Aeris felt his heart beating like a war drum. The system alert echoed in his head with increasing urgency:
[WARNING: Ancient Demon Belphegor detected. Memory scanning will commence in 58... 57... 56...]
"Shit," he muttered under his breath, his eyes sweeping across the academy library where he was sitting. Leon was still watching him suspiciously from the table across the way, while Elena stood a short distance away from the bookshelf in a pose that looked like she was reading, but Aeris knew she was watching him. Most worryingly, Seraphina was sitting right next to him at a distance that was too close, her violet eyes staring at him with an intensity that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
[55... 54... 53...]
"Aeris," Seraphina's voice sounded like a dangerous whisper of silk, "you look pale. Is something wrong?"
Aeris shook his head quickly, trying to keep his expression calm. "Nothing. Just... a little tired."
"Hmm." Seraphina tilted her head, her fingers moving towards Aeris's hand that lay on the table. "You always try so hard to look fine. But I can feel... there's something you're hiding."
[50... 49... 48...]
The system continued to count down, and Aeris felt cold sweat running down his back.
Belphegor—the demon master of memory manipulation—was already in the academy grounds. If the scan began, not only would his system's secrets be exposed, but all his memories of his previous life, of the novels he'd read, of the fact that he wasn't the real Aeris.
"Seraphina," Aeris tried to pull her hand away, but the girl only gripped it tighter. "I'm really fine."
"No." Seraphina's violet eyes flashed with an increasingly obvious obsession. "You're not fine. And I won't let anyone hurt you. Even if it means protecting you from yourself."
Leon, who had heard the conversation, rose from his chair, his face showing a mixture of worry and suspicion. "Seraphina, give him some room to breathe. You're too—"
"Too what?" Seraphina shot Leon a sharp glare. "Care too much? Understand too much that Aeris needs someone who truly understands him?"
[45... 44... 43...]
Elena slammed her book shut, drawing the three of them's attention. "You're too noisy for a library," she said coldly, but her eyes were focused on Aeris. "And you, Aeris. Your taming ability... where did you learn it?"
Aeris felt like he was surrounded from all sides. Three pairs of eyes stared at him with varying intensity—Leon with suspicion, Seraphina with obsession, and Elena with sharp analysis. Meanwhile, time continued to tick towards destruction.
[40... 39... 38...]
"I..." Aeris tried to find the right words, but his mind was in disarray. "I learned it myself. From old books."
"Old books?" Elena stepped closer, her golden eyes narrowing. "The technique you used isn't in any of the academy's literature. I checked."
Leon nodded in agreement. "And the drastic change in your personality. It's like you became a completely different person overnight."
[35... 34... 33...]
Seraphina suddenly stood up, her hand still gripping Aeris's. "What's wrong with you guys? Is it wrong for someone to improve? Aeris is getting better, more attractive, more—"
"More what, Seraphina?" Leon interrupted. "More in line with your fantasies?"
Seraphina's eyes flashed dangerously. "Watch your words, Leon. Aeris is not your toy."
"And he's not yours either!" Leon replied in a raised voice.
[30... 29... 28...]
Aeris felt a panic attack begin. His chest tightened, his breath short, and worst of all—he could feel something dark and powerful pressing on his mind from the outside. Belphegor had already begun sending out his mental tentacles, searching through the minds of the academy students.
"ENOUGH!" Aeris shouted, making the three of them fall silent. he stood up with a sudden movement, breaking free from Seraphina's grip. "You all... you don't understand!"
[25... 24... 23...]
"Then explain!" Elena stepped forward, her voice loud. "Explain where your abilities come from! Explain your drastic changes! Explain why every time I try to read your aura, something gets in the way!"
Aeris took a step back, his face pale. Elena could read auras? That meant...
[20... 19... 18...]
"I..." Aeris glanced around the library, looking for a way out. But Seraphina blocked the way to the left, Leon to the right, and Elena in front. "I can't..."
