Inside Ochana's room, Shen Akira finally came to see her.
"Hey, Ochana… I've got a really bad feeling right now," Shen Akira said.
Ochana glanced at him briefly, then returned her focus to the plant she was tending.
"Why are you just standing there in silence? What are you doing—huh? Is that a poisonous plant?" Shen Akira asked, confused.
"Don't assume I like taking care of poisonous plants. This one is different," Ochana replied calmly.
She then stood up.
"So? What bad feeling?"
Shen Akira warned her that if anyone invited her to go somewhere, she must refuse—it could be a trap.
"I feel like the enemy is watching us… and trying to take you away from me."
Ochana fell silent, then let out a small laugh.
"Did you just slip up? Take me away from you? What am I, your child or something?"
Shen Akira stared at her sharply.
"I'm the only one who helped you. Can't you be a little polite? I've been secretly taking care of you all this time."
"Why secretly?" Ochana replied. "Now that I think about it… you were probably afraid your image would be ruined if people found out about me."
"What are you talking about?! This was for you too! So no one would know, and you could get your revenge more easily!" Shen Akira snapped.
"Fine, forget it. Where's my medicine? I want it now." Ochana stretched out her hand.
Shen Akira crossed his arms.
"Didn't I tell you? The timing isn't right yet. That botanist hasn't been captured."
"So you're saying I only get my medicine after he's caught?" Ochana scoffed. "Hah. I don't think you'll ever catch him."
Shen Akira's irritation grew.
"You think I can't catch that bastard…?"
Ochana chuckled softly.
"Aren't you supposed to be smart and cunning? Then why hasn't he been caught yet? Or does that mean… your enemy is smarter than you?"
Suddenly, Shen Akira's eyes widened—and he grabbed Ochana by the neck.
"You ungrateful bastard! Listen carefully—I'm sick of pretending to be kind to you! You're nothing but a tool for me to make money. If hearing this makes you cry, go ahead—it won't change anything. Even if you go public, it won't affect me at all! If you want to live, do exactly as I say and never defy me again! UNDERSTAND?!"
He threw Ochana to the ground.
Ochana coughed, breathing heavily, but said nothing.
Shen Akira turned around, left the room, and locked the door so she couldn't escape.
"It won't affect him, huh… yet he locks me in here," Ochana muttered while holding back tears.
"He was right… that crow was right. I was too stupid—and realized too late—that all of this started because of that bastard."
---
At Qwelin Academy, Shen Akira suddenly began moving much faster than before. Whether it was Ochana's words or something else, one thing was clear—he desperately wanted Nic captured. He knew Nic was an unpredictable and dangerous threat.
Shen Akira went to the teachers' room, where several teachers and the Student Council were gathered.
He firmly insisted that the botanist must be found and arrested immediately.
The head of Qwelin Academy looked confused by Shen Akira's aggressive impatience.
"Shen Akira, we know he's dangerous—but don't you realize? He's clearly not an ordinary person. He's trusted by the Kyushin region and by the Guardians of the Natural Tree of Heaven and the Flowers. Besides, this matter doesn't necessarily have to be handled by us."
Shen Akira clenched his teeth. His plan to hire buzzers to counter Kyushin's public support had failed—because the money he received from Lingmei had been taken back.
"So you're saying this isn't our problem anymore, and we should leave it to Eastern authorities?" Shen Akira asked sharply.
The Student Council agreed, telling him to be patient since Nic had not been definitively proven guilty.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
When a Student Council member opened it, a girl entered—the same student known for constantly doing "template activities," and the one who had gotten angry when Nic once called her Yurei.
Her homeroom teacher asked,
"Yurin? What do you need? It's unusual for you to come to the teachers' room."
Yurin pointed straight at Shen Akira.
"He's the one responsible for all of this. For what happened to Ochana, for my friend's death, and many other things. That's all. Excuse me—I don't want to argue with monsters here. In the end, you won't believe me anyway. I've said my truth."
