Chapter1
After Arthur suffered a tragic death with his heart ripped from his chest, I bore the utter infamy of harboring a demon.
When mentors and classmates knelt before the academy's sage statue, begging me to identify the killer, I coldly remained silent. When enraged classmates came to the water dungeon to smash the door and riot, I released shadow familiars to maul them without hesitation.
Five years later, as I hovered on the brink of death, my former best friend Chloe, who had newly become the Chief Disciple of the Grand Mage, stormed back furiously, wreathed in holy light.
Her absolute first act upon returning to the academy was to bind me to the Truth Soul-Searching Formation, a device reserved exclusively for capital offenders.
"Erin, you traitor! You protect the demon that murdered my fiancé! Arthur and I were truly blind to ever treat you as a friend!"
"Arthur has been dead for five years, and you let that monster walk free for five years!"
"Today, I will use the Truth Formation to see exactly who this monstrosity is that you've been protecting with your life!"
But when the demon's face reflected clearly on the sky-bound screen of light, the color completely drained from Chloe's face.
On the day Chloe judged me, the grand plaza of Orlando Academy was packed with teachers and students. A massive magical light screen hovered in mid-air, broadcasting this public capital trial live to the entire continent.
Having been tortured in the shadow water dungeon for five years with my mana severely overdrawn, I was dragged up onto the high platform in the center of the plaza.
A one-eyed magic apprentice suddenly broke through the crowd, conjured a fireball, and hurled it directly at my body.
"Erin, why did you protect that demon?! Lord Arthur was such a good person—he had his mana drained alive just to save us! Why didn't you go die?!"
The scorching flames burned me with agonizing pain, and the crowd's fury was instantly ignited.
"Burn this heartless wretch to death!"
"Unleashing shadow familiars to bite people, her mind is twisted to the extreme!"
"Accomplice! Slave to the demon!"
Overwhelming insults completely drowned me out. I struggled to lift my head and looked at Chloe, who stood in front of the formation's control console. She wore a pristine white robe and held a staff embedded with a Radiant Gem, her eyes filled entirely with hatred. In this world, the person who hated me the most was undeniably her.
Five years ago, Chloe, Arthur, and I were the closest friends in this academy. Chloe's father, Bart, was the village chief and the man who adopted and raised both Arthur and me.
Whenever Arthur brought breakfast for Chloe, he would conveniently bring a piece for me as well. When he handed the food over, he looked in Chloe's direction, and when I accepted it, I also looked in Chloe's direction. All three of us knew exactly who was looking at whom. Later, Arthur and Chloe fell in love and became an engaged couple.
That bond remained until that stormy night, when an abyssal monster hollowed out Arthur's heart in the Forbidden Forest. The mentors who rushed to the scene saw only me, covered in blood, shivering on my knees beside his corpse.
I chose death over revealing the "demon's face" I saw that night, and my friendship with Chloe completely collapsed. I became the accomplice of a murderous demon.
And I, indeed, had protected that demon.
Chloe walked over and stood condescendingly in front of me.
"Erin, this is your last chance. Tell me the demon's name and hand it over to the academy's tribunal. It's not too late. Otherwise, once the Truth Soul-Searching Formation activates, tens of thousands of mental spikes will shred your soul apart and reconstruct it. It will hurt a hundred times more than death by a thousand cuts."
I struggled desperately. "Stop... Chloe, you can't! You can't look at my memories!"
She gripped my chin tightly. "Are you scared? It's not up to you anymore. I must get justice for Arthur today."
I coughed up blood and begged. "I am begging you... If you see those memories, you will destroy yourself, and you will destroy everyone else!"
She sneered. "Destroy me? I was already destroyed five years ago when you watched Arthur die and refused to tell me the real killer so I could get revenge. My greatest regret now is ever being sisters with you back then."
Mages stepped forward, using dark gold runes to securely lock my hands and feet. Chloe raised her glorious staff high.
Just at the split second she was about to strike down with her staff, a magical voice transmission landed on the platform.
"Chloe... stop... listen to me, just this once..."
It was Bart—her father, and the adoptive father to both Arthur and me. At that moment, he stood at the very edge of the crowd.
A trace of hesitation flashed across Chloe's eyes. I shouted in a panic, "Chloe! Your father is telling you to stop, he—"
Her fingertips suddenly tightened around the wood. "Dad, Arthur was my fiancé. No one can stop me from doing this."
Her staff struck the stone ground fiercely. "Truth Formation, activate!"
A ghostly blue barrier suddenly rose from around the high platform, and violent mana forcefully drilled straight into my mind.
"Ahhh—!" My entire body convulsed violently.
The crowd outside the barrier clapped and cheered.
"Demon! You deserve to have your soul extracted!"
"Take your secrets to hell!"
The light screen lit up with water-like ripples. Through my blood-blurred vision, I fixated on Chloe.
"Chloe... you are my friend... why would I ever harm you..."
Even if my body were ground to dust, I had promised myself that I could never let the truth be exposed.
The light screen flickered rapidly. The very first forcibly extracted memory unfolded before the eyes of everyone on the continent.
