2021…
Somewhere underground in Kyoto…
A bell rang far in the distance, the sound echoing in the large cylindrical room.
At the center of the dimly lit room, Shinra Hara stood at the center, atop a pedestal, his fingers pushing his hair back as slow breathing sounded from the sides of him in a pentagonal formation.
"Mr. Hara… I believe you would be the one to take full responsibility if this individual causes any damage to our society." A voice behind the square blinds said in a deep and serious tone.
"Yes, I will, I will personally kill him if it comes to that, but I do stand on my word, this child should not be executed, at least not for now."
"You know the consequences if such a mission were to fail, yet you still choose this option… Why is that, Mr. Hara…" Another voice rumbled from his left.
"Come to think of it, the only mission you failed was an execution mission, and we all know how that went after… Your core was heavily damaged, one of your partner's artifact weapons was destroyed in the process of the cleanup, and the other was killed by the same fiend you failed to execute." A lighter voice came from his right.
"I'll figure it out, last time… It…" He paused, then let out a sigh and cracked his neck.
"Mr. Hara, I believe none of us would like more than a single stain on our resume, both as a human and a magician. Lives are precious, and none should be innocently sacrificed."
***
Private Academy of Morgana…
"Talkin' bout some lives are precious, old bastard's spewing bullshit," Shinra Hara leaned down, perching his head on a rolled-up fist as he sat down beside the stairs, his legs spread wide without regard for formalities.
"Sir, are you sure that that language is appropriate to use in school?" A student with dark green hair asked as he leaned back to look at his gloomy teacher.
Hara sighed, "It's not even about that anymore." He lifted his head, looking up at the dirty bottom of the staircase, infested with spider webs and loose pieces of dust of various sizes.
A drop of lingering rainwater fell into a puddle, creating a small splash.
"They really gotta fuckin' clean the school up a little, don't you think? It's even worse than the conditions of the sisters' schools, which are open to the public." Hara said, scratching his head.
"Hmm…" The student's mouth twitched, "Heh heh, I guess so…"
Ding— Dong— Ding— Dong—
The bell rang in the distance, speakers above the stairs, slightly delayed, made the sound echo with booming effects.
"I'll go first, sir, I have an important class to attend." The student said as he quickly walked away with rapid steps.
Sigh— "All alone again," Hara muttered under his breath before waving goodbye, "I'll catch you at lunch or after school, Akagi."
One month later…
"Are you still certain about your decision, even after seeing the kid with your very eyes…"
The lantern lights shimmered with tinges of orange light.
"Yes, he's just a kid… I'll appeal for him to get a special scholarship at Morgana, and if that doesn't get approved by the old bastard, I'll pay for his enrollment myself," Hara said after a moment.
"Even when you can see the unknown curse that wanders behind him at all times?" The old man behind the blind said as he raised an eyebrow
"... Yes."
"Do you have any idea what sort of damage this sort of stuff can do? It's at least a class 1, maybe even 0; there's no chance any other person in Japan currently could handle such a monster with Zero sent to assist in America… and the others nowhere to be found."
"I'll handle him myself; any class 0 curse wouldn't give me any trouble," Hara responded, his tone annoyed.
Hara stomped out of the room, his footsteps echoing with strength yet restraint.
"Tsk—" One of the men clicked his tongue in annoyance as Hara left.
He continued down the long hallway until he reached a gate, one that was sealed shut by hundreds and thousands of ghost sticker talismans, some with red paint, while others with black paint, each sealing the other like a padlock with hundreds of numbers and combinations stacked upon each other.
Hara drew his hand from his pants' pocket, lifting it perpendicular to the outermost seal, and he pointed a finger at it, tracing the pattern on top. The talisman glowed before flopping onto the ground like any normal piece of paper.
After he traced and removed three more of the seals, he closed his eyes and mumbled under his breath, "Bullshit…"
His arms flopped to his side as he exhaled a long breath, calming himself… After a moment, he lifted his hand once again, but this time his intention wasn't to remove the remaining seals one by one, but to rip every single one all out at once.
His finger wrapped around the thick bundle of seals, digging into their fragile sides, crumpling them up, then his hand gripped the seal brick tightly… As he exhaled another time, Hara ripped all the seals off at once, some torn pieces still sticking to the surface of the door.
Hara then softly pushed the doors apart, entering a red room filled with the stench of a fiend craving for blood and a single skinny human boy, completely unharmed, his arms bound to the small wooden chair he sat on.
"Hiori Takeshi-kun, is it?" Hara asked in a carefree tone.
"Mmm…" The boy mumbled and nodded.
An awkward silence stayed between the two as both looked at each other.
"Are you here to kill me?" Hiori asked, his voice pitched before gulping down a mouthful of saliva, clearly scared of the situation.
Hara carefully looked at every detail, Hiori's hands shivering, his throat trembling slightly as he spoke every word.
"Ahh— How do I explain this?" Hara asked himself, scratching his head, making the impression of a confident and carefree man, "Hmm… How about this? I temporarily saved you from death, although those old bastards outside don't agree with my decision, but I'm the only one capable of killing you right now, so they can't do anything about it."
He paused, taking a moment to think and take a breath, "So to truly escape your fate of death, you must learn the ways of magic and control that rather powerful curse behind you before any of the other official class 0 magicians that serve those old heads arrive here in Japan… And goddamn it stinks in here, this place is like a torture chamber."
Hiori looked back, his expression grim, yet he saw a certain hope in the man, as if the weirdly cheerful man in front of him could help dispel the curse that clings to him.
With a small nod, Hiori agreed, resting his eyelids shut as the bindings around his wrists and ankles loosen.
As the pieces of rope fall to the ground, Hara turns to the door before looking down at the still sitting Hiori, raising an eyebrow, he said, "What are you waiting for, you can get outta this hellhole now."
Hiori blinked before standing up, his legs shivering slightly as they weren't fully adjusted and were still numb from the tens of hours of sitting in the wooden chair.