"Uekh!"

Julien covered half of his face with his hand while he hunched over. Purple hands began to claw out of his eye while a searing pain invaded his mind.

The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt but the power that came along with the pain was something that Julien couldn't get enough of.

'More... I want more...!'

Julien raised his head to stare at his own reflection.

His eyes...

They were both purple and as hands clawed out of his right eye, something splashed on the ground beneath him.

It was a purple film that expanded with every second.

....The purple film slowly started to cover the ground around him, turning it into a dark purple hue.

From the shifting purple film, twisted faces and clawing hands emerged, screaming and grasping for anything within their reach.

"H-ha... Ha."

A strained laugh escaped Julien's lips as he witnessed the sight with a strange smile on his face.

'More...! More!'

Julien felt like he could cover every inch of the room.

He had the sense that if he went through with it, he'd accomplish something the parasite had never been able to reach.

While the parasite had managed to develop a 'Concept,' Julien felt he could progress to the Materialization stage.

This was his body.

....His experience wasn't inferior to an annoying parasite. The degree of control he had over it was also far greater than that parasite's.

His mind felt lucid and he started to feel invincible.

It only made sense that he achieved better than the parasite.

'Right, it only makes sense I'm better.'

Thud!

Julien collapsed to his knees, his back hunched as more and more hands clawed their way out from his eye, each one pulling him further into agony.

"Arkkh...!"

Saliva flew out of his mouth as the purple film beneath him expanded further.

"M-more! Arkh...!"

His chest felt like exploding.

The veins at the side of his head bulged while he lost his breath.

He could hardly breathe.

He felt suffocated.

And yet...

"Akh.. h-haha."

He found joy in the pain and suffering.

This was nothing compared to the suffering he had undergone within that world. The imprisonment he felt was just as suffocating if not worse.

He poured all of that experience into whatever was developing before him.

At this moment, for some strange reason, he felt like he could accomplish anything. He didn't know why but he took advantage of it.

'Yes, I want more...!'

A crazed look flashed across his face and the film expanded further, slowly inching towards the walls and moving up.

Sweat poured down from the side of his face.

"J-just a little. Just a..."

Pftt!

Julien quickly clasped his hand over his mouth, feeling something warm and wet trickle through the gaps between his fingers.

Drip! Drip..!

'Ah.'

Looking down, Julien caught a glimpse of the red that stained the ground and the realization

hit him.

He... had reached his limits.

"H-haha."

Rather than being disheartened, he just laughed.

'Yeah, this is good. This is good.'

He closed his eyes.

Julien felt it.

....He was close to reaching the 'Materialization' stage.

"This domain thing...."

He laughed again,

"...It's a lot easier than I thought."

Was he just that talented?

No, it felt more than just talent.

It felt more like an accumulation of all his resentment and anger while trapped within that world, suddenly manifesting before his very eyes.

With his body having reached the prerequisite to form a Domain, it all came flooding out at

once.

To Tok-

A sudden knock on the door jolted Julien out of his thoughts. In spite of the pain that was currently invading his mind, Julien managed to help himself up and head for the door.

To Tok-

Whoever they were, they seemed relentless.

"Coming, coming."

Julien rubbed the back of his head while reaching out for the doorknob to open the door.

Clank!

11

"....."

That was when a familiar figure appeared.

"....Here."

It was none other than Linus. He appeared to be holding onto a letter which he quickly handed

to him. It had the family stamp on it, showing that it had been directly sent by the family

head.

"....Read this on your own. It's important."

Usually, letters were used when sharing confidential information. Otherwise, communication devices were the norm.

The fact that it had been personally handed to him also showed just how important it was.

Julien reached out for the letter and glanced at it before looking back at Linus.

He didn't even look at him in the eyes.

'Scared...?'

Taking a closer look, he could see Linus's shoulders shaking. It almost gave off the impression

that he was scared, but Julien could see no fear in his eyes.

It was more like...

'He's holding himself back.'

Julien suddenly felt the corner of his lips pull.

'Isn't that cute?'

"Thank you."

"...."

Linus's brows furrowed.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but held himself back. Julien noticed this and

cocked his head.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing."

Linus took a deep breath to calm himself down. He forced a smile and raised his head to

finally look at Julien.

That was when their eyes met.

"....H-ha."

Julien observed Linus's chest tremble the moment their eyes locked. He couldn't miss the

deep-seated hatred lurking in Linus's gaze, visible even as his brows furrowed tighter.

Julien continued,

"Are you sure?"

He innocently blinked his eyes and gestured for Linus to come in.

"...It looks like you want to tell me something. Come on, come in."

"No, I'm good."

"I insist Linus. It's been so long since-"

"No, stop."

"Oh, come on. We haven't seen each other for so long. Why don't you come in."

"No."

"I won't take n-"

"I said no!!"

Linus suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing through the air and plunging

the entire surroundings into an eerie silence.

"Наа... Наа..."

