Ch 12: Innocent Evil

Zein's POV

A month passed. Every day of our stay in this hell was not easy, but we were still lucky because we were still alive.

"You know? They are so interesting." Vanessa said while watching the students greet us.

The HU students were already smiling and talking to us. Supremo had ordered that they must treat us well. Even though I knew they were just being forced.

"Let it be. You'll get used to it." I said.

We went to the library. I promised Vanessa that I would go with her there to research her assignment. Mia had a headache and stayed in the dorm, and the boys? They may be wandering around.

The elderly librarian immediately caught my attention. She smiled at me strangely, so I turned my gaze to something else and found a seat. Just as we were putting down our things, Vanessa searched for the book she needed as a reference. I just waited for her in our seat while looking around. It looked like an ordinary library, with signs and posters saying "Silence" and a few students.

"You're Zein, right?"

I almost jumped in shock because the librarian's face was right before me when I turned to my left. She was still grinning at me.

"Y-Yes," I answered weakly.

"The news is true. You quickly gained a position and were promoted to ninth place." She said while looking at my uniform.

I was still looking at him in shock. I noticed that her curly white hair was long. Her skin was wrinkled, and she had thick eyeglasses. She had a nameplate on her left chest that said, "Leonara."

"It seems like everything is just repeating itself. I hope so…" Leonara said. "I hope this time, it will succeed."

"W-what do you mean?" I asked. I didn't understand. What did she say would happen again? What was she referring to?

"That's your friend?" She asked, pointing to Vanessa, who was looking for a book on the bookshelf. "Do they know?"

"Which one? What are you talking about?"

"They're studying hard to be in the Highest 10, to get out of here. But you, you're already in. What else are you doing in this hell?" She asked, laughing softly.

I swallowed hard when I realized what she meant. My mouth fell shut.

"You know, don't you? You believed it?" She asked. "There's something wrong with every story, Zein. No one will help you but yourself. Don't trust everyone, even your friends. What happened before might happen again. Be careful." She turned around and went back to her table.

I still didn't understand what she said, but I trust my friends no matter what they say. She's just messing with me. I won't listen to them because my friends trust me, too.

"Oh? What's wrong with you? Why are you absent-minded?" Vanessa asked, who was already sitting in front of me.

I shook my head and watched her read. I promised myself they wouldn't betray me, and I wouldn't leave them.

"Vanessa, how much do you want to leave here?" I asked.

She frowned as she stared at me. Her left eyebrow was also raised as if my question weirded her out.

"What kind of question is that, Zein? Of course, I want to," she replied. "Why you? Don't you want to leave here?" She asked back.

"Of course I want to," I answered while laughing softly.

My chest tightened. No matter how much I wanted to leave here, I couldn't. They wouldn't let me leave here alive. No matter what I did, I would rot here. I couldn't breathe properly, so I told Vanessa I would go out to get some air. She hadn't finished researching yet, so she just nodded at me.

When I left the library, I saw everyone I encountered smiling again. Before I knew it, I had stumbled into the music room, where I could hear someone playing.

I peeked in and saw a man holding a guitar and singing. He was also wearing glasses and looked like a nerd. His voice was so beautiful that I couldn't resist going in. He stopped playing.

He quickly stood up and let go of the guitar.

"S-sorry, my lady." He said while bowing to me.

"No. It's okay. You play really well." I praised.

He looked into my eyes. Those were the most innocent eyes I've ever seen. They didn't seem to have a trace of evil in them.

"T-thank you."

"What's your name?"

"I'm Nazzer Lumia."

I gasped when I heard his name.

The man smiled.

Nazzer Lumia? No, that can't be! He can't be the leader of the Black Blood Gang. Not this innocent-looking guy!

"W-What?"

"Nazzer Lumia, " he repeated, lifting a part of the fabric on his polo shirt where the number 3 was written.

He is. He is the leader of the BBG. But why is that? His eyes are so innocent? You wouldn't think he was also a demon. Shit!

"Is there a problem?"

"Are you the leader of the Black Blood Gang?"

He laughed softly but terrifyingly. He's a devil in disguise. A person's appearance is not enough to judge their character.

"It's me, my lady."

My throat went dry. I noticed the tattoo on Nazzer's right arm–a snake with a nail. Is that the symbol of the BBG? The nail is deadly or poisonous, which is why it affected Matt.

"Not everything you see is real. Not everything good is true angels, sometimes... they are more devilish than the demons you think they are."

I couldn't move from where I was standing when he approached me. He adjusted his eyeglasses and stared at me in the eyes.

The innocence in his eyes disappeared; they became sharp, as if he could kill me with just a look. I couldn't look at him for long.

"Number 9, huh? That's amazing, but that's of no use because you're going to die, too; it could have been me or someone else who did it. What a shame." He said.

He just stared at me, his true nature coming out

"Join us, and I'll make you queen. I'll save you myself."

I was stunned. "I don't want to."

I don't want to be the queen of demons. I'd rather die than join evil.

"Hmm... What a shame. You're going to die too. Do you want it now?"

I turned pale when he quickly pointed a nail at my neck. I couldn't breathe properly. I couldn't even fight back or dodge because, with just one move, the sharp nail would indeed pierce my neck.

"You're a demon. You're even more of a demon than us." He whispered.

Nazzer pressed the cold tip of the nail harder on my neck. I shivered with fear. This was my end.

"Kill me..."

He laughed as if it was just a funny joke. He also moved the nail away from my neck.

"They're right. You're not afraid of death, and it's like death is more afraid of you. You won't die because you're still useful."

Suddenly, the door opened, and three men entered.

"That's him!" said one.

I froze and became a statue when they rushed Nazzer and gave him a series of punches.

Why isn't he fighting back? He is also a monster, but why is he not fighting back?!

"Stop that!" I shouted.

They froze and turned to face me. They were surprised to recognize me. It seemed like they hadn't noticed me earlier.

"S-sorry, miss."

I approached the smiling Nazzer. His lips were busted up. "Why aren't you fighting back?"

"Miss! Stay away from that nerd guy! He's a piece of trash!" A man shouted behind me.

My eyes widened when I saw that Nazzer had hidden his number on his shirt. The three men who beat him up didn't know him because of that. It seemed like no one knew his true identity.

Shit!

"You're right, my lady. They don't know me. They don't know that I'm a demon."

I backed away when the three men rushed Nazzer again. I left the music room helplessly.

I understood the situation. Nazzer was pretending to be an ordinary student. I didn't know who to pity. Nazzer or those three men.

"Are they done beating him up?"

I looked at where the voice came from. I saw a red-haired man also looking at me. He was the one Mia told me she saw before seeing Rouge Silvenia's corpse. He had a small tattoo of a nail covered in a crown of thorns on the side of his arm.

"Are you one of them too?"

He peeked through the door and shook his head. "That's boring. They're not done beating him yet." He stretched and yawned as if he was sleepy.

"Help him."

He stared at me and suddenly laughed. He fixed his hair before shaking his head. "It's not possible, but remember the faces of those three men. They'll be the next to be buried in the ground."

I was terrified. I knew those three men would pay seriously for beating Nazzer.