Three districts Scar knew almost nothing about. Four, really, since only his predecessor Bastian's memories proved the seventh district existed.
He was born there.
Without the sixth wielder before him, Scar wouldn't have believed it was real.
It would've been fascinating to see the other three, considering rumors claimed the first and eighth districts were basically Scarlet Kin territory.
Today, a few Alpha Academy students were putting on a show—a preview before the Epic Competition next month. The Alpha Academy trained Royal Knights, and Scar, Purple, and Julien couldn't pass up the chance to see them perform.
At the edge of the Fourth District, Barbados, where people felt safest, a figure stood beneath the massive thirty-foot statue of Yeshe, humanity's savior from centuries ago.
Yeshe had founded the Alpha Academy decades after the Supreme Academy's creation. He wasn't celebrated just for that, though, his accomplishments went much further.
That's why the area surrounding Alpha Academy felt safest to humans, despite being the most expensive place to live.
A crowd had formed around the statue, surrounding several dozen students dressed in red uniforms.
Purple, enthusiastically leading them, though Scar had no idea why she was so excited. She leveraged her Akuma authority to carve a path through the crowd toward the performing students.
Sure, Scar was curious about what he'd see, but his mind was occupied with heavier matters.
The previous night, Mingle and Emma brought the autopsy report on Isaac's death. Discovering the person who killed Isaac wielded an Inheritance, he couldn't help wondering who they were and what their motive was.
His first suspect had been Dain, the one who'd killed his family. But since the killing didn't show signs of lightning-based powers, it couldn't have been him.
Across three centuries, every wielder of the Ruler of Zeus had personally hunted down and killed Scar's predecessors.
Hell, the original wielder of the Flames of the Unknown, Kendrick, had his entire bloodline wiped out. The Ruler of Zeus wanted absolute certainty that the Inheritance wouldn't be passed on.
Perhaps it was for the thrill, but regardless, the Ruler of Zeus always made a point of doing the killing themselves.
Hence, it was practically impossible, unless Dain was operating under different rules or pursuing a different kind of satisfaction.
Caught up in his thoughts, when Scar finally returned to the present, they'd navigated through the crowd and were facing the Alpha students.
There, five students watched as two of them fought in what appeared to be a choreographed bout. More striking, the students all stood on hovering skateboards, each with a blade pulsing with electrical energy.
Clearly, these were prototypes. Not only did they float too close to the ground, but the blades were attached directly to the boards, which had way too many gadgets—excessive for any completed design.
"Looks cool and all… but how exactly are they meant to fight with this? One hit and it's falling apart." Julien thought out loud.
Purple met his words with a knowing response. "Obviously, they're rushing it for the Epic Competition. No way it's finished by then. What a mess."
As the two marveled at the humans' creation, Scar remained stunned. The conflicting thoughts that had plagued him earlier had disappeared.
This was amazing. The humans had achieved flight! Not even all Inheritances could do that. He could only imagine what kind of genius minds it took.
Things went sideways fast. It was as if the Alpha Academy students had been listening the whole time.
It couldn't be. The humans had backed away, giving Scar and the others room to perch. Expected, since they were frightened. Purple and Julien had barely whispered. How could they have heard?
A dark-haired student with a scar running across his neck approached. He maintained a calm demeanor, but something about the Akumas' presence had gotten under his skin.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing here?"
The instant he spoke, the demonstration halted. The Alpha students began moving toward the Akumas, their eyes blazing with rage.
Things went south faster than anyone anticipated, but strangely, Scar and his friends remained largely on the sidelines.
The students were furious, but they held back their friend, trying to stop him from doing anything stupid.
Apparently, he harbored a personal vendetta against not only Akumas but the whole Supreme Academy.
Not much was shared, but Purple was quick enough to piece everything together.
"Your relative… he was one of them, wasn't he? Those who gave up their Inheritance to save humanity eight years ago." She said all that with a smile.
Conflict flared between Purple and the guy, but his reaction only validated her theory.
Based on blood samples collected from all Akumas, the Supreme Council established its own rankings.
The timing of Quagmire's next appearance, when it would tear through the world again as it had eight years ago remained unknown.
Therefore, every Akuma with an underdeveloped or unhelpful Inheritance was sacrificed when the Clown of the Living struck.
"Remember this. Whoever I face at the Epic Competition will die by my hands. I'm Joel, and this isn't a threat. It's a warning."
Purple only smiled, calmly, as though Joel's words amused her.
But soon the atmosphere shifted.
Joel and his friends, along with all the humans, attempted to flee… the Akumas had apparently concluded their impressive performance.
But Scar and his group only frowned, heads jerking around searchingly. Nothing was visible, yet Scar's heart pounded like they'd entered a predator's lair.
Nothing seemed off—not the air, the sounds, the atmosphere, or even the people around them. Yet the feeling that something was terribly wrong wouldn't leave.
"Could the Blessing be causing this? Or are we going insane?" Scar asked, concerned.
"Think. You're the only one who has absorbed the Blessing." Julien spoke, but the weight of his words was immediately cut short.
"Don't move!" Purple shouted.
Everyone turned to her, bewildered. Within seconds, most had collapsed where they stood. The handful left standing broke into terrified screams and fled.
The Alpha students instantly turned on the Akumas with accusations, but Scar and his companions weren't listening.
"Don't move. My threads have detected some bugs in the air. This can only be the work of a Daywalker or a Dreamwalker."
Tension thickened in the air. People kept collapsing everywhere, yet the audio system had issued no announcements whatsoever.
Uncertainty gripped Scar. Even if he wanted to see the bugs, he couldn't. He was caught between two crises: the weight he already carried and this new horror before him.