Magister Insanity

The cause of all the screaming and frantic fleeing wasn't some hideous monster. Instead, it was an ordinary girl, calmly walking by.

Narrowing my eyes, I gauged her to be no older than nineteen. Even then, her figure was almost perfect. Her raven-black hair, lustrous as silk, looked as if it had been cut once with scissors and then left untouched ever since. It was a short style that just reached the ears and framed her face neatly. Her beauty, though enchanting, carried a peculiar air.

It was difficult to define. To simply call her "beautiful" felt inadequate. Not that she lacked charm. She was undeniably lovely, but her beauty carried a quiet dignity that set her apart.

Nonetheless, it wasn't her looks that captured my focus, it was her eyes. They were quite unusual; bearing a sharpness reminiscent of a dagger's edge, an impression heightened by the curve of her brows. And when I looked closer, I noticed something more: multiple dark rings coiling within her grey irises, like shadows caught in still water, swirling and deep, hinting at a hidden depth that was both mesmerizing and unsettling.

My eyes then wandered and examined her clothing. She was wearing a black leather jacket and beneath it, a simple dark shirt clung just enough to suggest a slender build, paired with equally dark trousers that allowed ease of movement without sacrificing style. It was as if she had deliberately dressed in the theme of "blackness."

She was strange, unmistakably so. And yet, I still couldn't fathom why people fled from her in such terror. Not even Transcendents inspired fear this absolute.

Had I not known better, I might have mistaken her for a walking plague that instantly killed anyone that entered her personal radius.

...Wait, instant kill?

The thought jolted me. My mind began stitching fragments together one by one, and slowly, my eyes widened. Could it really be her, the one I had heard so many much about?

Eventually, the mysterious girl drifted in a certain direction and halted. Then, as if sensing something, she abruptly turned her head.

Inevitably, her eyes met mine.

"...?!"

My body froze.

It felt like something invisible had pinned me in place. And why did it feel like she was glaring at me?

What did I even do to you?!

'Don't tell me she's coming this way…'

Of course, my worst fear came true. The girl stared at me for a long moment. Then, after a brief pause, she began walking toward me.

'Curses!'

Step!

'What is she even doing here? It had to be my rotten luck that she happened to pass by at the exact same time as me.'

Step!

'I knew this would happen eventually… but why today of all days?'

Step!

'Calm down. Calm down. Sonny, you absolutely cannot show weakness right now. If you do, she'll think you're a wimp! At the very least, make a strong lasting first impression.'

Step! Step!

The sound of her footsteps grew steadily closer. Calming my chaotic thoughts, I braced myself as best as I could, forcing an indifferent expression as I waited for her to arrive.

She stopped, just a few paces away. For a moment, the world seemed to narrow down to the space between us. The air quality seemed to thicken but that was probably my imagination.

Her eyes studied me unblinkingly as if scanning my entire being.

The young woman standing before me, if memory served, was Enlightened Rin. But among the locals, she was famously known by her Mythic Code:

Soul Killer.

And now that person was standing in front of me.

Time stretched between us, with neither of us speaking.

The tension felt strangely mundane, like two strangers trapped in an elevator, silently waiting for their respective floors.

What should I do? Should I start the conversation?

No. That would be the wrong move, especially since she hadn't said a word either.

'Wait… now that I think about it… doesn't she look familiar?'

I examined her more closely, taking in every detail of her face, scanning for some clue, some hint that would explain why she seemed so hauntingly recognizable.

Then, it finally dawned.

She was human!

Well, that much was obvious. But considering the human population in the Soul Realm was minuscule compared to other races — by rough estimates recorded in the academy library, humans made up only about 0.05% of the entire population — this realization carried far more weight than it should have.

Seeing another human here lifted my spirits. No matter how introverted I was, it felt good to finally spot a fellow human in this forsaken place! It meant I wasn't alone! Her eyes were a little strange, fierce even, but I'd gladly overlook that.

From the look of her, though, she didn't seem to be from America or any Western country I knew. Her facial features suggested Asian origins. Most likely… she was Japanese.

Setting that aside, the atmosphere between us was becoming increasingly awkward. She remained silent, her her gaze fixed on me as if searching for something hidden. Rather than looking at me, it seemed like she was seeing through me.

