“Kill them! Kill all Humans! Kill Them! Kill all Humans!”

Clenching my chest tightly, I took in several deep breaths.

Having calmed down from another nightmare, I found myself looking out the window of my room. All while the stars sparkled brightly in the sky.

Watching them for a moment longer, I ended up closing my eyes and lying down on my bed.

“These nightmares have been getting worse lately.”

That was all I could say.

Though tonight's was certainly the worst of the worst.

Even after having that nightmare so many times, I’ve never felt the connection to those voices as strong as tonight. Why was there so much hatred inside them?

Shaking my head as if to forget about the nightmares, I got up and decided to take a bath. My body was covered in sweat and I felt like it’d give me a moment to breathe.

Lowering myself into the bath, I felt my body relaxing and a smile spread across my face.

My wings flapped happily and my tail swung left and right under the water.

Feeling my mind beginning to drift, I closed my eyes.

“Kill them. Kill all humans. Kill them. Kill all humans. Kill them. Kill all hu-”

“-mans. Kill them. Kill all huma-huh!?”

My eyes shot open as I stood up and looked around. Was someone there? Why were so many voices echoing in my head?

It was like a harmony of hatred that never stopped chanting.

I looked around nervously for a bit longer before letting out a sigh of relief. The voices seemed to be gone.

However, their words still lingered in my mind.

“Kill all humans.”

That stuck with me for some reason.

Thinking some fresh air was what I needed to clear my head, I left the bathroom and put on my uniform after drying myself.

Leaving my room, I made my way to my favorite relaxing spot.

When I arrived, however, someone else was there. And it wasn’t who I was used to seeing.

The person waved their arm at me.

“Heya Xara. How're you doing?”

“Axel Savoncho.”

“Just Axel is fine.”

That’s right. The boy standing there was none other than the school’s one and only commoner.

His spikey greyish-white hair blew in the wind as he stood there with a smile on his face. Not sure what else to say, I decided to question him.

“What’re you doing up here?”

“Nothing much. I was just here to admire the view.”

Walking up next to him, I looked out at the stars.

“I understand what you mean. The stars really are beautiful.”

Axel looked at me with a confused expression.

“I was referring to the view below.”

“Below?”

I looked down below and all I saw was the gateway leading in and out of the school.

“Not that far below.”

Without warning, Axel grabbed my chin and guided it up a little. When I saw what he was referring to, my eyes went wide in surprise. The spot he was talking about was the city below the school. It was covered in beautiful lights and colors that made it look absolutely breathtaking.

“Beautiful.”

“Right?”

Axel gave me a grin. It was the same grin he’d constantly been showing since the day we met a few weeks ago.

We ended up standing there in silence for a few minutes before I remembered something I’d been wanting to say to him.

“I wasn’t sure when to say this, but thank you.”

Axel seemed confused.

“Thank you? For what?”

I smiled.

“For trying your best not to hurt Riko too badly. It was clear from your first move just how much stronger you were. But rather than showing off that power by beating him into the ground, you went for a quick knockout while doing the minimum amount of damage to his body. I’m truly grateful for that.”

No one else seemed to notice, but when I checked on Riko’s injuries, the most he got was a few bruises. Meaning Axel had held back in order to minimize the damage.

In response to my thanks, Axel simply shrugged.

“It’s no big deal. I just didn’t want to cause you any trouble. He means a lot to you right?”

I nodded.

“Back when I was little, my family was hated by those around us. Unlike other communities that treated succubi fairly, the place I grew up in still believed them to be nothing but lust-crazed monsters that only ever thought about male juices. Because of that environment, I found myself quickly growing attached to the first person I found who had a nice scent.”

“That was that Riko guy, right?”

I nodded again.

“He never looked down on me. He always stayed by me when I wanted comfort, listened to what I had to say, and cared for me. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know how things in school would be right now. And as long as he’s at my side, I’ll never have to worry about the idea of a horrible future ever again.”

Thinking about my words, Axel looked up at the stars. Remaining silent for several minutes before speaking.

“I’m sorry if this sounds rude, but that just sounds like you’re being clingy to me.”

I was a bit taken aback by what he said.

“Huh?”

