The crowd of students poured into the main exhibit of the La Luna Sangre Aquarium.
Teachers guided the groups, but the chaperones quickly faded into the background as everyone widened their eyes in awe at the massive structure ahead: a wide, five-kilometer-long Aquarium tunnel leading to the main exit.
The walls and ceiling were constructed entirely of transparent glass, offering a breathtaking, 360-degree view of the rich oceanic life swimming outside.
Yuri's Assistant, Ramoss, appeared in front of the crowd, taking out a microphone to serve as the tour guide.
"Welcome to the… 'Ultra Massive Calypso Aquarium,'" the Assistant announced, pausing to sigh dramatically into the mic. "Gosh, why did she name it like that…"
The Assistant pinched his forehead, trying to hide his acute irritation and embarrassment toward his employer before facing the crowd.
"Anyways, everyone! Follow me. Don't walk too fast; this Aquarium is a massive undertaking, but the tunnel is only five kilometers long."
Everyone began to follow the Assistant slowly, while he explained the concepts and deep meanings behind the tunnel-like Aquarium, especially mentioning how Yuri personally funded and structured the entire thing.
The look on the Assistant's face plainly contradicted the claim.
Some students were taking pictures, admiring the incredible views and structures; some were making random, goofy fish movements for fun; and others were simply blending in, reluctantly pulled along by the fun experience.
Trizha walked slowly, her head lifted, watching the massive shadows of seafolk swim above her on the glass ceiling.
"Wow…" she whispered, mesmerized by the sheer scale of the environment.
Meanwhile, Nomoro, still on the scavenger hunt for her, was searching through his bag.
"It should be just around here…" Nomoro muttered under his breath, looking for bandages.
Suddenly, he accidentally bumped into a couple. The guy immediately spun around and glared at Nomoro with fierce, possessive anger.
"Huh? You got a problem with me, ya?" the guy challenged, stepping into Nomoro's personal space.
A bead of sweat tracked down Nomoro's face. A look of vulnerability, almost fear, was visible in his eyes.
"N-no, I'm sorry—" he stammered, raising his hands slightly.
"Hold up a second…" the guy said, suddenly recognizing him. "Ain't you that nine year demon guy everyone has been talking about? Damn, then I might be your next victim." He faced Nomoro intimidatingly.
Nomoro took a step back, trying desperately to defuse the situation.
Just then, the guy's girlfriend wrapped her arms around him and pulled him away firmly.
"Geez, always picking a fight with someone… Stop wasting time, hon!" she scolded.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there. Let me just mock this jerk for a second," the guy grumbled, but he allowed himself to be turned.
Before leaving, he smirked and made a loud, exaggerated sniffing noise, mocking Nomoro's momentary fear, then walked off with his girlfriend.
Nomoro slumped slightly, taking a second to calm himself, sighing softly.
"Can't blame him…" he thought.
He continued to walk, but before he could take three steps, other students who recognized him intentionally and purposely bumped him hard, sending him staggering.
They glared at him with undisguised contempt—glances he truly didn't deserve.
And yet, he just stood there, his head bowed down, accepting the blows.
With no one to step in or help, he was…
…truly Alone in this one.
"I can't… blame them," he whispered to himself.
At the same time, Trizha walked deeper into the Aquarium. Her long blonde hair flowed gently around her shoulders like a golden, sunlit veil.
With her left hand, she covered the throbbing injury on her right knuckles, trying to walk normally and admire the view.
"Hey! It's Trizha!"
A group of fangirls immediately approached, startling her, their phones instantly out to take selfies.
Trizha automatically smiled cheerfully and posed for the photos, but for the first time in memory, she felt deeply uncomfortable, a strange, foreign feeling especially when interacting with her fans.
"Oh yeah… it's been a while since I've taken videos…" Trizha thought, the cheerful smile slowly fading after the last flash.
Of course.
The last video… it wasn't the live one on the first day.
It was the Demon Provocation, the last video she made.
And that video wasn't even released. Becoming lost content.
"It feels like I'm slowly losing my passion…" Would be the correct words to describe what she felt.
The group of girls turned to Trizha, their faces still alight with excitement.
"Hey Trizha! When are you going to upload your next video?" one girl asked eagerly.
"Yeah, the last video you posted was a live video… but it was cut mid-live?" another inquired.
"That was weird, is there something wrong?" the third asked, a note of genuine concern in her voice.
Trizha looked at the group, her smile feeling tight and nervous, while a slight sweat formed on her brow. She shook her head quickly.
"Uhm, no! Yes, I'm totally fine. Thank you all for comforting me, you're all soooo sweet!"
