Tap tap tap…
The sound of Elena's high heels slowly started to fade from the room as she made her way to the door at the end of the Duchess' huge room.
The Duchess was smiling at the apple of her eyes- her daughter's elegant and noble demeanour. From the very birth of her daughter, she has taken extensive measures to mould her daughter into a perfect girl, just like her.
'Possess everything you want- be it a man, money or power- everything. Crush anything you don't like. Always flaunt your power and show them your appeal in every sense. Do whatever it takes to stay at the top, whatever it takes.'
The Duchess still remembered the words she poured into her daughter back when the Duchess killed her husband in front of her daughter.
That was a perfect example for her daughter. Her husband, Roy Kleine, also called the Duke, was above the Duchess in every sense. Likeable personality, great power, filthy rich, and full of love for his wife- that was who Roy Kleine was. Until he was backstabbed by Duchess, who was hungry for the Duke's possession. Though she could not get a hold of his power, she was able to rule on the Duke's possession. Wealth, popularity, and authority embraced her life. From a member of a small family, she shot up to the ruler of the Central. But that didn't make her happier than the fact that her daughter, soaked in the blood of her father, accepted everything the Duchess said and followed her like an obedient dog. Her personality became like the Duchess', the way she talked, the way she handled men, the way she manipulated everything behind the scenes- everything was just like the Duchess. She was proud of her daughter.
Clack!
The knob of the door turned with a click and Elena went out of the door.
Click!
She slowly closed the door, disappearing from the Duchess' sight. The Duchess looked at her daughter leaving in satisfaction and snapped her fingers.
Two men appeared from a door behind her. Their heads were covered with a black cloth, and they were buck naked, their enormous sticks hanging.
"Shall we start?" The Duchess asked mischievously and headed towards the bed.
The men followed her like puppies. She sat down on the bed and seductively took off her clothes, biting her lips appealingly. The men knelt and looked up to the Duchess who was now naked and rubbing her hole.
"..." The Duchess looked at them commandingly.
The men lifted the cloth from their heads and threw them aside, revealing two blond men, their eyes dead.
The Duchess spread her hole in front of them, filling the room with a sour smell.
"Lick."
The two men crawled towards the hole like moths drawn towards light. One of them stuck out their tongue and headed for the lump on the top of the hole and…
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
… a whole terrifying shout came from the corridor outside of the Duchess' room.
The men stopped and looked at the Duchess whose face was stiffened and fear was eminent in her eyes.
She quickly rummaged for her dress and somehow managed to put it on her.
Fwoosh!
She dashed towards the door using her Potential.
'Please be safe! Please be safe!' She kept on repeating these words inside her mind.
Bam!
She slammed open the door and headed towards the source of the voice, but only despair waited at the end of her destination.
"..."
She was silent, her eyes devoid of any glimmers. Her body was trembling heavily at the sight she was seeing.
Hands splattered in pieces. Legs disgruntledly contorted and torn. Eyeballs full of some kind of black substance with a tinge of blood rolled down to the Duchess' feet and stared with a deathly ghast at the Duchess. The Duchess walked towards the corpse.
The face was devoid of any eyes and ears and tongue and nose- a plain face. The hands and legs were not attached and the black liquid flowed out of the cut hands and legs like a stream. Three spikes stood piercing the corpse's heart. It was horrifying.
"... Elena?"
***
"Phew…" I let out a relieved sigh.
I didn't want to mess with the Duchess but I couldn't just leave after hearing their conversation about me. Just because I was trash and had some looks didn't mean that they could do whatever they want. Slave? No, thanks.
<You said that you weren't a fan of torture?>
'Yep. I am not a fan of torture.'
<Then what was that?>
'What was what?'
<What you did to the girl. You said you would take off her hands and legs and gouge out her eyes. Then what was the need to cut her tongue and ears?>
'Just felt like doing that. After all, the more badly I kill her, the more her mother will despair.'
<A complete psycho…>
'That's harsh.'
<I WAS being harsh.>
'I see.'
<So, what now?>
'Nothing. Gonna continue hunting them down.'
<Mm.>
Boom!
"Ah, seems like she lost it. Hm?"
