I heard a woman’s short scream from below. As I stepped out onto the balcony, I saw him holding Ray, who was just leaving the building. It was only when I looked down that I understood why the sound of what I thought was a child falling had been so heavy.

Eight spider-like legs had sprouted from his back, all of them firmly planted in the ground, leaving it cracked and broken. Four of the eight tendrils were wrapped tightly around Ray’s body, while the other four had turned into sharp blades, pointing directly at her and radiating an intense, almost frenzied energy.

“Screeeee! Screaaaaaaam!!”

The scream was not Ray’s. She couldn’t possibly scream with the tendrils Even though it was late at night, this was still within the dormitory grounds. Surely there were couples meeting in secret somewhere. The scream must have belonged to one of those nobles.

The moment I heard the scream, I saw the joints of Zetak’s spider legs contract. The next moment he was gone. Ray, foaming at the mouth as the tendrils choked her, was gone too. Zetak, with his unnervingly cold gaze, was gone too. All that remained was the shattered floor, pierced by his spider legs.

He had retracted the hidden legs in each joint and used their propulsion to leave the area in an instant. What could the written numbers mean to him? The same person who had scoffed when I had mentioned the numbers 7 and 12 earlier was now openly revealing his monstrous form, regardless of the fact that it was inside the dormitory. He must have been very upset.

“W-what is that?! My goodness, it’s him, isn’t it? Prince Jaibid’s servant! That monster!”

The noblewoman’s scream made it easier to locate them. They were just behind the central fountain, a short distance away. As soon as I confirmed that, I grabbed the balcony railing and jumped down. I channeled energy throughout my body to prepare for the impact, and as soon as I landed, I sprinted towards the fountain. With my energy fully activated, I could probably match Zetak’s speed now. After all, the way humans use energy is fundamentally different from his.

Before the two nobles could notice, I quickly moved behind them and struck them in the back of the neck, knocking them unconscious. Before their bodies had even hit the ground, I had already reached the wall.

Finding Zetak’s trail wasn’t difficult. In his heightened excitement, he had left traces of his dark energy everywhere. All I had to do was follow it.

Using the tree next to the wall and the surface of the wall itself, I alternated between pushing off each to quickly climb up. When I reached the top, I steadied myself with my left hand and climbed over. The path reappeared on the other side, leading in two directions: one towards the residential area, the other towards the forest behind the Academy.

Colourful lights were brightly lit in the direction of the residential area. The faint sound of music could be heard, suggesting a small celebration. Had he gone that way, he would have caused quite a commotion. Fortunately, the trail led into the forest instead. It seemed he still had some sense left in him, choosing to go into an uninhabited area. Still, I couldn’t let my guard down. With nightfall, the situation had only become more dangerous.

The forest next to the academy was well-kept, almost like a garden. Since it was often used by nobles as a secret meeting place, there was always a chance that someone would spot Zetak there. Two people had already seen him, and I couldn’t afford to let the number of witnesses grow. Especially in the forest, where what they’d see wouldn’t just be spider legs, but the aftermath of a murder. If there were witnesses, it would be up to me to deal with the situation.

If a nobleman were to sneak out in the middle of the night, his disappearance would probably result in the case remaining unsolved. Even if I became a suspect, nothing could be done on the basis of mere suspicion, as long as I left no evidence. A thoroughly agitated Zetak, his mind gone, probably wouldn’t care about witnesses. That’s why this was something I had to deal with, something I had to take control of. That was why I went after Zetak.

As I followed the trail, I heard the sound of a woman crying deeper in the forest. Fortunately, I hadn’t picked up any other signs of life as I approached. Perhaps because of the festival, everyone seemed to be heading in that direction. Whatever the reason, it was a stroke of luck. At least things wouldn’t get any more complicated.

Pushing through the bushes, I ventured further into the forest until I finally found Ray and Zetak. What appeared before me was a scene completely different from what I had expected.

Even though it had only been a short time, it would have been more than enough to kill someone. So I wouldn’t have been surprised to find an enraged Zetak dismembering her and hanging her body from a tree.

Or perhaps to devour them. But the scene before me was nothing of the sort.

