The Crown
There have been a total of three incidents of students going missing around the Syx. Two of them are noble blood. One was a vampire, the other one was a werewolf, and the other one was a regular demon. But all of them are men.
Yes, fucking men.
To think men are getting kidnapped these days… What if I go missing too? Who will find me?
Anyway, let's come back to the topic. The other thing common about them is they are all members of the student council. One of them was the vice president, one of them was the general secretary, and one of them was the treasurer.
Maybe the culprit has something against the student council, huh?
But the most marveling thing is nobody saw them when they disappeared from their dormitory. So, how do we even know that they were kidnapped? That's because when they disappeared their rooms were all disintegrated. It was clear that there was a brawl. It was clear that whoever took them, was against their will.
I rub my temple as I go through the rest of the file. It's all messed up. Who the fuck want to kidnap demons? Hell knows.
Edward is sitting by the window on the desk. He is flipping through the manual of the Syx. Rules guide and other information. He doesn't look as tired as I am. Maybe because I am not good with paperwork or maybe because the subject I am studying is more weighing.
I close the heavy scroll and put it aside. I heave a heavy breath. The bone-chilling temperature of the place hardly does anything to keep me from overthinking.
There is a reason why I don't want to go to the Syx. Syx is considered hell among hell even in the Demon Realm. The politics and the fighting methods taught there are the worst among the worst. While other colleges are focusing on how to keep their students from harming each other and be kind to their comrades—Syx is focusing on the polar opposite.
They teach their students to be cruel and how to feed upon the weak. They bluntly ignore any casualty among the students, regardless of their ranking in society. It is truly a vicious school to go to. But regardless of everything, every demon in this Realm wishes to graduate from there. The graduation certificate from that one college is almost like a trophy to them. No, not almost but entirely. They view it as an achievement to survive all those brutal politics and intriguing battles among students. Syx is practically the perfect college for demons to be curved into a proper one. Ruthless and heartless. Perfect.
I wonder which college Vermilion graduated from. That demon is absolutely breathtaking. Never did I know, that demons tend to be this beautiful. And as beautiful and poisonous as he is, that demon is a complete mystery to me. I know I sleep and eat under the same roof as him but I have never seen him make an appearance. He is like air. You know it's there but when you reach out and try to grab it—it's all empty. It sleeps through your fingers.
"Umm, Your Highness…" Edward pulls me out of my dilemma. "I think you should know this."
"What is it, Edward?" I climb off the bed and walk up to him, "Did you find something?"
"Well…" Edward clears his throat and I lean a little to read the crooked handwritten note plastered on the scroll. "The Syx is believed to have been established a thousand years ago and it has had just one headmaster ever since its establishment."
"Huh?" I tilt my head to look at Edward's refined side profile, "You mean all the thousand years?"
"That is right, Your Highness," He continues and this headmaster is none other than the Lord Vermilion. He was the one to establish the college a thousand years ago and is still the one sitting above everyone's head."
I am lifted from the ground for a moment and then come crashing back to stand on it again. I don't know how to feel about this anymore. The more I get to know about my 'master' the more I am bewildered. He is… I don't know anything anymore. Should I admire him for creating such an endearing system for the demonic youths? Or loathe him for the deathly system he has made? I don't know.
"Your Highness?" Edward's worried voice again pulls me out of the thousand jungled thoughts clogging up my head. "Are you alright? You appear to be really out of it."
"I am fine." I shake my head and suck in a deep breath, a futile attempt to keep my thoughts from going astray. "You should go to bed now. Did Phillip show you where you will be sleeping?"
"Yes, he did." He nods, "I will be staying across from you, Your Highness."
"That is good. You may retire now. I will take it from here." I straighten up.
"Yes, Your Highness." He stands and acknowledges, "Please have a good night." He wishes and bows slightly before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him soundlessly.
Edward seems really stiff since he got here. I can't blame him though. The atmosphere here something will paralyze you with fear and tension without even trying.
I slip out of my clothes and then braid my long white-blond hair. What a weird color it is. It is neither actually white nor blond. It changes its color like a chameleon based on the lighting. At night they look as silvery as the moon's ray itself and at daytime it completely betrays the earlier said color and turns vibrant golden. The only thing about me that is loyal is my eye color. It's as blue as the deep ocean.
I slip under the cover of the cold bed and brace myself for the future that awaits me. I am scared but anticipating many things too. I am so excited that the palpating of my heart inside my chest is almost audible in this eerily silent room. I have never been to school or college since I never needed to. So it is going to be a really brutal yet thrilling journey.
***
The horse carriage drops us in front of the huge metal get of the Syx. I look up and down at the huge castle standing before me. Completely in awe of the establishment.
The Syx is dominated by three towering main castles that stretch into the sky as far as I can see from the outside. The castles are looming behind the towering metal gates, casting shadows over the horizon, making it even more spooky than it already is. One is the tallest with a huge clock on its top. It contains countless wide windows. And the others are smaller than it. Clearly, three of them are very old but still solid and stubbornly standing on the Syx's academic ground. This is the only thing I can see from the outside of the large black get. This gets itself at least fifteen feet tall. And the wall surrounding the ground is seemingly ten feet tall. There is no student roaming on the front porch. It's eerily still here. The environment makes me shiver in spite of myself.
I don't know why but I get this feeling that this is not a school but a prison and the only way to survive here is to push back. No matter what comes your way you have to push back. If you push back there is a chance that you can push through but the moment you stop, you stop. Your life, ambitions, desires, and hopes, all of it stops. So, you have to push back.
Phillip gave me one piece of advice when we were getting inside the carriage. He said, "Keep pushing."
Two words. Eleven alphabets. And one space. That is all he said. This means he wants us to leave. But why? Maybe his lord will not be happy if we die, this is why? Who knows. I will ask him when I get back. I am definitely going back. I am not dying in a hell hole like this. I will survive and push through. I will show Vermilion what I am capable of.
"Jonas Collins?" A female voice jolts me and Edward out of our awe.
'Jonas Collins' is the name Phillip chose for me. For the disguise, I will be taking as long as I will be staying here.
"Yes?" I blurt out instinctively.
"And Edward Millers?" The girl asks. Her eyes are so unusually red and she is so pretty with a touch of poison that it's admirable. And I have this feeling that I know those red eyes. "Welcome to the Syx. I am the president of the student council, Seraphina. A pleasure to meet you." She smiles, her smile leached with poison and viciousness.
"Pleasure is all mine." I return the pleasantry, and so does Edward.
"Please may I lead you into the Academy." She beckons sweetly, her voice is a forbidden allure.
It seems she hasn't realized that we are not demons and all credit goes to Phillip, who woke us up at dawn and bathed us in something that felt like a demon fragrance. It made our humanism smell go dissipate temporarily. And the horns he worked his ass off to fit on our heads. Realistically, I didn't even recognize myself in the mirror when I saw myself in it. That is good. As long as these demons don't find out who we are.
"Yes, of course." I don't let my smile slip as I enter the grounds of the Syx through the large metal doors that open on their own when Seraphina puts her hand on them.
So my catastrophic journey starts here. And I am more than ready to push through. I have steeled my resolve and there is no going back.