During the rest of the walk, Daniel tried to communicate with the system in several ways, but got no response.
He thought about what Koneko had told him: was the gray energy his system? Had it been damaged when he became a demon? His head started to ache. Even though until the previous night he had only used the system to play cards and once in a fight, he had already learned to rely on it.
Losing it made him feel uneasy.
"Let's leave it for now. Maybe it just ran out of energy and is recharging," he thought optimistically as they approached the academy gates.
As always, the president Sona supervised the entrance. Today, she was accompanied by the vice president, Shinra Tsubaki, another beauty with glasses.
"Confirmed, they pick people based on looks," he muttered, nodding as he glanced sideways at Koneko.
"Toujo-chan, should we split up here? If they see us arriving together, class will be chaos."
"I don't care," she replied.
Daniel rubbed his temples. He cared; he didn't want to deal with the constant barrage of questions and whispers from most of the class.
---
In class, they were indeed bombarded with questions. Since Koneko stayed silent, she was left alone, and the greater pressure fell on Daniel, who wasn't used to so much attention. After trying to answer a few times, he decided to fall back on his old tactic: pretending to sleep. He didn't move from his desk no matter how much they pressed him.
Unsatisfied, the girls went back to their seats. Soon, the teacher entered and started the school day.
During class, the bothersome increase in his senses resurfaced. The noise from the classroom, the voices from neighboring rooms, even the teacher's voice—all of it sounded painfully amplified. Daniel tried to focus and shut down whatever was overwhelming him. After a few minutes, the sounds diminished, but now his vision felt abnormal: just before closing his eyes, he could even make out the pores on the teacher's face.
Uncomfortable, he buried his head in his arms on the desk.
Without him noticing, a reddish energy streaked with gray coursed randomly through his body: ears, eyes, nose, muscles…
CRACK
A sharp sound interrupted the class. Everyone looked around, confused. Daniel quickly hid the hand that was holding a piece of his desk. Finding nothing unusual, the teacher continued.
Daniel broke into a cold sweat. He had no idea what was happening. According to Koneko, reincarnating as a devil shouldn't cause effects like these. A little frightened, he glanced at her; she frowned back at him.
He tried to calm down and avoid touching anything. If he could just hold out until lunch, he could ask her what was going on.
But before settling back at his desk, a strange sensation spread across his back: itching, discomfort, and a slight pressure, as if something were trying to break free.
Confused, he remembered the first time he had summoned Koneko.
"Am I about to grow wings?" He remembered seeing her with small bat-like wings, though she later stopped using them because she found them unnecessary. Even so, Daniel was certain they had been real.
Anxious, he asked permission to go to the bathroom—and before the teacher could answer, he was already running down the hallway.
---
He didn't make it. The wings began tearing through his shirt as they spread with greater force. With no other choice, Daniel hid in a nearby storage room. The lock wasn't a problem—he simply ripped the knob off.
Inside, he calmed himself and looked at his wings. They were black, massive, with a hard elongated structure like sharp bones bound by a dark membrane that stretched with each movement. The inner part glowed a vivid red, contrasting with the black edges.
They looked nothing like the bat-like wings Koneko had shown.
Daniel wondered: "Since Koneko is small and cute, were her wings just as small?"
Did wing size vary between devils? He didn't know. He hadn't seen any others, except for the monsters that had nearly killed him.
The wings felt strange, as though he had grown an extra pair of arms. He tried moving them carefully, but the cramped space didn't allow him to spread them fully or test their reach. Still, he sensed they could wrap around his entire body.
The longer he stared at them, the more familiar they seemed. Weren't they the same as the Archfiend monsters' wings?
As he thought this, the wings retracted on their own. When he touched his back, he found no bumps or cracks. It had been almost magical.
With the excitement of their sudden appearance fading, he took in his surroundings: a small room filled with mops and cleaning supplies.
The cramped, suffocating space made it hard to breathe. He rushed out, panting.
After several deep breaths, he managed to calm himself. The air brushed against his skin, reminding him of his torn uniform.
With a sigh, he scratched his head, wondering what to do. Just then, a voice called out to him.
"Daniel-san, right?" A blonde boy approached, smiling.
Hearing "Daniel-san" triggered a mental spasm: flashes of a certain movie from his world crossed his mind. With a grimace, he quickly replied:
"Just Daniel. Call me Daniel, Kiba-senpai."
The blond smiled even wider.
"Understood. By the way, Koneko spoke with Buchou. Seems like you're having some issues. Do you need help with anything?"