---
[The History– Enter Balam, the Unusual Substitute]
In front of the Netherworld History classroom, the hallway echoed with sudden thuds and shrieks as a horde of terrified students came charging out, tripping over each other.
"What in the world—?" Alice blinked as one student collapsed near his feet.
The student, pale and shaking, looked up.
"Run… It's not Dali! It's HIM!"
"Him?" Iruma asked, blinking calmly.
"BALAM-SENSEI!!" the entire crowd screamed in unison as they vanished down the hallway like a haunted wind.
Alice clutched Iruma's shoulder.
"Iruma-sama, let's come back later. He's known to be… eccentric."
Iruma, however, calmly closed his eyes and stepped forward.
"He's the one who wrote that mythical creatures book. The one that responded to me… I want to meet him. Besides—"
He opened his eyes again. His Sharingan flickered faintly.
"—I can handle eccentric."
[Inside the Classroom – The Vine Trap]
The door creaked open.
The classroom appeared… completely empty.
Not a soul. No chatter. Just silence.
Suddenly—SNAP!
Vines shot out from the ceiling, grabbing Iruma, Alice, and Clara mid-step, yanking them up into the rafters!
"What the—!"
Alice tried to ignite a flame. Clara squeaked. Iruma's Rinnegan glinted for a moment, but then—
A warm chuckle echoed above.
"Ooooh? Three enthusiastic students? How rare~!"
From the shadows above, upside down like a bat, Balam Shichiro emerged, vines coiling around his arms and shoulders like living pets.
"WELCOME to class~!" he cheered with an open-arm gesture that somehow made things feel even more unsettling.
[The Beginning of Chaos and Curiosity]
They were pulled up to a strange canopy area above the class, where about six other students were hiding—some in fetal position, some murmuring prayers.
"I love motivated kids," Balam purred, adjusting his massive glasses. "And since Dali-sensei is experiencing a little Evil Cycle today, I'll be covering historical beasts of destruction!"
Clara was still upside-down.
"Can we sit in chairs next time? My skirt's going everywhere!"
Balam clapped joyfully.
"You'll get used to it! Gravity is just another illusion of perception!"
Iruma remained quiet, eyes observing Balam.
This wasn't someone trying to scare them maliciously.
This was someone utterly consumed by curiosity and passion.
He smiled slightly.
"Then let's start with one of the beasts from Chapter 3… Professor Balam."
Balam's eyes widened.
"Ohhhh? You've read my book?"
Iruma nodded, eyes gleaming with quiet pride.
"Not just read. I passed your quiz on mythical creatures. You wrote something… about creatures with lonely eyes."
For a moment, Balam was silent.
Then he smiled, warm and genuine.
"Then I must tell you more, young scholar. Perhaps even… my unpublished chapters!"
Alice sighed.
Clara sparkled.
And Iruma?
He was ready to learn.
Even if the classroom was upside-down.
---
[Netherworld History Class – The Imaginary Trap]
The moment Iruma, Alice, and the others stepped inside, they were immediately constricted by thick green vines snaking down from the ceiling.
"Wha–?! Not again!" Iruma exclaimed, dangling midair.
"Is this his teaching method!?" Alice groaned, struggling to maintain dignity while upside down.
Clara, being the only one not caught, happily bounced from seat to seat, completely unfazed.
Above them, hanging like a monstrous bat, Balam Shichiro beamed.
"Welcome, precious students~! Today's lecture will be about—Imaginary Beasts!"
His voice echoed with unnerving joy.
As Balam began scribbling with a vine-chalk on the ceiling-blackboard, Iruma nervously raised a hand.
"Um, sensei, I wanted to—"
"Ah! A question!" Balam gasped dramatically.
"You must be wondering about the diet of an Imaginary Beast!"
Iruma blinked.
"That's not what I—"
"Excellent initiative!" Balam cut in, gesturing wildly with his vines. "Now take the Demon World cat: It feeds on demonic energy and small prey. But an imaginary cat? It may survive solely off belief—or shadow-memories of fish! Fascinating, yes?"
Iruma turned to Alice.
"Is this why those students ran screaming from the room?"
Alice sighed, adjusting his glasses even while wrapped up.
"Exactly. That… and his Magic ability."
"Magic ability?"
**"It's called Skinship. He touches everyone to analyze their biology—and their 'potential compatibility for experiments'," Alice explained grimly.
Another student, eyes wide, whispered,
"He kidnaps students he likes… I heard he kept someone in a lab for three days straight because their skin felt 'promising'."
Balam, seemingly oblivious to the murmurs of dread, suddenly clapped his hands.
"New topic! HUMANS!"
With a snap of his fingers, a large wooden dummy of a human rose up in the center of the classroom.
"Now, what would you do… if you saw a real, living human?"
The class burst into frenzied responses.
"Eat it!"
"Make it into stew!"
"Grind it up and sell the powder as seasoning!"
Iruma's eyes widened in horror.
Why does it always come back to eating humans?!
Haruno, curious, raised a hand.
"What about you, Sensei? What would you do?"
Balam's eyes gleamed.
"I would ask the human… how they plan to survive."
His tone softened, contemplative.
"Humans and Imaginary Beasts… both live in fear, yet adapt so rapidly. If I met one, I'd want to study their resilience. Their environment. Their inner desires."
