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——Jessica’s Perspective

“Hahh, there’s sooo muchhh…”

I’d been finishing off reports since yesterday, but my progress was really slow. The main reason was the existence of my Magic Fundamentals II report. It wasn’t possible to write it properly without referencing and researching experimental data. If anybody could write one without it, they would have to be able to combine both formulas and knowledge properly. I’m not so talented though, so I had no choice except to rely on data provided by my forebears.

I had to stay in the library or else. If I went back to the dorms and tried writing this without references, I’d never make it in time. But there was one problem. The library was only open for us until closing time, and it was closed for the night.

Alright. It’s at times like this that you use personal connections. It’s underhanded, but I’ll ask a librarian for a favor and secretly grab the key. A few of my acquaintances have done this before, and managed to pass their supplementary exams. Honestly, it’s breaking the rules, but I can’t get out of this situation without making a few sacrifices.

Having decided that, I immediately moved from the class to the library.

The library was filled with students busying themselves with reports or exam preparations. I called out to my contact in the library clerks. The one in charge today was a girl in my class, so I was hoping our relationship from class is enough. With those faint hopes, I begged her to help me.

She’s been silent for the last few seconds…

So it’s no good after all…?

My shoulders dropped in disappointment.

But her expression seemed to say ‘What am I going to do with you?’ and she secretly handed the key over. I did it. It was surprisingly easy! Only, she told me that she wanted me to treat her to tea at the Lindt Teahouse later. Well, I didn’t think it would be free anyway. I’m not so naive.

Later, when the school closed up, I used the key to sneak into the library.

Aahh, the guilt is hurting my heart. I’m not cut-out for breaking the rules. But at this point, I don’t have a choice. Yeah. I need to at least get this report done, now that the rules are already broken. Time for an all-nighter.

Having fired myself up, I headed to a desk.

……
…………
……………………

A few hours had passed by while I was working away.

Looks like I’ll finish the reports faster than I expected. It really is much more efficient to do this while consulting references in the library.

I wrote away while giving sidelong glances at the reference book.

After that, I continued for another few hours, before I started feeling a bit of exhaustion in my shoulders and hips.

Mmn~

I gave my shoulders a stretch.

Thanks to quietly concentrating, I managed to somehow finish my reports.

Haha, I did it. The night isn’t even over yet.

Getting up from my seat in cheerful spirits, I went to look outside the window.

It’s already pitch-black outside. Although it isn’t raining, black clouds have completely covered the moon.

Uuu, it’s going to be a little scary going back.

And the doors to the dorms are going to be shut tight by now. Guess I can’t help it. I suppose I’ll spend the night here. At any rate, I had planned on an all-nighter to begin with. I should consider it lucky that I get to sleep at all.

Sitting down on my seat, I lay my upper body down on the table. Perhaps my mind was tired from the report, but even in this weird position, I immediately started to feel sleepy…

-Clank-

My eyes opened at the sudden sound. Although my eyes were still drooping drowsily, I stood up.

Who is it?

There shouldn’t be any students left now in the middle of the night. Could it be Mr. Geil making his rounds?

But I can’t hear any footsteps.

It was completely quiet around me. Was it just my imagination?

I’d better listen carefully just in case.

After straining my ears, I heard the groan of some beast. A sound that was a bit like a growl, and a bit like a moan… and the sound was getting closer and closer.

And then, when my eyes happened to catch sight of the entrance, I found Mr. Geil standing there. Seeing him suddenly appear like that sent a chill down my spin.

“Mr-… Geil…?”
“GRGRGRGAAAAAAH!”
“W-, What’s wrong, teacher?”

He wasn’t normal. His eyes were bloodshot, and drool was running from his mouth.

“GARGHHHHHHHHHH!”

Mr. Geil’s roar resounded through the room, before he suddenly charged at me.

“NOOOOOOOO!”

I immediately tossed a nearby chair at him. Paying it no heed, he viciously sent it flying with one hand. When it hit the wall, it broke to pieces.

“…N-, no way…”

It was unbelievable. I just saw a human match a beast in strength, without even using reinforcement magic. This isn’t normal. What’s going on with Mr. Geil’s body…?

“GARGHHHHHHH!”

Mr. Geil drew in while scattering desks and chairs.

I-, I’m scared… I have to get away.

Grabbing my self-defense mace, I tried to run away, but Mr. Geil was in the way of the exit.

It’ll be hard to escape without defeating him first.

