Six years after the creation of the hero organisation. In Japan, there lived a young man named Mizuki Izawa. He was often called a nerd or talentless human at school. But after years of dealing with it all, he finally got used to it.
One day, in the afternoon, when he came home from school and his extracurricular activities. On the streets, he was alone, strangely the atmosphere felt very tense. Mizuki started walking faster...
And suddenly, there was a demon blocking Mizuki's way. Mizuki panicked and scared, he could only run while screaming for help.
"Help! Help me! I'm here! Somebody help me! There's a demon chasing me!" He kept running and trying to trick the demon, but all his efforts were in vain.
He also got a big claw wound on his back, his school uniform was now covered in blood. It was horrible, it felt like being clawed by a cat but ten times more painful. He could only lay weakly on the ground screaming in pain.
He had given up, he closed his eyes, wishing he could die without feeling any more pain. But when he opened his eyes he was shocked...
"Huh...? The demon... Cut off?" He was shocked and confused, as he saw the demon in front of him suddenly die split into two.
He looked around and he found out who the culprit was. "No way... You're Ayato Shoreniya! The fourth-ranked hero!"
"Heheh, yes that's me. Thank me later, okay? I still have many missions to complete, see you young man." Ayato instantly disappeared after saying that.
Mizuki was surprised and could only remain silent, he also felt guilty because he had not thanked Ayato. He hoped to meet Ayato again even though it seemed impossible.
Then, Mizuki went home while enduring the pain that was still felt in her back. His father and brother were shocked to see Mizuki's condition and without thinking, they immediately performed first aid, then took Mizuki to the nearest hospital.
After the incident, Mizuki asked his father to enrol him in boxing lessons, but he failed. He also tried karate, taekwondo, Jiu Jitsu, and others but he still failed. Now, he wants to try Kendo lessons...
A year later. In one of the lessons in Mizuki's class that day, Mizuki and other students were asked to write their goals and plans after graduation.
Then the teacher called the first five students from the roll call paper randomly, and Mizuki was one of the people chosen to come forward.
"Alright, Izawa. What are your goals and plans after graduation?" the teacher asked.
"I..." Mizuki took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he continued to read out what he wrote. "My goal is to become a hero! And I plan to take the hero organisation entrance exam, and become a hero!"
Everyone laughed, some mockery could also be clearly heard such as...
"Someone like him wants to be a hero? Please don't joke around." "Maybe he'll only survive for one day if he becomes a Hero." "Looks like he'll die a silly death in the near future!" And a few other mocks.
But, there were some people, a small percentage of people, who didn't laugh at Mizuki's words. They were Mizuki's friends, and a few others who were just people who didn't want to laugh at someone's dream and just wanted to appreciate it.
The teacher was surprised by the reaction of the other students and was worried because he saw the change in Mizuki's expression. "Alright everyone, that's enough!"
Then the class calmed down due to the teacher's reprimand, Mizuki was also told to return to his seat. "Alright, Izawa. Thank you for having the courage to express your goals and plans after graduation. You may return to your seat now."
And after the break time came, Mizuki realised that now he was shunned and mocked worse than before. When the dismissal time rang, he walked home with mixed feelings of sadness and anger.
he was sad and angry that his presence in class was less and less appreciated, and he was angry that his dreams and plans after graduation were doubted by almost all of his classmates...
One month later, he was suddenly told by his father to quit his Kendo lessons. "Mizuki, I think you should quit the Kendo lessons."
Mizuki who heard it was surprised, sadness and anger mixed together. "Why? Why do you want me to quit Kendo! You know right? That I want to be a Hero? That's why I want to learn fighting and martial arts before-"
"Cut the crap!" Mizuki's father interrupted his words with an angry tone. "I've spent a lot of money on you trying to learn various martial arts, but you failed as a result! There were no results! Kendo too! I can't spend more money on your vague aspirations!"
His brother panicked at this situation and sympathised with Mizuki "Father..."
Mizuki was shocked and could only remain silent, he was sad and angry with himself, why couldn't he do better? Why did he always fail? And why did she always suck at martial arts?
That night, Mizuki became more quiet, and where he used to play games before going to bed, now he went straight to his bed and covered his whole body with a blanket.
He was so sad and angry, he couldn't stop crying. "Why do I suck so much? Why can't I get better at martial arts when I've been training so hard? I want to be a hero..."
The next day. Mizuki and his other classmates had officially graduated from high school, each person's family and loved ones were present, including Mizuki's father and big brother.
Everyone else was happy, but Mizuki was still sad because of his father words and the reality he was facing.
Two days after graduation, Mizuki was told by her father to look for a job, "Hey, Mizuki, don't be lazy. Go out on the bicycle, look for a job outside."
Mizuki was surprised and said "But-" but his words were cut off again.
