Zein's Point of View
It's been a month since we landed here. Not a single day has been easy; staying in this hell will never be easy. If I'm being honest, we're lucky to still be breathing at all.
"You know? This is actually refreshing," Vanessa said, watching as students greeted us in the hallway.
They were smiling at us now. It was an order from the Supreme Court—they had to act "beautiful" toward us. Even though I knew they were being forced, it was a strange change of pace.
"Let it go. You'll get used to it," I told her.
We headed straight to the library. I was accompanying Vanessa to find a book for her assignment. Mia had stayed back at the dorm with a headache, and the boys were... well, I didn't know where they were. Probably wandering around.
The elderly librarian immediately caught my attention. He was smiling at me, so I quickly looked away. There was something deeply unsettling about his grin.
We sat at a table while Vanessa went into the stacks to look for her book. I glanced around; it looked like an ordinary library—signs calling for silence, a few students hunched over desks. It felt almost normal.
"Are you Zein?"
I nearly jumped out of my skin. When I looked to my left, the librarian's face was inches from mine. He was still wearing that haunting grin. I really didn't like it.
"Yes," I answered.
"The rumors are true. You gained a position and rose to Ninth Place incredibly fast," he said, his eyes scanning my uniform.
I couldn't even form a response; I was still reeling from how he had sneaked up on me.
"It feels like everything is repeating itself," he whispered. "I hope... I hope this time, it actually succeeds."
I couldn't take my eyes off him. His hair was long, curly, and stark white; his skin was a map of deep wrinkles, and his eyes were magnified behind thick glasses. The nameplate on his chest read: Leonora.
"W-what are you saying?" I asked. I didn't understand. What did he mean by things "repeating"?
"Is that your friend?" he asked, pointing toward Vanessa. "Do they know?"
"Know what? Wait, what are you talking about?"
"They study so hard to reach the Highest 10 just to get out of here," he said, laughing softly. "But you... you're already in. What are you still doing in this hell?"
I swallowed hard as the weight of his words hit me. My mouth went dry.
"You know that, don't you? Did you actually believe the story?" he asked. "There's a flaw in every story, Zein. Remember this: No one will help you but yourself. Do not trust anyone—not even your friends. What happened before might happen again. Be careful.
He turned and shuffled back to his desk at the far end of the room.
I couldn't process it. Do not trust your friends? That couldn't be right. They were my only support. He was just trying to mess with my head. I refused to listen; I trusted my friends just as much as they trusted me.
"Hey? What's wrong with you? Why are you just staring into space?" Vanessa asked, sitting down across from me.
I shook my head and watched her open her book. They can't betray me, I told myself. They would never turn their backs on me.
"Vanessa? How much do you want to get out of here?" I asked suddenly.
She looked at me with a frown, her eyebrow raised in confusion. "What kind of question is that, Zein? Of course I want to leave," she replied. "Don't you?"
"Of course I do!" I replied, forced laughter escaping my lips.
The tightness in my chest made me want to scream, but I couldn't. I felt like the school wouldn't let me leave. No matter what I did, I was afraid I would rot here.
I eventually left the library, leaving Vanessa to finish her work. I walked around the halls, and as usual, everyone gave me those forced, hollow smiles.
I found myself wandering toward the music room, where I heard the sound of someone playing. I peeked inside and saw a man holding a guitar, singing softly. He wore thick glasses and looked like a typical "nerd." His voice was so beautiful I couldn't help but step inside.
He stopped playing the moment he saw me. He scrambled to his feet, nearly dropping the guitar. "S-sorry, Miss," he said, bowing low.
"No, it's okay! You play really well," I complimented him.
He lifted his head and looked into my eyes. His gaze was so innocent, without a trace of the malice I saw in everyone else here.
"T-thank you," he said.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"I am Nazzer Lumia."
I gasped. The smile remained on his lips, but my heart stopped. Nazzer Lumia? No, that couldn't be right. He didn't look like the leader of the Black Blood Gang. Not this innocent guy.
"W-what?"
"Nazzer Lumia," he repeated. He lifted a section of his polo shirt to reveal the number 3 written on the fabric.
It was him. The third-highest-ranked person in this hell. But how? He looked so harmless. You would never guess he was a demon.
"Is there a problem?"
"Are you... really the leader of the Black Blood Gang?"
He let out a weak laugh. It was a terrifying sound—the kind of laugh that haunts you. It was Innocent Evil. I realized then that I should never have underestimated anyone's appearance.
"I am, young lady."
My throat was parched. I noticed the tattoo on his right arm: a snake wrapped around a nail. The BBG symbol. The nail was the sign of their poison—the same one that had affected Matt.
"Not everything you see is true," he whispered, stepping closer. "Not everyone who seems 'good' is actually good. Sometimes, they are more devilish than the devils you imagine."
I couldn't move. He adjusted his glasses and stared into my eyes. Those eyes! They were no longer innocent; they looked just like Nicky's—void and soul-sucking.
"Number 9, huh? You're impressive," he said. "But you're useless to us and to them. You're going to die eventually. Maybe I'll do it, or maybe someone else will. It's a waste. So, I'll ask you this..."
The real demon was finally coming out. The monster hiding inside the nerd.
"Join us. I will make you my Queen. I will save you myself."
I was speechless for a second before my resolve hardened. "I don't want to," I said firmly. I would rather die than become a queen of demons.
"You're a loser then. You're going to die anyway. Do you want it to happen now?"
I turned pale as he pressed a sharp nail against my neck. I couldn't breathe. It was so tight; I felt like even a flinch would end my life.
"You're a demon too," he whispered. "You're even more demonic than we are."
The tip of the nail was ice-cold against my skin. I was shivering with terror. "Kill me then..." I challenged.
He laughed and pulled the nail away. He looked at me as if I had just told the funniest joke in the world. "They were right. You aren't afraid of death, and it seems death is afraid of you. But you won't die today. Not while you're still useful."
Suddenly, the door burst open and three men stormed in.
"There he is!" one shouted. They rushed Nazzer and began raining blows down on him. I froze. Why wasn't he fighting back? He was a monster, a top-three ranker! Why was he letting them hit him?!
"Stop it!" I screamed.
They stopped and looked at me, their eyes widening when they recognized my uniform. "S-sorry, Miss!" they stammered.
I ignored them and rushed to Nazzer. He was grinning, his lip bleeding. "Why aren't you fighting back?" I hissed.
"Hey, lady! Stay away from that nerd! He's trash!" one of the men shouted from behind me.
My eyes widened. They don't know. He was hiding his rank. They had no idea they were beating up one of the most dangerous people in the school.
"That's right, young lady," Nazzer whispered. "They don't know me. They don't know I'm a demon."
I backed away as the men started on him again. I fled the music room, my heart racing. I didn't know who to feel sorry for—Nazzer, or the three men who had no idea they were signing their own death warrants.
Outside, I ran into a man with red hair. I remembered him—Mia had seen him when Rouge Silvenia was killed. He had a tattoo of a nail wrapped in a crown of thorns.
"Are you one of them too?" I asked.
He peeked into the music room and shook his head. "How boring. He's still letting them beat him up," he said, stretching as if he were sleepy.
"Help him!" I said.
He stared at me for a moment and laughed. He adjusted his red hair and shook his head. "Not a chance. But remember the faces of those three men... soon, they will follow in the footsteps of the others who died."
I was terrified because I knew he was right. Those men would pay for their audacity. The "nerd" they were beating up was Nazzer Lumia. The third highest power in this hell.