1-1. The Vice Within the Heart
Above the clouds and the beautiful scenery of nature, Solen Pyrex would simply stare in silent admiration. He was a sixteen-year-old orphan who had lived in the missionary home since he was twelve. He knew nothing of his origins, having been found unconscious in a forest with only his name intact.
Solen was unnaturally calm and composed. His pervasive kindness often put his peers off; they sometimes thought he was faking it. "Does this jerk ever get angry?" was the question whispered amongst the children who constantly bullied him for his serene behavior. Whenever they wronged him, he would always be the one to apologize, letting go of any conflict.
Yet, within Solen resided an ability that set him apart: the power to see Vices. These were dark energies, the manifest evil of the human heart, that grew to form gateways to the demon realm when sufficiently energized. Each time the children directed negativity toward him, Solen watched their Vices significantly swell. He didn't know the ultimate consequence, but his instincts screamed at him to prevent their growth.
All the worst traits—Anger, Hate, Spite, Jealousy, Bitterness—resided most strongly within the heart of Oberon, the boy who hated Solen most of all.
1-2. The Antagonist's Plea
The orphanage was holding a quiz competition today. Knowing Solen's bright nature, Oberon and a few other boys burst into his room to issue a threat.
The door shuddered violently with repeated kicks—Bang… Bang… Bang…
When the door finally flew open, Solen was immediately struck down. Oberon stepped on his face, his voice tight with desperation.
"Today's the day, fool! Don't go out there and be a bookworm as usual! I already cheated and got all the answers! Just be a good boy and fail! Like the failure that you are!"
The boys brutally beat Solen until his body ached. When they finally left, Granny Smiles, known for her elegant features, rushed in to treat his wounds.
"You know you could just report them, right?" she asked, looking at Solen with pity.
Solen offered a large, pain-tinged smile. "They did nothing wrong. They don't like me, that's all. The moment I'm gone, they'll be their normal selves!"
A tear slipped down Granny Smiles' face before she quickly left.
Solen chuckled, ignoring the soreness. "Well! It's almost time for the competition… I better read up! Granny Smiles got emotional again, hehe."
1-3. The Winner
The competition began and ended. After several hours, the Emcee held the final scores, the room filled with tense anticipation.
"And the winner of the Bright Academia competition isssssssss!"
A beat of suspense.
"SOOOOOOOLEEEEN PYYYYREEEEEXXXX!!!!"
The room went silent. The orphans couldn't believe it. Oberon was smart, and he'd cheated.
Oberon shot up. "That's impossible! May I see our scores?"
A scoreboard flashed onto a screen: << Oberon: 85%… Solen: 98% >>
Oberon's eyes went wide. He clenched his fists, the Vice energy around him surging. "This is bullshit! Even after going extra miles to cheat, this are the results?!"
The organizers immediately canceled his score for admitting to cheating. Humiliated, Oberon bolted from the hall.
1-4. The Birth of Wrath
That night, Solen was admiring the trophy he'd received, proud and grateful for his simple life. A soft knock came at his door, slowly growing louder and more frantic—Bang… Bang… Bang!
"Who's that!" Solen screamed in terror just before the door burst inward.
The first thing that hit him was a wave of overwhelming dark energy—a suffocating, sickly power that acted as a barrier, muffling all sound.
Slowly approaching was Oberon, knife in hand. His eyes were bloodshot from tears, his face contorted in defeat. "You've… finally… got what you wanted, huh?" Oberon let out a raw, broken chuckle. "I'll definitely kill you… then myself after… then… let's continue our eternal rivalry in HELL!"
Solen stared in horror at Oberon's Vice, which had grown into a pulsating, black portal above his head.
Oberon lunged. Solen dodged the first swing, but the second connected with his chest, slicing his side. Blood immediately soaked his shirt. Solen screamed, but the dark energy swallowed the sound.
"You know we used to be very close friends, huh?" Oberon began, his voice laced with pain. "Four years ago when you newly came in… But how long did that last?! I was always compared to you in everything! You were the perfect boy who was devoid of sin… and I was the naughty kid rejected by everyone! You were always the good example whenever I did anything wrong, and it pissed… me… off! I hated you for your character… I hated you for who you are, cause I know deep down it's all an act… my only one chance to finally be recognised was still blown by you! YOU ARE MY OWN SIN! AND I HATE YOU!"
The hatred and despair activated the gate. A new, darker Vice was born: WRATH.
Before Oberon could strike again, a seductive, terrifying Demon—a woman with mighty horns, blood streaming from her eyes, and the rotting face of a beast on her stomach—appeared from the portal above him.
Oberon froze.