"There's no but. Stop being delusional that you're going to become a Hero, you know that job is impossible for you right? Just find a safe job, don't risk your life, Mizuki."
Mizuki could only remain silent and nodded, obeying what his father said. He quickly ate lunch, changed his clothes, prepared the things he would take with him, then set off.
That day, he returned at 7pm. "I'm home..." He walked into the house staring at his own feet, ashamed of his fruitless endeavours.
His father and brother were surprised that Mizuki came home this late, his brother asked "Mizuki! You're finally home. How about your job search? Did you find a job yet?"
Mizuki replied, "No, I haven't found a job yet."
"Well, that's how hard it is to find a job. Continue your search tomorrow, okay?" Mizuki's father said.
"Okay..." Mizuki said, laziness and fear coming back to cover him. Because he knew that tomorrow he would have to go back to looking for a job again.
The next day. After breakfast, he immediately went to ride his bicycle again to look for a job. But as he passed through a rather narrow alley, something hit his head.
"Ouch! What the hell was that!?" He looked around and he saw that there was a pitch black coloured book lying below him, it seemed that this book had fallen from above and hit Mizuki's head.
He got off his bike and picked up the mysterious book, "What...? What is this book?" Then he opened the black book. And suddenly in Mizuki's eyes, he saw many black lines leading to various pathways.
"Huh!? What are these black lines!?" He frantically rubbed his eyes, hoping the lines would disappear, but still, the black lines did not disappear. "W-what the hell is this book!? How can this book make me see black lines!"
"It seems... I should follow one of these black lines?" He wasn't sure, but had no other choice as the black lines that were currently appearing were bothering his eyes, his job search would definitely be interrupted if these lines were left unchecked.
So he rode back on his bicycle while carrying the mysterious black book, he chose to follow one of the lines on the right. And he was surprised that he stopped in front of her house.
"Huh? This line... Leads to my house?" Then he entered the house carefully. "Father, Miruo. I'm home." His father was surprised that Mizuki came home so early, while his brother, Miruo, had already left for work.
"Mizuki? You're home already? Did you find a job?" Asked his father with a happy and hopeful face.
"No, not yet. I haven't found a job yet." Said Mizuki while looking around, and realised that the line was now leading towards the living room.
Then he carefully went into the living room, following the black line. Then, the black line stopped in front of a painting. He unhesitatingly held the painting and took it down.
"Mizuki!" Mizuki was surprised because behind the painting, there was a katana that was well kept and protected with glass. "Father... why is there a katana here!?"
Then Mizuki's father was silent, and after a few minutes he finally answered Mizuki's question, "You know the incident that happened seven years ago? The incident known as 31 days of chaos?"
Mizuki was surprised, not expecting that his father's conversation would go in this direction. "Uh... Of course." Then his father continued his words.
"Actually, your mother used to be in the human resistance team, and she died because of a demon... In her last moments, she said that I should take care of her family katana, keep it at home well as an emergency weapon..."
That was a fact that really surprised Mizuki, he did not expect that his mother used to die because of a demon. He didn't know how his mother died because he and Miruo took refuge in the evacuation site.
And suddenly, the glass protecting the hereditary katana of his mother's family shattered. Mizuki and his father were shocked, one of Mizuki's shoulders was also pierced by a shard. "Ouch!"
"Mizuki! What are you doing!" His father asked angrily. "I didn't do anything! I swear!" Mizuki retorted.
Mizuki carefully pulled out a rather small shard from his shoulder, and when his gaze returned to the katana. There was a dark aura surrounding the katana, "H-huh? What the hell is this?"
His father was confused at Mizuki's expression and reaction "What do you mean?" Now he could only stay silent and look at Mizuki.
Mizuki carefully held the katana, and after he held the katana.... Nothing happened. "Huh?" Both Mizuki and his father were confused by the situation.
Then his father just realised that Mizuki had been carrying around a black book "Mizuki, what is that book?" Mizuki was surprised, he looked at the book in his hand then looked back at his father.
"I don't know either, I just picked it up as I passed through a rather narrow alleyway."
Then his father replied, "Why would you pick up a dirty book like this? It's probably just rubbish! Now, heal your shoulder and continue your job search, while looking for a place to throw the book away!"
"Uh... Okay." Mizuki was still confused but he was glad that the black lines were gone. He treated his shoulder while watching his father clean up the glass shards on the floor.
Then he went outside again while looking for a place to throw away this mysterious book. Then he stopped near the sea, but just as he wanted to throw the book away, someone tapped Mizuki on the shoulder.
"Hey, young man." Mizuki was surprised to hear the sound of someone suddenly appearing near him, he quickly looked behind him, and he was shocked.
Because the one behind him at that moment was... "The 4th rank hero, Ayato Shoreniya!"
To be continued...