He floated down slowly, vine arms crossed behind his back.
"Demons are born with wings. That's our nature. But humans?"
Without warning, Balam's vines crept around Iruma, lifting his shirt slightly and touching his back.
"Hmm… strange. No base wings at all."
"Eh?" Iruma froze.
"None. Not even a nodule. This… is highly irregular."
The next thing Iruma knew, he was being dragged out of the classroom, still bound in vines.
[Faculty Office –]
"Faculty! Attention please!" Balam declared as he burst into the staff room, dragging Iruma behind him.
Robin and Momonoki looked up in surprise.
"Ah, Balam-sensei? Is something wrong?"
"This student—Iruma-kun—he has no wings! Not even underdeveloped ones!"
"What!?" Momonoki gasped.
Robin blinked. "Come now, Balam. That's impossible. Maybe you're just mistaken."
"I felt it with my own hands!" Balam insisted, pulling at Iruma's jacket.
"W-Wait, sensei, please don't—!"
RRRIP!
In one clean motion, the back of Iruma's jacket was torn open, exposing his wingless back.
The room went silent.
Iruma's mind raced. It's over. It's really over—!
But just then—
SHFFF.
A pair of sleek, shimmering black wings sprouted out of his back, fluttering gently.
Everyone blinked.
Balam narrowed his eyes.
"…Hmm. Perhaps I was mistaken."
From inside the Ring of Gluttony, Ali laughed softly.
"You're welcome, Iruma~ I whipped up a fake illusion just in time. You owe me snacks later."
Iruma sighed in relief.
---
[Truth in the Shadows – Iruma and Balam]
The hallway was quiet as Iruma and Balam walked side by side, the vines that once bound Iruma now gently swaying behind Balam like a cape. Iruma kept glancing sideways, his heart still pounding from the close call.
That was way too close... he thought, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. If Ali hadn't cast that illusion in time... I would've been completely exposed.
As they neared the classroom door, Iruma tried to slip away quietly.
"Well, thank you for the class, Balam-sensei! I'll be heading ba—"
A large hand gently landed on Iruma's shoulder, stopping him.
"Wait, Iruma-kun."
Iruma froze.
"My research," Balam began, his voice uncharacteristically soft, "is focused on understanding preconceptions."
Iruma turned, confused.
"Preconceptions…?"
"What people believe they know about others. What they expect. What they fear." Balam's tone was calm, academic. "Based on my knowledge... there are only two conclusions I can draw about you."
Iruma's breath hitched.
"Either you suffer from an extremely rare illness…" Balam paused.
"Or you are a truly unique being."
Before Iruma could respond, Balam reached up and began to slowly unlock the iron clasps of his mask.
W-What's he doing...?
Click. Clack. The mask shifted.
Oh no... oh no—he's gonna eat me! This is it—this is the end!
But instead of fangs or a monstrous mouth, Balam revealed something else entirely—his disfigured face. Jagged scars ran across his jaw, and one of his fangs was chipped. His eyes, however, were soft. Human, almost.
Iruma stared, wide-eyed. Not out of fear, but confusion.
"These fangs of mine…" Balam said, tapping one, "they tend to scare people. That's why I wear the mask—to avoid frightening my students."
There was no threat in his voice. No madness.
Just quiet honesty.
"But I showed you this… because of your wings," he added, gently. "Or rather, your tiny wings." He smiled faintly.
"I thought… maybe we're a little alike."
Iruma's heart twisted at that. He hadn't expected such empathy.
He's trying to relate to me… not expose me.
And with his Rinnegan—his ocular power awakened through the fusion of human chakra and demonic energy—Iruma could sense emotion. Not thoughts, not intentions. But pure feelings.
And what he felt from Balam was…
Genuine.
Compassion.
Without thinking, Iruma opened his mouth.
"I… I'm human."
The words slipped out like breath.
There was a silence.
Balam blinked. He stared at Iruma, stunned—but not shocked.
"Human…?" he repeated softly.
Realizing what he'd just said, Iruma's face went pale.
"W-Wait! I didn't mean—well, I did, but I didn't mean to say it, I mean, I—"
Balam raised a hand to stop him. He didn't shout. He didn't recoil.
He simply gestured kindly.
"Come with me."
--
[Underworld History Prep Room –]
The room was dim, filled with ancient tomes and preserved scrolls. Balam poured tea from a crooked kettle into a cracked obsidian cup.
"Hell Grey," he said, placing it in front of Iruma. "It's calming. Don't worry, this batch is non-toxic."
Iruma took the cup with shaking hands.
"...Thanks."
He looked up, waiting for the interrogation.
But Balam sat across from him, silent. Observing.
"So… you're really not going to turn me in?" Iruma asked quietly.
Balam shook his head.
"I don't see a creature to fear, Iruma-kun. I see a boy doing his best in a world that could have eaten him a hundred times over… and somehow, hasn't."
Iruma blinked.
"Besides," Balam continued, "you said it because you sensed my sincerity, didn't you?"
Iruma flinched.
"Your eyes… they see more than most."
He looked at Iruma with a calm, curious glint.
"Tell me, those eyes of yours—what do they really see?"
Iruma slowly smiled, calming down.
"They see truth, I think."