"You've fed me enough jealousy and WRATH," the Demon said, her voice dark velvet. "Now I'm here to be the link between you and chaos."
She grabbed Oberon's hand and, with a casual, sickening tear—RIP—ripped it clean off, devouring it immediately.
"Ahhh… the unique taste of human flesh! At least the Almighty did well in that aspect of their creation!" The Demon wiped blood from her lips, then cast a condescending gaze at Solen. "What's with you… your purity ticks me off! You're not a worthy meal! Just stay put… after eating this young lad, I'll waste you off without devouring you, don't worry… it'll be quick."
As the Demon approached the screaming Oberon, the boy whimpered Solen's name. Oberon, who had once seen Solen as a hated rival, now saw him as a desperate guardian.
Solen, despite his profusely bleeding wound, grabbed a vase and smashed it over the Demon's head.
"Sixteen and you don't even pack a punch," the Demon scoffed, annoyed. She punched Solen hard in anger, sending him flying across the room and into the wall.
Solen forced himself to his feet and charged again, hitting her with his fists, the skin of his hands instantly blistering from her fiery demonic aura.
"Tchh! Stupid bug… I'll grant your wish!" The Demon landed a truly vicious punch—KRA-THOOM!—and the force sent Solen flying through the wall, out of the second-story building.
1-5. Absolute Love's Wonder
Solen crashed onto the compound pavement, blood pooling from his mouth, his bones brutally broken. The Demon landed lightly beside him, laughing with cold pity.
"All that act for what?! Humans are so short-lived… yet they prefer to be stupid with their miserable short clip of a life… I already cast a deep spirit slumber in the place. No one is coming to help you."
Solen struggled to breathe, but his voice was defiant. "You know nothing about the human… life… Don't you dare talk about it, you beast. We're intricately designed to protect the peace of the world from evil even if it costs our lives! It's a duty embedded in our soul! SO DON'T YOU DARE LECTURE ME ON HOW I SHOULD USE MY LIFE!!!!"
To the Demon's shock, Solen slowly stood, broken bones grinding inside his body. The intensity in the air surged.
"From within my soul it'll be born! The power to vanquish evil!!!" Solen declared, his right fist suddenly glowing with a blinding white light.
He dashed forward, moving with impossible speed, and landed a punch on the Demon.
"Ughh! His punches are bypassing this realm's rules and are hitting my soul," she cried out, feeling a profound spiritual wound.
They clashed with equal speed and strength, their impacts scarring the compound. The Demon screamed in desperation, her body being purified and worn out with every hit.
She resorted to firing blood and dark energy beams, but Solen, now seemingly a blur of focused light, dodged them all. She materialized a hundred pins of blood and fired them—BOOM!—they hit and exploded against his body, but they didn't stop him. Solen charged through the barrage, landing a final, rapid barrage of pure energy punches.
"WHAT ARE YOU?!?!" the Demon shrieked, preparing a final, desperate attack. She gathered dark energy within the beast's gaping mouth. "WHY DONT YOU JUST GIVE IN TO DARKNESS!!!! YOUVE BEEN HATED BY EVERYONE AROUND YOU AND YET YOU STILL STAND TO PROTECT THE VERY ONE WHO PERSECUTED YOU!!!! WHY!!!!"
Solen chuckled softly, gathering the radiating energy around his fist, the glow becoming more elegant and intense.
"I know of a man who was hated by the whole of humanity and yet still protected them after they persecuted him—THAT'S ABSOLUTE LOVE! A couple hundreds of people hate me and you want me to give in to the darkness? WEAK!"
"It's brimming within my soul! The power to go beyond the realm of possibility," Solen declared.
The Demon unleashed her technique: "OCCULT BLOOD ART: BLOOD BEAM!"
A beam of pure condensed blood and dark energy roared toward Solen. He met it head-on, burying his glowing fist within the blast, struggling against the sheer force.
"I.....WILL.....PREVAAAAIIIIIILLLLLLL!!!!" Solen screamed, pouring his entire being into the punch.
He broke through the technique, his fist piercing the beam and slamming into the Demon's core. A massive, brilliant Cross erupted from the impact point, engulfing the Demon and incinerating her soul.
Solen collapsed, completely drained.
1-6. The Climax is Nigh
The Demon's form slowly reassembled, nearly all of her body burnt to a husk. "Damn… you… you cursed being!!!"
She raised a skeletal hand to fire a final energy beam at the boy.
Before she could finish the act, a Hooded Man appeared silently behind her. His holy blade—SHINK!—sliced through the air, beheading the creature without fail.
"This holy blade works well against these classes too," the Hooded Man muttered, staring down at Solen. "The Almighty has made yet another move… the climax is nigh…"