“Let me ask you something. Have you ever thought about doing anything by yourself since coming here?”

“By myself?”

I thought about that for a moment.

“I can’t really think of anything. Though, as long as Riko’s with me, I’m sure that pretty much anything could be fun.”

“And that’s my point. You’re clinging to him too much.”

Huh? What did he mean by that? Isn’t wanting to do things with people close to you a normal thing?

“Y-You’re wrong.”

Axel looked at me.

“I may not have much experience when it comes to people, especially since I grew up with practically no one there to watch my back, but when I first saw you two, I thought you were just lovebirds in their own little nest. But after Riko challenged me to that duel, I began to understand how your relationship actually works.”

W-What was he saying!?

“When I saw you run out to him after the fight, I figured you two just really cared about one another. But then I saw how you talked about him just now and it was clear just how much you cling to him.”

“T-There’s no way I’m clinging to him! I just really c-”

“You really care about him?”

“Yes!”

I didn’t know why, but this whole conversation was beginning to irritate me. Axel let out a sigh as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his uniform.

“Then tell me, have you ever tried to make friends with other people in this school?”

“O-Of course I…I…”

Actually, now that I thought about it, no. But that shouldn’t matter. As long as I have Riko, that’s enough.

Probably figuring I wasn’t taking his words to heart, Axel let out a sigh.

“Well, whatever. If you don’t wanna listen to me, Fine. But if you end up growing attached to the point you can’t think of yourself anymore, I’m not afraid to come and smack some sense into you. That's a promise.”

After saying that, Axel started walking away. Leaving me behind.

“Who does he think he is? I’m not clingy. I just really care about my friend.”

Crossing my arms, my eyes fell back on the view he mentioned before.

I can’t believe I’m saying this but…it really was a great sight.

Leaving Xara behind, I couldn’t help but let out a relaxed sigh. I finally got what I’d wanted to say off my chest ever since I played her route. Something that’d been bothering me about her character since the beginning. Her clingy nature.

You see, throughout her route, she’s constantly clinging to the MC and despite many people calling her cute for doing such a thing, it always pissed me the hell off to see every other character get some form of development while this girl never changed in the slightest. In fact, she had so little going on in terms of development, that the creators didn’t even bother really giving her a story. The whole route was practically just Xara and the MC hanging around until the big confession happened. Honestly, the only reason I can’t despise it is because the route had some of the best illustrations in the entire game. Other than that, there really isn’t anything else of note.

But moving past that, I can’t help but wonder whether Xara will take my words to heart or not.

It’s entirely up to her, but I hope she can learn to improve herself and maybe even grow to be a more interesting character.

Sadly, changes don’t just happen overnight. So I’ll just wait it out for the time being.

Stretching out my arms, I let out a loud yawn when I noticed Riko, or rather, the MC walking towards the spot I’d just left. Guess he was about to do the next event where Xara confessed how much she truly cared about him. I thought about watching things play out, but I was tired and wanted to get some sleep.

So with that, I made my way back to my dorm room. Ready to enjoy a good night's rest.

I was still admiring the view when a voice came from behind me.

“Hey, Xara. You doing okay?”

Turning around, I saw Riko approaching me. Which caused me to think back to what Axel had said before.

“You checking out the stars tonight?”

Ignoring my conflicted expression, Riko seemed interested in starting a conversation. Sadly, my mind was elsewhere.

“Hm? Xara?”

It was only when I was unresponsive that Riko seemed to notice something was off.

Recomposing myself, I let out a weak laugh and responded to Riko’s previous question.

“I-I guess you could say I was. But I think I’m done for now. So I’m gonna head back.”

“Er…Really?”

Riko seemed a bit taken aback by my words.

“Yes. Why do you look confused? Was there something you needed from me?”

Riko scratched the back of his head.

“Well..it’s nothing. Good night.”

“Yeah. Good night.”

With that, I left Riko behind and walked back to my room.

Upon arriving, I lied down in bed as I thought about what Axel had said. I wanted to refuse that idea. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I really did cling to Riko every chance I got. But that was fine…right? I was just hanging out with the person whose aura I’d thought smelled the nicest. It was at least better than that weird smell on Axel.

