The student with murky silver hair, Beyrud, wore a uniform with red accents and spent his time in the dormitory in a daze. He was on the verge of losing his mind due to his massive financial losses.
With his sanity already half gone, he could no longer think clearly.
He didn't mind attending Monday morning lectures about Demon Gods. Since he had vowed to kill one someday, he thought he should learn about his enemy in detail.
But having an actual Demon God there irritated him.
It disgusted him to see everyone fawning over how cute the Demon God was. His expression soured.
How many people were dying because of Demon Gods? How many buildings had been destroyed? He couldn't understand why they kept such a creature around, even making wordplay by calling it "Supplies."
How could a professor do this? Especially one with the title "Demon God Slayer"—why?
Beyrud couldn't comprehend it. He hated that the Demon God knew about him and even disliked it coming near him. Meanwhile, his own affairs weren't going well, causing his hatred to grow like an inflating balloon.
And after losing all his money, it finally burst with a bang.
"I'm going to kill it..."
He muttered under his breath.
He carried a kitchen knife in his bag.
He ground his teeth with the thought of killing.
But his target was a Demon God, and she was always accompanied by Professor Yuria, famous as the "Demon God Slayer." Given who he was up against, he didn't think he could just stab the Demon God directly.
He hoped the Demon God would be far enough away from others that he could kill her properly.
He figured that given her small size, he wouldn't be at too much of a disadvantage in a physical confrontation, so he believed he had a good chance if the opportunity presented itself.
He needed to go to the Academy, but he could miss up to four classes per subject without consequences. He considered skipping entirely to track the Demon God's movements.
When she went to the Research Building, he assumed she was heading to Yuria's location and stayed away. When Urr met with friends separately, he maintained a safe distance while monitoring where she went.
A few days later, around early June, Beyrud heard a rumor.
It was actually a topic that came up in conversation among second-year students, but it was good enough for him. If the rumor that Urr had joined a study group and rented a separate club room was true, that would be sufficient.
He let out a small laugh.
Now he just needed to act.
He was confident he could kill Urr if she wasn't with Yuria.
Normally, Demon Gods emit an aura that harms humans who approach them, but Urr didn't have this, making her seem defenseless in his eyes. He watched for an opening.
He spent a day observing.
After school hours ended, he lingered near the location, waiting for Urr to enter and exit. After carefully studying her patterns, he picked a date.
The first Friday of June.
He took the knife wrapped in newspaper from his bag and tucked it inside his clothes. When he pressed his hand against his chest, he felt the hard object.
Now that he was about to act, he felt worried. But he gave himself absolution by thinking that since a Demon God wasn't human, it would be fine.
Even if it felt like killing a person, the target was a Demon God. He recalled his research, reassuring himself that it wouldn't count as murder.
He had searched through laws multiple times to confirm that killing Urr wouldn't be punishable, and finding nothing to contradict this, he felt safe proceeding with his plan.
"Phew."
He took a small breath.
At 6 o'clock, Urr would come out first...
"Ugh! I'm leaving now. It's too hard. My head hurts..."
The small Demon God with dark blue hair clutched her head as she opened the door. Golden eyes peeked through her unkempt hair. This was the Demon God.
Though he wanted to pull out his knife and stab her immediately, he restrained himself.
Urr was startled when she saw Beyrud and stepped back, but he smiled and spoke to her.
"Ah... sorry about before. I heard this is a study group, and I was wondering if I could join."
"You want to join... the study group?"
Urr raised her guard at Beyrud's unexpected statement. But seeing him holding his bag properly and awkwardly greeting her, she relaxed a bit.
When they had met before, there had been hostility, but now it seemed to have subsided.
"Urr, what's going on?"
"Oh, um. There's a second-year student who wants to join our study group. I'll go see the professor. Everyone, get home safely!"
Urr gave a quick explanation to her friends and then spoke to Beyrud.
"Then we need to go see the professor."
She was completely defenseless.
"What's your name?"
So defenseless that she wouldn't react even if someone stabbed her from behind.
"Beyrud."
"Okay... since everyone's heading home, I'll take you to the professor myself."
