As Adrian left the ground, the students slowly dispersed from the canteen area. Conversations were quieter than usual, as if everyone was afraid their voices might carry too far. Even Raymond, who usually had something to say about everything, remained silent.
Some students returned to their hostel rooms. Luther was one of them.
Inside his room, he closed the door gently and checked the lock twice. A small breath escaped his chest.
For the first time in a long while, he felt something close to safety.
Luther sat on the edge of his bed.
The Devil Trio knelt today…
Yesterday students were punished outside the academy gate…
Keris bullied me before… but he also got punished…
He stared at the floor.
"Maybe things are changing," he whispered.
The thought felt fragile, like glass that could break at any moment.
"I can be normal during the day… maybe nights will still be difficult…"
He stood up and checked the door lock again.
---
In the Devil Trio's hostel room, the mood was completely different.
Ethan paced back and forth.
"How dare that principal?"
Leon leaned against the wall, arms crossed, thinking.
Marcus sat quietly on the chair, unusually silent.
"He has to repay this," Ethan continued.
"He already hired professionals," Marcus said.
Ethan stopped walking.
"He wants us to attend lectures… fine. But what if lectures don't exist?"
Leon's lips curved slightly.
"Correct."
Marcus looked at them but said nothing.
"You didn't harm any other students, right?" Leon asked Ethan casually.
Ethan frowned. "What happened to you? Since when do you care about them?"
Leon ignored the question.
"For now, our target is Adrian."
Ethan nodded slowly.
"Tomorrow we attend lectures," Ethan said, smiling faintly. "But there won't be any lectures."
Marcus lowered his eyes.
Why don't I like this…?
Why don't I want to harm Adrian…?
Is it because he saved me…?
The thought irritated him.
Leon and Ethan exchanged a brief glance.
"What happened, Marcus?" Leon asked.
"Nothing."
But his voice lacked conviction.
---
Outside Hillcrest, Avein sat in his room, replaying the humiliation in his mind.
Again and again.
His jaw tightened.
"They humiliated me again…"
He opened his laptop.
"They call themselves the Devil Trio…"
His fingers moved quickly across the keyboard.
"I'll humiliate them in front of the whole world."
Multiple windows opened on the screen as he began collecting information — photos, rumors, old posts, anything connected to Hillcrest and the trio.
"I'll humiliate them in front of the whole world."
The glow of the laptop screen reflected in his eyes.
"And then… Hillcrest falls with them."
---
Late at night, Keris lay awake in his hostel room.
The silence felt unfamiliar.
"For the first time… I spent a whole day alone."
He stared at the ceiling.
"Why didn't I enjoy bullying today…?"
He turned sideways and picked up his phone.
A group photo filled the screen — him and his friends, laughing.
His expression softened.
"I can't be alone… no."
He sat up.
"They left because of the bullying… right?"
A long pause followed.
"If I stop… will they come back?"
The question stayed unanswered.
Exhaustion eventually pulled him into sleep.
---
In another room, Eden sat at his desk.
A notebook lay open in front of him.
On the page, written repeatedly in uneven handwriting:
You are invisible.
Eden stared at the words without blinking.
"Why…" he whispered.
"I exist."
Footsteps echoed in the corridor outside.
His body stiffened immediately.
His hands began trembling.
The footsteps grew closer… then stopped… then faded away.
Eden slowly exhaled.
But his fingers continued shaking.
He closed the notebook.
---
The next morning, cleaning staff unlocked the classrooms.
Within seconds, confusion spread across the corridor.
Benches were broken.
Boards were missing.
Desks were overturned.
The classrooms no longer looked like classrooms — they looked abandoned.
The staff quickly reported the situation to Adrian.
Adrian listened calmly.
"I see," he said. "You did your job. That's enough."
The news spread through Hillcrest faster than expected.
Everyone knew who was responsible.
No one said it aloud.
Students gathered near the canteen, whispering.
"Revenge…"
Luther and Eden stood slightly away from Keris.
At around 8:50, the Devil Trio walked onto the ground.
Adrian stepped out of his quarters with the hired professionals behind him.
Leon smiled.
"Sir, yesterday you said students who don't attend lectures get punished."
Ethan added, "But today there are no lectures."
Marcus watched Adrian silently.
Ethan continued, "Lectures cancelled… that's indiscipline too. So whose fault is that?"
Leon turned toward the students.
"What punishment should the principal get?"
No one spoke.
Even the professors waited.
Adrian finally spoke.
"Oh. I think students didn't read the notice."
He looked at Luther.
"Bring that notice from the board."
Luther quickly obeyed.