What was this? Why wasn't she saying anything? Did she want me to start the conservation?

My mind raced through countless possibilities, but none seemed to fit the situation.

Silence stretched on.

Eventually, I slowly reached my limit and spoke.

"Hey… can I help you with something? You've been staring."

Rin blinked rapidly, snapping out of her stupor. Then she replied:

"Ah, sorry about that. You're… Sonny, aren't you?"

I nodded.

"That's right. And you're Rin, I assume. Inquisitor Ivy said you were the one who caught me and took me to the medical center. I haven't had the chance to thank you for that, thanks to some… unusual circumstances."

She shrugged.

"You don't need to thank me. I just did what anyone else would have. By the way, you're attending the academy?"

"Oh, yeah. That seemed like the most reasonable choice at the time. But forget that, what I heard about you… you sound pretty amazing."

Her eyes narrowed, and her voice grew slightly colder.

"What exactly did you hear?"

"Nothing of major substance, but enough, I guess. For example, you survived your First Descent and cleared a Phrase to reach the Enlightenment stage. That's… impressive, to say the least."

"Is that all you heard?"

"Yeah. Why? Is there something I should know?"

"It's nothing."

Her eyes remained indifferent, but something within them softened ever so slightly.

Was it my imagination? And what I'd heard about her… maybe it wasn't important right now.

"Right. Now that I think about it, when was the last time you were on Earth? It feels like it's been ages for me, though maybe it's different for you."

Rin didn't answer immediately. She remained silent, frowning slightly as if gathering her thoughts. After a long moment, she finally spoke with a nonchalant tone:

"I don't know."

"What? Come again?"

"I haven't been to Earth for four years since my First Descent. So you probably know more about it than I do."

I blinked.

What was I hearing? Do my ears deceive me?

She hadn't been to Earth for four whole years? More importantly… she hadn't left the Soul Realm since her First Descent? That meant she'd been here the entire time, ever since she first appeared.

Hold on… something doesn't add up.

She looked about nineteen now. If she'd been here for four years, that meant she had entered this place at fifteen.

Fifteen… or sixteen. Either way, far too young to survive a First Descent.

My body shivered.

During my own First Descent, I, a twenty-one-year-old, had nearly lost my life multiple times and had even been forced to shoot myself in the head at the very end. I couldn't begin to imagine what a fifteen-year-old would have endured.

She was just a child.

My mouth opened and closed rapidly. Questions tumbled through my mind: Why haven't you returned? Don't you want to go back? What are you doing here?

Then I remembered something important. Just because I wanted to return didn't mean anyone else felt the same. Every individual had their own experiences, their own choices.

Asking those questions now would only make her uncomfortable and make me seem insensitive.

So I swallowed them all.

The awkward, elevator-like silence settled between us once more. But after a few moments, Rin was the one to break it this time.

Scratching her head, she muttered,

"What to do? You might not know this, but you were in pretty rough shape when you arrived, strange circumstances and all. I wanted to check on you… but…"

She paused, studying me briefly before continuing,

"You seem to be doing all right. In any case, I'll be on my way now."

A bit surprised, I asked, "So you just came over to say that?"

"Of course. Why not? I'm the one who caught you, so I feel a bit responsible, you know. Anyway, it was nice meeting you. Oh, and try not to die or else I'll stab you to death!"

With that, Rin bolted off as if in a rush, leaving me blinking in disbelief.

Perplexed, I could only watch her disappear completely from view. Tilting my head, a single thought flashed through my mind:

Was that the so-called ominous Soul Killer I'd heard so much about?

How could someone with such a reputation have a personality like that? One would expect her to be stern, exuding an overwhelming, intimidating aura. Instead… she was energetic.

What was the archetype for characters like this? Kuudere? Tsundere?

No. That wasn't right. What am I, some lucky manga protagonist?

There was no way I could be that fortunate!

In any case, she seemed nothing like the rumors suggested. Well… that was if you ignored the last thing she'd said before leaving.

How can you stab me to death when I'm already dead, you idiot!

With a sigh, I glanced back toward the restaurant. The priority targets were nowhere to be seen. Startled, my gaze swept around, but the result was the same.

Most likely, they had exited at some point and gone somewhere I didn't know.

"Well… shit…"