Chapter 85: Chapter 85: ShitThe night draped over the capital like a shroud, thick and silent. The farther they walked from the heart of the city, the more the streets twisted into decay. Broken windows, flickering lamps, alleyways that stank of mold and rot.

    Noel moved through the shadows, light on his feet, keeping a measured distance behind Lereus and Laziel. The two hadn’t spoken since leaving the academy gates. That, more than anything, put Noel on edge.

    They passed the last of the lit avenues and entered a district forgotten by the crown. No guards. No merchants. Just shivering shapes curled in corners, the homeless, the drunk, the discarded.

    ’Where are you going...? This place reeks of trouble.’

    He slowed when they turned a corner and stopped before a derelict structure. The building looked like it had been abandoned for years—windows sealed with crooked wooden planks, the front door half-torn from its hinges. No sign, no light, no life.

    Without hesitation, Lereus pushed the door open and stepped inside. Laziel followed, shoulders hunched.

    Noel remained in the shadows, eyes narrowed.

    ’You’re definitely not meeting to discuss grades.’

    Noel didn’t move immediately. He scanned the street one more time, making sure no one was watching. The silence here was unnatural—even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

    He circled the building slowly, careful not to step on broken glass or loose gravel. Most of the windows were sealed shut with thick wooden planks, but one—on the third floor—had a faint glow leaking through a small gap between the boards.

    ’There. Someone forgot to finish the job.’

    With a quiet exhale, he took a few steps back and leapt, grabbing onto a ledge above a crumbled storefront. From there, he climbed—hands finding cracks in the wall, feet pressing against pipes and bricks—until he reached the edge of the third floor.

    The light was stronger now, slipping through the narrow slit in the boards.

    He pressed his back to the wall and took a moment to breathe.

    ’That took some effort... Now let’s see what you’re hiding.’

    Shifting his weight carefully, Noel leaned forward and brought one eye to the opening.

    And then he froze.

    From the narrow gap, Noel could see into a dimly lit room thick with dust and silence. Laziel stood rigid in the center, facing a worn wooden table. Seated across from him was Lereus.

    But it wasn’t Lereus anymore.

    The man’s body was subtly—no, unmistakably—changing. His skin darkened by the second, veins crawling like vines beneath the surface. Obsidian-like claws extended from his fingers, sharp and unnatural. His once-elegant features twisted, bones elongating, face narrowing into something that barely resembled human.

    Then his eyes opened.

    Twin orbs of molten crimson.

    "Much better, don’t you think, my little assistant?"

    Laziel flinched. His lips parted as if to answer, but only a shaky nod followed.

    Noel’s throat tightened.

    ’That is no Lereus no more... that’s a demon.’

    He pressed his body closer to the wall, the stone cold against his spine.

    Inside, Lereus rose slowly from his seat.

    Lereus stepped away from the table, the floor creaking under his inhuman weight. Behind him, against the far wall, were six figures—bound, unmoving.

    Noel’s eyes widened.

    They were students.

    Each one restrained by enchanted ropes glowing faintly red. One of them was an elven girl with soft chestnut hair and pointed ears. Noel recognized her immediately—she was one of Elena’s closest friends. The others... their faces were familiar too.

    ’I’ve seen them all... they helped during the Bloody Banquet.’

    There were no civilians. Just handpicked students.

    ’So that’s it. You’re targeting everyone who interfered back then. That’s why you brought Laziel. Which means Marcus... Clara... Elyra... they’re all on your list too.’

    Lereus stopped in front of the elf. His clawed hand reached forward, slow and gentle like a lover’s touch.

    "Let’s see what’s for dinner tonight."

    With horrifying ease, he pierced her wrist with the tip of his finger.

    The girl convulsed, a muffled whimper escaping her lips.

    Dark red blood began to drip, slowly, into a shallow glass on the table.

    "Agh... the blood of someone so young... and from an elf, no less. Exquisite," Lereus murmured, closing his eyes in sick pleasure.

    Noel bit down on his lip, hard enough to draw blood.

    ’You’re drinking their blood like it’s wine...’

    Lereus turned slightly, his crimson eyes now fixed on Laziel.

    "Wouldn’t you like a taste, Laziel?" he asked softly, voice smooth and coaxing like poison in honey.

    Laziel shook his head, his voice barely audible. "No, sir... and I think that’s enough, right? I’ve helped you with everything I could, haven’t I?"

    Lereus’s smile vanished. sea??h thё n?vel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Kneel."

    Laziel’s body jerked downward as if yanked by invisible chains. He hit the floor hard, knees slamming against the rotting wood. His arms trembled at his sides. His face contorted—not with pain, but with fear. Pure, helpless fear.

    Lereus circled him slowly.

    "You see, my little Laziel... because of the inconvenience you and your little friends caused, I had to act earlier than I wanted. But now that we’ve started... well, you’ll be quite useful to me."

    He let out a low, guttural chuckle.

    "And you can’t resist me. You’ve already proven that."

    "No," Laziel muttered, almost inaudibly. "Why... how do you know all those names? Why do you have a list?"

    Lereus knelt in front of him, eyes glowing.

    "You know why. You all disrupted my plans. And as a teacher..." —he gently placed a claw under Laziel’s chin— "I have every right to discipline my misbehaving students."

    Noel gritted his teeth above, knuckles white against the wall.

    ’You sick bastard.’

    Noel remained frozen at the window, his breath shallow.

    Below, the room reeked of blood and decay. The twisted creature that once wore the name Lereus was now pacing, savoring every second of his performance. Laziel knelt like a puppet with cut strings. The students behind him didn’t move. Some still breathed—barely.

    Noel’s stomach churned.

    His fingers curled tightly around the edge of the wooden plank. His throat burned, pressure rising with every second.

    ’Breathe. Breathe. Don’t lose it now.’

    But the taste of bile was already rising.

    He pressed a hand against his mouth, trying to suppress it.

    Still... a whisper escaped him.

    "Shit..."

    The word had barely left Noel’s lips when something shifted in the room.

    A stillness.

    Like the air itself recoiled.

    Lereus—no, the demon—stopped mid-step. His head tilted slightly, not like a human, but with a jagged, mechanical sharpness. One clawed hand rose and hovered in the air, frozen, as if sensing a breeze where there shouldn’t be one.

    Then his eyes turned.

    Slow. Deliberate. Like a predator locking onto heat.

    From below, Noel felt it—a pressure, a weight, a force that crawled up his spine like ice dipped in oil. It rooted him in place.

    He didn’t breathe or even blink.

    The demon’s crimson eyes scanned the ceiling for less than a second.

    And found him.

    Locked.

    They stared straight through the wooden gap, through the narrow slit Noel had believed to be safe, and met his eye with impossible precision.

    Noel’s blood ran cold.

    His chest tightened. His hand slipped slightly from the wood, damp with sweat.

    The demon didn’t speak right away. He smiled.

    Slowly.

    The kind of smile that didn’t belong on anything born of flesh.

    Then his voice, low and smooth, slithered through the air:

    "Looks like we have company."

    Noel’s heart pounded loud.

    ’Shit.’