“I didn’t really expect you to come.”

The sunset painted the room crimson through the window.

Click.

The sound of the closing door sliced through the red-tinged silence.

“Tell me. What are you—no, what is he?”

Rael had finally decided to visit the infirmary after several days of deliberation. Rubellan showed no intention of revealing his identity himself, and she desperately wanted to know the truth. Despite the risk, she had no choice but to seek out Juletan.

“You must have been very curious,” Juletan remarked, his face filled with mockery as he looked up at Rael from his chair.

“Are you two even human?”

“You seem to know the answer already.”

“Did you take the students?”

Juletan spun in his chair at Rael’s question, the corners of his mouth lifting in a thick smile, clearly amused by her inquiry.

“Wrong question,” he corrected. “You shouldn’t ask if I took them, but if I killed them.”

Rael met his chilling gaze calmly. At least Juletan seemed willing to tell the truth. Despite the danger, she felt confident she would achieve her purpose in coming here.

Juletan slowly rose to his feet. Though fear urged Rael to bolt through the door, she knew she needed to face the truth with her own eyes.

“I am the son of Julas and the third wing of evil.”

Black smoke began to rise around his body, making his white coat seem ironically out of place.

“When the red moon rises, blood begins to boil.”

As his fingernails scraped across the desk, the sunset vanished. Darkness fell instantly, and behind Juletan appeared a round moon—blood-red, stained with the sunset’s lingering glow.

“Thankfully, you came to me on your own.”

Whoosh—

A sudden gust of wind blew through the room. Startled, Rael covered her face with her arms and closed her eyes. When the wind finally calmed, she immediately looked up, shocked by the sight before her.

“…Demon.”

Black wings had appeared on Juletan’s back, and beneath his pale face and red lips, sharp fangs were now visible.

As Rael stepped backward hesitantly, the wall behind Juletan collapsed with explosive force. It wasn’t magic—he had simply destroyed the wall with a casual gesture.

“What magnificent moonlight.”

The red moonlight seemed to be absorbed into Juletan’s body. Facing a real demon for the first time, Rael stood frozen in shock.

“Aren’t you curious? What form does that bastard you know take?”

“…”

“That bastard has ridiculous bat wings. Isn’t that funny? That the high and mighty Demon King was born with wings like those of a low-level demon!”

Juletan’s wings were glossy black feathers, luxurious and sleek.

“He should have been our father’s shame. He should have been a disgrace, not the heir!” Juletan ranted, the whites of his eyes reddening with fury.

Rael knew she needed to escape. She found herself making the absurd calculation of whether to run through the door behind her into the corridor or through the gaping hole in the wall. The commotion would surely draw people soon—she needed to flee quickly. Gathering her wits, she turned, opened the door, and ran into the corridor.

Tap-tap-tap.

She ran with all her might, her mind still reeling from the word “Demon King” that Juletan had mentioned.

BANG! CRASH—

Turning at the thunderous noise, she saw Juletan had smashed through the door and was now pursuing her. No, rather than pursuing, he was obliterating everything in her wake. At this rate, he seemed likely to destroy the entire building.

“Aah!”

In an instant, Rael’s body was bound by tendrils extending from Juletan’s hand and dragged toward him.

“Can’t you let go?”

“How could I release such an important hostage?”

Dangling from his arm, Rael frantically searched her pockets. She had brought many magical items for emergencies, but the problem was how close she was to Juletan. If she threw a fireball here, she’d be the one roasted, not him.

His body soared through the window.

“Aah!”

Glass fragments flew everywhere, but fortunately, none caused serious injury to Rael.

“Put me down!”

“Could you survive if I dropped you from here?”

Looking down, the ground was dizzyingly far below. If she fell from this height, her head would surely crack open. Juletan continued upward until they reached the high point of the academy’s bell tower.

“I should have done this from the beginning,” he said, clearly excited. His chilling laughter pierced Rael’s ears.

The sky suddenly darkened, becoming as opaque as thick storm clouds. But what filled the sky wasn’t clouds at all.

“Monsters…?”

Winged black monsters filled the sky completely. The single monster that had appeared previously was nothing compared to this. If so many monsters descended to the ground, even the academy’s teachers couldn’t prevent a bloodbath.

“Stop this right now!”

“Do you even know what I’m planning to do?”

