Black Solstice-Chapter 10: Vampire Girl Won’t Leave Me Alone [3]

The following day, I walked along the campus path while contemplating a serious matter.

Countless students moved past me in their Solstice Academy uniforms. On the first day we had been allowed to wear whatever we wanted, but the moment we stepped into the dormitory, the dorm manager had appeared out of nowhere, expression colder than a winter spirit, and tossed each of us a neatly folded uniform with the kind of authority that brooked no refusal.

I remembered how she’d eyed me from head to toe, as if measuring whether I had the qualifications to even touch the fabric.

"Put it on. Immediately."

That tone still echoed in my ears.

I let out a soft sigh and adjusted the collar of the blazer. It fit perfectly, which was suspicious in itself. Either the Academy possessed terrifying tailoring skills or the uniform had some sort of auto-adjust enchantment. Judging from the way it subtly adapted whenever I moved, the second option felt more likely.

A mix of both, maybe.

Students streamed past in groups, laughing, chattering, some yawning, some flaunting their bloodlines with faint traces of suppressed aura leaking out whenever they forgot themselves. The air was lively, yet beneath it all lay the sharp, invisible tension unique to a school filled with beings who could casually level a mountain if not regulated.

My thoughts drifted back to yesterday’s chaos.

A vampire girl biting me on the neck in broad daylight.

A demon delinquent hoisting me like a bag of rice.

Me... claiming to be an incubus.

Truly, a brilliant start.

Well... perhaps "brilliant" wasn’t the right word. Not when I’d already drafted a letter known as a school withdrawal notice.

How could you begin a journey that you were already quitting?

Honestly, it felt like the only sane reaction.

Attending a school filled to the brim with demons wielding powers and magics I couldn’t even begin to understand? Creatures who could shatter buildings with a sneeze or accidentally kill me while stretching?

It was obviously beyond my capabilities.

Only one logical decision could be made under such circumstances: quit as fast as possible.

Considering this was an educational institution, it should be possible to submit a letter of withdrawal. In the human world, you simply filled out a form, handed it to the administration office, and walked away from the premises.

There were a few other procedures involved, but the freedom to withdraw was clearly established.

And the purpose of Solstice Academy was to teach demons how to coexist with humans, aside from all the demonic power training and mysticism studies. In that sense, it should be perfectly possible for me to submit my withdrawal letter, come up with some reasonable excuse, and leave this realm without revealing my identity as the human race.

Getting tortured for non-existent information was not part of my to-do list.

Even so, I remained conflicted.

Which was why I was staring down at the enveloped letter in my hand while still walking forward. It was also the reason I hadn’t gotten a single minute of beauty sleep.

Sleeping in a college dorm that resembled a haunted mansion in a realm far removed from everything familiar was, unsurprisingly, difficult.

Yet somehow, by some miracle, my spirit had not completely collapsed under these unnatural circumstances.

I wonder how she would react to my departure.

She, namely the strange female vampire who had sucked my blood the very first day we met.

Seraphis was the source of my confliction.

Just to clear any misunderstandings, there was nothing romantic between us, nor was it love at first sight. I had learned my lesson about falling in love too early, and the experience had been anything but pleasant.

High school girls were not to be underestimated.

Returning to the matter at hand, my current relationship with Seraphis was purely platonic. Though she had said that we were on blood sucking terms.

What did that even mean? Did she see me as nothing more than a snack?

Most likely.

Even if we had become something close to friends, we could never truly cross that threshold, because the basis of our relationship was an illusion.

She was a demon, and I was not.

If that truth were ever exposed, she would certainly sever whatever fragile friendship we had.

No matter how I examined it, it was not a genuine relationship.

It was a little sad when I thought about it, but that was not the source of my hesitation.

The real problem was the possibility, however absurd, that the clingy vampire might actually follow me back to Earth. I knew the thought was ridiculous. Why would she follow me? But she had been the same girl who went on and on about how my blood was the richest thing she had tasted. The way her eyes had sparkled when she said that still haunted me. It was the same look a starving wolf might give a particularly plump rabbit.

Who could guarantee she would not suddenly decide she needed a long-term supply?

And if she really did follow me to Earth... what then?

A vampire roaming around my apartment complex?

A Supreme Devil asking why the sun felt "spicy" in the human world?

Me explaining to my neighbors why a crimson haired beauty kept knocking on my door at 2 a.m. asking for "just one more sip?"