Adrian handed the paper to Raymond.
"Read it."
Raymond read aloud, "Lectures rescheduled to 11 PM due to Professor Finch's unavailability."
Silence followed.
"Simple notice," Adrian said.
He looked at the trio.
"Interesting. It took me two days to guide students toward discipline. You three changed in one day of kneeling."
Without waiting for a reply, he walked away.
---
Soon after, a truck entered the campus.
Repaired benches were unloaded.
New boards followed.
Students watched quietly.
Leon frowned.
"How did he know?"
"Coincidence?" Ethan said.
Marcus shook his head slightly.
Leon turned toward Marcus.
"Yesterday, after hiring professionals, you went somewhere."
Marcus looked up.
"You think I leaked something?"
"Just asking."
"A club," Marcus replied.
"The same one where Avein became our servant?"
"Yes."
"You met Avein?"
"No."
Leon studied Marcus's face.
"Adrian wants to divide us," Leon said calmly. "Don't fall for it."
Marcus nodded, but uncertainty remained in his eyes.
---
Whispers spread among nearby students.
"Two weeks…"
"He's the longest-staying principal here."
"The trio's plans keep failing…"
Keris heard them.
"I don't think they're silent," he said. "They're planning something bigger."
Luther glanced at Keris.
He didn't come to my room yesterday…
Maybe something really changed…
---
At 11 PM, lectures began.
For the first time, full attendance.
Even the Devil Trio sat in class.
The professor's voice trembled slightly while teaching.
Leon and Ethan scrolled on their phones.
Marcus watched everything carefully.
Why aren't they planning something…?
Or are they hiding it from me…?
The thought bothered him.
---
During class, Keris tried speaking to his friends.
"You're staying away because of Adrian?"
No response.
He tried again.
"Say something."
Finally, one friend replied quietly.
"I don't want the principal calling my parents again. I have no problem with you. Just… don't bully anyone."
Keris looked away.
"He's scared of Adrian," Keris thought. "Nothing else."
But the silence from the others hurt more than the words.
---
Inside the principal's cabin, Samuel stood near the door.
"Sir, maintenance work resumed."
"Good."
"How did you know their plan?"
"I didn't. I learned this morning. Professor Finch helped."
"And the boards?"
"Rented."
Samuel nodded.
"Make sure maintenance doesn't stop."
"Yes, sir."
Later, Lucas and Raymond entered.
"Security increased," Lucas said.
"Keep it discreet," Adrian replied.
Raymond hesitated.
"Sir… you don't eat from the canteen. You don't even drink the coffee."
Adrian answered plainly.
"I don't trust anyone inside the academy."
Raymond and Lucas exchanged a glance before leaving.
---
The day passed unusually smoothly.
No bullying.
No chaos.
No punishment.
Even professors seemed uneasy.
"Why does this silence feel dangerous?" one whispered.
---
Near midnight, Eden stood in front of the mirror in his room.
The yellow hostel bulb flickered slightly above him, making his reflection look unstable — like it might disappear if he blinked.
Faint red marks were visible on his cheek.
Not fresh enough to bleed.
Not old enough to ignore.
His fingers were stained with black polish.
They trembled.
The smell of shoe polish still clung to his hands.
On the floor beside the bed lay a small cloth, darkened from repeated rubbing. A metal shoe stand rested near the wall — slightly tilted, as if it had been moved in a hurry.
Eden looked down at his hands.
For a moment, he pressed his fingers together tightly, trying to stop the trembling.
It didn't work.
His breathing remained uneven.
Fragments of the last hour replayed in his mind — not clearly, not completely — just broken sensations.
Kneeling.
The hard hostel floor pressing against his knees.
The dull scraping sound of polish spreading across leather.
A voice above him.
Calm. Impatient.
Footsteps moving away.
And silence.
Eden swallowed slowly and looked back at the mirror.
"I didn't exist," he repeated quietly.
The words sounded less like a thought and more like something memorized long ago.
His reflection stared back at him without emotion.
For a second, Eden raised his hand toward the mirror — as if checking whether the reflection would copy him.
It did.
Exactly.
That small confirmation seemed to relax him just a little.
His shoulders dropped.
But his eyes still looked empty.
Outside the room, distant footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Eden's body stiffened immediately.
His fingers curled slightly.
He didn't move.
He didn't breathe.
The footsteps passed.
Then faded.
Only after the silence returned did Eden slowly sit down on the edge of his bed.
His hands still smelled like polish.
He rubbed them against his shirt, again and again, as if trying to erase something deeper than the stain.
It didn't disappear.
"I didn't exist," he whispered once more.
The room was completely silent.