The classroom was simple.
Only six students occupied the first-year desks. No one talked. No one laughed.
Yuto stood leaning against the desk, observing each of them.
"Today, this class will receive a new student," he said casually.
A few of them glanced up, uninterested.
"He'll be studying with you from now on, so…" Yuto gave a faint smile.
"Don't hold back. And give a round of applause for our new student!"
Silence. Nothing happened.
Seconds passed.
"…You can come in now," Yuto said, looking at the door.
Nothing.
He sighed.
"Well… I'll go check."
Yuto left the room.
The students exchanged looks.
"Late?" someone murmured.
"Hm…" another responded.
"Well, I guess he got delayed. Let's continue the lesson."
Minutes later, knocking on the door.
"May I come in?"
The door opened.
Yuri stepped inside. His uniform was stained, dark blood running down his arm, still fresh.
"Kind of… those creatures showed up again," he said, emotionless.
"This one was persistent. Came back several times."
The room froze.
"…The kid…" one of the girls muttered.
Yuri turned toward her.
"You think you're going to impress someone with that?" she said, bored.
"A Superior Scale isn't a big deal."
Yuri looked slightly embarrassed for a moment.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"It's… Yuri. Nice to meet you."
She rested her elbow on the desk, supporting her face with her hand.
"Emiko," she said with fake politeness.
"The pleasure's all mine, kid."
The silence grew heavier.
"Alright, alright, that's enough fighting," Yuto said, returning.
He clapped once.
"This is Yuri. A student like you."
"Be nice to him… he's been through a lot."
No one looked away.
"We'll continue class later," Yuto added.
"First, the tour."
The Temple
The corridors were ancient, covered with symbols, seals, and artifacts attached to the walls. The structure looked too old to function — and yet everything pulsed with energy.
"This place is just a temple to ordinary people," Yuto explained as he walked ahead.
"But it's also a school, dormitory… operations center, infirmary… and a few other facilities."
Yuri observed everything in silence.
Yuto stopped in front of an artifact suspended by chains.
"So… that man who showed me this place really made it look like just a temple," Yuri thought.
"This reacts directly to vital energy," Yuto explained.
The air cracked.
Eight figures appeared at the edges of the temple: Kamuis.
The pressure crushed the atmosphere. A beam of energy fired straight at the students.
Yuto snapped his fingers. The attack froze midair.
"Shit…" one of the Kamuis growled.
"He didn't say Yuto was here."
They began whispering among themselves.
"So? Are you going to attack?" Yuto said, bored.
"Or are you just going to gossip?"
The Kamuis hesitated.
"Fighting him is suicide."
"Our objective was only to distract. Fighting him is out of the question," another said. "He hasn't fought in a while. He must be rusty."
Yuto smiled.
"True. Let's see if I can shake off the rust with you."
What followed wasn't a battle.
It was an execution.
Yuri watched. The first-years watched.
Seven Kamuis disappeared in moments. No exaggerated spectacle. No visible effort.
The last one charged in desperation. Yuto toyed with him for a few seconds… before ending him with a single movement.
Silence.
Yuto turned and placed a hand on Yuri's shoulder.
"Since you're new to this… come with me."
"I'll show you how we really fight here."
Space folded.
In the blink of an eye, they vanished.
Another Place
They appeared before another Kamui.
"Was it you who ordered the attack on my students?" Yuto asked calmly.
The Kamui smiled.
"And what if it was?"
Yuto smiled back.
"Then… I'll have to kill you."
"It wouldn't matter. You're going to die either way."
The battle began.
Yuto wasn't fighting seriously. The Kamui wasn't even close to his level.
"Ahhh…" Yuto sighed. "This is tiring."
Everything stopped.
Time stopped.
Yuri noticed.
When time flowed again… the Kamui was already dead.
Yuri understood: something was wrong with Yuto. He was on a completely different level.
Yuto teleported them back.
"Ahhh, I'm done," he said casually. "Killed them all."
The New Day
The sun had barely risen.
Yuri was getting ready in silence when one of the maids, Akira, watched him closely.
"How's school going?" she asked suspiciously.
"Good… yeah… it's going great," Yuri answered too quickly.
"Oh really?" Akira raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, don't worry."
Yuri grabbed his things and hurried out.
"Hey! Aren't you having breakfast?" Akira called.
"Not hungry!" he replied, already disappearing through the door.
Akira sighed.
