Death Heir's Devouring System
Chapter 32: Terrifying Happiness

Chapter 32: Terrifying Happiness

’Third and fourth place?’ Azrael blinked in disbelief. He’d taken down plenty of Twisted monsters—but outscoring both schools? That was no small feat.

Of course, a part of him supposed the reason for that ranking was because he had killed several members of the opposing school, but since there was no way to confirm that assumption, all he could do was guess.

He might even have been happy at the news, finally being able to report something positive to Seyra. Unfortunately, however, he wasn’t in a good mood. The clear difference in power between him and Seraphina still lingered fresh in his mind.

He had come a long way, but he had much more to go.

The confusion on the faces of the young Chosen was evident upon hearing the unfamiliar names. Seeing that Iris smirked and gestured with her chin toward the bloody duo.

All eyes followed her gesture, stopping at them.

"Those two beat us?

"Wait, they are members of the Moon Breakers?"

"I’ve seen the big one, but what about the one sitting on the ground undisturbed?"

"I didn’t hear a second name, he isn’t a part of any clan, nor does he have a family!"

"Doesn’t that mean he grew up in the slums?"

"God, how did I lose to them? I have tainted my clan’s reputation!"

Whispers of shock resonated through the area. Since Azrael hadn’t bothered with fame or anything like that, it was natural that no one knew him. The same could be said for Victor—while his tall figure caught the attention of many, he didn’t bother to make any impressions. This led people to eventually get used to him and stop paying him much mind.

"You can gossip later. First, come the rankings of the others."

Iris’s cold voice cut through the whispers like a hot knife through butter.

She announced the rest of the rankings up to the fiftieth place. The majority of them belonged to the Elite School, which still seemed to hold an advantage over the Moon Breakers.

They were informed that the scores they had managed to accumulate would be turned into credits and transferred to their ID devices. Additionally, the ones that were placed in the top fifty were eligible for lessons directly from both Principals of the military schools.

Azrael didn’t care much for the credits. He had no real use for them and simply let them accumulate. With shelter over his head and meals provided, there was little reason to spend them. It made more sense to save up and eventually purchase something valuable when the time was right.

However, the second reward intrigued him far more. He had improved tremendously over the past few months under the guidance of Champion Frederick, Varen, and Iris. Aside from Frederick, he had no clear way to measure the strength of the other two, but he assumed they were roughly equal. So what would happen if he trained under their leader—the one said to be even more powerful?

A faint smile tugged at his lips. ’Now that is a reward indeed.’

Once Iris concluded the meeting, she dismissed the gathered Chosen, allowing them to scatter. A few made the mistake of trying to approach Azrael and his unconscious companion. They’d misread him—the Heir of Death was not one for casual interaction, and in his bloodied, exhausted state, his mood was darker than usual.

He cast a menacing glare at those nearing him. Most froze where they stood, caught by the sight of a blood-soaked figure who looked ready to gut anyone foolish enough to step closer. Pleased that he had saved himself from pointless chatter, he lifted his companion’s body once more and set off to get himself healed.

His gaze drifted across the crowd before landing on Seraphina and Isolde. Both didn’t seem eager to interact with him, which suited him just fine, he needed time to think about how to approach the situation.

’Oh?’ he mused, eyes landing on a familiar figure. Troy. Sadly, Azrael hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting him in the mountain range—otherwise, he would have enjoyed killing him.

’At least now he looks timid,’ Azrael noted, seeing that his friends who had been hovering around him were gone—most likely having fallen before a monster’s might.

With his mood slightly elevated, Azrael continued on.

*****

Due to the exhausted state of their bodies, they were forced to spend the entire day in the infirmary. Not that Azrael minded taking a break after the hell he went through.

’I feel like the scent of monsters’ blood won’t leave my nose any time soon.’

With nothing better to do, he informed Seyra about his ranking—not that she didn’t already know where he had placed.

After Victor woke up, they were escorted to where principal Arthur was about to make his speech.

And that was how the two found themselves standing at a podium in front of thousands of Marked and Proven system users, their eyes silently studying them.

’Well, since I placed so high, it’s obvious the school would try to parade me and the others.’

The fifty Chosen stood behind the principal as he made his speech. The members of the Moon Breakers stood to his left, while those of the Elite School stood to his right. This showed the clear superiority of the Elite School over the Moon Breakers, despite their supposedly equal status. _{f\ree webn ovel(.)com}

At least Azrael was glad that he didn’t need to do anything—all that was expected of him was to stand tall and serve as something the other Chosen were supposed to strive toward. Not that he saw the point, since Seraphina and Isolde were there, basically hoarding all the attention.

The view was mesmerizing in a way—being surrounded by so many powerful individuals felt surreal, but ultimately pointless from his point of view.

"Waste of time," he muttered, eyes briefly stopping at Victor, who stood beside him.

With a raised eyebrow, he asked, "Hey... why are you shaking?"

This was weird behavior. The healers should have patched him up. Had they slacked off?

Hearing the question, Victor glanced at Azrael, allowing him to see the unnaturally large smile on his face.

"No. We are in danger," he said calmly.

"What are you talking about? We’re in the safest place in the entire world," Azrael declared with a frown, wondering if the man had gone mad.

Victor shook his head, getting closer.

"No, you don’t get it. It’s my Inborn Trait. The greater the danger I’m in, the happier I feel," he spoke with horror in his voice despite his ever-growing smile.

"And Azrael... in my entire life, I’ve never been happier."