Linus's chest rose and fell rapidly as he locked eyes with Julien. He shook his head in

frustration, his expression tightening before he clenched his teeth.

"You don't listen, do you?"

He took a step forward.

"... You never have. Never did. And never will," Linus spat, his voice dripping with contempt.

"I don't know how you managed to fool the entire Academy into believing you're some kind

of prodigy worth praising, but I know the real you."

He pointed his finger directly at Julien.

"You're a fucking scum. Whatever mask you're wearing, that shit won't fool me. I know what

you're capable of. I've seen it all!"

Linus forcefully pointed at his temple.

"You're going to burn everything down. You're a monster! You haven't changed. You're just acting like you have. I'll rip that mask off you if it's the-Uklh!"

Before Linus could continue, a hand shot out and grabbed his face.

"Urkh! Akh!"

He struggled against the hold, but the grip was far too strong for him to break free.

"Ho."

Julien silently laughed, his facade crumbling as he looked at Linus.

"You're right."

A deep smile marred Julien's features as his eyes turned purple.

As Julien locked eyes with Linus, purple hands began to emerge from his right eye, clawing

their way out.

"...I haven't changed. I'm the same me."

Laughing, Julien brought Linus's face closer.

"You came at the right time. I was in desperate search of someone to help me practice this

new 'Concept' thing."

Linus's eyes widened.

However, before he could put up any resistance, his body grew limp.

Clank-

He was shortly after pulled into the room, plunging the corridors of the dormitory into a

strange silence.

...A silence that was shattered by the single sound of a step.

Appearing at the far end of the corridor, Aoife held her mouth with her hand.

"This..."

What did she just see?

***

"You're saying that the current Julien is possessed?"

"Yes."

Leon eyed the peculiar Owl perched on the wooden bench beside him. After scanning his

surroundings a couple of times to ensure no one was watching, he leaned in slightly and spoke

again, his voice barely above a whisper.

"....I already know this much."

"?"

The Owl looked confused.

Its gaze seemed to say, 'You knew? How? I didn't tell you?'

Leon shook his head.

The changes were quite obvious to him. Not only were his 'eyes' different, but so was his

general demenour. He tried a little too hard to be indifferent.

However, despite his best attempts, he'd break on several occasions.

Julien wouldn't do that.

One of his greatest qualities was that he could maintain a poker face in any situation.

Furthermore,

'... He couldn't even tell I was speaking to him through my eyes.'

Julien just nodded faintly at him.

It was then that Leon understood everything. He thought about acting up on his suspicions

but held himself back. He wanted to observe the situation better.

And it wasn't like he was one hundred percent sure his assumptions were correct.

At least, that was until now.

With the Owl telling him directly, Leon was sure of his previous hunch. Especially since he

knew the Owl belonged to Julien.

He..

"Hoo"

Leon took a deep breath and looked at the owl pitifully.

"That sick monster.'

The Owl cocked its head but Leon didn't say anything else.

'Is that why my intuition was flaring up so much?'

He had more or less guessed this part. It was just that he didn't think the situation was over

just yet. There hadn't been many times in the past where he had felt such a strong 'kick' from

his innate skill.

Leon understood that this was merely the start.

Something worse was going to happen, and he had to be ready for that.

'At least I now know what the source of the situation is.'

Leon wasn't quite sure how to feel about that.

If his guesses were correct, the one who had taken over Julien's body was probably the old

Julien. It also started to make sense why he had asked to contact Evelyn privately. "They probably tried to find a way to solve the situation, but it evidently didn't work or backfired.'

Leon tapped his fingers rhythmically on the wooden bench, lost in thought. The deeper he delved into the situation, the more he felt a headache coming.

He couldn't necessarily ask for help considering how delicate the situation was. Furthermore, with the gathering of the Seven Churches still underway, everyone was being

closely monitored by the academy staff.

He couldn't move carelessly.

"What should I do? What should I—" "Keep watch of him." "Hm?"

Leon turned to face the Owl.

Finding himself staring into its deep eyes, Leon paused momentarily.

"Keep w—"

"Yes, he wants you to keep watch of him. Prevent him from doing anything stupid with the

bod-"

"Wait, wait."

Leon held up his hand to stop the Owl.

"Are you in contact with Julien?"

"Yes."

"Ah."

Leon's lips trembled for a brief moment. Collecting himself, he frowned.

"Wait, that doesn't make sense. How are you-"

"It doesn't matter how. Just know that I am. He told me to tell you this information."

The Owl suddenly expanded its wings and flapped them once, floating into the air.

"....I have other things to do, human."

"Wait!"

Despite Leon's effort to reach out to the Owl, he could do nothing but watch as it silently

vanished from his sight.

"Damn it."

Leon cursed silently while holding onto his forehead.

'That Owl... It has definitely learned the wrong things from Julien.'

He felt like strangling both.

"Hoo."

And just when he thought things couldn't get any worse.

"Hi."

A pair of grey eyes appeared next to him.