"He doesn't know how to lie."
Akira muttered,
"How long are we going to pretend we don't know about the Order?"
Saya replied,
"Let's leave him be. We'll talk later."
Kisara added something — and they all laughed softly.
The corridors still carried the weight of the recent massacre. Active seals. Heavy air.
Yuri walked across the courtyard, staring at the cloudy sky.
Something was wrong.
He didn't know what — but he felt it.
On the other side of the courtyard, Yuto stood still, hands in his pockets, staring into nothingness.
"…Damn," Yuto muttered.
One by one, the first-year students arrived. Seven.
Yuri arrived last — the eighth.
Emiko leaned against a pillar, arms crossed.
"Why'd you call us?" she asked.
Yuto turned.
"You're going on a mission today."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
"Today?!" one student reacted. "We just got here! It's barely seven in the morning!"
"Exactly," Yuto cut in. "Staying here won't make anyone stronger."
Yuri remained silent.
"High-Scale Kyobokags. Remote urban area," Yuto continued.
"Simple mission: locate, eliminate, return."
He paused.
"No heroics. No improvising."
"Our job isn't to be heroes," Yuto said seriously.
"We are exterminators."
"Show me why you're here."
Emiko smirked.
Talismans. Communicators. Basic gear.
Yuri received the same — even without asking.
As Yuto passed by him, he whispered:
"Stay close to the group. I don't want casualties."
Abandoned buildings. Empty streets. Artificial silence.
"I hate it when it gets this quiet," Ryo muttered.
"Focus," Emiko replied. "This isn't a walk in the park."
As they advanced, Ayane approached Yuri.
"Yuri… what's your Pillar?"
"Pillar?" he asked. "What's that?"
Emiko immediately turned.
"You're kidding… you don't know?"
Ayane took a breath.
"Vital energy awakens at the exact moment of birth. The person enters a neutral state — where brain and heart begin functioning properly."
"They enter harmony between mind and heart. Few can achieve that."
"And that's not enough," she continued. "You also have to be born with Vital Veins. They replace normal veins. That's what allows vital energy to circulate."
Yuri listened carefully.
"So that's what it was…
That neutral sensation…"
"And Pillars are the powers that come with awakening," Ayane explained. "Each person has their own. It's random. Think of vital energy as gasoline, and Pillars as the engine. Without a Pillar, you can't move."
"…I don't know what my Pillar is," Yuri said.
"A person can be born with up to five Pillars," Emiko muttered arrogantly.
Ayane smiled.
"Come on, Yuri. Let's find out."
She extended her hand.
"Focus your vital energy…"
Yuri closed his eyes.
A drop of water formed in the air.
"Water?" Emiko reacted, surprised.
The group exchanged looks.
"Then you're—"
"What's your last name?" Emiko asked sharply.
"Goto," Yuri replied. "Is that a problem?"
The seven stepped aside, whispering.
"Does he not know his own surname?"
"Or did Yuto not tell him…"
"He probably doesn't know," Ayane said quietly.
She looked back at Yuri.
"There's another way," she said hesitantly.
"My Pillar is called The All-Seeing Eye. I can see other Pillars. Give me your hand."
The moment Ayane touched him—
Her mind plunged into the abyss.
A being. Absolute presence.
It snapped its fingers.
Her consciousness returned.
Ayane froze. Breath stuck in her throat.
She didn't understand what she saw.
"What's my Pillar?" Yuri asked calmly.
"…I don't know," she answered softly.
The first Kyobokag appeared.
Then another.
Then more.
"Too easy…" someone murmured.
Yuri stopped.
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
A much greater presence manifested between the buildings.
The air grew heavy. Hard to breathe.
"Communication's down!" Kaen shouted.
Something watched from the shadows.
A distorted voice echoed:
"So… you're the so-called Order?"
Emiko swallowed.
"That… wasn't in the report…"
Yuri felt it.
That thing was far stronger than the others.
Back at the temple, Yuto — who had been resting — suddenly opened his eyes.
He felt it.
"Immediate retreat," he ordered, activating seals. "All of you!"
Nothing happened.
Yuto clenched his teeth.
"Damn."
Back on the mission site, the shadow stepped forward.
"Let's see…" the voice smiled.
"Which one of you dies first?"
Yuri stepped forward.
Everyone glanced at him.
"Hey…" Emiko murmured, tense.
"Don't do something stupid."
Yuri remained cold.