In ancient times, human life was worth very little. No matter how many disappeared, as long as it didn't affect the nobles' lives, no one cared, nor would anyone investigate.
But times have changed. In today's peaceful society, a single death is a major incident—police will investigate even one case, let alone the disappearance of so many people overnight. It would be classified as a major case, a special case. An investigation would certainly follow, perhaps even a special task force.
Although Kael didn't believe the Countermeasures Office for Supernatural Disasters could catch him, what if they did? Sometimes it's not the odds, but the possibility. This world was too deep, even gods existed. If Kael continued acting recklessly now and failed, the consequences would be severe.
Until he could dominate the world and act freely, Kael felt he had to remain cautious. His genuine Hundred Ghost Banner was already sufficient. No need to take risks.
So Kael decisively returned home to rest, and the next day went to school, continuing to play the role of a student. Sometimes being a student was the perfect cover—no one would suspect that the one who destroyed two yakuza groups was a student.
When Kael arrived at school, many classmates were shocked. He had missed nearly half a month of classes, and many thought he had dropped out. Now, suddenly showing up, naturally they were surprised.
For example, Isshiki Makoto, sitting in front of Kael, couldn't help but complain: "Where have you been? Don't tell me you were spirited away?"
"Something like that."
Kael chuckled, brushing it off.
Makoto was annoyed but didn't press further, only muttering: "You didn't run into some supernatural event, did you?"
"Impossible." Kael laughed it off, though inwardly surprised. Was this fool's intuition?
After the first class ended, Mafuyu appeared at the classroom door right on time.
"Renjou-kun, come with me."
Makoto smirked, giving Kael a look that said, good luck. Kael ignored it, stood, and followed Mafuyu to the staff room.
Inside, Mafuyu told him to lock the door, then fixed him with a cold, piercing stare. "I need an explanation."
Last time, Kael had promised not to skip class again. Yet soon after, he had skipped nearly half a month. Mafuyu was furious. So today she had called him here to demand answers.
"Tell me, what happened? Why did you disappear for half a month? Do you even want to attend class anymore? Do you remember you're a student?"
Kael sighed. He knew Mafuyu was serious. If he didn't give a reasonable explanation, she wouldn't let it go.
"What if I said I was saving the world, would you believe me?"
"Nonsense. Don't treat me like a fool."
Mafuyu grew angrier—was he really mocking her?
Kael grabbed her sleeve and pulled her to the window. Outside, the sun shone on the sports field, where students were in PE class, running and sweating.
Among them, Kael spotted a familiar face—the blonde gyaru, Marin.
She had just finished running and was resting. Noticing Kael's gaze, she waved. "Renjou-kun, here, here!"
But when she saw Mafuyu's cold stare beside him, she stuck out her tongue playfully and ran off.
Mafuyu was displeased, feeling she had just been fed unwanted "dog food." Her voice grew colder.
"So you brought me here to watch you flirt with other girls? What does this have to do with skipping class?"
Kael smiled wryly. "You misunderstood. I just wanted you to see the truth of this world."
He raised his finger and lightly tapped Mafuyu's forehead. She instinctively tried to dodge, but he was too fast. Before she realized, his finger was already there.
Her brows furrowed, ready to scold him, but then she heard his voice: "Look carefully at the field. You'll see the real world."
Drawn by his words, Mafuyu looked. The field was still bright, the students still lively. But then she saw strange things among them.
Twisted shapes, some human-like, some beast-like, crawling, dark, exuding black aura. Just looking made her feel sick. She shivered, goosebumps rising, and quickly turned away, shutting her eyes.
"What… what are those things?" Her voice stammered uncontrollably.
"You can call them demons or evil spirits. Simply put, they're polluted souls. Some people die, but their souls don't enter hell. Lingering too long in the human world, their souls become corrupted, turning into what you saw."
Kael had devoured many spirits recently and studied them. Even if not the full truth, his explanation was close.
He tapped her forehead again, withdrawing the power. "Open your eyes. You won't see them anymore."
"Really?" Mafuyu hesitated, still keeping her eyes shut.
Kael explained: "You saw them because I gave you a bit of power. Now I've taken it back, so they're gone."
Mafuyu cautiously opened her eyes, peeking at the field. Sure enough, the strange creatures were gone.