“So it’s nothing major. I just…really care about Riko,” I muttered out loud. As if I was trying to convince myself that was true.

I felt like I was getting a headache so I tried my best to get back to sleep.

When I closed my eyes, however...

“Kill them all. Humans are trash. Kill all humans. They don’t deserve to live. They all need to die. Kill the humans. All they’re good for is nutrients. Kill all humans.”

My body froze in fear as those voices shot through my head.

“Please stop…”

Moving my hands, I grasped my head and covered my ears. As if doing so would stop the voices.

“Kill them all. Kill all humans.”

“No…stop…”

“Kill them all! Kill all humans!”

“Stop!”

I felt myself lifting my arms in the air.

“KILL THEM ALL! KILL ALL HUMANS!”

“I SAID STOP!”

I started slamming my fists into my head to shut up the voices. But no matter what I did, they wouldn’t stop. My head was throbbing in pain and my heart was beating rapidly. I swore I heard some knocking on my door, but it wasn’t easy to make out with the voices echoing through my head.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I continued trying to knock the voices out for what felt like hours until I finally collapsed from exhaustion.

The next day, Riko told me Xara hadn’t come to school. Why he told me that was simply because he was worried that I’d said something to her when he wasn’t around. I told him I didn’t know anything, but he didn’t seem to believe me. Geez. Was this all because I told her my true thoughts about her character, or was it something else?

While trying to figure out an answer, I found myself debating whether I should visit her or not. I’m sure she’d rather have Riko visit, and I didn’t exactly mince words when we talked last night, but in the end, I decided to go.

Even if she didn’t want me there, I wanted to check and see if she was okay.

Waving Dianne goodbye at the end of the school day, I picked up some food as a get-well gift if Xara was sick and made my way to the girl's dorm. Immediately heading toward her door as I got weird looks from the girls around me.

How do I know where to go, you ask? Her room number was in the game. Simple as that.

Reaching her door, I knocked on it lightly. A bit of shuffling around could be heard on the other side.

“Who is it?” asked a voice.

“Xara. That you in there? It’s Axel.”

“Go away.”

Harsh. But expected.

“I was just wondering if you were okay. I heard you skipped school today.”

“Why should that bother you? Leave me alone.”

Sheesh. Guess she must really hate me.

“Well, I know it’s none of my business, but if you're sick, then I hope for your quick recovery. Also, I picked you up some food that I’ll leave here for you. Whether you eat or not is entirely up to you.”

I placed the food down at the door.

“Anyway, I’m gonna get going now. See ya.”

With that, I left the food behind and walked back to the boy's dorm.

Once there, I pulled out my grimoire.

“Nia, can you give some information on the behaviors of a succubus.”

“I can. But what do you want that for? Is it about that succubus from before?”

“You could say that.”

“Understood. Here you go.”

After that, I spent the next four hours reading about how succubi acted and the different inner workings formed from the generations of different succubi.

I didn’t know if it was really any of my business, but Xara wasn’t a bad person. So if learning about her kind could help me understand her better, as well as help me give her a hand, I was more than willing to do so.

Within her room, Xara slowly opened her door and grabbed the food Axel left for her.

Putting it on a table, she gave it a quick look. It wasn’t anything cheap that was for sure. In fact, this stuff probably came close to forty silvr. Definitely not something any normal person would waste their money on.

“Why? Why would he go as far as to buy me something like this after causing me so much pain yesterday? Is he an idiot or something?”

Picking up something that looked like a pear, Xara put it in her mouth. It was delicious. Incredibly delicious. Exactly what you’d expect for such an expensive treat.

And to think, she had cursed Axel’s name every time she thought about his words.

Letting the smallest of smiles form on her lips, Xara continued eating the food quietly when-

“Huh?”

-tears began falling down her face.

“Why am I crying?”

She was completely lost. Wiping the tears from her face, she went back to eating. All the while, her cheeks began to heat up every so slightly.

Before long the day had finally arrived for the school trip.

“Sorry, Xara. It looks like we’ll be in different groups. I wish that wasn’t the case, but let’s make sure to meet up after it’s over. Okay?”

“Uh…Yeah. Okay.”

Xara ended up taking another day off from school before finally returning just in time for the school trip.

