Extra Demon: Sacred Academy of Light

A few hours ago…

"Can you shut up for a moment? Listening to your voice in my head all the time is killing me, stop it." Leslie glared at the angel, who wouldn't stop talking in her mind. It was like having a constant annoying thought that never goes away, always present—except multiplied many times over. Literally, she could hear her voice in her ears, causing a persistent headache.

"What do you want me to do? It's boring being in this place." The angel shrugged. Leslie pursed her lips. "Why are you still awake?" It was highly unusual for her to remain awake for days; normally, she'd only stay conscious for a few minutes before falling asleep again.

"A stimulus, a premonition, or an opportunity. I'm not sure, but in my opinion, it's a chance for me. It's strange for me to stay awake this long, but I want to believe it's an opportunity to take over your body," the angel said, wiggling her fingers and letting out a giggle.

"Are you still going on about that?" Leslie sat up in the middle of the darkness.

"Of course! I have a new goal in life! I don't want to lose this clarity or the chance to be free!" The angel nodded repeatedly.

"And how will you do that? From what I can see, you're always chained up everywhere, and those chains don't seem fragile at all..." Leslie cast a quick glance at the golden chains that glowed faintly. They seemed more like an illusion than real chains.

"Well, what better way than to talk? Speech is the best weapon, much better than millions of deaths. You have no idea the power of words. I'm serious. Words hurt much more than any blow. For example, look over there," the angel said, pointing to her right.

Leslie looked up. She curiously watched as the darkness deformed into a vague image that slowly took shape. "We know each other. Well, you don't know me at all, but I know you, from the moment you were born, from the first word you ever said. I know you better than you know yourself."

The angel kept moving her finger, making another image appear. "It was when you were five years old, the first moment you 'Awakened'—that's what you all call it. That's when your parents began to see you differently..."

"The saint, the one closest to the goddess. She smiled at you... with pity? Disgust? Neither! She wasn't looking at you; she was here talking to me.

She looked at me with affection... Hehe, the saint doesn't really exist. The soul that once inhabited that body is gone, replaced by that crazy, goddess-worshiping fanatic. What a stupid being!" The angel shook, and her eyes turned violet for a moment. "She's still loyal to the same bitch who chained us! How can she still believe in her?!" She clicked her tongue.

"Your best friend's mother no longer exists. But do you know what she told me? She's obsessed with her daughter, and somehow, her devotion to the goddess has split in half... Quite strange! None of us are normal!" She shook her head. "Luckily or not, she hasn't tried to brainwash her daughter into becoming a loyal follower of that bitch."

Leslie remained silent, watching the images, seeing herself at five years old, kneeling before a woman dressed in white. Behind a door was a girl with golden hair and eyes. It was the first time she met Daniela.

"The saint talked to your parents... and from that moment on, they began to ignore you, to act like you didn't exist. How hard for a five-year-old to be ignored by her parents, such a harsh blow... I remember the many nights you cried inconsolably, begging for a shred of love... Love..." The angel repeated the word. "How I hate that damned word."

Leslie saw herself wrapped in her blankets, wiping the small tears from her eyes, alone in her room during a storm, frightened by the relentless lightning crashing down on her house.

"Hehe, of course, things couldn't stay like that. The saint sent her daughter for you two to play and get along. Of course, it was going to work: a girl abandoned, starved for love, attention, basic needs, and completely isolated from any contact. You immediately clung to her, seeking everything you longed for in her. You became very close friends...

A few months later, Evelyn, the bearer of the red, joined as well. But as I said, nothing lasts forever."

She was right. After nearly three years, I was alone again. At home, it was the same—just me. I remember that after a few weeks, I found out my mother was pregnant again...

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"A pregnancy... Your parents were so happy with the great blessing that they threw a big party... A party you were the only one not invited to. Luxuries, cakes, everything a party should have... But you wanted to go out and be near your mother to feel closer to your little sister... Somehow, in your head, you thought that your sister's birth would change everything..."

Leslie watched as the images changed again. In a large hall, there was a one-year-old baby girl taking her first steps...

"You tried to get close to her because she was about to fall... Unfortunately, you were too late. Your sister started crying from the slight bump, your parents came running, and—"

Slap! Stay away from my daughter, monster.

Leslie unconsciously touched her cheek.

"Why? I don't know. What fault does a child have when her little sister falls? She tried to help, but instead, she received a slap from her mother and the furious gaze of her father. What fault does a child have for being born as the vessel for a seraphim? Why would a mother call her daughter a monster?" The angel frowned.

"From that day on, they kept your little sister away from you and sent you to live in another house... alone. You've always been alone, just like me," the angel said, lowering her head.