Since yesterday, an uncomfortable feeling has been haunting Zeyn without any relief. His heart feels pierced by a cold air as if blown by the wind. It has been three days since he dealt with his sister, and the effect has not gone away, in fact, it feels worse. Zeyn is like a person suffering from hypothermia, even though he looks healthy from the outside. His condition briefly improved yesterday, but the agonizing feeling returned when he woke up this morning.
"Hey, MusangKing!" shouted Kriss from a distance.
By chance, he bumped into someone who was becoming more familiar to him.
"Hey there..."
"What's wrong with you? Are you still sick?"
"..."
Indeed, the weather in Grimoir is always cool, but seeing Zeyn shivering so much that he can't walk and leaning against the wall feels so strange to Kriss.
"What can I do to help? Do you want me to help you to the Medical Room? Coincidentally, we are in the west wing of building D, close to the Red Cross."
"No... need..."
He tried to get back up and act normal despite feeling a bit troubled. His walk was still unsteady, but the journey had to continue. Passing through building A was unlucky, as they also had to pass through several other buildings like building D, which was for the Counseling Faculty.
"Seriously? Your condition seems worse than yesterday."
"I'm fine..."
"Hmm!"
Without being ordered, the blonde guy eventually helped him to walk by putting his arm around him.
"I said I'm fine..."
"Nope, You're not actually fine."
In the end, he gave up and allowed himself to be helped to walk. Besides, there was nothing wrong with accepting help from someone whom he had started to know well.
"Thanks"
"Meh~, don't mention it."
Unfortunately, this moment did not last long. Suddenly, Zeyn stopped and just stood there. Kriss tried to help him continue walking, but he also realized that this guy intended to stop walking.
"Huh? Why did you stop?"
No meaningful answer was given, except for a change in expression from lethargic to panicked, filled with deep fear.
"What's wrong, Zeyn?"
It might be difficult to define what Zeyn was doing from the perspective of a normal person. Especially since only he could see something in front of him now while Kriss couldn't. Beside them now was a classroom labeled D13 (Building D, 1st floor, room 3), where in front of the entrance to the room, there was a black snake demon wearing a black cheongsam with royal attributes, who was just silently observing something inside.
"Sister Ayu?"
"Huh?" Kriss responded confused.
Ayu turned slowly towards her sibling and smiled widely. It was a gentle and calming smile, but it seemed to contain a hint of a smirk. After that, she disappeared from view.
Zeyn suddenly felt a sense of danger. He quickly disentangled himself from Kriss and checked what was happening inside the classroom.
"Wait, huh?!"
His gaze, which had previously seemed drowsy and sluggish, was now extremely startled. Whatever Zeyn saw, the reality was that there was just an ordinary classroom with several students who had already arrived.
"Hey! What's going on?"
"This cold sensation~"
"What?"
Zeyn immediately walked into the classroom.
"Hey, wait! Where are you going?!"
His body was shivering with cold, his teeth were chattering, and his eyes were filled with anxiety. He was trembling heavily without any clear reason. And of course, Kriss, who saw him like this, became confused because it happened so suddenly.
Right there, was a girl with long brown hair and a smaller build than the others. She was still busy chatting with her friends and hadn't realized Zeyn's arrival a few seconds earlier. It was only now that she noticed someone approaching her. She was suddenly confused and looked at him in surprise.
"Uh... can I help you? W-who are you?" asked the girl politely, initiating the conversation.
Actually, Zeyn didn't know who this girl was, where she came from, or what kind of student she was. He only knew that there was some kind of mantra written in Sanskrit with a snake motif that wrapped around her body like a moving tattoo. Unfortunately, only he could see these letters and no one else could.
His expression of fear didn't disappear, especially after watching the condition of the girl up close. The cold air that pierced Zeyn's heart was getting stronger, and his body trembled in response to something in front of him. There was some kind of negative energy that trapped her, as if it had marked her and couldn't be released. In other words... a curse.
"It can't be," Zeyn muttered in disbelief.
"...?"
The problem is, this isn't a typical curse spell. Judging from the high level of energy, it's a spell intended for those whose lives will be forcibly taken away.
The cold sensation that has been piercing him since yesterday, the strange object implanted in his heart, and the presence of his sister in front of this room, which he believed was also to see the condition of the girl earlier... all lead to one conclusion.
"I'm sorry, May I know your name?"
"Huh?"
Several students who saw them began whispering to each other. Perhaps they thought there would be a romantic moment happening in their class now, like people who were thirsty for entertainment and drama.
"Hei! What's the need for you to talk to her?"
A tall guy suddenly pulled Zeyn back and asked him to keep his distance. He might be the girl's boyfriend who felt strange about the arrival of the young man with ruby-red eyes.
"Kayan! Stop it, he didn't do anything," the girl intervened.
"Calm down everyone. We have to be peaceful," Kriss, who had just arrived, finally intervened and separated them. He noticed that Zeyn was only trembling in fear, still looking at the girl.
"At least, may I know your name?"
The same question was still being asked. As it seemed like a simple question, there was no harm in answering it.
"My name is Aza, Azalea Asha," she replied.
"Hah? Why bother dealing with someone so unclear like this?" the young man called Kayan said.
"Well, why not? He just wants to know my name."
After knowing her name, Zeyn appeared to bow his head slightly, as if regretful. His teary eyes were filled with sadness. He felt guilty for not being able to do anything about the curse that bound the girl, while at the same time, he was the cause of it all.
At the very least, he wanted to remember this girl before his life was taken by her sisters. A life for a life, a consequence for releasing some people from the Vasukih Forest. He could only feel angry and regretful.
'How does it feel?'
Her sister appeared again, tapping Azalea's shoulder from behind and looking at Zeyn with a melancholic expression. No one could see her presence in the classroom.
'Be afraid of losing those around you. Feel the coldness of death as it approaches,' Ayu whispered.
Zeyn's hand clenched tightly as he felt that it was all unfair.
"What's going on? Who are you?" Azalea asked.
"My name is Zeyn Tendou. Nice to meet you... and I... apologize."
Without any further comment, Zeyn immediately turned around and headed for the classroom door. He still didn't care about the many confused voices around him due to his actions. His fists were still clenched tightly because this time he was really made angry by his own sister.
"What's with this guy, he's so cringe," Kayan muttered.
"Hey Zeyn, wait for me!"
Finally, they both left the classroom. Kriss followed his steps, but it seemed like they were getting further away from their original destination. They were supposed to go left, but Zeyn went right instead.
"Hey, isn't the way to the classroom over there?"
"Sorry Kriss, you go ahead to the class. I have something I need to take care of. I'm going home."
Without looking back, he kept walking. When Kriss tried to tap his friend's shoulder, he realized that his body was really trembling. He also knew that Zeyn was still crying behind that angry expression.
"Oh, okay then."
Actually, Kriss didn't really understand, but he chose to respect Zeyn's decision. Kriss stopped for a moment, then turned back to go to his own classroom. Occasionally, he looked back and saw Zeyn's back still moving further away. From the expression of regret and anger on Zeyn's face, it could be inferred that he was feeling hurt, but Kriss, didn't quite understand what it was all about.
On the other hand, Zeyn intended to go home, or more precisely, he wanted to go to the Vasukih forest to settle the score with his sister. He couldn't let them act as they pleased by taking innocent lives as offerings. He didn't care about his academic matters at the moment, someone's life was at stake here.
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