However, her lackluster response left Riko a bit concerned.

“Are you feeling upset that you have to team with him?”

Riko glared at me and I tried my best to pretend I wasn’t listening.

“It’s not that. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

“Er…Okay then.”

After that, Riko left for his own group as Xara and I looked around for ours. Crazy as it sounds, we were actually teamed together. Talk about a crazy coincidence.

Once we found the others in our team, we began talking with each other.

Since we were a group of five, it wasn’t too hard to remember each other's names.

There was Roy Dinerio, Flynn Fonroin, Ella Ryuoji, Xara, and myself. A total of three boys and two girls.

Roy and Ella were both in my class so I wouldn’t say I was unfamiliar with them, but I didn’t talk to them due to being almost completely outcast in my class. Flynn, on the other hand, was someone I didn’t know very well at all. His hair was almost all completely trimmed off to the point it looked like he had a small cap around his head, he had a slim figure meaning he probably ate the minimum he needed, and he had a rather serious look on his face. Something that didn’t really fit with the rest of his design. Basically the complete opposite of Roy. Roy had a full set of lengthy brown hair, a face any girl would fall for, and a great build that made it clear he went to the school's gym room daily. I believe he was also said to be the second most popular boy in school only behind another guy's name that I can’t remember off the top of my head. Plus, he was incredibly sociable. Making it easy for him to form friends with anyone. The only off-part about him is his rather meathead-like tendencies. Though I don’t think anyone really cares about those.

And finally, Ella was flat…maybe I should describe her better than that.

She had long wavy dark blue hair and lightly tanned skin. She didn’t look like she worked out that much, but her rear definitely stuck out as a good point in her figure.

I wouldn’t say she was unattractive, but she wasn’t exactly my type. To be fair, I kinda gave up on the idea of romance at this point so I don’t even know why I care about the idea of her being my type.

But moving past that, I tried my best to keep myself in the conversation with the others. However, they continually tried blocking me out so that made it somewhat difficult.

Finally giving up on trying to help, I left them to chat amongst themselves. If they want to struggle out in the wild, then they could go on ahead.

Before long, some floating carriages arrived to pick us up team by team. And no the carriages don’t have things like flying horses. They were literally just floating carriages that were being guided by a magic user towards our destination.

Hopping inside, it was actually quite nice. And incredibly spacious. No surprise considering nobles normally rode in these things.

Sitting near the back of one side, I waited for the other four to get in. Xara walked in first. The others, however, seemed hesitant to come inside. I could already guess what they were thinking.

“Do we really have to share a carriage with a commoner?” or “Riding with that oaf would ruin our honor as nobles.”

Just a bunch of dumb stuff they should’ve gotten sorted out before the carriage arrived.

After about five minutes, they all finally got inside and we flew off. Naturally, they all kept their distance from me. What a bunch of jerks.

Letting out a sigh, I rested my hand on the side of the carriage.

The trip there was about an hour long so we had time to kill.

“...”

Which meant we all sat in complete and utter silence.

Letting out a bored sigh, my mind wandered back to what I used to do during rides like these. Or to be more precise, what I did on car rides when I was little.

Usually, I’d just chill on my phone, talk with my parents, and…I just realized everything I’d normally do in a car would be impossible in this situation. None of the others seemed to wanna talk to me, and my phone was left behind in my old world. So I had no way to avoid this boredom.

With another sigh, I sat back in my seat and began counting in my head to pass the time…it was dull as hell.

We finally arrived and not a moment too soon cause I was about to lose it.

We got out of the carriage and a teacher was there to guide us to the site we’d be using as our base until we completed all the challenges.

When we reached the site, however, we saw there didn’t appear to be any equipment. Just a place to make a campfire.

It was then that the teacher mentioned we had to set up all that stuff ourselves. As in making our own huts as well as hunting for our own food. They really were trying to make this like a survival game. Naturally, the other three members I mentioned before were all too happy to complain about this. Xara, however, just stood off to the side. I figured she just wasn't bothered by all this, but then I looked into her eyes. They almost looked dead inside. What was up with that?

Once the teacher managed to maneuver their way out of the bombardment of complaints and questions, they left us behind to fend for ourselves. Sadly, despite the teacher having left, those three were still complaining.