Juletan looked down at Rael struggling in his grip and sneered. He found it laughable that this human, who could die with just a slight squeeze, dared to shout at him.

“What do you want? What have the people here done wrong? Solve your demon problems among yourselves!”

“You need to guide me to where the vault is.”

Vault?

Rael had to think for a moment about what he meant. The academy’s vault…

“Herman’s vault?”

The absolute vault said to have been created by Herman, the academy’s founder—it was like a living legend.

“Yes. The vault that bastard has been drooling over. No need to bother finding keys or anything. As long as I keep what’s inside out of his hands, I don’t need the contents myself.”

“The vault…”

So Rubellan had come to the academy because he needed the contents of the vault. Understanding this, the puzzle pieces that had been scattered in her mind began to fit together.

“Let’s go. We can worry about your life after we find the vault.”

Juletan’s body, which had been precariously balanced on top of the bell tower, rose into the air.

“Aah!”

Rael screamed again at the unpleasant floating sensation. Her screams seemed to excite Juletan further as she trembled with fear at the dizzying height.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, with Juletan’s short cry, the hand gripping her waist fell away.

“Aaah!”

Feeling herself thrown into empty space, Rael tightly closed her eyes.

She was falling. If she hit the ground from this height, her head would surely crack open. She tried to search her pockets for magical items, but the strong air pressure made it impossible to move freely.

Her falling body suddenly landed on something solid.

“You really do love danger, don’t you, Senior?”

That familiar, gentle voice brought tears to Rael’s eyes.

And this was all whose fault?

It was ironic that she felt relief at his voice in this situation, now knowing Rubellan’s true identity. Her body rested comfortably in Rubellan’s arms.

“RUBELLAN!”

Juletan’s furious voice split the sky. When Rael and Rubellan looked at him, he was clutching his pierced shoulder, breathing heavily. The wound was rapidly healing.

“Today, I won’t be defeated like before.”

Behind him gathered hideous winged monsters. The monsters were under Juletan’s control.

“Always such a troublesome brother.”

Rubellan remained composed despite facing the black monsters that looked ready to devour them both.

Whoosh—

Wings emerged from Rubellan’s back. As Juletan had said, they resembled bat wings. Black horns also sprouted from both sides of his forehead—slightly curved toward the sky, they looked extremely solid.

“Rubellan…”

There was an enormous difference between hearing about something and actually seeing it. Rubellan truly being a demon was almost unbelievable, even as she witnessed it.

Raised by her grandmother, Rael recalled something she had been told as a child:

‘Child, foolish people say demons don’t exist. But they’re wrong.’

‘Why, Grandmother?’

‘If we ever face a demon, by the time we realize what it is, we’d already be dead. Dead people tell no tales.’

That story her grandmother had told her one cold winter by the fireplace—now she could answer it.

‘No, Grandmother. I met a demon, and I’m still alive.’

“…For now.”

Though how long that would last was impossible to predict given the current situation.

“GO!”

With Juletan’s shout, the monsters charged at full speed. Rael clutched Rubellan’s arm tightly. Rubellan’s red eyes flickered.

And then.

‘CAW—’

‘SCREECH!’

Pop. Pop. Flutter.

The monsters that had been charging powerfully began bursting into flames like moths drawn to a bonfire. From a distance, it looked like a fireworks display—a spectacular method of elimination.

‘Demon…’

To see these tremendous monsters, which would overwhelm any human, being annihilated without even disturbing his breath—Rael realized that human power must seem like child’s play to demons. She understood that legends like “the hero who defeated the Demon King” must all be lies.

How could humans possibly kill something like this?

“Acting crazy just from seeing a bit of moonlight.”

“Rubellan…!”

Juletan was beside himself with rage as his precious monsters died so futilely.

“On nights like this, I have trouble controlling my power too.”

Rubellan flew to the top of the bell tower and safely set Rael down.

“There’s no safe place anyway, so you might as well stay here,” he said, looking at the demolished academy building.

“You are…”

“Despite appearances, I am the head of the household. I need to provide some proper family discipline.”

Juletan had called him the Demon King.

“Are you the Demon King?” Rael asked, tugging at Rubellan’s sleeve. Looking down at her, Rubellan slowly narrowed his eyes.

“We’ll talk about that when I get back.”

Rubellan sliced through the sky and disappeared into the distance. Rael’s hand, unable to reach him, remained suspended in empty space.