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“…What do you mean by still being alive?”

At Shin Woo’s question, Rachel rested her chin on her hand and sighed.

“Hana is not inside the academy right now. She’s on the run.”

“On the run…?”

“We’re currently in pursuit.”

Not good.

Things had changed far too rapidly while I was down.

If the demon, Hana, gets caught, the outcome won’t be pretty.

But what if the pursuit fails?

That’s just as problematic.

Why did Hana run away?

No, maybe running away was the only option.

“What if Hana gets caught…? What happens then?”

“Well, you know the general policy regarding demons.”

Of course, I know.

It’s one of the basics they teach at the academy.

Si-hyun even mentioned it.

Immediate execution upon discovery.

Originally, demons are virtually indistinguishable, leading to immense harm as they infiltrate society.

Even in small numbers, they are far more dangerous than monsters.

In other words, once Hana is discovered…

She would die on the spot.

No way.

That must be prevented.

“Are the student council members leading the search?”

“I don’t know the details. I’m just the health teacher.”

There’s not enough information.

Just then, someone entered the infirmary and spoke.

“The search party has already been assembled. Your friend Han Si-hyun has also volunteered.”

A girl with a rather petite figure and a delicate voice.

Her overall impression made her look quite young.

Rachel couldn’t hide her surprise upon spotting her.

“Principal, what brings you here…?”

“I just came to see the student who was harmed, now that they’ve awakened.”

Shin Woo’s attention was captured by the principal’s first words.

He asked urgently.

“I’ll volunteer too! Please put me in the search party!”

“No.”

“…Why not? If Han Si-hyun volunteered!”

“Kim Shin Woo, what would you do if you found Yu Hana?”

“That…”

A direct response didn’t come.

I was left speechless.

What would I do if I met Hana?

Well, I would, of course…

Help her. Move solely for Hana’s sake.

“Yu Hana is a demon. That girl is a target for elimination.”

“That can’t be! We can catch her and bring her back so she can return to normal…!”

“A demon can’t return to being human. The council has already made up its mind.”

“…”

No matter how you put it, this is too much.

Just yesterday, she was a student at the academy.

Wasn’t she someone to be protected?

What if becoming a demon wasn’t her own choice?

The attack on the student council president might have been forced too.

“A student became a demon and tried to kill the student council president. Do you have any idea what kind of impact this will have on humanity? The academy is the hope of mankind. The only institution nurturing heroes to fight the monsters that disrupt the world. For it to be tarnished….”

“Hana is not tarnished!”

A cold silence engulfed the infirmary.

The principal looked at Shin Woo with sad eyes.

In the end, that girl and all others were precious students to her.

“It can’t be helped. This is how the world is. In a time when despair blankets everything, the spark of hope is too small and miserable. We must protect that spark at any cost.”

“…”

“Forget about it. If you can’t forget, then turn a blind eye and deny it. Think of Yu Hana as someone who has already died, and that someone else is wearing her shell. That’s what you should believe.”

After leaving those words, the principal departed.

“…Are you okay?”

“…”

Rachel spoke to the despondent boy.

“I told you before. Trying to save her by force will only drown you too.”

“I’ll go ahead and see her.”

Rachel grabbed Shin Woo’s wrist as he tried to leave.

“…Do you still want to give up?”

“I didn’t even realize Hana was hurting. In the end, I couldn’t do anything when she fell.”

“It’s not your fault. You don’t have to carry guilt and seek atonement.”

“It’s not atonement.”

“It’s just fulfilling a promise.”

I swore to make her happy.

Even if it means giving up everything.

Shin Woo quickly exited the infirmary and moved forward.

He headed straight to his destination.

There wasn’t even a moment to delay.

He arrived at the training room located underground.

Bang!

Bang!

He felt a heavy vibration.

In the otherwise empty training room stood a girl hitting the wall alone.

“Hong Yeonhwa.”

“What?”

“Hana is in danger.”

Yeonhwa froze, standing up straight.

*

It was a dim night.

I cautiously left the dormitory.

Is this room a forever farewell now?

One thing I regret is that I don’t have anything to remember Sophie by.

The streets were quiet.

It would probably get noisy by tomorrow.

How long would it take for ordinary students to hear about me?

Everyone would be talking about me.