She turned around and left.
The room instantly fell into an oppressive silence.
Shen Akira forced himself to remain calm. There was no way he could be accused so easily.
Who is this Yurin? he thought. I don't remember ever interfering with her life… or is she just another pawn of that botanist?
The Student Council murmured in confusion.
"What was that about?"
The head of Qwelin Academy stared at Shen Akira.
"Was that slander… or the truth?"
Shen Akira slammed the table.
"Are you accusing me?! You believe that strange girl?! She's obviously insane and hates me for no reason—I don't even know who she is!"
The pressure around Shen Akira intensified.
Furious, he stormed out, declaring that he would handle everything himself.
---
After leaving, Shen Akira immediately devised a new plan and ordered his subordinates at the academy to kidnap Yurin and interrogate her.
Yurin was easily taken to the place Shen Akira usually used to threaten students.
She was tied up—but she didn't panic.
Shen Akira arrived, grabbed her face harshly, and shouted,
"WHO ARE YOU?! I'VE NEVER MESSED WITH YOU AS FAR AS I KNOW—WHY DID YOU SUDDENLY SLANDER ME?!"
The tape over Yurin's mouth was removed. She smiled.
"Slander? Idiot. Didn't I already say it? You're responsible for my friend's death. I wanted to report you from the start—but I'm just an ordinary girl with no influence. My voice would've been buried by your fame."
"Your friend? Who?"
Yurin explained that her friend had been obsessively in love with Shen Akira.
"She once told me you said she could ask you for anything—because she was willing to volunteer to test some 'medicine' that supposedly made the body better. But what she got instead was extreme malnutrition and poisoning… until she died. My cute friend was really stupid, wasn't she?"
Shen Akira remembered it.
A girl who had clung to him too much—so annoying that he used her as a disposable test subject.
"Damn it… should I make you end up the same way?" Shen Akira threatened.
"Go ahead," Yurin replied coldly. "You're a human with no shame for your sins."
Just as Shen Akira was about to hurt her, a terrifying aura suddenly filled the space.
Shen Akira shuddered.
That aura again… the crow.
"Damn it! Let's go—now!" Shen Akira barked.
"Hey, you cursed girl. Even if you report this, it won't matter. Stay quiet and wait for me to deal with you."
Shen Akira and his men left, abandoning Yurin.
Moments later, Nic appeared in Death Raven mode and freed her.
"So you really came… Mr. Raven. Thank you!" Yurin said, relieved.
---
Flashback — before Yurin acted
At the inn, Nic had been thinking about the girl known as Yurei. He was convinced she was important, so he searched for her in the area he had already investigated.
When he found her, Nic apologized and activated Cupid Arsenal to obtain her trust. He then dug into Yurin's past and learned everything.
"A girl who sees all humans as monsters… but when she meets a real monster, it's different," Nic murmured.
Just as expected—when Nic approached her alone as Death Raven, Yurin wasn't afraid at all. Instead, she called him a spirit from another world.
Nic simply agreed and offered to help her take revenge on Shen Akira—a revenge that was impossible to voice otherwise.
With Yurin involved, Shen Akira would definitely become more aggressive and reckless.
At first, Yurin was afraid—but Death Raven promised he would appear before she was ever harmed, and that no one would be allowed to hurt her even a little.
That promise gave her courage.
---
Back to the present
Death Raven had been there the entire time, hiding his aura so Shen Akira couldn't sense him.
Nic had recorded everything.
He handed the recording to Yurin.
"Take this. Use it to threaten Shen Akira if he dares to move again," Nic said.
"But what if he tries to take it from me? I can't do anything," Yurin worried.
"Don't worry. I, Death Raven, will appear anywhere if someone close to me is threatened."
Yurin smiled, thanked him, and left with the recording.
"Alright," Nic muttered.
"That bastard is confused and losing control now… time to find Ochana."
To be continued…