A man in a suit was running towards the Duchess. Who was he? Alvin? He still didn't leave? Why? Was he going to spy on the mother-daughter pair? Of course, that must be it. He was carrying things like mana suppressors, Cloak of Erasement, and hearing buffs.
"Well, let's leave him be."
<You are not afraid?>
'It's not like he will be able to catch me.'
<...>
He was silent again.
***
I woke up on the same bed I was using three years ago, and today would be my last day in this room. No one bothered to know about my address and thus, I was safe. Food didn't pose too much of a problem since I was a demon, and demons didn't need food for a long while. It was quite convenient if you ask me. Whenever the food ran out, I would go to some food shops and steal a whole lot of food enough to last for a week or so. At the surface, it might seem miserable, stealing, hiding, killing. But honestly speaking, it was luxurious. No one bothered me and no one called me trash like before. I could sleep and train without any care in the world and hunt the rabbits when the moon came out. Because of that, I became very, very powerful. It was very luxurious. And today, I was about to say goodbye to that luxurious life. My high school life was about to start… but before that, training.
***
<Excited?>
'No.'
<Why?>
'Because I am Potential-less.'
<Really?>
As I said, my mana was different from the normal mana. Potential Sages, people who detect Potential, used normal mana. Since I didn't have normal flowing through me, I would always be called Potential-less… and trash.
<Hmm… nothing we can do.>
'Good thing you are thinking this rationally for the first time.'
<Would it kill you to praise me a little?>
'I did just now.'
<Was that praise?>
'Was that?'
<Was it not?>
'I don't know. Might be.'
<Is that so?>
'Yep.'
Silence descended, not the heavy kind though.
Tap.
I finally stopped. In front of me was a building that was going to be my home for the next three years.
"New friends, new teachers, maybe a girlfriend too. I am so excited~"
'What the hell are you doing?'
Fuck, I shouldn't have done that.
'... nothing. Just showing the fuckers, who are going to torment me for three years, an act.'
<And I thought you finally went mad...>
'Too bad, right?'
<Mm…>
"Are you Ken?"
A voice called out behind me. My face stiffened at the name. There should be no Ken here, so why?
I wanted to turn around but then I stopped halfway. Turning to the voice would only give me away. For now, I should ignore them.
I stepped forward when I sensed the man behind me more clearly. My heart almost stopped. I could sense it. The man behind me was someone who was leagues above me. I would surely die instantly if a fight broke out.
"Why did you pause when I said the name?"
My heart was in my mouth.
***
"I thought that you were calling my name." Faltering now would be a complete giveaway. I cannot give them any chance to be suspicious. "What is your name?" "Ren…" I haven't turned around yet. I did not dare to do so. The overwhelming strength and dominance in the gaze didn't let me. "Shall we talk?" "... sure." It was better to go along with him until I knew their true intentions. "Good. If you have refused, we would have to use force but it's a good thing you didn't. Now, let's go." The man wrapped his arms around my neck and that's when I got a glimpse of him but what I saw was... "Levithan Guild…" That man was Relin Ivy, the Vice-Guild Master of one of the five most influential guilds- the Levithan Guild! "Hoh? Are you a fan? Haha, sorry but I don't give autographs." All of a sudden, I could feel cold sweat running down my back. The bloodlust inside him took the form of a monster behind him and glared at me. 'Fuck…!' What the hell did I do now? He shouldn't have any r
Even the Headmaster was showing hostility towards me… does that mean that my school life was over even before it began? Should I hope that it doesn't? Yeah, maybe I should."Tell me, Relin.""Oh, don't be on guard so much~ I just came here because I want to have a talk with this boy here.""Relin.""...!"I instinctively put my guard on. The fearsome aura lying inside the Headmaster… was colossal!I only heard bits about the Headmaster of Central Chaser and Hunter Academy. Even the records allowed to the public didn't have much about him except the fact that he was a former chaser who suddenly rose to power and became the Headmaster of the top academy in the Tower. Even I had some questions regarding this matter, and the old me concluded that there were strings pulled by this man, but now that I see it with my own eyes, I can't say that's the case anymore. This man was the real deal, a real monster."Woah woah~ put that