Zetak was no longer strangling her with his tendrils. He hadn’t pulled them all the way back into his body, but at least they weren’t holding her back. He just stood there in silence. Ray, on the other hand, crouched at his feet and sobbed.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry… I couldn’t help it… I had no choice… I couldn’t do anything else… I’m really sorry.”

She cried like a child, sniffling and sobbing uncontrollably, repeating her words over and over. She clawed at the grass, weeping bitterly, her voice breaking with grief. Zetak stood with his back to me, so I couldn’t see his expression. But the lack of murderous intent in the silence told me all I needed to know.

When a monster truly intends to kill, it hides all its bloodlust.

Zetak wanted to kill Ray.

Letting her say what she wanted might have been his way of granting her a last wish, as if listening to her last words. No, he wouldn’t show such mercy. That wasn’t his nature. This was simply torment, giving her false hope. Go ahead, cry all you want. Beg until your hands are raw. Who knows? Maybe I’ll spare you. Perhaps it was his way of mocking her.

I saw one of the tendrils silently transform into a scythe-like blade. Rey, still cowering and crying, didn’t notice. She crawled forward and grabbed Zetak’s ankle.

“You too… You must understand, right?”

She sniffled, muttering words that made no sense. The blade-like tendril rose silently and aimed downward, targeting her ankle from behind. It wasn’t a vital spot – it clearly had no intention of letting her die painlessly. But just as the blade was about to sever her ankle, it stopped abruptly at her scream.

“You have someone precious too!”

Her tearful voice was distorted by her sobs, but still understandable. Ray, unaware of how close she had come to losing her leg, looked up at Zetak through her tears.

“My little sister is dying of a disease. If that lady hadn’t paid for her treatment, she’d be dead by now. It’s an amount I could never touch, no matter how hard I’ve worked all my life. She said that if I didn’t do what she asked, she would cut off my support… Please forgive me. You know her too, don’t you? Right?”

“We’re from the same orphanage, aren’t we?”

Ray pleaded, appealing to his sympathy, her sobs echoing loudly.

“I… I had no choice but to do what she said. No matter what it took, I… I wanted to save her. I wanted to save Reyna. You of all people should understand how I feel. So please…”

“I must protect my sister.”

Zetak withdrew his tendrils. But it wasn’t out of pity for her. Tilting his head slightly, he spoke as if he couldn’t understand her.

“Karial may be a madwoman… but you are just as mad.”

“Huh…?”

A tendril wrapped itself roughly around Ray’s arm – the same arm that had gripped Zetak’s leg. Before the cracking sound fully registered, her arm was twisted at a grotesque angle. Just as it had once done to my own arm, the bone in her forearm tore through her flesh and protruded. Blood splattered with every desperate thrust of her body as Ray screamed in agony. Zetak stepped back, as if repulsed by something filthy that had gotten on him.

“Don’t touch me so carelessly.”

“Z-Zetak…”

“The excuse that you had no choice but to save your sister… it’s always pathetically pathetic, no matter how many times I hear it. How long do you want to live trapped by your delusions?”

“D-delusions…?”

Despite gasping in pain, Ray seemed to make an effort to catch every word Zetak said. Zetak watched them for a moment before withdrawing his tendrils. As they slowly retracted into his back, Ray’s face paled. With a series of cracking sounds, the spider’s legs disappeared one by one. Zetak slowly opened his mouth as he continued to stare at Ray.

“Your sister, Reyna…”

“She’s been dead a long time.”

He said it emotionlessly, as if reading a book. Ray’s eyes widened so much that they couldn’t widen any further. “A-” She seemed to want to say something, but no words came out. After a long silence, the only thing she managed to say was “Impossible”.

“What colour was your sister’s hair?”

“Um…”

“What colour were her eyes?”

Ray’s brown eyes trembled.

“She looked like an angel, just like your mother. You used to brag about her at the orphanage. Have you forgotten how your sister looked?”

“No, that can’t be. My sister… the lady took care of her. I’m sure… the lady…”

“Well, I can understand if you’ve gone mad.”

Zetak grabbed her by the collar and forced her to stand. She screamed, probably from the pain in her arm. But Ray never took his eyes off Zetak. He threw her as if he wanted to throw her into a tree.