That nauseating scent of blood seemed to still linger in Bell’s nostrils.
Cecilia finally let go of him.
She took a step back, and that distorted, fanatical face transformed back into that of a pure, flawless angel.
She even reached out with her small hands to meticulously straighten Bell’s collar, which had been ruffled by the wind.
The gesture was intimate and natural.
“Brother, it’s late. You should go back to sleep.”
Cecilia’s words...
Were as soft as a feather.
Yet as heavy as a grave.
“Goodnight, Brother.”
With that, she turned, lifted her skirt, and skipped away from the rooftop with light, airy steps.
Her receding figure looked like a carefree forest sprite under the cold moonlight.
Bell stood frozen in place.
The wind blew through his hollow body, unable to carry away even a trace of warmth.
A long time passed.
A very long time.
Only then did he turn around, stiff and sluggish like a rusted marionette.
He began his walk back.
The clock tower’s stairs spiraled down, seemingly endless.
He walked slowly, each step feeling like treading on cotton, yet also like dragging a thousand pound chain.
He passed through hallways and courtyards.
A few scattered freshmen were still talking excitedly, discussing the results of the Sorting Ceremony, future classes, and the splendor of the capital.
Those words, full of hope and vitality, drifted into Bell’s ears but failed to form any meaning in his mind.
They were sounds from another world.
They had nothing to do with him.
He walked like a lost soul wandering the human realm.
He didn’t know how he found the Terra dormitory building.
Nor did he know how he got his room key from the dormitory manager.
He simply performed the most basic instructions issued by his brain, numbly and mechanically.
Find the room.
Open the door.
Go inside.
Click.
The door closed behind him, the sound of the lock clicking exceptionally clear in the silent room.
This was the dormitory of the Royal Academy of Magic.
According to the rules, all students, whether noble or commoner, had their own single room.
An independent space that belonged only to him.
Once upon a time... this was the freedom he had longed for.
Now, it was just a smaller, more exquisite cage.
The moment the door closed, all strength drained from his body.
Bell leaned against the cold door and slowly slid down to the floor.
He curled his body, burying his head deep between his knees.
A vast, silent darkness swallowed him whole.
Why?
Why did it turn out like this?
Transmigrating to this world with a prominent family and loving parents, he thought he had been given the script for a winner’s life.
But why?
Why did that monster have to follow him here?
Why was this world so unfair?
It gave Cecilia Demon King level, world destroying power and an angelic skin sufficient to deceive everyone.
Yet why didn’t it give him the script of a Hero?
Even just a sliver of power to resist would have been enough.
But there was nothing.
Nothing at all.
He was just an ordinary earth elemental mage with mediocre talent.
And she was a god.
What should he do?
What else could he do?
Suicide.
If he died, would it all be over?
However, as soon as the thought arose, it was extinguished by an even deeper fear and shudder.
His right hand trembled uncontrollably as he touched his right eye.
The perfectly intact eyeball rolled slightly in its socket.
But...
The sensation of it being gouged out alive by fingers.
The excruciating pain of the optic nerve being torn.
That crisp, bone chilling sound of chewing.
And that holy white light that instantly smoothed over all pain and wounds.
Scene after scene replayed in his mind like the most vicious curse.
No.
He couldn’t die.
Death was not a release.
Death would only become an even more interesting game in her hands.
She would tear him apart and then put him back together.
She would kill him and then resurrect him.
She would make him experience the pain of death a thousand, ten thousand times, then smile and tell him, “Brother, you can never escape.”
Then... run away?
That thought seemed even more ridiculous and futile.
Where could he run?
Out of the academy? Out of the capital? Out of this country?
Ridiculous.
For a monster who could instantly cast high level all-elemental magic and even mastered Holy Healing Magic, the entire world was likely within her range of perception.
Even if he ran to the ends of the earth, he would only be moving from one cage to another slightly larger one.
There was no hope.
Ahead was a bottomless abyss.
Behind was a demon pressing closer step by step.
There was no way out.
Bell curled up on the floor, his body beginning to tremble violently and uncontrollably.
It wasn’t because of the cold.
It was a primal fear from the depths of his soul, born after being completely stripped of all choices and all hope.
He sat on the cold floor for an unknown amount of time.
Until his limbs grew numb and the trembling gradually subsided.
It was as if he had exhausted all the strength in his body and all his emotions.
His mind was blank.
His heart was dead silent.
He slowly raised his head, looking around the unfamiliar room with hollow eyes.
A bed, a desk, a wardrobe.
The furnishings were simple but clean and tidy.
He struggled to crawl up from the floor, walking to the bedside with unsteady steps.
Then, he fell straight back.
His body sank into the soft bedding.
He stared at the pure white ceiling, motionless with his eyes open.
The world was terrifyingly quiet.
Only his own faint breathing remained.
He suddenly felt very thirsty, his throat aching with dryness.
He subconsciously swallowed his saliva.
In that instant.
A faint, sweet scent rose again at the base of his tongue.
It was the taste of strawberries.
Mixed with a metallic, rust like scent of blood.
Rate on N.U.
