Chapter 0: Prologue – Do Evil Path Players Dream of Reckoning?

“Your speech up there was impressive, Shen Yingxu.”

In the corridor behind the auditorium, on my way to the restroom, I ran into the girl from my class who had just finished her speech as the freshman representative.
I offered a polite greeting.

“Thanks.”

With those two simple words, the girl nodded at me with a smile and brushed past as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Well, that kind of response was to be expected.

As the most striking beauty among the first-year students, Shen Yingxu stood out in every way—her sky-high entrance exam scores, her stunning looks, and her privileged background.
Without a doubt, she was the brightest star of this entrance ceremony.

Completely different from a nobody like me, whose role was to clap and cheer from the audience.
The only reason I could even greet her was because we’re in the same class.

Shrugging, I was about to keep walking when I suddenly felt the air around me grow heavy, almost frozen.

“Um… I have a question I’d like to ask you.”

I turned around, glancing at her as she stopped and looked back at me, a little surprised.

Ask me? Ask me what?

I racked my brain.
Aside from the location of the men’s restroom I was heading to, what could a top-scoring, untouchable flower like her possibly need to ask me about?

Oh, wait, the women’s restroom is right next to the men’s, isn’t it?

“If it’s about the restroom, it’s straight ahead…”

“Zhu Hanqi, have you ever heard of the Sephirian Continent?”

“Huh? What’s that? Some kind of setting from a game, anime, or novel?”

I hadn’t expected such a random question from a beauty like her.
I blinked, my face showing confusion.

Was she trying to find a fellow fan or something? Like a Gamer Cafe kind of plot?

Was I about to be dragged into a hobby club by a gorgeous girl? So exciting! …No, I definitely wasn’t fantasizing about that.

Definitely not.

“You don’t know?”

Shen Yingxu blinked, confirming again.

“Nope, no clue.”

Sorry, as cute as you are, I can’t pretend to know something I don’t.
Honesty is my principle.

“I see… Sorry for bothering you.”

“No worries. I’m actually pretty happy to chat with you, Shen Yingxu.
If you get the chance, maybe tell me what that term means next time.”

“Alright, I’ll head off then.”

I gave her a grin and a wave, and she waved back, looking a bit shy, before I turned around.

—And then I had to fight to keep my face from twitching.

What the h*ll? How did she know that term?

That place is supposed to be…

“Oh, right, Zhu Hanqi. They say after the Demon King’s palace was breached, they found tons of loli body pillows inside.
Now everyone’s saying the Demon King was a creepy loli-obsessed perv.”

“Bullsh*t! The ones I had in the palace were clearly…!”

I stopped mid-sentence, realizing my mistake.

It was September, the start of the school year, and the summer heat hadn’t fully faded, but a cold sweat dripped down my back.

A chilling breeze mixed with a faint, icy fragrance—like plum blossoms in the dead of winter—hit me from behind.

The soft, friendly tone from before was gone, replaced by a voice so cold it could freeze.

“So it is you.”

“Finally…”

“I found you.”

At that moment, Shen Yingxu, the untouchable flower, was practically pressed against my back, her breath grazing my ear, sending an itchy sensation.

But I could no longer see her as some gentle campus idol.

This creepy ghost girl let out a low, eerie chuckle, her voice dripping with excitement and glee.

There was a sick, vengeful charm to it, like someone who’d finally gotten their revenge.

“Stab you, stab you, stab you, stab you.”

“Stab you, stab you, stab you, stab you.”

“Stab you, stab you, stab you, stab you.”

“Stab you, stab you, stab you, stab you.”

…

Good news: I wasn’t stabbed to death.

Bad news: Not yet, anyway.

The moment that woman pulled a knife from her pocket, I bolted down the corridor at the fastest speed of my life.

As I put some distance between us, I glanced back.
The untouchable flower had chased me a few steps, realized she couldn’t catch up, and without hesitation, threw the knife in my direction.

“This is a society governed by law, lady!!”

I dodged the sneaky attack with a quick sidestep, only to see her click her tongue in a way I’d never seen before, full of spite.
She ran to where the knife landed, picked it up, and stared at me, unblinking.

Like she was marking a fleeing prey.

A chill ran through me.
Forgetting the restroom, I sprinted straight for the school auditorium.

In front of everyone, she wouldn’t dare kill me, right? .jpg

Thud. I shoved open the auditorium’s side door.

Clap. I squeezed back into my seat, pretending nothing happened.

I knew my dramatic return to my class’s section from the side door probably made me look like a total weirdo to the teachers and students.

What a way to start my first day at a new school.
Tears, I’m gonna lose it.

I glanced around, my face full of misery.

My homeroom teacher was frowning at me with a helpless look, and my childhood friend, Ye Qingshu, sitting farther away, was staring at me with confusion.

They probably represented the general mood of everyone who saw my high-profile return.

But I couldn’t care less about that right now.

Because I heard that gentle voice again.

“Excuse me, please make way.”

Eek—!

F*cking Shen Yingxu was still after me!!

Watching her politely walk past me to her seat, I leaned back as far as I could.

This creepy ghost girl was way too relentless!

“…We didn’t get to finish our chat earlier. Let’s hope we get the chance next time, Zhu Hanqi.”

She spoke softly, just loud enough for those nearby to hear, her words sounding so kind that others shot me looks of envy and jealousy.
But to me, they were a death knell.

The Grim Reaper wants me dead by midnight, but I’m fighting to make it to dawn.

I cleared an entire other world—how can I die in my own backyard?!

Gritting my teeth, I shot her a fierce glare.

Clearing my throat.

“Y-You’re too kind…”

I forced a fawning smile.

“Not at all. I’ve always wanted to properly repay you for everything you’ve done.”

This time, Shen Yingxu leaned closer, her voice even lower.

“For leaving me with nothing, Demon King.”

Her face wore a kind, friendly smile, but her eyes held no trace of warmth.

…

Let’s be reasonable here.

That was all in a past life!

When you play an adult game, don’t you always go for the corruption route to collect CGs before trying the pure route?

Right, Divine Feast?

If I could, I’d love to be a good guy too .jpg

Can’t we just let bygones be bygones and make peace in this life?

I looked at Shen Yingxu’s profile as she sat in her seat, seemingly in a good mood.

Plenty of others were sneaking glances at this shining star of the freshman class, some even throwing curious looks my way, including upperclassmen.

They probably wondered how I suddenly got so chummy with the star beauty, looking jealous and envious.

Man, I’d love to trade places with those clueless onlookers.

My heart was burning with indignation.

Shen Yingxu, really.

You were a saintess in your past life.

How can you be so petty?

All I did was wipe out your entire team in the last life.

Oh, and I might’ve turned them into part of my undead army.

Couldn’t be helped—the Demon King’s forces were short on manpower, so I had to reanimate your friends’ corpses.

I didn’t toss them into human towns with a “plague” status to start an epidemic.

…At least, I don’t think I approved that.

…

Anyway, for something that minor.

Do you really have to chase me down in this life?!