“S-, Sorry, teacher.”

As Mr. Geil charged at me, I swung the mace down on his head, as hard as I could. Numbness ran through my arms like an electric shock, and a hard and heavy impact was transmitted from my wrists to my shoulders.

“I-, It hurts!”

My face drew into a grimace. My hands really did feel numb from the incredible impact. But Mr. Geil wasn’t fazed.

Even though he’s bleeding from his head, he withstood that!?

No matter how weak I was, it was still a strike from a mace. The mace of a magician is made from a special alloy, and then magically enchanted. It’s supposed to be pretty damaging but…

As I was thinking this, Mr. Geil was still spurting blood from his head. But despite that, he was walking towards me without a problem.

“GUGARGHGHHH!”

While I was shocked, Mr. Geil violently swung his arm towards me.

“KYAAA!”

I immediately fell backwards onto my butt. I managed to escape by a hair’s breadth, but had that hit me, even my bones would have been crushed.

Hahh, hahh, hahh. I-, I’m scared…

I could feel my heart thumping away.

Why? Why do I have to go through something like this? Is it because I broke the rules?

God, you’re too cruel… Am I going to die here? No… NOOOO!

“W-, WHAT’S WITH THISSSS!?”

Nothing made sense. In a panic, I began rapidly firing magical bullets. A number of them hit Mr. Geil dead-on, but it only burnt his clothes and did no damage. He glared my way with bloodshot eyes.

“WAHHHH!”

Because of the terror, I fired even more bullets. A few of them ended up hitting the metal fixtures on a high-up bookshelf, and the whole thing started to fall from above him. Just the books and bookshelf alone were pretty heavy, and the fragments of that shelf rained down on him, piercing him here and there, before the books buried him. Blood flooded out from everywhere he was stabbed. Normally it would be a heavy injury. It wouldn’t be strange even if it was fatal.

“Hiii! I’m sorry!”

Although I was attacked, I still raised my hands towards a teacher I had respected for many years. I felt dizzy from the self-hatred.

W-, Why did the teacher turn into this?

Running over, I peered at his face.

And when I did, his eyes shot open, and he started to get up.

“Hii! W-, Why?”

Even though he was buried under the books, he forcefully stood up. Because he was still stabbed with the shelf fragments, when he forced himself up he also ripped off his right arm, and almost all of his left. Even though just moving should have hurt, he once again came rushing at me. No matter how you looked at it, he wasn’t human.

“M-, Monster!”

Hahh, hahh, hahh.

While avoiding the pursuing Mr. Geil, I left the library and ran into the second floor hallway. Because one of his legs was damaged, I easily managed to lose him.

I-, I have to hurry up and let somebody know!

I sprinted full speed towards the main gate.

Mn? Somebody’s there!

I could see a silhouette in the hallway. Slowing down, I strained my eyes to see who it was.

“Mr. Alcyune?”
“Oh? Why if it isn’t Nichol. Why are you so panicked?”
“Mr. Alcyune, the truth is Mr. Geil―”

W-, Wait. Why is he here at this time of night? I never heard anything about him being on duty. And that slight smile on his face is eerie.

The cincher for me was his eyes. They felt the same as usual. It was clear to me that his eyes hid a viciousness. That look on his face made me tremble. I immediately went back the way I came.

“Ku ku ku. I’ve always thought you were a sharp girl. I was right.”

Laughing loudly, his whole body transformed. His skin turned pale white, his fangs started to protrude, and the white disappeared from his eyes.

“H-, Hii… You’re not human?”
“Full points, Nichol. I am a member of the demon race. A member descended from a lineage that dates back thousands of years. For all this time, I have abhorred the rule of this world by you wastrel humans, and have desired to destroy this nation, you see.”

Demon? I-, It can’t be, right?

The demon race that was said to have been destroyed?

But his overpowering aura gave a sense of truth to what he said, and my body was telling me that he was the real thing.

I-, I have to run!

In a panic, I ran back the way I came. I could feel a vehement presence drawing in from behind.

“Run. Run. Ku ku, a girl’s face warped in terror and despair is truly a beautiful thing.”

My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst from my chest. But because of the terror closing in from behind me, my feet wouldn’t stop.

Hahh, hahh. I-, I can’t run anymore…

Panting hard, I immediately sought refuge in a nearby classroom. While trying to calm my breathing, I looked around when…

Somebody’s here!? A girl with brown hair stood in the classroom.