The group of fangirls melted into happy sighs, hugging Trizha warmly before waving goodbyes, feeling…
…utterly Connected to her well-being.
Trizha stood there, the false passion weighing heavily on her. "What's going on to me…" She thought.
Both Trizha and Nomoro were currently pursuing their own separate ways.
Trizha forced herself to blend with the crowd, continuing to admire the view with a cheerful mask.
Nomoro avoided the crowd itself, focusing only on the path ahead, head down.
Nomoro didn't respond to anyone; after all, no one responded to him.
While Trizha would respond to anyone, after all, everyone responded to her.
Trizha connected to everyone.
Nomoro isolated himself.
The only similarity between the two was the unspoken, shared goal to apologize to each other and end the tension.
And so, both stopped their tracks in the massive glass tunnel.
One stopped to look up, and one stopped to look down.
One watched the far, distant ocean, and one watched at the edge of the immediate wall.
Trizha, with her head lifted up toward the glass ceiling, admired the vast, dark seafolk above her.
"Whoa… so many of them…" she breathed out.
The sea of fishes swam around the tunnel of glass, entertaining and exciting those inside.
Suddenly, an immense shadow fell over them.
A massive blue whale passed through the aquarium tunnel above.
The loudness of its deep, resonant humming caused everyone to look up in collective awe and amazement.
Its colossal body covered the entire space, slowly darkening the entirety of the Aquarium tunnel into a twilight world.
Trizha stared at the blue whale, captivated.
After a few seconds, a sharp pain shot through her right hand.
"Ouch… it's hurting again," Trizha murmured.
She lifted her right hand, staring at the swollen knuckles for a moment before turning her hand upside down to look into her palms, sighing softly.
All of a sudden, a brief, faint pressure—like a little boy's hand—seemed to take her extended palm.
It disappeared in an instant, startling Trizha.
She looked away from her hand, but saw no one nearby except the surrounding students.
She turned her gaze, past the swirling fish and the hushed, awestruck students.
And then,
She looked at her hand once more.
The same hand that a boy took for a brief moment. But as she lifted her head, there so noticed him—
—Nomoro.
He is standing at the edge of the tunnel wall, facing against the thick glass, staring at the fishes and admiring them all by himself.
And so, she started to feel completely connected to his utter loneliness.
It was that same feeling again, that feeling when she found herself connected to his well-being after confronting him that day.
To everyone else in the Aquarium, the world was loud and vibrant.
But to Trizha, looking at Nomoro, his world was silent.
It was so quiet, so silent... that all he could hear was the words that hurt him.
The echoes of screams that were taken away from him.
And the faint memory of the brightest smiles he used to make.
Each of those crushing, lonely words felt like a physical blow to Trizha the more she stayed connected to him through their shared silence.
It was the same words she felt that day—and that resulted in her starting to slowly understand his feelings.
And the more she understood… the more ready she became to end their week-long conflict.
Trizha finally took a decisive step forward toward Nomoro, her eyes locked onto him.
She was approaching him with a hidden sense of absolute determination to bring an end to their confusing, petty conflict.
As she moved, the enormous body of the blue whale released a fraction of sunlight from above, and the beam landed directly on Trizha's blonde hair, causing it to 'glow and shine' in the dim tunnel.
As everyone around them bore witness, all eyes were now on her, drawn by the light.
They were all connected to her, but she was connected to him, and him only.
There was no selfishness here. Right now, the goal was to end it all.
And so, she ran.
Toward the man she hurt, the man she had misunderstood, and that one man… she felt she was fated to be with. Destined to be with.
Destined… to be with a Flaw.
The closer she got, the more she extended the hand that was already taken by the same man she ran to.
And then… she shouted to call for his name, the sound cutting through the whale's deep hum.
"Narasao…!"
Suddenly, she shouted a name she used to know, directing it at the man she knew now.
Which was weird, because Nomoro Ketatsuki was not named Narasao… or was he?
But as she shouted for his name, Trizha's clumsy feet betrayed her. She tripped, her body falling forward toward the man in front of her.
In a normal situation, or in any romance or urban novel, it would have ended in an embarrassing collision and a ruined apology.
