feel sick. Even swallowing the food is a struggle. The porridge is threatening to rise up to my throat. If swallowing the food is the problem, I could have endured it. The problem was, the demon prince of gluttony is in the room with us. Eating in front of him is just a recipe for disaster. I
“What are you? Insane?!” I grab his coat and pull him toward me. “Are you asking me to let him be killed?!”The mask that portrays his emotion seems to be blank. “It is not for me to decide that. I am only telling you that you will fail to save everyone if you continue to save that person.”My mind grows empty at what I wish to say. It is not because I am at a loss for words. There are just so many things that I want to ask but don’t know where to start. I know that Belphegor avoids Archer for some reason. Whether it is because he is afraid of the captain’s power or not, I can’t say. I have a feeling that there might be something more behind it.I do my best to remain calm. “Why him?” Belphegor remains quiet. I clench my teeth in anger, feeling my temperature rise again out of anger. Why isn’t he answering me? “Why him?” I demanded. “Out of all the people in the world, why does it have to be Archer? What is so special about him?” Belphegor’s mask completely lost any expression.
“Master, I do not understand.” The demon prince of gluttony nonchalantly asks me as he hangs by his feet inside my room. He was hanged using the thread that I got from Kirin’s core, an object that he gave me in return for allowing him to eat Asmodeus’s pet. “Are you punishing me because you are upset or because this is one of your kinks like brother Mammon?” Mammon chokes on the grape that he was seating. “I do not!” He protests. “Mammon, shut up before I make you sit.” I threaten him, making the demon prince of greed sit Japanese style on the floor. “Sorry.” He utters. “If not brother Mammon, then perhaps brother Leviathan.” Beel moves his head to look at the demon prince of envy, glaring at him from the corner of my room in a gloomy state. The majestic demon has tears in his ears has his face contorted with an envy expression. Gorshe and Remoire surround him, like they are trying to console Leviathan. When Leviathan sees my gaze, his eyes begin to fill up with tears and the lo
It’s pretty obvious by now that the cocoons have humans inside of them. The form of the body alone is enough evidence for that. From Archer’s pale expression, I know that he figured it out as well. His alarmed expression never faded away since he couldn’t move. If the demon responsible for this finds us, there’s no way that he could defend since he is paralyzed.“Zarah, we have to get out of here. Zarah?”I am frozen solid where I am standing as I am staring at the cocoons. There’s no way for me to figure out who is behind them. I don’t have x-ray vision. But from the flying sparrow of a demon circling the cocoons, my heart starts to sink. “Wait. Isn’t that your sparrow?”Remoire seems to have noticed us and is flying in our direction. He perches on my head.‘Master, I am sorry. By the time I found them, they were already captured.’My strength nearly left me and I almost dropped Archer. My suspicions were right. These are our comrades!“We have to get them down.”“Zarah, we can’t.”
The loud blaring of an alarm started as soon as the tremor slowly subsided. Archer and I were still holding onto each other and we didn’t even realize it until both the tremor and the alarm subsided. I withdraw myself from him quicker than I normally would when I hug my friends. “We should head to the evacuation area.” Archer hides his face by lowering his head and starts to head off first. I pause for a bit, letting the sparrow version of Remoire rest on my finger. ‘Go and scout the area. Find out what happened and make sure that the others are safe.’ Remoire nods curtly at my command before taking flight. As soon as Remoire left, I start to follow Archer. Oddly enough, as we started to walk, there were no demons in sight. It’s as if they were gone or they have all gone into hiding. The later sounds more probable, as there’s a giant demon scorpion on the loose. Archer seems to have noticed the lack of demons in the vicinity, but he was being quiet about it. All my senses were
The giant sinkhole that appeared where we once were was a huge puzzle for us. I wish I knew what it was—I feel like I should, but I am currently drawing a blank. There’s something about the crate that’s familiar. “This wasn’t part of the obstacle.” My sharp hearing picked up on what Archer was muttering. I decided to play oblivious that I heard his talking and pretended to look puzzled while staring at the sinkhole. “Zarah, how were you able to tell that a sinkhole was going to appear?” I can understand Archer’s curiosity. No one would be able to move fast enough or guess that there would be a sinkhole beneath our feet a few seconds before it appeared. My senses are just sharp enough that I was able to tell that it was coming. “The tremors on the ground. Didn’t you feel it?” I don’t want to do this, but the only way that I can slither out of his question is by gaslighting him. I lived with demons, literally, in my room. I know how it works. The key is to make up a scenario and ins