A-, A demon?

I was about to leave the classroom in a fluster when,

“Jessica.”
“…Edim?”

Because I was so panicked, for a moment I wasn’t sure. The person in the classroom was my best friend, Edim. She was in her uniform.

Didn’t she go back to the dorm?

What’s she doing out here so late at night? All sorts of questions flew through my mind. But I can’t dilly-dally here. A demon is coming to attack.

“Edim, there’s no time to talk. Something dangerous is coming!”
“Jessica, you know…”
“We’ll talk after. We have to hurry and run!”

It was right after I said that that I first noticed that she was acting strange. She was idly looking my way, but her eyes were unfocused, and her expression was vacant.

“Run? Why? Even though you can become something as wonderful as this!”
“Edim?”
“Ahaha, why didn’t I notice all this time? Jessica, you’ve got a really cute face don’t you. And pretty hair. And a sparkling white nape…”

Saying that, Edim brushed my hair up, and kissed the nape of my neck.

“I-, It can’t be that the demons did something to you?”
“That’s right. I became Alcyune’s servant. Aahh, vampires are the best! I’m glad I escaped from the foolish human race.”
“What are you saying, Edim! Come back to me!”
“Huhu, I’ll make you into one of us. Aahh, that cute face, that neck, your blood, I wanna drink it. Let me drink ittt!”
“NOOOOO!”

I screamed and flew out of the room. Alcyune was waiting outside. He was smirking like a cat looking at a mouse, and his expression was filled with sadism. He probably thinks of humans as playthings.

I can’t forgive you, Alcyune.

Edim wasn’t acting normal. Just what did he do to her…?

“…What did you do to Edim?”
“Ku ku. Now that you mention it, she was your friend, wasn’t she.”
“That’s right. She’s my precious friend, and I’ve known her forever. What on earth did you…”
“I just sucked her blood. When we vampires suck blood, our prey become our servants.”
“N-, No way… Then the reason Mr. Geil lost his mind was-”
“Yeah, I did it. If you’re a beautiful girl, I’ll let you live as my doll. But I have no need for men. So I destroyed his mind, and turned him into a beast.”
“Y, You’re so cruel.”

“Ku ku, come to think of it, Edim was really worried about you, you know? She was worried that you’d get sick by staying up late all the time, so she went to talk to me about it.”
“It can’t be.”
“So you know what I told her? If you’re worried, then wait until Nichol finishes her work.”
“…Because of what you said, Edim didn’t go back to the dorm.”
“She took me seriously, and stayed alone at school, you know? The perfect prey! KUHAHAHAHA!”
“YOU FIEND!”

Using my mace, I promptly spread a magic circle. It was my strongest spell, Kilofire. It’s my first time firing this at a person. Because of that, my hands were shaking.

Mmmn, that’s not a person, it’s a demon. And what’s more, a fiend that laid his hands on my precious friend!

“Kilofire!”

The magic circle created a flame which hit him dead-on. His clothes started to burn.

I hit him! Did it work?

But my hopes came to nothing, and he walked towards me uncaringly. His expression was completely nonchalant. It looks like it’s impossible to do a thing with my level of firepower.

Ku-, if I can’t do it with raw power, then I’ll beat him with numbers!

“UAHHHHHH!”

I let out a roar, and fired magical bullets, one after another. He didn’t try and dodge, and all of them hit him, but not a single hair was damaged.

“Ku ku ku. You’re tickling me, here. It’s all so ticklish! What pitiful beings, you humans are. Are you done?”

He was playing with me. He was mocking me because he could kill me at any time. Being this close to him caused me anxiety and terror. I was afraid, but I was also frustrated.

Hahh, hahh, what do I do?

It’s impossible for me to beat Alcyune. I need to run outside somehow and call for help. I started running towards the outside. But perhaps because I used lots of magic without much sleep, I collapsed near the west exit on the first floor.

“What’s wrong? Is the game of tag over? It’s about time to finish things up.”

Alcyune reached his hand towards me.

I’m scared. My legs were trembling, and I could hear my teeth chatter.

“Relax. I let beautiful girls live as dolls. You should consider it an honor. The age of the demons is about to begin. Even if as a doll, you’ll get to join as our lowest member.”
“J-, Just who would obey you demons! If I have to become your servant, then I’d rather die!”

Trying my best to suppress my terror, I spat insults at Alcyune.

