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,
Fighting a demon is one thing, but babysitting one is another. I hate it. I rather just kill the guy right here and right now, but by doing so, I would not figure out why he decided to appear so early on the timeline. Has my meddling with the past changed the future? Is the upcoming apocalypse drawing nearer as we speak? I don’t have much time to dwell on my thoughts because Marvon is keeping me busy enough to make me lose my mind. It’s not enough that he is enticing students to gamble with him; he is beginning to convince other professors too. I don’t know how he manages to do it, so I am guessing that maybe it is one of his demonic skills to entice people to gamble their money. He did try to charm me into gambling, but for some reason, it did not work. I guess, because of that, he is trying to avoid me as much as possible. Well, I would have taken it to my advantage if he weren’t one of the demon princes. By the end of the day, I am so exhausted. I keep running around campus, e
That one time that I would have gotten to experience some on field work by being a hunter, I had to get left behind because I had to babysit some aristocratic kid who was possessed by the demon prince of greed. It sucks. “Turn that frown upside down, Zarah.” Jackie tries to cheer me up while I pout while slouching on the couch of our headquarters. She has a troubled smile as she tries to figure out how to talk to me. “We promise to be back in no time.” “We’re going to buy you snacks when we get back!” Galvin adds, not even bothering to look back while he continues to polish his weapons. I don’t know which I find more annoying; the fact that they are treating me like a kid, or that their words just keep getting me reminded that I am now the only first year in the scholars department who didn’t get to have an on field activity. “Yeah, thanks.” I tried to sound enthusiastic but failed. I know that this is for the best and it also has some benefits for me. That way, I can meet up alon
Amon Galier, the respected founder of the academy, is out here gambling against the demon prince of greed—not that I think he is aware of it. I don’t understand for certain what’s happening or why he is in a casino, but I have my fair share of doubts that Mammon might have used his powers to persuade such a rich man like Amon to succumb to his greed. I stay in the shadows on the roof, looking down at the two and trying to grasp the situation. Large beads of sweat are forming on Amon's forehead, suggesting that things are not going well for him. This brings concern to me as well. “Now, I appreciate your enthusiasm for the game, Mr. Amon, but I expect the payment to be given to me immediately.” Mammon, who is still in the body of Marvon, smirks. He plays with the red coin chip in his hand like he is trying to flaunt his newly earned riches. Angry veins appear all over Amon’s forehead. He clenches his teeth in frustration as he grips the golden ball of his cane. “One more round. Let
With Archer and I arriving on time, no one was harmed by the demon attack. Their report came in, and let's just say that my reputation as the Dark Ripper from Archer’s lips isn’t exactly portraying me as a good guy. Well, I did lead the demon there in the first place. They just don’t know my reasoning for doing it. Either way, only I know the gravity of the situation. If I hadn’t called the demon inside, there wouldn’t be an academy right now. I should be a hero for what I did, but I can’t tell anyone about my deeds for a lot of reasons. I know what I have to do. It won’t be long until Mammon tries to take over the academy again. If I just leave him as he is, he will find another way to take control of the academy. For all I know, I have just bought us time. I also have an inkling of suspicion that he knows that the dark reaper is onto him at this point. I prepared myself physically and mentally for these past three days. I keep watching and observing Marvon’s activity in the aca
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
In the city, there’s an area that has been long abandoned because it was rumored to be a nesting ground for demons. But that was years ago. This place isn’t what it used to be. The nest was already eradicated and most of the demons were hunted about two years ago. The town was supposed to be safe for people to live once again, but because people were too afraid to go back, the hunters decided that it would be a good testing site for a hunter promotion exam. The group stops in front of a massive steel gate. All around the perimeter of the site stretched thick metal walls with an electric fence at the top. You know that we are dealing with land demons with long leaps if they place those wired fences on top of the metal ones. “There better be no dangerous ones here.” My brother comments. I was startled by his sudden presence since I was so busy gawking at the gates. This is my first time being here, even in my past life so I was amazed by the facilities in this area. It looks like it w
The next day, everyone was busy with the clean up. Debris, rubble, and tons of steel bars are scattered all over the campus. It was bad, but it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined. Only one building was damaged in the attack and it was the study area. If there were anyone who was happy about this, it’s the students. I wish I was lying when I said this, but I wasn’t. You can clearly see the happy faces on most of the first years because that very same building is where the demonology exam is going to be held. It’s clear that most of the first year students aren’t ready for the test, judging from the broad grins on their faces while helping to clean the place. Biron, the head professor of the subject, wasn’t too thrilled, especially when he saw the smiling faces of his students. He decided to divert his anger into yelling and ordering the students to move faster. Although I am grateful that I wasn’t part of the group that’s being reprimanded, it doesn’t mean that my situation is any bette