I Became a Murderer in the Academy. Chapter 123

Recently, I’d been gathering information on the Demon Lord’s army, but this was the last situation I wanted to encounter.

I steadied my staggering body and faced him.

What reason did a mber of the Demon Lord’s army have to co here?

Our gazes t, red against red.

“So you’re the monster who killed Seir.”

The demon spoke.

“...”

I had no reason to deny it, so I nodded.

Should I use magic to read his mories?

No, I didn’t have the energy for that right now. All I wanted was to drink blood as soon as possible.

I needed to get him out of the way and have my al. If I held back any longer, I’d be repeating what happened last year.

This ti, I asked, my voice shaky from the strain.

“...What do you want?”

“It’s strange indeed. That Seir would fall to such a small girl.”

“Are you looking for a fight?”

I could send him to join his friends quickly.

Serthia, who had been the strongest being on the continent after the Demon Lord’s death, was defeated by . Though cursed and unable to fight properly, I had no doubt she was the strongest.

Among humans, demons, and all living things. I’d realized that after our fight.

But since I had managed to kill even Serthia, I wasn’t afraid of anyone anymore.

A mber of the Demon Lord’s army?

A re underling, perhaps?

“I misspoke. I apologize.”

The demon backed down, showing a bit of demonic energy.

Since I could easily hide the demonic energy within , no one would know my true nature unless I revealed it.

Now that he understood I was stronger, I trusted he wouldn’t be foolish enough to attack.

And so—

“...”

I looked at him, signaling that he should answer my question. I had asked why he had co here.

He slowly opened his mouth.

“If you were there, you must rember what happened last ti.”

“You an when you unleashed monsters in the academy?”

“Yes. Why did you help the humans back then? If you hadn’t interfered, the Empire would have fallen. In fact, if you had helped, you could have killed Serthia, your greatest enemy.”

“...”

“Have you started to think you’re human just because you’ve been living among them? Even as you killed the few remaining mbers of the Demon Lord’s army? How are you any different from us?”

Did they not know yet that Serthia was dead?

There was no reason for to tell him.

I focused on the essence of his question.

Maybe, deep down, I did wish to blend in with the humans around . I wouldn’t deny that.

But I had never mistaken myself for human. I realized that before I could even entertain the thought. Since that day, the emptiness inside had never been filled.

And how was I different from them?

Hmm.

“...”

I wasn’t in the right state of mind to co to any conclusions.

I killed people just like demons, had demonic energy instead of mana, and couldn’t feel human emotions.

We had so many similarities. So what was different?

I didn’t know.

Since I didn’t know, I remained silent.

“See? You can’t answer. There’s no reason for us to be enemies. I didn’t co here to fight you. Surely, you’re smart enough to understand that much.”

“Don’t lie.”

“What?”

“You were planning to kill until I showed you my demonic energy. Did I seem that easy to you?”

I might not be entirely sane, but I wasn’t so dull that I couldn’t sense his killing intent from that distance.

“State your purpose clearly. I don’t intend to drag this conversation out.”

Lying to was impossible.

If he tried to waste my ti, I would cut him down imdiately.

I had the power to do so, and more importantly, I was in a hurry. My fangs ached to sink into sothing.

I was starving, and my throat was parched.

I hoped he wouldn’t test my patience. If he pushed too far, I might kill him and devour the human he held.

“Be mindful of who’s in charge here…”

He should have understood by now.

The demon hesitated before speaking. Knowing that lying wouldn’t work on , his next words would be the truth.

“I originally ca to retrieve the Demon Lord’s fragnts. I intended to take back what we’d spread throughout the academy. But the fragnts were nowhere to be found. It was as if soone had taken them already.”

The demon looked at , suspicion clear in his eyes.

I saw no reason to deny it, so I nodded.

“Yes, I took them.”

“I see. I ca to collect the fragnts from you. Initially, I planned to kill you and take them by force, but now that’s not an option.”

“...”

“If you have them, return them. They’re needed for the birth of a new king. I’ll leave once I have them.”

The birth of a new king.

So the Demon Lord’s army intended to create a new Demon Lord from the fragnts of the old one.

His words helped piece together the fragnts of information I’d gathered. His explanation had filled in a few gaps.

But I didn’t think further conversation would be necessary. Judging by his words, he wasn’t very high-ranking within the Demon Lord’s army.

He probably didn’t know much more than I did. I likely knew more than he did.

So I decided there was no point in further discussion. I responded curtly.

“I can’t give you the fragnts.”

And then—

I waved goodbye to the now-useless mber of the Demon Lord’s army.

“Goodnight.”

Even if he asked for the fragnts back, I couldn’t return sothing I’d already consud.

Besides, he was a demon who had tried to kill . His presence in my territory, the back alley, was unwelco.

So I drew my red sword and killed him.

A considerable amount of blood flowed in the back alley that night.

Tonight’s al took a bit longer.

I ate the humans killed by the demon. There were quite a few of them. I wondered why they were here and why they had been killed, but I didn’t care.

Perhaps sothing had happened while I was away. It didn’t matter.

This place lay outside the patrol range of the knights, making it easy for criminals to gather.

One by one, I devoured them.

‘...A bit less fresh than I’d prefer.’

Still, it felt good to finally sate my hunger.

My heart, usually quiet and still, beat rapidly when I drank blood.

Regaining my usual state, I looked at the dead demon from the Demon Lord’s army and thought.

‘So their goal is to create a new Demon Lord?’

The Demon Lord’s army, having lost their leader, was considerably weakened. They’d been preparing for a long ti to make a new leader.

And—

‘In Iria’s mories, the Demon Lord’s army was with her.’

If I’m right, they must have been trying to make Iria the new Demon Lord in the past.

She was the most suitable vessel for such a role.

In the mories, they had been feeding Iria sothing that seed like a fragnt of the Demon Lord.

For so reason, I had ended up in that body instead.

‘The demon I saw earlier didn’t recognize .’

If they’d been there, they should have recognized .

The fact that he didn’t know ant he wasn’t high-ranking within the Demon Lord’s army. When I scanned my mories after regaining my senses, I didn’t find much information.

It seed that only a select few within the Demon Lord’s army might know the truth about Iria’s body.

The Demon Lord’s army...

“...”

In the end, were they the true culprits?

I recalled the demon’s words.

If I encounter them again, will they be my enemies? Or are they truly, as he said, not a group I need to fight?

I don’t know yet.

Today, too, I was lost in thought.

I returned to the academy as usual, my body much healthier than it had been the day before.

I wasn’t hungry, and my head was clear. No hallucinations, no voices.

With my body in good shape, the world looked different from how it did yesterday.

I felt sowhat conflicted.

Being free from hunger was refreshing, but it was like admitting that I truly couldn’t live without human blood.

It felt like an acknowledgnt that I would never escape life as a back-alley murderer.

So I walked with a sowhat gloomy mood.

As I passed through the halls, I saw familiar faces—Ariel, Sera, and Clana.

Since I’d gone ho early yesterday, I hadn’t known that the three of them had grown quite close in my absence.

Maybe all my efforts hadn’t been for nothing. The original story’s progression seed to be normalizing.

Watching them, I approached.

I intended to greet them as usual.

And then—

“Ah! The root of all evil!!”

“Iria! What have you been teaching Clana?!”

“It’s the root of all evil! She’s co to tornt again!”

“...”

I’d forgotten that Clana still held a grudge against .