Many students had already left their seats.
Students from other classes also wandered in, raising glasses with their friends and making toasts.
Some were brimming with joy, others looked dejected.
The room was crowded and noisy.
"Ric, look at all these beautiful girls—aren't you going to walk around?"
Jitto's face was flushed from the drink. Though tipsy, he still held onto some clarity.
"I'll pass." Fenric shook his head, then asked calmly, "When will this end?"
"End? Too early to think about that! We'll finish dinner first, then head over to KTV. No way we're leaving before eleven. Otherwise, what's the point of paying §1000 per person for this table?"
Fenric frowned. "Staying out this late… Aren't you worried about the college entrance exam tomorrow?"
Jitto chuckled. "That's why everyone wants to relax tonight—because of the exam tomorrow!"
Fenric could only shake his head, speechless.
Just then, the box door creaked open.
A beautiful figure stepped inside, instantly silencing the room.
It was Isla Wynn—the school's acknowledged beauty.
Her gaze swept across the lively room, but the moment she saw Fenric, she paused. Then, without hesitation, she walked straight toward him.
Every student in the box watched her approach, stunned.
"Fenric," Isla said gently, "I'd like to share a drink with you. Do you mind?"
Fenric blinked in surprise, then answered, "Not at all."
Whether it was Isla or anyone else, Fenric never turned down a toast. It was a matter of basic courtesy.
Their glasses clinked under the envious eyes of their classmates.
"Tomorrow is the college entrance exam," Isla said with a smile. "I wish you an extraordinary performance and excellent results."
She drained her glass in one motion.
Fenric considered telling her he had no intention of taking the exam, but it was too much of a hassle to explain. Instead, he simply nodded. "Thank you."
He downed his glass as well.
"Don't let me interrupt your gathering. Contact me when you have time."
"Alright."
Isla gave a polite smile before turning and leaving.
Only after she disappeared did the others come back to their senses.
They all stared at Fenric with expressions ranging from envy to jealousy to resentment.
"Damn, Ric! Are you an idiot? How can you just let such a golden opportunity slip away?"
Jitto, agitated, grabbed a glass of wine and said with sudden resolve, "No way. I'm going to find someone to toast right now!"
"Then go." Fenric waved him off.
As Jitto stumbled away, Fenric rose as well and headed for the bathroom.
The private box's bathroom was already overcrowded, so Fenric went out in search of the public restroom.
There, the stench of alcohol was overwhelming—drunken students crowded the stalls, some retching loudly.
Fenric frowned, finished his business quickly, and walked to the washbasins outside to wash his hands.
Coincidentally, Yuhan stepped out of the women's restroom at the same time and approached the sinks.
The two stood side by side.
Fenric smiled faintly but made no attempt to start a conversation.
Yuhan's expression shifted slightly when she noticed him.
Earlier, in the elevator, she had felt that this boy's aura was strangely familiar. But with others present, she hadn't dared to ask. After all, for a girl to strike up a conversation so directly with a boy—it could be easily misunderstood.
Meanwhile, far away in a dark forest—
An altar had been completed.
The young man in black swayed unsteadily, his face pale. He had shed too much blood in the process, and signs of weakness plagued him.
If not for his identity as a Class B Samsara, with a body far stronger than ordinary people, he would have bled out long ago.
In his trembling hands was a strange iron shard, black and shaped like a six-pointed star.
It was no ordinary relic. He had obtained it during his encounter with the Lord of Hell in his personal dungeon, Hellboy: The Rise of the Blood Queen.
That shard was the key to opening the Gates of Hell.
He had struck a pact with the Lord of Hell himself.
If he opened the gates in this world, he would be rewarded with gifts from Hell—the very personality of a demon.
The young man's hands trembled harder as he stared at the shard.
Fear, tension, and anticipation warred in his chest.
He had seen Hell with his own eyes. He knew the overwhelming power of its demons.
Opening the gate here would spell disaster for all of humanity.
But selfishness is a powerful thing.
The lure of becoming a demon god was irresistible. If he succeeded, his power would skyrocket, and the world itself would become his playground.
"Huuh…"
Taking a deep breath, he placed the hexagonal shard at the altar's center and began to chant:
"Great Lord of Hell, hear the call of your faithful servant."
The sky darkened instantly. Fierce winds howled as if the heavens themselves raged.
"The Gates of Hell—open!"
The final words left his lips.
Boom—!
The earth itself quaked.
Back on the sixth floor of the hotel—
Yuhan had just finished washing her hands and was preparing to leave. Though Fenric's presence stirred something in her, she still chose silence.
There was already someone else in her heart—though she didn't even know his true face.
Boom—!
Suddenly, the entire hotel shook violently.
Several drunk students collapsed as the tremor rattled the building.
"What's happening?"
"An earthquake?"
"No way! Earthquakes don't just stop all at once!"
Confusion rippled through the students.
Fenric's eyes narrowed. This was unlike anything he had experienced before.
"AHHH!!"
A blood-curdling scream erupted from the women's restroom.
Moments later, several girls stumbled out, clothes disheveled, faces pale with terror.
"Ghosts! Ghosts!!"
Yuhan quickly grabbed one of them. "Anne, what happened?"
"Yuhan, hurry! Run! There's a ghost in the bathroom—a horrible ghost!"
"Ghosts?"
Yuhan's brows furrowed, her delicate face tense with confusion.
Fenric, standing nearby, caught every word, his expression darkening.
Then, screams echoed from the men's restroom as well.
Chaos spread like wildfire—shrieks and wails overlapping throughout the hotel.