The door creaked shut behind him.
"Present," Raizen said with a smirk, stepping into the classroom like an actor arriving fashionably late to his own premiere.
His new haircut gleamed in the soft light from the tall classroom windows.
He stood there, chin slightly raised, eyes sweeping over the class like a king returning from exile.
"Heh. Time for them to see what a real man looks like."
He had waited on purpose—like a tiger stalking its prey. Hidden just beyond the doorframe, Raizen listened patiently for his name to be called, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
According to Takumi's memories, this was how every main character made their first entrance after achieving godhood.
A little dramatic?
Absolutely.
But Raizen was nothing if not committed to the role.
Silence.
Then… chuckles.
Snorts.
A few loud laughs escaped, echoing in the room like bullets.
Raizen's brow twitched.
"Huh?" he muttered.
One student leaned to his friend, whispering, "What's this guy doing, waiting behind the door like a ninja? Cringe."
Another voice, sharper, more venomous:
"He actually came back? Didn't he get beat up just for trying to talk to Miss Xuē last time?"
"Some people just don't learn. Maybe he's a real pervert."
"I heard someone else decked him for breathing near her."
Raizen froze for a moment.
The smirk was still on his face—but his clenched fist behind his back told the truth. His shoulders tightened. His vision dimmed slightly.
Takumi's leftover emotions—the humiliation, the fear, the trauma—came surging back like bile.
"Still not enough, huh…?" he muttered under his breath, forcing his trembling legs forward.
This school wasn't impressed by new clothes or fake confidence. This was the one of the most prestigious school in the continent. Most of the guys looked like pop idols or young CEOs. The girls? Social media goddesses with modeling contracts. Most walked like they were born rich.
Raizen might look better, but to them?
Still a bottom-feeder.
Still that Takumi.
The teacher coughed, half-annoyed, half-bemused. "Well then, Mister Hanazawa, if you're done with your… performance, perhaps you'd like to sit down?"
Raizen blinked, then turned to the classroom layout.
Six rows.
He saw Two empty seats side by side on one row.
The far-right seat, closest to the window, was isolated—no one sat near it. It looked cold. Forgotten.
But the middle seat…
Right next to a black silk hanfu that shimmered like water under moonlight.
The woman wearing it sat with her chin slightly raised, arms resting delicately over a translucent kimono robe. Her figure exuded elegance. Cold. Unreachable. Her purple-highlighted hair was tied loosely, and her sharp eyes flicked toward him as their gazes met.
Xuē Liuyue.
Raizen paused, memories rushing back.
The voice. The stare. That same woman who once made Takumi bark like a dog.
"Tch. So you're the one, huh…"
Xuē Liuyue was looking at her with intensity.
"She's pissed? Why's she looking at me like I stole her damn lipstick?"
He sniffed. Shrugged inwardly.
"Middle it is. Don't blame me for being greedy—I am a demon."
He strutted over and dropped into the seat beside her.
The class collectively inhaled.
"He actually sat next to her?"
"Dude, he's got a death wish."
"Weren't they just—wait, are they dating now?"
Another voice snickered too loud. "Oi, keep it down! Miss Xuē might hear you!"
Xuē Liuyue didn't flinch. But her eyes narrowed. Her manicured fingers tapped her notebook once. Twice.
Inside, her head was spinning.
"He should've known not to sit here… this was the seat I forced him to give up just last month."
"Back then, he didn't even argue. Just wagged his tail and left."
But now…
"This bastard. This idiot. This… smug bastard. Why does he feel different?"
The professor finally resumed class, muttering about disrespectful youths and late registration.
Xuē's foot suddenly slid under the desk—kick.
It landed squarely on Raizen's shin.
"Psst!" she hissed from the corner of her lips. "What the hell's wrong with you?! Are you insane?!"
Raizen slowly turned to look at her, his face calm… but his eyes? Ice.
The cold stare of a predator who had seen worse than death.
Something stirred in his memory. That expression. The tone.
That same tone she used back when she treated him like an animal—ordering him, humiliating him in front of others. Treating him like dirt.
He wasn't Takumi anymore.
He was Raizen Kuronaga, Lord of Lust, King of Carnage, Ruler of the 7th circle in hell—and no one talked to him like that.
He might have losed his charm but something he cant lose is his hatred for woman like her.
He leaned slightly forward and spoke aloud, voice clear:
"Why are you kicking me, Liuyue?"
The class went dead silent.
A paper dropped.
The teacher's marker paused mid-air.
The name echoed in the room like thunder.
In this continent's social structure—especially among the higher classes—addressing a woman by her first name was no trivial matter. It signified intimacy, or in some cases, romantic interest. Even close friends, especially of opposite genders, rarely used first names openly.
To call a woman by her given name in public was to imply a personal connection-something opposite of their current relationship.
"L-Liuyue?! Did he just—"
"He said her first name???"
"Wait… not even her own sorority girls call her that!"
The professor choked on his tea and quickly looked away, pretending not to have heard.
These are problems students are expected to handle on their own. Bullying? Exploitation? It's all considered part of the process—training ground for the next generation of elites. The school turns a blind eye. So does the entire city.
Everyone knew Xuē Liuyue's aura—untouchable, cold as frost. Her sorority was already famous across the city, a name whispered even beyond campus halls. Rumors of her involvement in the nightlife scene only deepened her mystique. Some even whispered that her family came from a long line of assassins.
Most guys didn't even dare talk to her.
Calling her by first name?
That was social suicide.
And yet…
Xuē Liuyue sat still.
Completely still.
A faint red bloomed on her cheeks. Her lips parted slightly.
"T-this asshole… first a humiliating confession on public, now this? He is getting more and more bold"
"He actually dared… in public… again.."
She wanted to slap him.
She wanted to kick him.
But above all… she was humiliated… again.
No one—no one—had ever spoken her name like that. So casual. So intimate.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she turned her head away.
Raizen smiled.
His first real smile since entering the room.