After all, it’s clear from when Si-hyun got disciplined.

But does it even matter now?

We weren’t even close, and I probably wouldn’t see them again.

I strolled slowly through the deserted night streets.

I felt no urgency to hurry.

As it was a final moment, taking my time to enjoy it was okay.

The convenience store I often visited was dark.

That was a bit disappointing. Don’t convenience stores usually operate 24 hours?

But thinking about it, due to curfew there wouldn’t be many customers.

I had wanted to grab a banana milk.

But it couldn’t be helped. I continued walking.

I arrived at the back gate in an instant.

The door that was supposed to be tightly locked was wide open.

Was this also prepared by the Vice Principal?

I wasn’t overly curious, so I just moved on.

As I walked along the path past the back gate, I really did see a black van parked.

It was nighttime, and maybe because of the tint, I couldn’t see inside the driver’s seat.

As I got closer, the back door opened on its own.

It seemed to be an invitation to get in.

I paused for a moment to think and then climbed in quietly.

After all, resisting here would just lead to getting caught quickly.

I had no confidence in defeating a demon.

As soon as I got into the car, I was quite surprised.

Lively music was playing inside.

It was like we were headed on a trip, with upbeat songs and humming from the driver’s seat.

“Hello, little lady.”

And a husky female voice.

I glanced to see that she had a rather bizarre appearance.

Dressed in a blue cloak with a long, fish-like mask over her face.

With that unique outfit, I could easily guess who she was.

“Blue Shark.”

“Oh. You know me?”

“A sand crocodile told me.”

“I had a feeling. So you’re that famous savior? You look way cuter than I imagined!”

The music abruptly stopped as she turned around.

“By getting in here, I take it you’ve made up your mind.”

“…Yes.”

Her flowing white hair.

And eyes of a blue hue, similar to Sophie’s.

Though slightly different.

If Sophie’s was the bright blue of the sea, hers was a dark navy, representative of the deeper ocean.

From straight on, the shark mask was pretty intimidating.

“Good. Then let’s get going. To the temple.”

The loud music resumed and the van started moving.

She hummed a tune and continued speaking.

“It’s quite a distance, so it’ll take some time. But really, it’s only natural, isn’t it? Who would set up a hideout so close to the academy only to face misfortune? Wouldn’t you agree?”

“…”

“You seem to be quite the quiet type. Let’s chat comfortably while we travel. After all, we’ll be comrades moving forward. Do you have any questions or things you want to say? Anything is fine.”

I do have something I want to say.

After a brief hesitation, I carefully spoke up.

“…Could you lower the music a bit?”

“Oh. Sorry. Is it too loud? And what’s on your mind?”

“…Nothing particular.”

“Hey, just out of curiosity, am I scary or are you doing this on purpose?”

That’s not entirely untrue.

Having read the original work, I know what kind of scary person she is.

To put it simply, she’s as intimidating as the Vice Principal.

But the vibes are dramatically different.

While the Vice Principal is like a black hole leading to slow destruction through plots and scheming,

this woman is more like a beast driven mad by insanity and bloodlust, hacking everything down.

“Hey. If you act like that with me, then you really won’t adapt when we get there. There are all sorts of crazies around. I’m more of a saint compared to them. Practically an angel.”

“…”

“So just casually call me sister, okay? Not all demons are crazy. In the end, they were all people once.”

“Just now, you said they were all crazy.”

It’s remarkable how one phrase can flip around like a pancake.

“Hmm. So it’s true, they’re insane… But, I’m not crazy, so not everyone is. Okay?”

Not the most persuasive argument.

Afterward, the van sped along the road for quite a long time.

She didn’t stop talking, chatting away the whole night.

At first, I engaged, but eventually, I grew tired and started dozing off.

As time passed, dawn was approaching.

“So, tell me, what’s your favorite animal?”

“…That’s too sudden.”

“Just speak comfortably, okay? But yes, sharks are the coolest, right?”

It was then.

Boom!!

Suddenly, there was an enormous explosion, and the ground shook violently.

I barely regained my senses and assessed the situation.

The road right in front of our van had completely exploded, flipping over.

In the midst of the loud music, I could hear Blue Shark mumbling to herself.

“Damn it.”

…It’s scary.