Urr walked confidently.
Sera and Aria offered to come along, but Urr, not wanting them to get home late, guided Beyrud herself.
She never imagined someone would directly harm her. It was like how people don't walk down the street fearing they might get stabbed.
Though Urr was a Demon God, she had originally lived a human life, so she was unconsciously a bit dull to danger.
They left the building and turned slightly into a corner. It was the path to the Research Building where Yuria was.
Beyrud seized this moment and put his hand inside his clothes. Even then, Urr suspected nothing. She assumed he was reaching for his phone in an inner pocket.
By the time she realized, it was too late.
"Oh."
A small sound escaped Urr's lips.
"..."
Her mouth froze in an "oh" shape. As the knife dug deeper into her back, Urr could only writhe in pain without saying anything.
She struggled in shock. Beyrud held her body and stabbed with the knife.
He thrust deeply and pulled it out again.
After stabbing once or twice, he found her clothes were hindering him, so he pinned her to the ground and stabbed her neck. Pressing the handle against her neck, she quickly died.
It felt like killing a human.
The sensation of piercing flesh was unpleasant in many ways. Blood splattered. Even that disgusted Beyrud, making him frown.
Sitting on top of Urr, he tried to stand up with the knife. After checking if anyone was around, he was about to flee when Urr began to twitch.
He had thought she was dead, but seeing her twitch and rise was shocking. Bewildered, Beyrud sat on her body again.
He held her arms down so she couldn't move and stabbed her neck again.
Beyrud was so excited that he couldn't think of anything else.
"Ugh."
Her gasping moan was filled with the sound of blood.
"Die, die..."
It's because of you. Because creatures like you are alive, people like me live in hell. So why are you smiling and attending school?
He cursed her.
She writhed as she died.
Urr's eyes went lifeless.
Her carotid artery burst, blood gushing like a fountain, and the secluded path to the Academy's Research Building was stained with blood.
Panting, Beyrud still gripped the knife and slashed Urr's neck once more in disgust. There was a squelching sound, but he didn't mind. After all, she was a Demon God, and he thought he'd just say he killed her in a fit of rage and would accept punishment for damaging "Supplies."
He felt his adrenaline surge to the maximum.
Beyrud noticed something strange about the young Urr.
She seems younger than before.
The moment he realized this, Urr's body changed. A powerful flow of mana created a whirlwind around her body. It was strong enough to push away someone like Beyrud.
"Kuhuk, kek..."
He didn't even have time to say "What?"
Coughing and gasping for breath, Beyrud retreated, too confused to properly understand what was happening.
This was a sensation only those who had experienced it would know.
When touched by a Demon God's aura, one feels their life force being drained or diminished—Beyrud only registered it as uncomfortable and unpleasant.
Beyrud raised his head from his prone position. Someone stood firmly before him with a "thud." Dark blue hair flowed down to the thighs. He looked up. The figure seemed taller than before, requiring him to crane his neck considerably to see the face from his position.
After wondering why she still moved despite being killed, another question overlaid the first.
Who is this?
"Ah, ah."
Beyrud trembled.
A different being stood before him than before.
Golden eyes, now cold, looked down at him. Eyes like those looking at an insect.
Compared to before, this was an entirely different entity. Height, figure, and atmosphere overwhelmed him. An aura that wasn't there before now enveloped Beyrud.
"—"
The Demon God silently touched her neck.
The neck that should have been mangled from the knife was intact. There were no wounds or scars.
Just as Beyrud thought, "This is impossible," the Demon God's body bent down. She tried to take the knife from Beyrud's hand.
Beyrud clenched his fist, thinking he couldn't give it up, but the Demon God's grip was strong enough to crush his hand.
"Kugh...!"
Clang. The knife fell to the ground. His forcibly opened hand dropped the knife, and the Demon God picked it up. Then she took that knife and stabbed Beyrud's body.
"Kek, kek..."
Stabbed in the side, Beyrud couldn't get up and breathed heavily. The only fortunate thing was that the Demon God didn't pull out the knife or stab him again.
The Demon God, having lost interest in the suffering man on the ground, turned and walked away.