“Hmph. Humans truly are foolish beings. I’ve given you the options. Become a toadying doll, or be ripped limb from limb and die. Choose one of the two.”

Alcyune pressed me for an answer with calm words. He hurt my best friend. I don’t want to become his doll no matter what. But if I refuse I’ll hurt his pride as a demon and might meet a fate worse than death.

I-, I’m scared. It’s horrible. S-, Somebody save me…

I hit my limit, and tears started running from my eyes.

With my body this exhausted, and with the absolute difference in power, I can’t fight or run. Uuu, it’s the end.

Just as despair washed over me,

“Hello~ Sorry for intruding late at night. There was a light on, so I thought somebody might be awake.”

Who is it? I heard a young woman’s voice.

“Ku ku. I don’t know who this is, but she sure is a foolish woman for coming here at such a time!”
“No, you can’t com―”

I tried to tell her to run, but Alcyune covered my mouth, and started to squeeze my neck.

“Shhhh. Killing you right now is nothing to me!”
“Nn, uu-, mmhg”
“Behave!”

He tossed me, sending me flying into a wall, before collapsing to the ground.

“Kefu-, kohu-, kahah-!”

After he threw me, Alcyune transformed back into his human form, and walked towards the west exit.

“And whoever might you be?”
“Ah, I’m nobody suspicious. My name is Tilea. Timu, who will be enrolling here this week, is my younger sister.”

H-, How unlucky! Of all days, Timu’s sister chose today to visit!?

“Aah, Ms. Tilea is it. We’ve met before, haven’t we? I’m Alcyune, a teacher at this school.”
“Yes, thank you for earlier.”
“And so, what brings you here this late at night?”
“It embarrasses me to say, but the truth is I became a little lost…”
“That must have been quite troubling. Please, come inside.”

Alcyune smiled, and opened the door for her.

“D-, Don’t… co… me…”

I-, It’s no good. Because of the impact against the wall, I can’t breathe, and my voice won’t come out.

Ms. Tilea did just as Alcyune suggested, and came inside.

“Please excuse me.”
“So you became lost?”
“Yes. A Per― I mean, an employee of mine made a mistake, you see. It seems that he failed to get in touch with our acquaintance in the Capital.”
“I see. And the name of that acquaintance is…?”
“His name is Ortissio. Would you happen to know him?”
“No, unfortunately I can’t help you there. The Capital really is quite a large place after all.”
“That is true. Well, my employee has been looking for him, but hasn’t made any progress at all. Hm~mm, whatever should I do from now on?”

“Speaking of which, I don’t see Timu.”
“My sister is waiting by the front gate. She’s a chuu― I mean, her tongue is a tad harsh, and so I wanted to speak first.”
“Ku ku. So your sister is here too. How convenient.”
“Hm? Aah, quite right. My sister hasn’t greeted everybody yet, has she.”
“No, I met with you earlier, but I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Timu. I’m truly looking forward to it.”
“My sister would be very happy to hear that. But still, this school really deserves its reputation. I never would have thought that you would have classes even in the middle of the night. Yep yep. As expected of this place.”

Ms. Tilea seemed to really be in admiration. From what I’ve heard, it looks like Timu has come to the Capital as well. I have to hurry and warn them of the danger.

I forced my body up.

“HUH!? There was a student here too?”
“That’s right. Ku ku. Your sister’s future classmate, Nichol Jessica.”
“Ohh, I see! Jessica, please take care of Timu for me.”

Ms. Tilea smiled as she spoke to me.

D-, Don’t… c-, come. I tried to implore her with my tear-filled eyes.

“Hm? You’re crying? Could it be…”

Did I manage to warn her? Then you have to hurry up and run!

“You were in the middle of scolding a student? I’m truly sorry for intruding at such a time.”
“Huhuhu, quite right. Ku ku ku, I was truly in the middle of punishing her.”

His lips curved up, looking extremely delighted.

“Jessica, you can’t hold a grudge, okay? The teacher is scolding you because he cares.”

W-, What a crazy misunderstanding…

Even though I had thought that she was a dreamy, blonde-haired blue-eyed big sister…

She turned out to be kind of a disappointing person.

More importantly, I have to quickly warn her. My breathing was a lot better now.

“Hahh, hahh, hahh… -un…”
“Hm? What’s up~?”
“RUNNNNNN!”
“Heh?”
“Ahaha, what a foolish woman!”

Alcyune reverted to his demon form, and immediately swooped in on Ms. Tilea.