"Hmm…" But of course, I couldn't just leave them like this. I knew they would talk about me as soon as I went. It was a common trope after all. <You really are not normal for staying to eavesdrop.> "Hmm…" He really was an idiot to think I was expected from the start. If I were normal, then I wouldn't have gone through a spiral of beatings, piss, disdain, hatred, and loneliness. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil… 'Please shut your mouth for a while.' I shut him off. I couldn't have him run his mouth thoughtlessly and get on my nerves. <Tch, so mean.> 'Shut up.' "Well, I guess I'll take my leave now." He bowed deeply and left. "..." The Headmaster was left alone, watching the door to his office close off. "...that slimy bastard. He sure knows how to choose the words in front of me." The Headmaster paced his office seemingly deep in thought. What was he t
“Hmm…”The morning sun rays lightly caressed my skin as I lay on my bed, thinking about the truth I learned about my parents yesterday.I had my suspicions but it really hit differently when I got to hear it from someone who was hailed as more potent than the Demon King himself. But there were still many things about my parents that were under the veil. Lan refused to talk about them so I had no way to know other than wait for Lan to open up.…it was frustrating but there was nothing I could do.“...”I wanted to get up but the bed seemed to hug even tighter the more I tried to resist. I was feeling strangely lethargic.“But
Well, that plan could wait for a while. <You know, I can’t even peek at your brain anymore, so why not just tell me about the plan?> ‘You will know when the time comes.’ Yeah, he would know when the time comes, which would take a while. I had no plans of rushing even if I wanted to climb the tower right now. That would only lead to my downfall. For now, what I had to do was… “Classes…” Why did I feel like I had to have a high school life? Maybe no one can answer that. But now that the deed was done, I had no way of reverting back. I had to play along with the ‘student’ identity so as to not draw any unnecessary attention. “Let’s just get over with it…”
An unbelievable stench filled the place along with the eerie air that sent chills down one's spine. I walked with a bit of wariness. Of course, the Book said that there was no danger around here, but I had nothing to lose from being wary, did I? 'What?' '...you know about this place?' 'How?' Was it natural for a demon to know everything? Didn't seem like that to me. "Hmm… this place, maybe?" The empty sounds of my footsteps stopped when I came across the strange engravings. Though the whole place was filled with patterns strange enough for me to carefully observe each one of those, this thing was even stranger. Though it was not mentioned in detail in the Book, I was sure this place was the entrance to the real dungeon and there I would get one of the most important pieces of the Tower that could only be found on the First Floor. But for now… "I have to get this thing opened." I walked to it slowly, being cautious of th
‘What was that?!’With trembling hands, the girl covered her mouth so as not to let out even a chip of sound.The horrible stench of beast corpses filled every gap in the air. And, while she hid behind the huge rock, she kept on pondering.‘What was that?! Could that person even be called human?!’Even though an unbelievable number pounced on that person, the massacre that followed it was terrifying, sending chills to the girl every time that person moved. He was unfazed, almost used to the bloodshed he was causing. Like a serial killer, he planned before doing anything. Even when his throat was about to fly, he stayed calm and just before the beasts could do anything, flesh tore apart and dark fluid splattered everywhere in the illumination. It was terrifying to watch, but it was too beautiful to avert her gaze. He was like a demon.“...”‘It has gone quiet all of a sudden.’Her head was filled with curiosity. She was scared at first, scared of her life being ripped like those beas
How? Just how did this happen? Just a day ago I was laughing, playing, and eating with mom and dad. Even though I was cast outside the society, I never felt sad because of my parents, because they were with me at every step of my life. But now that they were no more, what was I supposed to do?I sat beside their grave, kept asking the same questions over and over. Why did they leave me? Was I not a good kid? Did I fail to live up to their expectations? Did they not find me useful? Well, upon thinking, the lattermost is most likely, after all, what use is there of a 9-year-old Potential-less kid in this world of dog-eat-dog.But still, was all of the love and affection they showered at me despite being Potential-less all a lie? Did the time we spent mean nothing to them? I wanted to believe it was not, I really wanted to, but I couldn't. I could no longer face away from the inevitable.The elder priest came over to me holding a piece of paper."I believe t