Ryo breathed heavily, his blood-red eyes shining with a frozen spark. "Okay." he grumbled half-aloud, concentrating his thoughts. The system's voice sounded in his head.
[Conceal Aura/Presence; do you use it?]
"Yes."
Immediately, his crushing presence disappeared as though it had never been there. The room descended into shocked silence. The Vampire Lord, the Dragon Emperor, the Academy Headmasters, and even his fiancées, Seyra and Selena, bulged their eyes in shock. They could no longer sense anything from Ryo. It was as though he had turned into a normal human—or something incredibly beyond their understanding.
Seyra stepped forward hesitantly, her voice shaking. "H-have you become even stronger. in the brief time that we were absent? This is not like the last time that we saw you in class. and that was hardly an hour ago."
Ryo did not say anything, his eyes unexpressive.
The Academy Headmaster, an elf who looked to be in his mid-twenties but was clearly much older, finally broke his silence. "We know you did it to save your classmate, but we cannot help but notice that you murdered those students. I am not saying they were innocent. but you still took their lives."
Ryo's voice was unnervingly calm as he replied, "Not more than they had."
The priestess headmaster, an old woman clothed in holy robes, squinted. "What do you mean by that?"
Ryo's lips twisted into a sneer as he shot a sidelong look at the demon headmaster. "Why don't you go ask your noble demon headmaster? He knows all."
All eyes turned to the demon headmaster. The man, normally calm, was shaking, unable to speak—because his tongue had been severed.
Before anyone was able to react, Ryo disappeared in a flash. One second later, he reappeared, carrying an enormous metal locker covered in layers of protective shields. Without waiting, he brought up his hand and shattered the shields as if they were constructed of thin glass.
The room stood in terror and amazement as he ripped open the locker, opening it to show piles of papers within. He flipped through the pages, his face growing darker with each line he read.
"Bribery." Ryo grunted. "Students paid him once a year to cover up their crimes. And something else." His voice chilled as he pulled up another stack of documents. "Selling students to slave markets back in his homeland. These students were never heard from again."
Selena turned white, and Seyra balled her fists with rage. The other headmasters' faces fell into dark looks as they digested the reality.
Ryo dropped the papers on the ground, his eyes on the demon headmaster. "I saw it all. in my first life."