“What a pain. Is this really something I have to deal with?” I groaned. Rubbing my temples.

But figuring I didn’t have much of a choice other than getting started, I walked over to a nearby tree and chopped it down using a wind slash spell. Ella, who was closest to the tree when it fell over, let out a yelp of surprise.

“What’s the big deal commoner!?”

I rolled my eyes.

“Just shut up and leave me alone.”

“What!?”

Ella glared at me as she gasped in shock. But that didn’t matter to me, so I figured it’d be better to explain why I had just chopped down the tree.

“That teacher clearly stated we were meant to take care of ourselves out here. If you're just gonna whine the whole week, then please just shut up and let me work in peace.”

Roy stepped in front of Ella.

“That’s no way to speak to a lady you commoner!”

“Roy.”

Ella looked relieved when he tried to defend her, but all I could do was roll my eyes again.

“I’ll speak to people any way I want. I mean, I am a commoner after all. Why should status matter to me?”

“Wha-!? You damn commoner!”

“Such a foul tongue. Did your mommy teach you to talk like that?”

Roy looked like he was ready to pop his top. Causing the smallest of smiles to form on my face. Still, I decided to ignore him after that and went back to what I was doing.

Using wind magic to cut through the tree a bit more, I soon found myself having a small pile of wooden planks.

Making said planks float, I carefully aligned them together to create a neat pile.

“Dang. It’s crazy how many uses wind magic has,” I muttered to myself. Remembering all the different times wind magic has come in handy throughout my life.

But moving past that, I started moving the wood into two piles with one being for the fire while the other was gonna be used to make myself a small wooden hut.

While I did so, I felt a shadow looming over me.

Turning around, I found Xara standing there.

“Oh. Hey Xara. How’s it going?”

Her eyes still looked a bit out of it but she seemed focused enough.

“You seem pretty knowledgeable about cutting wood. Have you ever done this type of stuff before?”

I nodded.

“There were plenty of times I couldn’t find a place to stay while out on adventures. So I taught myself how to make huts as well as set up a fire. I can also hunt wild animals.”

“Wow. That’s kind of incredible.”

I chuckled.

“I guess. It’s just one of the many perks of living the way I have.”

Finished with all the organizing, I chopped down another tree and began the process a second time with more focus being put on the hut.

As I did so, Xara watched in fascination.

Glancing over at the other three, Roy and Ella seemed to be off in their own little world complaining about their situation while Flynn was watching me with a curious expression on his face. Like he was trying to grasp what I was doing and memorize it.

About an hour later, I finished a little hut that was basically just a wooden box with a roof.

While it wasn’t exactly perfect, and could only hold a single person, I thought it was better than nothing.

After washing my hands with water magic, I stretched out my arms and looked out at the sky.

It was gonna be getting dark in about an hour or two.

If I remember correctly, the teacher would be dropping off the task list tomorrow morning.

What was I talking about? Well, with a few exceptions, each group had six different tasks to do while out here. And if they completed all six, they were permitted to hang around the main base set up by the teachers which had all sorts of fun activities to pass the time over the course of the week. So getting the tasks done fast was a high priority for most students.

But ignoring that for now, I figured it’d at least help to set up one more hut so that’s what I got to work on.

Before I knew it, the sun had vanished from the sky. Leaving the moon and stars in its place.

Finally finished with the second hut, I was about to head back to my own and turn in for the night when I found two people snuggling together inside instead.

“What do you two think you’re doing?”

I looked down at Roy and Ella who were trying their best to fit both of themselves inside.

“What does it look like? We’re trying to sleep.”

“I can see that. But why are you doing it in my hut? If you want a place to sleep then build your own.”

Roy glared at me.

“As if we’d stoop so low as to build a resting spot for ourselves.”

“I feel like doing this is even lower though.”

Scratching the back of my head, someone came up behind me.

“You two shouldn’t do that. He was the one who built it so he has the right to use it.”

Glancing behind me, I saw Flynn standing there. Glaring at the two inside the cramped hut.

“Are you saying that you’re siding with that commoner on this? What happened to us deciding to just let this rat be until he completed all the work for us? Should we not take advantage of him?”