But her hand was extended, reaching out. And so, he took her handSkwkxndjwi kxownwizjxjsnw kcjsnwiakxnxis oskxnxksownx kwiwnxkwnwx sowk cizkas xiskwkwkx wloxnwpqpa xoekw xosownwnx jwkwnxowowo owkdnc93ing9vnw ownskcowksp owosnx9nvoenf9 prorn9bkensk ldksnocneksnslan insnxiwnsko oenfoenskdk oowoqoq ox w w r. Fkco kdkck ekekdndkfkfnd kskwksnxksnw kendnckenwe ksnsnsnwkd lwkendocjs kelwkwkxksmw wlfkskwksx lwlwlwlskxjs kelskwlqls wosjxiwnqofke ppfpekflcpep opw0sksmwkxks kskxnsowls odosnaoakcn woosnwnwnd wkskaoqosndo pwoskskf iwisicnkwkw ldownxiiw lfowmwlwlc owowkskfke keidjfkw owowodkds owieo oowoqoq ox w w r. Fkco kdkck ekekdndkfkfnd kskwksnxksnw kendnckenwe ksnsnsnwkd lwkendocjs kelwkwkxksmw wlfkskwksx lwlwlwlskxjs kelskwlqls wosjxiwnqofke ppfpekflcpepkxownwizjxjsnw kcjsnwiakxnxis oskxnxksownx kwiwnxkwnwx sowk cizkas xiskwkwkx wloxnwpqpa xoekw xosownwnx jwkwnxowowo owkdnc93ing9vnw ownskcowksp owosnx9nvoenf9 prorn9bkensk ldksnocneksnslan insnxiwnsko oenfoenskdkoowoqoq ox w w r. Fkco kdkck ekekdndkfkfnd kskwksnxksnw kendnckenwe ksnsnsnwkd lwkendocjs kelwkwkxksmw wlfkskwksx lwlwlwlskxjs kelskwlqls wosjxiwnqofke ppfpekflcpep opw0sksmwkxks kskxnsowls odosnaoakcn woosnwnwnd wkskaoqosndo pwoskskf iwisicnkwkw ldownxiiw lfowmwlwlc owowkskfke keidjfkw owowodkds owieooowoqoq ox w w r. Fkco kdkck ekekdndkfkfnd kskwksnxksnw kendnckenwe ksnsnsnwkd lwkendocjs kelwkwkxksmw wlfkskwksx lwlwlwlskxjs kelskwlqls wosjxiwnqofke ppfpekflcpep opw0sksmwkxks kskxnsowls odosnaoakcn woosnwnwnd wkskaoqosndo pwoskskf iwisicnkwkw ldownxiiw lfowmwlwlc owowkskfke keidjfkw owowodkds owieokxownwizjxjsnw kcjsnwiakxnxis oskxnxksownx kwiwnxkwnwx sowk cizkas xiskwkwkx wloxnwpqpa xoekw xosownwnx jwkwnxowowo owkdnc93ing9vnw ownskcowksp owosnx9nvoenf9 prorn9bkensk ldksnocneksnslan insnxiwnsko oenfoenskdk
「Tell me—how's life… without my interference?」
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And so, just as Trizha's outstretched hand was about to connect with Nomoro's, a person suddenly appeared between both of them.
This figure expertly caught Trizha's wrist and swept her up, saving her from falling face-first onto the ground.
At the exact same moment, the blue whale had finally passed, and the sunlight returned in a sudden, brilliant shaft.
To everyone's surprise, the entire crowd gasped in shock and surprise as a mysterious handsome young man saved their beloved Trizha from the "demon" Nomoro Ketatsuki himself, holding her securely in his arms.
Wyne, struggling desperately to make her way through the thick crowd, pushing and pulling away people until she got a view of the commotion, stared in shock.
What had caught and saved Trizha was a tall, handsome young man with bushy red hair with the sides of which were neatly shaven and black.
He wore a black shirt with bright red underneath, and his eyes were a startling red, appearing to glow in the sudden light.
"...Who is that guy?" Wyne muttered, stunned by the theatrical appearance.
Trizha opened her eyes and looked around, before turning her head up to the person holding her.
"Wha—who are—" she started, confused and disoriented.
The man in red smoothly placed a finger on her lips, cutting her off. He smirked, looking down at her with his striking red eyes.
"Shhh… don't worry. There is nothing to panic about, is there? You're safe in my arms now that I am here, sweetheart…"
Suddenly, the man in red gently and intimately kissed Trizha on the forehead.
The crowd erupted: some girls squirmed in excitement, knowing that Trizha herself was kissed by a man they immediately deemed to be "of her league."
Trizha was about to protest violently against the stranger for kissing her, but she unexpectedly felt a strange pang of 'love' flood her system, leaving her speechless and confused.
She didn't know why, she knew this wasn't her natural reaction—but the feeling was undeniable.
Meanwhile, Wyne had finally reached a better vantage point, but she stared at the pair in the distance with growing shock and intense disgust.