"Can't what?" Seraphina stepped forward, her violet eyes filled with an ever-darker obsession.
"Aeris, whatever your secret is, I will accept it. Because you are... you are the only one who calms my heart. The only one who can fill the emptiness inside me."
[15... 14... 13...]
Leon shook his head vigorously. "Seraphina, do you hear yourself? This isn't healthy anymore."
"Not healthy?" Seraphina laughed, but her voice sounded a little hysterical. "What isn't healthy is letting Aeris suffer alone with whatever secret he carries!"
[10... 9... 8...]
Aeris felt Belphegor's mental pressure growing stronger. The demon had begun scanning the students' minds one by one, drawing closer to him. In a few more seconds, it would all be over.
[7... 6... 5...]
"I'm sorry," Aeris whispered, his eyes beginning to fill with tears. he looked at the three of them—Leon with worry and suspicion, Elena with determination to find the truth, and Seraphina with an increasingly dangerous obsession.
[4... 3... 2...]
Suddenly, Aeris felt something strange. The system gave him emergency options:
[EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ACTIVATED]
[OPTION: TEMPORARY MEMORY BARRIER - DURATION: 30 MINUTES]
[WARNING: THIS WILL DRAIN 90% OF CURRENT ENERGY]
[ACCEPT? Y/N]
[1...]
"Yes," Aeris whispered desperately.
[MEMORY BARRIER ACTIVATED]
Suddenly, an invisible burst of energy erupted from Aeris' body. The three of them—Leon, Elena, and Seraphina—staggered back a few steps, their eyes wide with shock.
"What the..." Leon stammered.
Elena stared at Aeris with a mixture of awe and fear. "That energy... that's no ordinary magic."
Seraphina, instead of fear, smiled, her eyes glinting dangerously. "Incredible," she whispered.
"You're getting more interesting, Aeris. More... perfect."
Aeris felt his body sway, a side effect of the emergency use of the system. he had managed to block Belphegor's scan for a while, but now he was in even bigger trouble. The three people he wanted least to face now knew that he was hiding something very big.
"I..." Aeris backed away slowly, "I have to go."
"No." Seraphina stepped forward, her violet eyes filled with obsessive determination. "Now I know you're special. Very special. And I won't let you go alone."
Leon and Elena exchanged glances, both realizing that the situation had changed drastically.
"Aeris," Leon said softly, "whatever you're hiding… we can help."
"We?" Elena gave Leon a sharp look. "Speak for yourself."
Aeris felt his head spinning. The system's energy was running low, Belphegor was still roaming the academy, and now these three knew he was hiding something big.
Worst of all, Seraphina's violet eyes were staring at him with an ever-increasing obsession, as if what she had just witnessed only added to the reason why she had to have Aeris.
"You're mine," Seraphina whispered, her voice a promise and a threat. "And I will do whatever it takes to protect you. Even if it means…"
She didn't finish her sentence, but the dangerous glint in her eyes was enough to send shivers down Aeris' spine.
Suddenly, the system gave a new warning:
[ALERT: BELPHEGOR'S ATTENTION DRAWN TO ENERGY SIGNATURE]
[ESTIMATED TIME UNTIL DIRECT CONFRONTATION: 15 MINUTES]
[RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE EVACUATION]
Aeris stared at the three with desperate eyes. Fifteen minutes before Belphegor came directly to him. Three now suspicious and obsessive people surrounding him. And the system's energy was nearly depleted.
he had no choice.
"You want to know the truth?" Aeris said quietly, his voice shaking. "Very well. But not here. And once you know... you may wish you never asked."
Seraphina smiled broadly, her violet eyes gleaming with an eerie satisfaction.
"Wherever you go," she whispered, "I will follow you."
In the distance, a dark shadow moved through the corridors of the academy, searching for the source of the burst of energy that had just been felt. Belphegor has found a juicy target, and nothing will stop him from getting what he wants.