So that’s what they were talking about before the trip started. I figured this was what they were going to do, but it still irritated me.

Flynn frowned as he folded his arms. Giving the two an even sharper glare than before.

“What’s that look for!?”

Roy seemed to be growing agitated by the second.

“If I recall correctly, I stated I’d choose how to approach things as I see fit. And right now, I deem what you’re doing to be vile and cruel. He spent quite a bit of time building this for himself so that he wouldn’t struggle through the night. And yet here you two are just taking it for your own despite doing nothing but sitting around all day. You’re acting even lower than any commoner. Honestly, you’re being complete scum right now.”

Roy stepped out of the hut and stood over Flynn who was much shorter than him.

Honestly, seeing the two face each other was kinda funny to look at.

Roy hit his fist into the palm of his hand in a threatening motion.

“How dare you compare me to commoners and scum! I’ll make you eat those words!”

Roy raised his fist in the air and prepared to bring it down.

“Wah!”

Suddenly, he was knocked to the side by a fist of wind before crashing to the ground.

Flynn blinked for a moment before turning to me. Putting my hand down, I pretended like I didn’t do anything and tried to change the subject.

“Um…Thanks for trying to help.”

Flynn shrugged.

“I merely did what I believed to be right. I don’t think any higher of commoners than anyone else.”

“Even so, I appreciate it.”

Flynn gave me a slight grin before raising his hand out to me.

“Well then, this might be a bit late, but allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Flynn Fonroin. A pleasure to meet you.”

Oh yeah. We were just told our group member’s names on the trip paper. We never did go over them ourselves, did we?

I reached out and shook his hand.

“Axel Savoncho. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

After shaking hands, I turned to Ella who continued refusing to relinquish the hut.

“Geez. How stubborn can one person be?”

Rubbing my eyes, Xara walked up next to me.

“Didn’t you build another hut? Why don’t you use that one?”

I glanced over at the second hut for a moment before turning to Xara.

“Nah. I can’t use that one.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Because that’s the one I made for you.”

“For me?”

I nodded.

“You seemed a little out of it before so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to build it for you.”

“Oh…I see.”

Slipping my hands into the pockets in my pants, I began walking towards the woods.

“I’ll just make another one. It’ll probably be midnight by the time I finish, but it’s better than sleeping on the ground. See ya guys in a bit.”

I was about to give them a quick wave when someone grabbed my shirt.

Turning around, I saw Xara holding onto it.

“If you want…I’m fine with sharing my hut with you?”

“Hm? You sure?”

I personally didn’t mind, but considering how much Xara cares about Riko, she’d probably feel really uncomfortable sleeping in the same place with another dude.

Xara nodded.

“You were the one who made it. It’s only fair.”

Xara gave me a look of nervousness and sincerity. In response, I felt my cheeks warm up a bit.

Noticing my slightly flustered expression, Xara tilted her head in confusion.

“What?”

“Uh. Nothing. Anyway, it’s fine. I’ll just build another hut.”

Without another word, I went into the woods far enough that the others couldn’t hear me.

After that, I walked over to a nearby tree and-

“RAAAH!”

-slammed my head into said tree in order to clear my head.

Even so, I could feel my cheeks growing even hotter as I thought back on what just happened.

Despite not meaning anything by it, Xara had offered to share her hut with me. It made her look way too damn cute!

“No way! There was no way I was starting to have a crush on one of the heroines!” I screamed

I hit my head against the tree once more.

I already decided I’d leave them be! Why were these thoughts running through my head!? And what just happened was straight out of a cheap dating sim! Why would a setup like this make me feel this way!?

I slammed my head into the tree a few more times before my vision started growing blurry.

Waiting for the pain to subside, I decided it was about time to get moving and slowly got to work on setting up my hut.

I had expected Nia to comment about the way I was acting while I worked. But oddly enough, I was surprised by how quiet she had been during all this. Glancing at my belt, the grimoire seemed to be remaining completely silent. How strange.

Well, it didn’t matter. Right now, I was just gonna focus on building a hut. After that, I’d leave any other problems for my future self to take care of.

Not knowing that in said future, a danger I hadn’t expected to happen, was about to take place.