"What the hell is that guy doing?!?!" Wyne yelled, trying to push through the last few students to stop the display.
However, a group of girls immediately stopped her, glaring down at her with hostile faces.
"Stay there! Don't be jealous!" one girl hissed.
"Right now, Trizha is having the moment of her life!"
"Yeah! You don't deserve to interfere with her newborn love life!" another scolded Wyne.
Wyne stared at the group of girls in utter disbelief and confusion, taking a step back. "The heck are you guys saying? I'm not here for that stupid nonsense!"
"Shut up!" a third girl commanded.
The group of girls then physically held Wyne off, restraining her from moving away and 'interfering' with Trizha and the man's intimate moment.
"Let me go…!" Wyne struggled, her hands pushing against them fruitlessly.
At the same time, the man in red glanced momentarily at Nomoro before helping Trizha stand up.
He kept her securely held close, then turned to the crowd with a wide, arrogant grin.
"Greetings, everyone. I am Zackier Morkator," he announced, his voice carrying easily over the chatter. "And while some of you are definitely jealous of my actions for making the first move before the rest of you did the same, how about a little… praise for making an 'achievement'?"
Zackier said this with pure arrogance, forcefully pressing the speechless Trizha closer to him.
He was using her inability to move away—caused by the artificial, unexpected feeling of 'love'—as proof of his achievement.
"Yeah! We don't mind! Congratulations!" The crowd cheered instantly.
"He's right, you two deserve the best!"
"We'll support you two, and we will all do it starting day one!"
"I hope you two don't break up!"
"We're gonna lie, you two fit for each other! Handsome and Beautiful!"
Suddenly, the situation became unrealistic.
The crowd chattered and voiced their support for Trizha and Zackier, clapping loudly and whistling in acceptance.
The entire focus of the Aquarium Tour had been completely replaced with the immediate, captivating public drama.
But all of the noise came to an abrupt end when a familiar voice, known and hated by all, spoke up.
"Let her go."
That deep, demanding tone caused instant silence.
All eyes in the hallway turned to the "Demon of Nine Years Ago" himself, Nomoro Ketatsuki.
When everyone else glared at him, Nomoro glared only at Zackier.
Zackier turned to Nomoro, his proud smile fading instantly, replaced by an emotionless mask. "What did you say?"
"I said to let her go," Nomoro repeated, his voice cold and steady.
Zackier started, gesturing to Trizha. "And why is that? Am I not allowed to keep the person I love in my arms—"
"A person like you doesn't deserve someone like her," Nomoro cut him off, his deep voice carrying finality. "And she doesn't deserve someone like you."
Nomoro spoke in a deep, cold tone, his unwavering glare locked onto Zackier.
Nomoro meant no forgiveness this time.
After all, everyone since this man appeared, he already felt that something was off about him. And seeing Trizha in his arms triggered something inside him.
…that is… being his right arm's skin color turning darker than naturally.
But then, suddenly, the entire crowd burst into laughter at Nomoro's remark toward Zackier.
Zackier himself was laughing softly, a cynical, dismissive sound.
"Oh, thank goodness… for the love of the devil!" Zackier exclaimed, clapping his hands once, mockingly. "You should be honored, Nomoro Ketatsuki. How brave of you…"
A cold, sinister smile then formed on Zackier's face as he looked down at Nomoro.
"Brave of you… to talk about YOURSELF."
The laughter of the students grew even louder, directed entirely at Nomoro.
Only Wyne and Margaret, watching from afar and restrained by the crowd, were silent. But they didn't like every single second of this.
Nomoro clenched his fists, glaring at Zackier even harder, on the verge of doing something unforgivable.
But Zackier spoke out, his voice sharp and challenging. "Don't even think about it, demon. Or should I say… I dare you."
Zackier grinned widely, spreading his free arm out to gesture at the entire hostile crowd surrounding the two men.
"As you can see, the world is your enemy. But don't worry, I am Trizha's Prince Charming…"
Zackier pulled Trizha closer again, her expression still unmoving and speechless from the confusing sense of 'love.'
"And you're the monster," Zackier finished, his red eyes burning with malice. "Therefore, it is my responsibility to take you out. So… just begone already."
Nomoro stared at Zackier for a few tense moments, grinding his teeth.
Then, he slowly turned around and began to storm off, defeated by the hostile environment.
The people around him gave him a wide berth, making sure to mock him loudly from his back as he left.
Zackier watched Nomoro slowly disappear from his sight. He murmured, barely audible over the receding laughter:
"9 years of waiting… Let the real fun begin."