On top of that, what was I going to tell my parents?

The thought alone gave me goosebumps.

Even thinking about that scenario was enough to make me clutch my withdrawal letter tighter.

I let out a sigh.

"No matter what, I have to see the end of this day."

As I stepped forward, a shadow suddenly loomed behind me. The air grew colder.

A hand dropped onto my shoulder. It felt heavy enough to crush bone.

"Oi! Mr. Mysterious."

A familiar, delinquent-like voice drawled behind me.

My entire body froze.

I reluctantly turned my head.

As expected, the giant Dagon stood behind me, his massive frame blotting out the light like a moving mountain.

Before I could even open my mouth, his hand shot forward, clamping down on my collar. In the next instant, my back collided with the wall.

The wind was knocked out of me and I desperately grasped for breath.

Dagon loomed overhead with a predatory grin. His voice dripped with condescension as he spoke.

"Aren’t you a popular fellow? Somehow, you managed to enthrall the interest of this Great Devil. A wicked act of sorcery, don’t you think?"

Interest?

Even while trembling in pain, I understood exactly who he meant.

He clicked his tongue and leaned closer.

"There are many things I dislike, and I hate everything I dislike. One of them is people who cannot take a hint or read the atmosphere. Naturally, the person who enjoyed himself with the woman I am interested in would fall into that category. Now I am angry, and you are going to pay for it. Reveal your True Form right this instant, or get crushed."

My mind blanked.

True Form? Me?

If I had one, I would have already used it to run far, far away from here.

My feet barely scraped the floor as I forced out a strangled sound. "I... I am a... an incubus."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Incubus? I said I am an incu...!"

I trailed off upon feeling a chilling premonition.

Every instinct in my body screamed that if I did not move now, I would meet my demise.

Consumed by a terror I could neither explain nor resist, I threw myself to the side, rolling across the ground in a clumsy but desperate escape. A split second later, a violent sound ripped through the passage as if the very air had been torn apart.

The wall behind me split apart in a long, jagged gash.

It was the kind of mark left behind when a sashimi knife glides through soft tofu.

"...!" Looking at the sliced-up wall, my body trembled uncontrollably.

Even worse was the suffocating murderous intent pouring from Dagon’s broad shoulders, thick enough to freeze the blood in my veins.

"You... did you just say you’re an incubus? A succubi species? That fucking condemned race?"

"W-What?"

"Don’t play dumb! Your kind does nothing but drag disaster wherever it goes. The only useful thing your cursed species ever produced was the Second Blight Star, Nightweaver Velkris, Empress of the Major Arcana. And even she turned traitor, abandoning the demon race to damnation. And you dare declare yourself one of them before this Great Devil...!?"

Dagon gritted his teeth. It seemed like he held some kind of resentment.

’Shit... I did not know that the succubi held this kind of reputation. Fuck! I should have done some research before declaring myself as part of those special. This is a holy blunder!"

It was already far too late to take back my words. Trying to retract them now would only stoke his fury even further.

"Hey, what’s going on over there?"

"Is it a fight?"

"Oh, that’s Dagon. He’s already up to no good."

"Tsk. Arrogant noble bastard."

To my fortune, a crowd had begun to gather, their curious whispers spreading like wildfire. Perhaps it was my imagination but it felt like some of those demons were glaring at Dagon.

Had they suffered under his hand as well?

Dagon’s eyes swept over the growing crowd, and I could see the tension in the air shift. The murmurs grew louder, rippling through the students like an approaching storm. A few among them were likely senior students, judging by their quiet, heavy presence alone.

One wrong move now could land Dagon in serious trouble.

His expression faltered for the first time. The Great Devil fell silent, weighing his options for a long moment.

Then, with a faint click of his tongue, he let his murderous aura recede and stepped back with a heavy sigh.

"You’re lucky, little devil. I don’t want to deal with the instructors because of something trivial like this. It’s a pain, but it can’t be helped. Still, I’ll say this only once."

His amber eyes locked onto mine, barely contained malice displayed within those eyes.

"Drop out of this academy. Your kind is not welcome here. The laws here forbid killing or harming others, but don’t think there aren’t ways and methods I can use to drive you into despair. So heed the words of this Great Devil and leave before tomorrow. If you stay, I’ll make sure to slice and dice you nicely. Mark my words."

After spouting those lines like a third-rate villain drunk on his own theatrics, Dagon turned around and strode off with a casual swagger.